Abstract Studies on the tenderizing effect of fruits has been limited even though fig, kiwifruit, pear, and pineapple cultivated in Korea are utilized commonly du ring cooking for their proteolytic properties. Therefore, the character istics of these fruits were investigated by treating beef with their crude protease extracts. The protease effects of crude protease extract from the fruits on casein and myofibrilar protein were in the following order : pineapple >kiwifruit > fig > pear. Electro-phoretic analysis results found that pin eapple, kiwifruit, and fig cleaved myosin heavy chain into smaller fragments. The myofibrilar fragmentation ratio of crude protease extracts was the highest for pineapple whileas the lowest for pear. Ground fruits (5% and 10%) increased amounts of soluble nitr ogen and decreased shear for ce of beef. Pineapple was the most effective while pear was the least effective. Decrease in springiness and gumminess was observed by texture profile analysis of beef treated with fruits, especially pineapple and kiwifruit. Among the 5% treatments, pineapple and kiwifruit produced the highest tenderness. Additionally, 10% treatment was less preferable than the 5% treatment.


If believing is central to what makes us persons, then how do we react when our core beliefs come under serious challenge? The "purest" responses are probably to engage in responsible apologetics, defending our beliefs against the challenges, or else adjustment or relinquishment of our beliefs in accordance with what we come to understand the truth to be. Often, however, we resort to less "pure" responses. We "bend the truth" or "fudge the facts" to deflect challenges to our beliefs. Or, in a response that entails more implicit philosophical sophistication, we deflate our very conceptions of truth and belief: in this case, this essay suggests, we may continue to affirm propositions even though we no longer fully and in good faith believe them. This essay, presented as part of a lecture series on "Christian Contributions to Contemporary Jurisprudence," argues that this last "declensionist" response produces a kind of hollowness in our personhood. The essay then explores manifestations of such declensionist strategies in modern thinking about the nature of law. It concludes by sketching some possible alternatives that Christian legal thinkers might take in response to such declension.


Henri Lefebvre famously seized upon the duality of the modern city: how for some it is a space of play and liberation, and for others a centre for power and repression. This article explores this duality through an analysis of the changing historical geography of Barcelona's Raval district, an inner-city working-class community and the birthplace of Catalan industrialization. From the 1920s onwards, elite groups and social commentators defined the Raval as Barcelona's "Chinatown", an imagined geography that continues to influence historical representations of the area. Through a social history of the Raval, it is argued that the "Chinatown" myth served specific political ends, that it formed part of a cultural project to impose a slum myth on Barcelona's most important and most rebellious working class district. The article concludes with an analysis of how this "moral geography" culminated in far-reaching plans for the moral and physical reordering of the Raval for the benefit of urban elites.


ABSTRACT: Apparitions and poltergeist-like disturbances were reported by the owner and employees of awayside inn in Merion, Pennsylvania. The legend that a "ghost" haunted the premises had persisted for more than 2 centuries. Quantitative measures tested 3 sensitives and 3 controls. Participants marked on floor plans locations where they sensed a ghost (sensitives) or where they believed a credulous person might report a ghost (controls). Participants also responded to a checklist containing brief descriptions of the reported phenomena that were randomly interposed with descriptions of plausible disturbances that no one had reported. One sensitive's floor-plan responses significantly resembled the locations of disturbances reported by witnesses (p = .026), and her checklist impressions suggested the ghostly characteristics witnesses had described (p = .059). The combined floor-plan responses of sensitives bore a suggestive correspondence to the witnesses' reports (p .084). Control participants, neither indivi dually nor as a group, produced test responses that resembled the witnesses' accounts. No significant differences in the magnitudes of magnetic fields at target and control sites were found for peak magnitudes, mean magnitudes, or all measured magnitudes. These findings imply that the aberrant cognitive phenomena reported by witnesses cannot be attributed to variations in the magnitudes of ambient magnetic fields. The German word poltergeist was presumably coined to distinguish a noisy ghost from a less obtrusive one, and it continues to denote a mischievous spirit or "ghost" in German. By 1848, the word had become part of the written English language (see Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 1995). More than one psychical researcher in the late 19th century observed that boisterous ghosts tended to frequent houses in which children were living. This is hardly surprising since households in those days were generally compised of large families, and children were not uncommonly family members. Indeed, youngsters with their irrepressible energy and mischievous tendencies were generally the first to be fingered as the culprits when rowdy, unfathomable disturbances took place. Alternatively, hysterical young female servants drew reprobation as the supposed hosts of the bewildering events. With the advent of psychoanalytic theory and its seminal constructs of unconscious motivation and covert sexual drives, a prepubescent, person-centered theory of poltergeists was formulated. The new theory of ghosts was in step with the zeitgeist; the afterlife was out of favor but neurosis was very much in vogue. Evidence in support of the theory was marshaled, and it was soon widely adopted--bolstered by convergent theories and legitimized by scientific-sounding terms like focal person, attenuation, and recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis (RSPK). Yet doubts about the validity of the ghost versus poltergeist distinction persisted, and theoretical discrepancies accumulated in the empirical database. Stevenson (1972) took issue with the person-centered theory in an article charmingly tided, "Are Poltergeists Living or Are They Dead?" Maher (1991) ventured that poltergeists could in principle be both living and dead because discarnate entities might be interacting with the energy of living persons to effect physical manifestations. Gauld and Cornell (1979) attempted to sort out 500 haunting and poltergeist cases on the basis of their characteristics, but cluster analyses failed to eliminate apparitions from the poltergeist category or poltergeist features from the haunt category. Roll (1977) conceded that haunted houses could host RSPK outbreaks and volunteered that "To an extent hauntings, too, may be person oriented" (p. 400). Alvarado and Zingrone (1995) found no more signs of intelligence in the characteristics of hauntings with apparitions than in those without them, whereas signs of intelligent guidance were reflected in certain poltergeist object flights (Roll, 1977). …


Abstract:F. Scott Fitzgerald's stories about Basil Duke Lee have become source material for biographers, who have built up a solid picture of communal life in the Midwest and of educational life in the prep schools of the East. The stories have a good deal more to say about ideas that affected youth culture before the Great War. Basil is put into a number of culturally dramatic situations: how to adjust to the new realities of the twentieth century, which meant recognizing the enormous role now played by institutions. He has to think about things like the "power" that is to be gained on campus, power that has not much to do with intellectual ability. And he has to come to grips with the ways in which such power is obtained. The Basil stories show a series of decisions. They show social life during the 1910s as a matter of activities and events—and also as a system of rules to be profitably obeyed or ruinously disregarded.


Biofilm formation by Candida species is a major contribute to their pathogenic potential.The aim of this study was to determine in vitro effects of EDTA, cycloheximide, and heparin-benzyl alcohol preservative on C. albicans (126) and non-albicans (31)vaginal yeast isolates biofilm formations and their susceptibility against three antifungal Etest strips. Results of the crystal violet-assay, indicated that biofilms formation were most commonly observed [100%] for C. kefyr, C. utilis, C. famata, and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, followed by C. glabrata [70%], C. tropicalis [50%], C. albicans [29%], Saccharomyces cerevisiae [0.0%]. EDTA (0.3mg/ml) significantly inhibited biofilm formation in both C. albicans and non-albicans isolates (P=0.0001) presumably due to chelation of necessary metal cations for the process-completion. In contrast, heparin (-benzyl alcohol preservative) stimulated biofilm formation in all tested isolates, but not at significant level (P=0.567). Conversely, cycloheximide significantly (P=0.0001) inhibited biofilm formation in all C. albicans strains(126) and its effect was even 3 fold more pronounced than EDTA inhibition, probably due to its attenuation of proteins (enzymes) and/or complex molecules necessary for biofilm formation. Results also showed that all nonalbicans yeasts isolates were susceptible to 5-flucytosine (MIC50, 0.016 µg/ml; MIC90, 0.064 µg/ml), but 14% of C. albicans isolates were resistant (MIC50, 0.064 µg/ml; MIC90 >32 µg/ml). The MIC50 value of amphotricin B for all C. albicans and non-albicans isolates was at a narrow range of 0.023 µg /ml, and the MIC90 values were 0.047 µg/ml and 0.064 µg/ml respectively, thereby confirming its efficacy as a first line empiric- treatment of Candida spp infections.


It was predicted that between 2013-2020 the revenue growth of global operator especially voice and data services would be decline. However, there will be an increase in automated (Non-Human intervention) data services and digital service (content, video, ecommerce, etc.). It also predicted that the presence of digital product in Telco will be able to recover negative revenue growth become positive one. Nevertheless, the business valuation of the digital companies is fluctuating within the last nine years due to the volatility caused by several factors. The poor valuation of digital industry is allegedly due to the implementation of strategic innovation has not been completely implemented. It is associated with problems in the development of the company's assets and business partnership that has been initiated. This study aims to assess the influence of company assets and business partnership on strategic innovation and its implications on the business valuation of digital industry in Indonesia. The study uses a quantitative approach with the analysis unit is digital companies in Indonesia. We are using 200 respondents that comprise of various strategic position personal of digital companies and processed the analysis by using simple random sampling technique. The results of the study has pointed out that strategic innovation has a greatest effect on business valuation. Strategic Innovation is mostly affected by company asset rather than business partnership. Company asset and business partnership effect on business valuation both directly and indirectly through Strategic Innovation.


Currently, Tata Steel IJmuiden is developing a new ironmaking process, called HIsarna. This technique will result in a significant reduction of carbon emissions, allow for more flexible input requirements for materials, and lead to a reduction of processing costs as well. In 2010, Tata Steel IJmuiden built a pilot plant to test and develop the technology of HIsarna. The next step is an industrial scale installation: the HIsarna demonstration plant. The design of the storage and handling area of this new plant is the subject of this research. At this area, the materials are stored and pre-processed before they will be injected into HIsarna. Thus far, Tata Steel has been working on the first design phase of the demonstration plant. Nevertheless, the design of the storage and handling area is missing. Consequently, the required quantities and necessary pre-processing steps of materials are unknown. Moreover, the existing storage and handling area at the HIsarna pilot plant cannot directly be used for the demonstration plant, because the new plant must meet HIsarna's annual capacity requirements of around one million mt, be able to process iron-rich waste materials (also called reverts), and comply with HIsarna's green ambitions. First, an analysis of materials is performed to establish the suitable materials and their properties for processing at the HIsarna demonstration plant. This analysis is essential to identify how these properties may affect the design of the storage and handling area. Second, the storage and handling area of the HIsarna pilot plant is analysed, particularly to identify the necessary processing steps and potential future bottlenecks of the HIsarna demonstration plant. Next, a design of the storage and handling area is created by using multi-criteria analyses and information obtained from literature. A simulation model, created in Simio® software and verified using several techniques, is used to examine the performance of the design, but also to investigate the affecting parameters; these are found by performing a fractional factorial design. Based on these results, optimal parameter settings are found to optimise the design. According to analyses performed, the suitable materials for HIsarna (besides the standard materials such as iron ore and coal) are by-products of the blast furnaces and the oxy steel plant: BF sludge, currently produced BOF sludge and historic BOF sludge. These materials are particularly interesting because of the high levels of iron, carbon and zinc. Less positive are the high moisture level, the stickiness and the inhomogeneity of composition. These might result in problems during processing. The following design is created: iron ore and coal will be transported by conveyor belt to the storage and handling area, historic BOF sludge by truck, and BF and currently produced BOF sludge by pipeline. Both the raw and handled materials will be stored in enclosed storage systems. Each material will be pre-processed at a dedicated handling line; all materials within the storage and handling area are transported by conveyor belt. The raw material storage of iron ore, coal and BOF sludge has a capacity for two days; and that of BF and currently produced BOF sludge for seven days. In addition, all handled material storages have a capacity of three days. Based on the results of the fractional factorial design, three designs for the storage and handling area are proposed. Each of the designs has a different starting point. The second design option provides the highest reliability and is recommended if financial resources are not a restrictive factor. The third design is an interesting choice when fewer financial resources are available but still an adequate reliability is aimed at. Finally, the first design results in the lowest reliability. This option may only be suggested when funds are limited. In all cases, redundancy can be added to the storage and handling area, increasing the reliability and decreasing the required storage capacity. All designs fit the selected location at the Tata Steel site, IJmuiden.


A gateless field-effect-transistor (FET) device fabricated on undoped AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMT) structure is investigated as a liquid-phase sensor. Good gate controllability for typical current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of FET is observed. This result shows that an undoped-AlGaN surface at the open-gate area is effectively controlled by the isolated gate voltage via chemical solution. Stable pH sensing operation in aqueous solution is observed where this device exhibits a high linear sensitivity of 3.88 mA/mm/pH at drain-source voltage, VDS = 5 V. Due to the occurrence of large leakage current, the Nernstian's like sensitivity is not observed. It is also found that the device is sensitive to changes in electrostatic boundary conditions of the polar liquids. This indicates that the change in dipole moment in each liquid causes the potential change at AlGaN surface.


Models of humans (operators, controllers) in human-machine systems have tacitly assumed that humans must have a model of the process in order to control it. Humans have therefore traditionally been described as information processing systems with an internal or mental model of the process as an important component. A more systemic or cybernetic view acknowledges that the human must be a model of the process in order to control it. This suggests a different approach to modelling, which is functional rather than structural, and where the emphasis is on how thejoint human-machine system can maintain control of a situation. A specific model, called the Contextual Control Model (COCOM), which is based on the principles of cognitive systems engineering, illustrates the approcach, COCOM provides a foundation for analysing controller performance as well as implementing controller needs.


In the mid 1990s the evolution of the English learner's dictionary reached a zenith with the appearance on the market of four advanced-level monolingual learners' dictionaries. Three of these were existing works, i.e. the Oxford Ad-vanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English (henceforth ALD), the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (henceforth LDOCE) and the Collins CO-BUILD English Language Dictionary (henceforth COBUILD), which marked, to differing extents, significant departures from the lexicographical procedures followed by their predecessors. The last one, the Cambridge International Dic-tionary of English (henceforth CIDE), was a completely new dictionary. This highly productive burst of lexicographical energy was also the catalyst for an even more productive and sustained body of metalexicographical research and writing that dealt with the topic of learners' dictionaries.


Smart Dust environment face additional challenges as a result of the use of movable Smart Dust basestation(BS), despite its benefits. The main point of contention is the BS positioning updates to the smart dust nodes. Each smart object ought to be aware of the BS location so that it can send its data to the BS. According to the prevailing Flooding approach, the moveable BS must continuously distribute its location throughout the network in order to inform smart dust nodes about the BS location. In every case, visit positioning upgrades from the BS can result in maximal power usage as well as enhanced network breakdowns. Different sorts of routing architectures can be used to reduce BS position updating. A routing strategy based on the movable BS is successful if it preserves the network network's power consumption and latencies to a minimum. The study's main goal is to develop an energy-efficient routing mechanism focused on adaptive movable BS modification. In the Smart Dust Head (SDH) establishing the inferred surroundings, the most latest movable BS location will be preserved. As a result, rather than soliciting SDH in the environment, the location of the BS is propagated to the smart dust nodes located at the sectors in integrated networking. By transmitting request information to the nearest sector, the remaining SDH can find the most current BS location. The message's recipient is determined based on the information gathered. The best fuzzy related clustering algorithm will be used to accomplish this. The Enhanced Oppositional grey wolf optimization (EOGWO) methodology can be used to perform the improvement. Optimum network throughput, low latency, and other metrics are used to assess performance. To enhance productivity, the findings will be analyzed and compared to previous routing methodologies.


Hepatic glucose production is critical for maintaining normoglycemia during periods of nutrient deprivation, and dysregulation of hepatic gluconeogenesis is integral to the development of diabetic hyperglycemia. In recent decades, the signaling cascades downstream of the principal physiologic stimuli that suppress (insulin) or induce (glucagon and glucocorticoids) gluconeogenesis have been examined in detail. These signaling pathways can affect glucose production at multiple regulatory levels, including by covalent modification of enzymes involved in glucose and glycogen metabolism, alterations in regulatory metabolite concentrations, and by transcriptional regulation of gluconeogenic enzymes to control the capacity for glucose production. Given that hepatic glucose metabolism is tightly regulated and important for the survival of the organism, it is not surprising that several complex and elegant mechanisms of gluconeogenic control have emerged.

It has been known for some time that attachment of several molecules of ubiquitin, a small 8.5 kDa protein, to other proteins regulates protein activity and stability, often by targeting the protein for proteasomal degradation (1). Ubiquitination of proteins is mediated by E3 ubiquitin ligases, while a large number of ubiquitin-specific proteases are known to act as deubiquinases. Recent studies have suggested that the process of ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation is a regulated step in controlling gluconeogenesis. The cAMP response element-binding protein–regulated transcriptional coactivator 2 (CRTC2) is a critical regulator of gluconeogenic enzyme expression (2). CRTC2 phosphorylation by the insulin signaling cascade leads …


Introduction. Written narratives are used to develop reflective skills in health care students during clinical education. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of using a framework in narrative writing to facilitate reflection in physical therapy students during their initial short-term clinical experiences. Subjects. Each of 20 written narratives by physical therapy students was explored during their first clinical short-term experience. Methods. Data analysis was an iterative process consisting of eight individual researchers and cross-group researcher analyses for the development of themes and levels of reflection. Descriptive statistics, percent agreement between pairs of researchers, was calculated based on the number of times the identical rating was assigned to a narrative by pairs of raters. The strength of agreement between researchers was measured using inferential statistics. Results. Five themes emerged; these were patient-centered care, professional role, ethical issues, critical thinking, and student and clinical instructor relationship. Researchers determined that all 20 narratives contained reflection compared with a previous study in which only 64% of the narratives examined contained reflective writing. Analysis showed percent agreement between eight researchers ranged from 60% to 85%, with a mean of 73%. The weighted Kappa scores ranged from fair to substantial agreement, with the exception of one rater who demonstrated poor agreement relative to the consensus. Conclusion. The results of this study support the use of a framework in narrative writing to foster reflection in physical therapy students during their initial clinical experiences. Consistent levels of reflection occur through the use of a model that helps students connect specific experiences with their thoughts and feelings about those experiences. There was moderate agreement among researchers in choosing levels of reflection across narratives.


The Internal Revenue Service has been authorized for many years to pay awards to individuals who blow the whistle on those who do not pay their taxes. But the whistleblower program was underused and ineffective. In 2006, Congress modified the whistleblower program to boost the IRS's authority to pay cash awards to tax whistleblowers. The premise of the article is that Congress did not go far enough in 2006 in light of the confidentiality restrictions in Internal Revenue Code Section 6103. As currently written, Section 6103 essentially prohibits the IRS from disclosing to the whistleblower tax information of the purportedly non-compliant taxpayer upon whom the whistle was blown, which creates at least three problems that the article addresses. The article examines the tension between the confidentiality provisions in Section 6103 and the IRS's whistleblower program and attempts to balance the competing interests of taxpayer privacy and tax administration.


A mechanistic model is presented on the processes leading to methane oxidation in rice rhizosphere. The model is driven by oxygen release from a rice root into anaerobic rice soil. Oxygen is consumed by heterotrophic and methanotrophic respiration, described by double Monod kinetics, and by iron oxidation, described by a second order reaction. Substrates for these reactions - ferrous iron, acetate and methane - are produced by an exponential time dependent organic matter mineralisation in combination with modified Michaelis Menten kinetics for competition for acetate and hydrogen. Compounds diffuse between rhizosphere, root and atmosphere. A diffusion resistance between the rice root and shoot is included. Active transport across the root surface occurs for root exudation and plant nutrient uptake. Iron adsorption is described dependent on pH. The model predicts well root oxygen release, compound gradients and compound concentrations in a rice rhizosphere. Methane oxidation estimates are comparable to experimental estimates. A sensitivity analysis showed however that methane oxidation is highly dependent on model initialisation and parameterisation, which is highly dependent on the history of the rhizosphere and root growth dynamics. Equilibrium is not obtained within the period that a single root influences a soil microsite and results in a large change in methane storage. Equilibrium is moreover dependent upon the diffusion resistance across the root surface. These factors make methane oxidation dynamics highly variable in space and time and dependent on root dynamics. The increased understanding of methane oxidation does not directly lead to increased predictive abilities, given this high variability and the uncertainties involved in rhizosphere dynamics.


Transport properties of 2D hole gases in (001)GaAs/Al0.5Ga0.5As heterostructures in the [1 = 10] and [110] directions have been investigated. In-plane uniaxial compression up to 5 kbar was applied in one or the other of the two directions, and measurements were performed in the temperature range 1.4 - 60 K and in a magnetic field up to 6 T. Without uniaxial compression the mobility is largest in the [1 = 10] direction, the [1 = 10]:[110] mobilities ratio attaining its largest values at low temperatures and high carrier densities. Interface roughness scattering together with acoustic phonon scattering is suggested to be the underlying phenomenon. Under uniaxial compression the electrical resistance decreases in the direction parallel to the compression, and it increases in the direction perpendicular to the compression. This behaviour is found to be in qualitative agreement with recent band structure calculations.


The characteristics of a cluster-structure parallel computer are analyzed and evaluated on the PIM/c parallel inference machine, which consists of eight-processor shared-memory clusters communicating through a processor connected to a network. To avoid communication bottlenecks, the maximum number of processors in a cluster is limited by the ratio of communication operations to program-execution operations. Since this ratio can be as high as 30% on the PIM/c, the network receiving operations should be distributed to processors in the same cluster.


Objective We aimed to investigate the long-term effects of atomoxetine on growth in Korean children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods The medical records of 82 subjects (mean age, 9.0±2.0 years; 64 boys) with ADHD treated with atomoxetine for at least 1 year at the Department of Psychiatry at Asan Medical Center were retrospectively reviewed. Height and weight data were prospectively obtained and retrospectively gathered and converted to age- and gender-corrected z scores using norms from Korean youths. Growth changes were analyzed using random coefficients models with changes in height or weight z scores as the dependent variables. Results Height z scores significantly decreased during the treatment period (β=-0.054, p=0.024). Height z scores decreased during the 1st year of treatment (β=-0.086, p=0.003), but did not change after the 1st year. Weight z scores did not change significantly during treatment (β=0.004, p=0.925). Conclusion Our results suggest that long-term atomoxetine treatment may be associated with deficits in height growth in Korean youths, although this effect was minor and tended to be attenuated over the first year. Because of the limitations of this study such as retrospective design and selection bias, further prospective studies are needed.


This paper focuses on analyzing the spatial pattern of residential burglaries in London, Ontario. It discusses the problems associated with using geo-referenced data on residential burglary incidents. The relative risk ratio is applied as a measure of the intensity of residential burglaries. The highest relative risks of residential burglaries are found in the core area of the city and the risks tend to decline with increasing distance from the city center. Another distinctive feature of the spatial pattern of residential burglaries is the west-east division. The east section of the city is characterized by higher risks of residential burglaries. The relationships between the spatial pattern and the contextual neighborhood variables are analyzed using the standard (global) multiple regression and the geographically weighted regression. It is demonstrated that the spatial pattern of residential burglaries is significantly related to the spatial patterns of socio-economic characteristics. Also, there are significant local variations in the relationships between the relative risk of residential burglary and the socio-economic characteristics of neighborhoods in London, Ontario.


Amphiphilic molecules with hydrophobic tails and hydrophilic heads form micelles of various shapes and sizes above a minimum threshold concentration known as the critical micelle concentration (CMC). The CMC as well as the size and the shape of the aggregates formed depend on various factors, e.g., the length of the amphiphiles, their internal rigidity, and temperature. In this letter we report the results of a detailed investigation of the dependence of the CMC on temperature for different lattice models of the amphiphilic self-assembly. Ensuring that the CMC can be unambiguously associated with a peak in the heat capacity as a function of the amphiphilic concentration, we show that for the amphiphiles of different lengths and head-to-tail ratios, the CMC decreases rapidly as a function of the chain length, consistently with the experimental results. However, for a given chain length, different lattice models predict that the CMC is always an increasing function of temperature. We point out that these lattice models, although widely used, are inadequate to explain the decrease of the CMC with temperature, seen experimentally for non-ionic surfactants.


We propose a mathematical model for corruption by considering awareness created by anti-corruption and counseling in jail. The model is proved to be both epidemiologically and mathematically well posed. We showed that all solutions of the model are positive and bounded with initial conditions in a certain meaningful set. The existence of unique corruption free and endemic equilibrium points are investigated and the basic reproduction number is computed. Then, we study the local asymptotic stability of these equilibrium points. The analysis shows that the system has a locally asymptotically stable corruption-free equilibrium point when the reproduction number is less than one and locally asymptotically stable endemic equilibrium point when the reproduction number is greater than one. The simulation result shows the agreement with the analytical results.


Objective: To present the epidemiological blocking measures carried out in the hospital care of patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Methodology: retrospective case series of four patients admitted to a referral hospital in southern Brazil, from June 2012 to June 2015. Results: Epidemiological profile: female, aged between 56 and 65anos only one with comorbid preview, all in palliative care, one death, a tall, two transfers to source hospitals. epidemiological blocking measures taken: mandatory notification of registration of CJD; standard precautions, identification and packaging materials for risk of transmission; disinfecting materials preceding sterilization; and handling of warranty and place of proper disposal of waste. Conclusions: The epidemiological control measures and resolutions regarding the management of these patients are recent. It is important that the health team appropriates the theme in order to provide proper care and quality.
KEY WORDS: Prions. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome. Epidemiological Monitoring.


A thesis submitted to department of management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of master of business administration (MBA)


Background

It remains unclear whether triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, a surrogate marker of IR, was prospectively associated with incident PAD.
Methods

 We included 12573 ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study) participants free of PAD at baseline (1987–1989). The TyG index was determined using ln(fasting triglycerides [mg/dL] × fasting glucose [mg/dL]/2), and measured during 5 visits between 1987 and 2013. Incident PAD was defined as the first hospitalization with PAD diagnosis. We quantified the association of both baseline and trajectories of TyG index with incident PAD using Cox regression and logistic regression analysis, respectively.
Results

Over a median follow-up of 23 years, there were 1331 cases of incident PAD. After adjustment for traditional PAD risk factors, each 1-SD (0.58) increase in TyG index was associated with an 18.9% higher risk of incident PAD (hazard ratio, 1.189 [95% CI, 1.106–1.278]). Results were similar when individuals were categorized by TyG index quartiles (hazard ratio, 1.363 [95% CI, 1.125–1.652]; comparing extreme quartiles). Four distinct trajectories of TyG index were identified (low-increasing [43.0%], moderate-stable [22.3%], moderate-decreasing [27.6%], and high-decreasing [7.1%]). Trajectories of elevated TyG index levels had greater incident PAD after multivariable adjustment for potential cardiovascular risks. Compared with moderate-stable group (reference), high-decreasing group was associated with the highest risk of future incident PAD (odds ratio, 2.314 [95%CI, 1.687–3.175]).
Conclusion

Higher TyG index is independently associated with incident PAD. Long-term trajectories of TyG index help identify individuals at a higher risk of future PAD who deserve appropriate follow-up to detect asymptomatic disease.


The Yara Siilinjarvi plant is located in central Finland. The site consists of a mine, two sulphuric acid plants, one phosphoric acid plant, one nitric acid plant and one NPK fertiliser plant. The Siilinjarvi mine produces about 1 Mt of apatite concentrate, which creates approximately 10 Mt of tailings per year.
At the beginning of 2017, tailings handling in Yara Siilinjarvi was brought into a new era, when the conventional tailings storage facility was replaced with a new tailings treatment plant. The new high-density tailings disposal system with two deep cone-type paste thickeners increased the percentage of solids in the slurry from 45–48% to 66–69%, making it possible to deposit as paste. This extended the lifetime of the current tailings storage facility by 15 years – from 2020 until 2035.
The rheology of the tailings in Siilinjarvi is unique, due to the minerology of the slurry. In particular, the high content of coarse mica makes thickener operation challenging and makes high-density pumping sensitive to disturbances. Therefore, the importance of process control cannot be underestimated. An advanced control system is needed to maintain process stability and the desired operation point in varying running situations.
This paper presents the results from applying a multivariable, optimising control strategy to two paste thickeners at the Yara Siilinjarvi plant. The presented solution is based on a separate advanced control tools (ACT) platform, and it can be cost-effectively utilised with any customer distributed control system/ programmable logic controller (DCS/PLC) system available. With the ready-made application package, implementation is straightforward, and only a minimal amount of system-specific tailoring is needed. The ACT system in Yara is highly integrated with the plant DCS, so that the operators have full access to the user interface, alarms, interlockings, history data and documentation through the DCS displays.
Long-term follow-up shows that with the optimising control, the Yara paste thickeners can consistently run with underflow solids content of 66–68% to average beach slope angles of 3.5° (6.1%) in the tailings disposal area. Additionally, this control system facilitates the minimum use of flocculant, which means
10–20% savings in the flocculant costs. Robust thickener operation also leads to trouble-free high-density pumping and high availability of the paste plant.


Actual insertion of halogen in the Y-Ba-Cu-O structure was achieved by a solid-gas reaction under a flow of diluted halogenating vapours (NF3, CCl4). Superconducting properties of 1:2:3 pellets with different oxygen contents (x=6, 6.7 and 7) are modified by halogen insertion, in particular the Tc is enhanced (from 63 K up to 89-90 K) in the YBa2Cu3O6.7 phase, while insulating YBa2Cu3O6 turns into a superconductor. The authors report on the magnetic properties of the YBa2Cu3O7Haly and YBa2Cu3O6.7Haly (where Hal=F and Cl) phases. The trapped field deduced from ZFC/FC cycles, and the critical current densities deduced from the magnetized hysteresis depend on the type of the halogen inserted.


Following some experiences of bending stiffeners fatigue failures during full scale tests performed at Flexi France on flexible pipe and stiffener assemblies, Technip decided to launch in 1999 a major research program on fatigue life analysis of bending stiffeners made of Polyurethane material. This fatigue life assessment is now systematically performed by Technip for all new design of flexible riser bending stiffeners. This totally innovative method comprises a number of features as follows: Firstly fatigue behaviour of polyurethane material is described. The theoretical background, based on effective strain intensity factor, is detailed, together with experimental results on laboratory notched samples, solicited under strain control for various strain ratios, to obtain fatigue data. These fatigue data are well fitted by a power law defining the total number of cycles at break as a function of the effective strain intensity factor. The notion of fatigue threshold, below which no propagation is observed, is also demonstrated. Secondly the design used by Technip for its bending stiffeners, and most of all the critical areas regarding fatigue for these massive polyurethane structures are presented. Thirdly the methodology for fatigue life assessment of bending stiffeners in the critical areas defined above is discussed. Calibration of the strain calculation principle is presented versus finite element analysis. Based on all fatigue test results, the size of the equivalent notch to be considered at design stage, in the same critical areas, is discussed. Finally, a comprehensive calibration of the methodology according to full and middle scale test results is presented. The present paper is therefore a step forward in the knowledge of fatigue behaviour of massive polyurethane bending stiffener structures, which are critical items for flexible risers integrity, and widely used in the offshore industry. The confidence in bending stiffeners reliability is greatly enhanced by the introduction of this innovative methodology developed by Technip.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


Industry 4.0 has shaped the way people look at the world and interact with it, especially concerning the work environment with respect to occupational safety and health (OSH). Machine learning (ML), as a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI), can be effectively used to create expert systems to exhibit intelligent behavior to provide solutions to complicated problems and finally process massive data. Therefore, a study is proposed to provide the best methodological practice in the light of ML. Alongside the review of previous investigations, the following research aims to determine the ML approaches appropriate to OSH issues. In other words, highlighting specific ML methodologies, which have been employed successfully in others areas. Bearing this objective in mind, one can identify an appropriate ML technique to solve a problem in the OSH domain. Accordingly, several questions were designed to conduct the research. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for Protocols and Systematic Reviews were used to draw the research outline. The chosen databases were SCOPUS, PubMed, Science Direct, Inspect, and Web of Science. A set of keywords related to the topic were defined, and both exclusion and inclusion criteria were determined. All of the eligible papers will be analyzed, and the extracted information will be included in an Excel form sheet. The results will be presented in a narrative-based form. Additionally, all tables summarizing the most important findings will be offered.


The effectiveness of unreplicated multi-site yield tests was evaluated by using data from 82 trials involving 16 sets of entries including cultivars or advanced breeding lines each grown on four-seven sites per year over an 11-year period. For each data set, entry means and ranks over sites were calculated using, first, all replications (usually four, but sometimes three) at each site; and, second, one of the four (or three) replications selected at random at each site. The estimates of entry mean yields over sites by using only one replicate were highly and positively correlated with estimates using all available data. The correlations varied from +0.88 to +0.98 with a mean, over all 16 data sets, of +0.94. In addition, if the 10 highest yielding entries were selected on the basis of unreplicated trials at several sites, the top five entries according to multi-replicate trials were invariably retained. It is concluded that un~eplicated multi-site tests offer breeders an effective and efficient means of identifying high yielding genotypes, particularly early in the breeding program when seed supplies are limited.


Purpose: To evaluate and characterize debris retrieved from the cerebral embolic protection devices (EPDs) used during carotid artery stenting (CAS) and compare debris size, volume, tissue types, cellular composition, and protein biomarker expression in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Methods: Distal protection filters were retrieved from 22 consecutive patients (mean age 71.6 years, range 52–85; 16 men) undergoing elective CAS between July 2012 and February 2014 for >70% internal carotid artery stenosis (mean 85.4%±10.3%). Six patients were symptomatic. The debris within each EPD was visually characterized using stereomicroscopy and then processed for histology and immunohistochemistry. Biomarkers were immunohistochemically measured to evaluate plaque stability [matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9)], inflammation [glycoprotein CD68 and interleukin-6 (IL-6)], or phenotype [smooth muscle (SM)-actin and type IV collagen]. The immunohistochemical results were measured using semiquantitative grading criteria based on both staining intensity and distribution in the samples. Results: Macroscopic debris was visible in 5/22 EPDs; 3 of the 5 filters came from symptomatic patients. Microscopic debris was detected in all filters and ranged in size from 0.01 to 8.57 mm2. Debris consisted of calcified, fibrous, and necrotic tissue, as well as fibrin and foam cells with no significant difference between the symptomatic and asymptomatic groups. There was no association between the degree or type of embolic material and stenosis severity, carotid tortuosity, calcium grade, soft plaque, or arch type. Symptomatic patients had a larger volume of debris (8.24 vs 0.58 mm3, p<0.01), mean particle size (1.30 vs 0.32 mm2, p<0.001), and expression of biomarkers IL-6 (2.17 vs 0.81, p<0.05), CD68 (2.00 vs 0.38, p<0.01), SM-actin (1.00 vs 0.25, p=0.055), type IV collagen (1.17 vs 0.25,p=0.082), and MMP-9 (1.00 vs 0.06, p<0.05). Conclusion: Histological analysis revealed particulate embolization in all EPDs used during CAS. Symptomatic patients had a larger volume of embolic debris, mean particle size, and the biomarkers associated with inflammation, necrotic core, and diminished fibrous cap.


The regulation of food intake plays a major role in controlling energy availability in organisms. Feeding regulation needs to be robust to common perturbations, to ensure continued thriving of the organism. Here, I present the behavioral response of an animal to challenging feeding conditions: We assay low and temporally-varying levels of food, as well as feeding after stressful sleep-deprivation. I test the effect of these conditions in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which is a model organism that shares conserved regulatory mechanisms with insects and vertebrates. ,First, I describe a scalable automated method for measuring the food intake of \textit{C. elegans} in controlled environments. This approach enables unbiased measurements for prolonged periods, high throughput, and the possibility of controlled, dynamically changing feeding environments. The automated analysis compares well with scoring pumping by visual inspection, a common practice in the field. ,I then apply our automated method to investigate the regulation of feeding in response to variable food levels. Animals need to regulate their food intake in response to the availability of food in the environment. Frequently, animals have to integrate information from the environment to decide whether to expend energy feeding, or wait until conditions improve. I find that animals upregulate their feeding rate by changing the time spent in bursts of rapid pumping relative to pauses. We expose the animals to a dynamically changing environment with pulses of high and no food. We find that animals respond stochastically, only upregulating their pumping rate in response to some of the high food pulses, with no apparent pattern. This behavior cannot be explained by traditional models of feeding.,Using our newly developed tracking method, we investigate the effect of sleep deprivation on the highly active tissue of the pharynx. We show that during the last developmental stage of the organism, animals are vulnerable to damage through sleep deprivation. We find that adult animals exhibit deficits in feeding 12 hours after deprivation. Moreover, feeding defects were exacerbated when a transcription factor active during stressful periods and effective in mitigating downstream damage was inactive. We show that these downstream effects include the mitochondrial unfolded protein response and endoplasmatic reticulum stress. These observations link cellular damage directly to sleep deprivation, indicating that a protective mechanism exists to shield adult feeding behavior from damage.,Finally, I show that an information-theoretic model can recapitulate key features of the animals' feeding behavior. We find that the temporal pattern of feeding behavior is shaped by a balance between the need to obtain information about a changing environment and the exploitation of the available food. The model shows how a feeding pattern consisting of bursts and pauses can be advantageous for an animal. The model also accounts for stochastic responses to oscillating food levels, which was observed experimentally. ,Taken together, these results show how a quantitative description of behavior can be used to understand strategies that animals employ to ensure survival in challenging conditions.


There are no conclusive data regarding the association between dyslipidemia and the risk of ischemic stroke (IS). Clinical investigations have primarily focused on the association between elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol as stroke risk factors. Much less scientific attention has been aimed at elevated levels of triglycerides. Consequently the potential role of hypertriglyceridemia as an independent risk factor for IS remains controversial. However, accumulating evidence has shown that hypertriglyceridemia is associated with pathophysiological processes such as endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis and the production of a prothrombotic state, which could contribute to IS risk. The aim of this review is to critically analyze the contribution of hypertriglyceridemia to the occurrence of IS.


Pax6 plays an important role in embryonic cell (ES) differentiation during embryonic development. Expression of Pax6 undergoes from a low level to high levels following ES cell differentiation to neural stem cells, and then fades away in most of the differentiated cell types. There is a limited knowledge concerning how Pax6 is regulated in ES cell differentiation. We report that Pax6 expression in mouse ES cells was controlled by CCCTC binding factor (CTCF) through a promoter repression mechanism. Pax6 expression was significantly enhanced while CTCF activity was kept in the constant during ES cell differentiation to radial glial cells. Instead, the interaction of CTCF with Pax6 gene was regulated by decreased CTCF occupancy in its binding motifs upstream from Pax6 P0 promoter following the course of ES cell differentiation. Reduced occupancy of CTCF in the binding motif region upstream from the P0 promoter was due to increased DNA methylations in the CpG sites identified in the region. Furthermore, changes in DNA methylation levels in vitro and in vivo effectively altered methylation status of these identified CpG sites, which affected ability of CTCF to interact with the P0 promoter, resulting in increases in Pax6 expression. We conclude that there is an epigenetic mechanism involving regulations of Pax6 gene during ES cell differentiation to neural stem cells, which is through increases or decreases in methylation levels of Pax6 gene to effectively alter the ability of CTCF in control of Pax6 expression, respectively.


Purpose: Despite the reduced incidence and mortality of gastric cancer, this illness still remains the second leading cause of cancer death in Korea. Various adjuvant chemotherapies have been proposed for patients with advanced gastric cancer. Randomized trials comparing chemotherapies with best supportive care have consistently shown that cytotoxic treatment is of some benefit. Nevertheless, there has been no major improvement in the overall prognosis of advanced gastric cancer. Methods: We have examined the chemotherapy sensitivity of advanced gastric cancer specimens by using an ex vivo ATP based chemosensitivity assay (ATP-TCA). A variety of chemotherapeutic agents were tested. The one hundred and forty specimens we tested were from resection specimens. Results: The histological tumor classification, lymphatic invasion, neural invasion and venous invasion affected the chemosensitivity of some drugs. 5-FU was a more potent drug than cisplatin, doxorubicin, iriontecan and methotrexate. The chemosensitivity of differentiated cancer was different compared to that of undifferentiated cancer. Doxorubicin and iriontecan were more effective in poorly differentiated, signet ring cell and diffuse type cancers. The manner of tumor invasion affected the chemosensitivity to some drugs. Conclusison: Further study is necessary to assess the effectiveness of some chemotherapy drugs on advanced gastric cancer, including their effect on tumor recurrence and patient survival.


To the ability of the fentanyl patch to control pain in a postoperative canine model, we provided two male beagles with 25-mg/h patches and two with 50-mg/h patches 24 h prior to surgery. Each animal underwent a major abdominal surgical procedure to place three separate catheters with associated vascular access ports. Serum plasma levels of fentanyl were analyzed at multiple time points throughout the study period. Animals were subjectively assessed for postoperative pain by using a Simple Descriptive Scale at regular intervals postoperatively. Other parameters observed and recorded included heart and respiration rates, rectal temperature, appetite, and activity. The fentanyl patch appeared to adequately control postoperative pain in our canine abdominal surgical model. Three animals demonstrated mild pain 1 to 2 h postoperatively. Two animals, one from each dose group, showed mild pain 8 h postoperatively. Mild pain is commensurate with USDA category C, which encompasses procedures that do not result in more than momentary or slight pain or distress and do not require intervention. At no other time points were any of the animals considered to be in pain. Our study also suggested that increased subcutaneous fat delayed the rate of absorption of fentanyl. The lower body-weight beagles, which had the 25-mg/h patches, reached reported human serum analgesic levels within 8 h after placement, whereas the heavier beagles with the 50-mg/h patches reached human serum analgesic levels 12 h after placement. Fentanyl concentrations remained at the reported human analgesic levels in all animals between 2 to 4 h after the patches were removed. Regardless of the dose, decreases in heart rate, respiration rate, and temperature were observed in all four animals 12 h after placing the patches. Issues regarding the regulatory requirements to prevent drug abuse, the side effects and potency of fentanyl, and the prolonged duration of action as a transdermal system should be addressed by the veterinarian when considering usage of this analgesic method.


Cannibalism has been reported in a large proportion of coccinellids in fields as well as in laboratories but studies involving mate preferences and potential benefits of cannibalism on reproduction in Menochilus sexmaculatus Fabricius (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)have yet not been done. Thus, we assessed the effect of conspecific egg cannibalism on mate preferences and reproductive outputs including offspring development. Higher mate preferences were recorded for non-cannibal mates (fed on A. craccivora) than cannibal ones (fed on conspecific eggs). Mating parameters significantly influenced by cannibalism. Time to commence mating lasted less for homogeneous diet pairs than heterogeneous diet pairs. Longer copulation duration and higher fecundity were recorded when one of the individuals in mating pair or both was a non-cannibal. Egg viability did not differed significantly in all reciprocal crosses. Total developmental durations of offspring were similar for all mating pairs.


Motion-adaptive radiotherapy aims to deliver a conformal dose to the target tumour with minimal normal tissue exposure by compensating for tumour motion in real time. The prediction as well as the gating of respiratory motion have received much attention over the last two decades for reducing the targeting error of the treatment beam due to respiratory motion. In this article, we present a real-time algorithm for predicting and gating respiratory motion that utilizes a model-based and a model-free Bayesian framework by combining them in a cascade structure. The algorithm, named EKF-GPR+, implements a gating function without pre-specifying a particular region of the patient's breathing cycle. The algorithm first employs an extended Kalman filter (LCM-EKF) to predict the respiratory motion and then uses a model-free Gaussian process regression (GPR) to correct the error of the LCM-EKF prediction. The GPR is a non-parametric Bayesian algorithm that yields predictive variance under Gaussian assumptions. The EKF-GPR+ algorithm utilizes the predictive variance from the GPR component to capture the uncertainty in the LCM-EKF prediction error and systematically identify breathing points with a higher probability of large prediction error in advance. This identification allows us to pause the treatment beam over such instances. EKF-GPR+ implements the gating function by using simple calculations based on the predictive variance with no additional detection mechanism. A sparse approximation of the GPR algorithm is employed to realize EKF-GPR+ in real time. Extensive numerical experiments are performed based on a large database of 304 respiratory motion traces to evaluate EKF-GPR+. The experimental results show that the EKF-GPR+ algorithm effectively reduces the prediction error in a root-mean-square (RMS) sense by employing the gating function, albeit at the cost of a reduced duty cycle. As an example, EKF-GPR+ reduces the patient-wise RMS error to 37%, 39% and 42% in percent ratios relative to no prediction for a duty cycle of 80% at lookahead lengths of 192 ms, 384 ms and 576 ms, respectively. The experiments also confirm that EKF-GPR+ controls the duty cycle with reasonable accuracy.


The pioneers of otology conducted exhaustive researches into certain non-suppurative diseases of the middle ear, with singularly unproductive and disheartening results. Even at the present day, so few real advances in treatment have been achieved, that this particular branch of medical science is commonly regarded as a limbo, with portals bearing the grim inscription "lasciate ogni speranza." Molinie exhorts his readers to renewed efforts. He claims, apparently with every justification, that considerable refinement of technique is rendered possible by his magnifying binocular otoscope and his instruments for mobilising each ossicle separately. The otoscope, of prismatic construction, is fitted with an electric headlight and is supported on a head band. The binocular image which it affords facilitates direct instrumental movement of each ossicle, which, according to Molinie, is a great advance on the methods of Siegle, Delstanche, and Lucae. For teaching purposes lateral prolongations enable an observer on each side of the examiner to share the view. Judging from the illustrations, the otoscope is also well adapted, as its designer intends, for all forms of endoscopic work. The book, which contains ninety pages, gives various notes on the application of electricity in chronic aural disease.


In this study I examine the linguistic and theological contours of the term (tôrâ) in Ezra-Nehemiah—particularly the identification of with the law () of God promulgated by Ezra (Ezra 7:14)—through the lens of Old Persian and Avestan notions of "the law set down (dāta)" by Ahura Mazda and revealed through Zarathustra. While the basic notion of divine revelation of laws through the mediation of Moses emerges already in preexilic biblical texts, I posit that the innovative link drawn by the authors of Ezra-Nehemiah between the Old Persian and Avestan term dāta (via Aramaic ) and the Hebrew reflects a broader and more comprehensive impact of Avestan traditions, mediated by Achaemenid ideology, on the construction and conceptualization of Mosaic in Ezra-Nehemiah. Weighing in on the ongoing debate over the range of imperial authorization of local legislation and cult in Judea, Egypt, and Asia Minor, I argue that the Achaemenids, who were probably involved in certain aspects of the codification and canonization of textual, legal, and theological manifestations of Zoroastrianism, functioned as agents (whether actively or passively) in facilitating and reinforcing the adaptation by the Babylonian-Judean scribes of Avestan notions of divine revelation of the law and scriptural unity linked to personal authority.


Fibronectin (FN) is a glycoprotein of approximately 220 kDa, whose mRNA has three alternative splicing sites (termed EDA, EDB and IIICS) that allow 20 different isoforms of FN mRNA. Circulating plasma FN lacks both EDA and EDB segments and is a soluble form secreted by the hepatocytes, while cellular FN contains variable proportions of EDA and EDB segments and is organized as fibrils in the tissue matrix. FN containing EDA segment (EDA FN) presents unique biochemical properties as compared to the isoform lacking this domain, specifically: 1) pro-fibrotic, as the EDA-containing isoform becomes predominantly expressed during wound healing to sustain myofibroblast differentiation; 2) pro-inflammatory, as inclusion of EDA domain activates Toll Like Receptor 4 (TLR4), involved in the defense of the innate immune response following recognition of pathogens associated molecular patterns resulting in NF-κβ-dependent cytokine release; 3) pro-thrombotic, as EDA FN was shown to promote agonist-induced platelet aggregation and thrombus formation in vivo through TLR4 dependent mechanisms. EDA FN is instrumental in fibrogenesis but, to date, its expression and function in bone marrow (BM) fibrosis have not been explored. We identified the up-regulation, at both molecular and protein levels, of EDA FN in an experimental mouse model of BM fibrosis treated with supra-pharmacological doses of the thrombopoietin (TPO) mimetic Romiplostim (TPOhigh). Higher expression levels of EDA FN were detected in endothelial and stromal cells after inducing experimental fibrosis in wild type (WT) mice as compared to untreated controls. To unravel the role of EDA segment on the progression of BM fibrosis in vivo, we exploited two unique transgenic mouse models that present an aberrant splicing of the EDA exon. Mice with constitutive inclusion of EDA exon (EIIIA+/+), in tissues, were more prone to BM fibrosis development as compared to knockout mice (EIIIA-/-). Upon fibrosis induction with TPO mimetic treatment, EIIIA+/+ mice presented extensive reticulin deposition, thrombocytosis, splenomegaly and increased extra-medullary hematopoiesis.
 Applying numerous in vitro methods, we demonstrated that EDA FN as opposed to plasma FN lacking the EDA domain, induces megakaryocyte (Mk) proliferation in a TPO-independent fashion through engagement of TLR4 and activation of STAT5 and ERK 1/2 signalling pathways. Additionally, in vitro activation of EDA FN/TLR4 axis on Mks resulted in lipopolysaccharide-like responses, such as NF-kb activation, the release of pro-fibrotic Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and no anti-fibrotic TNF-a. Pharmacological inhibition of TLR4 in TPOhigh and EIIIA+/+/TPOhigh mice or TLR4 deletion in TPOhigh mice abrogated Mk hyperplasia, BM fibrosis, IL-6 release, extramedullary hematopoiesis and splenomegaly. Finally, developing a novel ELISA assay, we analysed samples from patients affected by primary myelofibrosis (PMF). PMF is one of the Philadelphia-negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPNs), a group of heterogeneous clonal disorders affecting the hematopoietic stem cell. MPNs are characterised by neoplastic proliferation of the myeloid lineage leading to an abnormal increase of platelet count in essential thrombocythemia (ET), red blood cells in polycythemia vera (PV), or Mks with BM fibrosis in primary myelofibrosis (PMF). To date, three major driver mutations have been identified affecting, respectively, the TPO receptor gene (MPL), the intracellular Janus Kinase 2 gene (JAK2) and the latest discovered mutations affecting the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) molecular chaperone calreticulin gene (CALR). All of these mutations induce a permanent activation of the JAK/STAT signalling pathways. We found that the EDA FN is increased in plasma and BM biopsies of PMF patients, as compared to healthy controls and ET patients, correlating with the fibrotic phase. In conclusion, we identified EDA FN/TLR4 as a new pathological axis that sustains Mk expansion and inflammation during BM fibrosis progression. EDA FN and TLR4 targeting has very promising potential for new therapeutic approaches in PMF patients with high phase BM fibrosis.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Background: Adolescent pregnancy is one of the most common public health issues in the world today, causing harm to the fetus, mother, and newborn .World Health Organization (WHO) defined adolescents as individuals between the age of 10 and 19 years old, and according to the ,  adolescents make up approximately 20% of the world's population.
Objective: To identify and compare the adverse pregnancy outcomes among two age groups of pregnant women attended Kirkuk city hospitals.
Methods:A Quantitative (descriptive) study design was carried out between October  2022 and may 2023 on a sample of 280women, aged less than or equal to 19years old&more than or equal to 35 years. Purposive sample selected from 3 main hospitals in  Kirkuk City. A structured questionnaire was employed as an instrument for data collection. SPSS version22.0 was used for data entry and analysis. Both descriptive and inferential statistical methods  used.
Results: A total of 280 mothers participated, both groups were primary school graduated ,house wife with insufficient income. Adolescent group had 1-2 gravida & para, While advanced age had from 3-4 with delivery by CS for both groups. Significant relationship of maternal  outcome found as complication before labor as placenta previa ,gestational hypertension, eclampsia and  olighydrominos. In addition for neonatal outcome need to admission to neonatal intensive care unit and early neonatal death had significant relationship at p ˂ 0.05.
Conclusions: No significant relationships were accounted for between  the distribution of maternal outcomes among both groups, and the expectation for some complications before labor, a significant relationship at P<0.05 according to the need for neonatal intensive care unit admission & neonatal death among both age groups.


Several mutants of Escherichia coli that had lost their ability to synthesize delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) via the C5 pathway were isolated. Their defective loci were classified into two groups, AlaA- and AlaB-. The genes that complemented these mutations were cloned. Nucleotide sequencing indicated that the gene that complemented AlaA- was identical to hemL which is located at 4 min on the E. coli chromosome and encodes glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase. The gene complementing AlaB- contained an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 207 amino acids that was found to be a new gene involved in the synthesis of ALA via the C5 pathway. Thus, we designated the gene hemM. The hemM gene was adjacent to hemA that is located at 27 min and previously thought to encode glutamyl-tRNA dehydrogenase. However, we found that hemA complemented both the AlaA- (hemL) and AlaB- (hemM) mutants defective in the C5 pathway although the transformants showed small colonies on the selective medium without ALA. These results suggest that hemA is not involved in the C5 pathway, but controls a second, minor pathway for the synthesis of ALA.


A local cricket club has been given more than £2000 to help improve the quality of coaching they offer local youngsters The money given to Swardston Cricket Club is a grant from South Norfolk Council's Neighbourhood Chair Fund and will be used to bu


Evolutionary algorithms have proven to be highly effective in continuous optimization, especially when numerous fitness function evaluations (FFEs) are possible. In certain cases, however, an expensive optimization approach (i.e. with relatively low number of FFEs) must be taken, and such a setting is considered in this work. The paper introduces an extension to the well-known LSHADE algorithm in the form of a pre-screening mechanism (psLSHADE). The proposed pre-screening relies on the three following components: a specific initial sampling procedure, an archive of samples, and a global linear meta-model of a fitness function that consists of 6 independent transformations of variables. The pre-screening mechanism preliminary assesses the trial vectors and designates the best one of them for further evaluation with the fitness function. The performance of psLSHADE is evaluated using the CEC2021 benchmark in an expensive scenario with an optimization budget of 102 - 104 FFEs per dimension. We compare psLSHADE with the baseline LSHADE method and the MadDE algorithm. The results indicate that with restricted optimization budgets psLSHADE visibly outperforms both competitive algorithms. In addition, the use of the pre-screening mechanism results in faster population convergence of psLSHADE compared to LSHADE.


Data of 130 patients with thunderclap headache are presented. The data include clinical manifestation analysis and neuroimaging results (magnetic resonance angiography). Magnetic resonance angiography was performed 15 days after acute clinical manifestation and permitted to verify cerebral vasoconstriction, that led to treatment modification with clinical and neuroimaging signs of vasoconstriction reverse.


A case of pleural effusion is reported. Pleural biopsy showed microfilariae on histopathological examination. Treatment with diethyl carbamazine yielded excellent results. Filarial aetiology should be included in the differential diagnosis of idiopathic pleural effusions, especially in endemic areas.


Lossless block-to-variable length source coding is studied for finite-state, finite-alphabet sources. The aim is to minimize the probability that the normalized length of the codeword will exceed a given threshold B, subject to the Kraft inequality. It is shown that the Lempel-Ziv algorithm (1978) asymptotically attains the optimal performance in the sense just defined, independently of the source and the value of B. For the subclass of unifilar Markov sources, faster convergence to the asymptotic optimum performance can be accomplished by using the minimum-description-length universal code for this subclass. It is demonstrated that these universal codes are also nearly optimal in the sense of minimizing buffer overflow probability, and asymptotically optimal in a competitive sense. >


This study aims to describe the types of learning resources used previously at SMA N 3 Salatiga, describe the feasibility of Biomagz Based on Local Wisdom, and test the effectiveness of Biomagz Based on Local Wisdom on learning outcomes and student's environmental care attitude. The method used is research development (R & D). Products are validated by material and media validators, and revised before being tested. Small-scale trials (readability test) use 10 students from class X MIPA 1, while large-scale trials use class X MIPA 2 with the experimental design Pre-experimental Design with the type of Pre-test and Post-test One Group Design. The results of the study show the variety of learning resources used previously including biological, teacher, internet, biology books, and the environment around students. The Feasibility of Biomagz Based on Local Wisdom obtained an average score of 92.21% with very decent criteria. Large-scale trials with an average N-gain value 0.49 in the medium category, the average classical completeness is 85.29%, and the environment care attitude of students is based on the observation result of 92.9% with a high category and the result of the inter-student assessment is 86, 18% with a high category. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that Biomagz Based Local Wisdom is well worth and effective on learning outcomes and student's environmental care attitude.


The efficiency of PCB routing is determined by the quality of the placement of electronic components on the board. The placement of the two-port elements under the BGA-component, although being a local task, is labor-intensive. This paper describes the technique of arranging the decoupling capacitors under the BGA component, including determining the position of the capacitor relative to the matrix pins, positioning and orientation of the capacitor near the equipotential pin of the chip and the sequence of capacitors placement. Formulas that allow estimating the possibility or impossibility of placing the two-port element in a specific position are given. The technique is currently being implemented in the domestic CAD system TopoR.


Little objective evidence has been published to support the claim that constipation is an important contributory factor in recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) in childhood. Using a radiological scoring system, two observers assessed faecal loading from abdominal radiographs of children with proved UTIs. There was a significant increase in the degree of faecal loading in children with UTI when compared with controls (r = 0.237). This difference was mainly accounted for by girls with recurrent (greater than five) UTIs. This study confirms an association between recurrent UTI and faecal loading. Further studies are needed to establish if there is a causal relationship and benefits from treatment.


This article offers an account of a conceptual framework in Max Weber's writings offering leverage on empirical, normative, and theoretical questions. Weber relied on the notion of Voraussetzung—presupposition—across his work to distinguish the criteria of concepts of empirical phenomena, accounts of such phenomena, and conditions shaping evaluative stands among alternative courses of action. Weber also refers to Denkvoraussetzungen—presuppositions of thought—which refer to sets of fundamental principles structuring experience. Presuppositions of thought represent historically specific metaphysical and ontological orientations. Based on a systematic analysis of Weber's work, this article reconstructs the three main forms taken by the concept Voraussetzung in Weber's writings (i.e., structuring logics, value stands, and presuppositions of thought). This article challenges sociologists to identify presuppositions of thought and to describe their ramifications throughout society.


We discuss the nonlinear transformations of standard Poincar\'{e} symmetry in the context of recently introduced Doubly Special Relativity (DSR) theories. We introduce four classes of modified relativistic theories with three of them describing various DSR frameworks. We consider four examples of modified relativistic symmetries, which illustrate each of the considered class.


Chloroquine and NH4Cl, potent inhibitors of lysosomal function, decreased the production of infectious Sindbis virus particles in BHK-21 cells by 10- and 12-fold, respectively. There were no apparent toxic effects on cells exposed to these lysosomotropic agents. These chemicals did not alter the rate of cellular protein synthesis, with the exception of a reversible twofold inhibition by chloroquine. No additive effects of chloroquine and NH4Cl were observed when the cells were saturated with these weak bases, which suggests that their effect is exerted via the same mechanism, most likely as a result of an increase in lysosomal pH. The reduction in the formation of Sindbis virions was monitored by incorporation of [35S]methionine and shown to be fourfold by chloroquine or NH4Cl at 5 h postinfection but negligible at 11 h postinfection. These results strongly suggest that a productive Sindbis virus infection requires functional lysosomes. Thus, endocytosis is probably the main infectious mechanism for penetration of this virus into BHK-21 cells.


In this work, we present a joint theoretical and experimental study on electron scattering by C2H4 in the intermediate energy range. Calculated elastic differential, integral, and momentum-transfer as well as total (elastic + inelastic) and absorption cross sections are reported at impact energies ranging from 10 to 500 eV. Also, experimental absolute elastic cross sections are reported in the 100–500 eV range. The measurements were performed using a crossed electron beam–molecular beam geometry. The angular distributions of the scattered electrons were converted to absolute cross sections using the relative flow technique. Theoretically, a complex optical potential was used to represent the electron–molecule interaction dynamics. The Schwinger variational iterative method combined with the distorted-wave approximation was used to solve the scattering equations. The comparison between our calculated and measured results, as well as with other experimental and theoretical data available in the literature, is encouraging.


Despite the high profile of amphetamine, there have been relatively few structural studies of its salt forms. The lack of any halide salt forms is surprising as the typical synthetic route for amphetamine initially produces the chloride salt. (S)-Amphetamine hydrochloride [systematic name: (2S)-1-phenylpropan-2-aminium chloride], C9H14N(+)·Cl(-), has a Z' = 6 structure with six independent cation-anion pairs. That these are indeed crystallographically independent is supported by different packing orientations of the cations and by the observation of a wide range of cation conformations generated by rotation about the phenyl-CH2 bond. The supramolecular contacts about the anions also differ, such that both a wide variation in the geometry of the three N-H...Cl hydrogen bonds formed by each chloride anion and differences in C-H...Cl contacts are apparent. (S)-Amphetamine hydrobromide [systematic name: (2S)-1-phenylpropan-2-aminium bromide], C9H14N(+)·Br(-), is broadly similar to the hydrochloride in terms of cation conformation, the existence of three N-H...X hydrogen-bond contacts per anion and the overall two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded sheet motif. However, only the chloride structure features organic bilayers and Z' > 1.


We argue that heterogeneity is hindering technological innovation in the home—homes differ in terms of their devices and how those devices are connected and used. To abstract these differences, we propose to develop a homewide operating system. A HomeOScan simplify application development and let users easily add functionality by installing new devices or applications. The development of such an OS is an inherently interdisciplinary exercise. Not only must the abstractions meet the usual goals of being efficient and easy to program, but the underlying primitives must also match how users want to manage and secure their home. We describe the preliminary design of HomeOSand our experience with developing applications for it.


A competitive business environment makes the company maximize employee performance with high work standards. This has a bad impact when the pressure that occurs makes employees feel the workload carried out exceeds their capacity (work overload). This should be watched out because it can result in work exhaustion and a desire to move. In this study, the industry is seen as a job that puts high pressure on employees. This study aims to examine whether there is an influence between workload on turnover intention which is mediated by work exhaustion in production section employees at PT. Alas Petala Makmur. The sampling technique uses proportionate stratified random sampling technique with a sample of 119 respondents. This study uses AMOS (Analysi Moment of Structure) software version 16.0 for windows. The results showed that workload does not directly affect turnover intention but workload affects work fatigue and work fatigue affects turnover intention and mediates work load against turnover intention.


In this paper, we describe the main courses of object-oriented software engineering, analyze the necessity of bilingual teaching and explain in detail the teaching plan and strategy of object-oriented software engineering. Finally, we, summarize the advantages and disadvantages of this bilingual teaching course. We conclude that practice has proved the worth of bilingual teaching in object-oriented software engineering.


This paper challenges the view that food, or the patient's own body, functions as a transitional object for bulimics during the binge-purge cycle or symptomatic equivalents of self-harm. The author proposes that the bulimic patient's actions in and on her body more closely approximate the use of a fetish, which temporarily enhances a deficient and unstable body image and assuages separation anxiety, but does not promote progressive development. To illustrate these distinctions, the author presents an analysis of a self-mutilating bulimic patient who used her body as a fetish until a more integrated "me" evolved within the "shared skin" of her treatment. At that point, a transitional object and an idealizing selfobject fantasy were created, and the patient was able to engage the question of "not me," relinquish her self-mutilation, and resume the process of separation and growth.


Werner syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by a premature aging phenotype, genomic instability, and a dramatically increased incidence of cancer and heart disease. Mutations in a single gene encoding a 1432-amino acid helicase/exonuclease (hWRN) have been shown to be responsible for the development of this disease. We have cloned, overexpressed, and purified a minimal, 171-amino acid fragment of hWRN that functions as an exonuclease. This fragment, encompassing residues 70-240 of hWRN (hWRN-N(70-240)), exhibits the same level of 3'-5' exonuclease activity as the previously described exonuclease fragment encompassing residues 1-333 of the full-length protein. The fragment also contains a 5'-protruding DNA strand endonuclease activity at a single-strand-double-strand DNA junction and within single-stranded DNA, as well as a 3'-5' exonuclease activity on single-stranded DNA. We find hWRN-N(70-240) is in a trimer-hexamer equilibrium in the absence of DNA when examined by gel filtration chromatography and atomic force microscopy. Upon addition of DNA substrate, hWRN-N(70-240) forms a hexamer and interacts with the recessed 3'-end of the DNA. Moreover, we find that the interaction of hWRN-N(70-240) with the replication protein PCNA also causes this minimal, 171-amino acid exonuclease region to form a hexamer. Thus, the active form of this minimal exonuclease fragment of human WRN appears to be a hexamer. The implications these results have on our understanding of hWRN's roles in DNA replication and repair are discussed.


INTRODUCTION Risk behaviors are among student has been a problem in the field of health. The risk behavior including sexual behavior, smoking, drug abuse, bullying.
METHOD This study aims to determine how many risk behaviors that had occured and other forms of risk behavior anything ever done by students. The study population was taken with purposive random sampling technique, the characteristics of which students (including smokers, active sexual behavior, drug users) aged 12-21 years. The sample of this research were 518 responden. Analysis of the data will be used using descriptive analysis.
RESULTS The research findings show risk behavior has occurred in the school environment. Sexual behavior such as dating, holding hands, hugging, cheek and lips kissing, rubbing breasts and genitals, oral sex, sexual intercourse is a form existiong in student life. Resources porn more easily accessible for students, such as the internet, mobile phones/ gadgets, and peer group. Drug abuse and smoking occurs due to peer preasure. The elementary school is the first time students smoking and drug abuse. The incidence of risk behavior are more prevalent in the home and schools, because of the lack of parental supervision and the environment.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Risk behavior has become a part of student life. Schools and government should work together to develop policies regarding the preparation of healthy school standard based physical and psychological dimensions.

Keywords: Risk Behavior, Students


The system $F_\leq$, the well-known second-order polymorphic typed $\lambda$-calculus with subtyping and bounded universal type quantification [Cardelli-Wegner 85], [Bruce-Longo 90], [Curien-Ghelli 92], [Pierce 92], [Cardelli-Martini-Mitchell-Scedrov 94], appears to be undecidable [Pierce 92] because of undecidability of its subtyping component. Attempts were made to obtain decidable type systems with subtyping by weakening $F_\leq$ [Castagna-Pierce 94], [Katiyar-Sankar 92], and also by reinforcing or \em extending\/ it [Vorobyov 94]. However, for the moment, these extensions lack the important proof-theoretic minimum type property, which holds for $F_\leq$ and guarantees that each typable term has the minimum type, being a subtype of any other type of the term [Curien-Ghelli 92], [Vorobyov 94]. As a preparation step to introducing the extensions of $F_\leq$ with the minimum type property and the decidable term typing relation, we define and study here the hierarchies of decidable extensions of the$F_\leq$ subtyping relation. We demonstrate conditions providing that each theory in a hierarchy: \beginenumerate \item extends $F_\leq$, proving everything that is $F_\leq$-provable \item satisfies the substitution property for boundedly quantified universal types \item is transitive (transitivity and substitutivity are indispensable for the minimum type property and typing proof normalization). We give conditions guaranteeing that a hierarchy condenses and converges to $F_\leq$, and study cases when a hierarchy collapses.


Having an informative and dense reward function is an important requirement to efficiently solve goal-reaching tasks. While the natural reward for such tasks is a binary signal indicating success or failure, providing only a binary reward makes learning very challenging given the sparsity of the feedback. Hence, introducing dense rewards helps to provide smooth gradients. However, these functions are not readily available, and constructing them is difficult, as it often requires a lot of time and domain-specific knowledge, and can unintentionally create spurious local minima. We propose a method that learns neural all-pairs shortest paths, used as a distance function to learn a policy for goal-reaching tasks, requiring zero domainspecific knowledge. In particular, our approach includes both a self-supervised signal from the temporal distance between state pairs of an episode, and a metricbased regularizer that leverages the triangle inequality for an additional connectivity information between state triples. This dynamical distance can be either used as a cost function, or reshaped as a reward, and, differently from previous work, is fully self-supervised, compatible with off-policy learning and robust to local minima.


The Red river delta coastal area (Vietnam) and Yangtze river delta coastal area (China) not only play an important role in developmental process of each country but also show typical characteristics of hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics of estuaries and delta coastal areas. Based on previous studied results of hydro-sediment dynamics in two delta coastal zones that were published, this paper gives a comparison of hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics of the coastal zones of Red river and Yangtze river. The results showed that there are some similar features of these two regions such as riverine hydrology, decreased fluvial sediment flux due to the dam, grain size of suspended sediment, alongshore sediment and morphological change. Besides, these two regions also have some distinct characteristics such as tidal regime and residual field currents.


Thirty one accessions of spine gourd collected from different parts of Kerala were grown with objectives of genetically cataloguing the germplasm and to assessing genetic variability, heritability, genetic gain and correlating different traits with yield. High genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation was observed for days from flowering to vegetable maturity, total number of harvests and fruit length. Yield exhibited genotypic correlation with number of branches per plant, total number of harvests, fruit length and number of fruits per plant. In path coefficient analysis the highest positive direct effect on yield was exhibited by total number of harvests followed by fruit girth.


In order to obtain salt-tolerant calli of Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber), calli were induced from leaf explants of Dandelion on Murashige and Skoog's medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L 6-benzyladenine and 0.5 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophen oxyacetic acid With 1.5% NaCl as selection pressure, most calli became brown and dead, whereas some new cell clusters appeared at the edge of the brown calli after 2 to 3 weeks. The survived cells were picked out and sub-cultured every 3 weeks onto the fresh selection medium and salt-tolerant calli were finally obtained through 4 continuous selections on the selection medium supplemented with 1.5% NaCl. Salt-tolerant calli increased steadily under a fixed NaCl stress though their relative growth rate decreased with increased NaCl concentration whereas the control calli which were sub-cultured by 4 continus selections on salt free medium ceased to grow under the same condition. This result indicated that the salt-tolerance of the selected calli is improved and this character is stable. Compared with the control, the SDS-PAGE pattern of the salt-tolerant calli had a unique 34 kD protein band. Its 30 kD and 18 kD protein bands were up-regulated. Further more, within the NaCl stress range up to 1.5%, the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as super oxidase dimutase, peroxidase and catalase, and the proline contents of the salt-tolerant calli were higher than those of the control. The results indicated that the selected calli with improved and stable salt tolerance were cell variants. The accumulation of the organic compatible solutes including proteins and the enhanced antioxidant capabilities in the salt tolerant calli are the two ways for them to regulate their osmotic homeostasis and alleviate the secondary reactive oxygen spexies damage respectively.


Purpose: To study the patterns of intermediate uveitis in the pediatric age group in a referral eye care center in South India. Methods: This is a study of twenty consecutive patients under 16 years of age with intermediate uveitis, conducted at a tertiary referral center. Numerous variables were assessed, including age and gender distribution, laboratory data, the presence of systemic diseases, onset and course of ocular inflammation, clinical features, their complications, therapeutic strategies with their outcomes, remission, final visual acuity (VA), and characteristics associated with poor visual outcome. Results: Bilateral involvement was observed in 80% of the patients. Remission was observed in five out of 7 patients (78%) with completed follow-up of 5 years. Final VA improved by at least two lines in 11 patients, remained stable in 6 patients, and worsened in 3 patients. The etiological diagnosis showed one patient with Bechet's disease, one with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, 1 with human leukocyte antigen B27 associated uveitis, 9 with laboratory proven tuberculosis, and 3 with sarcoidosis and 5 where it was idiopathic. The mean follow-up was 4.8 years (range 3–8 years). Cataract was the most frequent complication observed (40%). Glaucoma, choroidal neovascularization, and amblyopia accounted for worsening of vision in three patients. Conclusion: Median time of development of complications is about 3 years based on our study. Intermediate uveitis of childhood might exhibit a self-limiting course after several years. Visual recovery is good in the majority, and visual loss is limited despite the high rate of ocular complications.


Experimental investigations in animals have highlighted the role of early reduced calorie and protein nutrition on fetal cardiovascular development, and the occurrence of a transition from a low fetal arterial blood pressure in late gestation to a high arterial blood pressure postnatally. These observations may explain the correlation between health, including appropriate nutrition, in pregnant women and the outcome of their pregnancies. Emphasis has been placed on low birth weight infants who have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, coronary heart disease and stroke in adulthood. Vascular pathology in adults is not always associated with low birth weight and animal experiments indicate that substantial changes in cardiovascular and endocrine function can result from maternal or fetal undernutrition without impairing fetal growth. Experimental investigation on organogenesis shows the pivotal role of adequate protein availability as well as total caloric intake. Amino acid metabolism in the feto‐maternal unit appears to have a key influence on the development of organs involved in chronic degenerative disease in the adult. Experimental investigation has also highlighted the role of carbohydrate metabolism and its effect on the fetus in this respect. Either restriction of protein intake or diabetes in pregnant rats has intergenerational effects at least on the endocrine pancreas and the brain. Further investigation is needed to clarify the mechanisms involved and lead to a new understanding of the importance of nutrition during pregnancy. This will provide an important approach to the primary prevention of diabetes and chronic degenerative diseases.


When providing a user with data, an accountant often must choose the proper level of report aggregation. Research in accounting has shown that the level of aggregation can affect the behavior of the decision maker. For example, when the decision maker is faced with choosing alternatives each of which involves two sequential independent events. Moser et al. (1994) found that individuals prefer the alternative for which the difference between the probabilities of success for the two independent events is small relative to the other alternative. The strategy that uses this Pattern in decision-making is called the similarity strategy. In investment decision cases, a group makes most of the decisions. Stoner (1961) found that group decisionmaking was more extreme than individual. Therefore it is imPortant to consider group decision-making in investnrent cases. fhe purpose of this study is to investigate the similarity stratery, which was introduced by Moser et al. (1994). Testing is not only aimed at individual decision-makingbutalso at group decision-rnaking. Thirty-six graduate students in the management and accountancy departments participated in a laboratory experiment with investment decision setting. The results of the analysis support the similarity hypothesis. Under condition of joint probability, the similarity stratery used by groups is more pronounced than that used by individual (support Stoner, 1961), but not in the case of unequal joint probability. Ttris result implies that when making an investment decision involving sequential events, group and individual decision-rnaking will follow a particular pattem that does not conform to normative decision theory.


Aim: Investigations have shown that for the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) belantamab mafodotin, concentrations of the cysteine-conjugated metabolite, Cys-mcMMAF, were overestimated in the presence of the ADC during sample processing when utilizing a historical SPE method. Results: A new assay was developed utilizing an acidic protein precipitation to remove the ADC early in the extraction process, thus eliminating the risk of overestimating Cys-mcMMAF in the presence of belantamab mafodotin. In vitro experiments demonstrated a linear relationship between the concentration of belantamab mafodotin and the release of Cys-mcMMAF. Extensive stability assessments were performed to cover storage of study samples. Conclusion: This work emphasized the critical importance of understanding the performance of a bioanalytical method for free toxic payload in the presence of the ADC.


An improved microwave procedure for detecting defects in dielectric structures is proposed. The procedure is based on the integral equations of the inverse scattering problem. A hybrid genetic algorithm (GA) is applied in order to minimize the obtained nonlinear functional. Since in nondestructive evaluations the unperturbed object is completely known, it is possible off-line to numerically compute the Green's function for the configuration without defects. Consequently, a very significant computation saving is obtained, since the "chromosome" of the GA codes only the parameters describing the unknown defect.


In the 1980s managers were innovating in implementing arsenals of devices to prevent possible takeovers of their firms. These anti-takeover devices were usually amendments to the corporate charter or poison pills. Prior studies have examined market reactions to either amendment devices or poison pills. This study provides an extension to those studies by examining marketing reactions to poison pills as the first anti-takeover devices compared with pill adoptions as an addition to an already existing arsenal of charger amendment devices. Results indicate that market reactions differ between these two types of events. Stockholder wealth effects differ also according to the type of charter amendment in place at the time of pill adoption.


Herpes simiae (B virus) grown in rabbit brain was passaged 9 times through the brains of suckling hamsters and treated with antiserum against Herpes simplex virus at each passage. Its properties were compared with a control line passaged in the absence of antiserum. When measured in terms of the ratio of infectivity for suckling hamsters to infectivity for rabbits (both inoculated intracerebrally), the control line of virus showed a greater increase in infectivity for suckling hamsters than did the antibody selected line. The latter, dose for dose, killed suckling hamsters more quickly. Whereas the parent and control lines produced several kinds of cytopathic effect in cell cultures, the antibody selected line induced predominantly the formation of syncytia. Cross neutralization tests with antisera against various herpes viruses revealed that the antibody selected line differed antigenically from the control line. In these tests, serum from a patient who died of herpes encephalitis resembled antiserum against B virus rather than antiserum against Herpes simplex virus.