The figure of W. E. B. Du Bois has become the exemplary model for black scholars in the United States and beyond. Historian Gerald Horne numbers among those who have captured some of Du Bois's sensibility--his learning, his energy and self-discipline, and his commitment to the progressive transformation of society. African American Studies, in his hands, is a discipline that interrogates the presumptions of the West, especially its claims to order, reason, and stability, through recovery of complex narratives of resistance to racism and imperialism. At a moment in time when we are paying the price for the disastrous, accreted choices made by political and economic elites, Horne's histories serve to remind us of what we have forgotten or never known: the richness and diversity of African American history, its global presence, and its participation in worldwide chronicles of freedom and resistance. The primacy of the nation-state has tended to obscure the transnational mobility and ubiquity of African Americans. The desire to recover this occluded history has led Horne to extensive international, multi-archival research and exhaustive study of secondary material. This scholarship, uncontained by national frontiers, joins the concerns of other scholars who raise questions about the ability of national histories to adequately frame and delineate transnational movements. Richard Iton has written, "the ability of actors in the cultural realm, intentionally and at times inadvertently, to resist the definition of politics as solely that which happens within state borders, or in the name of the nation, represents a significant means by which these norms might be denaturalized." Horne's exegesis of a global history of racism unconfined by the particular practices of specific empires but deployed by all, escapes the strictures of national history and preserves the contours of a transcendent global black presence. This is Iton's "illusory but meaningful space between the national and the imperial, where black subjects understood broadly are made," and where "are to be found those most likely to recognize the convenient disarticulation of liberal and colonial regimes and their representation as benign and past tense, respectively." (1) When Home occupies this space, he succeeds in defeating the presumption that African American experiences and worldview can be neatly contained within U.S. borders. International activism has been a strategy that African-descended people have employed historically to address their oppression in the United States. By skillfully uncovering these activities, Horne has made it virtually impossible to revive a reformist and purely domestic African American history. He has debunked the idea that African American pursuits abroad were only rhetorical, or that they met with few positive responses from other peoples of color. Substantial evidence of many kinds of collaboration across racial and ethnic lines, including some that were egregious, is richly compiled in Black and Brown: African Americans and the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920 (2005); The End of Empires: African Americans and India (2008); and The White Pacific: U.S. Imperialism and Black Slavery in the South Seas after the Civil War (2007), and other works. (2) Several themes pervade these texts and Home's exhaustively researched and eclectic body of work generally. One of them is the contention that the ideological conformity of U.S. civil rights leaders indirectly helped sustain anti-communism and rationalize continued political repression in the Third World as well as in the United States. For example, the era of African American collaboration with India, Home argues, ended soon after 1947 as black leaders were forced to accept the official Cold War vilification of India as a Soviet ally. He describes the victory of Cold War liberalism over radicalism as one in which white elites conceded to African Americans on the question of color in exchange for their support of centrist public policies, but fatally damaged African Americans' class position through attacks on the militant trade unions that had defended their right to a decent living. …


Efficient connectivity in cellular-connected unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)s is limited by scarcity of the radio spectrum and strong inter-cell interference (ICI). To address these issues, we propose an aerial-terrestrial network non-orthogonal multiple access (ATN-NOMA) scheme. In this proposed scheme, we pair the aerial user (AU) and terrestrial user (TU) in a NOMA setting to leverage their asymmetric channel gains and rate demands in downlink communications. In ATN-NOMA, the strong ICI issue at the AU receiver is further managed by an elevation-angle based user association, equipping the AU with an adjustable beamwidth directional antenna, and forming a beamforming among the coordinated terrestrial base stations (BS)s. We then obtain the optimal beamwidth and suboptimal power allocation so that the TUs' sum-rate is maximized subject to the AU's Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirement. The corresponding optimization problem is non-convex in which we exploit the structure of the problem and apply successive convex approximation (SCA) to obtain a suboptimal solution. We then derive the statistical properties, which consequently enable us to estimate the aggregated ICI. In cases where no interfering BSs have the same elevation angle as the coordinated BSs, we further approximate the AU's outage probability. We then compare the TUs' sum-rate and the outage probability of the ATN-NOMA with multiple existing schemes. Extensive simulation results show that our proposed ATN-NOMA scheme outperforms existing schemes by 52-91% in terms of the sum-rate, and its analytical outage probability can be as low as the order of $10^{-17}$. Furthermore, we show that the pairing of AU and TU in multi-cell networks remains beneficial, subject to effective mitigation of ICI.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

Background: VEGF-A expression is a marker of invasiveness and tumor progression in various cancer, including breast cancer. The aim of this prospective companion study was to test the impact of the 5 major functional VEGF-A gene polymorphisms on bevacizumab pharmacodynamics in breast cancer patients.

Methods: MO19391 (ATHENA) is a single-arm, prospective, international safety study, conducted in 2296 patients treated with first-line bevacizumab-containing therapy in the context of general oncology practice. A companion study was conducted in 27 French centers to evaluate VEGF-A polymorphisms as potential predictors of treatment efficacy and safety. A total of 143 women with locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer were enrolled in this pharmacogenetic study. Patients (mean age 54.8, 64% ECOG PS 0) received bevacizumab (10 mg/kg q2w or 15 mg/kg q3w), associated (76 %) or not (24 %) with a taxane-based chemotherapy, until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or withdrawal. Median duration of bevacizumab treatment was 29 weeks. Median follow-up was 16 months. Clinical end-points were clinical response (complete response (CR) + partial response (PR)), time to progression (TTP) and toxicity. Functional VEGF-A polymorphisms at position −2578 C>A, −1498 T>C, −1154 G>A, −634 G>C and 936 C>T were analyzed by PCR-RFLP in blood DNA.

Results: Overall response rate (CR+PR) was 60.5 % and median TTP was 11 months. None of the analyzed VEGF-A polymorphisms was significantly linked to clinical response. In contrast, analysis of the 936C>T polymorphism revealed that the 102 patients homozygous for the 936C allele exhibited a significantly shorter TTP than the 32 patients bearing the 936T allele (Log Rank, p = 0.019) of which 30 were CT and 2 were homozygous TT. Median TTP was 9.0 months (CI 95% 7.6-12) in CC patients vs 11.5 months (CI 95% 10.2-25.8) in CT or TT patients. Other polymorphisms did not influence TTP. Analysis of bevacizumab-related toxicity is ongoing.

Conclusion: The present results suggest a role for VEGF-A 936C>T polymorphism as a potential marker of bevacizumab efficacy. This observation concords with the impact of VEGF-A 936C>T polymorphism - located in the 3′untranslated region of the gene - on VEGF-A expression since lower plasma and tumoral VEGF-A concentrations have been reported in patients harboring the VEGF-A 936T allele. Further studies aimed at confirming the influence of VEGF-A 936C>T genotype are warranted.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2751.


Objective: To investigate the characteristics of pulmonary function changes and its possible influencing factors in patients with pneumoconiosis. Methods: In December 2019, pneumoconiosis patients hospitalized in four departments of occupational diseases in Hunan Occupational Disease Prevention and Control Hospital from December 2015 to December 2016 were selected as subjects. Lung function including forced vital capacity (FVC) , FVC%, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) , FEV1%, forced expiratory volume in one second / forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) , diffusion capacity of the lung foe carbon monoxide% (DLCO%) 、maximal expiratory rlow 75% (MEF75%) , maximal expiratory rlow 50% (MEF50%) and maximal expiratory rlow 25% (MEF25%) were tested, and collect their age, occupation history, smoking history and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Self Rating Questionnaire (CAT) score. They were followed up after 3 years to analyze the 3-year decline rates of lung function indicators and their relationship with stage of pneumoconiosis, age, smoking index, baseline values of lung function and CAT score. Results: 265 cases were studied effectively. After 3 years, the values of 9 lung function indicators of pneumoconiosis patients were significantly lower than those of 3 years ago (P<0.05) . The decline rates of FEV1%, FEV1/FVC, MEF75%, MEF50% and MEF25% were positively correlated with the stage of pneumoconiosis (r=0.250, 0.290, 0.219, 0.280, 0.141, P<0.05) . The decline rates of FEV1% and MEF75% were positively correlated with smoking index (r=0.148, 0.152, P<0.05) . The decline rates of DLCO% and MEF25% were positively correlated with the baseline value of initial pulmonary function (r=0.276, 0.153, P<0.05) , while the decline rates of FEV1%, FEV1/FVC and MEF50% were negatively correlated with the baseline values of initial pulmonary function (r=-0.215, -0.146, -0.214, P<0.05) . The decline rates of FVC%, FEV1%, MEF75% and MEF50% were positively correlated with the changes of CAT scores (r=0.147, 0.208, 0.210, 0.196, P<0.05) . Logistic regression analysis showed that old age and high initial value of DLCO% were the risk factor for the decline of DLCO% (OR=1.105、1.078, P<0.05) .High smoking index was the risk factors for the decline of MEF75% (OR=1.016, P<0.05) . High stage and the increase of CAT score were the risk factors for the decline of MEF50% (OR=1.548, 1.162, P<0.05) . High initial value of MEF25% was the risk factor for the decline of MEF25% (OR=1.010, P<0.05) . Conclusion: The pulmonary function index of pneumoconiosis patients declined significantly in 3 years. The stage of pneumoconiosis, age, smoking index and degree of pulmonary function damage were related to the decline rate of pulmonary function.


It is well understood that multiple antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are constitutively deployed by the epithelium to bolster the innate defenses along the entire length of the intestines. In addition to this constitutive/homeostatic production, AMPs may be inducible and levels changed during disease. In contrast to this level of knowledge on AMP sources and roles in the intestines, our understanding of the complement cascade in the healthy and diseased intestines is rudimentary. Epithelial cells make many complement proteins and there is compelling evidence that complement becomes activated in the lumen. With the common goal of defending the host against microbes, the opportunities for cross-talk between these two processes is great, both in terms of actions on the target microbes but also on regulating the synthesis and secretion of the alternate family of molecules. This possibility is beginning to become apparent with the finding that colonic epithelial cells possess anaphylatoxin receptors. There still remains much to be learned about the possible points of collaboration between AMPs and complement, for example, whether there is reciprocal control over expression in the intestinal mucosa in homeostasis and restoring the balance following infection and inflammation.


This study explored the moral complexity of student drug and alcohol policies that are often disciplinary, punitive, and exclusionary in nature. The Ethic of the Profession (Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2001, 2005, 2010; Stefkovich, 2006), a professional ethical construct for educational leadership and for school workers writ large, was employed as a theoretical framework to evaluate a bounded case of seven school districts' pupil policies. This research utilized textual analysis of school policies from the school communities represented in the study in addition to interview data employed in a larger systemic study from which this research is drawn. Findings contribute to a fuller understanding of the valuation process of local administrators when drafting policy in relation to an Ethic of the Profession. Practical implications include the impact of such school policies on the immediate and long-range needs of at-risk students.


Phototherapy irradiation cabinets normally rely on one timer or dose meter in order to control the ultraviolet (UV) exposure of patients. Faults may occur in the electronic control, or the operator may set the prescribed dose incorrectly. If this happens, a patient will receive an exposure different from that intended, which in the case of overexposure may result in severe burning resulting in hospitalization. Some phototherapy equipment has secondary devices (e.g. mechanical timer) for controlling the dose in case the primary system fails. We have designed and built a secondary dose meter that sounds an alarm if an overdose is about to occur. The unique feature of our device is that it measures the irradiance level within the cabinet and uses this value in combination with the dose set by the operator, to calculate the alarm time. Using the measured irradiance value in this manner ensures that the calculated exposure time compensates for variations in UV output as the lamps age.


Background Children and adolescents with juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (jSLE) face considerable morbidity due to sequelae of disease activity, comorbidities and adverse effects of treatment. In order to improve the management of these patients, it is essential to better understand the risk factors associated with the development of permanent damage. Objectives The main goals of this study were to determine the prevalence of organ damage among children with jSLE and to identify risk factors for damage. Methods This was a retrospective chart review of the clinical courses of jSLE patients followed at MSCHONY/CUMC, from the time of diagnosis or first encounter until December 2009 or loss to follow-up. All patients were diagnosed before the age of 18, had a disease duration ≥6 months and were followed during the period 2007-2009. Disease activity (SLEDAI) at diagnosis and Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) Damage Index (SDI) at the conclusion of the study were evaluated. Major infections were identified, defined as those that required treatment with parenteral antimicrobial agents or necessitated a course of antibiotics for more than one week. Chi-square/Fisher's exact test and t-test were used to analyze categorical and continuous data, respectively. Results There were 120 children and adolescents with SLE: 93 female/27 male (F/M: 3.4/1), 61 Hispanic (51%) and 34 African-American (28%). The majority (53%) were diagnosed between the ages of 10-15 years. Mean duration of follow-up was 4.7±3.2 years. Mean SLEDAI at diagnosis was 9.6±6.5. Lupus nephritis affected 59 patients (49%). Neuropsychiatric manifestations (NPSLE) occurred in 15 children (12%). Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) was used in 56% of the patients, cyclophosphamide in 37% and rituximab in 6%. The mean cumulative prednisone dose was 12g. There were 101 major infections affecting 44 patients (37%), the most common being skin infections (19), pneumonias (17), urinary tract infections with fever (14), sepsis (9), and herpes zoster (8). During the study 2 patients died due to disease-associated comorbidities. Damage (SDI ≥1) was present in 33% (39/118) of the patients after a mean disease duration of 5.0±3.3 years. The median SDI score was 1 (range 0-6). Damage to the musculoskeletal system was observed most frequently (9%), followed by neuropsychiatric (7%), ocular (7%), skin (7%), pulmonary (5%) and renal (5%) systems. No malignancies were encountered. Damage was significantly more likely in patients who had experienced neuropsychiatric manifestations during the first year of disease, had major infections or were treated with cyclophosphamide, MMF or rituximab (p<0.05). There was no association of damage with gender, renal involvement or cumulative dose of prednisone. Conclusions In a large cohort of children with jSLE, damage was common, but less frequent than previously reported. Neuropsychiatric involvement during the first year of disease, major infections and immunosuppressive therapy with cyclophosphamide, MMF and rituximab were identified in this cohort as risk factors for damage. References Gutiérrez-Suárez R et al. Arthritis Rheum 2006. 54:2989-96. Ravelli A et al. Arthritis Rheum 2003. 49:501-7. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


This paper proposes an asynchronous superscalar architecture called DCAP to exploit instruction-level parallelism based on a novel dynamic instruction scheduling technique. The proposed technique not only has an efficient implementation using asynchronous micropipelines, it also minimizes the amount of hardware required for instruction scheduling when compared to standard schemes used in synchronous superscalar processors. In addition, the proposed technique for dynamic instruction scheduling also exploits the dependency patterns in the instruction streams for enhanced performance. DCAP is a fully functional model of an asynchronous superscalar processor and supports register renaming and precise interrupts. A detailed performance analysis of DCAP on realistic benchmarks is presented.


A new technology for recycling EAF dust and removal of sulfur from coking oven gas was investigated. The new technology does not need to set up special equipment to treat COG (coke oven gas), and it is only acquired by mixing the ZnO-base additive into the coke coal. In the stage of pyrolysis of the coal volatile, ZnO of the additive combines with H2S, CS2, COS and C2H2SH of coal gas, forming ZnS in coal char. In the stage of coking of the coal char, Zn is gasified with S, then the gas Zn react with H2S, CS2, COS and C2H2SH, forming ZnS in coal gas and depositing as dust. After the collected ZnS dust was regenerated, it can be recycling as the additive again. The sulfur in coal gas can be completely removed if the mole ratio of the added Zn to the volatilized S is more than 1, and the sulfur in coke is also slightly decreased comparing with the coke without the additive. The EAF dust containing ZnO and Fe2O3 can be the base material of the desulfurizing additive.


A regime switching skew-normal model for financial crisis and contagion is proposed in which we develop a new class of multiple-channel crisis and contagion tests. Crisis channels are measured through changes in 'own' moments of the mean, variance and skewness, while contagion is through changes in the covariance and co-skewness of the joint distribution of asset returns. In this framework: i) linear and non-linear dependence is allowed; ii) transmission channels are simultaneously examined; iii) crisis and contagion are distinguished and individually modeled; iv) the market that a crisis originates is endogenous; and v) the timing of a crisis is endogenous. In an empirical application, we apply the proposed model to equity markets during the Great Recession using Bayesian model comparison techniques to assess the multiple channels of crisis and contagion. The results generally show that crisis and contagion are pervasive across Europe and the US. The second moment channels of crisis and contagion are systematically more evident than the first and third moment channels.


. Linking the slow-roll scenario and the Dirac–Born–Infeld scenario of ultra-relativistic roll (where, thanks to the warp factor, the inflaton moves slowly even with an ultra-relativistic Lorentz factor), we find that the KKLMMT D 3– ¯ D 3-brane inflation is robust; that is, enough e -folds of inflation is quite generic in the parameter space of the model. We show that the intermediate regime of relativistic roll can be quite interesting observationally. Introducing appropriate inflationary parameters, we explore the parameter space and give the constraints and predictions for the cosmological observables in this scenario. Among other properties, this scenario allows the saturation of the present observational bound of either the tensor/scalar ratio r (in the intermediate regime) or the non-Gaussianity f NL (in the ultra-relativistic regime), but not both.


Neural nets show the ability to learn and to reproduce a given input-output behaviour without the need of a mathematical model. They can be used to mimic an operator's behaviour when a control task can be solved manually. Therefore it seems to be easier and more cost-effective in this case to design a neural controller than a conventional controller. In a case study, both conventional and neural controllers for the lateral motion of a vision-guided vehicle were designed. This paper discusses in detail the different design processes for both types of controllers and compares the results.


OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY This study seeks to broaden the understanding of corporate identity management by exploring it in a new context – social media. The idea is to study how companies can successfully build and manage their corporate identity in this context. The objective is to determine the strategic and tactical approaches business managers can and should use in this process by unraveling the rationales behind the identity-related decisions made by successful social media managers. METHODOLOGY The study was conducted among managers of eight Finnish b-to-c companies that have proven to be successful in utilizing social media in their business operations. In order to dig deep into the mindsets and decision-making processes of the managers, the research followed a qualitative approach. The data was collected via semi-structured interviews. The data was examined and interpreted utilizing the theoretical framework on corporate identity management by Cornelissen & Elving (2003). The goal was to investigate how well this framework could be applied to the context of social media and how should the new context reshape the framework. FINDINGS Social media influences the corporate identity management process in a multitude of ways and changes the underlying logic of the process. Successful identity-related social media management processes resemble the characteristics of the organization and environment. Successful companies incorporate useful practices into these processes, such as having a personal tone of voice, consistent and authentic style of communication, communicating various dimensions of the identity, using various channels, engaging the audience, and utilizing design elements/tags. When presenting corporate identity in social media, successful companies also note and utilize the special characteristics of the media. The meaning of the company's identity is constituted in co-operation with the social media stakeholders. This interaction produces a feedback element to the process, which has both direct and indirect influences to the identity-related social media management processes and organizational characteristics. Thus, social media changes the entire operational logic of corporate identity management by making it receptive and co-operational in nature.


Soft computing techniques, e.g., neural networks, fuzzy inference, evolutionary computation, and chaos theory, have been applied to a wide variety of control systems in industry because of their control capability and flexibility. They are also powerful to handle the complicated mechatronic systems with various nonlinearities which are difficult to model using mathematical formulas. In order to achieve the system identification of unknown structured mechatronic systems, This work presents a novel evolutionary algorithm using genetic algorithms (GAs), where the optimal mathematical structure of plant mechanisms and the combination of parameters can be autonomously determined by means of the optimization ability of the GA. The effectiveness of the proposed identification has been verified by experiments with comparative studies, using the typical mechanical systems with velocity controller.


Background: We aimed to identify the functional brain networks involved in the regulation of visual accommodation by contrasting the cortical functional areas evoked by foveal fixation to an "E" target, which were subservient to the accommodation responses to a -3/-6 diopter stimulus. Methods: Neural activity was assessed in healthy volunteers by changes in blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twenty-five right-handed subjects viewed the "E" target presented in a hierarchical block design. They participated in two monocular tasks: (i) sustained foveal fixation upon an "E" target on a white background at 33 cm (-3.03D accommodative demand); and (ii) sustained fixation through an attached -3D concave lens (-6D accommodative demand) in front of the fixated eye; each condition cycled through a standard alternating 30-s eye open/30-s eye closed design to provide the BOLD contrast. The total sustained period was 480 s. Results: The contrast between the -3D and the rest condition revealed activation in the occipital lobe (Lingual gyrus, Cuneus, Calcarine_L, and Calcarine_R); cerebellum (Cerebellum_Crus1_L and Cerebellum_6_L); precentral lobe (Precentral_R); frontal lobe (Frontal_Inf_Oper_R and Frontal_Mid_R); and cingulate cortex (Cingulum_Ant_L). With the -3D concave lenses (-6D accommodative demand) in front of the fixated eye, the voxel size and peak intensity of activation in the occipital lobe and cerebellum were greater than with the -3D accommodative demand; emergent activated brain areas included the parietal lobe (bilateral precuneus gyrus and right supramarginal gyrus); the precentral lobe and cingulate cortex failed to reach the threshold in the -6D vs. rest contrast. In the -3D and -6D contrast comparison, the frontal lobe (Frontal_Sup_Medial_L) and parietal lobe (Precuneus_L and Precuneus_R) passed the significance threshold of cluster-level family-wise error (FWE) correction. The mean activation in the -3D and -6D contrast revealed an incremental summation of the activations than that found in the previous -3D vs. rest and -6D vs. rest comparisons. Conclusions: Neural circuits were selectively activated during the -3D/-6D accommodative response to blur cues. Cognitive-perceptual processing is involved in signal regulation of ocular accommodative functions.


Background: Dental anomalies considered as one of the developmental defects during teeth formation caused by both genetic and environmental factors which responsible for notable deviation from normal size, color, number, contour and developmental degree. The aim of this study was to determine prevalence of defect in number (hyperdontia or mesiodens teeth) and structural defect (enamel hypoplasia, localized and generalized,) among primary school children. Material and methods: A cross sectional study that comprises data from 403 boys and 411 girls; a primary school students aged from 5-12 years with a total of 814 student; was conducted in Badra/ Iraq. Results: The study shows a prevalence rate of a mesiodens from 814 students was 0.49% and it represented more frequently in males more than females with a ratio of 3:1. While, the prevalence of enamel hypoplasia was estimated to be 0.86 % among the observed population, it observed more in girls than in boys, with the proportion being around 1: 1.333 male: female ratio. Conclusion: the prevalence of dental anomalies was found to be more in males than in females and most of the cases found in age group between 8-10 years old. Routine checkup for these anomalies during primary and mixed dentation which can help for early diagnosis and detection of these disorders that will help minimizing future complications and give well prognosis.


A close relationship exists between electric current and the magnetic field. However, electricity and magnetism have different physical characteristics, and magnetocardiography (MCG) may provide information on cardiac current that is difficult to obtain by electrocardiography (ECG). In the present study, we investigated the issue of whether the current density map method, in which cardiac current is estimated from the magnetic gradient, facilitates the visualization of cardiac current undetectable by ECG. The subjects were 50 healthy adults (N group), 40 patients with left ventricular overloading (LVO group), 15 patients with right ventricular overloading (RVO group), 10 patients with an old inferior myocardial infarction (OMI group), and 30 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM group). MCGs were recorded with a second derivative superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) gradiometer using liquid helium. Isopotential maps and current density maps from unipolar precordial ECG leads and MCGs, respectively, were prepared, and the cardiac electric current was examined. The current density map at the ventricular depolarization phase showed one peak of current density in the N group. However, in the OMI group, the current density map showed multiple peaks of current density areas. In the RVO group, two peaks of current densities were detected at the right superior region and left thoracic region and these two diploles appeared to be from the right and left ventricular derived cardiac currents, respectively. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between the magnitude of the current density from the right ventricle and the systolic pulmonary arterial pressure. The current density map at the ventricular repolarization phase in the N group showed only a single current source. However, abnormal current sources in the current density maps were frequently detected even in patients showing no abnormalities on isopotential maps in the LVO, DM, and OMI groups. The findings herein suggest that opposing dipoles of the ventricular depolarization and repolarization vectors were summed and evaluated as a single dipole in the electrocardiogram. However, MCG facilitated the detection of multiple dipoles because of its superior spatial resolution as well as difference in physical properties between magnetic and electrical fields. Our results suggest that MCG with a current density map is useful for detecting cardiac current undetectable by ECG in an early stage.


The present research work was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of twelve plant extracts viz. Neem (Azadirachta indica), Bishkatali(Polygonum hydropiper), Nishinda (Vitex negundu), Allamonda (Allamanda cathertica), Acasia (Acacia auriculiformis), Tulsi (Ocientific tenuiflorum), Mehendi (Lmetawsonia alba), Datura (Datura metel), Bishkochu (Alocasia fornicate), Black cumin (Nigella sativa), Garlic (Allium sativum), Mehogoni (Swietenia macrophylla) @ 1:10 along with two fungicides Provax and Nativo @ 0.2% as check against Magnaporthe oryzae Pathotype triticum which is responsible for wheat blast disease at Department of Plant Pathology, Bangladesh Agricultural University and Plant Pathology Division, Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), Mymensingh-2202. This experiment was conducted in two phases viz. laboratory and pot experiment. In the laboratory experiment, the efficacies of plant extracts were evaluated by the measurement of percent inhibition of radial mycelial growth of M. oryzae Pathptype triticum. The highest percentage of mycelial inhibition (93.75%) was recorded in case of four plant extracts namely Tulsi, Mehendi, Datura and Garlic followed by Black cumin seed extracts (90%) at 10 days after inoculation, where as Allamonda leaf extract showed lowest percentage of mycelial growth inhibition (7.5%). On the basis of in vitro test five plant extracts were selected to conduct pot experiment to evaluate the disease incidence and severity, and some yield contributing parameters in treated and control plants. Minimum percentage of disease incidence and severity were recorded in case of Garlic clove extract ( 16.28 and 3.5) treated plants and the Mehendi leaf extract treated plants showed highest % of disease incidence and severity (66.0% and 68.0%). Garlic clove extracts also showed best performance for yield contributing parameters namely ear length (9.20 cm), number of ear/pot (13.25), number of healthy ear/pot (13.0), number of total and healthy spikelets/ear (34.20 and 33.40),number of total and healthy grains/ear (23.00 and 21.80) and weight of 1000 total and healthy grains/pot (56 and 52 gm) followed by Black cumin, whereas Mehendi leaf extract treated plants showed lowest value for all the yield contributing parameters among the plant extracts used in this experiment. Both in in vito and pot experiment Garlic extract showed best performance and it might be used for the eco-friendly management of blast disease and increase the yield of wheat.


Many studies have shown that the computed tomography dose index (CTDI100) which is considered to be the main dose descriptor for CT dosimetry fails to provide a realistic reflection of the dose involved in cone beam CT (CBCT) scans. The main reason for this failure is that CTDI100 measurements are performed within standard head and body phantoms made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) that are only 150 cm long, which is less than or similar to beam widths used for CBCT scans. Therefore, much of the scatter that would contribute to the dose received by a patient is not recorded. Several practical approaches have been proposed to overcome drawbacks of the CTDI100. The aim of this project was to investigate the various dose indices based on the approaches proposed. The dose indices studied were: (1) CTDIIEC proposed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and based on measuring CTDI100 using a reference beam and the application of a correction factor based on free-in-air CTDI measurements, (2) f(0,150) the cumulative dose measured with a small ionization chamber within the standard PMMA phantoms, (3) f100 (150) the cumulative dose measured in the standard PMMA phantoms with a 100 mm pencil ionization chamber, (4) f(0,∞) proposed by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) TG - 111 and similar to f(0,150), but measured in infinitely long phantoms made of PMMA, polyethylene, and water, (5) f100 (∞) similar to f100 (150), but measured in infinitely long phantoms. The project also aimed to facilitate the use of indices defined in long phantoms through the generation of correction factors that could be applied to measurements in standard phantoms.
This project was based on the use of the Monte Carlo (MC) technique. MC EGSnrc-based user codes namely BEAMnrc and DOSXYZnrc were used to simulate the On-Board-Imager (OBI) imaging system mounted on a Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator. The MC model was benchmarked against experimental measurements and good agreement shown. PMMA, polyethylene, and water head and body phantoms of various lengths and diameters were simulated including a new polyethylene phantom named ICRU/AAPM phantom made by the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) and AAPM. A wide range of beam widths with different beam qualities were employed. Four scanning protocols using two acquisition modes (full and half), employed in routine clinical practice, were utilized. In addition, organ doses resulting from three CBCT scans (head, thorax, and pelvis) were evaluated in terms of absorbed dose to organs and tissues using MC simulations on the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) 110 adult male and female reference computational phantoms. The suitability of the dose indices for CBCT dosimetry was investigated by taking three factors into consideration: (1) the efficiency of the approach as a dose descriptor to report CTDI∞, which is close to the dose received by body tissues near to the middle of a CBCT scan of a patient, (2) the simplicity of the application of the approach in the clinical environment in terms of availability of the measuring instruments, simplicity of the technique, and the number of the scans required to accomplish a quality assurance (QA) assessment, i.e. the QA time, and (3) the ability of the approach in providing an evaluation of organ doses resulting from CBCT scans. To facilitate the use of long phantoms, the relationship between f(0,150) and f100 (150) measurements obtained within the standard PMMA phantoms and those for f(0,∞) obtained within longer phantoms of different compositions were studied.
Considering the three factors for the dose indices investigated, all the dose indices were found to be comparable, but each index has advantages and disadvantages. Overall, f(0,150) was considered to be the most suitable with f100 (150) providing an alternative for wider beams. Therefore, the dose indices f(0,150) followed by f100 (150) are recommended for practical CBCT dosimetry. In addition, a function called Gx(W)100 was proposed for evaluating the cumulative dose in long phantoms, and correction factors were also provided to avoid the use of long phantoms. The Gx(W)100 function did not vary significantly with tube potential, but the tube potential did influence the correction factors. The use of the Gx(W)100 function is recommended for estimation of f(0,∞) values from f100 (150) measurements taken in the standard PMMA phantoms.


"Even now, in sordid particulars / The eternal design may appear." T. S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral T. S. Eliot, in a 1920 essay "Dante," writes this of the poet he most admired: "The contemplation of the horrid or sordid or disgusting, by an artist, is the necessary and negative aspect of the impulse toward the pursuit of beauty. But not all succeed as did Dante in expressing the complete scale from negative to positive" (SW 99). Thirty years later while presenting "What Dante Means to Me" at the Italian Institute in London, Eliot said of Dante's influence on his own life as a poet that The Divine Comedy expressed "everything in the way of emotion, between depravity's despair and the beatific vision, that man is capable of experiencing." As such, the Comedy reminds poets "to explore ... those feelings which people can hardly feel, because they have no words for them" (CC 134). As readers know, traces of Dante's poetry appear often in Eliot's own. Perhaps less recognizable, however, is the similar pursuit of beauty from "negative to positive" or from "depravity's despair [to] the beatific vision" in Eliot's poetry. As does Dante, Eliot, in early poems such as "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and The Waste Land, creates a world devoid of beauty. Yet, the horridness and sordidness that permeate the world of Eliot's early poems are "the negative aspect of the impulse toward the pursuit of beauty" (SW 99). That is a paradoxical statement. Just how does the absence of beauty suggest the possible existence of the same? In the world of the poems themselves, the absence of beauty in hell or in the world of Prufrock and those in the waste land is little noticed or, if noticed, seemingly so overwhelming as to preclude any alternative world. Through the poignancy and artistry of their very poetry, however, artists such as Dante and Eliot reawaken in their audience a sense that there remains the potential for beauty to exist in the world. Roger Scruton makes this claim of Eliot's The Waste Land. While Eliot's early poetry depicts the sordid and seedy, the depiction is done so well that Eliot, in his form and language, paradoxically affirms beauty by describing so poignantly a world in which transcendent beauty does not exist. "It [Eliot's poetry] describes," suggests Scruton, "what is seedy and sordid in words so resonant of the opposite, so replete with the capacity to feel, to sympathize and to understand, that life in its lowest forms is vindicated by our response to it.... And this is the paradox of fin-desiecle culture: that it continued to believe in beauty, while focusing on all the reasons for doubting that beauty is obtainable outside the realm of art" (168). Any survey of literature written in the years closely preceding or following World War I affirms Scruton's argument. In addition to Eliot's "Prufrock" and The Waste Land, James Joyce's Ulysses (published in 1922),Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway and Noel Coward's Hay Fever (both published in 1925), Coward's Private Lives (1930), Graham Greene's England Made Me (1935), and Elizabeth Bowen's The Death of the Heart (1938) are so well written as to make their bleak outlook resonate with their readers all the more powerfully. One interesting relationship between all of these works is the corollary to the absence of beauty in the characters' world: the corollary is the diminishment or degradation of desire. The characters of these works experience to varying degrees love that is disordered, and the authors offer varying responses to the diminishment of desire. It is beyond the scope of this essay to analyze each of these works and the various responses of characters to the absence of beauty in their world and consequent disordering of love they experience. Therefore, I intend to analyze only Eliot's "Prufrock" and The Waste Land. To speak of diminishment of desire or of lesser loves is to suggest that one may separate desires, or loves, hierarchically. …


Recycling fly ash is a good example of valorization of waste. It gives a solution the environmental problem by avoiding land filling, and reducing CO2 emission in the atmosphere. In this work we studied the physical-chemical characteristics of Jorf Lasfar fly ash. The parameters investigated were particle size, density, specific surface Blaine, chemical and mineralogical compositions. The techniques used are scanning electronic microscope (SEM), transmission electronic microscope (TEM), X-rays fluorescence (XRF), X-rays diffraction (XRD) and atomic spectrometry emission coupled with inductive plasma ICP. We also conducted a study on the mechanical behavior of type CPJ45 cements produced from a combined grinding of clinker, limestone and gypsum. The substitution of a portion of the clinker by different percentages of fly ash was conducted. We noticed that the compression and bending resistances for these mixtures went through a maximum at 28 days with the addition of 7% (by mass) of ash. This result showed that the mineral and chemical compositions of this ash conferred a Pozzoulanic power to the cement studied.


Prokaryotic expression technology was used to express maltose-binding protein binding myostatin (MSTN) propeptide fusion protein. Six disease-free Altay lambs were used in this study. The right leg gastrocnemii were injected with MSTN recombinant propeptide protein. The left leg gastrocnemii (the control group) were injected with the same dose of phosphate based saline. The lambs were fed during four months under the same conditions and then slaughtered. Gastrocnemius samples were hematoxylin-eosin stained and the size of the muscle fibers was measured. A real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed that single gastrocnemius cells in the experimental group had an average area of 1163.01 µm(2), while it was 845.09 µm(2) in the control group (P < 0.05). This indicates that the MSTN propeptide biological agents had an inhibitory effect on MSTN. In order to reveal its mechanism, RT-PCR was conducted to detect the expression of the differentiation-associated genes MyoD, Myf5, Myogenin, p21, and Smad3. The results showed that, in the MSTN propeptide biological agent injected group, expression levels of MSTN, Smad3, and p21 were lower than the control group, while Myf5, MyoD, and Myogenin were higher compared to the control group. This indicates that, when expression of the MSTN gene was inhibited, muscle cell differentiation and growth can be promoted by Smad3 up-regulated expression of Myf5, MyoD, and Myogenin.


Access to Social security for non-citizens and informal sector workers : an international, South African and German perspective in essence deals with the issue of access to social security. Access to social security has in recent times been a social policy issue of national and international importance. In general, access to social security is often difficult to achieve and for some categories of persons, i.e. non-citizens and informal sector workers, such realisation is even more challenging. The book seeks to bring together legal scholars from mainly South Africa and Germany to discuss some of the present problems of access to social security for non-citizens and informal sector workers. The various contributions in the book give an overview of a broad variety of legal questions encountered in the different legal systems and which are further regulated by principles of international law that are applicable to the overarching topic.


The data presented concern the evolution of the contemporary increase of stature in eleven countries of Western Europe, at national level and, for some of them, at regional level. The data are based on the average stature of recruits 18-20 years of age. Over the last 20 years, an average increase of 2 to more than 4 cm has been observed according to the countries studied. Over the last one hundred years, the increase of stature is from 3,7 to more than 15 cm. Comparison between the regional means of the stature in four countries and annual rents per capita shows a close relation between stature and conditions of living in Western Europe.


In the last few decades, several studies have documented the effect of land use on soil C pools but studies relating to soil N pools and land use are scarce. Since C and N cycles are interrelated, it is important to study the two nutrients simultaneously to understand the processes leading to their stabilization and mineralization in soil. We studied the effect of land use viz., arable, grassland and deciduous forest at two different locations (Hordorf and Warmbüttel) in North Germany with similar soil conditions on total, biological and extractable pools of soil C and N and nitrification potential of soils. Soils at Hordorf location were fine textured and were characterized by higher total C and N concentrations than the soils at Warmbüttel. However, at both the locations, C and N stocks in the 60 cm soil profile were highest in the forest soil. Averaged across both the locations, soil C and N stocks in forest soils were higher by 78-97 and 39-55%, respectively, compared to arable and grassland soils. Land use influenced N mineralization differentially at the two locations. While at Hordorf highest N mineralization potential was observed in forest soils followed by grassland and arable soils; at Warmbüttel grassland soils exhibited the greatest N mineralization followed by forest and arable soils. Compared to arable soils nitrification activity was limited in forest soils because of low pH. Hot water-soluble C and N fractions which varied with land use significantly influenced mineralization and nitrification processes in soils.


In Mexico, there is a range of formal and informal transfers to help older adults. This paper analyses national trends and the results of a study focused on the federal entity of Guanajuato. The distribution of the support provided confirms that the transfers made by the social security system have an urban bias and that formal transfers from the federal government are oriented to the least urban areas, and especially rural areas. Despite the existence of formal transfers (which are irregular and insufficient), the economic and health needs of older adults remain unmet and, as a result, their relatives make informal transfers. In Mexico, and more specifically in Guanajuato, those who live with older adults provide a very significant amount of support, whereas those who have migrated do not. On the basis of this material, we analyse of the role played by descendants, according to their cohort and migration status. In any case, it is clear that there the dynamics of intergenerational transfers are different in each national entity.


Cetaceans have been suggested as ideal ocean sentinels for the evaluation of ecosystem health because they are long-lived, higher trophic foragers, often with high site-fidelity. The body condition of cetaceans provides an integrated picture of foraging success and energy expenditure and thus represents an effective 'sentinel parameter' for ecosystem monitoring. In addition, the body condition of an individual can serve as a predictor of reproductive success and offspring survival. The ability to monitor the body condition of cetaceans is therefore of direct relevance for conservation biology. Despite the value of this parameter, there is currently a lack of reliable, standardized, non-lethal methodologies for its evaluation across species and age-categories.
The introduction chapter describes the natural history of the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the context of its Antarctic ecosystem and its energetic requirements. It sets out that the species is among the most vulnerable in a changing environment due to it being a specialised feeder depending on Antarctic krill. Krill is the keystone of the Antarctic ecosystem and is presently facing numerous threats. Humpback whales are capital breeders that spend summers feeding in high latitude feeding grounds, building up their energy reserves reflected in their body condition. During winter they migrate to tropical waters to reproduce, a journey that is fuelled by the energy stores previously accumulated. The seasonal dynamics of intensive feeding and lipid deposition, followed by high energy activities that are accompanied by fasting and lipid mobilisation, render the species ideal for the study of possible biomarkers of fluctuating energy stores. This thesis focuses on the evaluation of fluctuating adiposity of southern hemisphere humpback whales.
The second chapter presents a critical review of the available approaches of assessing cetacean body condition. Currently the methodologies can be divided into four groups, namely: Blubber Measures, Body Composition, Body Morphometry, and Biochemical and Chemical Biomarkers. The last category is dedicated mainly to new developments and explores the emerging methodologies. This chapter describes and analyzes their applications as well as their respective strengths and weaknesses. The chapter concludes by advocating research priorities that fill the critical technical research needs for a reliable, non-lethal and standardized methodology that is applicable across species and age-categories and for large numbers of individuals.
In response to the research need identified in chapter two, chapter three investigates adipocyte metrics as a potential biomarker of adiposity in humpback whales. Blubber is composed of adipocytes, which are filled with lipids according to the individual energy reserves. This means that a change in total energy reserve impacts the volume of individual adipocytes. Two adipocyte metrics were assessed histologically: the two-dimensional adipocytes area and the relative proportion of adipocyte space in the blubber tissue which is termed the adipocyte index. Both adipocyte metrics exceed the sensitivity of the most widely used proxy for energetic reserves, blubber lipid percentage, thus validating the implementation of adipocyte area and the adipocyte index as energetic reserve biomarkers. This published work therefore advocates the inclusion of these measures, obtained from superficial blubber biopsies, in long-term monitoring programs as a means of improving evaluation of fluctuating energy reserves.
Following the molecular techniques' potential to assessing body condition identified in the second chapter, chapter four explores the RNA extraction from humpback whale blubber for downstream applications. Good quality RNA is a prerequisite for successful downstream applications, however its extraction can be difficult, especially if the starting material is high in lipids. This chapter describes the strategic approach taken for method optimization and the difficulties encountered.
The fifth chapter provides a theoretical basis for the use of blubber proteins "adipokines" as biomarkers of adiposity. The main physiological role of blubber is energy storage; however, the tissue is highly integrated into the overall physiological and metabolic control systems of mammals. This mechanism is carried out through the secretion of proteins, synthesized in the adipose tissue and actively involved in the lipid dynamics, with a profound effect on food intake and energy expenditure in model species. The different concentrations of these proteins, such as leptin and adiponectin inform the hypothalamus of the amount of energy stored. However, very little is known about the operation of adipokines in animals that experience extreme fluctuations in their energy reserves while at the same time using adipose tissue as insulation as cetaceans do. This chapter explores the possibility that the gene expression profile of selected adipokines may provide insight into the fluctuating energetic health of cetaceans. This chapter also outlines trialled approaches and advocates future priorities.
The key findings and implications of this work are discussed in the concluding chapter. In summary, this study makes clear the importance of the energy reserves measurement and its ecological scope. It identifies the priorities for the improvement and standardization of the current methodologies and highlights the importance of new developments, pointing towards possible areas for further development. It proposes a simple and easily applicable methodology that improves precision and accuracy of the current method. In addition, it proposes advances in the optimization of the extraction of good quality RNA from blubber for downstream application. Finally, it explores the gene profile of the adipokines leptin and adiponectin, leaving the theoretical bases and some progress in the study of adipokines gene expression from humpback whale blubber.


Infusion of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) has resulted in clinical improvement and/or a fall in autoantibody in a number of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Several lines of evidence demonstrate that IVIg may react with disease-associated autoantibodies through idiotypic interactions. In addition, infusion of IVIg results in changes in the expressed autoantibody repertoire that are dependent on interactions between variable regions of infused IgG and autoantibodies and in the subsequent alterations in the regulatory function of immune networks. Thus, pooled normal immunoglobulin restored in a patient with autoimmune thyroiditis the dynamics of spontaneous fluctuations of serum autoantibodies characteristic of physiological conditions. The ability of IVIg to interact with V regions of autoantibodies and with surface molecules of lymphocytes in vitro provides a basis for the selective modulation of B-cell clones observed in patients treated with immunoglobulins. The natural intrinsic complexity of IVIg provides a physiological rationale for immunoregulatory therapy of autoimmune disease.


The partial differential equation (PDE) plays a significantly important role in many fields of science and engineering. The conventional case of the derivation of PDE mainly relies on first principles and empirical observation. However, the development of machine learning technology allows us to mine potential control equations from the massive amounts of stored data in a fresh way. Although there has been considerable progress in the data-driven discovery of PDE, the extant literature mostly focuses on the improvements of discovery methods, without substantial breakthroughs in the discovery process itself, including the principles for the construction of candidates and how to incorporate physical priors. In this paper, through rigorous derivation of formulas, novel physically enhanced machining learning discovery methods for control equations: GSNN (Galileo Symbolic Neural Network) and LSNN (Lorentz Symbolic Neural Network) are firstly proposed based on Galileo invariance and Lorentz invariance respectively, setting forth guidelines for building the candidates of discovering equations. The adoption of mandatory embedding of physical constraints is fundamentally different from PINN in the form of the loss function, thus ensuring that the designed Neural Network strictly obeys the physical prior of invariance and enhancing the interpretability of the network. By comparing the results with PDE-NET in numerical experiments of Burgers equation and Sine-Gordon equation, it shows that the method presented in this study has better accuracy, parsimony, and interpretability.


Measured Strain in Nb 3 Sn Coils During Excitation and Quench S. Caspi, S.E. Bartlett, D.R. Dietderich, P. Ferracin, S.A. Gourlay, C.R. Hannaford, A.R. Hafalia, A.F. Lietzke, S. Mattafirri, M. Nyman and G. Sabbi Abstract— The strain in a high field Nb 3 Sn coil was measured during magnet assembly, cool-down, excitation and spot heater quenches. Strain was measured with a full bridge strain gauge mounted directly over the turns and impregnated with the coil. Two such coils were placed in a "common coil" fashion capable of reaching 11T at 4.2K. The measured steady state strain in the coil is compared with results obtained using the FEM code ANSYS. During quenches, the transient strain (due to temperature rise) was also measured and compared with the calculated mechanical time response to a quench. Index Terms—Strain gage, Superconducting Magnet, Quench. We describe the technique of mounting strain gauges (Section II), discuss measured strain data during assembly, cool down, and excitation (Section III) and report on transient strain during spot-heater induced quenches (Section IV). II. S TRAIN G AUGES AND T RACES A. Superconducting Coils Winding small Nb 3 Sn racetrack coils (~2kg each) is a good way of testing new ideas before their use in large magnets. The small coils, approximately 300mm long and 90mm wide, are wound as a double pancake and reacted at 650 C. Two such coils, SC13 and SC14, each with a surrounding stainless protection horseshoe, were placed facing each other in a "common coil" fashion and assembled into a structure (Fig. 1). The assembly used keys and bladders, taking full advantage of the difference in thermal expansion between the inner coils, iron yoke and the external aluminum shell. Testing coils this way was sufficient to withstand pre-stress requirements up to 11T (at approximately 10kA). I. I NTRODUCTION re-stress in superconducting magnets has always been considered a necessary part in minimizing conductor motion and reduce "training". Measuring pre-stress however required special consideration due to the complex and none- linear nature of the assembly. Measuring sensors such as strain gauges or capacitor gauges are usually placed on the coil peripheral structure or collars in an attempt to determine the coil stress [1], [2]. In the past measured strain during assembly, cool down, excitation and warm up, suggested that coil stress may vary in non-linear fashion that is also history and time dependent. A phenomenon called "ratcheting", measured in different magnet structures, suggested a possible connection between the behavior of coils under Lorentz forces, pre-stress, and training. We proceeded to impregnate strain gauges within the coil for the following reasons: 1) a simpler more reliable way to determine the coil stress 2) make strain measurements anywhere within coils 3) measure thermal and quench effects 4) shed light on training and better understand what can be done to eliminate it 5) compare with ANSYS strain calculations during a quench [3]-[5]. The method of placing strain gauges directly onto coils takes full advantage of the impregnation process typical in Nb 3 Sn coils. An alternative method of attaching strain gauges to coils after impregnation has been tried elsewhere [6], [7]. Manuscript received October 4, 2004. This work was supported under contract DE-AD03-76SF00098 by the Director, Office of Energy Research, Office of High Energy Physics, U.S. Department of Energy. All authors are with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (phone: 001 510 486 7244; fax: 001 510 486 5310; e-mail: email@example.com). P Fig.1. Exposed racetr ack coil surrounded by iron pads, iron yoke laminations, an d aluminum shell. Attaching strain gauges to coils and securing their position was done with a coil trace overlay. The trace, a ProE (CAD) drawing, included two full-bridge strain gauges, a spot-heater, and several voltage-taps (Fig.2). Drawn on vellum paper the trace was subjected to a photo etch process that resulted in a 25m thick stainless image over a 50m thick Kapton sheet.


Introduction: The changes in the white blood cells counts and other blood parameters are well-recognized feature in sepsis. A ratio between neutrophils and lymphocytes can be used as a screening marker in sepsis. Even though new markers such as Procalcitonin and adrenomedullin have been rolled out in the field, implementation of these markers has been hindered by cost, accessibility, and proper validation. We looked for the ability of simple neutrophil-lymphocyte count ratio (NLCR) when compared to the gold standard blood culture method in predicting bacteremia, on patients presented to emergency department (ED) with features of suspected community-acquired infections. Materials and Methods: A comparative study done on 258 adult patients, admitted with suspected features of community-acquired infections. The study group included all patients who had positive blood culture results on index presentation at ED. Patients with hematological, chronic liver and retroviral diseases, patients receiving chemotherapy, and steroid medications were excluded from the study. The study group was compared with gender- and age-matched control group who were also admitted with a suspicion of the same, but in whom the blood culture results were negative. Results: There was no statistically significant difference for predicting bacteremia by NLCR (>4.63) and culture positivity methods (P = 1.00). NLCR of > 4.63 predicts bacteremia with an accuracy of 84.9%. Conclusion: In our setting, NLCR performs equally well with culture positivity, in detecting severe infection at the early phase of disease. The NLCR may, therefore, be used as a suitable screening marker at ED for suspected community-acquired infections.


Pulmonary resections have been performed successfully for many years, but until 1933 the techniques remained crude and the operations extremely hazardous according to present standards. Staged operations, use of tourniquets and clamps and destruction of lung tissue with cautery all resulted in prolonged morbidity and a mortality horrifying to the surgeon of today. In 1933 Rienhoff1first described the technique of individual isolation and closure of the bronchus and blood vessels at the hilus. This technique, now used in practically all pulmonary resections, has done more than anything else to reduce the operative complications and mortality of these procedures. In 1932 Graham and his colleagues2collected a series of 212 lobectomies in which the operative mortality was 34 per cent. By 1947 Kay and associates3were able to report 258 consecutive cases of lobectomy for bronchiectasis with only one death, and Jones4presented a series of


Phosphate insecticide use is increasing as is concomitant human poisoning. Home insecticide bomb as well as agricultural, crop contamination and suicidal exposure are noted. Clinical poisoning may be chronic and severe. It may follow long exposure or short exposure with heavy dosages. Manifestations are those of excessive cholinergic activity.Adequate laboratory means for early, rapid diagnosis and screen testings are available.PAM is a valuable agent for this type of poisoning and is a much more adequate and complete antidote than atropine. It is available (under certain restrictive conditions presently). It is being widely used elsewhere in the world but with limited education and use in this country. Morbidity and mortality continue at a rate that could probably be corrected. Case reports, describing the use of this antidote in our hands, are included. Government and industry responsibility as well as physician education must be more clearly defined in prevention, recognition and treatment in what is often a life threatening situation.


Plants absorb sulfur from the environment and assimilate it into suitable forms for the biosynthesis of a broad range of molecules. Although the biochemical pathway of sulfur assimilation is known, how genetic differences contribute to natural variation in sulfur assimilation remains poorly understood. Here, using genome-wide association study (GWAS), we uncovered a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variant in the sulfite reductase (SiR) gene that was significantly associated with SiR protein abundance in a maize natural association population. We also demonstrated that the nonsynonymous C to G base change at SNP69 may repress translational activity by altering mRNA secondary structure, which leads to reduction in ZmSiR protein abundance and sulfur assimilation activity. Population genetic analyses showed that the SNP69C allele was likely a variant occurring after the initial maize domestication and accumulated with the spread of maize cultivation from tropical to temperate regions. This study provides the first evidence that genetic polymorphisms in the exon of ZmSiR could influence the protein abundance through a post-transcriptional mechanism and in part contribute to natural variation in sulfur assimilation. These findings provide a prospective target to improve maize varieties with proper sulfur nutrient levels assisted by molecular breeding and engineering.


Recent research (e.g. Barnes, Auburn & Lee, 2004) suggests that citizenship opportunities and resources may be afforded or denied to individuals according to their group memberships. We consider how the generic processes of intergroup differentiation by which groups are socially devalued and excluded can reflect divergent conceptualizations of citizenship among different groups. As part of a wider investigation of social exclusion, a combination of methods was used to investigate the relative intergroup perceptions of residents from more and less affluent areas in Limerick city, Ireland. Participants (n ¼ 214) completed the implicit association test and rated a fictional character on a series of citizenship-relevant dimensions. All participants displayed negative implicit associations with designated disadvantaged areas in Limerick. The results of the explicit prejudice assessment illustrated that these negative associations are matched by a lower overall attribution of positive characteristics to residents from these areas relative to residents from a more affluent area. On examination of each group's relative rating of traits, residents from less affluent areas appear doubly disadvantaged as they are devalued in terms of both outgroup and ingroup understandings of citizenship attributes. Copyright # 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Fraction collection following electrophoresis is of major importance for a variety of biological analyses. These assays typically need to identify specific fractions in the separated sample for further processing and require extraction of one or a group of fragments. In this paper, we have developed and characterized a technique to generate addressable electric fields for improved extraction during electrophoresis in microfluidic devices. The addressable electric field is achieved by applying a low bias voltage (1-2 V) to microelectrode pairs within the electrophoresis microchannel. Theoretical analysis shows the purity of the extracted sample can be improved as much as 30% over extraction without the shaped electric fields, and nearly 100% predicted yield can be achieved. We also describe the theoretical design of shaped electric fields by characterizing the optimal electrode geometry, field strength, channel configuration, and electrophoretic migration behavior needed for efficient band extraction.


The method of estimating gestational age from the height of the fundus uteri during pregnancy has been investigated. Such wide variations occur in the length of the maternal abdomen and umbilical position and in the level of the uterine fundus at each gestational age that the method is not reliable. Assessment of uterine size by pelvic examination in the first trimester of pregnancy correlates more closely with gestational age than assessments made by abdominal palpation of the uterus at a later time.


Mobility is one of the most important factors for well-being and autonomy in old age. Impairments in mobility, falls and fear of falling are, therefore, of prognostic value. Falls generally result from an interaction of multiple risk factors. However, older people are often not aware of the risks of falling. They neither recognize risk factors nor report these factors to their physicians. The aim of this study was to develop and to test a self-reported multidimensional screening instrument to evaluate risk factors of falling in community-dwelling older people. Therefore, we identified multiple risk factors of falls based on a systematic literature review and then developed a new questionnaire - the Senior Citizen Risk of Falling Check. Risk factors, i.e. cognitive disorders, that are closely associated with the demand of nursing care were not covered in this relatively healthy target group. We pretested this instrument and adapted it before its use in a pilot test in residents of a sheltered housing complex in Hamburg. A group of 117 residents (average age 82.9 years, range 68.2-98.2 years, 83.8% women), all without care needs (assessed by the German health and care insurance system) returned the Senior Citizen Risk of Falling Check. Within 2 weeks all 117 participants were interviewed by telephone to analyze the test-retest reliability of the instrument (Cohen's kappa). We administered 13 questions on visual and hearing deficits, neurological impairment, depressive mood, medication use, muscle weakness, gait and balance deficits, nutrition, and history of falls. On average, 6 risk factors were reported (range 0-12). Reductions in gait speed (64.1%) was most frequently mentioned. Of the participants, 30.8% fell at least once during the last year and 22.2% of these falls resulted in injuries (fractures, hematomas, laceration, pain). Cohen's kappa was good (2/13 questions) to excellent (10/13 questions) with one exception (balance question kappa=0.20). The study results confirm good test-retest reliability of the fall risk screening Senior Citizen Risk of Falling Check. At the moment we are working on the validation of this questionnaire to provide it to senior citizens throughout Hamburg in cooperation with the City of Hamburg.


: As previously underlined in this book, Pickering emulsions have in recent years gained increasing attention due to their interesting properties related to the replacement of surfactants by solid microparticles or nanoparticles. Such change in the nature of the stabilizer confers higher stability and lower toxicity to the emulsions. This chapter focus on the recent advances in the specific use of a peculiar class of inorganic bidimensionnal particles the Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) and hydroxides salts in Pickering emulsion process. The properties of the two main classes of LDH involved in the stabilization of emulsion that is pristine materials and modified LDH with organic anions, are described. Then the different results obtained for oil-in-water, water-in-oil and water-in-water involving LDH or hydroxides salt particles are discussed. At last, the interest of Pickering emulsion stabilized by LDH in various applications are also reviewed.


Early mobility and activity programmes following cardiac surgery are vital for improved patient outcomes, as they accelerate the recovery of functional capacity and walking distance. We observed that only 5.3% of our patients achieved a Functional Independence Measurement (FIM) score of 80% or more by the third postoperative day (POD). Additionally, the average 6-minute walk distance achieved by the fourth POD was only 188 m. Therefore, a quality improvement (QI) project was implemented with the aim of attaining a FIM score of 80% by the third POD for more than 80% of patient underwent/undergoing cardiac surgery without complications. A model-for-improvement framework was used to drive continuous improvement. This project was implemented in February 2021. Baseline data were prospectively collected between November 2020 and January 2021 (preintervention). Outcomes were analysed using standard control chart rules to detect changes over time. Unpaired Student t-tests assessed significant differences in mean levels between two groups, (preintervention vs postintervention).χ2 tests were conducted between the two groups according to gender and patient satisfaction scores. The percentage of patients who achieved a FIM score of 80% or more by the third POD gradually increased to 91.4% 5 months following programme implementation and was sustained thereafter. The mean patient FIM score significantly improved to 81.20±3.77 (p<0.001) by the third POD. Similarly, the mean 6-minute walk distance increased to 267.90±36.10 m (p<0.001) by the fourth POD. The percentage of patients who displayed the level of confidence needed to carry out activities of daily living (ADL) and exercises independently at home increased to 89.4% (p<0.001) by the fifth POD. No adverse events associated with the mobility and activity programme were reported. This QI project demonstrated a substantial improvement in patient functional independence, walking distance and the level of confidence needed to independently carry out ADL and exercises following cardiac surgery.


Cheney and Seyfarth enter the minds of vervet monkeys and other primates to explore the nature of primate intelligence and the evolution of cognition. "This reviewer had to be restrained from stopping people in the street to urge them to read it: They would learn something of the way science is done, something about how monkeys see their world, and something about themselves, the mental models they inhabit."--Roger Lewin, "Washington Post Book World" "A fascinating intellectual odyssey and a superb summary of where science stands."--Geoffrey Cowley, "Newsweek" "A once-in-the-history-of-science enterprise."--Duane M. Rumbaugh, "Quarterly Review of Biology"


The study assessed the impact of electronic banking on the profitability of a Bank in Ghana. How the bank finds itself before a new fact imposed by technology revolution that has changed their work mechanisms from traditional means to electronic means. Furthermore, this study investigates how the electronic banking services through internet and ATM has impacted on banking services in general and the banks' profitability in particular. The methodology was quantitative in nature. In all, 150 questionnaires were administered to the interviewee from the selected branches of the Agricultural Development Bank who are customers, to solicit information concerning the E-banking. All data from the structured self-administered questionnaires were correctly organized. The software that was used for this is, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study was also more descriptive in nature. After testing the hypothesis by using inferential statistics, it was discovered that E-banking does have an impact on the profitability of the Agricultural Development bank. There was a significant increase in the net profit margin of the bank in the year (2011) E-banking was introduced and the even though it fell in the next year (2012) which wasn't much, it increased again in the third year (2013).The study revealed that E-banking has a positive effect on ADB's Profitability. Keywords: Profitability, Electronic Banking, Internet Banking, ADB


Islam as the source and path of truth that comes from Allah is a view of life which is not only intended for the welfare and happiness of Muslims, but is a blessing for all nature. Islam which is derived from divine truth, both contained in the verses of the Koran and the sunnah of the Prophet, is a guide for the way of all times. Likewise, Islam regulates the relationship between humans and others, with God and with their natural environment. The key to the personality of the Islamic community is akidah, syari'at and morals. If the creed provides the direction of the movement of society, while the syari'at provides limits on how and the method to take that direction properly, then morals will decorate the path of the goal so that it is beautiful and pleasant. The ideal society or in this study is referred to as the "Wasathan ummatan" is a social order that is needed by the era to give birth to a society with noble character in order to continue a civilized life. In the Indonesian context, ummatan wasathan should be born as a solution to various problems of the ummah which are now spreading and becoming epidemics in the survival of religion and state. Sayyid Qutb's Method of Interpretation and several other interpreters compared with his interpretation of Quraish Shihab becomes an analysis which then gives birth to the true meaning of how the ideal society should be in the perspective of the Koran to be applied in all the dynamics of Indonesian society today and beyond.


Recently, high strength steel becomes more and more important material from the viewpoint of lightening of the structures and decreasing the amount of welding. It is important to know the behavior of material steels after plastic deformation because many structures need plastic deformation for material steels in the manufacturing process of steel product. On the other hand, high strength steel plate for commercial use is mainly composed of Martensite microstructure by low carbon content in order to balance weldability and strength. So far, the relation between stress and strain after plastic deformation has been investigated only for Ferrite or the mixture of Ferrite, Pearite and Bainite structure. In this paper, by using 780 MPa steel plate, behavior of deformation of Martensite material after plastic deformation including the repeated patterns is surveyed comparing of behavior of Ferrite steel plate. Main results can be summarized as follows, 1) In case of large prestrain, over 3%, configuration of stress-strain curve is decided by the last prestrain condition even in repeated pattern. 2) Uniform elongation in the tensile properties vanishes after 6% pretension: This phenomenon is caused by many dislocations in the Martensite structure. 3) Baushinger effect becomes greater, as prestrain to reverse direction increases up to 2%. This amount corresponds to stress constant range of virgin material. It can be thought that piling-up of dislocations propagates all over the structure by taking 2% strain. 4) Baushinger effect ratio α0.2 of HT780 is approximately 0.3 under sufficient large reverse prestrain. 5) Configuration of stress-strain curve after prestrain in both direction hardly change by aging heat treatment (250°C). This is caused by difficulties of movement of dislocations because of mutual binding due to the tangle of many dislocations characteristic of Martensite transformation. 6) HT780 steel composed of Martensite is hardly changed in condition of damage by strain during practical use. This characteristic nature is unlike Ferrite steel.


We have studied fully differential cross sections (FDCS) for single ionization in 75 keV p + He collisions by measuring the recoil-ion momentum and the projectile momentum in coincidence. The measured FDCS are completely dominated by the binary peak while the recoil peak is absent. This is a clear signature of the post-collision interaction between the outgoing projectile and the ejected electron. Furthermore, our continuum distorted wave calculation demonstrates the importance of the projectile–target nucleus interaction. While the shape of the experimental FDCS is well reproduced by this calculation, there are significant discrepancies in magnitude.


Objectives: To determine the clinical and radiological outcome of proximal femur shaft fractures in school going children treated with locking compression plates (LCP). Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in Orthopaedic Division Lady Ready Reading Hospital Peshawar from 25th June 2018 to 25th September 2020. Children of either gender and age 6 to 12 years old with subtrochanteric and proximal one third femur factures fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled in this study. Open reduction and internal fixation with 4.5 mm narrow locking compression plates (LCP) were done in all. Post operative clinical outcome was evaluated by using Flynn scoring system and graded as excellent, satisfactory and poo results. Radiological assessment of fracture union was done through anteroposterior (AP) and lateral X-ray radiographs. Results: A total of 60 children with mean age 9.01±1.61 SD (range 6 to 12 years) were included in our study. Oblique fractures were present in 23(38.3%) children, spiral in 20(33.3%), transverse in 11(18.3%) and comminuted in 6 (10%) children. The radiological union time was 13.3±1.2 weeks (range 9.4 to 18 weeks). Majority (88.3%, n=53) of children had excellent clinical outcome according to Flynn's scoring system while satisfactory outcome was noted in 7(11.6%) children. No cases of delayed union, mal union, nonunion and implant failure was reported. Conclusion: The results of our study indicated that proximal femoral shaft fractures in school going children treated with locking compression plates had excellent clinical and radiological outcome. We therefore recommend locking compression plate as the implant of choice to fix proximal femoral shaft fractures in school going children.


PURPOSES:Evaluation of input parameters determination procedure for dynamic analysis of aggregates in DEM. METHODS: In this research, the aggregate slump test and angularity test were performed as fundamental laboratory tests to determine input parameters of spherical particles in DEM. The heights spreads, weights of the simple tests were measured and used to calibrate rolling and static friction coefficients of particles. RESULTS : The DEM simulations with calibrated parameters showed good agreement with the laboratory test results for given dynamic condition. CONCLUSIONS : It is concluded that the employed calibration method can be applicable to determine rolling friction coefficient of DEM simulation for given dynamic conditions. However, further research is necessary to connect the result to the behavior of aggregate in packing and mixing process and to refine static friction coefficient.


Variations within the musculature of the lateral compartment of the leg are uncommon. However, clinicians and radiologists should be aware of anatomical alterations in this region when involved in diagnosis or imaging interpretation. The present report describes a well-developed muscle of the lateral compartment of the leg that inserted distally onto the talus and calcaneus. This muscle could be considered a variation of the so-called peroneus quartus muscle. To the authors' knowledge this muscle variation has not been described as having an attachment onto the talus thus the term 'peroneotalocalcaneus muscle' is proposed.


ABSTRACT Bottoms and Tankebe recently analysed the multidimensional nature of police legitimacy and made an argument for its relevance to social order. Using survey data from three communities of varying socioeconomic conditions in Pakistan, this paper examines the links between the multiple dimensions of the Bottoms-Tankebe model of police legitimacy and support for vigilante violence. The findings show overall high levels of support for vigilantism. Regression analysis shows that experiences of police illegality consistently predict support for vigilantism across the three communities. Perceived quality of police decision-making predicts support for vigilantism in some conditions but not others. Contrary to expectations, quality of interpersonal treatment by police and police effectiveness do not explain support for vigilantism. We also found no evidence to show that feelings of obligation to obey the police mediate the influence of police legitimacy on vigilante support. The implications of these findings are discussed in this paper.


This paper provides results from an experimental study performed to evaluate the use of homogeneous and granulated explosive mixture concepts for creating spherical aerosol clouds. In the explosive mixture concept, a small mass of explosive is added to a larger mass of fine inert particulate, and the blend is hand-tamped into a confining cylindrical or spherical structure thereby creating a bed of explosive mixture. The mixture proportions are selected such that the mixture is able to sustain a reaction, be it a detonation or deflagration, throughout the bed. This approach generates gas for aerosol dispersal throughout the bed rather than from the center of the bed (as from a center-driven concept device). As such, a uniformly dispersed aerosol, rather than a thin shell of aerosol, would be expected to be dispersed. The two mixture concepts considered in this work differed only in the assembly and blending of the inert and explosive. Of interest in this work was the evaluation of the explosive mixture concepts relative to providing uniform spherical clouds of fine oxide aerosols of characteristic dimension less than 10 um. Programmatic constraints dictated that the mass and quantity of extraneous materials such as the external structure and other peripheralsmore » associated with initiation also be minimized. Experiments were conducted in air with spherical devices ranging in size from 3'' to 15'' in diameter and with cylindrical and conical shotgun devices of length 4'' to 7''. The latter test were performed to assess reaction sustainability for different explosive mixture ratios. Trends obtained from the studies as well as an assessment of the explosive mixture dispersal concept are included. 7 refs., 15 figs.« less


: Tuberculosis is a chronic bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and characterised by the formation of granulomas in infected tissues and by florid cell-mediated hypersensitivity. The usual site of disease is the lungs but other organs may be involved.


Although most circulating iron in blood plasma is destined for erythropoiesis, the mechanisms by which erythropoietic demand modulates the iron supply ("erythroid regulators") remain largely unknown. Iron absorption, plasma iron concentrations, and tissue iron distribution are tightly controlled by the liver-produced hormone hepcidin. During the last decade, much progress has been made in elucidating hepcidin regulation by iron and inflammation. This review discusses the less understood mechanisms and mediators of hepcidin suppression in physiologically and pathologically stimulated erythropoiesis.


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PURPOSE
For single source helical Computed Tomography (CT), both Filtered-Back Projection (FBP) and statistical iterative reconstruction have been investigated. However for dual source CT with ying focal spot (DS-FFS CT), statistical iterative reconstruction that accurately models the scanner geometry and acquisition physics remains unknown to researchers. Therefore, our purpose is to present a novel physics-based iterative reconstruction method for DS-FFS CT and assess its image quality.

METHODS
Our algorithm uses precise physics models to reconstruct from the native cone-beam geometry and interleaved dual source helical trajectory of a DS-FFS CT. To do so, we construct a noise physics model to represent data acquisition noise and a prior image model to represent image noise and texture. In addition, we design forward system models to compute the locations of deflected focal spots, the dimension and sensitivity of voxels and detector units, as well as the length of intersection between X-rays and voxels. The forward system models further represent the coordinated movement between the dual sources by computing their X-ray coverage gaps and overlaps at an arbitrary helical pitch. With the above models, we reconstruct images by using an advanced Consensus Equilibrium (CE) numerical method to compute the maximum a posteriori estimate to a joint optimization problem that simultaneously fits all models.

RESULTS
We compared our reconstruction with Siemens ADMIRE, which is the clinical standard hybrid iterative reconstruction (IR) method for DS-FFS CT, in terms of spatial resolution, noise profile and image artifacts through both phantoms and clinical scan datasets. Experiments show that our reconstruction has a higher spatial resolution, with a Task-Based Modulation Transfer Function (MTFtask) consistently higher than the clinical standard hybrid IR. In addition, our reconstruction shows a reduced magnitude of image undersampling artifacts than the clinical standard.

CONCLUSIONS
By modeling a precise geometry and avoiding data rebinning or interpolation, our physics-based reconstruction achieves a higher spatial resolution and fewer image artifacts with smaller magnitude than the clinical standard hybrid IR.


Human balance strategies during standing have been studied extensively. Most of these studies rely on perturbations to the feet, for example by moving platforms or treadmills, and focus on the sagittal plane. Less research has been done on reactions to perturbations to the upper body, and the direction dependence of stabilizing strategies is still an open question. Here, we describe an experiment where we apply horizontal static pulling forces to the upper body of standing human subjects in different directions by means of an overhead robotic device, the FLOAT. Based on a simplified mechanical model, we propose the normalized displacement of the center of pressure, the ΔCoPn, as a measure of the selected balance strategy. We find that existing neuromechanical models do not fully explain responses to these static horizontal forces, because they predict too much CoP movement. Further, we found a tendency to particularly reduce CoP movement in anterior-posterior direction, indicating that reconfiguration of the body may play a larger role in this direction.


Kant's demystification is meant to put away any metaphysical and revealed elements from ethics and religion. Kant, fulfilling this, first argues that metaphysical questions of reason, from theoretical aspect, have no certain answers. In practical reason, he establishes his moral foundations, based on own human being without any referring to metaphysical bases. In fact, Kant places human being as the base, legislator and finally the end of ethics, so that the totality of morality is depended on itself him/her and there is no moral reality out of our humanly understanding. Kant, then, by confirming the necessity of rational religion, believes that the age of revealed religions have been expired, since they were belonged to the childhood age of human being's reason, while in Kant's rational religion, this is human being's subjective intellect that defines the nature and function of God. Therefore, for Kant's moral and rational religion, there is no credibility for affairs like miracles, blessings and prayers, since they indicate religious misguidance. In Kant's rational pure religion, the religion is relied on human being's pure reason in which his/her reason is the only criterion of religious beliefs. Therefore, for Kant, religion means recognizing our duties as divine judgments, and that such religion pertains to our mundane life not for worshiping God in order to get his satisfaction or benefitting his grace. In short, Kant's religion and morality are totally depended on our humanly and earthy rationality and understanding, and that there is no mystery out of our humanly willing. So the mysteries that are claimed by revealed religions are meaningless, since our reason, itself, determines the nature, function and virtues of God, moral axioms and religious beliefs.


Ancient Indian ethos emphasize that all the efforts of human life should be directed towards practical realization of the ultimate truth or reality which could be realized by merging the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness. Contemporary understanding of Mindfulness is awareness and open and receptive attention toward whatever is happening at present moment internally and externally This paper is an attempt to enrich the concept of mindfulness through ancient Indian ethos.


A tropical channel model failed to simulate an observed MJO event. As a means to find reasons for the failure, model errors in water vapor (qv) and other fields were corrected to different extents by nudging towards a global reanalysis product. An MJO metric was developed to quantify the realism of a simulated MJO event in the amplitude and zonal propagation speed of its precipitation and zonal wind at 850 hPa (U850). Results show that correcting errors in qv alone is necessary and sufficient for a realistic simulation of the MJO event. Correcting errors in other fields is insufficient by itself and unnecessary with water vapor correction. For a realistic MJO simulation, error corrections are needed for qv perturbations of the planetary scales (zonal wave number 1–3) together with its zonal mean in both the lower and middle troposphere. Correcting errors in qv at upper levels, planetary‐scale perturbations of any single zonal wave number, synoptic‐scale perturbations, or temporal/zonal means alone is not sufficient for a realistic MJO simulation. Amplitudes of MJO precipitation and U850 are significantly correlated, but their propagation speeds are not. MJO signals in U850 are easier than those in precipitation to improve by correcting errors in qv. In the absence of MJO intrinsic dynamics, inserted MJO signals in qv in a simulation may create a phantom MJO event in precipitation but not in the circulation. This study confirms the existing knowledge on the importance of qv to MJO simulations, sheds new lights on the role of the qv spatial structure, and presents evidence for possible precipitation‐circulation decoupling in MJO simulations.


Background: Tumors with deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) have a favorable immunological phenotype permitting exploitation by immunotherapies. We aimed to assess our institutional experience of dMMR advanced gastrointestinal (GI) cancers treated with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab. Materials and Methods: We conducted an observational cohort study of a clinical series of patients with dMMR metastatic GI cancers treated with pembrolizumab from 2015 to 2017. Patients were assessed for best response, time to and reason for discontinuation, and adverse events. Results: A total of 13 patients received at least one dose of pembrolizumab. Median age was 62 years (range 33–74 years). Diagnoses included colorectal (colorectal cancer [CRC], n = 7); extrahepatic and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHCC, n = 2; n = 1); pancreatic (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma [PDAC], n = 2); and adenocarcinoma of the appendix (n = 1). Five patients received concurrent chemotherapy (FOLFOX or capecitabine) with pembrolizumab (200 mg intravenous [IV] q 2 weeks with FOLFOX or 2 mg/kg IV q 3 weeks with capecitabine). Pembrolizumab was administered 2 mg/kg IV q 3 weeks to all patients who received single-agent treatment. Eleven patients were evaluable for response assessment. Three patients had a complete response (CRC and two EHCC) and one of these patients received concomitant pembrolizumab and FOLFOX. Two patients had a partial response, one with PDAC (−88% per RECIST, continues on treatment after 15.7 months) and the other with CRC (−45% per RECIST, continues after 14.6 months), both patients received concomitant pembrolizumab and FOLFOX and are now maintained on single-agent pembrolizumab. The objective response rate was 42%. Three patients experienced immune-related adverse events requiring discontinuation. Conclusions: This single-institution case series confirms the activity of pembrolizumab in various GI cancers harboring dMMR. Future studies are warranted to determine the role of combinatorial treatment with chemotherapy and/or novel immunotherapies in this population.