Historically, the coastal zone has always attracted people and across the globe the benefits of inlet systems have made communities settle there. The Tu Hien inlet and the Tam Giang–Cau Hai lagoon system in Vietnam are no exception, as approximately half a million people depend on it for their livelihood. Tidal inlets are also known for their volatile and disruptive nature, because they are dependent on the delicate balances between oceanic processes such as tidal flow, wave action and mean sea level, and riverine processes such as discharges and sediment supply. Disturbances of this balance cause changes in the behaviour of the inlet system, which will have an impact on the surrounding coastal area. The crux is that these processes can all be significantly affected by climate change. The goal of this thesis is to understand the effect of changes in climatic conditions on the morphological stability of the Tu Hien inlet. Achieving this goal was done by studying the present day behaviour of the inlet in order to use this knowledge to validate a process-based model for the present day and subsequently applying climate change scenarios to that model. Newly acquired satellite images show that in recent years (since 1999) the behaviour has changed and the inlet is not closing anymore as was the case in the time before 1999. A conceptual model has been created that captures this behaviour of the inlet and shows that in the present day the inlet is often shifting between being narrowed and open. This cycle is caused by the processes of spit growth and widening due to a certain degree of breaching. A simulation strategy has been drafted which is mainly founded on the yearly seasonal character of the forcing conditions. During a simulation of the northeast monsoon the growth of a spit should be visible; during a simulation of the southwest monsoon a status quo should be maintained. To model this behaviour an existing model (Lam, 2009) has been adapted to include sediment transport and morphology. The adapted model has been calibrated to reproduce the sediment transport up and down the Tu Hien coast and subsequently morphology simulations have been carried out to reproduce the desired morphological behaviour. The results show that after a breach the inlet mouth is narrowing and the cross-sectional area reduces until it reaches a certain stable equilibrium by the end of the northeast monsoon period. During the southwest monsoon there is little wave action and the inlet is tide-dominated, it slightly widens but a status quo is maintained. By reproducing the present day behaviour of the inlet the model has been qualitatively validated and is considered suitable for an investigation into the effects of climate change. Four climate change scenarios consisting of combinations of sea level rise, a change in fluvial run-off and a change in wave climate have been applied to the present day model. The model shows that future changes in river flows and waves are of minor importance compared to the effects of sea level rise with regard to inlet stability. The narrowing behaviour which was apparent in the present day is not observed in the climate change scenarios involving sea level rise. An increase in basin area caused by a higher mean sea level enlarges the tidal prism which results in more flushing capacity of the flows through the inlet. The increased flushing capacity ensures that a larger inlet cross-sectional area is maintained and also enhances the locational stability of the inlet. The predicted increase of the morphological stability can be considered a positive development. An increased cross-sectional area and the lack of a narrowing behaviour means that the future morphological behaviour will not have negative consequences for inlet navigability, water quality, ecology and other socio-economic factors. Even though the predictions show that climate change is likely to have a positive impact on inlet stability for Tu Hien, it is emphasised that the overall impact of climate change on low-lying coastal zones may be significant in a negative sense and deserves continuous attention.


Objective: This study evaluated the cost for occupational health and safety in manufacturing factories in Korea according to the factory''s size and the industrial classification. Methods: The costs to prevent occupational injuries and promote the general health of the workers were calculated by using the data of The Occupational Safety and Health Survey in Korea in the year of 2005 and the data of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (IACI) premiums at the same factories for the year of 2004. Results: The mean cost per one worker was as follows: 990,000 won for the factory with 5~49 workers, 869,000 won for the factory with 50~299 workers and 1,773,000 won for the factory with more than 300 workers. In the factories with 5~49 workers and 50~299 workers, the premium for the IACI was the largest portion of the cost (62.8% and 52.8%, respectively) and the cost for gear to protect workers from dangerous machineries was the next biggest portion of the cost (20.1% and 19.1%, respectively). The largest portion of the cost in the factories with more than 300 workers was the premium for the IACI(37.5%). Conclusions: The investment costs to prevent occupational injuries and to promote the general health of the workers were very diverse according to the size of the factories and the industrial classification. To reduce the occupational injuries and to promote the general health of the workers, systematic and continuous approaches to evaluate the investment costs for the occupational health and safety are required.


Many factors are weighed in judging the quality of a journal. Editorial policies in the instructions to authors section offer an important, though often neglected, source of information. In addition to directions on formatting and style, this section often includes financial disclosures and policies on coverage, peer review, confidentiality, human experimentation and duplicate submissions. This study analyzes the contents of instructions sections from several categories of medical journals to determine their usefulness in making collection development decisions. Included are journals currently considered the most prestigious, indexed in Index Medicus and Abridged Index Medicus, and not indexed in Index Medicus or subscribed to by a typical large academic health sciences library. It was found that in a statistically significant number of journals, the instructions to authors section is more likely to be included and substantive in highly regarded journals than in less prestigious journals. It is concluded that the amount of information in the instructions section is related to the quality of the journal and that these sections are a useful collection development tool.


Advanced oxidation process using titanium dioxide as a photocatalyst under solar irradiation is one of the most attractive technologies to eliminate atrazine, an endocrine disrupting and carcinogen contaminant. The N, S-codoped TiO2 nanowires at the calcination of 600°C obtained by a facile hydrothermal method revealed the best photocatalytic performance for the degradation of atrazine under visible light irradiation compared to N, S-codoped TiO2 nanoparticles and S-doped TiO2 nanowires. TOC removal experiment also exhibited the similar result and achieved 63% of atrazine mineralization within 6 h. The degradation of atrazine was driven mainly by •OH and holes during the photocatalytic process. Reactive species quantities such •OH and generated by N, S-codoped TiO2 nanowires under visible light irradiation were much more than those of S-doped TiO2 nanowires and N, S-codoped TiO2 nanoparticles. These results were mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of N and S doping in narrowing the band gap, remarkable increase in electron-hole separation, extending the anatase-to-rutile transformation temperature above 600°C, and preferentially exposing high reactive crystal facets of anatase.


We establish novel generalization bounds for learning algorithms that converge to global minima. We do so by deriving black-box stability results that only depend on the convergence of a learning algorithm and the geometry around the minimizers of the loss function. The results are shown for nonconvex loss functions satisfying the Polyak-{\L}ojasiewicz (PL) and the quadratic growth (QG) conditions. We further show that these conditions arise for some neural networks with linear activations. We use our black-box results to establish the stability of optimization algorithms such as stochastic gradient descent (SGD), gradient descent (GD), randomized coordinate descent (RCD), and the stochastic variance reduced gradient method (SVRG), in both the PL and the strongly convex setting. Our results match or improve state-of-the-art generalization bounds and can easily be extended to similar optimization algorithms. Finally, we show that although our results imply comparable stability for SGD and GD in the PL setting, there exist simple neural networks with multiple local minima where SGD is stable but GD is not.


Elevated temperature has potential to influence the biological mechanisms regulating ecosystem–atmosphere carbon exchange. The relationship between warming and heterotrophic microbial respiration remains poorly understood, not least in terms of the differential sensitivity of microbial groups to temperature and the complexity of interactions with other biota. Cord‐forming basidiomycete fungi are dominant primary decomposers in temperate woodland. Decomposition rates are determined by the composition of the decomposer community, ecophysiological relationships between these fungi and abiotic variables and interactions with other organisms. Amongst the latter, a major determinant is the balance between mycelial growth and removal by soil invertebrate grazers, which can themselves be affected by elevated temperature. We investigated the impact of elevated temperature on fungal foraging and decomposition of beech (Fagus sylvatica) wood in soil microcosms to which the invertebrate grazers, Folsomia candida and Protophorura armata (Collembola), were added in factorial combinations with five basidiomycete fungi. Species‐specific impacts on mycelial development and function resulted from differential sensitivity of fungi to warming and grazing. Temperature impacts on collembola abundance were resource‐specific, causing increased grazing pressure by both species, but on different fungi. Grazing often counteracted warming‐induced stimulation of mycelial growth, but occasionally amplified the temperature effect, with implications for colonization rates of new resources. High grazing pressure did not prevent increased fungal‐mediated decomposition of colonized wood, as fungi utilized more resource‐derived energy to maintain explorative growth. Impacts of elevated temperature on decomposition are likely to depend on local composition of the fungal and invertebrate decomposer community.


This paper reviews studies conducted between 1980 and 1988 on relative sea level changes and coastal evolution during the Holocene in Japan. The Japanese Working Group of IGCP Project 200, on "late Quaternary sea level changes, " compiled the two-volume "Atlas of Sea Level Records in the late Quarternary in Japan" in 1987, which included materials related to this topic, based on papers published since 1980. The group also compiled the "Middle Holocene Shoreline Map of Japan (1:200, 000), which demonstrated the location of the middle Holocene shoreline with numerous data on height and radiocarbon age representing the sea level of that stage, and with 15 insets, considered to be typical examples of various types of study. Numbers of papers by year in terms of research field and study area are summarized in Figs. 1 and 2. Several review papers on sea level study have been also published in the last several years, in addition to local studies.Relative sea level curves published in the past 10 years are shown in Fig. 3. The curve patterns show noticeable local or regional differences, reflecting tectonic factors with a different amount and character in each area. Some areas characterized by a rather late culmination age of the postglacial transgression contrast with most of the Japanese coast, which has a culmination age of ca. 6, 000 to 6, 500y.B.P. Two minor fluctuations of Holocene sea level which were pointed out by OTA et al. (1982), have been recognized in several areas; a eustatic origin for such fluctuation is most likely, judging by the nearly coincident occurrence of climatic fluctuation revealed by pollen analyses, molluscan assemblage analyses and submarine core data.The following topics are discussed in particular detail in this paper: 1) Progress of excavation on the Holocene lowland and coral reefs, in order to obtain systematic samples for identification of marine limits and samples for analyses of various fossils and for dating. 2) Holocene marine terrace study with special reference to coseismic uplift and volcanic activity. 3) Identification of the former sea level on the rocky coast. Barnacles and tube worms (Pomatoleios kraussii) as sea level indicators are discussed, including problems with accuracy of radiocarbon dating. 4) Problems concerning the recognition and accuracy of former shorelines in the large alluvial plain. 5) The significance of small drowned valleys as a suitable field for the reconstruction of sea level change. 6) Climatic fluctuation during the Holocene, with relation to sea level fluctuation. 7) Increased overseas studies on Holocene sea level change by Japanese scientists.


Unsupervised domain adaptation studies how to transfer a learner from a labeled source domain to an unlabeled target domain with different distributions. Existing methods mainly focus on matching the marginal distributions of the source and target domains, which probably lead a misalignment of samples from the same class but different domains. In this paper, we deal with this misalignment by achieving the class-conditioned transferring from a new perspective. We aim to maximize the conditional independence of feature and domain given class in the reproducing kernel Hilbert space. The optimization of the conditional independence measure can be viewed as minimizing a surrogate of a certain mutual information between feature and domain. An interpretable empirical estimation of the conditional dependence is deduced and connected with the unconditional case. Besides, we provide an upper bound on the target error by taking the class-conditional distribution into account, which provides a new theoretical insight for most class-conditioned transferring methods. In addition to unsupervised domain adaptation, we extend our method to the multi-source scenario in a natural and elegant way. Extensive experiments on four benchmarks validate the effectiveness of the proposed models in both unsupervised domain adaptation and multiple source domain adaptation.


ABSTRACT... Objectives: Hepatotoxicity is the most complicated side effect of isoniazid (inh) in the patient treated for tuberculosis. In causes 8–30% hepatotoxicity in the developing world. Metabolism of INH produces a metabolite, called acetyl isoniazid. In this study hepatoprotective effect of honey, in isoniazid induced animal model was assessed. Study Design: Randomized control trial. Setting: Saidu Medical College, Saidu Sharif Swat, KP. Period: October To December 2017. Material and Methods: 40 healthy male rabbits were assigned randomly to the group i, ii, iii and iv by using lottery method. Ten animals were grouped each row. The isoniazid-induced hepatotoxic model was created by giving 50 mg inh/kg orally on daily basis for eleven days. Group i was taken as negative control group ii as a positive control. Group iii and iv were experimental groups treated with 50 mg /kg/day and 100 mg /kg/day buckwheat honey respectively for eleven days. SPSS Version 16 software was used, mean, s.d. were determined in all the groups. Values of serum bilirubin, sgpt, and alkaline phosphatase were compared with each other using pairt-test. Results: SGPT, Serum bilirubin, and alkaline phosphatase were obtained in all the animals. Comparing group 1 negative control with group 2, 3 and 4 shows statistical significance, (p=0.00). Comparing group 2 positive control with 3 and 4 shows statistical significance, (p=0.00). Further comparing group 3 with group 4 also shows statistical significance (p=0.00). Conclusion: From the above finding, it has been revealed that honey has got a protective effect in regressing hepatitis that has been induced in rabbit's model by high doses of isoniazid. Related studies performed in which different chemicals and drugs have been tried for their protective role in isoniazid induced hepatitis also shows a similar type of results.


Thirty consecutive cases of histologically proved Wilms' tumor followed for a minimum of two years have been reviewed. The overall survival rate was 70%, with 47% beyond the period of risk (Collins'). Of 14 children treated by nephrectomy and postoperative radiotherapy, 43% (6 of 14) are living and apparently free of tumor. Of 13 children treated with dactinomycin in addition to nephrectomy and postoperative radiotherapy, 92% (12 of 13) are living and apparently free of tumor. It was concluded that the survival of children with Wilms' tumor is markedly prolonged by the administration of dactinomycin at the time of diagnosis. The beneficial effect of dactinomycin was attributed to the "cidal" action of this drug on small or poorly established metastases.


The antianginal efficacy of metoprolol OROS has been investigated in comparison with that of atenolol in a multicenter double-blind cross-over trial carried out in patients with stable effort angina. OROS (ORally OSmotic) is a new semi-permeable delivery system with very slow osmotic release of the active drug, which is maintained at virtually constant plasma levels throughout the 24 hours. At the end of a 2-week run-in period, 53 patients with chronic coronary artery disease and documented ischemia during bicycleergometric exercise test were given, on double-blind condition, metoprolol OROS 21/285 and atenolol 100 mg in random order for 4 weeks each. On the last day of each cross-over period, patients underwent a bicycleergometric exercise test 24 hours after the last drug intake. The mean number of anginal attacks (2.54 during the 2-week run-in period) decreased under both metoprolol OROS (1.29 and 1.13 after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment, respectively) and atenolol (1.29 and 0.73 after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment, respectively), with no difference between the two beta-blockers. The same behaviour was observed as regards the nitroglycerin tablets consumption. The exercise test variables (i.e. duration of exercise, maximum workload and peak exercise values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and ST-segment depression) did not differ between the two treatments and did not show a time-effect. The percentage of patients reporting adverse effects was low with both treatments. Two patients were withdrawn from the study during atenolol (gastralgia and heartburn, respectively), and one during metoprolol OROS (gastralgia).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Inflammation is increasingly being associated with cancer initiation andprogression. Inflammatory mediators, mostly cytokines like TNF-α and IL-6, originate typically from tumor-immune cell interactions. Monocytes, precursors of macrophages, form a major chunk of the immune cells infiltrating the tumors and potential source of inflammatory signals. Devising in-vitro models to study he role of inflammatory mediators in human tumorigenesis, especially in challenging tumors like that of the lung, is a thrust area. In this study, we mimic in-vivo conditions, where lung carcinoma cells would come directly in contact with monocytes, by co- culturing representative human lung carcinoma cell line, A549 with human monocytic cell line, THP-1and evaluate TNF-α and IL-6 expression by immunoassays. TNF-α was detectable in co-culture supernatants as early as 1 hour after co-culturing of two cell types. Following the kinetics of TNF- α expression in the co-culture we observe that TNF-α levels reach to peak levels at 4-6 hours after co-culture before receding to lower levels indicating tight regulation of TNF-α expression. Surprisingly, high amounts of IL-6 were detected in the co-culture, even though THP-1 poorly expresses IL-6 unless pre-activated. We found IL-6 was almost exclusively coming from A549 cells, as only IL-6 of human origin was detected when A549 cells were co-cultured with mouse macrophages, RAW 264.7. The presence of TNF-α and IL-6 even after prolonged co-culture points to desirable presence of TNF-α and IL-6 for tumor cells. These results indicatethat tumor cells are able to interact directly with monocytes generating TNF-α in a regulated manner. This suggests a significant role of varying TNF- α and IL-6 levels in tumor microenvironment during tumorigenesis and in better understanding of inflammatory mechanisms associated with cancer.


Oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis) venom sac extract (VSE) was topically applied to experimental wounds produced on the back skin of rats in order to observe histologically its effect on the healing process. In other studies the collagenolytic effect of VSE was investigated. The results clearly indicated that application of VSE enhanced the process of wound healing. Two weeks after wound induction a thick epidermis and maturation of the dermal connective tissue were seen in the experimental animals, whereas in the controls the dermis was thin and still showed granulation tissue, and the epidermis was thin. Incubation of VSE with purified neutral salt-soluble collagen (NSSC) labeled by reduction with [3H]NaBH4 brought about degradation of the substrate. It is assumed that VSE enhances the process of wound healing in the skin, probably due to its collagenolytic effect.


Recent experiments involving near-contact underwater explosions on air-backed plates suggest the following failure mode categories: (1) holing and petaling, (2) complete or partial edge tearing due to shock only, (3) complete or partial edge tearing due to shock and bubble collapse, and (4) large deformation without rupture. Finite-element analysis was used to further investigate the detailed response and failure of the plates, and determine the limit between center plate holing and edge failure. When compared with experimental results, finite-elements showed good agreement with the failure modes of the plates and reasonable agreement with the experimental deformations. It was found that the linear interaction criteria (LIC) failure between plastic strain and through-thickness shear stress produced results closer to experiments than the quadratic interaction criteria (QIC). For the 18~gauge specimens it was found that the through-thickness shear dominated the failure initiation for very close proximity charges, with the direct strain becoming dominant as the standoff was increased. For the thinner 20 and 22 gauge plates the direct strain was always found to be the dominant factor in the failure criteria.


Safety assurance of intended functionality through rigorous testing is a key to large-scale homologation and deployment of automated driving. It is therefore imperative to transfer real world tests into efficient and quantifiable virtual testing procedures and environments without compromising reliability. In earlier work, we presented a fully operational over-the-air vehicle-in-the-loop test system for automotive millimeter-wave radar, where we generated a virtual electromagnetic environment with physically realistic radar target echoes. We evaluated the performance of the implemented test system with an exemplary scenario parameterised with analytically pre-defined vehicle manoeuvres. In this work, we significantly proceed with the performance evaluation through re-simulation of scenarios based on real driving data and traffic manoeuvres. We have measured a standard Euro-NCAP scenario, namely, the Car-to-Pedestrian Longitudinal Adult on a proving ground and re-simulated the ground truth parameters in the test bed. We compare the consistency of the test results at several data abstraction levels using parameter trajectories. Additionally, we introduce and evaluate quality metrics such as difference and root mean square error. For a driving scenario approximately 20 seconds long, we achieved promisingly low root mean square errors in range, azimuth and RCS of 0.3 m, 0.5° and 2 dB, respectively.


The ability to obtain Fe is critical for pathogens to multiply in their host. For this reason, there is significant interest in the identification of compounds that might interfere with Fe management in bacteria. Here we have tested the response of two Gram-negative pathogens, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (STM) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1), to deferiprone (DFP), a chelating agent already in use for the treatment of thalassemia, and to some DFP derivatives designed to increase its lipophilicity. Our results indicate that DFP effectively inhibits the growth of PAO1, but not STM. Similarly, Fe-dependent genes of the two microorganisms respond differently to this agent. DFP is, however, capable of inhibiting an STM strain unable to synthesize enterochelin, while its effect on PAO1 is not related to the capability to produce siderophores. Using a fluorescent derivative of DFP we have shown that this chelator can penetrate very quickly into PAO1, but not into STM, suggesting that a selective receptor exists in Pseudomonas. Some of the tested derivatives have shown a greater ability to interfere with Fe homeostasis in STM compared to DFP, whereas most, although not all, were less active than DFP against PAO1, possibly due to interference of the added chemical tails with the receptor-mediated recognition process. The results reported in this work indicate that DFP can have different effects on distinct microorganisms, but that it is possible to obtain derivatives with a broader antimicrobial action.


Waste reflects the culture that produces it and affects the health of the people and environment surrounding it. As urbanization and waste production increase on a global scale, cities are faced with the challenge of how to manage their waste effectively to minimize its negative impacts on public and environmental health. Using waste as a resource can offer a variety of environmental benefits, including climate change mitigation, though these benefits are variable and uncertain. My work begins with an overview of the relationship between solid waste and the environment, focusing on two trends over time and space: regionalization and formalization of waste management. Recognizing that appropriate waste management must be determined locally, I then focus on two places, one in the Global North, and one in the Global South, whose waste production and management differ tremendously, and quantify the climate benefits from reuse strategies at different scales using life-cycle assessment (LCA). In California, USA, where waste production and access to technology are abundant, I ask: how can the state minimize the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its municipal waste management? I conclude that source reduction and anaerobic digestion are the methods by which CA could most greatly and robustly reduce its waste emissions. I also find that waste LCA results are very sensitive to model assumptions, about system boundary, landfill behavior, and electricity generation, though the emissions from source reduction are robust to these inputs. In Bogota, Colombia, where the municipal government is in the process of modernizing their recycling system, I ask: what are the GHG emission implications of this modernization? I find that the unregulated recycling system is more financially sustainable, more socially inclusive, and abates more greenhouse gas emissions than does the municipal system. The municipal system, on the other hand, conforms to aesthetic visions of a modern city, and provides workers with steady employment and benefits. A hybrid model could combine the incentives and efficiency of the informal system with the working conditions of the municipal one. In Bogota and in California, modes of reuse - technologies or behaviors that use waste as a resource - offer waste management, environmental and climate benefits.


OBJECTIVE
Suction is necessary during craniotomy, and intraoperative tumbling of the suction device interrupts operative procedures. To avoid this, we developed a technique that would fasten the device to an extendable cord as is used to secure cell phones.

SURGICAL TECHNIQUE
We used this technique in more than 300 craniotomies at the specific point of time when the suction device tends to tumble, i. e., during the opening and closure of a wound, which requires frequent instrument exchanges. Extendable cords fastened to the tip of the suction hose using a gift tie were attached to the drapes to secure the suction device next to the operative field. During the operation, the extendable cord followed the suction device manipulations. Consequently, although there was some tension in the cord during its extension, the maneuverability of the suction device was maintained. As the hanging suction device was closer to the operative field than devices stored in conventional pockets, its manipulation was easier and quicker. Upon release, the suction device automatically returned to its original position without distracting the surgeon. Tumbling of the device was prevented, and there were no procedure-related complications.

CONCLUSIONS
Our simple modification using extendable cords prevented tumbling, avoided unnecessary replacements, and eased the manipulation of a suction device.


Study Design. A retrospective review of a multicenter comprehensive cervical deformity (CD) database. Objective. To develop a novel risk index specific to each patient to aid in patient counseling and surgical planning to minimize postop distal junctional kyphosis (DJK) occurrence. Background. DJK is a radiographic finding identified after patients undergo instrumented spinal fusions which can result in sagittal spinal deformity, pain and disability, and potentially neurological compromise. DJK is considered multifactorial in nature and there is a lack of consensus on the true etiology of DJK. Materials and Methods. CD patients with baseline (BL) and at least one-year postoperative radiographic follow-up were included. A patient-specific DJK score was created through use of unstandardized Beta weights of a multivariate regression model predicting DJK (end of fusion construct to the second distal vertebra change in this angle by <−10° from BL to postop). Results. A total of 110 CD patients included (61 yr, 66.4% females, 28.8 kg/m2). In all, 31.8% of these patients developed DJK (16.1% three males, 11.4% six males, 62.9% one-year). At BL, DJK patients were more frail and underwent combined approach more (both P<0.05). Multivariate model regression analysis identified individualized scores through creation of a DJK equation: −0.55+0.009 (BL inclination)−0.078 (preinflection)+5.9×10-5 (BL lowest instrumented vertebra angle) + 0.43 (combine approach)−0.002 (BL TS-CL)−0.002 (BL pelvic tilt)−0.031 (BL C2-C7) + 0.02 (∆T4–T12)+ 0.63 (osteoporosis)−0.03 (anterior approach)−0.036 (frail)−0.032 (3 column osteotomy). This equation has a 77.8% accuracy of predicting DJK. A score ≥81 predicted DJK with an accuracy of 89.3%. The BL reference equation correlated with two year outcomes of Numeric Rating Scales of Back percentage (P=0.003), reoperation (P=0.04), and minimal clinically importance differences for 5-dimension EuroQol questionnaire (P=0.04). Conclusions. This study proposes a novel risk index of DJK development that focuses on potentially modifiable surgical factors as well as established patient-related and radiographic determinants. The reference model created demonstrated strong correlations with relevant two-year outcome measures, including axial pain-related symptoms, occurrence of related reoperations, and the achievement of minimal clinically importance differences for 5-dimension EuroQol questionnaire.


We report an efficient approach to the synthesis of AgSbS2 nanocrystals (NCs) by colloidal chemistry. The size of the AgSbS2 NCs can be tuned from 5.3 to 58.3 nm with narrow size distributions by selection of appropriate precursors and fine control of the experimental conditions. Over 15 g of high-quality AgSbS2 NCs can be obtained from one single reaction, indicative of the up-scalability of the present synthesis. The resulting NCs display strong absorptions in the visible-to-NIR range and exceptional air stability. The photoelectrochemical measurements indicate that, although the pristine AgSbS2 NC electrodes generate a cathodic photocurrent with a relatively small photocurrent density and poor stability, both of them can be significantly improved subject to CdS surface modification, showing promise in solar energy conversion applications.


This project measures the effects of C. metallidurians on agricultural plant growth in environments with heavy metal runoff. Heavy metals have been known to negatively impact the environment specifically in the form of runoff. Heavy metals usually accumulate plant roots and inhibit nutrient and water transportation within plants. lIn this project, heavy metals being tested include Zinc, which prevents nutrients from being transported to the leaves; Nickel, which inhibits transpiration and photosynthesis and impairs metabolism; and Copper, which can cause protein denaturation and corrupt soil viability. C. metallidurians are a type of bacteria known to have heavy metal resistant plasmids and plasmid determinants specifically directed towards a different heavy metal each, with the cnr being resistant to copper and nickel, chr being resistant to copper and zinc, and cop being resistant to specifically copper. C. metallidurans have previously been known to detoxify high concentrations of copper and gold. They more famously have been known to pump out gold nuggets from exposure to copper metals. Since the effects of other heavy metals on C. metallidurans are not as well studied, this project aims to study the effects of those other heavy metals such as Zinc, Nickel, and Copper and apply this interaction to a real-life scenario of agriculture to see if this bacteria may be able to minimize the damage of Heavy Metal Runoff pollution.


The human testicle and ovary show special structural and functional features that have been ignored by past studies and constitute real paradoxes, which require further research to be explained. A number of surprising and unexplained findings are described and discussed, including the normal appearance of testicles after a vasectomy, theoretical and practical problems raised by testicle ectopia, cases of early puberty related to proliferation of Leydig's cells, Morris's syndrome, virlization symdrome in young girls and women, and the possible role played by the ovary, ovarian ectopia in young girls. While such cases are regarded as abnormal, they do contradict some traditional theories of endocrinology and, since in this field it is difficult to draw a definite line between normal and pathological conditions, they should be considered in further research.


Alismatis rhizoma (AR), which is the dried rhizome of Alisma orientale (Sam.) Juz. (Alismataceae), is an important component of many famous Chinese formulas for hypoglycemic. This study aimed to evaluate the insulin resistance (IR) alleviating effects of AR triterpenes (ART) and ART component compatibility (ARTC, the mixture of 16-oxo-alisol A, 16-oxo-alisol A 23-acetate, 16-oxo-alisol A 24-acetate, alisol C, alisol C 23-acetate, alisol L, alisol A, alisol A 23-acetate, alisol A 24-acetate, alisol L 23-acetate, alisol B, alisol B 23-acetate, 11-deoxy-alisol B and 11-deoxy-alisol B 23-acetate) in high-fat diet-induced IR mice and plamitate-treated IR C2C12 cells, respectively. A dose of 200 mg/kg of ART was orally administered to IR mice, and different doses (25, 50, and 100 μg/ml) of ARTC groups were treated to IR C2C12 cells. IPGTT, IPITT, body weight, Hb1AC, FFA, TNF-α, MCP-1, and IR-associated gene expression (p-AMPK, p-IRS-1, PI3K, p-AKT, p-JNK, and GLUT4) were measured in IR mice. Glucose uptake, TNF-α, MCP-1, and IR-associated gene expression were also measured in IR C2C12 cells. Results showed that ART alleviated high-fat diet-induced IR in the skeletal muscle of mice, and this finding was further validated by ARTC. This study demonstrated that ART presented a notable IR alleviating effect by regulating IR-associated gene expression, and triterpenes were the material basis for the IR alleviating activity of AR.


We consider the electrostatic potential arising from charge-modulated planes. By partitioning the potential, we treat the system partially within full non-linear Poisson–Boltzmann (PB) theory, and partially within linearized PB theory. Using this partial linearization, we generate closed-form expressions for the electrostatic potential arising from a single plate, in both salt-free and added-salt environments, and for two parallel plates, in the salt-free case only. We show that these potentials are a much better approximation to the exact PB potential than those generated by full linearization. We then show how one may use the potential between two such charge-modulated plates to generate expressions for the disjoining pressure and transverse stress induced by the charge modulation. We show that the disjoining pressure thus calculated can be significantly (20–30%) different to that calculated from uniformly charged plates of the same average charge.


Introduction . Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a rare chronic B cell lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by massive infiltration of the spleen by cells displaying a unique "hairy" morphology and surface phenotype. The ontogeny of hairy cells (HCs) and the mechanism underlying their accumulation in the spleen remain elusive. Growing evidence indicates that B cell-activating factor of the TNF family (BAFF) and a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) play important roles in malignant B cells. BAFF and APRIL are usually produced by myeloid cells and engage three receptors on B cells known as transmembrane activator and calcium modulator and cyclophylin ligand interactor (TACI), B cell maturation antigen (BCMA), and BAFF receptor (BAFF-R). APRIL binding to TACI and BCMA is reinforced by cell-anchored and matrix-associated heparan-sulphate proteoglycans (HSPGs). In this study we verified the role of BAFF and APRIL in HCL. Methods . Splenic tissue sections and B cells from 5 healthy donors and 5 HCL patients were analyzed for expression of BAFF, APRIL, TACI, BCMA, BAFF-R and other molecules through immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, immunoblotting and quantitative real-time RT-PCR. HCs were also cultured with umbilical vein or splenic endothelial cells in the presence or absence of BAFF and APRIL inhibitors, including soluble TACI-Ig decoy receptor, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and HSPG-modifying agents, such as heparinitase. HC proliferation, survival and signaling as induced by recombinant BAFF or APRIL were evaluated through standard assays. Results . We found that splenic sinusoids surrounding HCs were comprised of endothelial cells expressing APRIL and, to a lesser extent, BAFF. Endothelial cells up-regulated BAFF and APRIL upon exposure to HC-derived cytokines, including TNF-α. Unlike naive, germinal center, memory and plasmacytoid B cells but similar to splenic marginal zone B cells, HCs expressed high levels of TACI, BCMA, BAFF-R and HSPGs together with CD1c, CD11c, CD27, CD83, CD123, endocytic receptors, and carbohydrate receptors. Preliminary data indicated that endothelial cells stimulated HCs through a mechanism involving BAFF, APRIL and HSPGs as pretreatment of endothelial cells with BAFF and APRIL small interfering RNAs or heparinitase attenuated the growth and survival of HCs in co-cultures. TACI-Ig, which binds to and neutralizes BAFF and APRIL, had a similar inhibitory effect. Conversely, BAFF, APRIL as well as TACI, BCMA or BAFF-R cross-linking stimulated HC growth. This stimulation was associated with NF-κB activation as well as up-regulation of various pro-survival and growth-inducing intracellular proteins. Conclusions . The present findings suggest that HCs may derive from a splenic marginal zone B cell precursor. In addition, our studies indicate that splenic sinusoids form a BAFF-APRIL-HSPG-rich niche that promotes HC expansion via TACI, BCMA and BAFF-R. Finally, our data suggest that blocking BAFF and APRIL through TACI-Ig, siRNAs and HSPG-modifying agents could have therapeutic value in HCL.


Unresolved inflammation is a significant predictor for developing chronic pain, and targeting the mechanisms underlying inflammation offers opportunities for therapeutic intervention. During inflammation, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity contributes to tissue remodeling and inflammatory signaling, and is regulated by tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). TIMP-1 and -2 have known roles in pain, but only in the context of MMP inhibition. However, TIMP-1 also has receptor-mediated cell signaling functions that are not well understood. Here, we examined how TIMP-1-dependent cell signaling impacts inflammatory hypersensitivity and ongoing pain. We found that hindpaw injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) increased cutaneous TIMP-1 expression that peaked prior to development of mechanical hypersensitivity, suggesting that TIMP-1 inhibits the development of inflammatory hypersensitivity. To examine this possibility, we injected TIMP-1 knockout (T1KO) mice with CFA and found that T1KO mice exhibited rapid onset thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity at the site of inflammation that was absent or attenuated in WT controls. We also found that T1KO mice exhibited hypersensitivity in adjacent tissues innervated by different sets of afferents, as well as skin contralateral to the site of inflammation. Replacement of recombinant murine (rm)TIMP-1 alleviated hypersensitivity when administered at the site and time of inflammation. Administration of either the MMP inhibiting N-terminal or the cell signaling C-terminal domains recapitulated the antinociceptive effect of full-length rmTIMP-1, suggesting that rmTIMP-1inhibits hypersensitivity through MMP inhibition and receptor-mediated cell signaling. We also found that hypersensitivity was not due to genotype-specific differences in MMP-9 activity or expression, nor to differences in cytokine expression. Administration of rmTIMP-1 prevented mechanical hypersensitivity and ongoing pain in WT mice, collectively suggesting a novel role for TIMP-1 in the attenuation of inflammatory pain.


Responsibility to protect is a principle developed in order to try to protect citizens from atrocious and systematic crimes when a host state does not want to or does not have the possibility to do so themselves, and was first mentioned by the International Commission for Intervention and State Sovereignty in 2001. R2P is based on the idea that each individual state has a responsibility to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, but if a state fails to do so, the international community, through the UN, has a secondary responsibility to protect those citizens. This responsibility is to primarily be enforced with peaceful means but, in extreme cases - if the UN decided that these means are inadequate - are also to be enforced by military interventions, without the state's consent.

However, creating a common understanding of the R2P principle and its meaning has proven to be a difficult task for the UN, its member states and research experts. The R2P is based on moral law and is subjected to political plays by different member states as well as the individual opinions of states. Resolutions and reports on the principle are often full of compromises with wording that bare no real power.

The purpose of this thesis is to try and clarify what R2P actually means and how it has been implemented by the UN, especially by the UN's Security Council with its exclusive right to authorize military operations in regards to R2P-crimes. The thesis focuses on extreme cases where military means have been a necessity in order to enforce the R2P in a state as an effort to protect its citizens - cases which are extremely intricate due to the lack of guidelines in regard to the R2P principle.

The thesis provides an in-depth analysis on the authority of the Security Council and if and how R2P has been implemented in their work to ensure international peace and safety. The Syrian and Libyan crises are used as examples to demonstrate how R2P has been put into use by the international community. The thesis also provides an analysis on the five permanent member states' right to veto and the issues it causes.

The thesis concludes that international discussion has pivoted. There is no longer a discussion if R2P should be implemented but instead how it should be implemented and used in the daily works of the UN. With that said, there are still issues that need to be resolved, such as the five permanent member states' right to veto and the difficult task of trying to unify dozens of states with different political, social, moral and economic standpoints. It is clear that R2P still has a long way to go, but it is also important to remember how far it has come. It has proven its importance and with human security now being a main focus of the UN, R2P has all the potential to improve further and develop clear, useful and uncompromisable guidelines that will help protect the citizens of the world.


The fish species and size selectivity of gillnets design with monofilament nylon polyethylene netting materials were investigated in Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria between September and December 2005. The gillnets floats and sinkers were improvised from rubber slippers and lead metallic objects which were attached at intervals of 1.35 to 2.0 m with hanging ratios of 45.2 and 51.7%. The number of miles per stapling distance was three. A total of sixteen fish species belonging to 14 families were caught and Ethmalosa fimbriata was numerically most abundant. The highest numbers of fish species were recorded during the dry season month of November. The higher the fishing effort the more the gillnet catches. More fishes were caught during daytime than at night. The effect of gillnet fishing activities on fish communities includes a decrease in their abundance, changes in age structure, size composition and species composition. The overall length sizes of the fish caught were comparatively small. Gillnets used were highly selective for smaller size of fish and were easily damaged by crabs, tugs and engine powered canoes. Fishes with head and body girths smaller than 126 mm which were not gilled, wedged or entangled by the gillnets are assumed to have escaped. The condition factor (K) of fishes in the lagoon ranged between 0.11 and 1.3 while a mean condition factor of 47.78 was recorded for swimming crab Callinectes amnicola. The gillnet price per kg of fish was (N150.00 or $1.07) while the price of fish per trip was N477.27 or $3.41). The durability of the nets depends on its continual and timely mending and maintenance.


The genetic structure and diversity of 10 Chinese indigenous egg-type duck breeds were investigated using 29 microsatellite markers. The total number of animals examined were 569, on average 57 animals per breed were selected. The microsatellite marker set analysed provided 177 alleles (mean 6.1 alleles per locus, ranging from 3 to 10). All populations showed high levels of heterozygosity with the lowest estimate of 0.539 for the Jinding ducks, and the highest 0.609 observed for Jingjiang partridge ducks. The global heterozygote deficit across all populations (FIT) amounted to -0.363. About 10% of the total genetic variability originated from differences among breeds, with all loci contributing significantly. An unrooted consensus tree was constructed using the NeighborNet tree based on the Reynold's genetic distance. The structure software was used to assess genetic clustering of these egg-type duck breeds. Clustering analysis provided an accurate representation of the current genetic relations among the breeds. An integrated analysis was undertaken to obtain information on the population dynamics in Chinese indigenous egg-type duck breeds, and to better determine the conservation priorities.


We present a model of market hyper-segmentation, where a monopolist acquires within a short time all information about the preferences of consumers who purchase its vertically differentiated products. The firm offers a new price/quality schedule after each commitment period. Lower consumer types may have an incentive to delay their purchases until next period to obtain a better introductory offer. The monopolist counters this incentive by offering higher informational rents. Considering the dynamic game played by the monopolist and its customers, we find that there is always a Markov perfect equilibrium (MPE) in which the firm immediately sells the good to all customers, offering the Mussa-Rosen static equilibrium schedule to first time customers (and getting full commitment profits). However, if the commitment period between two offers is long enough, there is another MPE with gradual market expansion. Contrary to the Coasian result for a durable-good monopoly, we find that in both equilibria the profit of the monopolist increases (and the aggregate consumers surplus decreases) as the interval of commitment shrinks. The model yields policy implications for regulations on collection and storage of customers information. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


Reconstructing the epicardial potentials (EPs) distribution from the measured body surface potentials (BSPs) constitutes one main form of the inverse problem in electrocardiography (ECG). Since the problem is ill-posed, regularization process has to be applied to get the physically and physiologically meaningful EPs. While in the regularization process, the regularization parameter selection is the key step. In the paper, two new regularization parameter selection methods: cross-validation procedure (CVG) and L-curve (LG) in the context of Total Least Squares (TLS), are presented and applied to the ECG inverse problem. Comparing to the traditional methods of generalization cross validation (GCV) and L-curve (LP) methods in Least Squares (LS) setting, the new two methods consider both sides' noises in the linear system equation Ax=b. Using the realistic heart-lung-torso model with the current dipole source placed inside the heart model, the performance of the two methods are compared with the GCV and L-curve's. Various degree noises are added to the linear system equation AΦH = ΦT, which is gotten by the boundary element method (BEM) solution of the forward problem of ECG. The inverse results using Tikhonov regularization method demonstrate that the new regularization parameter selection methods, especially the CVG, are more suitable than the methods in LS, in the case when there is noise in both sides.


Aim        To compare assessments of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) volumes obtained with a semi-automatic, physician-performed analysis and an automatic analysis using a machine-learning algorithm by data of low-dose (LDCT) and standard computed tomography (CT) of chest organs.Material and methods        This analytical, retrospective, transversal study randomly included 100 patients from a database of a united radiological informational service (URIS). The patients underwent LDCT as a part of the project "Low-dose chest computed tomography as a screening method for detection of lung cancer and other diseases of chest organs" (n=50) and chest CT according to a standard protocol (n=50) in outpatient clinics of Moscow. Each image was read by two radiologists on a Syngo. via VB20 workstation. In addition, each image was evaluated with a developed machine-learning algorithm, which provides a completely automatic measurement of EAT.Results   Comparison of EAT volumes obtained with chest LDCT and CT showed highly consistent results both for the expert-performed semi-automatic analyses (correlation coefficient >98 %) and between the expert layout and the machine-learning algorithm (correlation coefficient >95 %). Time of performing segmentation and volumetry on one image with the machine-learning algorithm was not longer than 40 sec, which was 30 times faster than the quantitative analysis performed by an expert and potentially facilitated quantification of the EAT volume in the clinical conditions.Conclusion            The proposed method of automatic volumetry will expedite the analysis of EAT for predicting the risk of ischemic heart disease.


Twenty years has passed since hospital information system was introduced in 1980. Large amount of data, including histories of clinical actions and results are available, waiting for analysis and reuse for improving quality of medical servie delivery. In this paper, we showed analytical results based on data ming and exploratory data analysis in which temporal behavior of hospital activities are visualized. Each case study shows the reuse of stored data will give a powerful tool for hospital management and lead to improvement of hospital services.


Perfect icosahedral quasicrystals have a structural skeleton based on hierarchical selfsimilar packing of atomic clusters. The related inflation rules constrain both composition and atomic valences to have strictly defined values. Stability of the skeleton requires that bonding electrons are recurrently localized at sites forming selfsimilar isomorphic subsets of the structure and are distributed into `magic' cluster states. The corresponding eigenstates show power law dependences in space which generate a hopping mechanism for conductivity and unexpected physical properties.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic factors, such as clinical, histological and socio-demographic features affecting the event-free and overall survival of the patients with stage I-III carcinoma of the cervix. Eighty-nine patients with International FIGO stage I-III cervical cancer were treated radiation therapy and follow-up of 5-7 years were analyzed for various clinical, histopathological and socio-demographic factors influencing prognosis. Survival estimations were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and were compared using the un-weighted log-rank test and multivariable analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model. The median age was 46 years (range, 28-65 years). The 5-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OAS), along with standard error (SE), were 65.2% (7.0%) and 81.4% (6.1%), respectively. Significant prognostic factors for EFS include, stage (P=0.019), pelvic lymph node metastasis (P=0.013), parametrial (PMT) involvement (P=0.025), number of parametria involved (P=0.000) and tumor size (P=0.034). However, number of parametrial invasion was only significant prognostic factors for overall survival (P=0.015); 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in patients with both PMT involved (58%) than with one PMT involved (>85%). Using a multivariable analysis, we found that number of PMT involved being the only independent significant factor for the development of recurrent disease. None of the socio-demographic factors analyzed were of prognostic importance on event-free and overall survival in cervical cancer patients. Several clinicopathological factors were of prognostic significance but none of the socio-demographic factors analyzed had any role in determining patient outcome. Hence, in cervical cancer, prognosis is more likely dependent on clinical than socio-demographic factors unlike several other cancers where their significant role is well documented. Study of clinical and demographic characteristics for their influence on patient survival could help design better patient management strategies.


Plant volatiles mediate a range of interactions across and within trophic levels, including plant-plant interactions. Volatiles emitted by a plant may trigger physiological responses in neighboring plants or adhere to their surfaces, which, in turn, may affect the responses of the neighboring plant to herbivory. These volatiles are subject to chemical reactions during transport in air currents, especially in a polluted atmosphere. We conducted a field experiment to test for the adsorption of dispenser-released myrcene on the surfaces of cabbage plants and the effects of distance from the dispenser and elevated ozone levels (1.4× ambient) on the process. We also tested the effects of the same treatments on oviposition on cabbage plants by naturally occurring Plutella xylostella. Under low ambient ozone conditions of central Finland, there was evidence for the adsorption and re-release of myrcene by cabbage plants growing at a distance of 50 cm from myrcene dispensers. This effect was absent at elevated ozone levels. The number of eggs deposited by P. xylostella was generally lower in plots under elevated ozone compared to ambient control plots. Our results indicate that passive adsorption and re-release of a volatile monoterpene can occur in nature; however, this process is dependent upon the distance between emitter source and receiver plants as well as the concentration of atmospheric pollutants in the air. We conclude that, in the development of field-scale use of plant volatiles in modern pest control, the effects of distances and air pollution should be considered.


Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by excessive fat in the liver. An international consensus panel has recently proposed to rename the disease to metabolic dysfunction associated with fatty liver disease (MAFLD). The disease can range from simple steatosis (fat accumulation) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) which represents a severe form of NAFLD and is accompanied by inflammation, fibrosis, and hepatocyte damage in addition to significant steatosis. This review collates current knowledge of changes in human hepatic cytochrome P450 enzymes in NAFLD. While the expression of these enzymes is well studied in healthy volunteers, our understanding of the alterations of these proteins in NAFLD is limited. Much of the existing knowledge on the subject is derived from preclinical studies, and clinical translation of these findings is poor. Wherever available, the effect of NAFLD on these proteins in humans is debatable and currently lacks a consensus among different reports. Protein expression is an important in vitro physiological parameter controlling the pharmacokinetics of drugs and the last decade has seen a rise in the accurate estimation of these proteins for use with physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling to predict drug pharmacokinetics in special populations. The application of label-free, mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics as a promising tool to study NAFLD-associated changes has also been discussed.


Many experimental investigations have shown that labyrinthine fluids play a basic role in the physiology of the inner ear. Modifications of perilymphatic fluids have been demonstrated in perceptive deafness (otosclerosis, Ménière's disease, tympanolabyrinthosclerosis). Vasoactive agents fail to markedly affect the exchange between labyrinthine fluids, so that perceptive syndromes are generally regarded as unresponsive to treatment. Several studies have shown the effectiveness of 10-methoxy-1,6-diemthyl-ergoline-8 beta-methanol-(5-bromonicotinate) (nicergoline, Sermion) in various conditions of the inner ear. In this investigation, 30 patients with presbyacusis were treated with 30 mg/day p.o. for 30 days. Speech audiometric curves were improved in 4 out of 18 cases of physiological presbyacusis and in 6 out of 12 cases of accelerated presbyacusis. These results are very interesting, since few effective therapies are available to treat these conditions.


To determine the effect of inhibition of gluconeogenesis on liver glycogen stores in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) after a 3-day fast, 10% ethanol (EtOH) was administered intravenously to nine obese patients with NIDDM and six obese nondiabetic subjects. Rates of glucose appearance (3-[3H]glucose) and [U-14C]alanine incorporation into glucose (alanine gluconeogenesis [Ala-GNG]) were determined before and during EtOH administration, and residual glycogen stores were assessed by the incremental glucose response to glucagon (glucoseAUC). Hepatic glucose output (HGO) was closely correlated with plasma glucose levels (r = 0.71, P < 0.001) after the 3-day fast and was significantly greater in the diabetic compared with the nondiabetic subjects (13.8 ± 1.4 vs. 7.6 ± 0.6 μmol · kg−1 FFM · min−1 P < 0.01). During the 120-min EtOH infusion, Ala-GNG fell by more than 50% in both groups and did not increase after intravenous glucagon administration. HGO fell modestly in both the diabetic and nondiabetic subjects during the first 30 min of EtOH infusion and stabilized thereafter. In contrast to Ala-GNG, HGO increased significantly after intravenous glucagon administration in both the diabetic and nondiabetic subjects, but the increase was significantly greater in the patients with NIDDM (P < 0.01). The glucose area under the curve in response to glucagon (glucoseAUC) was lower in the presence of EtOH than in its absence (14.9 ± 7 vs. 68 ± 15.6 mM/min, P < 0.01) in the obese nondiabetic subjects, which suggests a decrease in liver glycogen stores. In contrast, EtOH infusion did not alter the glucoseAUC in obese diabetic subjects compared with saline control studies (134.7 ± 17.8 vs. 102.6 ± 20 mM/min, NS). The persistent increase in glucoseAUC suggests that glycogen stores are not depleted by EtOH-induced suppression of gluconeogenesis in patients with NIDDM after a 3-day fast.


In this paper, nonlinear mathematical dynamic model for standard unmanned aerial vehicle, Aerosonde was developed at low velocities in the presence of wind and then its linearized model was derived using numerical and analytical-numerical methods. These linearized dynamic models and nonlinear one were simulated and compared with each other. It was shown that analytical-numerical and numerical linear models with nonlinear dynamic model confirm each other adequately. It must be mentioned that analytical-numerical linear model more accurate and closer to nonlinear model than numerical linear model, because of errors in calculating numerical linear model due to hard nonlinearities. Achieved linear models can be used for control system de-sign purposes. Worst-case linear model was obtained for aerodynamic coefficients uncertainties. It means that these linearized models can be used for obtaining required accurate nominal linear models and uncertainties to design robust control system


Lorie Shekter-Wolfson, assistant vice-president, Waterfront, and Dean of Community Services and Health Sciences, at George Brown College in Toronto, describes the construction of a new waterfront campus for the College, where the aim is to provide a learning facility "flexible enough to evolve and shape future healthcare delivery models and assist collaborative learning".


Objective The aim of this study is to present a new adjustable Cise space maintainer for preventive orthodontic applications. Methods Stainless steel based new design consists of six main components. In order to understand the major displacement and stress fields, structural analysis for the design is considered by using finite element method. Results Similar to major displacement at y-axis, critical stresses σx and τxy possess a linear distribution with constant increasing. Additionally, strain energy density (SED) plays an important role to determine critical biting load capacity. Conclusion Structural analysis shows that the space maintainer is stable and is used for maintaining and/or regaining the space which arouses early loss of molar tooth.


This paper adopts a Bayesian nonparametric mixture model where the mixing distribution belongs to the wide class of normalized homogeneous completely random measures. We propose a truncation method for the mixing distribution by discarding the weights of the unnormalized measure smaller than a threshold. We prove convergence in law of our approximation, provide some theoretical properties, and characterize its posterior distribution so that a blocked Gibbs sampler is devised. The versatility of the approximation is illustrated by two different applications. In the first the normalized Bessel random measure, encompassing the Dirichlet process, is introduced; goodness of fit indexes show its good performances as mixing measure for density estimation. The second describes how to incorporate covariates in the support of the normalized measure, leading to a linear dependent model for regression and clustering.


Pentagastrin or histamine were infused for 24 h by way of the abdominal vena cava or aorta into conscious rats bearing permanent gastric and vascular cannulas. The locus of infusion did not significantly affect the output and concentration of acid and pepsin, or the volume of gastric secretion.


I examine the concept of affect or emotion in psychoanalysis in the context of Freud's theory of anxiety especially that of the mechanism he proposed for inhibiting the psychological and physiological responses when anxiety-provoking situations threatened to recur.  Freud pictures the original and subsequent experiences of anxiety as catastrophic and their recurrences as equally damaging.  I argue that his picture and the deficiencies in the control mechanism he proposed have resulted in a lack of attention being given intense emotions in the psychoanalytic literature and a complete failure to consider those of less intensity.


Considering the poor standards of public life, the existence and functioning of the Deputies' Ethics Committee constitute essential elements of the Polish parliamentarism. Although not the only one, the principal task of the Deputies' Ethics Committee is to react to the actions of deputies that violate the rules of ethics of deputies adopted in 1997. After more than 20 years of the Committee's operation, we can identify areas where there are noticeable dysfunctions, e.g. the composition of the Committee, the mechanism of imposing penalties and their type. With the 2018 amendment to the Standing Orders of the Sejm, a new mechanism was also introduced to hold deputies accountable for actions violating ethical standards occurring during sessions of the chamber as well as on the premises under the authority of the Chancellery of the Sejm, effectively allowing us to speak of a duality of accountability.


Current research of market impact caused by macroeconomic announcements is based on regressing asset returns on macroeconomic surprises, S(t) ~ A(t) – E(t), where A(t) and E(t) are actual and expected (consensus) values of macroeconomic indicators at time t, correspondingly. We found that regressing returns of SPDR ETF SPY on actual change, AC(t) ~ A(t) – A(t-1), and expected change, EC(t) ~ E(t) – A(t-1), yield statistically significant indicators similar to those for S(t). These indicators somewhat vary for the periods 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. The advantage of AC(t) is that it is not based on the subjective nature of consensus. As for EC(t), it does not have a look-ahead bias since E(t) are published a few days prior to A(t). Hence CE(t) can be used for short-term forecasting. We show that with proper fitting, AC-, EC-, and S-based indexes can be used for qualitative modeling the SPY price dynamics. However, the effects of macroeconomic announcements alone do not describe the strength of the bull market in 2009-2014.


Outlines ABB Robotics new manufacturing philosophy of "lean robotization" based on early partnership between customer and supplier and a detailed knowledge of the customers application requirements. Examines two new ABB robots, suitable for a wide variety of functions, and operated by a new controller which uses a windows‐style user interface to simplify programming and process tuning. Describes some of the new features of the control which are claimed to bring major benefits in productivity and quality.


Modern heterogeneous CPUs incorporate hardware accelerators to enable domain-specialized execution and achieve improved efficiency. A well-known class among them, spatial accelerators, are designed with reconfigurability to accelerate a wide range of compute-heavy and data-parallel applications. Unlike CPU cores, however, they tend to require specialized compilers and software stacks, libraries, or languages to operate and cannot be utilized with ease by all applications. As a result, the accelerator's large pool of compute and memory resources sit wastefully idle when it is not explicitly programmed. Our goal is to dismantle this CPU-accelerator barrier by monitoring CPU threads for acceleration opportunities during execution and, if viable, dynamically reconfigure the accelerator to allow transparent offloading. We develop MESA (Microarchitecture Extensions for Spatial Architecture Generation), a hardware block on the CPU that translates machine code to build an accelerator configuration specialized for the running program. While such a dynamic translation/reconfiguration approach is challenging, it has a key advantage over ahead-of-time compilers: access to runtime information, revealing not only dynamic dependencies but also performance characteristics. MESA maintains a real-time performance model of the program mapped on the accelerator in the form of a spatial dataflow graph with nodes weighted by operation latency and edges weighted by data transfer latency. Features of this dataflow graph are continuously updated with runtime information captured by performance counters, allowing a feedback loop of optimization, reconfiguration, and acceleration. This performance model allows MESA to identify the accelerator's critical paths and pinpoint its bottlenecks, upon which we implement in hardware a data-driven instruction mapping algorithm that locally minimizes latency. Backed by a synthesized RTL implementation, we evaluate the feasibility of our microarchitectural solution with different accelerator configurations. Across the Rodinia benchmarks, results demonstrate an average 1.3× speedup in performance and 1.8× gain in energy efficiency against a multicore CPU baseline.


We describe a dual-color three-dimensional stimulated emission depletion (3D-STED) microscopy employing a single laser source with a repetition rate of 80 MHz. Multiple excitation pulses synchronized with a STED pulse were generated by a photonic crystal fiber, and the desired wavelengths were selected by an acousto-optic tunable filter with high spectral purity. Selective excitation at different wavelengths permits simultaneous imaging of two fluorescent markers at a nanoscale resolution in three dimensions.


The basic pillar of the protection of cultural goods is the database which I present in this paper. Leonardo and iTPC can be considered as the next-generation database of stolen cultural properties, what the international law enforcement agencies do not have. During the the research, I have used the methods of interviews and the experiences gained during my study trip in Italy. Modern technology, and through this, mass media is essential to enhance the protection of cultural properties.


This study aimed to explore the effects of agricultural waste (rice straw-RS and maize stalks-MS) in reducing Cd toxicity. Experiments in the study determined: growth of pak choi, total Cd concentration in the plant and the change in distribution of Cd fraction in the soil. Results showed that: agricultural waste application may detoxify Cd at excessive concentrations (3 and 6 mg/kg) by transforming mobile Cd fractions (EXC-Cd and CAB-Cd) into semi-mobile and non-mobile Cd fractions (FEM-Cd, OM-Cd, and RES-Cd); the Cd concentrations in pak choi decreased and pak choi growth increased. However, a significant reduction in Cd concentration can only occur when agricultural waste application is at an appropriate content (20 g/kg). In addition, agricultural waste application promoted the growth of pak choi at lower content (10 g/kg). Furthermore, this study also showed a good correlation between the ratio of mobile Cd fractions (EXC-Cd and CAB-Cd) with Cd concentration in pak choi and plant growth. This study suggested that agricultural waste application, especially rice straw, plays an important role in preventing Cd uptake by plant tissues at excessive concentrations through transformations into immobile Cd fractions.


Staphylococcus aureus cell wall possesses several biological activities. It is removed from the blood by reticuloendothelial system (RES) and persists there for a long time. The influence of cell wall components on RES cells in vivo and in vitro was investigated. RES activity was studied in mice by carbon clearance method. Intravenous injection of 10 microgram of cell walls or peptidoglycan caused early stimulation and subsequent suppression of RES activity, while teichoic acid was inactive. Four hundred microgram of peptidoglycan caused RES stimulation with maximum after three days, whereas 400 microgram of cell walls caused no such stimulation. Viability of mouse peritoneal macrophages was studied after four days of culture in the presence of cell walls, peptidoglycan, and teichoic acid. Fifty microgram/ml of cell walls or peptidoglycan caused death of all or 68% of macrophages respectively. Teichoic acid was inactive, exhibiting toxic effects at 400 microgram/ml level.


Panhypogammaglobulinaemia has recently been recognized as a rare complication of gold toxicity. We report two further cases of gold-induced hypogammaglobulinaemia which also demonstrated that monitoring of immunoglobulin levels is necessary for the early detection of this condition.


Rural communities are getting more diversified in terms of people's backgrounds, sources of livelihood and interests towards the rural landscape. A common way to discuss rural community change has been to contrast in-migrants and seasonal residents with long-term rural residents. In this article, we aim to challenge this segmentation. We ask what it is to be a dweller in the modern countryside and how much the residential status has to do with people's interests and use of space. Based on a postal survey in a case study area in Finland, we look into the differences in the valuation of different leisure activities performed in rural space between second home owners and permanent residents. After dividing permanent residents and second home owners into further subgroups based on their spatial and temporal possibilities to engage in rural leisure, we found that there are no specific activities or groups of activities typical for certain groups of rural leisure space users. Differences between local residents and second-home owners are rarely explained by this simple dichotomy, rather the differences are better explained by spatial and temporal accessibility.


The aim of the text is to describe some use of literary studies for the studies of history. First of all the recent evolution of the literary studies is outlined, with special stress on expansion of the notion of the subject. It is not any more limited to a human actor, but can be applied to an animal or even an inanimate object. The notion of discursive practice is introduced as a one of the principal key notions of contemporary literary studies. Then few application of literary analysis of discourse for history is enumerated, such as: expanding the scope of historical sources so as to include literary works and other piece of art; critical analysis of historiographical discourse as a text; a new approach to traditional historical sources consisting in treating them as autonomic texts of culture deserving interpretative activity in themselves.


Grain shippers and political figures in North Dakota and nearby states have voiced concern that the dramatic increases in shipments of crude oil by rail have caused service delays and higher costs. We investigate the potential impact of crude shipments on grain markets accounting for harvest effects and other potential sources of rail congestion. Increased crude oil shipments are associated with substantially larger spreads between wheat prices at regional elevators and in Minneapolis, the market hub. The effect on corn and soybean spreads are an order of magnitude smaller. Increased oil traffic is associated with small increases in rail rates but large increases in rail car auction prices. We document increases in wheat carry (storage) costs and decreases in shipment quantities. Surprisingly, little of the spread increase is due to lower prices paid to farmers, suggesting consumers rather than producers paid the cost of increased rail congestion.


The purpose of this article is to identify and analyze the extent of regional differences in terms of human development and economic development indices. In this study, the level of national-regional development in the two provinces of Tehran and Sistan and Baluchestan is measured by the above two indices to highlight discrepancies in regional development in Iran. In this applied research, a descriptive-analytical method has been adopted. The research data were obtained from the official Census of 2011 as well as the last official Census in 2016. The economic index was measured by Izard model and the conclusions were informed by the human development index. The results manifest that the studied indices have been affected by geographical factors and micro/macro policies of the government in the four decades since the 1979 Revolution, contributing to the widening of regional development gap. The HDI was 0.720 in Tehran and 0.494 in Sistan and Baluchestan. Also, the per capita income index of Tehran and Sistan and Baluchestan were 0.497 and 269.0, respectively, which indicates a marked difference. As for the average years of study, the index of Tehran (0.780) was nearly two-fold higher than that of Sistan and Baluchestan (0.439). However, the life expectancy index exhibited a smaller difference than the overall average. The results of the research based on the Izard model also demonstrate that Tehran and Sistan and Baluchestan with an average of 126% and 172% in economic sectors are above the national average (112%), the only difference being that the development process in Sistan and Baluchestan is changing rapidly.


SCOPE
Coffee is rich in quinic acid esters of phenolic acids (chlorogenic acids) but also contains some free phenolic acids. A proportion of phenolic acids appear in the blood rapidly after coffee consumption due to absorption in the small intestine. We investigated in vitro whether this appearance could potentially be derived from free phenolic acids in instant coffee or from hydrolysis of chlorogenic acids by pancreatic or brush border enzymes.

METHODS AND RESULTS
We quantified six free phenolic acids in instant coffees using HPLC-DAD-mass spectrometry. The highest was caffeic acid, but all were present at low levels compared to the chlorogenic acids. Roasting and decaffeination significantly reduced free phenolic acid content. We estimated, using pharmacokinetic modelling with previously published data, that the contribution of these compounds to small intestinal absorption is minimal. Hydrolysis of certain chlorogenic acids was observed with human-differentiated Caco-2 cell monolayers and with porcine pancreatin, which showed maximal rates on 3- and 5-O-caffeoylquinic acids, respectively.

CONCLUSION
The amounts of certain free phenolic acids in coffee could only minimally account for small intestinal absorption based on modelling. The hydrolysis of caffeoylquinic, but not feruloylquinic acids, by enterocyte and pancreatic esterases is potentially a contributing mechanism to small intestinal absorption.


BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: Applications of robotics to minimally invasive spine surgery have produced several benefits while sparing patients the morbidity of traditional open surgery. Minimally invasive spine surgery offers the advantages of less pain and less blood loss, along with quicker recovery and shorter hospital stays. The da Vinci robotic surgical system has recently been adapted to neurosurgical applications. This article details a posterior approach using a tubular retraction system in conjunction with an anterior approach using the da Vinci robot to completely remove large spinal schwannomas with intrathoracic extension. This technique is an example of a novel application of existing technology initially developed for other applications. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: Two patients with large thoracic schwannomas extending into the chest cavity are reviewed. We present images and video of the combined minimally invasive approach used to completely remove the lesions without complications. CONCLUSION: This report describes a novel neurosurgical application of an existing minimally invasive robotic surgical system.


Motor neuron diseases (MNDs) are neurodegenerative disorders that lead to paralysis and typically carry a dismal prognosis. In children, inherited spinal muscular atrophies are the predominant diseases that affect motor neurons, whereas in adults, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is inherited but mostly sporadic, is the most common MND. In recent years, we have witnessed a revolution in this field, sparked by the discovery of the genes that cause MNDs. Remarkably, at least 10 genes, whose products are either RNA-binding proteins or proteins that function in RNA processing and regulation, cause MNDs and place the dysregulation of RNA pathways at the center of motor neuron degeneration pathogenesis.


Response: First of all I would like to thank, (also on my co‐authors' behalf ) the authors of the letter for their observations that will be certainly useful for our future studies. However, our analysis of the jump ability in novice ballet dancers is our first attempt to investigate the connection between the daily ballet class and the physiotechnique class. For this reason, perhaps the expectations of Bronner and Hagins are too high for a single study. Trying to answer all their questions one by one, I would like to specify that: 1. In the first period of the jump training (jumps on both legs, for example temps levé), the teacher must emphasize the jumping height, according to the ability to maintain a precise position of the whole body in the air (ballon) and the ability to use all the elastic energy stored in the leg muscles. This period of study is obviously necessary in order to perform, in a second phase of training, all kinds of more complex jumps, such as, for example, the pas jeté mentioned by Bronner and Hagins. 2. I don't think that, in the classical ballet technique, the ability to maintain the en dehors could be defined as "aesthetically important." The turned out position of the lower legs, indeed, involves the modification of the entire body posture, especially regarding the spine; and this can easily modify the skill of the young dance student to per‐ form some movements (for example the jumps). 3. In the specific case of our experimental study, the choreographic demand is absolutely unimportant. We asked the students simply to perform a jump on both legs that represented the first step in the elevation study. Regarding the sequence of the jumps, each student performed the two different single jumps (SJ and CMJ) with a short interval; and, after the series of ten consecutive jumps, we waited two minutes to perform the second phase of the test. The rhythm of the all jumps was fixed and maintained by the physiotechnique teacher. 4. The ERGO‐JUMP can measure automatically both the flight time and the rising of the center of gravity during the jump but cannot analyze the amount of trunk move‐ ments in the transverse plane. The jumps, however, were performed until a correct execution was shown, according with the basic principles of ballet technique. 5. Our study was conducted at the Italian National Acad‐ emy of Dance, an institutional comparable to a "federal" school. According to internal regulations all the students must follow the same identical classes. Physiotechnique classes are part of this program; and, for this reason, unfor‐ tunately, a control group could not be enrolled in our study. 6. Also without a statistical analysis, the data shown in Table 2 can demonstrate a reduction in the number of students that presented the double heel strikes between the first and the second examination. This improvement in the jump technique was especially appreciated by the classical ballet teachers.


While an increasing body of research has documented the importance of breastfeeding for infant health, very little research has been done on its economic implications. From an economic perspective, breast milk can in many respects be regarded like any other food commodity. For example, it could be stored in milk banks, and redistributed from areas of surplus to areas of scarcity. But breast milk is inique in that many of its benefits are associated more with its method of delivery than with its physical or nutritional properties per se. In this study based on field work in West Africa, the authors evaluate the economics of breast-feeding versus artificial feeding, but point out that the major impact of breastfeeding at national level is associated with its health-promoting and birth-spacing effects, neither of which are quantifiable at present.


Background— The in vivo regeneration capacity of decellularized heart valve grafts is still controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate function, morphological changes, and cellular composition of decellularized versus re-endothelialized ovine pulmonary valves (PV) after implantation into lambs for 1 or 3 months. Methods and Results— PV (n=21) were decellularized using detergents. Twelve PV were repopulated with autologous jugular veins endothelial cells (ECs) in a dynamic pulsatile bioreactor under simulated physiological conditions. Morphological evaluation before implantation included histological stainings (H&E, Movat-pentachrome, von-Kossa, DAPI), immunostainings (anti-perlecan, anti-eNOS, anti-procollagen-I, anti-SM-α-actin), electron microscopy (EM), and DNA extraction. Decellularization led to cell-free scaffolds with preserved extracellular matrix (ECM) including basement membrane. Reseeded PV (n=5) were completely covered with ECs expressing endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and von Willebrand factor (vWF). The function of orthotopically implanted decellularized and re-endothelialized PV (n=7, each) was analyzed after 1 and 3 months by echocardiography and revealed no differences in competence between both groups. A confluent EC monolayer expressing eNOS/vWF was only found in re-endothelialized PV but not in decellularized PV, whereas the valve matrices were comparable repopulated with interstitial cells expressing SM-α-actin and procollagen-I. More thrombotic and neointima formations were observed in decellularized PV. No signs of calcification were detected in both PV types. Conclusion— In vitro re-endothelialization of detergent-decellularized valves with autologous ECs under simulated physiological conditions significantly improves total EC valve coverage 3 months after implantation, whereas the valve repopulation with interstitial cells in vivo occurs most likely by cell migration inside the scaffold.


An increasing number of higher educational institutions have engaged in assessing and reporting their sustainability efforts. This paper presents the process undertaken to prepare the first draft of the University of Leeds sustainability report. The objective of the exercise was to provide a base and complement other sustainability initiatives taken at the University of Leeds. The process of developing the report was done in three stages: (1) collecting data; (2) populating the indicators; and (3) assessing the performance values from the information collected using the Graphical Assessment of Sustainability in Universities (GASU) tool. Although there were limited time and resources for the process, the results in indicator coverage and performance were higher than other the analysis of other HEIs that have published Global Reporting Initiative based reports. When preparing a sustainability report it is important to have a holistic perspective, addressing the different inter-relations between indicators, categories, and dimensions, as well as stakeholders throughout the university system.


A facile, sustainable, operationally simple and mild method for the synthesis of SiO2@Au–Ag nanocomposites (NCs) using Nephrolepis cordifolia tuber extract is described and its catalytic, antibacterial and cytotoxic properties were investigated. The fabricated SiO2@Au–Ag NCs were well characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to determine the optical activity, size and morphology, elemental composition, functional groups present, crystallinity, thermal stability and chemical state respectively. The obtained SiO2@Au–Ag NCs exhibited spherical shape SiO2 decorated with Au and Ag nanoparticles. The diameter of the SiO2 nanoparticles ranges from 200–246 with average 3 nm diameter of Au and Ag NPs. Synthetic utility of this protocol has been demonstrated by exploring its effective catalytic activities for the solvent-free amidation of carboxylic acid with a primary amine with excellent yields. Moreover, the synthesized nanocomposite exhibited as noticeable antibacterial effect against Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria and better bio-compatibility against human keratinocytes. Thus, additive free SiO2@Au–Ag NCs display the potential for catalysis and biomedical applications.


Rice is widely cultivated under irrigated condition
and its water requirement is very newlinehigh. Due to dwindling
water resources, to save irrigation water growing rice under
newlinesemi-irrigated aerobic condition has phenomenal relevance.
In this ecosystem decreased water availability, high VPD affects
crop growth and productivity. From this context it is important to
improve adaptation of rice under aerobic condition by improving
water relations and cellular level tolerance mechanisms. Stress
adaptation at cellular level involves activation of stress
responsive genes which are regulated by transcription factors.
Hence, under stress, co-ordinated expression of multiple
transcription factors is crucial to increase cellular level
tolerance. As a first step a multigene construct coexpressing GUS,
AtbHLH17 and AtWRKY28 was developed using modified multisite
gateway technology and developed transgenics in Arabidopsis. These
transgenics showed improved tolerance to diverse stresses like
drought, salinity and oxidative stress by upregulation of large
number of downstream genes. Further, three stress responsive TFs
from different families i.e EcNAC1, EcMYC57, EcbZIP60 were cloned
from fingermillet and validated their relevance in stress tolerance
in tobacco. Tobacco transgenics co-expressing all the three TFs
showed superior phenotype under stress compared to single TFs
expressing transgenics signifying the importance of co
newlineexpression of relevant stress specific TFs. To improve
adaptation of rice under semiirrigated aerobic conditions rice
transgenics were developed co-expressing EcNAC1, EcMYC57 and
EcbZIP60 in the background of genotype having superior water
relations. Desirable transformants were identified based on
dessication response. Molecular characterization of transformants
showed the integration and expression of all three genes. The
transgenics showed improved tolerance to salinity and oxidative
stress.%%%Summary p. 140-146, References p. 147-187, Appendix
included


The interplay between formal organizing structures and the informal social networks of employees and organizations furthers the resilience of nonprofit organizations that serve the community. This case study draws on qualitative multi-pronged data collected in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey from two faith networks of social welfare organizations serving the vulnerable in Houston, Texas. Results show that hybrid organizing of formal structures and informal networks contributes to organizational and community resilience. By examining both forms of organizing, this article shows how formal structures offer foundational support to the more informal and nimble social networks across the interorganizational partnerships that support the community. As such, this study extends the process orientation toward resilience by documenting how individuals, organizations, and networks expand organizational internal capacities through disaster relief efforts enacted across levels (employee–organization–community).


Early determination factors and lineage-specific master regulators are essential for the specification of cell and tissue types. However, once a cell has committed to a specific fate, it is equally critical to restrict the activity of such factors to enable proper differentiation. In many studies the functional network for master regulators are under constant investigations. Yet, how these factors are silenced remains unclear. Using the Drosophila mesoderm as a model and a comparative genomic approach, we identified the Hox transcription factor (TF) Ultrabithorax (Ubx) to be critical for the repression of the mesodermal master regulator Twist (Twi). Mesoderm-specific Ubx loss-of-function experiments using CRISPR/Cas9 as well as overexpression experiments demonstrated that Ubx majorly impacts twi transcription. A detailed mechanistic analysis revealed that Ubx requires the function of the NK-homeodomain protein Tinman (Tin) but not the muscle differentiation factor Myocyte enhancer factor 2 (Mef2) to bind to the twi promoter. Furthermore, we found these TF interactions to be critical for silencing of the twi promoter region by recruiting the Polycomb DNA binding protein Pleiohomeotic (Pho). In sum, our study demonstrates that the Hox TF Ubx is a critical player in mediating the silencing of the mesodermal master regulator Twi, which is crucial for coordinated muscle differentiation.


Twelve children with lumbar discitis were reviewed. The average age at diagnosis was 2.5 years. Seven were girls, and the follow-up varied between 2 and 10 years (average 5 years). The clinical signs were general irritability, abdominal or hip pain and refusal to walk or to sit. The erythrosedimentation rate was elevated in all but two. Radiographic narrowing of the disc space was seen in seven patients. Needle disc aspiration was done in five cases with two being positive for Staphylococcus aureus. Blood culture was positive in one case. Magnetic resonance imaging helped to diagnose the condition in three. Treatment consisted of bed rest and immobilisation of the spine; intravenous antibiotics were given to nine children. The natural course of the disease was benign in all our twelve cases.


The healthcare needs of developing countries
are great and ever increasing as their populations grow. Few assistance
programs have recognized the value of the bio-medical engineer as part of the
approach to the provision of healthcare in developing countries. An example of
a program, the Bach Mai Hospital Project, in Vietnam, utilizing the talents of
the bio-medical engineer, attests to the potential value of bio-medical
engineers as part of the healthcare team. Their inclusion in such efforts can
result in the saving of lives, time and money. Knowledge of their hospital's
excess equipment inventory and their ability to restore medical equipment badly
needed in a developing country makes them valuable additions to any medical
assistance program.


Fluorescence in situ hybridization using simultaneously a combination of DNA probes for the telomeric hexamer repeat (TTAGGG) and the centromerically repeated murine gamma-satellite DNA was applied to analyze the nature of radiation-induced micronuclei in mouse NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. After subtraction of spontaneously occurring micronuclei independent from the dose and time after irradiation, approximately 22% of the radiation-induced micronuclei did not reveal any hybridization signal. Approximately 17% showed one centromeric hybridization signal and about four telomeric signals, suggesting their origin from whole chromosomes. Almost 60% of radiation-induced micronuclei had telomeric signals only, suggesting their origin from acentric fragments. A fraction of micronuclei were found to contain two or more acentric fragments. Micronuclei derived from whole chromosomes or from multiple acentric fragments might, together with DNA synthesis in micronuclei, explain the occurrence of radiation-induced micronuclei with DNA contents greater than the largest chromosome arm.


Remaking the Tasman World explores New Zealand's most important and extensive relationship – with Australia – on a variety of levels over the past century. The authors present a combined narrative about a 'Tasman world', a working region defined by a history of traffic in ideas, policies, objects and people.

This wide-ranging, fresh analysis focuses on myriad 'communities of interest' that have spanned the Tasman Sea for over a hundred years, yet have largely been ignored by national histories. The concept of Australasia – the British world south of Asia – may have become old hat, but a Tasman world still operated, and in an increasing rush from the 1960s.

From early maps of Australasia to accounts of shared state experiments, of a trans-Tasman business world, sport and Anzac bonds, the authors unearth a common past and reorder it in a history infused with wit and insight. They also look forward, envisioning a fresh start for a trans-Tasman community facing the 21st century.


SUMMARY In this review of 66 outbreaks of infectious disease in schools in England and Wales between 1979–88, 27 were reported from independent and 39 from maintained schools. Altogether, over 8000 children and nearly 500 adults were affected. Most of the outbreaks investigated were due to gastrointestinal infections which affected about 5000 children; respiratory infections affected a further 2000 children. Fifty-two children and seven adults were admitted to hospital and one child with measles died. Vaccination policies and use of immunoglobulin for control and prevention of outbreaks in schools have been discussed.