This work examines the effect of microblogging, social networking, and short messaging in e-learning on the process of information culture formation. The study takes an experimental training course "The Psychology of Management" designed with Moodle, which implies the use of Instagram, and applies it to a sample of master's level students. Learners were recruited from the Higher School of Economics and Business (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University) together with the Institute of Economics and Management in Agribusiness (Russian State Agrarian University - Timiryazev Moscow Agricultural Academy (RSAU – MTAA)). Students were asked to briefly express their thoughts, attitudes, and views toward the given topic on Instagram by creating blog posts and leave motivational and constructive comments under the blogs of other group members. The emotional responses of learners to the innovative style of teaching (i.e., the use of blogs) and its effect on the learning process were assessed using surveys. The study discusses the effect of blogging on Instagram as an educational tool. The majority of respondents reported a positive effect of blogs. According to learners, the use of Instagram gave the learning journey a makeover, making it relevant, effortless, and consistent. The use of blogs was found to create favorable conditions for collaborative learning, creative self-expression, and systematization of knowledge and experiences. Students reported that doing blogs was entertaining, motivating, and beneficial to their critical thinking, writing skills, and communication competency.


The subject of this communication is the study of weight reduction applied to an automobile wheel disc with the aim of modifying the "weight reduction-freedom of style-cost" asymptote. The performance levels of thixoformed parts are compared with the manufacturers' specifications and with the performance levels of parts with identical references which are low-pressure cast or forged. The average fatigue resistance of thixoformed discs (Lf = 120 MPa at 6x10 6 cycles), due to insufficient control of the surface quality, does not enable the weight-reduction performance sought to be achieved. To get closer to the target, surface impact prestressing treatments implemented with an appropriate Almen intensity give the parts significantly higher resistance to fatigue than expected, leading to potential weight reduction, confirmed by experience, which may exceed 40%. These initial results point out that several certifiable and industrializable solutions which are well positioned in terms of "Cost-Weight Reduction-Freedom of Style" target can be envisaged thanks to prestressing treatments. Thixocasting and, even more, rheocasting, have the greatest potential, providing surface quality is under control and complies with specification.


The age of individual seeking NHS aids has risen steadily since the service was commenced, and the median age is now over 70 years. The major type of hearing loss observed is sensorineural, but a substantial proportion of hearing aid candidates still have a significant conductive element in their hearing loss. This latter group of patients tend to be significantly younger than those without middle ear involvement. The hearing loss when applying for a hearing aid tends to be around 50 dB but is age dependent, younger subjects coming with smaller hearing losses. The most disturbing information obtained on questioning applicants was the long time lapse between recognition of hearing impairment and application for a hearing aid. This averaged almost ten years. The true delay is probably considerably greater than this and must have a substantial bearing on the outcome of hearing aid fitting. Public education and counselling of hearing aid users are suggested as vita needs.


Publicly listed firms have discretion to disclose (or not) advertising spending in their annual (10-K) reports. The disclosure of advertising spending can provide valuable information because advertising is a leading indicator of future performance. However, estimates of advertising spending are available from data providers, arguably mitigating the need for its formal disclosure. This article argues that firms' disclosure of advertising spending provides more complete and public information and therefore lowers investor uncertainty about future firm performance (idiosyncratic risk). Empirical analyses show that the effect is largely driven by the negative effect of disclosure of advertising spending on analyst uncertainty. Consistent with agency theory, the negative effect of the disclosure of advertising spending on analyst uncertainty is stronger for firms with more financial resources, firms with lower disclosure quality, and firms that are in more competitive industries. Additional analyses show that the disclosure of advertising spending has a significant positive effect on firm value in specific sectors. These results, therefore, identify an avenue for chief marketing officers to play a greater role in managing investor relations. In addition, they suggest strong merit for the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Accounting Standards Board to reconsider current regulations governing advertising spending disclosure.


Background: Peers are influential people who can enhance self-efficacy (SE) factors by verbal encouragement and common experience sharing and affect maternal SE in promoting and maintaining breastfeeding (BF). This study aimed to determine the effect of peer education on BF SE among primiparous mothers. Methods: This randomized clinical trial study was conducted on nulliparous mothers with hospitalized neonates in the neonatal ward of Amirkola Children's Hospital, Mazandaran Province, Iran, within May-September 2018. The statistical population of this research (n=120) was selected using the convenience method and randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control (n=60 each). The control group received the usual and standard center's education. However, the mothers in the intervention group received, two one-hour sessions of BF education from peers in addition to the usual training. These peers were qualified and experienced in two years of successful BF. The tools used for data collection were the demographic form and Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy (BE SE) Scale. The BE SE questionnaire was completed at the time of enrollment and the eighth week after primiparous delivery. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version18) using an independent t-test and paired t-test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The two groups were similar in demographic variables. The mean score of BF SE after the education in the control and intervention groups were obtained as 48.38±7.85 and 60.25±8.32, respectively, which was significant (P<0. 001). Conclusion: Based on the results, breastfeeding through peer education increased SE in primiparous women. Therefore, it is recommended to adopt it as an appropriate educational method to improve the quality of BF education among mothers with newborns hospitalized in the neonatal ward.


The effect of heat treatment on the anti-hemorrhagic action of seven hemostatic herbs employed especially after parching in order to work effectively as an anti-hemorrhagic agent in traditional Chinese medicine, was examined. It was found that the anti-hemorrhagic activities of the following 5 herbs are apparently increased by parching: Kaika (Sophorae immaturus Flos), Renbo.(Nelumnbins Receptaculum), Gusetsu (Nelumnbins Rhizomatis Nodus), Chiyu (Sanguisorbae Radix) and Gaiyou (Artemisiae argyi Folium).


: The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient perception of orthopedic surgeon reimbursement for total hip (THA) and knee (TKA) arthroplasty. A total of 1120 consecutive patients were asked what they believed a surgeon should be paid for performing THA and TKA. Patients were then asked to estimate what Medicare actually reimbursed for each of these procedures. On average, patients thought that surgeons should receive $14 358 for THA and $13 332 for TKA. Patients estimated actual Medicare reimbursement to be $8212 for THA and $7196 for TKA. Most of the patients stated that Medicare reimbursement was " much lower " than what it should be. Many patients commented that given this discrepancy, surgeons may drop Medicare, which may decrease access to quality hip and knee arthroplasties


Long-range diffusion profiles of deep impurities, such as gold in silicon are usually obtained by repeating capacitance measurements after each removal of a considerable surface layer followed by fabrication of a Schottky junction on the surface. However, this method is time-consuming. By moving the Schottky electrode on an angle-lapped surface, the profiles have been obtained in less than one-tenth of the time required using the usual method.


In this paper, the researcher proposes a double threshold-IGRACH model to investigate the impacts of foreign investment turnover and exchange rate volatilities on the return volatility for the Taiwan stock market. Empirical result shows that the AR(2)-double threshold-IGRACH(1,1) model is appropriate to be used in investigating how the volatility rates of the foreign investment turnovers and exchange rates affect the Taiwan stock returns, as well as reflects that the Taiwan stock market has an asymmetrical effect. It also shows that the news of the foreign investment turnover and exchange rate volatilities would affect the stock market returns, including its variation risk. The double threshold-IGARCH model, therefore, has more explanatory ability as compared to the SETAR and the GJR-GARCH model.


Background People who have had a prolonged admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) commonly have profound debilitation and weakness. For the delivery of effective exercise training, an accurate assessment of exercise capacity is essential. Objective The study objectives were to investigate how much ground-based walking is undertaken by inpatients recovering from critical illness within 1 week of discharge from an ICU and to evaluate the feasibility and safety of the Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) for this population. Design This was an observational study. Methods Within 1 week of discharge from the ICU, functional exercise capacity was measured with the 6MWT. The maximum distance ambulated on the ward in a single session as part of usual clinical management was extracted from the medical notes. The distance achieved during the 6MWT and the maximum distance ambulated on the ward were compared. Results The participants (N=23) were survivors of a critical illness; their mean age was 57 years (SD=11). The median length of ICU stay was 11 days (interquartile range [IQR]=7). The mean 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) was 179 m (SD=101), and the maximum distance ambulated on the ward was 30 m (IQR=65). There was a moderate association between the distance participants ambulated on the ward and the 6MWD (r=.54). The maximum distance ambulated on the ward, expressed as a percentage of the 6MWD, was 29% (IQR=34%). Five participants (22%) experienced oxygen desaturation (oxygen saturation of <85%) and recovered within 1 minute of resting. Limitations The maximum distance ambulated on the ward was estimated with premeasured distances. Conclusions Most participants ambulated at a low percentage of their measured exercise capacity. The 6MWT appears to be a safe and useful test for inpatients recently discharged from the ICU.


Background: In conventional coronary angiography (CAG) by transfemoral approach patients usually need to stay at least one night in hospital. CAG by transradial approach gives the opportunity for same day hospital discharge. The objective of this study was to assess the safety and feasibly of day case CAG in Bangladesh.
Methods: This is a single operator observational study where patients admitted for CAG through transradial (conventional and distal radial) approach were included. Patients were admitted at least 2 hours before the procedure. Hemostasis was done with manual compression followed by tight gauge-rolled bandage. Predischarge criteria had been set and applied to all patients. An emergency telephone number was given to the patient and they were contacted on the next day over telephone.
Results: 30 (30%) female and 70 (70%) male were included with mean age 53±9SD years. Patients were discharged from the hospital on an average after 3.3±1.1 hours of the procedure. Only 4(4%) patients contacted to the emergency number. No bleeding complication was noted and 16(16%) patients complained about of some puncture site pain. Radial artery patency was was maintained in 96% of the patient on subsequent follow up.
Conclusion: Same day hospital discharge is a feasible and safe alternative with similar radial artery patency rate. It will reduce the hospital cost and bed occupancy rate in a busy center in Bangladesh.
Cardiovasc. j. 2019; 11(2): 152-158


Drought is the second most treacherous climate-related risk for rice production in rainfed lowland areas. To counter this climate vulnerability, a new rice variety with enhanced drought tolerance was developed. The promising line IR82589-B-B-84-3 was subjected to advanced yield trials to evaluate specific and general adaptability with standard check in on-station as well as on-farm conditions of Bangladesh following randomized complete block (RCB) design with three replications in wet (T. Aman) season. IR82589-B-B-84-3 was developed as a drought-tolerant rice variety BRRI dhan71, which plant height 108 cm and growth duration 115 days after proper evaluation by National Seed Board (NSB) Bangladesh. It was found that this variety is the higher drought tolerance (up to 28 days) during reproductive stage. It can produce 5.5 t/ha grain yield in standard condition and 4.0 t/ha grain yield in medium drought condition but 3.0-3.5 t/ha grain yield in severe drought condition. Original Research Article Kader et al.; IJPSS, 32(12): 1-11, 2020; Article no.IJPSS.60127 2 Grain yield is also not affected by water scarcity during reproductive stage where parch water table depth is more than 70-80 cm from the surface and reduced soil moisture (<20%). Thousand grain weight of the variety is 24 gm, amylose content is 24%. It has long, erect and deep green colored flag leaf. The results indicated that farmers can maximize net profit by cultivating BRRI dhan71 because it required less input, early maturing than existing varieties, drought tolerant and they also get opportunity to cultivate Mustard, Barley, Potato and vegetables after harvesting it. Thus total productivity will be augmented and food security can also be sustained by the cultivation of BRRI dhan71.


The next generation wireless networks will support the vertical handoff mechanism in which users can maintain the connections when they switch from one network to another (e.g., from IEEE 802.11b to CDMA 1timesRTT network, and vice versa). Although various vertical handoff decision algorithms have been proposed in the literature recently, there is a lack of performance comparisons between different schemes. In this paper, we compare the performance between four vertical handoff decision algorithms, namely, MEW (multiplicative exponent weighting), SAW (simple additive weighting), TOPSIS (technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution), and GRA (grey relational analysis). All four algorithms allow different attributes (e.g., bandwidth, delay, packet loss rate, cost) to be included for vertical handoff decision. Results show that MEW, SAW, and TOPSIS provide similar performance to all four traffic classes. GRA provides a slightly higher bandwidth and lower delay for interactive and background traffic classes


Four of five spontaneous benign equine connective tissue tumors of unknown etiology and a bovine papilloma virus (BPV)-induced equine tumor contained BPV-specific DNA sequences as determined by DNA-DNA hybridization of DNA from tumors with BPV DNA labeled in vitro. Analysis of the kinetics of reassociation indicated that 20-75% of the BPV genome was present in the various tumors. The number of partial BPV genome equivalents ranged from 60 to 500 copies per diploid quantity of cellular DNA. Thermal denaturation profiles of duplexes formed between labeled BPV DNA and DNA from tumor cells indicated two tumors contained viral DNA with base sequences identical to BPV DNA. Three tumors (including DNA from the BPV-induced tumor) contained BPV-related DNA sequences that were less thermally stable. The decrease in thermal denaturation temperature may be due to the presence of (adenine + thymine)-rich regions of the BPV genome in the tumor cells.


As a growing number of institutions around the world are discovering, student competitions provide an unparalleled source of motivation and a vehicle for training students in real world problem solving. Universities have even begun to attract students because of the competitions they offer; and the graduates with competition experience have become highly sought after by engineering companies. This presentation will use EcoCAR and ChallengeX, which span multiple years and involve different focus components in each year, as examples to illustrate the process of such a competition and how students gained automotive engineering experience including Model-Based Design in a realistic learning environment fostered by the industry and the academic institutions involved.


Vol 22 ❖ No 4 ❖ December 2011 36 modified independence with the greatest improvement in wheelchair locomotion (FIM 1 to 6). Respiratory function progressed from total ventilator dependence to 9 hours of independent breathing. All respiratory and FIM values returned to complete dependence during the subsequent SNF admission. After pacemaker implantation, both FIM and breathing independence returned to the same levels as when the patient was discharged from initial hospitalization. Once at home, FIM and breathing independence continued to improve with the greatest gains in transfers and ventilator independence for 19 hours. Discussion: This patient experienced generalized deconditioning during the SNF admission. After receiving the diaphragm pacemaker, his generalized deconditioning and not diaphragm weakness severely compromised his functional mobility. Subsequently he required a lengthy interval of reconditioning for functional mobility gains. In conclusion, Use of a diaphragm pacemaker in individuals early after sustaining an acute SCI might reduce dependence on mechanical ventilation and minimize systemic and diaphragm deconditioning.


Active XML (AXML) is a powerful framework for data integration in a distributed, peer-to-peer environment. In AXML documents information can be presented extensionally or intentionally by embedding calls to local or remote Web services. Invoking such a call to a Web service and replacing its call definition by the data returned from that service is called materialization. In this paper various strategies for materialization processes and their impact on effectiveness of AXML systems are analyzed. Considerations are justified by examples.


tation of Chapter XI of the UN 1982 Law of the Sea. It would also seem that the recent series of Security Council resolutions under Chapter VII of the UN Charter require an additional chapter to consider the primacy of UN law in the hierarchy of sources. The book is well produced, though typeset in such a way that footnotes are not all placed on the page at which they are referred to. There is an extensive bibliography and lists of treaties and cases cited. The library publication data records acid-free paper—no doubt it will soon be one of the duties of the reviewer to note the environment-friendly qualities of the book.


The mining industry relies heavily on empirical analysis for design and prediction. An empirical design method, called the critical span graph, was developed specifically for rock stability analysis in entry-type excavations, based on an extensive case-history database of cut and fill mining in Canada. This empirical span design chart plots the critical span against rock mass rating for the observed case histories and has been accepted by many mining operations for the initial span design of cut and fill stopes. Different types of analysis have been used to classify the observed cases into stable, potentially unstable and unstable groups. The main purpose of this paper is to present a new method for defining rock stability areas of the critical span graph, which applies machine learning classifiers (support vector machine and extreme learning machine). The results show a reasonable correlation with previous guidelines. These machine learning methods are good tools for developing empirical methods, since they make no assumptions about the regression function. With this software, it is easy to add new field observations to a previous database, improving prediction output with the addition of data that consider the local conditions for each mine.


This research paper targets one of the most prominent design challenges in our society today: how the built environment can respond to the increasing numbers of people living with dementia, which is a progressive condition for which there is currently no cure. People live with dementia in their own home, care homes and other residential settings; they also frequently need access to community settings and services including health care infrastructures, day centres and local communities, many of which are not dementia-friendly. However, available evidence and appropriate stakeholder consultation can improve understanding of the needs of people living with dementia and how to better design the built environment to make them more dementia-friendly.


This study evaluated whether children under 3 years of age would drink a therapeutic dose of activated charcoal (AC) in a simulated home environment. Children 13 to 35 months participated with their mothers. Children were randomly assigned to receive AC mixed with regular cola or with diet cola. Maximum time allowed to drink the AC was 30 min. A therapeutic dose was defined as 1 gm/kg or 15 g (the entire bottle) if the child weighed >15 kg. Fifteen children participated; eight received AC with regular cola; seven received AC with diet cola. Ages ranged from 13 to 30 months (average 19 months; SD 4.5 months). Eleven of 15 (73%) drank <1/2 (60 mL) of the AC. Nine of 15 (60%) drank <1/4 of the AC (30 mL). None of these children ingested a therapeutic dose. Three of the 15 (20%) drank > or =100 mL equaling a therapeutic dose. All three were in the group receiving regular cola; 62.5% (five of the eight) who had AC mixed with regular cola did not drink a therapeutic dose. The potential for failure of home AC administration needs to be considered when making the decision to recommend home stocking of AC. Mixing AC with cola does not ensure successful administration. Diet cola does not appear to be an alternative.


3554 [Background] Mycobacterium cell walls have diverse adjuvant activity, and in particular, the cell wall skeleton (CWS) of Mycobacterium bovis BCG has been expected as a medicinal product for tumor immunotherapy. The anti-tumor activity of CWS has been investigated using animal models for many years, but in these studies CWS was administered directly into the tumor or admixed with the tumor. Therefore, we cannot estimate the potent activity of CWS correctly because of the influence of local inflammation during administration. Also, the activation mechanism of innate immunity by CWS was controversial because immune responses were affected by the species or strains of CWS and its purity. [Purpose] We optimized a method for preparing CWS from BCG Tokyo 172 strain (SMP-105), analyzed the activity of SMP-105 for macrophages and determined which TLRs participated in its recognition. We established a proper tumor model not affected by local inflammation at injected sites, and investigated the anti-tumor activity of SMP-105. Also, we compared the activity of SMP-105 with live BCG, which is widely used in superficial bladder carcinoma, in order to estimate the potential of SMP-105. [Methods] SMP-105 was prepared from M. bovis BCG Tokyo 172 strain. Activity for the production of cytokines from macrophages was measured using a mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7. Toll-like receptors for SMP-105 were investigated with a reporter-gene assay, TLR-knocked-down RAW264.7 cells, and macrophages prepared from TLR-KO mice. The anti-tumor activity of SMP-105 and live BCG was evaluated with a lymph node metastasis model using strain 2 guinea pigs bearing line 10 hepatoma. [Results] SMP-105 induced TNF-α in a dose-dependent manner, while live BCG induced TNF-α in lower concentrations than SMP-105. The activation of NF-κB was dependent on TLR2 but not TLR4. The dependency on TLR2 was confirmed using TLR-knocked-down macrophages and TLR-KO macrophages. Weekly administration of 60 μg of SMP-105 and live BCG at a separate site from the implanted tumor suppressed tumor metastasis in draining lymph nodes. [Conclusion] SMP-105 activated macrophages through the TLR2/MyD88 pathway, and SMP-105 showed comparative anti-tumor activity to live BCG. SMP-105 is a promising immunotherapeutic drug.


This work deals with the problem of knowing a group of people that adequately responds to a specific treatment in order to classify community in groups is the objective. In the process to make this classification, a lot of work is necessary to analyze the results from the cluster analysis and obtain the minimal parameters that define a specific group that can be classified as treatment target. Also is presented the algorithm called Custom-clustering to solve this problem.


The purpose of this article is to x-ray corrupt academic practices which, advertently or inadvertently, has plunged Nigerian educational system into a tragic situation of endemicity of examination malpractices and other examination vices. The paper pointed out the neglect of the use of continuous assessment and total dependence on terminal examination which has been seen as the stigma to corrupt academic practices in Nigeria. This work alarmed that if nothing is done to correct the menace of academic corruption the educational system will continue to produce weak primary and secondary education, half baked grandaunts, poor tertiary education, decline of roles of universities, especially in the area of scientific research development, mass failure, examination as source of income through given cost intensive examination (e.g. UME, PUME, WAEC and NECO). The authors, therefore, suggest urgent steps to be taken which includes amendment of section 1, sub-section 9 (g) of the National Policy on Education that gives room for academic corruption with a focus to abolish terminal examinations and promotion examination and rather accommodate fully the use of well developed uniform standard of continuous assessment. It is a high time we need an adequate means to evaluate and assess our pupils/ students who are the leaders of tomorrow. Key words : academic corruption, examination malpractice, continuous assessment, National Policy on Education (NPE), Terminal examination.


Bacterial genetic properties can be readily altered by a range of techniques, for example, when a mixture of recipient bacteria, donor genes, and nano-sized acicular material are stimulated by sliding friction on surface of the hydrogel such as agarose or gellan gum. In this particular case, a phenomenon called the Yoshida effect is responsible. Specially designed apparatus has been developed to investigate this effect in an effort to identify technical applications, such as the quantitative detection of asbestos. Current patents related to plasmid transformation methods for prokaryotes and quantitative detection of environmental asbestos are also presented.


Near Field Communication (NFC) technology is being grown up at enormous speed. NFC technology provides the fastest way to communicate two devices with in a fraction of second. This technology has only been implemented on smart phones so far. Like Bluetooth it works only in short range and data transfer takes place at very low speed. Several security issues are attached with NFC, which is a big concern. Security attacks like eavesdropping, data corruption and modification, interference attacks and theft, are the most dangerous for the customer who is using his/her smart phone for payment purpose. In this paper we present the comparison of NFC with Bluetooth and security analysis of NFC.


This article examines the complex relationship between the hero and the author. Through a reflexive phenomenological tone, it is argued that the hero depicts the emotional seed of the subject itself while the author is the beautiful mind that projects events and worlds by cultivating the intellectual seed. The call of adventure as a ringing bell for the hero and the author, the proclaimed Death of the Author, the almost confirmed Death of the Hero, and the horizon of the Teacher's Death are discussed. In this setting, the fear from the authority of the hero and the author remains imminent. This article attempts to move beyond the horizon of death certificates in order to reach primary frequencies at the nexus between author and hero, derived from the very inner tones of the human psyche that come as a call to take us away to the beautiful world of Aha Erlebnis. The author and the hero – they do matter.


Prenatal exposure of mice to alcohol during days 5 to 11 of gestation resulted in delayed sexual maturation as measured by the time of vaginal opening. Data from some of these mice suggest that vaginal epithelial differentiation may also be altered.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the level of self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer among Malaysian women and its association with socio-demographic and clinical variables.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This cross-sectional study involved 168 women diagnosed with breast cancer. The inclusion criteria were age >18 years old, having histologically confirmed breast cancer, and being diagnosed between January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2012. The exclusion criteria were being illiterate and having cognitive impairment. For data collection patients' medical records and the Cancer Behaviour Inventory-Brief (CBI-B) Malay version questionnaire were used. Simple and multiple logistic regression methods were used to analyse the data.

RESULTS
Patients' mean (SD) age was 51.4 (10.8) years old. Most of the patients were Malays, married, diagnosed at stage 2 breast cancer (41%), and completed their breast cancer treatment. The mean score for self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer was 83.67 (95% CI: 81.87, 85.47). The significant factors positively correlated with self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer were higher educational background and a higher family income. However, factors such as a family history of breast cancer and breast surgery reduced the mean score of self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer.

CONCLUSION
The mean score of self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer in this study was moderate. Self-efficacy for coping with breast cancer in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia was not adequate among sufferers and improvement is needed probably by providing education to these patients.


Complex I is the first enzyme involved in the mitochondrial electron transport chain. With >40 subunits of dual genetic origin, the biogenesis of complex I is highly intricate and poorly understood. We used Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a model system to reveal factors involved in complex I biogenesis. Two insertional mutants, displaying a complex I assembly defect characterized by the accumulation of a 700 kDa subcomplex, were analyzed. Genetic analyses showed these mutations were allelic and mapped to the gene AMC1 (Cre16.g688900) encoding a low-complexity protein of unknown function. The complex I assembly and activity in the mutant was restored by complementation with the wild-type gene, confirming AMC1 is required for complex I biogenesis. The N terminus of AMC1 targets a reporter protein to yeast mitochondria, implying that AMC1 resides and functions in the Chlamydomonas mitochondria. Accordingly, in both mutants, loss of AMC1 function results in decreased abundance of the mitochondrial nd4 transcript, which encodes the ND4 membrane subunit of complex I. Loss of ND4 in a mitochondrial nd4 mutant is characterized by a membrane arm assembly defect, similar to that exhibited by loss of AMC1. These results suggest AMC1 is required for the production of mitochondrially-encoded complex I subunits, specifically ND4. We discuss the possible modes of action of AMC1 in mitochondrial gene expression and complex I biogenesis.


An autopsy case of a 67-year-old man with typical clinical features of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) characterized by impairment of vertical ocular pursuit movement, pseudobulbar palsy, nuchal stiffness, parkinsonism, and dementia is described. In addition to typical pathological changes of PSP, the present case showed fronto-temporal cortical atrophy, accompanied with various Gallyas/tau-positive neuronal and glial structures such as neurofibrillary tangles, pretangle neurons, glial coiled bodies, astrocytic plaques and argyrophilic threads in the cerebral cortex and subcortical nuclei, and many senile plaques throughout the whole cerebral cortex. The present report suggests that PSP and corticobasal degeneration share a common background in neuronal and glial pathologies, that pathological changes of PSP and Alzheimer's disease are mixed in the entorhinal cortex, amygdala. Meynert nucleus, and hypothalamus, and that dementia with frontal lobe-like syndrome in PSP is related to the frontal and temporal cortical pathologies, and is cortical dementia as well as subcortical dementia.


In this paper the wavelet theory of seismogram structure previously proposed by the author has been extended to obtain the form of the seismic disturbance (due to a sharp seismic pulse) at various distances from the source. The solution of Stokes's differential equation is given in the form of a series of wavelet functions , and calculated seismograms are presented to show the manner in which the shape, breadth, and amplitude of the disturbance vary with the distance from the source. Tables are given of the wavelet functions and wavelet-form functions used in the calculations.


Objectives: Although several methods are used in the treatment of intra-articular proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint fractures, there is no universally accepted ideal method, and joint stiffness, deformity and degenerative osteoarthritis remain as significant complications. The aim of this study was to examine the results of patients treated with a handmade dynamic external fixator for PIP fractures delayed for at least 10 days and to investigate whether or not these patients had adequate finger movement.
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in patients treated with a handmade dynamic external fixator for PIP joint fractures in the Orthopaedic Department at the Selcuk University Medical Faculty Hospital. The results of 12 cases were examined in which treatment had been neglected for various reasons, with at least 10 days passing since the injury occurred.
Results: The cases included 1 female and 11 males with a mean age of 25.9 years. The mean time from injury to operation was 12.1 days. The device was left in the finger for a mean of 32.9 days. At the final follow-up examination, 7 patients had full ROM, while 4 patients had full extension, but flexion was restricted, ranging from 5° to 15°, and in 1 case both extension and flexion restriction were 15°. The mean follow-up period was 13.7 months, during which no patient reported any pain, nor were there any findings of osteomyelitis, as determined radiologically or clinically.
Conclusion: Treatment with an external fixator is a method that is quick, inexpensive and easy to apply. Fixation using a handmade dynamic external fixator for the treatment of PIP fractures is safe and technically simple. Additional extensive studies are required on this subject.


GalileoMobile is a non-profit, itinerant, science outreach initiative that brings Astronomy closer to young people in areas with little or no access to outreach programs. We perform astronomy-related activities in schools and communities we visit and encourage follow-up activities through teacher training workshops and the donation of telescopes and other educational resources. GalileoMobile also extends its impact to a worldwide audience through deliverable products. Our work is shared worldwide through the production of documentaries, books and a wide range of Internet resources (OfficialWebsite - www.galileo-mobile.org - and Blog, Facebook page, Google+,Twitter, Youtube and Vimeo). GalileoMobile is an unprecedented initiative promoting science knowledge and the interaction beyond borders through Astronomy while raising awareness for the diversity of human cultures, conveying the message of "unity under the same sky". We take advantage of the local astronomical culture of the visited communities to establish a dialogue between different ways of understanding the world and to share different types of knowledge (historic, scientific, anthropological . . .), encouraging a process of mutual learning.


Several factors have contributed to the growth of BIM usage in the global construction industry, including availability of appropriate software and hardware tools, the opportunity to minimize errors, waste & cost and increasingly competitive markets [1][2]. An emerging approach in the construction industry is the use of 5D-BIM, by combining the traditional three dimensions of a BIM with the schedule as the fourth dimension and cost estimate as the fifth dimension [3]. This approach allows the contractors to better predict the cost of the project, the time-line of the project when these expenses are anticipated to occur, while simultaneously allowing the schedule to be optimized by considering the quantities of materials derived from the model and the productivity rate of construction crews. On the one hand 5D-BIM methods provide an excellent opportunity to connect processes in design, cost and construction methods; on the other hand they call for a significant shift in the way construction companies operate. It is unrealistic to commit extensive resources for a large construction company, towards a re-alignment of their internal processes, while continuing to be competitive and profitable. This paper considers how one construction company in the United States adopted the 5D-BIM methods, the challenges faced in implementing it within the company and the lessons learned in the process. A case-study method was used in an effort to understand the paradigm shift within the company in adopting 5D-BIM. Interviews with key personnel within the company were conducted and content analysis of the data was performed to describe the results. The results from this study show the intricacies of implementing a technology driven paradigm shift to a population of construction experts with a not-so erstwhile philosophy of success within the construction industry. The captains within the company communicated a great appreciation for the 5D-BIM concepts but were unwilling to delve into it whole-heartedly. Several reasons contributed to this attitude, including a reluctance to change by some, motivation to demonstrate immediate profitability and the lack of demand for such endeavours from the owner/designer community. However there were also personnel within the company that quickly adapted to the 5D way of thinking about construction and were keen to proceed with using the methodology on future projects. The advantages of using 5D-BIM and the problems encountered in implementing it are analysed in the results section of the paper.


There is substantial knowledge about how individuals and organizations – which we refer to collectively as entities – adopt and use new channels. However, less is known about how this relates to their use of the incumbent channel that the new channel may replace, particularly how this relationship varies across entities and over time. We study this both theoretically and empirically. First, we develop and validate a new typology of how entities' use of new and incumbent channels evolves over time. Second, we generate novel insights about the post-adoption use behaviors of entities that adopt the new channel at approximately the same time. Third, we analyze how entities' use of new and incumbent channels varies based on time of entry, which is when an entity first becomes active with either channel. Fourth, we identify and validate other explanatory variables for why entities transition between states of new/incumbent channel use. Our results contribute to theory about the adoption/diffusion of new channels, and they contribute to practice by giving managers tools to understand and predict how entities' use of new and incumbent channels evolves over time.


Cancers of the stomach, gastroesophageal junction and esophagus are a major cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. In Western countries, adenocarcinomas of the distal esophagus, gastroesophageal junction and proximal stomach have been increasing in frequency more rapidly than other malignancies. The majority of newly diagnosed patients present with advanced disease and the overall survival remains dismal at approximately 10% at 5 years. Better understanding of tumor biology has led to the development of promising novel therapeutic strategies. There is therefore increasing optimism that some of these approaches will improve the outcomes in these increasingly common cancers. Given the success of antiangiogenesis as a therapeutic strategy in various types of cancer, there are ongoing efforts to investigate the utility of other targeted therapies in the treatment of gastric and esophageal cancers. This review will focus on novel therapeutic targets other than angiogenesis and provide a rationale for the further clinical evaluation of these agents in patients with upper gastrointestinal tract cancers.


Driver mental fatigue is a major influential factor that results in inattentive driver condition ultimately to fatal crashes. In this paper, the driver mental fatigue patterns based on the driver's body postural behaviour are identified using a novel adaptive pattern recognition technique. The experiments were conducted on 20 healthy subjects in a MATHWORKS simulated driving environment. The posture of the driver was measured using the XSENS motion capture system. To monitor the actions performed under the influence of mental fatigue, variations in the acceleration of the head, neck, and sternum were extracted and deployed in an unsupervised manner. A fully adaptive version of the symbolic aggregate approximation algorithm based on unsupervised clustering was developed that identifies the time-series patterns of driver fatigue posture. The time-variant fatigue patterns were dynamically segmented and symbolized according to the discrepancy in the postural behaviour. The experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm successfully detects the time-variant fatigue patterns of multivariate dataset compared to the original symbolic pattern recognition tool. The limitations of the current approach and future work in improving driver safety are explored.


This paper explains a frequent coexistence of deficient property rights and heavy bureaucracies. We suggest that in environments with insecure ownership bureaucracies substitute for enforceable contracts. We study irreversible investment in an asset, and model the property allocation as a game between a ruler and investors. Since the ex ante ownership allocation is not enforceable, an ex post share increase is optimal for the ruler. His share adjustment is costly; the heavier the bureaucratic machine the higher his cost. Bureaucracy improves investment incentives by reducing the wedge between the ruler's ex ante and ex post equilibrium shares.


ABSTRACT
                  Objectives
               : Nucleoporin 210 (NUP210) is a membrane-spanning nuclear protein known to be involved in the development of solid tumours; however, its role in haematological cancers has not been investigated. This study aimed to assess the expression and prognostic potential of NUP210 gene expression in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

                     Methods

               : In this study, we assessed the expression and prognostic potential of NUP210 gene expression in patients with AML through bioinformatics analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas and Genotype-Tissue Expression databases.

                     Results

               :The expression of NUP210 mRNA in bone marrow was significantly increased in patients with AML compared to that in healthy individuals and was correlated with AML subtypes according to French-American-British classification as well as with bone marrow blast counts and patient sex (P < 0.05). The high NUP210 expression level was an independent biomarker of poor prognosis in the total AML population (P < 0.05) and separately in female but not male patients.

                     Conclusion

               : Our results of NUP210 mRNA analyses revealed, for the first time, that NUP210 transcription was upregulated in patients with AML and positively associated with unfavourable AML prognosis, suggesting that NUP210 expression can be used as guidance in patient stratification for targeted therapy.


A government delegates a build-operate-transfer project to a private OIˆrm. In the contracting stage, the operating cost is unknown. The OIˆrm can increase the likelihood of facing a low cost, rather than a high cost, by exerting costly e§ort when building the infrastructure. Once this is in place, the OIˆrm learns the true cost and begins to operate. We show that, under limited commitment, if the break-up of the partnership is su¢ciently costly to the government and/or information problems are su¢ciently severe, the contract is not robust to renegotiation unless it has a longer duration when the realized cost is low. This result is at odds with the prescription of the literature on aI exible-term contracts, which recommends a longer duration when operating conditions are unfavourable.


A palynological study was conducted on seven species of Byttneria Lofl. The objectives of this study was to understand the
variation in micromorphological and harmomegarthic characteristics of pollen in Byttneria species in Malaysia and Singapore.
In doing so, more information on the species of Sterculiaceae s.s family can be added. Dried pollen samples of seven Byttneria
species were selected in this study, namely B. scabrida Ridl., B. pilosa Roxb., B. elliptica Pohl, B. curtisii Oliv., B. reinwardtii
Korth., B. maingayi Mast. and B. jackiana Wall. Methods involved were acetolysis techniques, single-grain technique, and
observation under light microscope and scanning electron microscope. Common characters shared by all studied species
were porate pollen class, triporate aperture, and triangular outline. Variation in pollen characteristics includes ratio of exine
thickness, pollen size, pore width and height, amb; shape and measurements. These characters are valuable in assisting
identification of taxa group that can be used to differentiate between species in the genus. This study proved that pollen
morphological characteristics of Byttneria have taxonomic values in identification and differentiation of species in subfamily
Byttnerioideae and Sterculiaceae s. s.


Previous methods for measuring the range and temporal course of adaptation to thermal stimuli are difficult to use. A technique requiring subjects to adjust the temperature of the stimulator to maintain a just-de-tectable sensation is described. Complete adaptation occurs to temperatures within the range between 28� and 37.5� C in about 25 minutes.


Computer architects rely heavily on simulation to explore increasingly complex design spaces. Keeping simulations within tractable limits forces architects to evaluate only subsets of design parameters, which must be carefully chosen to yield accurate reflections of the benefits and costs of a new architecture. As a first step in formulating a methodology to appropriately evaluate processor design parameters for simulation, we develop an approach based on statistical correlation analysis, which measures the interaction between processor parameters. The resulting parameter correlation matrix (PCM) allows architects to determine how parameters affect each other, which parameter variations introduce bottlenecks and where, and what tradeoffs can be made to maintain performance while optimizing power consumption. This approach can be used to constrain a simulation model, narrowing the design space for optimization. As an initial demonstration, we develop and evaluate a preliminary analytic model for the instruction fetch unit (IFU).


Standardized extracts of Echinacea, cat's claw, and saw palmetto were each evaluated for ability to activate macrophage and natural killer cells, in vitro, using two independent measures of activation for each immune cell population. A standard series of exposure concentrations were tested for each herbal extract in a panel of four assays that evaluated macrophage phagocytosis, macrophage synthesis of interleukin-12, natural killer (NK) cell cytocidal activity (synthesis of granzyme B), and NK cell synthesis of interferon-gamma. Macrophage phagocytosis was stimulated by all three herbs tested: saw palmetto (up to 2.3-fold, P < .05), Echinacea (up to 3.6-fold, P < .01), and cat's claw (up to 4.7-fold, P < .01). Additionally, NK cell synthesis of interferon-gamma was stimulated by saw palmetto (up to 6.3-fold, P < .01) and Echinacea (up to 8.1 fold, P < .01) but not by exposure to cat's claw. None of the three herbs stimulated macrophage synthesis of interleukin-12 or NK cell synthesis of granzyme B. Comparison of the in vitro data with our earlier observations that cat's claw and Echinacea (but not saw palmetto) were each effective in reducing B16/F10 lung tumor colony formation in C57BL/6J mice suggests macrophage activation is the primary means by which these herbs modulate the immune system. Thus, macrophage activation (phagocytosis) may provide a potentially higher throughput method to identify herbal extracts with in vivo stimulatory effects.


The inst,antar:.vas kinematic and static characteristics of wrist joints are analyzed. Velocity ratio and mechanical advantage have been used for charxierizing single-inpuesingle-output mechanisms. These concepts are extended to multi-inputmulti-output mechanisms in order to analyze robotic devices, specifically, wrist joints. The kinematic and static performance of wrist joints and their singularities are analyzed in terms of the generalized velocity ratio and the generalized mechanical advantage. Methods for avoiding singularities and improving the kinematic and static performances are then presented. The kinematic and static performance is optimized by varying the kinematic structure and the geometry of wrist joints. In particular the geometry of the last link, on which the end effector is mounted, is modified so that the singular points are moved from the middle of the workspace to its boundaries. The kinematic and static performance is further improved by determining the optimal configuration for performing a given task. An optimization method is developed to find the configuration that provides the most uniform velocity ratio and an adequate mechanical advantage in all directions. The kinematic and static performance of two different wrist joints are then evaluated and improved using this design methodology


A three-dimensional numerical analysis was carried out on incompressible flows in butterfly valves by using commercial FLUENT/UNS code. Characteristics of complex flows including cavitation effect were investigated for different valve disk angles. The butterfly-valves that had different disk angles and different disk shapes were compared with each other in detail. This study focused on the flow analysis in the conventional butterfly valve and the newly designed butterfly valve in order to prevent cavitation. The newly designed valve shows great improvement on performance and endurance.


With the recent development of novel, more potent cancer treatment, in particular, immune 'checkpoint inhibitors', cases of neurological immune-related adverse events are on the rise. Although rare, this includes Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). We present the case of a 68-year-old male who was admitted with sudden onset of worsening neurological symptoms following immunotherapy treatment. These symptoms progressed quickly to respiratory failure requiring intubation and admission to the intensive care unit. He was thoroughly investigated and is believed to have an axonal neuropathy in the form of Miller Fisher Syndrome (MFS) variant of GBS, secondary to immunotherapy treatment. He was initially treated with intravenous immunoglobulin, and later, perhaps more effectively, with high dose steroids which significantly improved his symptoms. This case of checkpoint inhibitor-induced MFS is one of few in the literature and is an important reminder of the potential for new immunotherapeutic agents to cause significant neurotoxic effects. These should be promptly and thoroughly investigated, in particular, as the management of these patients can differ from standard treatments used in these conditions.


A study was conducted using twenty Friesian x Bunaji heifers to evaluate the effect of supplementing inorganic feed grade Selenium and Vitamin E on the haematological and biochemical profile. The study consists of four treatments with five animals per Treatment in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Treatment 1 served as Control without Selenium or Vitamin E supplementation. Treatment 2 was supplemented with 3 mg of feed gradeSelenium. Treatment 3 with 20 mg of feed grade Vitamin E. Treatment 4 had a combination of 3 mg feed grade Selenium and 20 mg of Vitamin E. Two sets of blood samples were taken from the animal via jugular venipuncture using a 10 mL syringe fitted with a needle into sample bottles for haematological and biochemical analysis. Neutrophils (19.78 - 29.88%) were similar (p<0.05) and Se supplementation recording the highest value. Packed cell volume(19.14 – 22.22%), Haemoglobin, Red blood cells, White blood cells, Eosinophil, Monocytes, Basophil and Lymphocytes analyzed were similar (p>0.05). It was observed that there were similarities (p>0.05) in Glucose, Serum protein, globulin, urea N, albumin, MDA protein, AST, ALT and ALP analyzed except for GSH-Px (22.38 – 24.70 μ/ml). Glutathione peroxidase was higher (p<0.05) in Friesian x Bunaji heifers supplemented with vitamin E and lowest with no supplementation. All parameters analyzed were within the normal range for apparently healthy cattle thereby suggesting that Selenium and Vitamin E as antioxidant are effective in scavenging for free radicals and reducing oxidative damage.


Optical Coherence Tomography produces high resolution tomographic in in vivo imaging of biological tissues. The study reviews OCT images of two patients with varied retinal pathologies to determine its usefulness in aiding evaluation and management of retinal diseases. The patients were imaged using OCT conventional fundus photography and angiography. A case each of premacular haemorrhage and idiopathic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, are presented highlighting the merits of OCT. OCT establishes the accurate diagnosis of retinal diseases and in monitoring response to therapy. It is complementary to clinical techniques of direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy, conventional fundus photography, fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography thus should be made readily available for use in the evaluation of retinal disorders to enhance their management.


As Power Line has been already installed over 60% of a residential area all over the world, Broadband Service has been possible using high-speed PLC(Power Line Communication) without new access line installed for Internet access. Because of such reason, PLC is researched as the most suitable service for Last Mile Solution. But, Power Line is designed for transmitting electric power, so peripheral Wireless Communication System is affected by a leak of electric wave. In this paper, we propose a High Performance Notch Filter algorithm in comparison with a existing notch filter for reduction of interference between existing Wireless Communication Service and Power Line Service. In addition, we implement the Notch Filter emulator appling a High Performance Notch Filter and using a embedded board.


Termites are among the few arthropods that emit methane to the atmosphere, which is a significant source of global greenhouse gas due to their huge biomass on earth. In this study, phylogenetic diversity of Archaea of five termite species from different lineages were analyzed based on 16S rRNA genes. Archaea associated with wood‐feeding lower termite, R. chinensis were exclusively Methanobrevibacter in the order Methanobacteriales. This type of methanogens was also found in Nasutitermes sp. and Microcerotermes sp. but not in the fungus‐cultivating termites, Odontotermes formosanus and Macrotermes barneyi, which harbor Archaea of the order Methanoplasmatales and Methanosarcinales in their guts. Archaeal diversity of wood‐feeding higher termites was higher than wood‐feeding lower termites. The highest archaeal diversity was found in Nasutitermes sp. In addition to methanogens affiliated with the orders Methanobacteriales, Methanomicrobiales, and Methanoplasmatales, 37% of archaeal clones were affiliated with non‐methanogenic Thaumarchaeota. The results of this study will be significant for further understanding of symbiotic relationship between intestinal microbiota and termites.


To evaluate a sequential extraction procedure to separate chemical forms of soil microelements, I fractionated 16 soils, both surface and subsoils. The purpose of the sequential extractions was to solubilize the Mn, Cu, Fe, and Zn in the exchangeable, organic matter, Mn oxide, amorphous Fe oxide, and crystalline Fe oxide fractions. The solid portion remaining was separated into sand, silt, and clay sizes, and each was dissolved and analyzed for the above elements. Soil properties were determined, and whole soils were analyzed for total microelement content. Manganese was primarily in the organic and Mn oxide fractions, whereas Cu and Zn were found mainly in the crystalline Fe oxide, silt, and clay fractions for the fine-textured soils. In sandy soils the Mn was predominantly in the sand, and Cu was in the Fe oxide fractions. Iron was relatively higher in the organic matter, and Zn was relatively higher in the exchangeable and organic fractions in the sandy soils, compared with the fine-textured soils. High correlation coefficients were found among such soil properties as CEC, organic matter, and clay versus metals removed from the various fractions. The sums of the fractions versus whole soil digestion values compared favorably. The fractionation scheme presented was found to be satisfactory for a wide range of soils.


Alternative splicing transitions occur during organ development, and, in numerous diseases, splicing programs revert to fetal isoform expression. We previously found that extensive splicing changes occur during postnatal mouse heart development in genes encoding proteins involved in vesicle-mediated trafficking. However, the regulatory mechanisms of this splicing-trafficking network are unknown. Here, we found that membrane trafficking genes are alternatively spliced in a tissue-specific manner, with striated muscles exhibiting the highest levels of alternative exon inclusion. Treatment of differentiated muscle cells with chromatin-modifying drugs altered exon inclusion in muscle cells. Examination of several RNA-binding proteins revealed that the poly-pyrimidine tract binding protein 1 (PTBP1) and quaking regulate splicing of trafficking genes during myogenesis, and that removal of PTBP1 motifs prevented PTBP1 from binding its RNA target. These findings enhance our understanding of developmental splicing regulation of membrane trafficking proteins which might have implications for muscle disease pathogenesis.


Purpose
Humanity has a weakness in how we approach the "challenge" of using outer space. This paper aims to show how the global and national frameworks that address our planetary activities and crises are inadequate for the opportunities and challenges of life in outer space.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw on multidisciplinary perspectives to refine an organising governance framework that better showcases the challenges and pathways needed for living and thriving in space-age. The authors prioritise two key pillars and overview the practical and social implications that space-age humanity must address.

Findings
Social sciences and humanities are vital to problematising post-war colonial legacies of governance by distinguishing the unique and overlooked challenges for thriving and working offworld and identifying progressive research agendas.

Research limitations/implications
The highlighted agenda has implications for collaborative research institutes and project design. As the vital basis for continuous learning, university-based research institutes span bodies of knowledge, experience, convention and imagination that can support vibrant and overdue debate on good governance that is out of this world.

Practical implications
This expansive approach has practical implications for the decision-making processes and subjects of spacescape, from reconciling the space commons with prospecting and human occupation to potential governance regimes that capitalise on the zeal for moving beyond merely "existing" off-world.

Social implications
Examining the governance deficit as we pursue developing spacescape frontiers is an enriching (not reductionist) agenda that deliberately troubles the existing and emerging regime for governing our scientific and imagined off-world society.

Originality/value
This framework appeals to humanity's highest evolution in co-producing a fair and flourishing off-world governance framework (beyond replicating planetary regimes).


This paper proposes hardware solutions to the computation for the trigonometric and square root functions of inverse kinematics. They are based on an existing pipeline arithmetic which employs the CORDIC(Coordinate Rotation Digital Computer) algorithm. This integrated approach enhances computational efficiency by reducing the duplicate calculations of this functions and maximizing the parallel/pipelining processing for real-time robot control. The reliability of an onboard computer for space robot mostly depends on the reliability of the memory module. According to the fault mode in aerospace, the reconfigurable EDAC (Error Detect and Correct) system including Hamming coding and TMR(Triple Modular Redundancy) function on a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is implemented. The chip also implements peripheral controller such as AD interface and power control module. The whole system can be implemented in a single chip and the hardware system is more flexible and compact. Characteristics and performance analysis of the architecture are discussed through experiments.


Current funding constraints and difficulty in gaining environmental and public approval for large-scale construction projects has forced the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to continue considering alternative solutions to roadway widening to mitigate congestion. One area for potentially improving freeway performance is ramp locations. Current ramp treatments only address point demand. Applying managed lanes operational strategies to ramps could maximize existing capacity, manage demand, offer choices, improve safety, and generate revenue. This project investigates the application of these demand management strategies to mainlane ramps and managed lane ramp operations during the peak period; i.e., "managed ramps." Such strategies could include peak-period use of both mainlane or managed lanes entrance and exit ramps by user group, possibly influencing mode choice, enhancing mobility, improving safety in a freeway corridor, and helping ensure the integrity and free-flow operations of a managed lanes facility. This research: (1) investigated under what conditions should managed ramps be considered for both mainlanes and managed lanes based on relevant factors including target users in the corridor, congestion level, ramp spacing/density, ramp volumes, accident history, etc.; (2) assessed the impacts and benefits of managed ramps; and (3) developed general guidelines and best practices for operating and enforcing managed ramps.


A three-dimensional body shape is problematic for camouflage because overhead lighting produces a luminance gradient across the body's surface. Countershading, a form of patterning where animals are darkest on their uppermost surface, is thought to counteract this luminance gradient and enhance concealment, but the mechanisms of protection remain unclear. Surprisingly, no study has examined how countershading alters prey contrast, or investigated how the presence of a dorsoventral luminance gradient affects detection under controlled viewing conditions. It has also been suggested that the direction of the dorsoventral luminance gradient (darkest or lightest on top) may interfere with predators' abilities to resolve prey's three-dimensional shape, yet this intriguing idea has never been tested. We used live fish predators (western rainbowfish, Melanotaenia australis) and computer-generated prey images to compare the detectability of uniformly pigmented (i.e. non-countershaded) prey with that of optimally countershaded prey of varying contrasts against the background. Optimally countershaded prey were difficult for predators to detect, and the probability and speed of detection depended on prey luminance contrast with the background. In comparison, non-countershaded prey were always highly detectable, even though their average luminance closely matched the luminance of the background. Our findings suggest that uniformly pigmented three-dimensional prey are highly conspicuous to predators because overhead lighting increases luminance contrast between different body parts or between the body and the background. We found no evidence for the notion that countershading interferes with predator perception of three-dimensional form.


This article is devoted to the stabilization of an original circular beam-and-ball system. This system is under actuated one. The control law for this system is designed, using the Jordan form of its model, linearized near the unstable equilibrium. The limits on the voltage, fed to the motor, are taken into account explicitly. The linear model of the circular beam-and-ball system has two unstable modes. The feedback control is designed such that the basin of attraction occupies considerable part of the controllability domain. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the efficiency of this control law.


【Therapeutic ultrasound which is developed for rehabilitation therapy have already been used for healing joint contracture, synechia, acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Medical devices for pain-relief and healing using therapeutic ultrasound are actively being developed. This study measured the change of PTT with the transmitted ultrasound through the human body to find out the increase of compliance of blood vessels. Measurement method of PTT in this study is employed as useful ways to acquire physiological information of patients in the clinical case in order to measure the change of mechanical characteristics of blood vessels. This study confirmed the PTT change of rehabilitation patients through the thermal effects of ultrasound by using PTT and also found that it is possible to increase PTT by adjusting the warm water and ultrasound. The increase of PTT means the decrease of the pulse wave velocity from the cardiovascular system to the peripheral arteries. The physiological effects occurred using the warm water and ultrasound.】


 M Santos Medina Jorge Rodríguez Nápoles No 50 Altos, e/ C. Barrera y J. Espinosa. Buena Vista. Las Tunas, Cuba. E-mail address: firstname.lastname@example.com ABSTRACT Introduction: Left ventricular free wall rupture is an infrequent complication of acute myocardial infarction, and a cause of sudden death. Objective: To determine risk factors for heart rupture in patients with acute myocardial infarction in the Cardiology Department of Las Tunas. Method: Case-control analytical study in 25 patients who died due to heart rupture, verified by pathological anatomy between 2011 and 2015. Descriptive statistics were used through percentage analysis and arithmetic mean for the descriptive variables. Risk factors were determined using Epi Info version 6 which determined odds ratios (OR), confidence and probability intervals for a 99%. Results: Sixty percent of the deceased were male, with an average age of 72±16 years. Previous infarction and less than 24 hours-hospital stay predominated. Elevation of the creatine kinase enzyme above 1200 units (OR 3.23), late arrival to the first medical contact (OR 2.92) and presence of more than 7 affected leads (OR 2.57) on the electrocardiogram, were risk factors for heart rupture. Conclusions: Elevated creatine kinase values, late arrival and presence of 7 or more affected leads in the electrocardiogram are risk factors for heart rupture.


Quantum evolution of a scalar field's modes propagating on quantum spacetime of a collapsing homogeneous dust ball is written effectively, as an evolution of the same quantum modes on a (semiclassical) dressed geometry. When the backreaction of the field is discarded, the classical spacetime singularity is resolved due to quantum gravity effects and is replaced by a quantum bounce on the dressed collapse background. In the presence of backreaction, the emergent (interior) dressed geometry becomes mode dependent and the energy density associated with the backreaction of each mode scales as a radiation fluid. Semiclassical dynamics of this so-called rainbow dressed background is analyzed. It turns out that the backreaction effects speed up the occurrence of the bounce in comparison to the case where only a dust fluid is present. By matching the interior and exterior regions at the boundary of dust, a mode-dependent black hole geometry emerges as the exterior spacetime. Properties of such a rainbow black hole are discussed. That mode dependence causes, in particular, a chromatic aberration in the gravitational lensing process of which maximal magnitude is estimated via calculation of the so-called Einstein angle.


Several neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the accumulation of aggregated misfolded proteins. These pathological agents have been suggested to propagate in the brain via mechanisms similar to that observed for the prion protein, where a misfolded variant is transferred from an affected brain region to a healthy one, thereby inducing the misfolding and/or aggregation of correctly folded copies. This process has been characterized for several proteins, such as α-synuclein, tau, amyloid beta (Aβ) and less extensively for huntingtin and TDP-43. α-synuclein, tau, TDP-43 and huntingtin are intracellular proteins, and their aggregates are located in the cytosol or nucleus of neurons. They have been shown to spread between cells and this event occurs, at least partially, via secretion of these protein aggregates in the extracellular space followed by re-uptake. Conversely, Aβ aggregates are found mainly extracellularly, and their spreading occurs in the extracellular space between brain regions. Due to the inherent nature of their spreading modalities, these proteins are exposed to components of the extracellular matrix (ECM), including glycans, proteases and core matrix proteins. These ECM components can interact with or process pathological misfolded proteins, potentially changing their properties and thus regulating their spreading capabilities. Here, we present an overview of the documented roles of ECM components in the spreading of pathological protein aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases with the objective of identifying the current gaps in knowledge and stimulating further research in the field. This could potentially lead to the identification of druggable targets to slow down the spreading and/or progression of these pathologies.


A program is first-order reducible (FO-reducible) w.r.t. a set IC of integrity constraints if there exists a first-order theory T such that the set of models for T is exactly the set of intended models for the program w.r.t. all possible EDBs. In this case, we say that P is FO-reducible to T w.r.t. IC. For FO-reducible programs, it is possible to characterize, using first-order logic implications, properties of programs that are related to all possible EDBs as in the database context. These properties include, among others, containment of programs, independence of updates w.r.t. queries and integrity constraints, and characterization and implication of integrity constraints in programs, all of which have no known proof procedures. Therefore, many important problems formalized in a nonstandard logic can be dealt with by using the rich reservoir of first-order theorem-proving tools, provided that the program is FO-reducible. The following classes of programs are shown to be FO-reducible: (1) a stratified acyclic program P is FO-reducible to comp(P)/spl cup/IC w.r.t. IC for any set IC of constraints; (2) a general chained program P is FO-reducible to comp(P')/spl cup/IC w.r.t. certain acyclicity constraints IC; and (3) a bounded program P is FO-reducible to comp(P')/spl cup/IC w.r.t. any set IC of constraints, where P' is a nonrecursive program equivalent to P. Some heuristics for constructing FO-reducible programs are described. >


New River Gorge National River includes 85.3 km (53.0 mi) of the New River and occupies over 25,123 ha (62,080 ac) in Summers, Raleigh, and Fayette Counties of southern West Virginia. The vascular flora was surveyed from September 1992 through October 1994. A total of 909 taxa of vascular plants representing 448 genera and 131 families was recorded. Seventy-nine percent of the taxa recorded are native to West Virginia. Currently 1342 vascular plant taxa have been documented from the New River Gorge as a result of this work as well as the works of Grafton and McGraw, and Phillips. A total of 27 taxa reported in this study have some special designation of rarity in West Virginia. Of the 27 rare taxa, 13 are new records for the New River Gorge. Fifty new populations of these rare taxa were discovered. Eleven natural plant communities were described according to the dominant species as well as certain recurring physical features. A comparison of the flora of New River Gorge with the flora of other river gorges in the central Appalachian Mountains indicates that New River Gorge appears to be, floristically, one of the most diverse river gorges in the central and southern Appalachians.


The magnetostriction effect, the change in the mechanical properties of a magnetic material in an external magnetic field, has been studied for possible technological applications such as actuators. We present the fabrication of a multilayered magnetocapacitor containing magnetic layers of Ni0.98Co0.02Fe2O4 (NCFO) and compare it with our prior magnetocapacitor in which CoFe2O4 (CFO) and CoNiFe (CNF) were used as the magnetic layers. In particular, we measured the surface/interface microstructures and the change in the lattice constant of the BaTiO3 (BTO) film in NCFO/BTO/NCFO, CFO/BTO/CFO, and CNF/BTO/CNF multilayered thin films. Our study suggests that there is a correlation exists between the magnetocapacitance and the lattice constant of BTO, which varies with the type of ferromagnetic (FM) material embedded in the magnetic layer.


OSA is increasingly being identified as an important health issue. It is typified by repeated episodes of upper airway collapse during sleep leading to occasional hypoxaemia, sleep fragmentation and poor sleep quality. OSA is also being considered as an independent risk factor for hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, leading to increased multimorbidity and mortality. Cluster analysis, a powerful statistical set of techniques, may help in investigating and classifying homogeneous groups of patients with similar OSA characteristics. This study aims to investigate the (possible) different groups of patients in an OSA population, and to analyze the relationships among the main clinical variables in each group to better understand the impact of OSA on patients. Our results show that in a general population of subjects afferent to the sleep centre three different communities of OSA patients can be identified.
 The first has a very severe disease (AHI 65.91 ± 22.47), and sleep disorder has a strong impact on daily life: low level of diurnal PaO2 (77.39 ± 11.64 mmHg), high prevalence of Hypertension (64%). The second with less severe disease (AHI 28.88 ± 17.13) in which sleep disorders seems to be less important for diurnal PaO2 and have a minimum impact on comorbidity; and the last one with very severe OSA (AHI 57.26 ± 15.09) but with low risk of nocturnal hypoxemia (T90 11.58 ± 8.54) less sleepy (ESS 10.00 ± 4.77).


Any rotorcraft on Mars will fly in a low-pressure and dusty environment. It is well known that helicopters on Earth become highly charged due, in part, to triboelectric effects when flying in sandy conditions. We consider the possibility that the Mars Helicopter Scout (MHS), called Ingenuity, flying at Mars as part of the Mars 2020 Perseverance mission, will also become charged due to grain-rotor triboelectric interactions. Given the low Martian atmospheric pressure of ∼5 Torr, the tribocharge on the blade could become intense enough to stimulate gas breakdown near the surface of the rotorcraft. We modeled the grain–blade interaction as a line of current that forms along the blade edge in the region where grain–blade contacts are the greatest. This current then spreads throughout the connected quasi-conductive regions of the rotorcraft. Charge builds up on the craft, and the dissipative pathway to remove charge is back into the atmosphere. We find that for blade tribocharging currents that form in an ambient atmospheric dust load, system current balance and charge dissipation can be accomplished via the nominal atmospheric conductive currents. However, at takeoff and landing, the rotorcraft could be in a rotor-created particulate cloud, leading to local atmospheric electrical breakdown near the rotorcraft. We especially note that the atmospheric currents in the breakdown are not large enough to create any hazard to Ingenuity itself, but Ingenuity operations can be considered a unique experiment that provides a test of the electrical properties of the Martian near-surface atmosphere.


A microdischarge (MD) vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light source is fired onto a N2–NO (99.92 : 0.08%) target gas. The minor gas constituent, NO, was chosen for its ionization potential (9.23 eV) and photoionization cross-section (1.4 × 10−18 cm2) at the wavelength of interest (121.6 nm, 10.2 eV). The result is a plasma generated entirely by volume photoionization in a N2–NO background. Using a very low electric field amplitude, charge carriers are drifted though the photoplasma at picoampere levels, serving as a non-invasive diagnostic. Using a simple one-dimensional fluid approximation for the low electric field condition, theoretical predictions of photoplasma current were found to be in meaningful agreement with experimental data. The impact of direct photoionization and pre-ionization on nanosecond timescale high voltage breakdown yielded two primary observations: (1) a significant reduction in the formative delay time necessary for spark formation, and (2) almost complete elimination of the statistical delay time. Again utilizing one-dimensional fluid approximations, reasonable agreement between experimental and simulated breakdown voltage was observed. Utilizing the same VUV source to illuminate a HV spark gap biased to about 95% self-breakdown voltage revealed that direct volume photoionization alone was insufficient to trigger breakdown of the high voltage gap. However, permitting electrode illumination, the same source was found to be capable of triggering breakdown in the undervoltaged gap, albeit with a large temporal jitter.


There is a certain relationship among stock return rate, market return rate and risk-free interest rate, which is worth discussing, and it is helpful for us to analyze stocks and evaluate their prices. I have found that the market return rate and risk-free rate have correlation through multiple regression, and other stock's return rate can affect the target stock to some extent. The stock return rate is positively related to the market interest rate and inversely related to the risk-free interest rate.


OBJECTIVES
We compared the results of tonsillectomy performed by classical dissection and bipolar cautery dissection in pediatric patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A total of 201 pediatric patients were randomly assigned to two tonsillectomy groups. Ninety-five patients (62 boys, 33 girls; mean age 7+/-3 years) underwent bipolar cautery tonsillectomy, and 106 patients (58 boys, 48 girls; mean age 8+/-3 years) underwent classical dissection tonsillectomy. Patients were compared with respect to bleeding during tonsillectomy, operation time, tonsil volumes, primary and secondary bleeding, severity of pain at the first hour and on the tenth day, and time to first solid food intake.

RESULTS
With bipolar cautery tonsillectomy, the mean operation time, amount of perioperative bleeding, and pain score at the first hour were significantly lower (p<0.001). However, the mean pain score on the tenth day was significantly higher with cautery tonsillectomy, which significantly prolonged initiation of solid food intake (p<0.001). There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to tonsil volumes and initiation of cold fluid nutrition at the third postoperative hour (p>0.05). In the late postoperative period, one patient in each group required intervention under general anesthesia to control bleeding.

CONCLUSION
Merits and demerits of both techniques should be taken into consideration for appropriate patient selection for the two tonsillectomy methods.


Currently, Romania ranks first in Europe with regard to cervical cancer mortality. A new solution proposed for optimizing cytology-based screening, before seeing the risk associated with minor abnormalities results, is the use of molecular markers. This study concerns atypical squamous of undetermined significance (ASC-US) results, the grey zone of cytology that hides up to 15% high-grade lesions, to see how dual immunocytochemistry (ICC) staining for p16INK4a∕Ki67 help to better identify and manage high-risk (HR) ASC-US patients. We included and reviewed 183 cases with ASC-US results and p16INK4a∕Ki67 double staining (DS) performed in MICOMI Clinic (Bucharest) during 2014-2016. All patients were referred for colposcopy and biopsy if appreciated as necessary and followed-up at six and 12 months. One DS(+)∕HR human papillomavirus (HPV) negative case was positive for HPV73 Group IIB International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The mean age for ASC-US in our study group was 32 years, with a median of 31 years and 31% of patients were aged 25-29 years. The sensibility of p16INK4a∕Ki67 double immunostaining was 100%, the specificity 88%, the positive predictive value (PPV) was 82%, and the negative predictive value (NPV) was 100%. The use of p16INK4a∕Ki67 ICC test optimizes the medical approach towards screening or monitoring especially in ASC-US HR HPV(+) young patients, unnecessary colposcopies are avoided thus invasive gestures at nulliparous are limited.


Feature selection is of great importance in Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) analysis. This problem has been solved using some meta-heuristic algorithms such as GA, PSO, ACO and so on. In this work two novel hybrid meta-heuristic algorithms i.e. Sequential GA and LA (SGALA) and Mixed GA and LA (MGALA), which are based on Genetic algorithm and learning automata for QSAR feature selection are proposed. SGALA algorithm uses advantages of Genetic algorithm and Learning Automata sequentially and the MGALA algorithm uses advantages of Genetic Algorithm and Learning Automata simultaneously. We applied our proposed algorithms to select the minimum possible number of features from three different datasets and also we observed that the MGALA and SGALA algorithms had the best outcome independently and in average compared to other feature selection algorithms. Through comparison of our proposed algorithms, we deduced that the rate of convergence to optimal result in MGALA and SGALA algorithms were better than the rate of GA, ACO, PSO and LA algorithms. In the end, the results of GA, ACO, PSO, LA, SGALA, and MGALA algorithms were applied as the input of LS-SVR model and the results from LS-SVR models showed that the LS-SVR model had more predictive ability with the input from SGALA and MGALA algorithms than the input from all other mentioned algorithms. Therefore, the results have corroborated that not only is the predictive efficiency of proposed algorithms better, but their rate of convergence is also superior to the all other mentioned algorithms.


Seismicity quiescences are expected to occur in places where the stress has been decreased, in particular following large main shocks. However, such quiescences can be delayed by hours to years and be preceded by an initial phase of earthquake triggering. This can explain previous analyses arguing that seismicity shadows are rarely observed, since they can only be seen after this triggering phase is over. Such is the case of the main rupture zone, which experiences the strongest aftershock activity despite having been coseismically unloaded by up to tens of bars. The 1999 M w 7.6 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake is characterized by the existence of several such delayed quiescences, especially off the Chelungpu fault on which the earthquake took place. We here investigate whether these delays can be explained by a model of heterogeneous static-stress transfer coupled with a rate-and-state friction law. We model the distribution of coseismic small-scale stress change τ by a Gaussian law with mean tau bar and standard deviation σ τ . The latter measures the level of local heterogeneity of the coseismic change in stress. The model is shown to mimic the earthquake time series very well. Robust inversion of the tau bar and σ τ parameters can be achieved at various locations, although on-fault seismicity has not been observed for a sufficiently long time to provide more than lower bounds on those estimates for the Chelungpu fault. Several quiescences have delays that can be well explained by local stress heterogeneity, even at relatively large distances from the Chi-Chi earthquake.


Rational choice theory relies on premises that are correct and complete; but, in general, neither can be assured. Knowledge is an open system of selected relationships and the adequacy of our representations of phenomena is always subject to Knightian uncertainty. The management of industrial research projects requires the exploration of this uncertainty, with the aid of provisionally closed models. Systems are defined by their elements and their connections, and the incompleteness of connections aids adjustment to external change and also promotes novelty – much of it unsuccessful, for it cannot be rationally generated – through variations in the degree and dimensions of closure. We create knowledge by creating patterns, grouping phenomena by selective (and problematic) criteria of similarity; and coherence between patterns is important for individuals and organizations. Adam Smith's psychological and evolutionary theory of the growth of knowledge, like the epistemology of modern science, rests on human cognition and the intersubjectivity that it makes possible. Genetically based evolution has progressed from the specification of behaviour to an endowment of motivation and the capacity to create patterns, encouraging search and the development of rules and conventions to aid individual thought as well as interactions. Uncertainty is the precondition of imagination; closure in some dimensions allows us to explore in others, and to absorb new ideas within a particular range. In 1861 Carlo Cattaneo argued that development resulted from two characteristics of the human mind: intelligence and will. These characteristics may be represented by selected connections and selected closures, which guide our actions.


Background: Hypertensive disorders of Pregnancy are the major complications that cause about 60% to 80% of all maternal deaths. Preeclamcia is a major hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that had caused maternal mortalities and morbidities all round the world. Objective: To assess the prevalence and factors associated to preeclampsia among pregnant women attending antenatal care service. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 10 to February 09, 2016 among pregnant women who followed anti natal care at public health institutions in Arba Minch town. The study included 422 pregnant women who were selected using systematic random sampling. Semi-structured questionnaire was employed to collect data. The data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Result: The prevalence of preeclampsia was 18.25%. The associated factors of preeclampsia were change of paternity: 4.08 (AOR=4.08; 95% CI: (1.17-14.266)), family history of hypertension: 3.52 (AOR=3.52; 95% CI: (1.31-9.45)) and alcohol use: 8.06 (AOR=8.06; 95% CI: (2.3-28.5)). Conclusion and recommendation: The finding of this study showed that considerable proportion of women had preeclampsia (18.25%). The study showed that different factors affect the occurrence of hypertension during pregnancy. It is important to give health education in order to make the women develop health seeking behavior so that they would get a chance to be diagnosed of preeclampsia as early as possible.


LATE-PRECAMBRIAN AND SILURIAN IN THE MYSZKOW AREA Summary The Silurian rocks, in particular those deriving from the uppermost part of the bore-hole Mrzyglod-9, represent sediments only slightly transformed by magmatic intrusions as well as the least influenced by regional epigenetic processes. Symptoms of the thermal influence are only visible in the lowermost layers in which the clay-siltstones were isochemically transformed into blastopellitic slates. The Silurian sediments from the bore-hole Mrzyglod-6 show a high degree of contact thermal transformation. The mineral association, amphibole (tremolite) – wollastonite – chlorite, indicates temperatures of about 500°–600°C. The chemical composition of these rocks suggests that the primary sediments were greywacke siltstones with clay-carbonate matrix. The late Precambrian sediments of the region under investigation display features characteristic of formations accumulated in a geosynclinal marine basin and composed of material deriving from an alimentation area built of metamorphic rocks accompanied by spilites and keratophyres. The occurrence of a greater quantity of volcanic elements in the finer grained material indicates volcanic activity simultaneous to the sedimentation processes or slightly preceeding them. This could allow one to compare the investigated Precambrian sediments with those of the Barrandien spilite stage, as well as with the basaltic rocks from bore-holes in the area of north-eastern Poland. Evidence of secondary processes in the Precambrian sediments suggests that the components of sedimentary origin were transformed in conditions of raised temperature and pressure characteristic of the early stages of regional metamorphism.


Background: Garlic (Allium sativum L.) has high medical and edible value, but is prone to producing green pigment during storage, which seriously affects product quality. Herein, we found multiple metabolic pathways involved in green pigment formation by analyzing the transcriptome and proteome changes of garlic stored at 4 °C for 0 day (DS0), 10 days (DS1), 15 days (DS2) and 40 days (DS3). Results: In this work, we found that porphobilinogen is a precursor of garlic green pigment and the citrate cycle (TCA cycle) can promote the formation of garlic green pigment by increasing the content of porphobilinogen. The salicylic acid (SA) inhibits garlic greening, whereas the lignin synthesis pathway positively correlates with greening. In addition to the above metabolic pathways, other pathways may be associated with the formation of garlic's green pigment, such as glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, pyruvate metabolism and fatty acid metabolism. It has been reported that pyruvate and amino acids play a role in garlic greening, which were also demonstrated in this study. Conclusion: our results have important implications for understanding the mechanism of green pigment formation in garlic.


Camptotheca Decaisne is the major source of the promising anti-cancer alkaloids camptothecins. The main objectives of this study are (1) to reveal the genetic diversity of Camptotheca and to identify taxa with RAPD markers; (2) to determine the camptothecin (CPT) variations within and among different populations and taxa, with tissues, season, and age; and (3) to determine the effects of environmental stress on the camptothecin production in Camptotheca. RAPD markers provide a powerful tool for the identification of some populations (particularly cultivars) and the detection of genetic variation within Camptotheca. Three primers (OPA02, OPA03, and OPA04), generating 44 polymorphic bands using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, were able to discriminate among 25 Camptotheca populations. The band size varied from 268-4,411 bp, with an average of 15 bands/primer. Of these populations, 'Katie', HJ population of C. acuminata, and 'Ang' can be easily distinguished by their unique bands. Population differentiation of Camptotheca was found to be higher than in other species with similar breeding systems. All populations were therefore genetically distinctive and each should be considered as a management unit. The high level of genetic structure among populations indicates differentiation due to founder events and/or genetic drift coupled with limited migration.


The aim of the work is to compare methods of hemoglobin A1c determination in ratio with basic metabolism indices using computer program with graphic interpretation of results in patients with diabetes of 1 and 2 types. It was found out that more specific hemoglobin determination by isoelectrofocusing method more completely reflects the state of carbohydrate metabolism in diabetic patients. The importance of hemoglobin A1c determination in case of 2 type diabetes is particularly emphasized.


This book explores how the Permanent Court of International Justice, the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, and investment treaty tribunals have used deference to recognise the decision making authority of States. It analyses the approaches to deference taken by these four international courts and tribunals in 1,714 decisions produced between 1924 and 2019 concerning alleged State interferences with private property. The book identifies a large number of techniques capable of achieving deference to domestic decision-making in international adjudication. It groups these techniques to identify seven distinct 'modes' of deference reflecting differently structured relationships between international adjudicators and domestic decision-makers. These differing approaches to deference are shown to hold systemic significance. They reveal the shifting nature and structure of adjudication under international law and its relationship to domestic decision making authority.


The adhesion scaffolding protein NEDD9 was identified as potential pro-metastatic gene in several cancers. The molecular mechanisms of NEDD9-driven metastasis are still unknown. In this study, we show that expression of NEDD9 positively correlates with the invasive stage of breast cancer. We show that NEDD9 localizes to invadopodia and endosomes. Notably, NEDD9 depleted cells have increased levels of inactive surface receptors due to increase in fast recycling of Rab4 and Rab5 positive vesicles. Mechanistically, we found that NEDD9 binds to and scaffolds the Arf6 specific GAP - ASAP3, decreasing Arf6 activity. Thus, depletion of NEDD9 leads to activation of Arf6. Inhibition of Arf6 or re-expression of NEDD9 in shNEDD9 cells was sufficient to restore recycling rates, decrease the number of Rab4 and 5 positive vesicles and the invasive properties of tumor cells. Thus, in this work, we uncover the mechanistic basis of NEDD9-driven invasion and identify a new role for NEDD9 in Arf6-dependant endocytosis.

Citation Format: Elena N. Pugacheva, Yuriy Loskutov, Sarah McLaughlin, Polina Kozyulina, Varvara Kozyreva, Ryan Ice, Mark Culp, Robert Wysolmerski, Scott Weed, Alexey Ivanov. NEDD9 promotes cell invasion through modulation of ARF6 activity and endocytic recycling. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Invasion and Metastasis; Jan 20-23, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(3 Suppl):Abstract nr A66.