Abstract In the Fall of 1999, the Phillips Petroleum Company of Oklahoma discovered the giant PL-19-3 oilfield in Block 11/05 of China's Bohai Bay. This discovery will almost certainly lead to the development of a major oil production center for Phillips as well as for the People's Republic of China. Initial exploration in and around the discovery site was conducted by Phillips through its subsidiary Phillips China Inc. and its local partner the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). This paper is a brief recounting of the events immediately preceding one of the most significant petroleum discoveries in offshore China and the rest of world. Phillips' Worldwide Exploration, in the early 90s, was company-mandated to search for acreage with the characteristics and the potential opportunities of its huge "Ekofisk" field in Europe's North Sea. The ultimate goal was: long term production and the consequent creation of a large-reserves center for the company. China was one of the focus countries. In 1992-93, the exploration team conducted wide-ranging basinal studies that identified and prioritized remaining Chinese basins with the greatest exploration potential. The North China Basin came out on top. When CNOOC announced the opening of the large 9200 km2 Bozhong 11/05 Block in Bohai Bay, Phillips was ready. It managed to purchase the entire seismic and well database even before formal announcement of the bid process. Then in 1994, the company made a bid—and it bid to win—with minimum commitments of five(5) firm exploration wells, 10,000 kilometers of 2-D seismic, and 200 square kilometers of 3D seismic in the first 5 years of the Exploration period. Phillips won the bid and eventually signed the Petroleum Contract in late 1994, effective January 1st 1995. The work was definitely cut out for all the co-venturers. Within three months of contract effectivity, Phillips and CNOOC acquired over 12000 kms of new 2D seismic data. In 1996 the first commitment well, BZ 22-2-1, was spud to test conventional deep reservoirs within a structure in the south flank of the main Bozhong source sub-basin. Although the well yielded only non-commercial gas and condensate, it confirmed the presence of good hydrocarbon systems and proved the Bozhong sag to be an excellent source area. It also raised concerns, however, regarding reservoir quality and structural complexities brought about by the highlyfaulted nature of the area. This first well was also very expensive. The concerns were serious enough to warrant a decision by Phillips to spread its risk. A farmout campaign was conducted, and in mid- 1997, Union Texas became a new partner. Due to heavy commitments of the co-venturers, and the relinquishment requirement for the end of the fifth year, another strategy was adopted. Instead of concentrating evaluation around the main Bozhong sag, the partners shifted to evaluating other relatively untested sub-basins in the Block. The next two prospects drilled were relatively "simple"-- uncomplicated, small structures. This 1997 drilling campaign resulted in the PL 14-3-1 and BZ 36-2-1 oil discoveries. Although these two wells were economically marginal, the technical information obtained proved invaluable. It confirmed that the other sub-basins in the block were also productive, and more importantly, that the "sandier" shallow section was capable of trapping "acceptable" oil. These findings opened up a very large inventory of new prospects all over the block. In view of the data gathered, it was decided to delay further drilling until a better understanding of the geological and structural picture of the shallower features could be reached. In 1998, a decision was made to run 3D seismic over the two previous oil discoveries, and over a third area covering what appeared to be a very large anticlinal feature masked in part by shallow gas effects. About 1300 square kilometers of 3D seismic were eventually completed. In addition, parallel advanced geological and geochemical analyses as well as structural and fault seal risk evaluations were undertaken. Around the same time that the co-venturers were running these studies, ARCO bought Union Texas and became the new partner. Arco, however, opted to back out of the block, a decision which left Phillips with a 100 % interest. CNOOC co-operated at this juncture by allowing Phillips enough time to re-evaluate its position and decide on a course of action. Eventually, Phillips management gave its full support to drilling the next well. In May 1999, the PL 19-3 discovery became fact. A gross hydrocarbon column of 485 meters in Miocene Lower Minghuazhen and Guantao sandstones was encountered. Immediately thereafter, Phillips conducted a highly successful seven(7)- appraisal-well program. Published figures now put the field's reserves at 500-800 MMBO. Phillips and CNOOC recently announced plans to implement a Phase I development program that would produce first oil by late 2001 or early 2002. Multicomponent seismic data has been acquired over the PL 19-3 "gas cloud" to better define the structure for development drilling. Full field development is also currently being evaluated. Since the discovery of PL 19-3, similar type plays have been drilled by other operators in the area and new discoveries announced. China's Bohai Bay has definitely seen a resurgence in exploration activity, and now enjoys the probability of new developments. Phillips is simply pleased to have started it all. Presented at: 2003 South East Asia Petroleum Exploration Society (SEAPEX) Conference, Singapore, 2003


This article introduces the notion of evolutionary textual environment as the outcome of a digital experiment. The experiment consisted of transforming a digital archive of Fernando Pessoa's Book of Disquiet into a changing textual space sustained by role-playing interactions. As conceptual and technical artifact, this living archive expresses an innovative model not only for the literary acts of reading, editing and writing, but also for reimagining the book as a network of reconfigurable and dynamic texts, structures, and actions. The programmed features of the LdoD Archive can be used in multiple activities, including leisure reading, study, analysis, advanced research, and creative writing. Through the integration of computational tools in a simulation space, this collaborative archive provides an open exploration of the procedurality of the digital medium itself. The "unfinished machine" metaphor suggests the open-endedness both of the evolving textual environment and of the computational modeling of literary performativity that sustains the whole experiment.


By Marianne Emmert, Medical Sciences; Roger Cornwall, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center; Kritton Shay-Winkler, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
 Advisor: Qing Goh
 Abstract: In Summer 2019, I was given the opportunity to work as a RaMP Student Researcher in the Cornwall Laboratory at Cincinnati ChildrenOs Hospital Medical Center. Here, we study cerebral palsy and neonatal brachial plexus injury, which are the two most common causes of paralysis in children. Specifically, our laboratory is focused on identifying effective treatments for the debilitating muscle contractures that ensue. These contractures severely impair function and mobility in the affected limbs and are currently incurable. To address this, one of our major projects is to determine the efficacy of the FDA-approved drug, bortezomib, for preventing contractures in a mouse model of neonatal brachial plexus injury. Besides assisting with drug preparations and injections, my main responsibility in this project was to investigate the long-term effects of this drug on skeletal muscle growth and development.
This enriching experience has benefited me both professionally and personally. As a Pre- Medical student, the RaMP program offered me my first hands-on experience working in a biomedical research laboratory. Furthermore, this experience has opened many doors for me as I have been presented with opportunities to contribute to a scientific manuscript and to present my findings at a Developmental Biology conference. Personally, RaMP has been one of the my most impactful experiences at the University of Cincinnati. This experience showed me that my scientific contributions as a student have the potential to directly impact another personOs life.


The stability of nifedipine in an extemporaneously compounded oral solution is described. A solution of nifedipine 10 mg/mL was prepared from commercially available nifedipine powder with polyethylene glycol 400, glycerin, and peppermint oil. Four samples were stored in amber glass bottles at room temperature under fluorescent lighting and analyzed in duplicate. Samples were analyzed immediately and at 7, 14, 23, and 35 days. Eight samples were stored in amber oral syringes and eight in amber oral syringes wrapped in aluminum foil; all were stored at room temperature under fluorescent lighting. Samples from foil-wrapped syringes were analyzed at 7 and 14 days; samples not wrapped in foil were analyzed after 7 days. Nifedipine concentrations were measured with a modified stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic method. Excessive degradation was defined as a greater than 10% loss of initial drug concentration. There were no detectable changes in color or odor and no visible solids or microbial growth was observed in any sample. Samples in amber glass bottles and amber oral syringes wrapped in aluminum foil retained more than 90% of the initial nifedipine for 35 and 14 days, respectively. Samples packaged in amber oral syringes not wrapped in foil lost over 20% of the initial nifedipine concentration within 7 days. Nifedipine 10 mg/mL was stable in an oral solution prepared from commercially available powder in a peppermint-flavored vehicle for at least 35 days when stored at 22-25 degrees C in amber glass bottles and for at least 14 days when stored in amber oral syringes wrapped in aluminum foil.


The present invention describes novel heterodimeric immunoglobulins or fragments thereof that bind to CD3 and disease associated antigens. This heterodimeric immunoglobulin has been engineered to promote heterodimer formation during expression and can be highly purified using protein A differential purification techniques. is there.


Fashion is a much neglected field of social and anthropological research especially with regard to so called traditional societies. This is even more true in the case of the Dogon whose creation myths and symbolic system inspired so much respect that researchers did not dare for a long time to get interested in their material life. This study focuses on changes in dressing styles with regard to the so called traditional indigo cloths which have been re-appropriated and modernized by women and young men involved in tourism in a very specific manner by each group. My main argument is that their new dressing behaviour and their creative manual and interpretative interventions are related to modernization and this in a twofold way. Modernization in the sense of larger geographical and socio-cultural integration has stimulated stronger self-consciousness and opens ways for more individual expressions. The Dogon as a whole respond to these changes in a rather self-confident manner though the young tourist guides undergo an identity crisis. Both the women and the young men use the traditional indigo dress style - though under different conditions and with different results - to show who they think they are and who they claim to be. By the way of fashion they express their idea of modernity.


The high prevalence of cholesterol gallstone disease in hypertriglyceridemic patients may be associated with frequent metabolic defects in cholesterol and bile acid syntheses and in the concomitant formation of bile supersaturated with cholesterol. This study had the two aims: (1) to assess whether the defects as well as the degree of biliary cholesterol supersaturation in patients with hyperlipoproteinemia (HLP) can be estimated by the simultaneous determination of plasma mevalonate (MVL) and 7 α‐hydroxy‐4‐cholesten‐3‐one (C4); and (2) to assess the possible application of an estimated cholesterol saturation index ([CSI]E) as a means of evaluating the clinical effects of simvastatin on biliary lipid composition. Biliary cholesterol supersaturation was observed in patients with both IIa and IV HLP types. Consistent with the high activity and steady‐state messenger RNA level of 3‐hydroxy‐3 methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG‐CoA) reductase, plasma MVL was significantly higher in 86 patients with HLP (38 type IIa, 44.1 ± 2.4 nmol/L and 48 type IV, 56.7 ± 2.3; P < .01) than in 41 normolipidemic subjects (34.2 ± 1.5), closely correlating with the molar percentage of cholesterol in bile (r = .61, P = .0001; n = 86). On the other hand, consistent with the high activity and messenger RNA level of cholesterol 7 α‐hydroxylase, plasma C4 was significantly higher in patients with HLP (type IIa, 28.8 ± 2.3 nmol/L and type IV, 38.3 ± 2.7; P < .01) than in normolipidemic subjects (17.4 ± 1.5). Plasma C4 was closely correlated with plasma MVL (r = .40, P = .0001; n = 86), but was inversely correlated with the molar percentage of bile acids in bile (r = .49, P = .0001; n = 86). Assuming that cholesterol supersaturation in patients with HLP may be governed by both an enhanced cholesterol secretion (closely reflected by plasma MVL) and a decreased secretion of bile acids (closely reflected by plasma C4), the multivariate linear regression‐analyses revealed that an index defined as estimated CSI ([CSI]E) (%) in patients with HLP was given by the following equation using plasma MVL and C4 (nmol/L): [CSI]E = 1[MVL] + 0.7[C4] + 44.4. Biliary cholesterol supersaturation in patients treated with simvastatin improved in a manner parallel to the time course of decreases in plasma MVL and C4. The [CSI]E before and at the end of treatment were correlated with biliary CSI. These results indicate that defects of hepatic cholesterogenesis, and bile acid synthesis, and the degree of biliary cholesterol supersaturation in patients with HLP can be estimated exactly by the simultaneous determination of plasma MVL and C4; furthermore [CSI]E may be adopted for clinical use as a convenient index of biliary CSI.


Plasma dopamine-beta-hydroxylase in uremia. Plasma dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) activity was found to be low in 26 uremic patients when compared with 56 normal individuals (p less than 0.001). Hemodialysis caused only a slight increase in plasma DBH levels in the uremic group. In contrast, a group of kidney transplanted patients with a return of good renal function had DBH values similar to the normal group (p greater than 0.1). The mean plasma DBH activity in eight patients measured pre- and post-transplantation increased from 4.5 to 28 International Units/l (p less than 0.01). No evidence was found to indicate that the depressed levels of plasma DBH in uremia were secondary to genetic or enzyme inhibiting factors. It is suggested that low levels of DBH activity in patients with renal failure may be a consequence of altered sympathetic nervous activity which is known to occur in the uremic state.


We reveal the existence of a general class of supramolecular assemblies made up of lipid-coated polyelectrolytes including the celebrated lipid-nucleic acid complexes. With the aid of high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy, we unveil the nanoscale internal organization of assemblies generated with a wide range of synthetic and biological polyelectrolytes, several of them being investigated in this context for the first time, namely, poly(styrene sulfonic acid), carboxylmethylcellulose, and filamentous actin. Using an original coarse-grained model representing lipid-coated polyelectrolytes as semiflexible tubes, we thoroughly explored the morphologies resulting from the self-assembly process as a function of tube lengths and rigidities; the computed structures are fully consistent with the experimental observations. In particular, we found a strong extension of the correlation range of the order parameter as the rigidity of the lipid-coated polyelectrolytes increases. Electrostatic interactions provide a stabilizing mechanism leading to finite-size equilibrium assemblies. These assemblies may constitute a generic route for interfacing polyelectrolytes to living cells to perform gene delivery, for instance.


Entrepreneurship, as a catalyst for innovation and job creation, has significance for prosperity and well-being at both individual and collective levels. There is a wealth of research on entrepreneurship in business, economics, management and sociology, but psychology's contribution is yet to be fully exploited, demanding a more scientific, systematic approach to the study. It is in this context of occupational psychology that the Entrepreneurial Personality Measure (EPM) – featuring psychological capital (PsyCap) – is explored for the development of corporate sustainability and competitive advantage. Distinctively, the book provides theoretical and empirical evidence for the viability of the EPM in sustainable business development. It further proposes an integrative model to operationalize and implement the tool within a corporate setting for the gaining of an entrepreneurial and sustainable human competitive advantage. The findings, analysis and recommendations should be especially useful for HR and strategic managers, or anyone who may be considering entrepreneurism towards a sustainable competitive advantage.


The clay fraction of a ∼2-m-thick K-bentonite at Kinnekulle in southwestern Sweden has been studied by X-ray powder diffraction, chemical analyses, and cation-exchange capacity determinations. Previous investigations of the upper half of this bed (B-bed) have shown the clay mineral to be illite/ smectite (I/S), containing about 50% illite layers at the center of the bed and 65% illite layers at the upper contact. New data on six samples from the lower part of the bed show no zonation, the I/S containing about 50% illite layers in all samples. The bentonite occurs in limestones and shales overlying a 40-m-thick limestone bed and is overlain by limestones, marls, and shales (∼90 m), which in turn are overlain by a 40-m-thick diabase. The limestones are silicified in contact with the bentonite, particularly beneath the B-bed. The increased K content towards the upper contact may therefore have resulted from diffusion of K-bearing solutions from overlying shales, a process that was impeded in the lower part of the bed, probably by the silicification.


The ring-opening polymerization of L- or D-lactide was realized in the presence of dihydroxyl or monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with a number-average molecular weight of 2000. The resulting low-molar-mass poly(L-lactide) (PLLA)/PEG and poly(D-lactide) (PDLA)/PEG triblock and diblock copolymers were characterized with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), differential scanning calorimetry, size-exclusion chromatography, and X-ray diffractometric analysis. Bioresorbable hydrogels were successfully prepared from aqueous solutions containing both copolymers because of interactions and stereocomplexation between the PLLA and PDLA blocks. Gelation was evaluated with the tube inverting method and rheological measurements. A phase diagram was realized with gel–sol transitions as a function of concentration. The rheological properties of the hydrogels were investigated under various conditions through changes in the copolymer concentration, temperature, time, and frequency. It was concluded that the hydrogels constituted a dynamic and evolutive system because of the continuous formation/destruction of crosslinks and degradation. Further studies are underway to elucidate the degradation behavior and the potential of these substances as drug carriers or cell culture scaffolds. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011


Putting aside the hype about a baldness cure, two recent works reporting epithelial stem cell isolation, one by Rebecca Morris et al. (1) and the second by Tudorita Tumbar et al. (2), provide more than just a skin-deep promise of future medical marvels. They may aid in revealing molecular mechanisms underlying several phenomena, including cellular differentiation, cancer development, and immune responses.

Recently, interest has grown for using adult stem cells instead of embryonic stem cells. The question, however, is whether adult stem cells are multipotent (able to divide into a select number of cell types) or pluripotent like embryonic stem cells (able to give rise to any cell type). While some data have suggested that adult stem cells can become pluripotent, these results have been difficult to replicate.

"Most of the evidence points to adult stem cells being somewhat lineage specific," George Cotsarelis, of the University of Pennsylvania and last author of Morris et al. (1), told the JCI. More practically, he added that "if you're looking for something to regenerate epidermal tissue, you may as well work with epidermal stem cells, though an intriguing question for us is [whether] these stem cells can become other cell types."

Given the approximately 95% purity in their stem cell assay, these cells may indeed be a good source for addressing concerns from previous studies relating to contamination.

Much of the focus on the two reports, however, has been on their potential to cure baldness. Morris, of Columbia University, provided the JCI with some perspective.

"For years I have been trying to see if we could get hair follicle development from harvested skin cells from mice. This is the first time we ever have." She feels the greater purity of the stem cells here likely increased the chances for getting follicular growth.

"I wouldn't make the case that this immediately translates into a cure for baldness," she stated. "Maybe by identifying hair follicle stem cells and understanding how they interact with the cells and matrix proteins around them, we may be able to recreate hair."

Morris' main focus has been on the potential role epithelial stem cells play in skin cancer. Evidence indicates skin stem cells, rather than more differentiated cells, are the main source of skin cancer.

Morris and her colleagues believe the reason behind this is that "the stem cells and early progenitor cells are the only cells that have enough proliferative potential to divide enough times to form a tumor. The more-differentiated cells can divide, but ultimately get sloughed off before they can form tumors."

Morris feels that "understanding how the clonogenic cells are regulated will be important for understanding skin cancer."

Morris' group previously defined several mouse quantitative trait loci (QTL) related to keratinocyte stem cell proliferative potential. Their current work indicates that some of these QTL co-localize to skin cancer–linked regions. Further, one of the genes that were differentially expressed in their epithelial stem cells may produce a protein that interacts with the product of their gene of interest.

Likewise, focusing on other genes with altered expression in skin stem cells could enable the identification of other important molecular mechanisms.

Cotsarelis, commenting on the similarities and differences in the gene expression patterns seen in the microarray studies done in the two reports, noted that "what was striking were the similarities. Close to 40% of the genes were similar."

That several histocompatibility genes were down-regulated in the stem cells is particularly intriguing to the authors.

Cotsarelis told the JCI, "This is really fascinating because there are data around that suggests hair follicles are immune-privileged sites and when that immune privilege breaks down, it can cause certain types of hair loss." Such may be the case for alopecia areata, an inflammatory disease, characterized by bald patches and hair follicle infiltration by T cells. Further analysis may provide the means to map the genetic components of hair follicle immune privilege and to understand how things go wrong.

For the future, Morris is particularly interested in utilizing skin stem cells to determine the lineage of genes that go on and off as epidermal cells differentiate. "Hopefully," she says, "we can do as well as the neurobiologists in determining the sequential developmental pathway in our stem cell system."

Cotsarelis agrees, adding that defining genes to isolate human epithelial stem cells is also a main focus. "We know the [human stem] cells are there; it is a matter of finding cell surface proteins. We have about 100 differentially expressed genes [from the mouse cells], so it is just a matter of screening through them. Others have shown that the genetics of the two systems [mice and human] are very similar; so the data here should be very useful."


Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD) and there is evidence that mitochondrially-generated superoxide can activate NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2), which is a major enzymatic generator of superoxide. Although NOX2 has been examined in the context of PD, previous studies have focused on microglial function; the role of neuronal NOX2 in PD pathogenesis remains to be defined. Here we devised and validated a proximity ligation assay for NOX2 activity and demonstrated that in human PD and 2 models thereof, neuronal NOX2 is highly active in substantia nigra dopamine neurons. Further, NOX2 activity is responsible for accumulation, post-translational modification and oligomerization of α-synuclein as well as activation of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2). Administration of a brain-penetrant, specific NOX2 inhibitor prevented NOX2 activation and its downstream effects in vivo in a rat model of PD. We conclude that neuronal NOX2 is a major contributor to oxidative stress in PD, to α-synuclein pathology and to LRRK2 activation in idiopathic PD. In this context, NOX2 inhibitors hold potential as a disease-modifying therapy in PD. Summary In dopamine neuron, NADPH oxidase isoform 2 amplifies the oxidative stress-related pathogenic cascade in Parkinson's disease


Time-domain methods for the design of recursive digital filters using a squared error criterion are compared with a frequency-domain technique. Levy's method, which has been used to estimate transfer functions of continuous-time systems is modified to obtain design equations for digital filters. A special case of Levy's method is shown to be essentially equivalent to the time-domain methods.


In spite of the fact that the novel, which is at the present time one of the dominant forms of prose fiction in Thailand, asserted itself as a new genre in Thai literature nearly half a century ago, no detailed study of its origin and development has been made. This thesis, therefore, is written as an attempt to provide such a study. Its scope has been limited to the early development of this new literary genre. This study was based chiefly on the material available in the library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and in the National Library in Bangkok, and personal communications with many writers, journalists and men of letters in Thailand. The thesis contains nine chapters, one table and one appendix.;Chapter one presents a brief general history of Thai literature with emphasis on the poetic tradition. Chapter two deals with the history and nature of prose works before the modern period. Chapter three is concerned with book production before and after the introduction of printing technology. Chapter four examines the role of journalism in relation to the development of modern prose fiction. Chapters five and six deal with the literary climate in which the novel proper was to emerge, with special reference to the development of the short story, imported literature derived from Western and Chinese fiction - appearing in books and films, and the proto-novel. An historical background of the works is included. Chapter seven discusses the nature of the first published novels of "Si Burapha", "Dokmai Sot" and Prince A-katdamkoeng. Chapter eight provides a general description of the reading public and examines the relationship between readers and writers of modem prose fiction, with special reference to Prince Phichit-prichakon and Prince A-katdamkoeng. Chapter nine is a conclusion in which the correlation between the developing novel and society is discussed. The table contains historical events significantly relevant to the development of the novel in Thailand. The appendix contains biographical sketches of Prince Phichitprichakon. Prince Bidyalankarana, King Vajiravudh, Prince A-kat-deunkoeng, "Dokmai Sot" and "Si Burapha".


We study localized plasmons at the nanoscale (nano-plasmons) in graphene. The collective excitations of induced charge density modulations in graphene are drastically changed in the vicinity of a single impurity compared to graphene's bulk behavior. The dispersion of nano-plasmons depends on the number of electrons and the sign, strength and size of the impurity potential. Due to this rich parameter space the calculated dispersions are intrinsically multidimensional requiring an advanced visualization tool for their efficient analysis, which can be achieved with parallel rendering. To overcome the problem of analyzing thousands of very complex spatial patterns of nano-plasmonic modes, we take a combined visual and quantitative approach to investigate the excitations on the two-dimensional graphene lattice. Our visual and quantitative analysis shows that impurities trigger the formation of localized plasmonic excitations of various symmetries. We visually identify dipolar, quadrupolar and radial modes, and quantify the spatial distributions of induced charges.


Extension educators have new computer-assisted tools as audience response systems (clickers) for increasing educational effectiveness and improving assessment by facilitating client input. From 2010-2012, 26 sessions involving 1093 participants in six diverse client categories demonstrated wide audience acceptance and suitability of clickers in agricultural and horticultural programming. Farmers, ag students, and Master Gardeners provided anonymous information using wireless clickers. Analyzed data was shared in each session. Such user-friendly technology improved pedagogy with rapid and sustained learner engagement and through enhanced peer-to-peer instruction. Pre-post assessment and re-teaching techniques provided documentation for group demographics, educational evaluation, and programmatic impacts.


A novel oxo state of cytochrome c oxidase from Paracoccus denitrificans generated by successive addition of excess H2O2 and ammonia was investigated using resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopy. Addition of ammonia to the H2O2-generated artificial F state resulted in an upshift of the oxoferryl stretching vibration from 790 to 796 cm(-1), indicating that ammonia influences ligation of the heme-bound oxygen in the binuclear center. Concomitantly performed RR measurements in the high-frequency region between 1300 and 1700 cm(-1) showed a high-spin to low-spin transition of heme a3 upon generation of the F state that was not altered by addition of ammonia. Removal of H2O2 by addition of catalase resulted in the disappearance of the oxoferryl stretching vibration and major back transformation of heme a3 into the high-spin state. The ratio of high-spin to low-spin states was identical for intermediates created with and without ammonia, leading to the conclusion that ammonia does not interact directly with heme a3. Only for the ammonia-created state was a band at 612 nm observed in the UV-visible difference spectrum that was shifted to 608 nm after addition of catalase. Our results support the hypothesis by von der Hocht et al. [von der Hocht, I., et al. (2011) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 108, 3964-3969] that addition of ammonia creates a novel oxo intermediate state called PN where ammonia binds to CuB once the oxo intermediate F state has been formed.


The usual treatment of Einstein's equations in the vacuum with two commuting Killing vectors is based on the restricting assumption of orthogonal transitivity of the metric. The author considers the general problem without making this assumption, and obtain a reasonably simple formulation which is in fact very similar to the equations for the restricted problem. The essential result is the separability of the equations for the diagonal blocks of the metric tensor, using the most natural coordinate system. As a consequence of this separability property, he is able to obtain a non-orthogonally transitive generalization of Weyl's (1917) static metrics. This is described by a fourth-order partial differential system. He has also considered the more obvious reductions to ordinary differential equations; several turn out to be easily integrable in closed form, either by quadratures or by elliptic functions.


The following list consists of dates for archaeologic and some geologic samples, mostly measured from January 1978 to December 1979. The dates were obtained by liquid scintillation counting of benzene using the laboratory procedures outlined in previous lists (see, eg, BM-VIII, R, 1976, v 18, p 16). The dates are expressed in radiocarbon years relative to ad 1950 based on the Libby half-life for 14C of 5570 yr, and are corrected for isotopic fractionation (δ13C values are relative to PDB). No corrections have been made for natural 14C variations. The modern reference standard is NBS oxalic acid (SRM 4990). Errors quoted with the dates are based on counting statistics alone and are equivalent to ± 1 standard deviation (± 1σ). Dates in this list reported to submitters or published elsewhere before the introduction of the new guidelines for rounding of computed figures have deliberately been left unrounded. From BM-XV onwards all BM dates will be rounded before publication in conformity with the recently recommended procedures (R, 1977, v 19, p 362). Descriptions, comments, and references to publications are based on information supplied by submitters.


Quinoa is being evaluated in cropping systems in many countries outside of its natural range of South America. Very few attempts have been made by farmers or researchers to grow or evaluate quinoa under Australian environments. Given the growing popularity of quinoa with consumers, new commercial opportunities for farmers and international interest in the crop, it was timely to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the potential of quinoa in Australia. Two advanced selections and nine germplasm lines (six of Chilean and three of Bolivian origin) identified in an earlier project were tested in 23 field trials at 14 locations on mainland Australia. Targets included irrigated sites in tropical, Mediterranean, semi-arid and desert climates, and rain-fed sites of south-western Australia with a Mediterranean climate. The field experiments were either a randomised complete block design (RBCD) or a split plot/factorial design with 2–4 replicates, and a linear mixed model was used to compare the treatment lines. Seed yield of quinoa was highest when grown in winter and spring under rain-fed conditions in Geraldton, in spring and summer under irrigation at Bool Lagoon, and summer, autumn and winter under irrigation at Leeton. The highest seed yield achieved was 3 t/ha for a germplasm line from Chile, while the highest yield for a germplasm line from Bolivia was 2.6 t/ha. Advanced selections from Australia yielded well in comparison at most trial sites. Declining seed yield was associated with mean daily temperatures during seed development increasing above 17 °C, mean daily temperatures during flowering declining below 15 °C, and rainfall during seed development under rain-fed conditions falling below 50 mm. Seed produced at Bool Lagoon was the closest in colour to white quinoa imported from Peru; however, it was more than noticeably different. Seed produced at Geraldton and Leeton was significantly larger than from other field sites; however, none were larger than 2 mm in diameter as found in Royal white quinoa from Bolivia. Superior seed colour and seed size were associated with dry conditions at maturity and cool conditions during seed development, respectively. We conclude that quinoa can become a potential crop option for Australian agriculture by exploiting genetic diversity and supplementing with suitable management practices matched to agro-climatic environments. There are reasonable prospects to raise the seed yield potential in areas in all states, especially in the regions where quinoa grew well in our experiments.


Background Knowledge of the normal size of the thoracic aorta and pulmonary arteries is important regarding the detection of the abnormal and valuable in the treatment of patients with congenital and acquired cardiovascular diseases. Purpose To determine the normal diameters of the thoracic vascular structures of pediatric participants on contrast-enhanced multidetector computer tomography (MDCT) scans. Material and Methods Between July 2010 and July 2014, the MDCT examinations obtained from 520 participants (age range, 0–18 years; mean age, 8.49 years ± 5.54 [standard deviation]; male:female ratio, 1.6:1) with normal cardiovascular examinations were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were divided into six groups according to their age. Diameters of the ascending aorta (AA), descending aorta (DA), main pulmonary artery (MPA), right pulmonary artery (RPA), and left pulmonary artery (LPA) were measured. Results The diameters of the thoracic vascular structures increased with age and the statistical difference among the age groups and genders were significant. The vascular structures in male patients tended to have higher dimensions than female patients. The LPA demonstrated higher mean values than the RPA in each age group. The mean ratio PA (MPA/AA) is 0.93 ± 0.08 for pediatric participants and it is slightly higher in girls compared to boys (0.93 ± 0.07 and 0.92 ± 0.07, respectively). The level of pulmonary artery bifurcation moves caudally with increasing age with thoracal 6 vertebra being the most common for all age groups (53.3%). Conclusion We believe that the results of our study can serve as a potential reference in differentiating the normal from the abnormal size of the aorta and pulmonary arteries on chest MDCT studies in the pediatric population.


Despite the recent successes of deep learning in natural language processing (NLP), there remains widespread usage of and demand for techniques that do not rely on machine learning. The advantage of these techniques is their interpretability and low cost when compared to frequently opaque and expensive machine learning models. Although they may not be be as performant in all cases, they are often sufficient for common and relatively simple problems. In this paper, we aim to modernize these older methods while retaining their advantages by extending approaches from categorical or bag-of-words representations to word embeddings representations in the latent space. First, we show that entropy and Kullback-Leibler divergence can be efficiently estimated using word embeddings and use this estimation to compare text across several categories. Next, we recast the heavy-tailed distribution known as Zipf's law that is frequently observed in the categorical space to the latent space. Finally, we look to improve the Jaccard similarity measure for sentence suggestion by introducing a new method of identifying similar sentences based on the set cover problem. We compare the performance of this algorithm against several baselines including Word Mover's Distance and the Levenshtein distance.


From the study of standard textbooks of dermatology, no comprehensive understanding of the word nevus can be derived. The purpose of this article is to formulate a workable definition. As a first step, various definitions proposed by previous authors are reviewed. Their inconsistency appears to be mainly due to the fact that the term nevus is used to denote both neoplastic and nonneoplastic, congenital and acquired as well as hereditary and nonhereditary skin lesions. Taking this difficulty into account, the author suggests, as a unifying concept, the new category of genetic mosaicism. The following definition is proposed: 'Nevi are visible, circumscribed, long-lasting lesions of the skin or the neighboring mucosa, reflecting genetic mosaicism. With the exception of melanocytic nevi, they do not show neoplastic growth. They never show malignant neoplasia.'--For several types of nevi the concept of genetic mosaicism has already been confirmed at the cellular level. Future cytogenetic and molecular studies should show whether the proposed definition is valid for all other types of nevi and thus generally acceptable.


Budgeting and forecasting is a part of the resource allocation process. Statistical models used in these processes often use data based on unimodal or normal probability distributions using mean values for analysis. However, health care data are frequently skewed and stratified, demanding careful analyses. In this study, financial data was examined over a 10-month period at an overseas federal health care facility in a patient population of 70 with a primary diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder without a concurrent concussive injury. There were 823 direct provider contacts incurring a total cost of $286,917 that included allocated fixed overhead. The data were stratified and highly variable as two distinct groups based on chronicity. Group A (acute) consisted of 62 cases costing $117,612. Group B (chronic) consisted of 8 cases costing $169,755. This data, presented in descending order, fit a logarithmic equation with an r value of 0.95. Using this equation, a decreasing linear budget model is developed that represents an alternative nonparametric approach to allocate resources for this population. The model predicted an expenditure of $284,880, within 0.70% of the amount actually spent, and addresses the subcomponent simplification issue raised by a 2008 Rand study and mitigates problems associated with data stratification or transformations.


Introduction The similarities in presentation of cortisol excess, growth hormone deficiency, hypothyroidism and metabolic syndrome suggest that subtle abnormalities of these endocrine hormones may play a causal role in the development of metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study is to determine the levels of cortisol, thyroid and growth hormones in adult Nigerians with metabolic syndrome and determine the relationship between levels of these hormones and components of the syndrome. Methods This was a case control study conducted at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. Participants were fifty adult men and women with the metabolic syndrome, and fifty, age and sex matched males and females without the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on the NCEP-ATPIII criteria. Written Informed consent was obtained from the participants. Socio demographic and clinical data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Venous blood was collected after an over-night fast. The Ethics committee of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria, approved the study protocol. Comparison of continuous variables was done using the Student's t test. Correlation analysis was employed to determine the associations between variables. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05. Results Triiodotyronine (T3) was significantly decreased (p<0.001) and thyroxine (T4 ) significantly increased ( p<0.001) in metabolic syndrome compared to healthy controls. T3 correlated positively and significantly with waist circumference (p=0.004), glucose (p= 0.002), total cholesterol ( p=0.001) and LDL- cholesterol ( p<0.001 ) and negatively with body mass index ( p<0.001 )and triglyceride ( p=0.026). T4 had a negative significant correlation with waist circumference (p=0.004). Cortisol and growth hormone levels were similar in metabolic syndrome and controls. Cortisol however had a positive significant correlation with waist/hip ratio (p<0.001) while growth hormone correlated positively with HDL ( p=0.023)and negatively with diastolic blood pressure (p=0.049). Conclusion Thyroid hormones T3 and T4 were associated with metabolic syndrome. The thyroid hormones, cortisol and growth hormones correlated with components of the syndrome. A therapeutic role may exit for these hormones in the management of metabolic syndrome and related disorders.


Abstract : This project studied firm-level capabilities in China for technology innovation in several energy-related domains: civilian nuclear power, wind turbine manufacturing, and solar photovoltaic panel fabrication. The research documented patterns of knowledge creation, transfer, and dissemination between Chinese and overseas firms, as well as among Chinese firms themselves. The research also examined the interaction between Chinese firms engaged in energy-related innovation and Chinese governmental agencies conducting various aspects of industrial policy. The research addressed policy concerns surrounding China's technology capabilities, as well as China's ability to acquire knowledge through participation in global supply chains for high-technology products. The work also addressed theoretical issues surrounding the role of innovation in industrial development more generally, effectively arguing that the contemporary Chinese experience suggests a new form of late industrialization in which innovation surrounding late-stage technology commercialization plays a vital role. Methodologically, this project developed original qualitative data collected primarily at the firm level both within China and globally. Data were collected primarily through participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Our empirical data suggest that China-based firms in the renewable energy domain namely in wind turbine production and solar PV cell/module fabrication -- have developed a unique form of innovative manufacturing, one based on the simultaneous management of tempo, scaling, and cost reduction. For particularly complex energy technology systems, such as civilian nuclear power plants, the greatest challenges involve not new technology development, but rather systems integration. In these domains, Chinese firms have not necessarily achieved significant advances.


Evolution of swelling of gel-like strongly acidic resin and organic-inorganic composites based on this ionexchanger was investigated. Non-aggregated nanoparticles of zirconium hydrophosphate were found to provide size invariability of the polymer pores, which contain functional groups (up to 20 nm), the nanoparticle aggregates squeeze these pores (down to 3 nm). Owing to this, the nanocomposite shows higher break-through capacity during removal of Ni from water, than the sample modified only with aggregates.


The effects of ethanol extracts from Astragali membranaceus Bunge (AMB) and A. membranaceus Bunge var mongholicus Hisiao (AMBMH) on antioxidant and nitric oxide (NO) production were evaluated. The total polyphenol contents of AMBMH extracts from two, four, and six-year old roots was 45.3, 71.3, and 78.0 mg/g, respectively. These values and those of total flavonoid content were higher than those of AMB extracts. The DPPH radical scavenging activity was the highest in ethanol extracts from four-year old AMBMH roots. The ABTS radical scavenging activity was also higher than those of AMB in ethanol extracts from four- and six-year old AMBMH roots, but not in two-year old roots. The NO production of ethanol extracts from six-year old AMBMH roots was higher than that of two- and four-year old AMBMH roots. However, there is no significant difference in NO production based on the cultivation period of AMB.


The basement membrane-associated microdomains of type I pneumocytes in rat and rabbit pulmonary alveoli were found to be uniquely different from those of type II pneumocytes in the specific distribution of cytochemically detectable sulfate esters as demonstrated with the high iron diamine (HID) technique at the electron microscopic level. Aldehyde-fixed frozen or Vibratome sections of neonatal and adult lungs were treated with a mixture of the meta and para isomers of N,N-dimethyl-phenylenediamine-HCl in the presence of ferric chloride, which at low pH (1.0) has been previously shown to be highly specific for sulfate esters of glycosaminoglycans and glycoproteins. Reaction product was subsequently enhanced with a thiocarbohydrazide-silver proteinate, postembedding sequence for electron microscopy. Samples of lung parenchyma treated in this fashion were observed to have discrete, electron-dense silver grains associated with the various microanatomical components of pulmonary basement membranes. In the region of the alveolar basement membrane, the lamina rara externa associated with type I cells was observed to contain an abundance of regularly disposed, cytochemically detectable sulfate esters, while the lamina densa and lamina rara interna were diffusely and sparsely reactive by comparison. Quantitatively, 62% of all reactive sites found in the basement membrane region of type I cells were localized in the lamina rara externa. By contrast, the lamina rara externa of type II cells had less than half as many reactive foci indicative of sulfate esters as the same region of type I cell basement membranes. HID-reactive sulfate esters were found evenly distributed within the laminae associated with the basement membrane of type II cells. This cytochemically detectable difference in the sulfate ester composition of basement membrane-associated sulfate ester composition of basement membrane-associated microdomains of type I compared with that of type II pneumocytes may be highly significant when considering known patterns of epithelial renewal in pulmonary alveoli. Since type II cells are known to divide and either remain type II cells or differentiate into type I cells, regional differences in the molecular composition of the alveolar basement membranes and their associated structures may be key determinants of cell-specific processes of cytodifferentiation in the pulmonary alveolus.


451 Background: Several reports have indicated that VEGF targeted therapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) may be more toxic in the Asian versus Caucasian populations. Comparative efficacy of these agents with respect to ethnicity is not well characterized.

METHODS
Eight centers participating in the International mRCC Database Consortium with available dose reduction data on patients with mRCC treated with VEGF targeted therapy were included in this analysis. Asian patients were derived from centers in Korea and Singapore.

RESULTS
1024 patients with a median follow-up of 29.4 months were included in this analysis. Baseline characteristics are below. The percentage of dose modifications/reductions between non-Asians and Asians was similar (55% vs 61% p=0.1197) but more patients completely discontinued treatment due to toxicity in the non-Asian vs the Asian group (28% vs 21% p=0.0197). When adjusted for the Heng et al poor prognostic criteria, there was no difference in overall survival (HR 0.887, 95%CI 0.729-1.08, p=0.2322) or progression-free survival (HR 1.069, 95%CI 0.910-1.256, p=0.4184) between non-Asians and Asians. Interestingly, when patients were dose reduced due to toxicity, they had a longer treatment duration and overall survival than those that did not require a dose reduction in both the non-Asian (10.6 vs 5.0 months p<0.0001 and 22.6 vs 16.1 months p=0.0016, respectively) and in the Asian populations (8.9 vs 5.4 months p=0.0028 and 28.0 vs 18.7 months p=0.0069).

CONCLUSIONS
After adjusting for risk groups, there appears to be no difference in outcome between Asians vs. non-Asian patients with mRCC treated withVEGF-targeted therapy. Judicious dose reductions may allow for better outcomes in both populations possibly due to longer treatment durations, but direct comparisons are needed. [Table: see text].


A 56‐year‐old woman had fell over herself 4 h prior to her presentation to our hospital. The diagnosis was a subtrochanteric fracture of the right femur (AO‐32‐A3). The patient was placed in a supine position was set up on a fracture traction table after general anesthesia. The right leg was placed in abduction while the left leg was positioned so that there was flexion of the knee and hip joint. The C‐arm was placed on the left side. The surgical field was sterilized and draped. Deformity and external rotation are always present for this type of fracture, so the first step was to place a joystick in the proximal fragment to correct the external rotation. Then the perfect entry point could be defined by K wire. After inserting guide wire into the canal dreaming was followed. An appropriate nail was selected and inserted. The distal tip of the nail should be located in the cancellous bone. Before inserting the proximal lag screws into the femoral head, the external rotation of the proximal fragment must be corrected by the joystick. The traction was loosened and the distal fragment was pushed towards the proximal side so that the gap between the fragments disappeared. The affected leg was maintained in perfect alignment. Meanwhile, the distal locking screws were inserted using the free hand perfect circle technique.


This article describes the types of higher education institutions financing around the world, as well as the features of university financing and their structural changes in the context of the countries of the world. The management system of higher education around the world is multifunctional, complexly structured. This activity appears to be specially organized by the state authorities jointly with public institutions and is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the higher education sector in the context of the implementation of the goals and objectives of the state in a particular historical period of development. In the last decade, there has been a demand for educational services and a corresponding increase in the cost of financing higher education. The drivers of this increase were wage growth, the cost of modern infrastructure, and the slow response to rising costs. The decline in government revenue has led to more efficient use of resources and careful monitoring of research results, since the priority for the state is to strictly evaluate the results for their funding, and research funded by the private sector has clear goals. Universities in the updated system of values stimulate the development of society, implement the training of personnel required by the market. New challenges – the pandemic and the development of the digital economy-provide new opportunities for people focused on higher education, and at the same time change the education system itself and its financing mechanisms.


Mobile Cloud Computing is a form of collaborative decentralized Cloud which allows mobile devices to unload computation to a local Cloud formed by mobile and static devices. Mobile Cloud Computing provides a better service to latency sensitive applications, due to its physical proximity to the VM host. However, in these systems, the problem of free riding users becomes more acute, for the heterogeneity of devices (from smartphones to private servers) makes the gap of contributed resources much larger. In this work, we analyze the use of incentives for Mobile Clouds, and propose a new auction system adapted to the high dynamism and heterogeneity of these systems. We compare our solution to other existing auctions systems in a Mobile Cloud use case, and show the suitability of our solution.


Modeling and simulation permeate all areas of business, science and engineering. With the increase in the scale and complexity of simulations, large amounts of computational resources are required, and collaborative model development is needed, as multiple parties could be involved in the development process. The Grid provides a platform for coordinated resource sharing and application development and execution. In this paper, we survey existing technologies in modeling and simulation, and we focus on interoperability and composability of simulation components for both simulation development and execution. We also present our recent work on an HLA-based simulation framework on the Grid, and discuss the issues to achieve composability.


In Japan, clinical trials aiming at application for approval of new drugs take a long time and a lot of money, and their quality thought to be poor. Japanese pharmaceutical companies tend to conduct more clinical studies in the United States and/or Europe than in Japan. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) announced a three-year plan to facilitate clinical trials in Japan; the establishment of a large-scale clinical trial network, the improvement of the clinical research infrastructure, and the utilization of doctor-initiated clinical trials. The revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Law enables doctors and medical institutions to perform clinical trials using unapproved products spontaneously without any corporate sponsorship. Drugs needed by some patients but unapproved because they are unprofitable for companies are expected to be approved under this system. MHLW stipulated the ethical and scientific quality standard of doctor-initiated clinical trials, which is consistent with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, and Good Clinical Practice (GCP). To establish a system that allows expedited approval of safer and more effective products, the integration of the functions of the current review bodies, such as the Organization for Pharmaceutical Safety and Research (OPSR) and the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Evaluation Center (PMDEC), into an independent administrative agency is scheduled.


Today very few deep learning-based mobile augmented reality (MAR) applications are applied in mobile devices because they are significantly energy-guzzling. In this paper, we design an edge-based energy-aware MAR system that enables MAR devices to dynamically change their configurations, such as CPU frequency, computation model size, and image offloading frequency based on user preferences, camera sampling rates, and available radio resources. Our proposed dynamic MAR configuration adaptations can minimize the per frame energy consumption of multiple MAR clients without degrading their preferred MAR performance metrics, such as latency and detection accuracy. To thoroughly analyze the interactions among MAR configurations, user preferences, camera sampling rate, and energy consumption, we propose, to the best of our knowledge, the first comprehensive analytical energy model for MAR devices. Based on the proposed analytical model, we design a LEAF optimization algorithm to guide the MAR configuration adaptation and server radio resource allocation. An image offloading frequency orchestrator, coordinating with the LEAF, is developed to adaptively regulate the edge-based object detection invocations and to further improve the energy efficiency of MAR devices. Extensive evaluations are conducted to validate the performance of the proposed analytical model and algorithms.


Since its discovery in 1993, various investigations have explored different roles of RON receptor tyrosine kinase in cancer pathogenesis. RON (also known as MST1R), a receptor tyrosine kinase with significant homology to c-Met, exhibits increased expression in at least 47% of human breast cancers, and deregulated expression of the RON signaling axis has been correlated with reduced metastasis-free survival. RON is known to activate multiple signaling pathways in vitro, including MAPK, phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K), Src tyrosine kinase, phospholipase C-γ (PLC-γ) and β-catenin, largely through direct binding of SH2-domain containing adaptor proteins to the C-terminal docking site. However, the relationships of each of these signal transduction pathways to specific biologic responses relevant to cancer progression and metastasis are still poorly defined. To this end, we have taken advantage of a strategy used for c-Met in order to increase the binding affinity of individual adaptors to the docking site, which promotes signaling through one pathway at the expense of the others. The C-terminal part of RON contains two tandem tyrosines in a degenerate motif that when phosphorylated bind different SH2-containing molecules in a competitive manner. To amplify the signaling through particular pathways, we mutated the multifunctional docking site of RON to optimal binding motifs for PI3K, Src, Grb2 or PLC-γ. Mutations were introduced to the docking site using pMSCV retroviruses expressing human wild type Ron cDNA. As a negative control, two essential tyrosines in the docking site were replaced by phenylalanine to eliminate the transforming capability of RON. Viral transduction of the generated mutants or wild type RON was performed in MCF-7 and T47D breast cancer cells and LoVo colon cancer cells. Analysis of mRNA and protein showed the same expression levels among the mutants and wild type infected cells, indicating similar stability of the mutants compared with WT-RON. We report an analysis of RON signaling through the aforementioned pathways in the presence and absence of its ligand, macrophage stimulating protein (MSP). Our data indicate that the MAPK, PI3K, PLC-γ and Src pathways are differentially activated in the various cellular contexts we tested. Moreover, the activation of each signaling pathway occurs with different kinetics and with differential responses to MSP concentration. Citation Format: Najme Faham, Magdalena Bieniasz, Alana Welm. Contributions of RON downstream signaling to breast cancer progression. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Breast Cancer Research: Genetics, Biology, and Clinical Applications; Oct 3-6, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2013;11(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A129.


The paper describes the main directions of the renewal and modernization of art education in Ukraine. It is proposed to monitor and introduce students to contemporary projects that are available in the world and national cultural space. It is emphasized that the task of teachers working in art education institutions should be to provide exclusive professional knowledge and information. Special attention is paid to the need to involve such forms as workshops and master classes, which will diversify the educational process and promote the creative potential of both teachers and students. It is determined that a lot of online courses, educational programs providing distance learning have recently emerged, providing the opportunity to acquire knowledge without being in a higher education institution of artistic direction, and there is an increase in the number of educational and methodological instruments, manuals, textbooks, music publications, freely available on various Internet resourcesm. All innovations are part of the strategy of modification of contemporary art education in Ukraine, which primarily involves changing the vector of working with students and revising traditional methods of art education. Today, instead of assimilating a certain array of theoretical knowledge, the acquisition of practical skills and abilities comes to the fore, with the development of critical thinking, the ability to produce one's own thought, and the formation of an independent vision of musical works. The requirement for the student to be acquainted with innovations concerning the field of musical art: performances of leading theaters of the world, innovative interpretations of operas, ballets and other music-stage genres is being actualized, which helps to expand the students' outlook and to develop musical analysis skills. The author emphasizes the need for changes in art education as such, which should be based on the principle of interdisciplinarity, as well as for the introduction of the latest technologies related to the creation, recording and modification of music using computer programs.


A control problem is studied for generating the locomotion pattern of a semi-looper type robot by applying central pattern generators (CPGs), in which such a robot can realize two-rhythm motion and green caterpillar locomotion depending on the condition of environment. After deriving the dynamical model with two links and one actuator, the simulation of the robot is conducted using a CPG consisting of one van der Pol (VDP) oscillator. A CPG network composed of two VDP oscillators is further constructed to realize four-rhythm motion with three links and two actuators.


We describe two patients who have hypochondroplasia with medial temporal lobe dysgenesis. This association has only been reported once before. Both patients had an FGFR3 mutation: 1620C → A, resulting in Asn540Lys. FGFR3 is expressed in the brain during development and plays a role in hippocampal formation. We suggest FGFR3 mutations might cause cerebral malformations in hypochondroplasia as well as in thanatophoric dysplasia. Further neuroimaging studies of patients with hypochondroplasia and epilepsy or developmental delay may clarify the proportion of patients with hypochondroplasia who have this pattern of central nervous system abnormalities. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The article states that in our country considerable experience has been gained in forecasting and planning work, the formation of which is based on certain methodological approaches that undergo transformation at different historical stages. The purpose of the article is to assess the features of the development of the forecasting and planning methodology of the domestic national economy in various historical periods of time. Based on the analysis of historical facts, the author's expert assessment and graphic modeling techniques, a cyclic model and a map for assessing the predictive development potential of the forecasting and planning methodology of the domestic national economy are developed, which differs by identifying the stages in the development of forecasted and planned work depending on the nature of the obligatory execution, the depth of the impact of forecasts and plans for economic development, resource methods, predictability of the future. The results of the study can be applied in the activities of government to improve the quality of forecasting and planning work, to determine the turning points of phase shifts in the development of the forecasting and planning methodology.


Reducing energy storage requirements of space power systems by illuminating the photovoltaic arrays with a remotely located laser system is addressed. It is proposed that large lasers be located on cloud-free sites at one or more ground locations and that large lenses or mirrors with adaptive optical correction be used to reduce the beam spread due to diffraction or atmospheric turbulence. During the eclipse periods or lunar night, the lasers illuminate the solar arrays to a level sufficient to provide operating power. Two applications are discussed: illumination of geosynchronous orbit satellites and illumination of a moonbase power system. Issues for photovoltaic receivers for such a system are discussed.<<ETX>>


In the Polish literature of the subject granted to the residential architecture the most common is the theme of constructed environment, the problem of new trends both in form and design, most often in the context of the sustainable development. More and more frequent are the works on analyzing and describing the sociological perspective of dwelling. Basing on the long-term international and domestic publications and scientific research the spread and often interdisciplinary, complex works and articles concerning the social phenomena in architecture and its surrounding have recently appeared. Despite the huge in amount and the valuable literature as well as the scientific research being led in the last few years the lack of works presenting the complex condition of the residential stock shaped through centuries, in context of usability and needs of the residents, based on the possibilities and real modernisation activities is significant. The time range of the work covers the period from 1848-2013. The broad framework allows the recognition of the vast majority of the existing residential stock and gives the larger spectrum of evaluation in the spotted transformations. Industry initiated the process of the development of the number of contemporary cities.The work tries to gain the answer for:● what changes were done to the researched residential stock● in which period the changes were the most intensive● in which period the changes were the greatest in the area (both historically and in context of the usability)Author is also interested in the problem of similarity of the changes to the notes and descriptions of other authors concerning the values of durability and time (so the equipment, the interior divisions, installations, facades and constructions). The present article is used for a projection of these changes on the base of distinctive features of these arrangements and the attempt formulated of characteristic archetype in individual temporary sequences determined in examinations


Filaroides hirthi sp. n. is smaller than previously described species of the genus Filaroides v. Beneden, 1858, and differs from F. milksi Whitlock, 1956, with which it is most likely to be confused, in having shorter, slightly stouter spicules with a broader proximal knob for attachment of the retractor muscles.


When Britain entered the First World War it did so as an especially hesitant belligerent. One month later, the British enthusiastically signed the Treaty of London, stating that the Entente powers would prosecute the war in common and that none would pursue a separate peace. Why would a state long known for jealously guarding its ability to maintain a free hand initiate a binding alliance that restricted its war termination prospects after one month of combat? And what were the effects of its decision to do so? Answering this question requires not only that we examine British decision making but that we understand No Separate Peace Agreements and why states sign them. I hypothesize that a state will initiate a No Separate Peace Agreement when it has reason to fear that one of its cobelligerents may defect. I also hypothesize that No Separate Peace Agreements will cause states to reconcile war aims with their allies, agreeing to different terms of peace than might have been necessary to satisfy any one of them individually. Using new archival documents, I analyze a case study of British decision making in the early weeks of World War I and find substantial support for the hypotheses.


BACKGROUND
We determined qualitative and quantitative serum unconjugated bile acid (SUBA) levels among children with history of intestinal failure (IF) and suspected small bowel bacterial overgrowth (SBBO).

METHODS
This was a single-center, case-control pilot study conducted at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Children with history of IF and suspected SBBO were enrolled as subjects. Age-matched children without IF or suspected SBBO served as controls. All participants underwent small bowel fluid sampling for microbial culture analysis. Additionally, serum fractionated and total bile acids were measured by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry at enrollment and following treatment for SBBO.

RESULTS
SUBA concentrations were elevated in IF subjects (median 1.16 μM, range 0.43-10.65 μM) compared with controls (median 0.10 μM, range 0.05-0.18 μM, P = 0.001). Among SUBA, chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) was significantly elevated in subjects (median 0.8 μM, range 0-7.08 μM) compared with controls (median 0 μM, range 0-0.03 μM, P = 0.012). When controls were excluded from analysis, IF subjects with positive aspirates for SBBO demonstrated higher concentration of CDCA (median 7.36 μM, range 1.1-8.28 μM) compared with IF subjects with negative aspirates (median 0.18 μM, range 0-1.06 μM, P = 0.017). Treatment for SBBO did not alter SUBA concentration.

CONCLUSIONS
SUBA concentrations are elevated in children with history of IF and presumed SBBO compared with non-IF controls. CDCA was more prevalent in IF subjects with positive aspirates for SBBO compared with IF subjects with negative aspirates. The determination of SUBA concentration may be a useful surrogate to small bowel fluid aspiration in the diagnosis of SBBO in children with history of IF.


Growing patterned rectangular objects The growth of patterned objects usually requires a template to aid the positioning of multiple materials. Qiu et al. used the seeded growth of a crystallizable block copolymer and a homopolymer to produce highly uniform rectangular structures (see the Perspective by Ballauff). Chemical etching, or dissolution, of uncross-linked regions of the rectangular structures produced perforated platelet micelles. The sequential addition of different blends and cross-linking/dissolution strategies allowed the formation of well-defined hollow rectangular micelles, which can be functionalized in a variety of ways. Science, this issue p. 697; see also p. 656 Crystallization-driven living supramolecular polymerization can selectively form rectangular objects. The preparation of colloidally stable, self-assembled materials with tailorable solid or hollow two-dimensional (2D) structures represents a major challenge. We describe the formation of uniform, monodisperse rectangular platelet micelles of controlled size by means of seeded-growth methods that involve the addition of blends of crystalline-coil block copolymers and the corresponding crystalline homopolymer to cylindrical micelle seeds. Sequential addition of different blends yields solid platelet block comicelles with concentric rectangular patches with distinct coronal chemistries. These complex nano-objects can be subject to spatially selective processing that allows their disassembly to form perforated platelets, such as well-defined hollow rectangular rings. The solid and hollow 2D micelles provide a tunable platform for further functionalization and potential for a variety of applications.


Wide bandgap (WBG) devices offer significant advantages for next generation military and commercial systems. SiC MESFETs currently achieve power densities of 4.0 W/mm with power added efficiencies in excess of 60% on a repeatable basis. They are commercially available in packaged or die formats and have been successfully designed into a number of systems. GaN is also extremely promising as a next generation wide bandgap device. Cree has demonstrated power densities higher than 25 watts per mm of gate periphery. With ftau's > 40 GHz, GaN devices have the capability of satisfying system device requirements from UHF through millimeter-wave. Both technologies are now also offered through commercial MMIC foundry services using design rules and non-linear models provided for external designers. Significant progress has also been made in the development of 100-mm SiC substrates and WBG epitaxy (SiC and GaN) which is key for commercializing the technology and providing low costs. Micropipe densities as low as 2.5 cm-2 have been demonstrated for 100-mm HPSI substrates and both SiC and GaN epitaxy with excellent intra-wafer sheet resistance uniformity have been demonstrated. With robust reliability for SiC MESFETs now established for several years, the latest results for GaN device reliability benchmarking are shown.


In broadband wireless Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems where a set of subcarriers are shared among multiple users, the overall system throughput can be improved by a band-AMC mode that assigns each suband, a set of contiguous subcarriers within a coherence bandwidth, to individual user with the better channel quality. As long as channel qualities for the subbands of all users are known a priori, multiuser and multiband gains can be simultaneously achieved with opportunistic scheduling. This paper presents an analytical means of evaluating the maximum system throughput for a bandadaptive modulation and coding (AMC) mode under the various system parameters. In particular, the practical features of resource management for OFDMA system are carefully modeled within the current analytical framework. Our numerical results demonstrate that band-AMC mode outperforms the diversity mode only by providing the channel qualities for a subset of good subbands, confirming the multiuser and multiband diversity gain that can be achieved by the band-AMC mode.


In this report, a case of spontaneous missed abortion caused by Ascaris lumbricoides is presented and data from the literature are reviewed, A 26-year-old pregnant woman was presented with abnormal genital bleeding, abdominal pain.


Lichenophanes varius (Illiger, 1801) is a Turanic-European-Mediterranean species. In most of European countries, this species is protected at different levels and it is classified as "NT" (Near Threatened) in the IUCN European Red List of Saproxylic Beetles. In Italy, it is classified as "EN" (Endangered). Its larvae are saproxylophagous and develop in branches and rotting trunks of many broadleaved tree genera. Nevertheless, this beetle seems to attack only wood which is already invaded by the mycelia of Biscogniauxia spp. (Pyrenomycetes, Xylariaceae). The Italian distribution and ecology of L. varius are updated on the basis of recent records; the species is recorded for the first time from Calabria, where it was reared from Quercus frainetto Ten. which represent a new host-plant record for this beetle. Finally, the authors discuss the possibility that global warming can promote a resurgence of attacks from the above mentioned phytopathogenic fungi in Italian forests and, therefore, this climatic change can also favour the populations of this red-listed beetle.


The traditional ligature methods were added with freezing of the left hepatic lobe resection line in order to block up parenchymatous bleeding and cholerhagia in atypical resection of the liver. Alterations in the enzymatic activity (alaninic and asparaginic transaminases alkaline phosphotase, lactate dehydrogenase and ribonuclease) in the blood serum and liver of the rabbits allowed to judge about the character of inflammatory and destructive changes in the liver following the use of the abovementioned methods. The rise of the activity of the enzymes under study within the first days after operation and its normalization by the 7th to 14th days in all the studied variants of hemo- an cholestasis have been established.


In a criminal investigation, a writer identification is frequently performed to find out what kind of writer a certain letter was written. In comparing the similarity between the handwriting of both documents, it is necessary to extract a person's characteristic writing style. Although the text-dependent methods have been studied show high discrimination performance for a writer identification, the situation assumed in the actual appraisal that the same character class does not exist is not supported. In this research, we propose a writer identification method taking into account the actual appraisal situation. We define the handwriting features without dependence on character class as "personal writing style" and construct the AutoEncoder with the condition of character class to extract personal writing style from a single character sample. In the latent space trained by the conditional AutoEncoder, similar personal writing styles are mapped on to neighboring points independent of the character class. At the time of writer identification, the similarity between the handwriting feature of unknown writer and reference writer in the latent space is evaluated. In order to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method, we conducted a writer identification experiments using ETL-1 Character Database and NIST Special Database 19 2^nd Edition. As a result, it is indicated that it is possible to extract personal writing style, which is an effective feature for writer identification, even under conditions close to the practical situation.


Self-regulated learning has been considered an important construct in Educational Psychology since it encompasses many essential aspects for learning in an educational context. Thus, adopting self-regulated Learning Models as a major theoretical framework, In this paper we aim at describing and analyzing the foundations of self-regulated learning and its key concepts, as well as to show the relevance of this construct for teacher education. We hope to contribute not only to educate teachers with such qualities, but also to the creation of an educational culture with focus on the promotion of self-regulated learning as a fundamental goal of school psycho pedagogical projects.


The prothrombin concentration of man, dog, rabbit, cat and cow as determined by the two-stage method is about the same but in sheep is only half as great. The one-stage prothrombin time of the plasma of these species varies greatly and is dependent upon the type of thromboplastin employed, the exposure to foreign surface and various serum factors as well as the concentration of prothrombin. Factor V (labile factor) is present in excess in all so that it is not a determinant. Acetone-dehydrated brain tissue is a satisfactory source of the thromboplastin factor since it can be prepared fairly free of contamination with serum. Variation of activity on various brain preparations cannot be explained satisfactorily on species or group specificity but can in part be accounted for by the synergistic action of an agent in brain tissue with a serum factor or factors which appear to be related to both factor VII (stable factor) and factor IX (PTC). A high yield of thrombin is obtained from human plasma by the thrombin production test but a strikingly low amount from the plasmas of the five other species.

With the Technical Assistance of Mary Hickey, Mark Popp and Valerie Skonie


Many daphne cultivars are susceptible to fungal root pathogens and require frequent fungicide applications during production. To identify taxon differences to disease susceptibility, we evaluated 32 Daphne species and cultivars for resistance to the soil-borne pathogen, Thielaviopsis basicola (Berk. and Broome) Ferr., by both in vitro- and in vivo-based methods. Disease-free plant roots were inoculated with the pathogen through topical application of a spore suspension and observed weekly for disease development/ progression. Significant variation for disease severity among the taxa evaluated was determined using a plant disease index. Plant reactions ranged from highly resistant, e.g., D. tangutica and D. retusa, to highly susceptible, e.g., D. cneorum. In addition, a high correlation was found between the in vitro and in vivo techniques for the seven selected species, indicating that they are comparable. However, the in vitro assay provided results in significantly less time than the in vivo assay.


Despite the existence of respiratory mechanics models in the literature, rarely one finds analytical expressions that predict the work of breathing (WOB) associated with natural breathing maneuvers in non-ventilated subjects. In the present study, we develop relations that explicitly identify WOB, based on a proposed nonlinear model of respiratory mechanics. The model partitions airways resistance into three components (upper, middle and small), includes a collapsible airways segment, a viscoelastic element describing lung tissue dynamics and a static chest wall compliance. The individual contribution of these respiratory components on WOB is identified and analyzed. For instance, according to model predictions, during the forced vital capacity (FVC) maneuver, most of the work is expended against dissipative forces, mainly during expiration. In addition, expiratory dissipative work during FVC is almost equally partitioned among the upper airways and the collapsible airways resistances. The former expends work at the beginning of expiration, the latter at the end of expiration. The contribution of the peripheral airways is small. Our predictions are validated against laboratory data collected from volunteer subjects and using the esophageal catheter balloon technique.


Fusarium oxysporum is an ubiquitous soil-borne fungus, having a high genetic and ecological diversity with the potential to cause diseases of many crop species of economic interest. Indeed, some strains of F. oxysporum known as pathogens generate common diseases such as wilting, root and crown rot on host plants. Two formae speciales are confined to the tomato: F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici (FOL) causing Fusarium wilt, while F. oxysporum f.sp. radicis-lycopersici (FORL) causes Fusarium crown and root rot. The study include 27 strains isolated from the stems, crown and roots of infected tomato plants; to confirm the identity of the fungus, the isolates were identified using analysis based on morphological criteria and sequencing of the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF) gene using ef1 and ef2 primers. Twenty three strains belonged to F. oxysporum, three strains to Fusarium solani, and one strain to Fusarium redolens. Tomato seedlings were tested to confirm the pathogenicity of the isolates tested. Pathogenicity test confirmed that twenty two F. oxysporum isolates were pathogenic on tomato and produced crown and root rot typical of F. oxysporum f.sp. radicis-lycopersici forma specialis, while one strain initially identified as F. oxysporum did not induce disease symptoms and is considered as non-pathogenic. Additionally, no symptoms of Fusarium wilt were observed at all; therefore no strains can be affiliated to F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici forma specialis.

 Key words: Fusarium oxysporum, tomato, molecular identification, pathogenicity.


Background: The method of comparative analysis is one of the most common in
 science where optimal choices are required. Despite the fact the method is empirical,
 under the conditions of epidemics such as Covid-19, it is one of the most affordable in
 assessing the effectiveness of the therapy. Patients with diabetes having coronavirus
 infection are included in the risk group which required steroid therapy. In patients
 with diabetes, excessive usage of Exogenous corticosteroids creates insulin deficiency
 which leads to hyperglycemia and the risk of developing coma. Purpose of the study:
 сompare the effectiveness and safety of using corticosteroids in patients with Covid-19
 and diabetes prescribed "by standards" and "method of
 calculation". Method: Diabetic Patients with novel coronavirus infection were
 screened (n = 107).All patients were divided into 3 groups.In group 1(n=35) patients
 received dexamethasone at a dosage of 0.1 mg/kg once a day in the morning intravenously;
 in group 2(n = 38), patients received dexamethasone 20 mg twice daily intravenously in
 the morning and evening (more than 0.2 mg/kg/day) and in group 3(n = 34) patients
 received dexamethasone 0.1 mg /kg once a day in the morning intramuscularly. Comparative
 analysis were carried out according to the criteria: the period of intoxication,
 glycemic variability, CRP, leukocyte counts, D-dimer, and transaminases. For analysis
 STATISTIC 10,0 computer program was used (Matematica®, Matlab®, HarvardGraphics®)
 StatSoft). Results: In all the groups after therapy it was noted redistributive
 leukocytosis.In patients receiving high therapeutic dose (group 2) initially suppressed
 production of leukocytes is activated and reaches the normative indicator
 (p<0.001) and the indicators are comparable to the data of group
 3(p<0.001)in which patients received glucocorticoids at a lower dose (0.1
 mg/kg/day) intramuscularly. The most significant decrease in D-dimer levels was in
 patients with a dosage of dexamethasone at the rate of 0.1 units/kg once a day
 intravenously by 80.9%(P <0.0001);intramuscularly by
 73.2%(P<0.00001)and with intravenously at a dose of more than 0.2 units/kg
 there was a decrease in the level of D-dimer by 67.9% (P <0.00001). Decrease
 in CRP (cytokine storm relief rate) did not differ significantly between the groups,
 which eliminates the role of inexpedient usage of dexamethasone in dosages of more than
 0.2 units/kg/day.Fasting blood glucose in patients in group 3 increased by 22%
 (P<0.0002); in group 1 only by 12% (P <0.05)and in group 2 by 32%
 (P <0.0001). In all the groups, an increase was observed in postprandial
 glucose, and in group 2 to the level of developing ketoacidosis and required emergency
 intervention by increasing the dose of insulin. Conclusion: For patients without
 diabetes, the dose of dexamethasone is prescribed in accordance with standards (average
 dose) regardless of body weight and concomitant diseases. In patients with diabetes are
 required to determine the dose of dexamethasone individually at the rate of 0.1 mg /kg
 body weight per day. This method reduces the risk of adverse outcomes and ensures the
 achievement of positive dynamics of clinical and laboratory parameters which ultimately
 reduces mortality and shortens the recovery time.


A shrimp Pacific White shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei growth performance study during summer (S) and monsoon (M) was taken up for 120 days. The stocking density was 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80pc/m 2 in six different treatments with three replicate. Experiment was conducted in 18 commercial culture pond having 0.5 ha size. The initial average body weight of shrimp post larvae during summer and monsoon crop at stocking was 0.06±0.01g and 0.06±0.04g, respectively. The data revealed significant (p<0.05) difference in mean growth during summer and monsoon crop at different stocking densities with individual final weights of 26.08±0.05 followed by 23.84±0.27, 19.94±0.07, 18.24±0.43, 16.92±0.23 and 14.61±0.49g and yields of 3721.5±68.4, 4440.5±125.1, 4548.05±56.9, 4948.4±96.4, 5064.8±82.1 and 4792.4±211.4 kg/pond at 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 shrimp/m 2 , respectively. In contrast, there were statistically significant differences in mean growth and final yields during the monsoon crop. Final mean weights were 34.46±0.24 followed by 31.2±0.31, 28.46±0.12, 25.89±0.35, 20.86±0.11 and 18.20±0.42 g and yields were 5091.6±57.6 followed by 6143.6±67.15, 7457.6±100.9, 7905.06±283.2, 7799.2±277.3 and 7292.6±165.1 kg/pond at 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 shrimp/m 2 , respectively. Better performance of shrimp was recorded in monsoon crop, average water temperatures was 26.17±0.15°C with compare to summer 29.86±0.11°C with low production. Larger shrimp were associated with lower stocking density in both the season while higher stocking density @70 shrimp/m 2 (summer crop) and 60 shrimp/m 2 (monsoon) produced higher yields.


Drug- and herb-induced liver injury (DILI and HILI) is an increasingly common and serious condition. Here, data for DILI and HILI patients from two large tertiary hospitals were retrospectively analyzed. Patient characteristics, causes and severity of DILI and HILI, the correlation between expression of p62 and the severity of DILI and HILI, treatment of DILI and HILI, and the prognostic factors of DILI and HILI were studied. A total of 82 patients with DILI and HILI were recruited for the study. Most patients presented with hepatocellular injury, followed by cholestatic injury and mixed injury. Our results indicate that traditional Chinese medicine or herbal and dietary supplements were the prevalent causal agents of HILI, which was characterized by higher frequencies of hepatocellular injury. Expression of p62 in the liver correlated with the severity of DILI and HILI. Improvements in the results of the liver enzymatic tests correlated with alanine transaminase (ALT) levels upon the first diagnosis of DILI and HILI and with the hepatocellular type of DILI and HILI. In conclusion, we provide an epidemiological assessment of DILI and HILI based on causality using the updated RUCAM on patients from two hospitals in China. ALT levels at first diagnosis and the hepatocellular type of injury may be prognostic factors of DILI and HILI.


Background: Failure to identify and correct malrotation of the first metatarsal may lead to recurrent hallux valgus deformity. We aimed to identify the proportion of hallux valgus patients with increased first metatarsal pronation using weightbearing computed tomography (WBCT) and to identify the relationship with conventional radiographic measurements. Methods: WBCT scans were analyzed for 102 feet with a hallux valgus angle (HVA) and intermetatarsal angle (IMA) greater than or equal to 16 and 9 degrees, respectively. Metatarsal pronation angle (MPA), alpha angle, sesamoid rotation angle (SRA), and sesamoid position were measured on standardized coronal WBCT slices. Pronation was recorded as positive. Hindfoot alignment angle (HAA) was assessed using dedicated software. Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to assess differences between groups. Results: Mean HVA was 29.8±9.4 degrees and mean IMA was 14.1±3.7 degrees. Mean MPA was 11.9±5.8 (range 0-26) degrees and mean alpha angle was 11.9±6.8 (range −3 to 29) degrees. In a previous study, we demonstrated the upper limit of normal MPA as 16 degrees and alpha angle as 18 degrees. Based on these criteria, we identified abnormal metatarsal pronation in 32 feet (31.4%). We found a strong positive correlation between SRA and HVA/IMA (R = 0.67/0.60, respectively, P < .001). IMA and HAA weakly correlated with MPA and alpha angle (IMA: R = 0.26/0.27, respectively, P < .01; HAA: R = 0.26/0.27, respectively, P < .01). Regression analyses suggested that increasing IMA was the most significant radiographic predictor of increased pronation. In this cohort, there was no correlation between HVA or sesamoid position and MPA / alpha angle (HVA: P = .36/.12, respectively, sesamoid position, P = .86/.77, respectively). Conclusion: In this cohort of 102 feet that met plain radiographic criteria for hallux valgus deformity, first metatarsal pronation was found abnormal in 31.4% of patients. We found a weak association between the IMA and hindfoot valgus, but not the HVA.


The Casimir forces on two parallel plates in the conformally flat domain wall background due to a conformally coupled massless scalar field satisfying mixed boundary conditions on the plates are investigated. In the general case of mixed boundary conditions, formulae are derived for the vacuum expectation values of the energy–momentum tensor and vacuum forces acting on the boundaries.


We introduce the path resistance method for lower bounds on the smallest nontrivial eigenvalue of the Laplacian matrix of a graph. The method is based on viewing the graph in terms of electrical circuits: it uses clique embeddings to produce lower bounds on λ2 and star embeddings to produce lower bounds on the smallest Rayleigh quotient when there is a zero Dirichlet boundary condition. The method assigns priorities to the paths in the embedding; we show that, for an unweighted tree T, using uniform priorities for a clique embedding produces a lower bound on λ2 that is off by at most an O(log diameter(T)) factor. We show that the best bounds this method can produce for clique embeddings are the same as for a related method that uses clique embeddings and edge lengths to produce bounds.


The fourth in a series of international Leak-Before-Break (LBB) Seminars supported in part by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission was held at the National Central Library in Taipei, Taiwan on May 11 and 12, 1989. The seminar updated the international polices and supporting research on LBB. Attendees included representatives from regulatory agencies, electric utilities, nuclear power plant fabricators, research organizations, and academic institutions. Regulatory policy was the subject of presentations by Mr. G. Arlotto (US NRC, USA) Dr. B. Jarman (AECB, Canada), Dr.P. Milella (ENEA-DISP, Italy), Dr. C. Faidy (EDF/Septen, France ), and Dr. K. Takumi (NUPEC, Japan). A paper by Mr. K. Wichman and Mr. A. Lee of the US NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation is included as background material to these proceedings; it discusses the history and status of LBB applications in US nuclear power plants. In addition, several papers on the supporting research programs described regulatory policy or industry standards for flaw evaluations, e.g., the ASME Section XI code procedures. Supporting research programs were reviewed on the first and second day by several participants from Taiwan, US, Japan, Canada, Italy, and France. Each individual paper has been cataloged separately.


Background: Chronic periodontitis is the most prevalent form of periodontitis with a multifactorial  etiology, dental plaque being the primary etiologic agent. The removal of such etiologic factor through scaling and root planing builds the foundation of treatment. In addition, the use of an antimicrobial adjunct augments elimination of microbes leading to subsequent control of the disease. Chlorhexidine and Metronidazole have been found to be active against several periodontopathogens. In this study, the use of these antimicrobial gels has been made. To evaluate and compare the clinical efficacy of subgingival application of 1% Metronidazole, 1% Chlorhexidine and Combination gel when used as an adjunct to non-surgical therapy.
Methods: A total of 120 patients, age group 30-60 years with chronic generalized periodontitis were included in the randomized, controlled, double blinded study. The patients were randomly divided into four groups and treated with scaling and root planing along with antimicrobial adjunct. The antimicrobials used were Chlorhexidine, Metronidazole, Combination of Chlorhexidine and Metronidazole, and Placebo. Clinical parameters (plaque index, gingival index, probing pocket depth and clinical attachment level) were recorded at baseline, 1 month and 3 months.
Results: In all the groups, there was a statistically significant reduction in all the clinical parameters at different time intervals. Inter-group comparison with respect to clinical changes showed that Combination gel was the best.
Conclusions: Long term, controlled randomized trials with more samples are suggested to further validate the efficacy of these antimicrobial drugs.


In this article are analyzed the effects of increasing the rate of acceleration, free running speed, and rate of braking upon the energy consumption of multiple unit electric passenger cars. Analyses of 4 typical one-mile runs are given.