Angiogenesis controls the new blood supply routes into the tumor mass via the host endothelial cells (ECs). In this study, the EA.hy926 endothelial cell line has been treated with vinblastine (VBL) and rapamycin (RAP), both separately and in combination at low doses. Recently, we demonstrated the synergistic antiangiogenic effects of a combination of VBL and RAP at very low doses in vitro and in vivo. Herein, we confirm the ability of this combined treatment to statistically inhibit the proliferation of ECs, in a synergistic manner, by inducing apoptosis. The aim of this study was to substantiate these findings at the protein level. Differential proteomic analysis was performed on untreated control cells, treated with VBL, incubated with RAP, or subjected to a drug combination. Differentially expressed 113 polypeptide chains were visualized and 65 were identified via MALDI‐TOF analysis. Some of the regulated proteins are involved in the processes of angiogenesis, proliferation, migration, and apoptosis. The down‐modulation of ATP synthase, annexin A2, heat shock p70, glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase, vasodilator‐stimulated phosphoprotein, proteasome 26S, tryptophanyl‐tRNA synthetase, and stathmin/OP18, as well as the up‐modulation of carbonyl reductase, Rho‐GDI, and histone H1.0 correlates with the synergistic antiangiogenic activity of VBL and RAP.


The early stage of diabetes mellitus (DM)-related cardiomyopathy (DMCM) is characterized by left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction. The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanism of the defective Ca 2+ signaling underlying diastolic dysfunction in DMCM. In the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced DMCM model mice 4 weeks after STZ treatment, diastolic function was impaired without reduction of ejection fraction. In the isolated LV myocytes from DM mice, the Ca 2+ transient decay rate was slower than that from control. In the ventricle of DM mice, the expression level of junctophilin2 protein was significantly lower, although expression levels of Ca V 1.2, RyR2 and SERCA2 were the same as those of control mice, suggesting that uncoupling of dyad junction starts at the early stage. The phosphorylation level of phospholamban (p-PLN) was significantly lower. Insulin treatment recovered the p-PLN level and the relaxation rate of the isolated ventricular myocardium from DM mice. Furthermore, PKA-independent insulin/PKG signaling turned out to be required for maintaining basal p-PLN. These results indicate that the reduction of p-PLN caused by insulin signaling defect is responsible for the LV diastolic dysfunction in the early stage of DMCM.


ABSTRACT The protein scaffold and signaling regulator p62 is important in critical cellular functions, including bone homeostasis, obesity, and cancer, because of its interactions with various signaling intermediaries. p62 is overexpressed in human cancers and is induced during cell transformation. Its genetic ablation inhibits lung tumorigenesis in vivo and cell proliferation in culture by regulating the TRAF6/NF-κB signaling cascade to control reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and apoptosis. Here we show that cdk1 phosphorylates p62 in vitro and in vivo at T269 and S272, which is necessary for the maintenance of appropriate cyclin B1 levels and the levels of cdk1 activity necessary to allow cells to properly enter and exit mitosis. The lack of cdk1-mediated phosphorylation of p62 leads to a faster exit from mitosis, which translates into enhanced cell proliferation and tumorigenesis in response to Ras-induced transformation. Therefore, p62 emerges as a node for the control of not only cell survival but also cell transit through mitosis.


A new species of Tiger Gecko in the genus Goniurosaurus is described from Guangdong, China. This new species, Goniurosaurus wangshu sp. nov. is the fifth species of Goniurosaurus found in karst topography of Guangdong. It is distinguished morphologically from congeners in this region by the combination of thirteen precloacal pores in male; dorsal ground color of head, body, and limbs in adults yellow; and iris orange. To validate our morphological inferences and support the description of Goniurosaurus wangshu sp. nov. as a new species, we sequenced 16S, CMOS, cytb, and RAG1 gene regions and performed molecular phylogenetic analyses. Phylogenetic analysis places the new species within the G. yingdeensis group and highlights the evolutionary distinction between this new species and other described congeners.


Introduction Patients with recurrent gynecologic malignancies having had pelvic irradiation, generally have limited salvage options. This study investigated patients with gynecologic malignancies, who had a history of pelvic irradiation and received salvage re-irradiation using image-guided high-dose-rate brachytherapy (IG-HDR-BT). Material and methods Patients with gynecologic malignancies, who had a history of previous irradiation and received re-irradiation using IG-HDR-BT for disease recurrences from June 2014 to March 2020 were included in this study. Results A total of 37 patients were included in this retrospective analysis. Primary tumor was uterine cervical cancer in 31 patients, endometrial cancer in 5 patients, and vaginal cancer in 1 patient. Median follow-up period of patients who were alive at the time of analysis was 15.4 months (range, 4.1-61.4 months). Two-year overall survival, progression-free survival, and local control were 68.9%, 49.3%, and 67.5%, respectively. Severe late toxicities ≥ grade 3, which were related to re-irradiation, were observed in 9 patients (24.3%). Usage of bevacizumab in the entire course of treatment was associated with development of late ≥ grade 3 fistula formation, bowel perforation, or vaginal ulcer (50% vs. 6.9%, p = 0.013). Tumor size ≥ 2.5 cm was associated with development of late ≥ grade 3 of rectum, bladder, or vaginal toxicities (0% vs. 28%, p = 0.047). Conclusions If the recurrent disease was found in small size and there was no history of bevacizumab usage, re-irradiation with IG-HDR-BT could be considered, even in patients with a previous history of pelvic irradiation.


Salzburg was the first country in Austria to introduce, in 1971, rubella vaccination for prepuberal girls on a voluntary basis. Of 481 girls, whose antibody titers were controlled in 1972, 132 (27.4%) were seronegative, and control measurements were performed 3, 12, 24, and now 60 months after the vaccination. The conversion rate was 100%, and the geometric mean titer of hemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies 3 months after vaccination was 110, 12 months a.v. 135.7, 24 months a.v. 131.7 and 60 months a.v. 113.6.


Abstract. This paper discuses practical realization of full-wave rectifiers made of electronic diodes for high current bipolar electronic loads. The presented solution minimizes the voltage drop and nonlinearity of loads in the region of low voltages. Compared to standard or Schottky diodes, electronic (also referred to as ideal) diodes exhibit very low voltage drop and power dissipation. In the full-wave rectifier, MOSFETs with very low RDSon (low units of milliohms) are used. Ideal rectifiers have been traditionally used as structural elements in switched power supplies; they are often applied in low dissipation power switches and started to be utilized as full-wave rectifiers.


The power efficiency of source-coupled logic (SCL) topology for implementing ultra-low-power and low-activity-rate circuits is investigated. It is shown that in low-activity-rate circuits, where the subthreshold leakage consumption of conventional CMOS circuits is more pronounced, subthreshold SCL (STSCL) can be used effectively for reducing the power consumption. An STSCL-based static random-access memory (SRAM) array has been implemented to demonstrate the performance of this topology for ultra-low-power consumption and low-activity-rate digital circuits. A novel 9T memory cell has been developed to reduce the stand-by (leakage) current to 10pA/cell while the SRAM array is operating at 2.1MHz clock frequency. The power consumption benefits of the proposed circuit style can be maintained in nanometer CMOS technology nodes.


Coupling and spatial localization of energy on ultrafast timescales and particularly on the timescale of the excitation pulse in ultrashort laser irradiated dielectric materials are key elements for enabling processing precision beyond the optical limit. Transforming matter on mesoscopic scales facilitates the definition of nanoscale photonic functions in optical glasses. On these timescales, quantum interactions induced by charge non-equilibrium become the main channel for energy uptake and transfer as well as for the material structural change. We apply a first-principles model to determine dynamic distortions of energy bands following the rapid increase in the free-carrier population in an amorphous dielectric excited by an ultrashort laser pulse. Fused silica glass is reproduced using a system of (SiO4)4- tetrahedra, where density functional theory extended to finite-temperature fractional occupation reproduces ground and photoexcited states. Triggered by electronic charge redistribution, a bandgap narrowing of more than 2 eV is shown to occur in fused silica under geometry relaxation. Calculations reveal that the bandgap decrease results from the rearrangement of atoms altering the bonding strength. Despite an atomic movement impacting strongly the structural stability, the observed change of geometry remains limited to 7% of the interatomic distance and occurs on the femtosecond timescale. This structural relaxation is thus expected to take place quasi-instantly following the photon energy flux. Moreover, under intense laser pulse excitation, fused silica loses its stability when an electron temperature of around 2.8 eV is reached. A further increase in the excitation energy leads to the collapse of both the structure and bandgap.


![Graphic][1]

Background. Hydroxyurea has proven laboratory and clinical benefits for children with sickle cell anemia (SCA); however, the benefits of escalation to a maximum tolerated dosage (MTD) over a fixed or low-dose approach to therapy, remains controversial. Clinical trials utilizing hydroxyurea at MTD reported higher fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels (~20% versus ~15%) compared to those with a fixed lower-dose (Ware, Blood 2010). The clinical benefits gained, if any, from increasing HbF levels from 15% to 20% has not been described. The Hydroxyurea Study of Long-Term Effects (HUSTLE) provides the opportunity to examine the relationship between the magnitude and duration of pharmacologically induced HbF and clinical outcomes, specifically the number of hospitalizations for vaso-occlusive complications such as acute chest syndrome (ACS) and vaso-occlusive events (VOE).

Methods. The Hydroxyurea Study of Long-Term Effects (HUSTLE) is a prospective observational study ([NCT00305175][2]) with a primary goal of describing the long-term effects of HU therapy in children with SCA, using serial and longitudinal collection of laboratory and clinical data. All children (≤18 years of age) who enrolled in HUSTLE and did not receive chronic blood transfusions are included in this analysis. All participants received hydroxyurea therapy escalated to a stable MTD, which was defined by moderate myelosuppression (typically ANC of 2,000-4,000 x 106/L) and no dose-limiting toxicities. Children were initially evaluated monthly but then every 2-3 months after achieving MTD. Neutropenia was defined as an ANC of <1,000 x 106/L. For this analysis, laboratory and clinical data were abstracted over twenty-seven months following enrollment onto HUSTLE, which constituted nine consecutive three month intervals. Hospitalizations for VOE and ACS were evaluated categorically for each three month time period, and %HbF levels at the beginning of each interval were used as the representative value for that period. To account for the correlated nature of the data, with potentially multiple hospitalizations per patient and time, a generalized estimating equation model was utilized.

Results. A total of 162 children with SCA (148 HbSS, 14 HbSβthalassemia) at a mean (SD) age of 10.7 (4.3) years were analyzed. Children were hospitalized a total of 253 (52 ACS, 201 VOE) times during the first twenty-seven months following enrollment. The Figure illustrates the number of individuals hospitalized (yes versus no), stratified by HbF category, for each consecutive 3-month interval following HUSTLE enrollment. Compared to intervals when HbF levels were >20%, those with HbF levels of ≤20% had 2.2 (95% CI: 1.2-4.0; p =0.013) higher chance of hospitalization, and intervals with HbF levels <15% had 2.6 (95% CI: 1.3-5.1; p=0.021) times higher odds of hospitalization. For every 5% decrease in HbF, the odds of hospitalization due to VOE/ACS increased by 1.3 (95% CI: 1.1-1.5; p=0.014), correlating to a 30% increase. There was no statistically significant association between hydroxyurea dose (mg/kg) and hospitalization over time. Neutropenia occurred 39 times in 22 (13.6%) children; no episodes were associated with an invasive bacterial infection.

![Figure][3]

Figure
Children hospitalized versus not during three month intervals following HUSTLE enrollment, stratified by fetal hemoglobin percentage.

Discussion. In this pediatric cohort receiving hydroxyurea therapy escalated to MTD, higher %HbF levels conferred greater protection against hospitalization for severe vaso-occlusive pain or ACS. Escalation of hydroxyurea to MTD was rarely associated with neutropenia and had no clinical implications. These prospectively collected data from HUSTLE suggest that hydroxyurea dose escalation to MTD, designed to maximize %HbF levels, provides additional clinical benefit by reducing vaso-occlusive complications in children with SCA.

Disclosures Estepp: Ely Lily: Research Funding; NIH: Research Funding. Off Label Use: Hydroxyurea in children with sickle cell anemia.

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 [2]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT00305175&atom=%2Fbloodjournal%2F124%2F21%2F85.atom
 [3]: pending:yes


We present observations on the Sao Tome Island endemic Hyperolius thomensis which indicate that it is one of the few African treefrogs known to utilize phytotelmata (tree holes) for breeding. Our field work and observations strongly suggest that this island giant is restricted to primary forest, remnants of which are usually at higher elevations or inaccessible areas of Sao Tome Island. Our locality data and field observations in a number of circumstances are not congruent with those of Loumont (1992). An examination of the data associated with her collections housed in the Natural History Museum of Geneva reveals that her data are not specific with regard to individual specimens and dates and, as a result, the status and distribution of the amphibian species on both islands may have been misinterpreted. We note that females of the endemic ranine ranid frog, Ptychadena newtonii, attain snout-vent lengths greater than other members of the genus, and that this species should therefore be considered an island giant. We describe and illustrate for the first time the males of Africa's largest treefrog, the Principe Island endemic Leptopelis palmatus, provide figures illustrating the range of male and female color pattern polymorphism and comment on adult size dimorphism and size at metamorphosis.


Because naturalism seems antithetical to modernism and literary existentialism, slight attention has been given to the existence of a contemporary, or post-World War II, naturalism. Indeed, the very term serves as a synonym for "old fashioned." While understandable, this view has contributed to the misunderstanding, if not neglect, of several American writers who came to prominence in the late 1940s and 1950s. James Jones coined the term "the unfound generation" to describe these writers. The career of Nelson Algren exemplifies this phenomenon. Nelson Algren has always been an enigmatic figure, even at the peak of his career. Algren himself was the source of some of the confusion but he was also the victim of a long continuing critical misperception, that as a disciple of Theodore Dreiser he stressed external reality and social protest. In fact, while he never wavered in his commitment to the "lumpenproletariat", society's outcasts, his vision evolved significantly, especially through his acquaintance with Sartre, Beauvoir, and Celine. Algren's best work reflects his despair over the "absurd" at least as much as his outrage over social and economic injustice. In Confronting the Horror, James R. Giles examines the evolution of Algren's major themes--external oppression and internal anxiety. He discusses Algren's fiction in relation to Maxim Gorky's explanation of the "lower depths" and the works of two contemporary writers, Hubert Selby, Jr., and John Rechy, who combine naturalistic technique with a largely existential, absurdist vision. Giles conclusion is forcefully argued, that Algren's novels are thematically richer and more complex than hitherto regarded and represent the work of an American writer of the first order.


The objective of this study is to investigate the perception of Libyan university students towards the potential advantages of phonetic symbols in learning English language. The study encompasses 30 students from the fifth, sixth, seventh and eight semesters studying all in the English Department in the Faculty of Languages at the University of Tripoli. The data is collected through a close-ended questionnaire distributed online via google forms. The results suggest that the students' perception towards the potential advantages of phonetic symbols are seemingly positive. The findings arrive at a conclusion that students' views towards the advantages of familiarity, visual- support, usefulness and awareness-raising of phonetic symbols are relatively positive.  However, certain responses show that student have almost negative views towards the perceived ease of phonetic symbols as well as the potential of autonomous learning. The study finally suggest that the students still find phonetic symbols difficult to understand and use due to their insufficient knowledge or lack of total awareness.


Live virtual machine migration is a powerful tool offered by virtualization technologies. However, current implementations restrict its usage to local area networks. Extensions to wide-area networks have been proposed with systems for transferring disk state and transparently migrating network connections. Still, wide-area live migration remains expensive to use because of the bandwidth bottleneck, especially when considering migrations of large clusters of virtual machines rather than single instances. Previous work has shown that VMs running identical or similar operating systems have a significant portion of their memory containing the same data. In this paper, we introduce Shrinker, a live virtual machine migration system leveraging this common data to improve migration efficiency between data centers interconnected by wide-area networks. Shrinker uses distributed content-based addressing to detect memory pages of the migrated VM that are already available on the destination site, removing the need to transfer these pages over a wide-area link. We have implemented Shrinker in the KVM hypervisor and present performance evaluation in a distributed environment. We show that it is able to reduce wide-area bandwidth usage by 30 to 40% and migration time by 20%.


Iran, not just as an oil-exporting country, but also because of its geopolitical position, is one of the world's most important countries. Since the recent events of the Middle East, the importance of the country has grown globally. Because of this growing importance, the short term future of Iran is significant to be studied. In this study, a descriptive approach has been taken to synthesize the world's energy portfolio and the global energy balance outlook to provide insights into the development of local energy portfolio scenarios focusing on Iran. The shell company represents two basic scenarios, which are the scramble and blueprint. According to shell scenarios world energy portfolio might be organized in two images in which each image concludes different energy portfolios. Thus, developing energy portfolio scenarios is essential. In this paper, after reviewing the four selected developing countries' energy portfolios and developed countries, the scenarios of Iran's energy portfolio in 2020-2025 will be presented. For this purpose, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods will be used for scenario building. ©


A brief review on our present knowledge of optical and magneto-optical properties of III–V–N alloys, in particular, Ga(In)NAs alloys with low nitrogen compositions is given. The main attention is focused on fundamental electronic parameters of the Ga(In)NAs alloys as well as key material-related issues which are relevant to device applications, such as identification of dominant recombination processes in the alloys, compositional dependence of electron effective mass and band alignment in Ga(In)NAs-based heterostructures.


Abstract How do humanitarian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) define and institutionalise global accountability standards? This article process-traces the case of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership-International (HAP-I), a voluntary, self-regulatory collective accountability initiative, to investigate the processes through which NGOs define collective rules, standards, and practices for accountability. This article shows the limitations of traditional representative and principal-agent models of NGO accountability when applied to the global inter-organisational realm and argues that mutual accountability better conceptualises these relationships. In this important case, the article finds that transnational coordination of NGO accountability practices results from social learning that generates a global accountability community (GAC) constituted by mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and a shared repertoire of practices. Data from the process tracing shows a collaborative not hierarchical or coercive relationship between NGOs and states, where salient donors changed their understandings and practices of accountability during the process of developing the HAP-I benchmarks. Thus, GACs both regulate the behaviour of members and constitute their social identities, interests, and practices.


This paper provides an analysis of the anupubbikatha, the Buddha's method of addressing his teaching to the lay community in Pali texts. In the first section, an analysis will be presented of the anupubbikatha which occurs in the biography of the Buddha as contained in the Pali Vinaya (Vinaya. I pp. 1-44). A parallel description occurs in the Dharmaguptaka-Vinaya (_??__??__??_) and Mahisasaka-Vinaya (_??__??__??_), although the presentation is different. Through a closer examination of this difference, it will be shown that the anupubbikatha is closely related to the Four Noble Truths as described in the Buddha's first sermon. In the second section, it will be seen that the anupubbikatha is used as the Former Buddha's first sermon in the Mahapadnasuttanta (DN. 14, DN. II pp. 1-54). This will allow us to speculate that the value of this sermon gradually increased over the course of the formation of the PAli Canon. Thus, by showing that the anupubbikatha presupposes the description of the Buddha's first sermon, it will be argued that the anupubbikatha takes on the function of presenting the Four Noble Truths, as described in the Buddha's first sermon, in a more intelligible fashion.


Whether a high voltage SF6 circuit breaker can successfully interrupt a fault current relates closely to the dynamic characteristics and decaying behavior of SF6 arcs and their residual plasma during the current-zero periods. The change of the gas in the contact gap from a conductor to a strong dielectric material involves a large number of fundamental scientific problems. Arc phenomenon is a complex process coupled with multiple physical fields. Its research is truly interdisciplinary. The understanding of the dynamic characteristics and decaying behavior of SF6 arcs during the current-zero period is far from adequate because of the difficulties encountered in both experimental and theoretical investigations, forming a bottleneck towards quantitative prediction of the interruption capability of SF6 circuit breakers. In the present work, a review was carried out on the calculation and measurement of the parameters of SF6 arcs in high voltage circuit breaker from the macroscopic and microscopic perspectives, especially their dynamic characteristics and decaying behavior under non-equilibrium conditions during the current-zero periods. Appropriate conclusions were drawn and future work was suggested.


Research in industrialized countries has demonstrated that a key factor limiting the control of hypertension is poor patient adherence and that the most successful interventions for long-term adherence employ multiple strategies. Very little data exist on this question in low-income countries, where medication-taking behavior may be less well developed. We conducted a treatment adherence trial of 544 subjects (mean age ~63 years, mean BP ~168/92 mmHg) with previously untreated hypertension in urban and rural Nigeria. Eligible participants were randomized to one of two arms: clinic management only, or clinic management + home visits. Both interventions included three elements: a community based, nurse-led treatment program with physician backup; facilitation of clinic visits and health education; and the use of diuretics plus a beta blocker as needed. After initial diagnosis, the management protocol was implemented by a nurse with physician backup. Participants were evaluated monthly for 6 months. Medication adherence was assessed with pill count and urine testing. Dropout rates, by treatment group, ranged from 12% to 28%. Among participants who completed the 6 month trial, overall adherence was high (~77% of participants took > 98% of prescribed pills). Adherence did not differ by treatment arm, but was better at the rural than the urban site and among those with higher baseline BP. Hypertension control (BP < 140/90 mmHg) was achieved in ~66% of participants at 6 months. This community-based intervention confirms relatively modest default rates compared to industrialized societies, and suggests that medication adherence can be high in developing world settings in clinic attenders.


The effects of a bolus injection of gram-negative endotoxin (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) on the high energy phosphate and glycogenolytic metabolite levels of skeletal muscle and liver were studied in dogs. After endotoxin injection there was a sharp increase in the G-6-P and lactate levels within 5--15 min, especially in muscle, followed by an additional but much slower increase of these metabolites during the next 2 h. The CrP and ATP levels were also increased in skeletal muscle early after the endotoxin injection and the levels of these high energy phosphate compounds were still, 2 h after endotoxin, higher than those in control animals. In the liver an early gluconeogenetic response was observed. The results indicate that tissue hypoxia and a consequent exhaustion of tissue high energy phosphate compounds do not occur during the initial period of endotoxin shock. The increased high energy phosphate levels are probably partly caused by sympathicoadrenal stimulation but direct endotoxin effects at the cell membrane level may also play an important role.


Abstract We describe the construction of an interpolating quadratic/linear rational spline S of smoothness class C 2 for a strictly convex (or strictly concave) function y on [a, b]. On uniform mesh x i = a + ih, i = 0,..., n, in the case of sufficiently smooth function y the expansions of S and its derivatives are obtained. They give the superconvergence of order h 4 for the first derivative, of order h 3 for the second derivative and of order h 2 for the third derivative of S in certain points. Corresponding numerical examples are given.


ABSTRACT This study examines the role of codes of ethics used to reduce the tendency for managers to irrationally escalate their investment decision commitments, and compares the effectiveness of such codes of ethics in mitigating the escalation of these commitments. Based on 2 (adverse selection and no adverse selection) x 3 (self-certification of code of ethics with signatures, code reading, and no code of ethics) factorial experimental data, the participants in the adverse selection condition tend to escalate more than those who do not. The code of ethics (self-certification of code of ethics with signatures and code reading) is significantly able to mitigate the manager's escalation behavior. Furthermore, the code certification with signatures is the most effective method to mitigate the escalation of commitment. This study contributes to the literature on the escalation of commitment by providing empirical evidence of effective de-escalation strategies through the organizational ethics aspect.


The Cognitive Neuroscience of Religious Experience, now updated and expanded in a new edition, updates key topics covered in the first edition including: decentering and self-transformation, supernatural agent cognitions, mystical states, religious language, ritualization, and religious group agency. It expands upon the first edition to include major findings on brain and religious experience over the past decade, focusing on methodology, future thinking, and psychedelics. It provides an up-to-date review of brain-based accounts of religious experiences, and systematically examines the rationale for utilizing neuroscience approaches to religion. While it is primarily intended for religious studies scholars, people interested in comparative religion, philosophy of religion, cultural evolution, and personal self-transformation will find an account of how such transformation is accomplished within religious contexts.


Author(s): Olwande, John; Sikei, Geophrey; Mathenge, Mary | Abstract: Africa is the only region where agricultural productivity has continued to decline over the last decades and poverty levels have increased. This has necessitated the need to increase agricultural productivity. One way of increasing agricultural productivity is through introduction and use of improved agricultural technologies. This paper applied a double-hurdle model on a ten-year panel household survey data for 1,275 households to examine determinants of fertilizer adoption and use intensity in Kenya.Results show that the proportion of households using fertilizer dramatically rose in the last decade while fertilizer application rates increased marginally. Fertilizer use in the drier agro ecological zones is still way below that in the higher agro ecologically potential zones, indicating higher risk involved in and lower profitability of using fertilizer in the drier areas. Econometric estimation results show that age, education, credit, presence of a cash crop, distance to fertilizer market and agro ecological potential are statistically significant in influencing the probability of adopting fertilizer. The strongest determinants of fertilizer use intensity are gender, dependency ratio, credit, presence of cash crop, distance to extension service and agro ecological potential.The study suggests improving access to gricultural credit by especially low income farmers; concerted efforts to promote fertilizer use among farmers in the drier areas; and government investment in rural infrastructure, efficient port facilities and standards of commerce to reduce the cost of distributing fertilizer, as some of the ways to promote fertilizer use.


Nanocarriers with various compositions and biological properties are frequently used systems for in-vitro/ in-vivo vaccination and gene transfer. In recent years, developments in nanotechnology have focused on the design and synthesis of nanocarriers that have new properties and can be modified for gene and vaccine delivery. In the favorable results obtained from in-vivo studies performed, they increase interest in these developments and pave the way for their therapeutic use. Nanocarriers have become increasingly important because they can stabilize vaccine antigens and serve as adjuvants, with the advantage of easily transporting genetic material to the target site. In nanocarriers, the molecules involved are adsorbed to the surface or encapsulated in particulates. At the same time, surface modification of nanoparticles allows these systems to carry cargo molecules easily to target site. Among the most studied nanocarriers, lipidic and polymeric systems dendrimers, inorganic nanoparticles, cyclodextrins, cell penetration peptides, and ISCOMs are attracting attention.


Tidal sandstone reservoirs contain significant intervals of hydrocarbon-bearing heterolithic facies, characterized by the presence of tide-generated sedimentary structures such as flaser, wavy, and lenticular bedding (millimeter to centimeter sand-mud alternations). We have characterized the reservoir properties (sandstone connectivity, effective permeability, and displacement efficiency) of these facies using three-dimensional (3-D) models reconstructed directly from large rock specimens. The models are significantly larger than a core plug, but smaller than a typical reservoir model grid block. We find that the key control on reservoir quality is the connectivity and continuity of the sandstone and mudstone layers. If the sandstone layers form a connected network, they are likely to be productive even at low values of net-to-gross (about 0.30.5). This may explain why the productivity of low net-to-gross, heterolithic tidal sandstones is commonly underestimated or overlooked. Connectivity is the dominant control on the transition between productive (pay) and nonproductive (nonpay) heterolithic facies. However, connectivity is difficult to characterize because core plugs sampled from the subsurface are too small to capture connectivity, whereas two-dimensional outcrop measurements can significantly underestimate the true 3-D value. Our results suggest that core-plug measurements of permeability and displacement efficiency are unlikely to yield representative values at the scale of a reservoir model grid block because the connectivity and continuity of sandstone and mudstone layers varies significantly with length scale.


During a transurethral resection of the prostate, performed in epidural anaesthesia, a 77-year-old man developed dyspnoea and distension of the lower abdomen. Acute cystostomy revealed a large bladder diverticulum containing 2 liters of irrigating fluid together with some tissue chips and 3 small bladder tumours. The tissue chips functioned as a stop valve only permitting entrance of fluid. In the absence of preoperative radiological examination of the urinary bladder meticulous cystoscopic examination of every tiny opening in the bladder is mandatory.


Although the structure of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) has been reported from various sources including mammalian GDH, there are conflicting views regarding the location and mechanism of actions of the coenzyme binding. We have expanded these speculations by photoaffinity labeling and cassette mutagenesis. Photoaffinity labeling with a specific probe, [32P]nicotinamide 2-azidoadenosine dinucleotide, was used to identify the NAD+ binding site within human GDH encoded by the synthetic human GDH gene and expressed inEscherichia coli as a soluble protein. Photolabel-containing peptides generated with trypsin were isolated by immobilized boronate affinity chromatography. Photolabeling of these peptides was most effectively prevented by the presence of NAD+ during photolysis, demonstrating a selectivity of the photoprobe for the NAD+ binding site. Amino acid sequencing and compositional analysis identified Glu279 as the site of photoinsertion into human GDH, suggesting that Glu279 is located at or near the NAD+ binding site. The importance of the Glu279 residue in the binding of NAD+ was further examined by cassette mutagenesis with mutant enzymes containing Arg, Gly, Leu, Met, or Tyr at position 279. The mutagenesis at Glu279 has no effects on the expression or stability of the different mutants. The K m values for NAD+ were 10–14-fold greater for the mutant GDHs than for wild-type GDH, whereas the V maxvalues were similar for wild-type and mutant GDHs. The efficiency (k cat/K m ) of the mutant GDH was reduced up to 18-fold. The decreased efficiency of the mutants results from the increase in K m values for NAD+. In contrast to the K m values for NAD+, wild-type and mutant GDHs show similarK m values for glutamate, indicating that substitution at position 279 had no appreciable effect on the affinity of enzyme for glutamate. There were no differences in sensitivities to ADP activation and GTP inhibition between wild-type and mutant GDH, suggesting that Glu279 is not directly involved in allosteric regulation. The results with photoaffinity labeling and cassette mutagenesis studies suggest that Glu279 plays an important role for efficient binding of NAD+ to human GDH.


Minimization of the clinical impact of acute ischaemic stroke depends largely on prompt restoration of blood flow to underperfused regions of the brain. Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) is currently the first‐line intervention for acute ischaemic stroke, with proven efficacy in randomized controlled trials. There are several major limitations associated with IVT, in particular, the relatively poor outcomes in large artery occlusions. A major emerging modality in acute stroke management is intra‐arterial thrombolysis (IAT), whereby clot‐retrieval or thrombolytics are applied under angiographic guidance to the site of the clot. Strong arguments exist for the use of IAT as first‐line ischaemic stroke management in preference of IVT, especially with large intracranial artery occlusion. Despite these arguments, the lack of data from randomized controlled studies in IAT means that it is appropriate to continue the current practice of IVT as first‐line treatment for the majority of acute ischaemic strokes at this stage. Advanced neuroimaging techniques, in particular a 'multimodal' computed tomography (CT) approach combining non‐contrast CT, CT angiography and perfusion CT, may serve as a valuable triage tool for patient selection. Ongoing research is required in endovascular approaches to stroke; in particular, randomized controlled trials with a focus on clinical outcomes and tackling the inherent delays between symptom onset and treatment.


In this paper, a novel approach to encode lenslet (LL) images is proposed. The method departs from traditional block-based coding structures and employs a hexagonal-shaped pixel cluster, called macro-pixel, as an elementary coding unit. A novel prediction mode based on dictionary learning is proposed, whereby macro-pixels are represented by a sparse linear combination of atoms from a generic dictionary. Additionally, an optimized linear prediction mode and a directional prediction mode specifically designed for macro-pixels are proposed. Rate-distortion optimization is utilized to select the best intra prediction mode for each macro-pixel. Experimental results on the light field image data set show that the proposed coding system outperforms HEVC and the state-of-the-art in LL image coding with an average peak signal to noise ratio gain of 3.33 and 1.41 dB, respectively, and with rate savings of 67.13% and 34.30%, respectively.


Erycibe is a big taxon consisting about 75 taxa distributed from western India and Sri Lanka across tropical and subtropical Asia to the northern tip of Queensland, Australia. The present study is focusing on the morphology and taxonomy of Erycibe in Peninsular Malaysia. The results
show that Peninsular Malaysia consists of nineteen taxa. At present, seventeen taxa have scientific names with an additional two new taxa known as Erycibe. sp. A and E. sp. B. Four taxa are endemic to Peninsular Malaysia.

In the taxonomic revision, a key to aid taxa identification was developed based on a combination of morphological characters. The vegetative characters especially leaf
characters are extensively used in the key. In addition, the reproductive characters such as inflorescence types are also utilized in distinguishing Erycibe taxa. Characters such as twig surface, inner bark texture and colour are not considered good taxonomic characters in distinguishing taxa level, however, can be applied for the field recognition
for the genus. Trichome characters from the calyx and midpetaline bands are dependent characters and need supporting characters, thus this character was not preferably used in the key unless no other character could be used.

Taxa descriptions with full synonymy, geographic distribution with distribution maps, habitat and ecology information are given. Identification lists for herbarium
specimens are provided. Conservation status assessment on
Erycibe taxa was also carried out. Nine taxa are categorized as Least Concern, one as Near Threatened, two
as Vulnerable, two as Endangered, one as Critically Endangered, two as Data Deficient and none is Extinct.


Infection induced kidney diseases are of concern for clinicians because timely detection and treatment of infections may cure or limit the extent of injury inflicted by microorganisms causing the infections. Infections can cause kidney injury by either direct invasion, or indirectly by immune mediated mechanisms, which manifest as post-infectious glomerulonephritis, or infection-related glomerulonephritis. Clinical manifestations may be acute or chronic depending on the microorganisms, endemic/epidemic nature and source of infection. All microbials virus, bacteria, mycobacteria, fungus, and protozoa have been implicated in kidney diseases either causing direct kidney injuries or immune-mediated injuries. Infection control practices in large parts of world is limited by poverty, social behavior, high population density, deforestation, inadequate access to safe drinking water, and poor health care facilities. Although, antimicrobials and vaccinations have successfully eradicated and cured many infectious diseases; however injudicious antimicrobial use and emergence of resistant organisms complicated the disease severity like secondary renal amyloidosis with chronic persistent infection. Re-emergence of various infections has been a recent pattern in developed world leading to uncertain diagnostic challenges, and association with kidney diseases.


When, as teenagers, we visited the historic site of Vaison-la-Romaine in Southern France, the discovery of Roman capitals buried under the foundations of a mediaeval church was really astounding. How, besides reusing full blocks of the antique architecture, the builders dared reduce the most worked Roman stones to the humble function of backfill? Have new builders become totally disrespectful towards the Ancients?


The origin and evolution of allelochemical sequestration in tiger moths (Arctiidae) is a complex interplay of larval and adult strategies and phylogenetic history. Using a phylogeny of Arctiidae, we examine the acquisition of secondary compounds from larval host plants and the use of secondary compounds and ultrasound in male courtship displays. We note that two sets of defensive signals (secondary chemicals and ultrasound) have been incorporated independently into arctiid courtship displays. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are used in larval defence, and transformed into male courtship pheromones in several lineages. Phylogenetic inertia best explains the presence of adult collection and use of PAs in the absence of larval sequestration. Ultrasound, an adult defensive display directed at bats and other predators, has also been incorporated into arctiid mating displays. Sensory exploitation appears to underlie this co-option of defence signals for mating purposes.


Shellfish waste components contain significant levels of high quality protein and are therefore a potential source for biofunctional high-value peptides. The feasibility of applying a pilot scale enzymatic hydrolysis process to whole Mytilus edulis and, by fractionation, recover hydrolysates presenting a biological activity of interest, was evaluated. Fractions were tested on four immortalized cancerous cell lines: A549, BT549, HCT15 and PC3. The 50 kDa fraction, enriched in peptides, presented anti-proliferative activity with all cell lines and results suggest a bioactive molecule synergy within the fraction. At a protein concentration of 44 µg/mL, the 50 kDa fraction induced a mortality of 90% for PC3, 89% for A549, 85% for HCT15 and of 81% for BT549 cell lines. At the low protein concentration of only 11 µg/mL the 50 kDa fraction still entails a cell mortality of 76% for A549 and 87% for PC3 cell lines. The 50 kDa fraction contains 56% of proteins, 3% of lipids and 6% of minerals on a dry weight basis and the lowest levels detected of taurine and methionine and highest levels of threonine, proline and glycine amino acids. The enzymatic hydrolysis process suggests that Mytilus edulis by-products should be viewed as high-valued products with strong potential as anti-proliferative agent and promising active ingredients in functional foods.


This paper discusses convergence of the incomplete Cholesky conjugate gradient method (ICCG) which solves edge-based finite-element equations for quasi-static electromagnetic fields. It has been observed in numerical computations that convergence of ICCG for the A-V method is faster than that for the A method. This phenomenon is found to be explained by the fact that, in the A-V method, the preconditioning eliminates the small singular values which deteriorate the condition number while they remain after the preconditioning in the case of the A method.


It is ironic that the informed-consent provisions regarding abortion of the Akron legislation indirectly require doctors to lie to their patients regarding the risks involved in abortion. Also, the idea that a description of the fetus is not relevant to a woman's decision to abort is to deny the possible existence of a second human being. If the existence of a second being is established, then describing fetal characteristics should not prejudice a woman's decision to continue the pregnancy, nor should it produce guilt feelings over the decision to abort the pregnancy. If however, description of fetal characteristics questions the presence of a second being, then this information is important to the woman's decision. Describing the fetus as fetal tissue or products of conception and conveying an image of a blood clot or placental fragment is an understatement. As women do not take lightly the decision to abort their pregnancies, they have the right to be informed of what is being removed before they make the decision. Ethical considerations are involved in the abortion issue, and women contemplating abortion should not be deprived of the description of the fetus, whether or not she requests it, if they are to give truly informed consent.


Semantic computing is essentially significant for realizing the semantic interpretation of natural and social phenomena and analyzes the changes of various environmental situations. The 5D World Map (5DWM) System [4,6,8] has introduced the concept of "SPA (Sensing, Processing and Analytical Actuation Functions)" for global environmental system integrations [1–4], as a global environmental knowledge sharing, analysis and integration system. Environmental knowledge base creation with 5D World Map is realized for sharing, analyzing and visualizing various information resources to the map which can facilitate global phenomena-observations and knowledge discoveries with multi-dimensional axis control mechanisms. The 5DWM is globally utilized as a Global Environmental Semantic Computing System, in SDGs 9, 11, 14, United-Nations-ESCAP: (https://sdghelpdesk.unescap.org/toolboxes) for observing and analyzing disaster, natural phenomena, ocean-water situations with local and global multimedia data resources. This paper proposes a new semantic computing method as an important approach to semantic analysis for various environmental phenomena and changes in a real world. This method realizes "Self-Contained-Knowledge-Base-Image" & "Contextual-Semantic-Interpretation" as a new concept of "Coral-Health-level Analysis in Semantic-Space for Ocean-environment" for global ocean-environmental analysis [8,9,12,18]. This computing method is applied to automatic database creation with coral-health-level analysis sensors for interpreting environmental phenomena and changes occurring in the oceans in the world. We have focused on an experimental study for creating "Coral-Health-level Analysis Semantic-Space for Ocean-environment" [8,9,12,18]. This method realizes new semantic interpretation for coral health-level with "coral-images and coral-health-level knowledge-chart".


Rational forest management planning requires information on the present forest state and on future development. However, forest management planning in Tanzania has often been done without any information on forest development because appropriate tools are lacking. This study presents a matrix model that combines distance-independent growth and mortality models, area-based recruitment models, and allometric models for prediction of volume and biomass. In this way forest development can be simulated according to different treatment options. A short-term (seven years) test of the matrix model using independent data from permanent sample plots showed that the overall difference between predicted and observed basal area was small (6.5%). Long-term simulations (1 000 years) with the model showed that it was able to attain, irrespective of initial conditions, similar steady-state conditions (i.e. basal area, volume and biomass of 13 m2 ha−1, 130 m3 ha−1 and 90 t ha−1, respectively), which also correspond well to biological expectations in the 'real' miombo woodlands of the country. The flexibility of the model as a decision-support tool was demonstrated by simulating three harvesting options aiming at different combinations of charcoal and timber production. The model complexity is well adapted to the data quality and abundance, and it is dependent on proxies of some main drivers of the dynamic processes. The development of the matrix model is a step forward facilitating better decisions in the management of miombo woodlands. However, data ranges used for calibrating the submodels are limited in time and space, and future efforts should focus on tests and recalibrations based on extended data ranges. Presently, therefore, applications of the matrix model should be limited to the data ranges of the modelling data from the Iringa and Manyara regions.


Despite the increased number of stock exchanges in Africa, this segment of the financial market remains underdeveloped with low market capitalization, volume and illiquidity. Furthermore, the aftershock of the 2008 financial crisis exacerbates the poor market condition with the attendant decrease in investment. Efforts of previous policies to promote stock market development and restore investors' confidence did not yield a positive outcome as they are yet to meet the rising demand for capital needed by domestic firms. This paper examines the relationship between poverty reduction and stock market development in Africa, using the pooled mean group (PMG) model for the sample period of 1996 to 2016. The findings suggest poverty reduction has a positive effect on stock market development both in the long-run and short-run estimates. For policy prescription, the government of the respective countries should implement programs that will promote financial inclusion and alleviate poverty to promote domestic investment in stock markets in the region.


Software Defined Networking (SND) earned more importance in the current era especially in the network ecosystem. SND has been implemented in the data centers and Wide Area Networks like Google's WAN.  Software defined networking is a highly recommended and promising technology for the mobile environment like 5G mobile network as it can handle the complexity of the communication system. We expect future 5G network to have low power consumption and minimal delay, as well as a more flexible and secure architecture. Most of the research is concerned primarily with increasing energy efficiency and decreasing latency. Implementation of Software Defined Mobile Networking (SDMN) to control the range of cell site communication and device-to-device (D2D) technologies to enable the devices on the network to behave as routers between other devices and the cell site has the potential to significantly reduce the overall power consumption in the mobile network. Our research provides a theoretical approach for such model and shows that its implementation will increase energy efficiency in 5G.


Abstract The paper provides an overview of the life and work of Prof. Dr. Horst Aspöck, the doyen of neuropterology, on the occasion of his 75th birthday. It particularly emphasizes his outstanding contributions to the development of neuropterology since the 1960s.


Abstract We present measurements of aqueous low molecular weight mixtures and aqueous macromolecular solutions. The Soret coefficient S T for ethanol, acetone, and DMSO in water was measured by an optical grating technique, and all systems showed a sign change around a molar fraction of water x water = 0.85 ± 0.05. S T for poly(ethylene oxide), poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), and boehmite rods in ethanol/water mixtures showed also a sign change close to the same concentration. The occurring sign change concentration in the systems will be related to structural reorganizations in the solvent mixture and the Hildebrandt solubility parameter. We will also compare the experimental data within lattice calculations and simulations, which indicate that strong cross-interactions are important for a sign change of the Soret coefficient.


This paper demonstrates the contraction of the regional economy of the North & East Province of Sri Lanka during 20 years of ethnic conflict. The declining contribution of the N&E Province to the national economy, dramatic drop in agricultural production in the N&E in absolute terms as well as in relation to national output, industrial oblivion, lagging access to modern basic necessities such as safe water, sanitation, electricity & telecommunications, declining health and educational indicators of the populace are highlighted using secondary data and descriptive analysis. The paper reveals that the N&E Province has the lowest provincial gross domestic product, lowest per capita income and perhaps lowest human development index as well.


We analyzed the expression pattern of adhesion molecules including beta 1-integrins (CD49c, CD49d, CD49e, CD49f), beta 2-integrins (CD11a, CD11b, CD11c), CD44, and CD54 in 141 children with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pre-B ALL) and in 21 children with B-cell ALL/non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (B-ALL/NHL). The frequencies of CD11a, CD49f, and CD44 expression were significantly higher in CD34+ pre-B ALL than in CD34- pre-B ALL. Although CD49d, CD49e, and CD44 were less frequently expressed in B-ALL/NHL than in pre-B ALL, the expression of CD11a and CD54 were more frequent in B-ALL/NHL. In pre-B ALL, expression of CD11a positively correlated with that of CD11b (P < .05) and CD54 (P < .01), and CD49c positively correlated with CD49f (P < .01). Of the clinical parameters of patients with pre-B ALL, expression of CD11a was associated with a low leukocyte count (P < .05). The presence of CD54 on the cell surface was an independent factor indicating a poor prognosis. The estimated 5-year event-free survival was 42.3% for CD54+ (n = 31) compared with 70.3% for CD54- patients (n = 38) (P < .05). These findings demonstrated that expression of adhesion molecules is dependent on the phenotype of B-lineage cells and that the expression of some of these molecules has clinical significance.


Using data from a survey of small and medium scale manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam, this study investigates the impact of firm and owner characteristics on firm growth. The results reveal that firm size has a negative effect on firm growth, suggesting the invalidity of Gibrat's Law. Moreover, the results indicate the dependence of firm growth on firm and owner attributes. Regarding firm characteristics, leverage, labor quality, training and export activities all enhance growth, while firm age is negatively associated with the growth of SMEs. As for owner characteristics, the results indicate a negative relationship between owner age and firm growth. Furthermore, female-headed firms have higher growth than male-headed firms; and highly educated owners create higher growth than those with lower levels of education.


Communication within or between complex systems is commonplace in the natural sciences and fields such as graph neural networks. The brain is a perfect example of such a complex system, where communication between brain regions is constantly being orchestrated. To analyze communication, the brain is often split up into anatomical regions that each perform certain computations. These regions must interact and communicate with each other to perform tasks and support higher-level cognition. On a macroscale, these regions communicate through signal propagation along the cortex and along white matter tracts over longer distances. When and what types of signals are communicated over time is an unsolved problem and is often studied using either functional or structural data. In this paper, we propose a non-linear generative approach to communication from functional data. We address three issues with common connectivity approaches by explicitly modeling the directionality of communication, finding communication at each timestep, and encouraging sparsity. To evaluate our model, we simulate temporal data that has sparse communication between nodes embedded in it and show that our model can uncover the expected communication dynamics. Subsequently, we apply our model to temporal neural data from multiple tasks and show that our approach models communication that is more specific to each task. The specificity of our method means it can have an impact on the understanding of psychiatric disorders, which are believed to be related to highly specific communication between brain regions compared to controls. In sum, we propose a general model for dynamic communication learning on graphs, and show its applicability to a subfield of the natural sciences, with potential widespread scientific impact.


In this paper, we address the stability robustness of linear time invariant systems with state space models. The perturbations of concern are assumed to be time invariant, unstructured or structured. Based on stability radii, robust stability bounds are derived such that all the eigenvalues of the perturbed systems are still inside a desired region, a wedge in the s-plane or a disk in the z-plane.


Using a model as an input data source for integration into another model carries with it risks to the validity of the model composition. This paper presents research into the inherent risks of model integration. The research decomposes models into sets of semantic concepts allowing for a calculation of structural alignment. Measurable changes in a model's output due to the integration of another model provide an impact assessment. Risks to decisions arise from incompatible assumptions and constructions of models. We present a risk assessment as a tuple containing differences in models' alignment across three axes and in changes in a model's output metrics. Risks to decisions arise from incompatible assumptions and constructions of models.


Background : The present study examines understanding of challenging behaviour among a sample of children and adolescents with a moderate intellectual disability, and investigates their behavioural intentions towards peers with challenging behaviour. Methods : The study involved the collection of quantitative and qualitative data. In the quantitative part of the study participants (N=39) completed a modified Friendship Activity Scale following the presentation of vignettes depicting individuals with challenging and non-challenging behaviour. In the qualitative part of the study, participants (N=31) took part in a semi-structured interview that sought their views on the causes of the challenging behaviour described in one of the vignettes. Results : Analysis of the data from the Friendship Activity Scale indicates that participants have significantly more positive intentions towards a vignette character that does not engage in challenging behaviour. Content analysis of the qualitative data indicates that participants hold a variety of beliefs about the causes of challenging behaviour. Suggestions include that possibility that it is a response to transient emotional states and to external events. Conclusions : The findings are consistent with the findings of other studies on young people"s understanding of and attitudes towards peers with atypical behaviour. The theoretical and clinical implications for young people with intellectual disabilities are discussed.


Purpose Exploration of the reasons why people miss scheduled inpatient appointments from the perspectives of patients. Methods Semi-structured interviews via telephone were conducted with patients who missed their inpatient appointments. Data were analyzed based on Colaizzi's seven-step method. Results Twenty-five patients and five dependents were enrolled. Three themes were identified: practical barriers, lack of knowledge about the disease, and negative emotional responses. Personal social obligations, state of illness, financial issues and long waiting times were the main practical barriers preventing patients from attending their inpatient appointment. Patients' perceptions of feasible self-solving symptoms, readily believing people around them, and a blindly optimistic attitude towards disease contributed to their insufficient knowledge about the disease. Negative emotional responses (eg, sense of fear and lack of trust in physicians) had a detrimental effect on inpatient attendance. Conclusion Three main factors contributed to non-attendance of inpatient appointments: practical barriers, lack of knowledge about disease, and negative emotional response. Our study provides new, valuable evidence on non-attendance of inpatient appointments in China. Our findings could offer meaningful insights into developing effective strategies to reduce non-attendance of inpatient appointments in other countries.


The estimation of crowd count in images has a wide range of applications such as video surveillance, traffic monitoring, public safety and urban planning. Recently, the convolutional neural network (CNN) based approaches have been shown to be more effective in crowd counting than traditional methods that use handcrafted features. However, the existing CNN-based methods still suffer from large number of parameters and large storage space, which require high storage and computing resources and thus limit the real-world application. Consequently, we propose a deeply-recursive network (DR-ResNet) based on ResNet blocks for crowd counting. The recursive structure makes the network deeper while keeping the number of parameters unchanged, which enhances network capability to capture statistical regularities in the context of the crowd. Besides, we generate a new dataset from the video-monitoring data of Beijing bus station. Experimental results have demonstrated that proposed method outperforms most state-of-the-art methods with far less number of parameters.


Street robbery offences can be perpetrated in a variety of ways. Offenders adopt a particular method of conducting the offence that appears to be closely related to the underlying purpose of the offence and the type of victim that is targeted. This paper reviews existing research and presents new findings relating to the "decisions" involved in the commission of street robbery from the perspective of the offenders. Twenty face-to-face interviews were undertaken with offenders convicted of street robbery. Findings specifically focus on the modus operandi employed by offenders based on their knowledge of the risks, struggles and advantages of different ways of working


Consensus engineering has been used to design more stable variants using the most frequent amino acid at each site of a multiple sequence alignment; sometimes consensus engineering modifies function, but efforts have mainly been focused on studying stability. Here we constructed a consensus Rossmann domain for the Shikimate dehydrogenase enzyme; separately we decided to switch the cofactor specificity through rational design in the Escherichia coli Shikimate dehydrogenase enzyme and then analyzed the effect of consensus mutations on top of our design. We found that consensus mutations closest to the 2' adenine moiety increased the activity in our design. Consensus engineering has been shown to result in more stable proteins and our findings suggest it could also be used as a complementary tool for increasing or modifying enzyme activity during design.


Institutions of higher education are experiencing an influx of students in distress. It is imperative that all members of campus are involved in prevention and safety efforts, particularly student support professionals who are on the front lines of student interactions. A major gap in the literature exists, as no published studies have principally explored professional student support staff and their attitudes and referral practices with students manifesting a mental health concern. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to determine the impact, if any, of Kognito, Inc.'s At Risk for University and College Faculty and Staff online gatekeeper training upon student support professionals' attitudes towards the behavior, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, actual behavioral practices, and intentions to refer distressed college students to counseling services. Using Ajzen's (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior as a guide, this study drew upon a total sample of 123 student support professionals consisting of 19 participants in the elicitation phase, 39 in the pilot study phase, and 65 in the main randomized controlled trial. Findings indicated that the interactive nature of this specific training is effective at altering one's beliefs and attitudes regarding referring a distressed student to counseling services, significantly impacts one's self-efficacy and self-confidence regarding their skills to refer, and modifies one's intentions to refer students to counseling services. Implications for practice are discussed.


This paper discusses the risk management in Islamic banks and aims to determine the difference in the practices and methods of risk management in those banks compared to the conventional banks, and to make a case study of the biggest Islamic bank in Egypt (Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt) to identify the most important financial risks faced and how to manage those risks. It was found that Islamic banks face two types of risks. The first type is similar to the risks in conventional banks; the second type is the additional risks which facing the Islamic banks only as a result of some Islamic modes of financing. With regard to the risk management, Islamic banks such as conventional banks applied the regulatory rules issued by the Central Banks and the Basel Committee; Islamic banks also applied the instructions and procedures issued by the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB). Also, Islamic banks are similar to the conventional banks in the practices and methods which they use to manage the risks. And there are some factors that may affect the risk management in Islamic banks, such as the size of the bank and the efficiency of the administration and the staff of the bank. Keywords—Conventional banks, Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt, Islamic banks, risk management.


This paper proposes a novel equalizer, termed here as Evolutionary MPNN, where a complex modified probabilistic Neural Networks (MPNN) acts as a filter for the detected signal pattern. The neurons were embedded with optimization algorithms. We have considered two optimization algorithms, Bacteria Foraging Optimization (BFO) and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). The proposed structure have the ability to process complex signals also can perform for slowly varying channels. Also, Simulation results prove the superior performance of the proposed equalizer over the existing MPNN equalizers.


A Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model is described for the representation of land surface hydrology in General Circulation Models (GCMs). The VIC model computes runoff as a function of the distribution of soil moisture capacity within a GCM grid cell. The major distinguishing feature of the VIC model relative to the bucket model currently used to represent the land surface in many GCMs is that it parameterizes the nonlinearity of the fraction of precipitation that infiltrates over a large area (hence the production of direct runoff) as a function of spatial average soil moisture storage, and that it models subsurface runoff between storms via a simple recession mechanism. The VIC model was incorporated into the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) GCM at R15 resolution (roughly 4.5 degrees latitude by 7.5 degrees longitude). Ten-year simulations of global climate were produced using the GFDL GCM with both VIC land surface hydrology, and, for comparison purposes, the standard bucket representation. Comparison of the ten year runs using the VIC model with those using bucket hydrology showed that for the VIC run, global average runoff increased, soil moisture decreased, evaporation decreased, land surface temperature increased, and precipitation decreased. As expected, changes in precipitation occurredmore » primarily over the continents, especially in the northern hemisphere. Changes in the surface water balance for Africa, Australia, and South America were much less than for North American and Eurasia. Both VIC and bucket simulations of surface air temperature and precipitation were compared with gridded monthly average observation fields. These comparisons indicated that the VIC hydrology reproduced winter temperatures better, and summer temperatures worse, than the bucket model. The VIC hydrology better represented global precipitation, primarily as a result of partially reducing the upward bias in precipitation associated with the GFDL R15 bucket runs.« less


In recent years, several laboratories have suggested that chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is strongly associated with type II cryoglobulinemia (CG) and/or membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN). We report here a case of MPGN due to type II CG probably associated with chronic HCV infection, and discuss the pathogenesis and treatment of such cases. A 60-year-old-female was referred to us from a local hospital because of progressive peripheral edema, purpura on the lower limbs, pleural effusion, ascites, hypertension, and renal failure. Laboratory findings indicated proteinuria, abnormal urinary sediments, normochromic normocytic anemia and azotemia. Other laboratory findings included positive rheumatoid factor, elevated serum IgM, hypocomplementemia and elevated circulating immune complexes. Cryoglobulin was detected and found to consist of a mixture of a monoclonal IgM kappa with polyclonal IgG. Renal biopsy showed MPGN. These observations suggested a close association between MPGN and type II CG. We did not find any causes of type II CG except for positive HCV antibody and HCV RNA. Therefore, we made the diagnosis of type II CG associated with chronic HCV infection. Symptoms related to CG was responsiveness to steroid, but development of liver dysfunction developed. Treatment with alfa-interferon (alpha IFN) was added and thereafter, the liver dysfunction improved. However, the serum Cryo level was not reproducibly lowered. While in this case it was unclear whether IFN therapy was beneficial, several reports in addition to the findings of this case suggest a close relation between HCV infection and type II CG and MPGN.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


In general, petroleum reservoirs vary with geographical locations and their environmental conditions, and there are no crude and gas exactly alike in respective locations. This means that it is very difficult to apply a specific standard design, which is usually preferred by many shipyards, to any FPSO hull.
 These facts often lead to serious trouble for FPSO hull construction in terms of cost and delivery time.
 In order to solve those challenging issues, Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. developed a next generation FPSO platform, "noah-FPSO Hull" (noah : New Offshore Adapted Hull), and obtained Approval in Principle for the noah-FPSO Hull from two world leading classification societies, Bureau Veritas and American Bureau of Shipping.
 Unique modular design and multi-yard construction concept of the noah-FPSO Hull were overviewed and discussed in our 1st report [1]. This paper is the 2nd report of the noah-FPSO Hull and focuses on discussing specific modular design for structural design and equipment arrangement. Hull motion in adverse weather condition is also discussed.


An amazing exploration of the mind is now possible for everyone. With the Colors of The Sunrise, the first volume of the series The Psychotherapy of Whole: Aesthetics, Philosophy, Humanism, and Cognitive Science the reader has the opportunity to engage with a book that utilizes the methods and structure of self-help, popular science, and expressive therapies books.

Science, psychotherapy, philosophy, music, art and digital reality for the first time come together in a book phenomenon and a series designed during 16 years to provide the first A.I Psychotherapy model internationally, focused on a profound study that has been evaluated by leading names from many of the areas analyzed around the world.

The book has been based on the background of advanced academic research, lending from the recent and updated investigations in an extraordinary number of areas. These include but are not limited to the disciplines of social sciences, psychiatry, philosophy, expressive art therapies, exact sciences, history, politics, artificial intelligence, and humanities that are presented from a global perspective.

Linguistics, neuroscience, anthropology, robotics, physics, and mathematics reconsidered as positive parts of the universal structures. It is explained the manner of uniting the cognition staying in perfect harmony with the today's knowledge acquired by cognitive science, and the knowledge that traditionally contributes to the flourishing of the human mind through the philosophical approaches.

This manner discovered through the cutting-edge clinical and scientific study of the author. As a Licensed Social Worker and Cognitive Scientist, Anthony N. Skarvelakis devoted many years of professional investigation to reach a cognitive metaprogram as a model that expands human thought, giving the solution searched for years regarding the design of the first complete model of A.I Psychotherapy.


Hebrews was written for Christians whose situation had developed as a result of several stages. Firstly the readers' community was established when the message of salvation led to conversion and was confirmed by experiencing miracles and a sense of the Spirit's presence. Secondly, during a time of persecution conditions became more difficult but the community remained steadfast in the wake of abuse, dispossession, and imprisonment and was not pressurised into relinquishing their commitments. During the third stage, conditions within the community seemed to deteriorate as ongoing friction with non-Christians and the demands of mutual support within the Christian community evidently moved some to exhibit a diminished commitment to the faith and to neglect the community's gatherings. In response, the author develops the contrast between the seen and the unseen in order to address the apparent contradiction between the promises of glory that drew them to faith and the inglorious experience of life in the world. The author seeks to bolster the readers' confidence by showing that Jesus' suffering was followed by exaltation to heavenly glory and that Jesus' followers can be confident that God will also bring others who suffer into the glory that has been promised to them.


Full-scale planetary rendering is a broad and active area of research. Its uses range from games to astronomy and simulation applications. Many problems arise when attempting to render both high altitude and close-up scenes of a full-scale planet, especially when the planet has an ocean surface and even more if water surface displacement and refractions in shallow water are required. Some of the most common problems to overcome are: Performance (especially for close-up scenes of shallow water), Z-fighting (between the ocean and the terrain surface in high altitude scenes) and a seamless transition of the shorelines from high to low altitude.


In this paper, we propose an efficient method for learning local image descriptor and its inversion function using a variational autoencoder (VAE). We design a loss function of the VAE specifically for this purpose, which, on one hand, incentivises the similarities between input patches to be preserved in latent space, and on the other hand, ensures good reconstruction of the patches from their encodings in latent space. Our proposed descriptor demonstrates better patch retrieval compared to the reference autoencoder-based local image descriptor, and also shows improved reconstruction of patches from their encodings.


What role has innovation played in the leadership positions attained by local firms in emerging markets? What innovation strategies have these firms followed? This paper takes advantage of a natural experiment – the deregulation of the Indian economy – to investigate these questions. We compare the innovation strategies of five local market leaders in India on dimensions related to exploration and exploitation, internal and external sources, technologypush and market-pull and product and process innovation. This study establishes that innovation plays a key role in the leadership position attained by local leaders. These firms display a high degree of ambidexterity in both exploring and exploiting in parallel, an approach that is required to provide speed of response. External sources are tapped for knowledge and ideas, and this learning is integrated with internal innovation. Market exploration, particularly the development of products, services and business models that allow the companies to meet the affordability criteria of the mass market, plays an important role in the innovation strategy of these companies.


Calcination of diatomite is an expensive process frequently resulting in products with unpredictable structure. Alternatively, calcination in swirling flow is an energy-saving option. Computational fluid dynamics modeling of an experimental calcination process unit is presented. Experimental results and systematic collection of process data were used to define boundary condition for steady-state and transient simulation runs. The comparison of experimental and simulation results shows the complexity of the calcination process. The results can be used for further process optimization.


A gas of interacting surfaces with energy depending on area and mean curvature is described as an Ising spin model on a cubic lattice. The interfacial properties in the region where the nearly pure ordered phases and the high-temperature disordered phase coexist are studied. On the coexistence line we find in mean-field approximation a first-order wetting transition whose position varies between the tricritical point and a 4-phase point, depending on the parameters of the model. For some range of the parameters the structured region of the high-temperature phase wets the nearly pure phases interface.


—Lower limb exoskeletons with proper assistance can improve the mobility of people with leg impairments. Prior studies have shown that tethered ankle exoskeletons can reduce the metabolic cost during walking and running, but few mobile ankle exoskeletons can achieve similar performance. The additional weight of the actuation system and compromised control performance decrease the assistance efficiency. Here, we developed a mobile exoskeleton that can provide plantarflexion torque assistance at the ankle. The actuation system is switchable between a single-and dual-motor ones to adapt to different users and tasks. The single-motor system can achieve lighter weight and better transparency while the dual-motor one can provide higher assistance. The single-motor ex-oskeleton system has a 0.95 kg weight worn on the leg with another 1.15 kg power belt mounted on the waist. The dual-motor system can provide up to 100 N · m assistive torque and reduce an average of 32.5% of soleus muscle activity in preliminary tests. A real-time controller was implemented in an integrated embedded system and achieved high torque control performance. The closed-loop bandwidths of the single-and the dual-motor systems were 13.0 and 15.3 Hz, respectively. The average root-mean-squared torque tracking error was 2.6% of peak torque during walking and running. The mobile ankle exoskeleton can assist for 3 h of continuous active walking or running with an integrated 4500 mAh battery, making it promising in investigating assistance strategies off the treadmill.


The R&D program on superconducting cavities fabricated from electron beam melted large grain/single crystal (LG/SC) niobium discs explores it's potential for production of approximately 1000 cavities for the European XFEL. Thermal, electrical, mechanical properties, crystal orientation and structure are investigated with the aim to make the fabrication procedure more efficient. In opposite to fine grain niobium the thermal conductivity of LG/SC has a pronounced maximum at 2K. Calculation found a correlation between thermal conductivity enhancement and phonon scattering at the grain boundaries. Detected enhancement is very susceptible to plastic deformation that can cause the complete elimination of the low temperature peak. The final annealing at 800°C of cavities made from large grain niobium is necessary for hydrogen outgassing, as well as for the thermal conductivity enhancement due to stress relaxation and recovery of crystal defects introduced at the cavity fabrication. The effects of annealing temperature up to 1200°C, heating rate, and holding time on the structure recovery after rolling are also established. Total elongation at the uniaxial tensile tests for LG is very high (50 - 110%) and depends significantly on the load direction, because only very few grains are in the gage length. The elongation after fracture by bi-axial testing (bulging test) for LG is lower (<15%) yet sufficient for deep drawing of half-cells. Metallographic investigation of and electron beam welding tests on, niobium single crystals show that an appropriate disc enlargement and annealing can be done without destruction of the single crystal. These tests showed that a cavity can be produced without grain boundaries even in the welding area. On base of the results a fabrication method of single crystal cavities is proposed.


Abstract The practicalities involved with the use of a superconducting microimaging probe are outlined so that the power and problems associated with this technology can be assessed. The nonlinearity of the transmission characteristics of this class of probe, the intrinsic limits on bandwidth, the long ring-down times, the potential for spin damping, and the difficulties of suppressing Johnson noise are all discussed. Recent refinements that have delivered a factor of 30 gain in SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) relative to copper coils at room temperature are presented. Further reductions in noise sources should yield a gain of a factor of 60 in SNR.


Abstract The full-information duration problem with a random number N of objects is considered. These objects appear sequentially and their values Xk are observed, where Xk, independent of N, are independent and identically distributed random variables from a known continuous distribution. The objective of the problem is to find a stopping rule that maximizes the duration of holding a relative maximum (e.g. the kth object is a relative maximum if Xk = max{X1, X2, . . ., Xk}). We assume that N is a random variable with a known upper bound n, so two models, Model 1 and Model 2, can be considered according to whether the planning horizon is N or n. The structure of the optimal rule, which depends on the prior distribution assumed on N, is examined. The monotone rule is defined and a necessary and sufficient condition for the optimal rule to be monotone is given for both models. Special attention is paid to the class of priors such that N / n converges, as n → ∞, to a random variable Vm having density fVm(v) = m(1 - v)m-1, 0 ≤ v ≤ 1 for a positive integer m. An interesting feature is that the optimal duration (relative to n) for Model 2 is just (m + 1) times as large as that for Model 1 asymptotically.


The article presents an empirical validation for mean-variance CAPM, using a Downside and Higher-moment framework of CAPM in the Russian stock market. The authors test the unconditional and conditional CAPM specifications on a sample of weekly returns of the most liquid Russian stocks over the financially stable period of 2004–2007 and over the crisis period of 2008–2009. The primary contribution of this study is ranking the models with respect to their explanatory power of cross-sectional return variations. The unconditional classical CAPM (where market risk is approximated by the beta coefficient) is compared to the downside (mean-semivariance) CAPM extended to incorporate the third (skewness) and fourth (kurtosis) moments. The ranking methodology is based on Fama and MacBeth's (1973) two-stage estimation procedure. The unconditional CAPMs prove to have low explanatory power for the financially stable period and test results that are not statistically significant for the crisis period. Incorporating additional risk measures of the third and fourth moments and adopting one-sided risk measures only slightly increases the explanatory power. The highest explanatory power is offered by the unconditional CAPM of the Harlow-Rao downside systematic risk measure with zero benchmark. Our study confirms the feasibility of employing conditional CAPMs extended for systematic asymmetry (co-skewness) and systematic kurtosis (co-kurtosis) for the Russian stock market since these models display better explanatory power for cross-sectional return variations.


A robust one-step synthetic strategy for ynamide with cheap and easily available stock chemicals vinyl dichlorides and electron deficient amides as the starting material is described. In the absence of transition-metal catalyst, the reaction proceeds under mild reaction conditions in open air and thus rendering a convenient operation. This strategy is not only suitable for both terminal and internal ynamide synthesis but also amenable for large-scale preparation. Broad substrate scopes with respect to vinyl dichloride as well as electron-deficient amide were observed.


Glycopeptide antibiotics are clinically important as a second-line therapy for the treatment for nosocomial infections caused by Gram-positive pathogens. A universal mode of action for glycopeptide antibiotics is to target the terminal residues, d-Alanyl-d-Alanine on the cell wall peptidoglycan intermediate lipid II, arresting the later stages of peptidoglycan biosynthesis. This weakens the cell wall, making it susceptible to rupture. A general resistance mechanism for glycopeptide antibiotics requires the core genes, vanRSHAX, that detect the presence of a glycopeptide (VanS) and upregulate genes (VanR) which orchestrate the remodelling of d-Ala-d-Ala on lipid II to d-Ala-d-Lactate (VanHAX). Glycopeptide affinity for lipid II is reduced by 1000-fold and biological activity impaired. Our previous study has shown that altering the termini of peptidoglycan precursors by VanHAX action was not sufficient for the resistance of the glycopeptide teicoplanin in S. coelicolor, which is instead mediated mainly by VanJ. Using RNA-seq, this study is designed to understand how the adaptive response in an S. coelicolor wild type (M600) and a vanJ mutant strain differ after exposure to teicoplanin. We have also compared these data with available data on the cell wall targeting antibiotics vancomycin, bacitracin and moenoymycin. By doing so, we aim to gain insight into the molecular basis of the improved activity of teicoplanin over vancomycin as well as identify novel cellular targets of teicoplanin which can help inform the design of future glycopeptides with desirable therapeutic properties.


Social media have changed the way citizens, journalists, institutions, and activists communicate about social and political issues. However, questions remain about how information is diffused through these networks and the degree to which each of these actors is influential in communicating information. In this study, we introduce two novel social network measures of connection and information diffusion that help shed light on patterns of political communication online. The Audience Diversity Score assesses the diversity of a particular actor's followers and identifies which actors reach different publics with their messages. The Communication Connector Bridging Score highlights the most influential actors in the network who are potentially able to connect different spheres of communication through their information diffusion. We apply and discuss these measures using Twitter data from the discussion regarding the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership in Europe. Our results provide unique insights into the role various actors play in diffusing political information in online social networks.


The role of soil-borne microalgae in the edaphic ecosystem is barely known, especially concerning their plant-growth-promoting traits, although they are used as biofertilizers. In this study, a microalgal strain isolated from soil cultivated with maize was evaluated as an exogenous producer of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in potato dextrose broth—PD—and sugarcane molasses, with or without tryptophan, and phosphate solubilizer (in 'National Botanical Research Institute's phosphate'—NBRIP—medium with tricalcium phosphate)with plant-growth-promoting traits, under heterotrophic conditions. The species of microalga was identified, by sequencing the ITS region in the rDNA and the morphological characteristics, as Chlorella vulgaris. Its growth was significantly higher in the PD medium, with slower growth in molasses. The addition of tryptophan did not influence the growth of C. vulgaris in either medium, but it increased the production of IAA, mainly in the PD medium, to 265 µg mL–1. The microalga grew in the medium with insoluble phosphate, releasing phosphorus into the medium (30 mg L–1 after 72 h). This is the first study on the application of C. vulgaris as a phosphate solubilizer. More studies should be performed on C. vulgaris as a prospective plant-growth-promoting microorganism, besides its ability to produce exogenous IAA, and further investigations should be conducted on developing inexpensive culture media.


This study was undertaken to determine the effect of atropine and somatostatin, two inhibitors of intraduodenal pancreatic enzyme secretion, on bombesin-stimulated release of plasma immunoreactive trypsin in 6 healthy volunteers. Infusion of 5 ng/kg.min bombesin during 30 min induced significant increases in plasma trypsin from 206 +/- 20 to 334 +/- 44 ng/ml (p less than 0.01). Atropine (15 ng/kg as i.v. bolus followed by 5 ng/kg.h) had no influence on the bombesin-stimulated increase in plasma immunoreactive trypsin (207 +/- 20 to 326 +/- 54 ng/ml). Somatostatin (125 micrograms as i.v. bolus followed by 125 micrograms/h) also failed to inhibit the plasma trypsin response to bombesin (207 +/- 18 to 663 +/- 166 ng/ml). These results point to major differences in the regulation of plasma and intraduodenal trypsin secretion.


By the quantitative dermatoglyphic analysis of digitopalmar ridge count in fifty male psoriatic spondylitis patients were researched 25 dermatoglyphics traits: number of epidermal ridges on the all ten fingers, their sum for five and ten fingers, four traits on the both palms, i.e. between a-b, b-c, c-d and a-d triradii, and atd angles and their bilateral sum in degrees. The data obtained were compared with those recorded in a control group of 200 pairs of imprints of phenotypically healthy males from the Zagreb area. Statistically significant differences to control were found in 13 variables in decreased ridge count in second, third, fourth and fifth finger on the right palm, and in their sum on the all five fingers, than in second, third, fourth and fifth finger on the left palm, and in their sum in the all fingers, and in the all ten fingers. Atd angle was decreased on the left palm, and on the both palm together. Accordingly a polygenetic system identical in some loci to polygenetic system predisposing to male psoriatic spondylitis susceptibility might be found responsible for dermatogliyphic pattern development.


Extensive utilization of Li‐ion batteries for varieties of applications necessitates ceaseless improvements of electrode materials for achieving higher energy density. Towards this goal, Li‐rich layered oxides exhibiting high capacity due to cumulated cationic and anionic redox activities are under study for nearly a decade. Still, several unanswered questions remain with respect to these Li‐driven anionic redox reactions in terms of the activation process and long‐term consequences upon cycling. Here, the Li‐rich Li3NbS4 phase is focused, and synthesized as two different polymorphs, namely ordered and disordered phases. From analyses of their chemical and electrochemical properties, a crystal‐electronic structure relationship is unraveled that triggers the anionic redox activity in these compounds. Moreover, through complementary theoretical calculations, the capability of cationic disorder to trigger anionic redox activity via the hybridization of cationic and non‐bonding anionic energy levels is shown. This finding is further supported by the appearance of anionic redox activity by introducing the disorder through cationic substitution. Altogether, the insights derived can help in designing new anionic redox materials with optimum performances for practical applications.


Apoptosis induced by p53 has been proposed to involve activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB. Here we describe the novel molecular mechanism through which p53 and DNA-damaging agents activate NF-kappaB. NF-kappaB induction by p53 does not occur through classical activation of the IkappaB kinases and degradation of IkappaBalpha. Rather, p53 expression stimulates the serine/threonine kinase ribosomal S6 kinase 1 (RSK1), which in turn phosphorylates the p65 subunit of NF-kappaB. The lower affinity of RSK1-phosphorylated p65 for its negative regulator, IkappaBalpha, decreases IkappaBalpha-mediated nuclear export of shuttling forms of NF-kappaB, thereby promoting the binding and action of NF-kappaB on cognate kappaB enhancers. These findings highlight a rather unusual pathway of NF-kappaB activation, which is utilized by the p53 tumor suppressor.


Differences in the elastic constant ratios and torsional rigidity between solid wood and structural composite lumber may result in differences of the lateral torsional buckling behavior of these materials. The experimental critical buckling loads (CBLs) determined from a cantilever beam test method were compared with CBL predictions based upon the load resistance factor equations for wood design and modifications to the design equations incorporating measured E:G ratios and measured torsional rigidity terms. Experimental materials included machine-stress-rated lumber, laminated veneer lumber (LVL), parallel strand lumber (PSL), and laminated strand lumber (LSL) tested at three different lengths. The current LRFD equations best predicted the CBL values for solid wood and the PSL, but predicted nonconservative CBL values for the LVL. The current LRFD equation modified to incorporate measured E:G ratios was the best predictor for the LVL and LSL materials tested and represented no improvement in CBL prediction for the solid-sawn lumber and PSL. The incorporation of the measured torsional rigidity term did not significantly enhance any of the CBL predictions. The modeling of the test specimens as isotropic materials produced more agreeable CBL predictions than use of the measured torsional rigidity values. Therefore, the current LRFD equations are verified for solid-sawn lumber and recommended for use with PSL. The LRFD equations incorporating the material specific E:G ratios are recommended for LVL and LSL to provide more accurate CBL predictions.