Trophozoites and cysts of an Acanthamoeba were repeatedly isolated from the corneal scrapings of a patient suffering from acute ulceration of the right eye. The ameba was cloned and cultivated axenically in a proteose peptone-yeast extract-glucose medium. At a later date the organism was identified as A. polyphaga on the basis of its morphologic characteristics, especially those of cysts. Experimental studies on the in vitro interaction of this organism with monkey kidney tissue culture (Vero line) and its pathogenicity to mice indicated that it was a low virulent strain. When large numbers of amebae (25,000+) were inoculated into Vero cell cultures, cytopathic effects (CPE) were noticed within 5 to 6 days. The CPE consisted of cell shrinkage, nuclear pyonosis, and discontinuity of cell sheet, and the cell culture was totally destroyed in 8 to 10 days. When 20,000+ amebae were instilled intranasally into each of 20 2-week-old mice, only 1 mouse died, on the 28th day. Amebae were isolated from the brain of the dead mouse, and trophozoites and cysts were also demonstrated in the brain sections. When amebae isolated from the brain were intranasally instilled into mice, they failed to kill the mice for at least 1 month; however, when 10,000+ amebae were inoculated intracerebrally, the mice died within 5 to 8 days, exhibiting symptoms of primary meningoencephalitis.


The influence of the fermentative addition of Pedro Ximenez grape pomace (PXGP, white variety) on the phenolic composition and color of Syrah red wines from a warm climate was studied. Changes on phenolic composition (HPLC), copigmentation/polymerization (spectrophotometry), and color (tristimulus colorimetry) allowed differences among the maceration treatments to be established. PXGP additions at the rates studied increased the extraction of total phenolics, phenolic acids, and monomeric flavanols. However, the effect on the anthocyanins, copigmentation, and polymerization depended on the doses applied, with important consequences on the color. PXGP addition at 10% led to wines with higher polymerization, more stable colors, and bluish hues. in contrast, perceptibly lighter and less intense wines were obtained with PXGP addition at 20%. Thus, the use of white grape byproducts as wine additives at appropriate levels (10% w/w) could improve the phenolic potential of red young wines from a warm climate, contributing to preserve their color characteristic.


We investigated the taxonomic relationships among Streptomyces fulvissimus, Streptomyces fulvorobeus and Streptomyces microflavus. These type strains shared the same 16S rRNA gene sequence. Digital DNA-DNA relatedness and average nucleotide identity analyses using whole genome sequences suggested that S. fulvissimus and S. microflavus belong to the same genomospecies, whereas S. fulvorobeus does not. In addition to previously reported phenotypic data, the presence of almost the same set of secondary metabolite-biosynthetic gene clusters for polyketides and nonribosomal peptides also supported the synonymy between S. fulvissimus and S. microflavus. Therefore, S. fulvissimus should be reclassified as a later heterotypic synonym of S. microflavus.


We report on the electrical, optical and photoluminescence properties of industry-ready Al doped ZnO thin films grown by physical vapor deposition, and their evolution after annealing under vacuum. Doping ZnO with Al atoms increases the carrier density but also favors the formation of Zn vacancies, thereby inducing a saturation of the conductivity mechanism at high aluminum content. The electrical and optical properties of these thin layered materials are both improved by annealing process which creates oxygen vacancies that releases charge carriers thus improving the conductivity. This study underlines the effect of the formation of extrinsic and intrinsic defects in Al doped ZnO compound during the fabrication process. The quality and the optoelectronic response of the produced films are increased (up to 1.52 mΩ⋅cm and 3.73 eV) and consistent with the industrial device requirements.


Abstract The omnivorous crayfish Procambarus clarkii fed selectively on several species of macrophytes, preferring delicate fresh plants that had filamentous or finely-branched architectures. When the macrophytes were dried, powdered, and reconstituted into an alginate gel (thus eliminating among-species differences in physical characteristics), crayfish preferences were altered; previously tough plants that were high in nitrogen and protein were preferred over previously delicate plants that were low in nitrogen and protein. Even though plant structure influences feeding decision of crayfish, the structurally identical macrophyte gels were fed upon differently, demonstrating that nonstructural traits are important feeding determinants. However, plant tissue constituents such as nitrogen, protein, phenolics, lignin, cellulose, or ash were not significantly correlated with feeding preferences. Two high-nitrogen plants that were avoided by crayfish as fresh and as reconstituted tissue (Nuphar luteum macrophyllum and Alternanthera philoxeroides) possessed extracts that reduced crayfish feeding in laboratory assays, demonstrating that macrophyte metabolites can deter some herbivores. As is often observed with large generalist herbivores and omnivores in terrestrial and marine systems, the freshwater crayfish made feeding decisions based upon multiple plant cues (structure, nutrition, chemical defenses).


Aim. The presented study aims to identify opportunities for maintaining the organizational efficiency of companies during a pandemic.Tasks. The authors analyze organizational changes occurring during a pandemic and their impact on organizational efficiency; find ways to compensate for the loss of efficiency under new conditions using approaches based on communication management.Methods. The study is conducted by analyzing available sources and modeling the behavior of organizational structures using multi-agent models and an original methodology for evaluating organizational efficiency.Results. The authors have identified one of the sources of negative impact of organizational restructuring during a pandemic on organizational efficiency associated with a decrease in communication supply. The ways of compensating for this impact by including verified communicators in the organizational structure are considered. The positive impact of such innovation on organizational efficiency is shown, and the ways to achieve the maximum effectiveness of this measure are determined for organizations with different levels of individual employee efficiency or different intensity of changes in the external environment.Conclusions. The negative impact of reduced information supply on organizational efficiency during a pandemic can be successfully compensated through organizational restructuring associated with the introduction of verified communicators in the organizational structure.


This paper applies an Adaptive-Reinforcement Learning Control methodology to the problem of aircraft morphing. The reinforcement learning morphing control function is integrated with an adaptive dynamic inversion control trajectory tracking function. An episodic unsupervised learning simulation using the Q-Learning method is developed to learn the optimal shape change policy, and optimality is addressed by cost functions representing optimal shapes corresponding to flight conditions. The methodology is demonstrated with a numerical example of a hypothetical 3-D smart aircraft that can morph in all three spatial dimensions, tracking a specified trajectory and autonomously morphing over a set of shapes corresponding to flight conditions along the trajectory. Results presented in the paper show that this methodology is capable of learning the required shape and morphing into it, and accurately tracking the reference trajectory in the presence of parametric uncertainties, unmodeled dynamics and disturbances.


From biopiracy allegations to cultural misappropriation, indigenous groups and local communities are now ready to claim and defend their rights over what they view as part of their traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs). This movement has influenced activists, academics, and legislators to propose concrete solutions for the preservation and advancement of traditional materials to benefit these communities. Among the different approaches, UNESCO, for example, looks to safeguard what they define as 'intangible cultural heritage', meanwhile the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) follows an intellectual property (IP) based approach. While the international community still discusses the exact implications of the use of concepts like 'heritage', 'folklore', or 'traditional knowledge and expressions', the discussions at the WIPO point to understand TK rather as to technical learnings and TCEs as creative expressions that characterize the cultural identity and heritage of a distinct community. In the absence of international consensus on this topic, most of these claims have been handled either within the national jurisdictions or by means of bilateral or regional agreements. Whereas some jurisdictions have opted to grant protection under the already existing forms of IP such as copyright, trademarks, and patents, others have chosen to create a sui generis form of protection.

In Panama, as in most Latin American countries, colonization, trade, and immigration have created a melting pot of cultures from district indigenous and immigrant groups. Here, legislators have designed a more complex scheme to handle the status of traditional expressions. First, this jurisdiction recognizes sui generis collective rights to indigenous groups over registered expressions, a grant that at first sight seems to trump any third-party individual right. As a second form of protection, copyrights cover individual rights but only to non-indigenous tradition-based works that satisfy the general requirement of copyright protection. Lastly, any other traditional material, commonly called 'folklore', is classified as part of the public domain. In this third category, we find any form of artistic work or technical teaching that fails to fulfil the threshold of the two first, therefore remaining free to the public.

While some commentators have questioned the sui generis laws, as these rights might tend to overlook third party's needs, some others support a more holistic view. Considering that the different levels of protection might interact with each other in different ways and that laws don't operate in a vaccum, it is apropriate to analyze a piece of legislation taking into account the social, economic and cultural context. Nevertheless, most of the time the question in relation to TCEs is far from whether they should be acknowledged and protected beyond the original community, instead the discussion has been directed straight to the methods for its protection. It is important, however, to examine the impact that the protection of TCEs has over creativity and innovation, not to discourage protection but to encourage the evolution of the law.

Since TCEs cover a broad spectrum of expressions, ranging from music, dances, etc., to traditional rituals and technical learning, the focus of this study will be rather on traditional handicrafts. The main example that will be used throughout this paper will be the Kuna's (also known as Guna people) 'Mola' since this is the unquestionable flagship TCE of the country. Likewise, the Kuna people have been the main proponents of the country's sui generis legislation and spokesmen in relation to indigenous' traditional expressions. The Mola is a handmade multi-layered cloth patchwork, which is incorporated onto the Kuna women traditional costume, thereby a distinguishing feature of the Kuna's culture (See Annex 'The Kuna Mola'). Nevertheless, it has been threatened by third parties' 'falsifications' or 'counterfeits' for its use in clothing and apparel. This represents an interesting case for the use traditional handicrafts since the fashion industry is usually very open and flexible to copying since it is considered necessary and instrumental for success. With this background, the following study will review how much the different levels of protection on TCEs could affect creativity and innovation in the fashion industry.


Characterization of formation while drilling continues to be a challenge to the engineers. When a well kicks while drilling, evaluation of pore pressure and the corresponding kill mud density is of critical importance for the safety of the drilling crew and mechanical integrity of the wellbore. Besides the estimation of these parameters, it will be beneficial to estimate the thickness of the kicking formation prior to drilling. This helps to drill safely and carefully through the potentially active kicking formation. In this paper, it is shown how to calculate the thickness of the kicking zone with the limited information available at the time of an oil/gas kick. A method of data analysis (obtained on a kicking well) to estimate the formation thickness of the kicking zone is presented. Illustrative examples including actual field cases are described and analyzed.


The Volta Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project is a 10 year (two phased) DANIDA supported project in the
Volta Region of Ghana. It is jointly implemented by the Community Water and Sanitation Division (CWSD) of Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation responsible for
rural water supply and sanitation and COWI a Danish Engineering Consulting Company.
The project is aimed at raising the standard of living of the rural population of the region through the provision of
potable water, improved affordable toilets and hygiene education. The first phase of the project ended in August 1997. The project has its main focus of facilitating a sustainable community-based operation and maintenance (O&M) regime in line with the government's water and sanitation
sector strategy. In order to achieve this, the project since its inception in March 1993 has adopted the partnership approach to facilitate project implementation. It follows that the community structure with the support from the private and public sectors will have to develop mechanisms
for O&M. The writer examines the project's partnership approach and the lessons so far in community participation in the
management process.


Abstract Calcific discitis seems to be a rare cause of back pain in adults. Imaging shows a calcification of the nucleus pulposus with extension through the endplates on computed tomography. This can be accompanied by bone marrow edema on magnetic resonance imaging. In a retrospective review of 150 patients, 4 cases of calcific discitis were found (2.8%). None of the patients reported about back pain. Therefore, it seems that symptomatic cases of calcific discitis are a rare occurrence in contrast to the quite frequent incidental finding of asymptomatic cases on imaging. Knowledge of the various imaging appearances of calcific discitis is necessary for radiologists, because especially in acute cases with substantial bone marrow edema, this benign entity may be confused with infectious spondylodiscitis or malignancy.


Today a major drift is observed from static website to dynamic websites. The dynamic websites deliver the customized contents to their users. These websites cover a wide spectrum of applications which largely vary in its content, configuration and volume of traffic. The popular metrics designed to evaluate a dynamic website are response time, user satisfaction, performance, scalability, usability personalization, reliability, reusability and security. But for dynamic website delivery, update, consistency maintenance are main hurdles. To overcome them and to serve and deliver the contents efficiently for dynamic website researchers have proposed several caching mechanisms with an aim to reduce the construction overhead to improve the response time as well as reusability of its contents. A great research has been performed on various aspects of caching. Based on these the caching techniques are classified depending on its location, content, replacement, replication and updation strategy and many more. A caching technique can be suitable for one website and may not be effective for other website, depending upon the configuration, content and application of website one should choose the suitable caching technique. Thus a need of designing a set of metrics on which these caching techniques can be evaluated is much required. In this paper we will study about the classification of caching techniques and then discuss the issues related to caching and various criteria on which metrics are needed to be designed to evaluate the effectiveness of caching techniques.


The transparent film containing a kind of polymer cholesteric liquid crystal-R was fabricated by the freezing method. The optical polarization response of the film was investigated by a self-manufactured apparatus and its optical rotatory dispersion was measured by a novel technique at the wavelength from 35Onto to 66Onto.At various wavelengths, the chiral parameter of the film has been obtained. The results show that the chiral parameter decreases as the wavelength increases. The maximum and minimum chiral parameters are 0.0343 at the wavelength of 350 nm and 0.0058 at the wavelength of 660 nm, respectively. The obtained data indicate that this kind of polymer cholesteric liquid crystal-R is a promising candidate host material for solid optical chiral waveguides.


Neutron diffraction methods are used to refine the structure of SrRu0.8Ni0.2O3 at room temperature and 4 K. X-ray absorption measurements at the Ru L-edge demonstrate that partial oxidation of the Ru4+ to Ru5+ occurs upon introducing Ni into the SrRuO3 structure to form SrRu0.8Ni0.2O3. Whilst the diffraction measurements show that SrRu0.8Ni0.2O3 is isostructural with SrRuO3, the Ni doped compound exhibits an unusual first order orthorhombic–cubic phase transition near 670 K as revealed by x-ray diffraction. The Curie temperature in SrRu0.8Ni0.2O3 is lower than that found in SrRuO3 as a consequence of local distortions reducing the p–d hybridization.


Adolescents with complex chronic illnesses, such as cancer and blood disorders, must partner with family and clinical caregivers to navigate risky procedures with life-altering implications, burdensome symptoms and lifelong treatments. Yet, there has been little investigation into how technology can support these partnerships. We conducted 38 in-depth interviews (15 with teenage adolescents with chronic forms of cancer and blood disorders, 15 with their parents, and eight with clinical caregivers) along with nine non-participant observations of clinical consultations, to better understand common challenges and needs that could be supported through design. Participants faced challenges primarily concerning: 1) teens' limited participation in their care, 2) communicating emotionally-sensitive information, and 3) managing physical and emotional responses. We draw on these findings to propose design goals for sociotechnical systems to support teens in partnering in their care, highlighting the need for design to support gradually-evolving partnerships.


Splenogonadal fusion (SGF) is a rare congenital abnormality. It is typically identified during orchiectomy for a suspected testicular tumor or during orchiopexy. We describe the sonographic findings in a case of SGF that could help with correct diagnosis preoperatively. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 45:179–182, 2017


To evaluate the regulation of (H+) and (HCO3 minus) in brain extracellular fluid during respiratory acidosis, the changes in cisternal and lumbar CSF acid-base state were assessed in six anteshetized, paralyzed, mechanically ventilated dogs rendered hypercapnic by increase in FIco2. Arterial (HCO3 minus) was held constant. The electrochemical potential difference (mu) between CSF and blood for H+ and HCO3 minus was calculated from values for (H+) and (HCO3 minus) in CSF and arterial plasma and the simultaneously measured CSF/plasma DC potential difference. Measurements were made at pHa equal to 7.40, after stable arterial values of pHa of about 7.2 were attained and 3, 4.5, and 6 h thereafter. A steady state for ion distribution was attained by 4.5 h. Values of mu for H+ and HCO3 minus at 6 h had returned to +0.7 and minus 0.7 mV of control for cisternal CSF and +1.3 and minus 0.6 mV of control for lumbar CSF. The attainment of steady-state values for mu close to control is comparable with passive distribution of these ions between CSF and blood.


All cells, including epithelial cells, are endowed with the capacity to absorb foreign particles. Differences in ultrastuctural changes, identifyed following phagocytosis of various pathogens and non-living particles, are rather of a quantitative than of qualitative character-they manifest themselves first of all in various time periods of development of a cytopathological reaction. At early stages of the interaction it is hardly possible to detect any difference between virulent and avirulent microorganisms, colloid and even inorganic particles. In later periods the difference is quite evident. Namely, the phagocytic particles, which are rapidly destroyed by the host's cell or stay therein for a long time undergoing slow destruction, are contained in vacuoles and are isolated from cytoplasm by one- or two-layer membrane; virulent microorganisms and cytotoxic particles, which rapidly destroy the cell themselves, in most cases lie loosely in the cytoplasm, and at the same time diffuse lesion of the membrane systems of the cell is noted.


The present study investigates the effect of different concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Cr and Pb) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) application on two Brassica species ( Brassica carinata and  Brassica juncea ). EDTA application had significant (p<0.05) effect on shoot length, shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, root length, root fresh weight, root dry weight and accumulation of heavy metals in both species. Species also produced significant (p<0.05) effect on all parameters except shoot length of the plant. The effect of heavy metals on shoot length, shoot fresh weight, root fresh weight and accumulation of heavy metals was also reported to be significant (p<0.05). Interaction between heavy metals × species showed a significant (p<0.05) effect on shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, root length and accumulation of heavy metal in both Brassica species. The data reveal that maximum shoot length, shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, root fresh weight and root dry weight was achieved by control plants. In addition, maximum heavy metals (142.88 mg kg -1 ) were observed for B. juncea that were grown under 150 mg kg -1 Pb and 0 mM EDTA stress. Exposure of Brassica species to heavy metals and EDTA resulted in the expression of newly synthesized and abundantly expressed polypeptides, which may play a role in phytoremediation. Keywords: Brassica , phytoextraction, heavy metals, EDTA, gene expression


This paper introduces Latent Relational Analysis (LRA), a method for measuring semantic similarity. LRA measures similarity in the semantic relations between two pairs of words. When two pairs have a high degree of relational similarity, they are analogous. For example, the pair cat:meow is analogous to the pair dog:bark. There is evidence from cognitive science that relational similarity is fundamental to many cognitive and linguistic tasks (e.g., analogical reasoning). In the Vector Space Model (VSM) approach to measuring relational similarity, the similarity between two pairs is calculated by the cosine of the angle between the vectors that represent the two pairs. The elements in the vectors are based on the frequencies of manually constructed patterns in a large corpus. LRA extends the VSM approach in three ways: (1) patterns are derived automatically from the corpus, (2) Singular Value Decomposition is used to smooth the frequency data, and (3) synonyms are used to reformulate word pairs. This paper describes the LRA algorithm and experimentally compares LRA to VSM on two tasks, answering college-level multiple-choice word analogy questions and classifying semantic relations in noun-modifier expressions. LRA achieves state-of-the-art results, reaching human-level performance on the analogy questions and significantly exceeding VSM performance on both tasks.


Background and Aim: Use of glass fiber posts is of widespread acceptance in restoring root canal treated teeth, but studies concerning the most proper length of the post to provide the utmost fracture resistance are inadequate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of glass fiber post length on fracture resistance of root canal treated central incisors. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was carried out on 40 maxillary central incisors in 4 groups of 10 each. RDT posts and cement was used in this experimental study with the lengths of 6, 8, 10, and 12 mm in the study groups. The samples were debrided and decoronated at the CEJ levels and endodontically treated using step-back technique. RDT drills were used for post space preparation. Then, the root canal walls were etched and the posts cemented in place. The composite cores were then prepared at the height of 5 mm and samples mounted 2mm down to their CEJ levels within acrylic blocks. An impression material (Impregum, 3M, ESPE) with a thickness of 0.2mm was used to simulate PDL around the samples. The samples were subjected to compressive forces at a 135-degree angle to their long axes using a Universal Testing Machine. Data pertaining to the fracture of the samples were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey statistical tests. Results: The maximum resistance to fracture was recorded in 8-and 10-mm-long posts and the minimum was observed in the lengths of 6 and 12 mm. Statistical tests showed a significant difference between 8- and 10-mm-long posts with those having lengths of 6 and 12 mm in terms of fracture resistance. There was no significant difference between 8- and 10-mm-long posts as well as 6- and 12-mm-long ones. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the length of post is influential in the fracture resistance of the root so that the maximal resistance can be obtained in 8 to 10 mm of length and such lengths can be recommended for non-metal posts.


This article presents the implementation of decentralized data fusion (DDF) and cooperative control algorithms on an unmanned aerial system (UAS). We conduct a number of demonstrations with a pair of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) performing an information-gathering mission, and we show that significant benefits can be achieved by enabling cooperation through the sharing of information between members of the team. The objective is to utilize the UAV team to estimate the position and velocity of a number of ground-based features. The UAVs are given some prior knowledge of the feature states and are required to gather further information above a predefined threshold. This situation models a scenario where initial information is made available from an external source (e.g., a high-flying UAV or satellite imagery), which then prompts the start of the feature-localization mission.


Superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) wires exhibit superb hysteretic energy dissipation and deformation capabilities. Therefore, they are increasingly used for the vibration control of civil engineering structures. The efficient design of SMA-based control devices requires accurate material models. However, the thermodynamically coupled SMA behavior is highly sensitive to strain rate. For an accurate modelling of the material behavior, a wide range of parameters needs to be determined by experiments, where the identification of thermodynamic parameters is particularly challenging due to required technical instruments and expert knowledge. For an efficient identification of thermodynamic parameters, this study proposes a machine-learning-based approach, which was specifically designed considering the dynamic SMA behavior. For this purpose, a feedforward artificial neural network (ANN) architecture was developed. For the generation of training data, a macroscopic constitutive SMA model was adapted considering strain rate effects. After training, the ANN can identify the searched model parameters from cyclic tensile stress–strain tests. The proposed approach is applied on superelastic SMA wires and validated by experiments.


OBJECTIVE
To achieve the correlation between abnormal serum lipid and male erectile dysfunction (ED).

METHODS
Randomly selected were 200 male patients abnormal at least in one of the four laboratory items: total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL). Their erectile function was evaluated by IIEF-5, and the correlation was studied between abnormal serum lipid and ED.

RESULTS
The incidence of ED was 47% in these patients. Age, coronary heart disease (CHD), high serum glucose, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), drug, hypertension were negatively, while HDL was positively correlated with erectile function. Age, CHD, BPH and TC/HDL ratio were risk factors of ED, while HDL was a preventive one.

CONCLUSION
Hyperlipidemia is an important factor of ED. HDL and TC/HDL ratio are good predictors of ED.


ABSTRACT Snakebite is an important public health issue around the world. In Nepal, it affects a huge number of people mostly belonging to low-income households who are involved in agriculture. Although snakebite has a serious impact on the Terai population, a few studies suggest that snakebite also occurs frequently in hills and mountains. In the absence of sufficient studies related to snakebites in these geographical regions, it is tough to sketch a true picture and estimate the magnitude of snakebites in those areas. Because of this, the healthcare system is probably not prepared enough to handle the victims of snakebites. This demands a proper study of the burden of the issue in these regions and appropriate initiatives for addressing it.


Endotoxin, an outer membrane component of gram-negative bacteria, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of septic shock. Endotoxin adsorption therapy by polymyxin B-immobilized fiber column hemoperfusion (PMX) has been used for the treatment of septic shock patients in Japan since 1994. The covalent binding of polymyxin B onto the surface of the polystyrene-based carrier fiber in PMX inactivates the endotoxin in the blood without exerting toxicity. This study was performed as a systematic review to evaluate the efficacy and mechanism of PMX treatment in patients with septic shock. The PubMed database and references from identified articles were used to search and review the literature relating to the efficacy and mechanism of PMX treatment in patients with septic shock. Polymyxin B-immobilized fiber column hemoperfusion adsorbed monocytes, activated neutrophils, and anandamide, as well as endotoxin through direct covalent bond, hydrophobic and ionic interactions, and hydrodynamics, and reduced the blood concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 and adhesion molecules. Polymyxin B-immobilized fiber column hemoperfusion increased blood pressure and reduced the dosage requirements for vasopressive/inotropic agents. The meta-analysis showed that PMX treatment had beneficial effects on the hemodynamics, pulmonary oxygenation, and mortality. These beneficial effects may be attributable to the direct adsorption of endotoxin, monocytes, activated neutrophils, and anandamide, as well as indirect decrease in inflammatory cytokines and other mediators. Polymyxin B-immobilized fiber column hemoperfusion treatment has additional effects on reducing endothelial damage, proapoptotic activity, and immunosuppression. Further studies will be needed to confirm the efficacy and mechanism of PMX treatment in septic shock.


Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a strongly correlated material with 3d electrons, which exhibits temperature-driven insulator-to-metal transition with a concurrent change in the crystal symmetry. Interestingly, even modest changes in stoichiometry-induced orbital occupancy dramatically affect the electrical conductivity of the system. Here, we report a successful transformation of epitaxial monoclinic VO2 thin films from a conventionally insulating to permanently metallic behavior by manipulating the electron correlations. These ultrathin (∼10 nm) epitaxial VO2 films were grown on NiO(111)/Al2O3(0001) pseudomorphically, where the large misfit between NiO and Al2O3 were fully relaxed by domain-matching epitaxy. Complete conversion from an insulator to permanent metallic phase is achieved through injecting oxygen vacancies ( x ∼ 0.20 ± 0.02) into the VO2- x system via annealing under high vacuum (∼5 × 10-7 Torr) and increased temperature (450 °C). Systematic introduction of oxygen vacancies partially converts V4+ to V3+ and generates unpaired electron charges which result in the emergence of donor states near the Fermi level. Through the detailed study of the vibrational modes by Raman spectroscopy, hardening of the V-V vibrational modes and stabilization of V-V dimers are observed in vacuum-annealed VO2 films, providing conclusive evidence for stabilization of a monoclinic phase. This ultimately leads to convenient free-electron transport through the oxygen-deficient VO2- x thin films, resulting in metallic characteristics at room temperature. With these results, we propose a defect engineering pathway through the control of oxygen vacancies to tune electrical and optical properties in epitaxial monoclinic VO2.


The explanation of 1 Cor 11:14-37, that Corinthian meal practice involved either peer benefaction (wealthy members providing the meal), or eranistic practices (members each contributing differing amounts and qualities of food), and the late arrival of the poorer members, is flawed in several respects. This paper uses data from Graeco-Roman associations to show that association meals were rarely funded by endowments or peer benefaction on a continuing basis, and there is no evidence of eranistic practices. The idea that poorer members typically arrived late at meals is based on anachronistic views of the structure of labor and on ambiguities in translations of προλαμβάνeιν in 11:21. The disturbances at the communal meal, like those typical of association meals, likely involved competitive behavior that used differential allotments of food to assert status and privilege.


Treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) focuses on managing its symptoms (e.g., depression, fatigue, poor sleep quality), varying with specific symptoms experienced. Thus, for optimal treatment, there arises the need to track these symptoms. Towards this goal, there is great interest in finding their relevant phenotypes. Prior research suggests links between activities of daily living (ADLs) and MS symptoms; therefore, we hypothesize that the behavioral phenotype (revealed through ADLs) is closely related to MS symptoms. Traditional approaches to finding behavioral phenotypes which rely on human observation or controlled clinical settings are burdensome and cannot account for all genuine ADLs. Here, we present MSLife, an end-to-end, burden-free approach to digital behavioral phenotyping of MS symptoms in the wild using wearables and graph-based statistical analysis. MSLife is built upon (1) low-cost, unobtrusive wearables (i.e., smartwatches) that can track and quantify ADLs among MS patients in the wild; (2) graph-based statistical analysis that can model the relationships between quantified ADLs (i.e., digital behavioral phenotype) and MS symptoms. We design, implement, and deploy MSLife with 30 MS patients across a one-week home-based IRB-approved clinical pilot study. We use the GENEActiv smartwatch to monitor ADLs and clinical behavioral instruments to collect MS symptoms. Then we develop a graph-based statistical analysis framework to model phenotyping relationships between ADLs and MS symptoms, incorporating confounding demographic factors. We discover 102 significant phenotyping relationships (e.g., later rise times are related to increased levels of depression, history of caffeine consumption is associated with lower fatigue levels, higher relative levels of moderate physical activity are linked with decreased sleep quality). We validate their healthcare implications, using them to track MS symptoms in retrospective analysis. To our best knowledge, this is one of the first practices to digital behavioral phenotyping of MS symptoms in the wild.


Bitcoin is one of the cryptocurrencies that had a high rate of return since its appearance in 2009. However, the exchange rate of Bitcoin against any foreign currency is considered to have high volatility making it difficult to determine the real value of Bitcoin. The main purpose of this research is to find the value of Bitcoin, especially US Dollar and Rupiah currencies. The test is carried out using the weak market efficiency hypothesis and the semi-form market coefficient hypothesis. The data processing methods are used the stationary test (ADF, KPSS, and ERS) to test the efficiency of the weak form market and the cointegration test (Johansen Cointegration) with the VECM model to check the efficiency of the semi-strong market. The results show that the Bitcoin exchange rate does not have a unit root so it is inefficient in a weak form and has a negative effect on the USD / IDR exchange rate so that it is not efficient in semi-strong form as well as on the US Dollar and Rupiah exchange rates. This happens because Bitcoin transactions as a medium of exchange in Indonesia are still illegal. So that the Bitcoin exchange rate against the US Dollar and Rupiah exchange rates is biased because it does not reflect the available information, both historical information and public information.
Keywords—Bitcoin Exchange Rate; Market Efficiency; Unit Root; Cointegration


Objective: To investigate the association of reaction time and brief measures of memory and spatial ability with all-cause mortality. Methods: Participants were from the UK Health and Lifestyle Survey (HALS), a national sample survey of adults in England, Scotland, and Wales. In 1984/1985, data on lifestyle factors, socioeconomic status, and health were collected for 9,003 people. Cognitive data were collected for 7,414 individuals. All-cause mortality was investigated over 19 years of follow-up in relation to simple and choice reaction time, performance on a short-term verbal declarative memory test, and on a test of visual-spatial reasoning. Results: Slower and more variable simple and choice reaction times were significantly related to increased risk of all-cause mortality over 19 years of follow-up. The increased risk of all-cause mortality was partly attenuated after adjustments for socioeconomic status, health behaviors, and health status. A novel finding was the existence of an effect of reaction time on all-cause mortality in young adults. Poorer verbal memory ability was also significantly related to an increased risk of dying in young adults independently of reaction time score. Conclusion: Slower and more variable reaction time was related to higher mortality risk in younger as well as older participants. Among younger adults, higher memory ability was also associated with lower risk of dying. The cognition-mortality relationship may be explained in part by the brain's efficiency of information processing and memory performance. HALS = Health and Lifestyle Survey; FEV = forced expiratory volume; BMI = body mass index.


The rare earth vanadium oxynitride perovskites RVO3−xNx (R = La, Pr, Nd; 0 ≤ x ≤ 1) have been prepared by treatment of RVO4 precursors in NH3. The ammonolysis reactions proceed through an initial reduction of RVO4 precursors to RVO3 perovskites that are progressively nitrided and reoxidised to RVO3−xNx materials with varying proportions of V4+/V3+. Variable temperature neutron diffraction studies show that NdVO2N and PrVO2.24N0.76 have orthorhombic Pbnm symmetry between 3.5 and 300 K, but LaVO2.11N0.89 undergoes a broad Pbnm to Rc structural transition over this temperature range. In LaVO3−xNx samples the proportion of the Rc phase at room temperature increases with the nitrogen content. The partial anion order indicative of planes of cis-VN2 chains found in NdVO2N is also present in PrVO2.24N0.76, and is thus robust to the disorder created by non-stoichiometry. Magnetic measurements reveal spin freezing transitions at low temperatures in LaVO2.09N0.91 and PrVO2.24N0.76, but NdVO2N is paramagnetic.


In theory, a grid can harness the power of an arbitrarily large collection of computing resources to meet the needs of compute intensive high performance computing (HPC) applications such as finite element model (FEM) simulations. However, the realization of such potential faces many challenges; including: (1) the degree of coupling between the components of an HPC application; (2) the asynchronous and high latency nature of the grid communication medium; and (3) the presence of distinct administrative domains. High latency poses the most serious limitation to the potential use of grids for HPC applications. In this respect, the paper reports new results on the ongoing development of a service oriented grid architecture to support the execution of HPC applications, and in particular the simulation of large scale dynamical systems. At the heart of the architecture is a computational model that ties the domain decomposition of the simulated system to the topology of the grid and the data exchange process in order to minimize the effect of latency. The paper provides an experiment-based comparative analysis of the proposed grid-HPC computational model against a sequential computing model for a two dimensional heat diffusion process simulation.


SUMMARY
Social media (SoMe) platforms have the ability to strengthen the oncology community, leading to intellectual connections that with time develop into friendships. SoMe has immense potential in all areas of medicine, and SoMe in oncology is proof of this, raising awareness about clinical trials, promoting cancer prevention techniques, amplifying oncology information, enabling diverse viewpoints into conversations, as well as educating colleagues regardless of geography.


Flexible gridding has the potential of increasing the accuracy in numerical simulation of flow through hydrocarbon reservoirs within limitations in computing time and memory space. This paper is devoted to the description of a computational algorithm for two-phase immiscible, incompressible flows in an adaptive composite grid. An IMPES approach is applied. The pressure equation is discretized on locally refined grids with finite volume scheme. To solve this equation, a FAC method outlined by McCormick is used. For the transport equation, we propose the finite difference schemes : upwind are MUSCL. An object oriented programming language C++ is selected for the implementation. It provides a dynamic memory management and a convenient data structure for evolutive problems. Results for some examples illustrate the efficiency of proposed algorithm.


Modern society heavily relies on strongly connected, socio-technical systems. As a result, distinct risks threatening the operation of individual systems can no longer be treated in isolation. Consequently, risk experts are actively seeking for ways to relax the risk independence assumption that undermines typical risk management models. Prominent work has advocated the use of risk networks as a way forward. Yet, the inevitable biases introduced during the generation of these survey-based risk networks limit our ability to examine their topology, and in turn challenge the utility of the very notion of a risk network. To alleviate these concerns, we proposed an alternative methodology for generating weighted risk networks. We subsequently applied this methodology to an empirical dataset of financial data. This paper reports our findings on the study of the topology of the resulting risk network. We observed a modular topology, and reasoned on its use as a robust risk classification framework. Using these modules, we highlight a tendency of specialization during the risk identification process, with some firms being solely focused on a subset of the available risk classes. Finally, we considered the independent and systemic impact of some risks and attributed possible mismatches to their emerging nature.


Summary: Polyamide (PA6) and poly(propylene) (PP) blends offer a good opportunity for the development of materials with new properties when they are made compatible, because they combine the thermomechanical properties of the PA6 and the easy processing of poly(propylene).1–5 Moreover, in recent years has successfully managed to synthesize various types of composites based on clay with a polymer matrix. The aim of this work has been the incorporation of the clay in PA and PP blends to study the effect of its incorporation to establish a correlation between the morphology of the blends with the thermal and mechanical properties. To improve the incompatibility between the PA and the PP has been necessary to introduce a graft poly(propylene) – maleic anhydride compatibilizer (PP-g-AM).6–8 In addition we have studied the incorporation of recycled PP in the system and the results were similar to those obtained with non-recycled poly(propylene).


The discovery of the anticancer activity of cisplatin has marked the emergence of modern Inorganic Medicinal Chemistry. This field of research is concerned with the application of inorganic compounds to therapy or diagnosis of disease. In particular, metal coordination of bioactive ligands has gained recognition in drug design. The interaction between transition metal ions and the organic drugs could enhance their diagnostic and therapeutic potentials by improving the stability and/or bioavailability or by achieving a metal-drug synergism through a dual or multiple mechanism of action. The isosteric replacement of sulfur by selenium in thiosemicarbazones leads to selenosemicarbazones. This class of compounds exhibit numerous biological activities like antitumor, antimicrobial, antiviral etc. and, in most cases, they were more pronounced in comparison to the sulfur analogues. On the other hand, while the effect of transition metal complexation on the biological activity of thiosemicarbazones has been widely studied, the pharmacological activity of the corresponding metal-selenosemicarbazone compounds has been less explored. In this work, the most relevant results related to the selenosemicarbazone metal complexes as potential metal-based drugs have been reviewed.


The paper follows the path of development (and degradation) of the Iskander Pasha Jamaat, emerged from one of the branches of the Naqshbandi tariqa during the democratization process in Turkey in the second half of the 20th century. Originally an underground brotherhood, the community became a kind of an "invisible" university for many individuals in Turkish politics and public life. The community contributed to the emergence of parties of political Islam. After it parted with its leadership, it almost became a party itself, but was eventually reduced to a holding group and an interest circle. The study is based on a wide range of sources and research literature, including the following primary sources: the books and sermons of Mehmet Zahid Kotku and Esad Coşan, statements of Nureddin Coşan, biographical publications of the sheikhs' students, and also an interview the author conducted with the leadership of the foundation affi liated with the jamaat.The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.


Abstract Product modularity has been successfully adopted in a number of specific industries, such as computer technology and software development, where it provides a number of advantages over monolithic product architectures. This paper presents initial findings from research at a range of companies within the United Kingdom where modularity is being applied or considered to address increasing product complexity and the growing need for the symbiosis of mechanical, electrical, electronic, optical and software technologies in a wider range of manufactured products to meet discerning market requirements. The research identifies a need to address the current application of modularity within industry at three levels: A systems engineering based framework, a methodology for product modularization and the underlying process of modular product development. Concluding remarks highlight the issues drawn from the research and opportunities for addressing these issues.


Plumbagin, a bioactive naphthoquinone, has demonstrated potent antitumor potential. However, plumbagin is a sparingly water-soluble compound; therefore, clinical translation requires and will be facilitated by the development of a new pharmaceutical formulation. We have generated an oil-in-water nanoemulsion formulation of plumbagin using a low-energy spontaneous emulsification process with propylene glycol caprylate (Capryol 90) as an oil phase and Labrasol/Kolliphor RH40 as surfactant and cosurfactant excipients. Formulation studies using Capryol 90/Labrasol/Kolliphor RH40 components, based on pseudoternary diagram and analysis of particle size distribution and polydispersity determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS), identified an optimized composition of excipients for nanoparticle formulation. The nanoemulsion loaded with plumbagin as an active pharmaceutical ingredient had an average hydrodynamic diameter of 30.9 nm with narrow polydispersity. The nanoemulsion exhibited long-term stability, as well as good retention of particle size in simulated physiological environments. Furthermore, plumbagin-loaded nanoemulsion showed an augmented cytotoxicity against prostate cancer cells PTEN-P2 in comparison to free drug. In conclusion, we generated a formulation of plumbagin with high loading drug capacity, robust stability, and scalable production. Novel Capryol 90-based nanoemulsion formulation of plumbagin demonstrated antiproliferative activity against prostate cancer cells, warranting thus further pharmaceutical development.


The influence of non-locality and anisotropy of the electron distribution function (EDF), as well as of the non-equilibrium ion diffusion, on the behaviour of the discharge in a strongly electronegative gas has been studied using as an example a DC glow discharge at low pressure. In order to take into account the spatial non-uniformity of the EDF, we used the spatially dependent mean electron energy (MEE) method and the particle-in-cell Monte Carlo (PICMC) technique. The results of calculations were compared with the experimental values of the reduced electric field for the DC glow discharge. It has been shown that, for the case of low pressures (high reduced electric fields), the PICMC technique describes the discharge the most adequately. It has also been shown that the EDF is strongly anisotropic at low pressure, in which case the ionization process is supported by electrons moving in only one direction. The non-equilibrium ion diffusion (due to the ion-heating in the axial electric field) has been shown to bring about a significant modification of charged particle radial profiles. As a result, the region of quasi-neutral electron - ion plasma near the tube wall does not exist throughout the range of pressures studied (0.13 - 2.6 Torr).


This study uses the Swedish student aid reform deployed in 2001 as a natural experiment to investigate whether changing the cost of education causes university students to choose a different field of study than they would have otherwise chosen. We find that Swedish students did not show a measurable change of education specialization preferences as a result of the aforementioned reform.The following investigation is accomplished by using a synthetic control method to generate a synthetic Sweden as a weighted average of other European countries, allowing us to observe likely hypothetical outcomes had Sweden not underwent its 2001 reform. This exercise is performed in regards to the two variables of interest, share of tertiary students in the field humanities and arts, and share of tertiary students in the field mathematics, science and technology. Inference is accomplished by means of placebo tests in which we examine placebo interventions in the comparison countries.


The Ministry of Labour & Social Development is currently supervising, under community partnership, the operation of a number of care homes (day clubs) for the elderly and which aim to provide care and rehabilitation for the elderly people during the day amid residential districts in various governorates. These day care homes offer various aspects of social, health, psychological and recreational care, develop appropriate rehabilitation programs and services, benefit from their expertise and abilities, and work to integrate them into society and not to isolate them in old people's homes. These homes are managed within the community partnership project which aims to link the interests of groups and synergize scattered development efforts by leveraging the real partnership between civil society organizations, the private sector and the government through the adoption of initiatives and programs in the care provision areas and turn them into projects that contribute to sustainable social development.


The problem of monitoring and preventing deposit inundation is becoming increasingly important in Ukraine. The solution to this problem is one of the ways to ensure the energy independence of the state. The operation of producing wells is complicated by the accumulation of liquid at the bottom. Subsequently, it leads to premature shutdown of the wells. Inundation determines the need to isolate the influx of formation water. Considering the significant residual reserves of gas trapped in water, it is important to improve existing technologies and to develop new ones for the development of depleted fields under the conditions of dynamic water drive in order to ensure maximum hydrocarbon recovery rates. This paper summarizes domestic and foreign field development technologies under water pressure conditions and analyzes the main disadvantages and advantages of the existing methods of stimulating hydrocarbon inflows in waterlogged gas and gas condensate wells. The main factors that determine the causes and nature of flooding of productive formations and ways to prevent them are analyzed. Based on the results of the analysis of laboratory and experimental studies, the  behavior of gas trapped by brine water has been established.But the issue of determining the localization of residual reserves has not been studied sufficiently. Considering the above mentioned ideas, the author asserts the necessity to and to use geological and technological models constantly. It ensures better extraction of the residual gas from depleted fields under the condition of intensive advance of reservoir water into productive formations. In the case of adapting the three-dimensional model to the actual data of the production history and the simulation of  the exact breakthrough of produced water in production wells, there comes the possible to determine the most promising zones and sections of the field, the reservoirs of which are characterized by the best filtration-capacitive properties and significant gas reserves. The use of a constantly operating geological and technological model of the field will make it possible to develop ways of extracting the residual gas reserves trapped in produced water, to improve existing production technologies and to  ensure maximum recovery factors.


In the experiment on 214 white rats, the effect of different types of low-intensive laser irradiation and existing methods of treatment on regional hemodynamics in strangulated ileus was studied. Combined use of ultraviolet and helium-neon lasers has to be proved to be the most effective. Ultraviolet laser irradiation contributed to increase in elasticity of the arterial wall and cupping off the vascular spasm, helium-neon irradiation had a stimulating effect on the tissues of the intestinal wall.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of fathers in the management of sleeping problems in children with autism and their perspectives of the impact of these difficulties on family life.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews with 25 UK-based fathers of children with autism were undertaken.

Findings

Two-thirds of fathers reported that their children experienced severe sleeping problems in the areas of bed-time resistance, sleep onset and night-time waking. Fathers were significantly involved in the management of these difficulties and reported a range of associated deleterious impacts on the family, including significant negative effects on paternal and maternal health, father's employment, couple relationship and sibling experiences.

Research limitations/implications

The interview sample cannot be said to be representative of all fathers of children with autism since the backgrounds of those taking part were relatively homogeneous in respect of ethnicity, marital status and level of education.

Practical implications

Improvements in effective, family-centred provision are urgently needed which employ a co-parenting, gender-differentiated methodology.

Social implications

Given the severity and frequency of difficulties, sleeping problems in children with autism should be viewed as a significant public health concern.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies, qualitative or quantitative, to explore the role and perspectives of fathers of children with autism in the important area of sleep management.


Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) is a needle-free, mucosal vaccine approved for healthy 2- to 49-year old individuals. Its replicative nature and higher rate of adverse events excludes at-risk populations. ABSTRACT Together with inactivated influenza vaccines (IIV), live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIV) are an important tool to prevent influenza A virus (IAV) illnesses in patients. LAIVs present the advantages to have a needle-free administration and to trigger a mucosal immune response. LAIV is approved for healthy 2- to 49-year old individuals. However, due to its replicative nature and higher rate of adverse events at-risk populations are excluded from the benefits of this vaccine. Using targeted mutagenesis, we modified the nonstructural protein 1 of the currently licensed LAIV in order to impair its ability to bind the host cellular protein CPSF30 and thus its ability to inhibit host mRNA poly-adenylation. We characterized our optimized LAIV (optiLAIV) in three different mouse models mimicking healthy and high-risk patients. Using a neonatal mouse model, we show faster clearance of our optimized vaccine compared to the licensed LAIV. Despite lower replication, optiLAIV equally protected mice against homosubtypic and hetesubtypic influenza strain challenges. We confirmed the safer profile of optiLAIV in Stat1−/− mice (highly susceptible to viral infections) by showing no signs of morbidity compared to a 50% mortality rate observed following LAIV inoculation. Using a human nasal 3D tissue model, we showed an increased induction of ER stress-related genes following immunization with optiLAIV. Induction of ER stress was previously shown to improve antigen-specific immune responses and is proposed as the mechanism of action of the licensed adjuvant AS03. This study characterizes a safer LAIV candidate in two mouse models mimicking infants and severely immunocompromised patients and proposes a simple attenuation strategy that could broaden LAIV application and reduce influenza burden in high-risk populations. IMPORTANCE Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) is a needle-free, mucosal vaccine approved for healthy 2- to 49-year old individuals. Its replicative nature and higher rate of adverse events excludes at-risk populations. We propose a strategy to improve LAIV safety and explore the possibility to expand its applications in children under 2-year old and immunocompromised patients. Using a neonatal mouse model, we show faster clearance of our optimized vaccine (optiLAIV) compared to the licensed LAIV. Despite lower replication, optiLAIV equally protected mice against influenza virus challenges. We confirmed the safer profile of optiLAIV in Stat1−/− mice (highly susceptible to viral infections) by showing no signs of morbidity compared to a 50% mortality rate from LAIV. OptiLAIV could expand the applications of the current LAIV and help mitigate the burden of IAV in susceptible populations.


An international workshop to evaluate the concepts of atrophy and atrophic gastritis was held in Houston in 1998. A consensus emerged that: 1) there is a phenotype of Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis characterized by progressive loss of glands and intestinalization; 2) this phenotype is associated with increased risk of gastric ulcer and adenocarcinoma. This pattern must be consistently recognized are reproducibly diagnosed by histopathologists. The mucosal biopsy sampling suggested in the updated Sydney System were considered adequate to evaluate a patient for atrophic gastritis. Histopathologists were advised to refrain from making a diagnosis of "atrophic gastritis" unless moderate or severe unequivocal loss of gastric glands and/or moderate or severe metaplasia is found in at least 50% of the total gastric mucosa evaluated in the biopsy specimens. When atrophic or metaplastic changes appear to be more limited, "chronic gastritis with focal atrophy or metaplasia" should be diagnosed, and more extensive sampling should be obtained before the entity "atrophic gastritis" can be diagnosed. Particular attention was devoted to the issue of "unequivocal loss of gastric glands." In general, it was felt that it is difficult to be certain about loss of glands in the presence of moderate or severe inflammation, when one cannot be sure whether the glands have actually disappeared of have been displaced by the inflammatory infiltrate. In these circumstances, the term "indefinite for atrophy" can be used and the patient should be re-evaluated several months after the eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection.


Introduction: Besides developmental venous anomaly (DVA), arteriovenous malformation (AVM) and capillary telangiectasia, cavernomas are one of the vascular malformations of the central nervous system. In this case report, we present a case diagnosed with cavernous angioma in the left posterior frontal region, who presented to our emergency department with the complaint of numbness in her left hand. Case: A 38-year-old male patient was admitted to the emergency department with complaints of numbness in his left hand in the last few days. Brain CT examination showed a left sided hyperdensity at the level of vertex, which was suspected of hemorrhage. Afterwards, unenhanced and contrast-enhanced MRI scans of the brain revealed an image, which was considered primarily as hemorrhagic cavernous angioma, showed minimally heterogeneous intravenous contrast enhancement, hyperintense on T1-weighted images and heterogeneously hyperintense on T2-weighted images, and measured approximately 11 mm in size in the left posterior frontal region at high ventricular level. The patient was consulted to neurology and neurosurgery departments, and was hospitalized in the neurosurgery service. Discussion: Cavernomas are the third most common vascular malformations after developmental venous anomaly and capillary telangiectasias, accounting for 5-13% of all cerebral vascular malformations. Cavernous angiomas can be seen in any area of the central nervous system (CNS), mostly in cerebral hemispheres (80%). They are most commonly located in the subcortical region and frontal-temporal lobes in the cerebral parenchyma. The most common clinical symptoms include epileptic seizures, intracerebral hemorrhage, focal neurological symptoms and headache. Magnetic resonance imaging is the most sensitive radiological diagnostic method for cavernous angiomas. Asymptomatic cases of cavernous angiomas are followed by periodic MRI studies, surgical resection of the lesions is recommended because recurrent hemorrhages may cause permanent neurological deficits in symptomatic patients. Conclusion: In conclusion, patients with cavernoma present with atypical complaints to the emergency department and can be diagnosed incidentally. Cavernomas are lesions of vascular origin, which tends to be located more frequently in the frontotemporal lobes and subcortical areas, is often accompanied by developmental venous anomalies, and has a radiological appearance that varies according to the extent of hemorrhage.


The purpose of this paper is to show the incidence of ovulation stigmata (and the so-called luteinized unruptured follicle) in six patients who conceived during the laparoscopy cycle. Only two patients (33.3%) showed ovulation stigmata when their ovaries were visualized 2 to 7 days after the BBT dip, close to the estimated time of ovulation. Four patients (66.6%) whose ovaries were seen 10-12 days after the BBT dip failed to show any ovulation stigmata in spite of the fact that they conceived during that cycle and therefore the ovulation was proven. We have come to the conclusion that the laparoscopic picture of the luteinized unruptured follicle should no longer be considered to contain the trapped ovum and other diagnostic procedures should be used in the diagnosis of the ovum retention syndrome.


Background: PHF6 gene is mutated in BFLS and adult acute myeloid and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias. Results: Crystal structure of the second extended PHD domain of PHF6 was solved. Conclusion: PHF6-ePHD2 is a novel structural module and binds dsDNA. Significance: PHF6 may function as a transcriptional repressor using its ePHD domains binding to DNA and recruiting NuRD complex through its NoLS region to regulate gene transcription. The plant homeodomain finger 6 (PHF6) was originally identified as the gene mutated in the X-linked mental retardation disorder Börjeson-Forssman-Lehmann syndrome. Mutations in the PHF6 gene have also been associated with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. Approximately half of the disease-associated mutations are distributed in the second conserved extended plant homeodomain (ePHD2) of PHF6, indicating the functional importance of the ePHD2 domain. Here, we report the high resolution crystal structure of the ePHD2 domain of PHF6, which contains an N-terminal pre-PHD (C2HC zinc finger), a long linker, and an atypical PHD finger. PHF6-ePHD2 appears to fold as a novel integrated structural module. Structural analysis of PHF6-ePHD2 reveals pathological implication of PHF6 gene mutations in Börjeson-Forssman-Lehmann syndrome, T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and acute myeloid leukemia. The binding experiments show that PHF6-ePHD2 can bind dsDNA but not histones. We also demonstrate PHF6 protein directly interacts with the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylation complex component RBBP4. Via this interaction, PHF6 exerts its transcriptional repression activity. Taken together, these data support the hypothesis that PHF6 may function as a transcriptional repressor using its ePHD domains binding to the promoter region of its repressed gene, and this process was regulated by the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylation complex that was recruited to the genomic target site by NoLS region of PHF6.


The PI3K pathway is considered a master regulator for cancer due to its frequent activation, making it an attractive target for pharmacologic intervention. While substantial efforts have been made to develop drugs targeting PI3K signaling, few drugs have been able to achieve the inhibition necessary for effective tumor control at tolerated doses. HSP90 is a chaperone protein that is overexpressed and activated in many tumors and as a consequence, small-molecule ligands of HSP90 are preferentially retained in tumors up to 20 times longer than in normal tissue. We hypothesize that the generation of conjugates that use a HSP90-targeting ligand and a payload such as copanlisib, may open the narrow therapeutic window of this and other PI3K inhibitors. In support of this hypothesis, we have generated a HSP90-PI3K drug conjugate, T-2143 and utilizing xenograft models, demonstrate rapid and sustained tumor accumulation of the conjugate, deep pathway inhibition, and superior efficacy than the PI3K inhibitor on its own. Selective delivery of T-2143 and the masking of the inhibitor active site was also able to mitigate a potentially dose-limiting side effect of copanlisib, hyperglycemia. These data demonstrate that by leveraging the preferential accumulation of HSP90-targeting ligands in tumors, we can selectively deliver a PI3K inhibitor leading to efficacy in multiple tumor models without hyperglycemia in mice. These data highlight a novel drug delivery strategy that allows for the potential opening of a narrow therapeutic window through specific tumor delivery of anticancer payloads and reduction of toxicity.


The present invention, (R, R) - pharmaceutical preparations comprising a combination of a formoterol and budesonide, and in medicine, in particular to the use of such formulations in the prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases.


"ULTRA GRIDSEC" is a high-performance symmetric key cryptography scheme used to secure data passes inside peer-to-peer computational grid middleware that we are developing now. This schema is used to accelerate the performance of triple data encryption standards (TDES) by about 439.7% and this percentage value is changed according to machine capabilities, also it enhances the security of encrypted TDES files. An analysis and comparison of this scheme and its performance is presented in this paper.


The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, AUC, is commonly used to assess the ability of a diagnostic test to correctly classify individuals into diseased and nondiseased populations. When there are two diagnostic tests available, it is of interest to evaluate and compare their performances. Based on the difference of two placement values, we propose a two‐sample empirical likelihood method for comparing AUCs of two ROC curves. The proposed empirical likelihood ratio statistic converges in distribution to a scaled chi‐squared random variable. Simulation results show that the proposed empirical likelihood method has better finite‐sample performance than other competitors.


Recently, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) that has some advantages has come to the front. The research on surgical robot for operational support has been actively done. To use such robots in MIS, it is needed to estimate the environmental impedance as the numerical data and to preserve it from the viewpoint of knowing the standard reference value of the safety field of internal organs and from that of the support of education for the operation . In this paper, a novel method for the estimation of environmental impedance in a real environment by bilateral control is proposed. In this method, one degrees of freedom linear motor is used. And it enables environmental impedance to be estimated with an environmental reaction force by the reaction force observer based on the disturbance observer. It is able to estimate environmental impedance without depending on slave's initial position. Moreover, the impedance is enabled to be estimated dynamically by using past information. To verify the viability of the proposed method, experimental results are shown.


Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a cancer-specific antigen described by Gold in 1965. It is a glycoprotein present in malignant entodermal tissues, in fetal colonic mucosa, and in the plasma of patients with gastrointestinal tract cancers. We have measured plasma CEA levels in 346 patients using a new procedure which detects an ion-sensitive antigenic site in the carcinoembryonic molecule. Levels in 39 of 48 patients with gastrointestinal tract cancer and 90 of 281 with nonentodermally derived malignancies were abnormal. Following successful therapy CEA level returns to normal (colon, four of four; neuroblastoma, three of three). The identity between the antigen measured in the present study and the carcinoembryonic antigen of Gold has not been established. The assay appears to be useful in the follow-up of patients with cancer and may eventually be of diagnostic value in the asymptomatic patient.


The accumulation of different types of metabolites may reflect variations in plant adaptation to different severities or durations of drought stress. The objectives of this project are to examine changes in metabolomic profiles and determine predominant metabolites in response to short-term (6 days) and long-term (18 days) drought stress with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis in a C4 perennial grass species. Plants of hybrid bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon · C. transvaalensis cv. Tifdwarf) were unirrigated for 18 days to induce drought stress in growth chambers. Physiological responses to drought stress were evaluated by visual rating of grass quality, relative water content, photochemical efficiency, and electrolyte leakage (EL). All parameters decreased significantly at 6 and 18 days of drought stress, except EL, which increased with the duration of drought stress. Under short-term drought stress (6 days), the content did not change significantly for most metabolites, except methionine, serine, g-aminobutyric acid (GABA), isoleucine, and mannose. Most metabolites showed higher accumulation under long- term drought stress compared with that under the well-watered conditions, including three organic acids (malic acid, galacturonic acid, and succinic acid), 10 amino acids (proline, asparagine, phenylalanine, methionine, serine, 5-hydroxynorvaline, GABA, glycine, theorine, valine), seven sugars (sucrose, glucose, galactose, fructose, mannose, maltose, xylose), one nitrogen compound (ethanolamine), and two-sugar alcohol (myo-inositol). The accumulation of those metabolites, especially malic acid, proline, and sucrose, could be associated with drought adaptation of C4 hybrid bermudagrass to long-term or severe drought stress.


The purpose of this study is to present the results of an empirical study to assess records management practices within government in the Kingdom of Swaziland. The study investigated types of records generated and how they are used; records organization and retrieval; suitability of records storage facilities; records disposal, preservation and maintenance; and training needs of records/registry staff. Methodological triangulation was used to carry out the study. Data was collected through survey questionnaire and observations. Responses to the open-ended questions were scanned to determine words and phrases used by the respondents and analyse them thematically. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 12.0 for Windows was used to analyse quantitative data. Swaziland government does not have in place a records management programme. As a result the provisions of Swaziland National Archives Act No. 5 of 1971, and ISO 15489 standards for records management are hardly complied with. Across all government ministries, there is no uniform classification and filing system. Besides, a system of records appraisal and disposal does not exist. Records are vulnerable to loss because of lack of adequate measures for their care and safe custody. The study was limited to Mbabane the capital, and seat of government operations. Future research endeavours could extent to cover regional records management departments as well as the private sector from which best practices could be obtained to inform sound records management in government. Without sound records management, the government of Swaziland cannot be accountable and service delivery to citizens is hampered. This article is based on an empirical study that was carried out in 2011 to assess records management in the Kingdom of Swaziland government. The authors recommend the enactment of records management programme to enhance accountability, transparency and integrity in government.


The increasing need for the characterization of hydrological conditions of catchments demands better and more practical research techniques. The streamflow characterization is fundamental for hydrological/ hydrogeological studies and it can be determined by several methods. This paper intends to analyze the portable weir technique, an alternative methodology for low flow determination, still relatively unknown in Brazil. Two to three streamflow measurements a day were manually taken in ten catchments of the Maracujá basin, a tributary of the Alto Rio das Velhas river in the State of Minas Gerais. Three kinds of weir were used: triangular, rectangular and trapezoidal Cipoletti, all of them constructed with 4-6 mm thick galvanized iron plate. The results showed that this is a practical, reliable and economic technique of measuring low flows. Even though the peak flows were occasionally not recorded, either because of the weir overflow or because of the long recording period. The recession period was always well recorded, allowing the determination of the baseflow, the recession coefficient and other hydrological indices, which are useful in the indirect method of hydrogeological characterization.


Smart Grid is the trend of next generation power distribution and management network that enable interactive communication and operation between consumers and suppliers, which can achieve intelligent resource management and optimization. The wireless mesh network technology is a promising infrastructure solution to support these smart functionalities, while it has some inherent vulnerabilities and cyber-attack risks to be addressed. As Smart Grid is heavily relying on the communication network, it makes these security concerns more critical. In this paper, we have proposed and implemented a new trust-based geographical routing protocol, named as Trust-based Intelligent Geo Elective Routing (TIGER), which is integrating the distance and trust related factors into a novel routing metric, so as to tackle above problems. The extensive simulation studies confirm that our new TIGER algorithm shows promises for synthesizing trust and distance factors to achieve better routing performance, and also guarantee the reliable communications in wireless mesh infrastructure to avoid attacks in Smart Grid.


Narrativism as a theory of historical depiction intuitively opens the question: what is left of reality when it is poured through the filter of language structures? And, extended a little bit further, questions arise: What is responsible for the final shape of a historical depiction? Is it experience or language? What is affecting what? Narrativism typically accuses language units of transforming experience in a specific way. However, even in asking these questions, the problem of the separation of experience from language and language from experience remains.

In this article, I address this issue using Gadamer's hermeneutical frame. Wherever philosophical tradition insists on the separation of certain positions, Gadamer tries to show their ontological connections. For Gadamer, understanding is a basic ontological structure, within which both sides of a dialogue affect and constitute each other. In Gadamerian hermeneutical ontology, there is no "starting point" or first responsible position. In the understanding, dialogue has the permanently moving character of a play, where separate positions are erased.

This Gadamerian view can also be applied to the question of language and experience and their mutual connection in depicting any experience via language. In Gadamer's example of the work of art, the original subject matter (Urbild) is articulated through its depiction. The subject matter dictates possible ways of depicting, which in turn dictate the final shape of depiction. In this article, I discuss Gadamer's term "articulation of the world," by which he means a function of language. Articulation is simply a transformation of shapeless matter into a shape, and in our case it is a transformation of an experience into a language depiction. I show that the Gadamerian approach to language and experience can offer an interesting perspective on the issues discussed in reaction to narrativist philosophy of history.


The hardware implementation of neural networks is a new step in the evolution and use of neural networks in practical applications. The CMAC cerebellar model articulation controller is intended especially for hardware implementation, and this type of network is used successfully in the areas of robotics and control, where the real time capabilities of the network are of particular importance. The implementation of neural networks on FPGA's has several benefits, with emphasis on parallelism and the real time capabilities. This paper discusses the hardware implementation of the CMAC type neural network, the architecture and parameters and the functional modules of the hardware implemented neuro-processor.


The puerperal period is a critical one in the life of a woman, due to the numerous changes which occur at biological and psychological levels and also at the level of relationships. Various disturbances of a psychiatric nature may emerge during this period which represents a "risky" phase from a psycho-pathological point of view. Among some of these disturbances, so-called "puerperal psychoses", there is an uncertain nosographic connection. According to some authors, these psychoses could be distinct nosographic events, while others prefer to include them in psychotic disturbances which have already been classified. From this point of view the puerperal period would be a stressful event. Risk factors would be a first birth, previous psychotic puerperal episodes, inherited serious psychiatric disturbances and caesarean section. The therapy used in the case of such disturbances must take into account many aspects and implications which don't exclusively concern the new mother but which also look significantly at the newborn baby, and the patient's family circumstances. All this implies the necessity for a close collaboration between specialists in different medical areas (psychiatry and obstetrics). Particular attention should be given to the type of disturbed relationship which can occur between the mother and the new born child. The analysis of our case has stimulated many reflections from a clinical, therapeutic and prognostic point of view, and as a result we tent to agree with published material on the subject.


ABSTRACT Wetlands are vulnerable to groundwater extraction, which has proven detrimental to aquatic ecosystems around the planet. As wetlands rank among the world's most endangered ecosystems, versatile strategies are required to protect them. This paper provides a modelling-based method to delineate protection buffers in wetlands subject to groundwater extraction. The technique is sufficiently flexible to cater to a wide variety of conditions, and simple enough to underpin management decisions on a daily basis. A numerical model is used to obtain a map of the critical rate of groundwater abstraction, based on the distance between wetlands and suitable discharge thresholds. The outcomes determine the allowed pumping rate at any point under steady and transient-state conditions. A new iteration is developed every time a new pumping allowance is made. This procedure is demonstrated by means of hypothetical scenarios, as well as by a case study application in the Valle del Cauca region, Colombia.


This paper applies the replacement cost method for calculating the value of stochastic carbon sequestration in the EU climate policy for mitigating carbon dioxide emissions. Minimum costs with and without carbon sequestrations are then derived with a safety-first approach in a chance-constrained framework for two different scenarios; one with the current system for emission trading in combination with national allocation plans and one with a hypothetical system where all sectors trade. The theoretical results show that i) the value of carbon sequestration approaches zero for a high enough risk discount, ii) relatively low abatement cost in the trading sector curbs supply of permits on the ETS market, and iii) large abatement costs in the trading sector create values from carbon sequestration for meeting national targets. The empirical application to the EU commitment of 20% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions shows large variation in carbon sequestration value depending on risk discount and on institutional set up. Under no uncertainty, the value can correspond to approximately 0.45% of total GDP in EU under current policy system, but it is reduced to one third if all sectors are allowed to trade. The value declines drastically under conditions of uncertainty and approaches zero for high probabilities in achieving targets. The allocation of value among countries depends on scenario; under the current system countries make gains from reduced costs of meeting national targets, under a sector-wide trading scheme buyers of permits gain from reductions in permit price and sellers make associated losses.


Ground-based observations of polar cap ionization patches have been made for many years. Optical measurements indicate that enhancements occurring in the 630.0-nm emission line are correlated with these ionization patches. The present study examines data from the Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) on the Dynamics Explorer 2 spacecraft to determine if patches can be observed optically from space. Since the FPI scanned the forward horizon, it was able to observe the vertical profile of airglow emissions associated with patches, thus giving information about the vertical structure. FPI measurements have been correlated with data from several in situ instruments on the spacecraft. These in situ measurements include electron density, atomic oxygen density, electron temperature, neutral temperature, and electron energy flux. Three polar cap patches have been detected both by the FPI and the in situ instruments. The red line emission patches are enhancements in the 630.0-nm red line in a specific altitude region which create an irregular altitude profile. The red line emission region associated with polar cap ionization patches varies from patch to patch and occurs in the altitude range from below 300 km to 400 km.


This paper proposes a pose-graph based SLAM method using an upward-looking camera and artificial landmarks for AGVs in factory environments. The proposed method provides a way to acquire the camera extrinsic matrix and improves the accuracy of feature observation using a low-cost camera. SLAM is conducted by optimizing AGV's explored path using the artificial landmarks installed on the ceiling at various locations. As the AGV explores, the pose nodes are added based on the certain distance from odometry and the landmark nodes are registered when AGV recognizes the fiducial marks. As a result of the proposed scheme, a graph network is created and optimized through a G2O optimization tool so that the accumulated error due to the slip is minimized. The experiment shows that the proposed method is robust for SLAM in real factory environments.


Austenitic stainless steel sheets have gained wide acceptance in the fabrication of components, which require high temperature resistance and corrosion resistance such as metal bellows used in expansion joints in aircraft, aerospace and petroleum industries. In the case of single pass welding of thinner sections of this alloy, Pulsed Current Micro Plasma Arc Welding (PCMPAW) has been found beneficial due to its advantages over the conventional continuous current process. This paper highlighted development of empirical mathematical equations using multiple regression analysis, correlating various process parameters to pitting corrosion rates in PCMPAW of AISI 304L sheets in 1 Normal HCl. The experiments were conducted based on a five factor, five level central composite rotatable design matrix. The model adequacy was checked by Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The main effects and interaction effects of the welding process parameters on pitting corrosion rates of the welded joints were studied using surface and contour plots. From the contour plots, it was understood that peak current was the most influencing factor on the pitting corrosion rate. The optimum pitting corrosion rate was achieved at peak current of 6 Amperes, base current of 4 Amperes, pulse rate of 40 pulses/second and pulse width of 50 % .


For many years pharmacy curriculums have provided the theoretical basis for understanding pharmaceutical problems related to drug and dosage form stability. Few pharmacists, however, utilize this body of knowledge in practice. Undoubtedly, there is a genuine need for such knowledge, but many pharmacists lack adequate experience in applying physical-chemical theory to practical situations. For example, how do you answer a patient's question on the stability of an antibiotic suspension requiring refrigeration when it cannot be refrigerated? Or how do you estimate the shelf life of an extemporaneous oral or iv solution that you have prepared? There are two important reasons why pharmacists do not apply their basic training in physical pharmacy to their actual practice : ( 1 ) the inaccessibility of the necessary physical-chemical data on the drug or dosage form for stability calculations, and (2) "the lack of 'feel' for kinetic data in general and, in particular, the inability to make approximations when the necessary data are not available." This book is aimed at providing such data for a number of drugs as well as practical approaches to problem solving that emphasizes simple approximations and the development of qualitative insight into stability problems.


Objective: To determine the accuracy and detecting ability of transvaginal sonography (TVS) and saline infusion sonography (SIS) in the evaluation of intrauterine pathology in patients with Abnormal Uterine Bleeding(AUB) and to compare the diagnostic accuracy after hysterectomy. Methodology: This is a prospective cohort study conducted in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. 100 patients being subjected to hysterectomy for AUB were involved. TVS and SIS were done sequentially in every patient prior to hysterectomy. Results: The overall sensitivity and specificity when correlated with the intraoperative hysterectomy findings and HPE were 73.71% and 95.53% for TVS and 87.32% and 97.73% for SIS. Positive predictive value and Negative predictive value were 72.74% and 94.61% for TVS and 87.89% and 97.60% for SIS respectively. The false positive and false negative rates were high in TVS than SIS. Conclusion: TVS combined with SIS is a very sensitive and specific technique for diagnosing intrauterine abnormality in cases of AUB. SIS outlines the uterine cavity, detects myoma, polyp or endometrial abnormality missed on TVS.


The Bogomolov conjecture is a finiteness statement about algebraic points of small height on a smooth complete curve defined over a global field. We verify an effective form of the Bogomolov conjecture for all curves of genus at most 4 over a function field of characteristic zero. We recover the known result for genus-2 curves and in many cases improve upon the known bound for genus-3 curves. For many curves of genus 4 with bad reduction, the conjecture was previously unproved.


We theoretically study infrared (IR)-driven high-order harmonic generation (HHG) assisted by attosecond pulses with a central energy above the atomic ionization threshold. We provide a clear physical picture for controlling HHG using the time delay between the attosecond pulses and the IR laser reported by Faria et al. [Phys. Rev. A74, 053416 (2006)]. This physical picture also indicates that the combined attosecond pulses and IR laser can help resolve the dynamics of ionized electrons from time-dependent harmonic spectra. We present the quantum effect on HHG as an example. While leaving parent ions, ionized electrons can still emit harmonics in the semi-classically forbidden situation. The two-color excitation provides a practical method to observe the quantum effect experimentally. Furthermore, in our work, attosecond pulses and an IR field are considered with a realistic pulse shape, which shows a quantitatively important effect in controlling harmonic spectra. Accordingly, a guide to optimize the control capability for HHG is presented, and a method to determine the IR carrier-envelope phase based on the pulse-shape effect on the HHG is also proposed.


Diurnal levels of plasma prolactin and growth hormone were measured in 47 normal premenopausal women, 26 of whom were established vegetarians and 21 of whom were omnivorous controls. There were no differences between the median prolactin levels of the two groups during a 24-hour period of investigation. When the groups were further subdivided into ovolactovegetarians and vegans, still no differences were found in prolactin secretion. In contrast, the vegetarian women exhibited elevation of growth hormone levels during the period of study, which was particularly marked at midnight and 10 A.M.


Recent measurements' on the thermionic emission from a platinum surface during outgassing have brought to the attention of the writer an empirical relation between the thermionic constants for a metallic surface which was discovered by Richardson2 for tungsten and platinum in 1915, but which ha4 apparently been completely neglected in formulating the various theories of the emission process. This relation may be stated as follows: In the Richardson-Dushman equation,


Selective cleavages of carbon-carbon bonds catalyzed by transition-metal complexes have been shown to be increasingly versatile tools for organic synthesis allowing for complementary synthetic strategies. Numerous examples of transition-metal catalyzed C-C bond activations of three- and four-membered ring systems have been reported. These strained rings have been shown to engage in a variety of new ring-opening rearrangements and cycloaddition reactions leading to valuable structures. Besides strain-driven transformations, other facilitating strategies to enforce the C-C bond activation of unstrained molecules have been developed as well. While the variety of different transformations is less abundant, they concentrate on chelation-assisted reactions using appropriate permanent or transient directing groups. In particular, the cleavage and subsequent functionalization of the C-CN bonds and decarbonylation processes operating by an excision of carbon monoxide from ketone derivatives have witnessed a large progress.


Patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) are at risk of long-term left ventricular (LV) dysfunction associated with poor outcomes. In this study, we examined the association of LV end-diastolic (ED) shape with components of systolic wall motion (SWM) that contribute to global systolic dysfunction in an rTOF patient cohort. Features of LV shape associated with conicity and septal wall curvature correlated with components of SWM. The effect of ED shape perturbations on SWM were examined in a finite element analysis of systolic ventricular mechanics. Variations in the combination of ED shape and myocardial contractility were able to match predicted measures of SWM. From these results, we hypothesize that greater LV conicity and a flatter septal wall are markers of reduced global myocardial contractility and should be examined further for clinical prognostic utility to improve patient outcomes.


Both entrepreneurship and immigration has increased dramatically in Sweden, as well as globally. Today there are over a million companies in Sweden where one-person (74.8%) and micro enterprises (21.7%) represent the largest portion. This gives a clear view that the Swedish economy is dominated by small firms. Behind many of these smaller companies are individuals with a foreign background. In 2010 it was shown that every seventh company that was started in Sweden, operated by a person with roots from another part of the world.One of the main forces of a country's economic growth is the companies, which is a major reason that focus lies on how they choose to finance their business. The problem for many immigrant entrepreneurs is difficulty in obtaining external financing during its life-cycle, which leads to alternative financing methods used, named bootstrapping. Bootstrapping means to "lift oneself up" and make sure to become "self-sufficient". Scientists believe that the entrepreneur's characteristics also play a significant role in the choice of financing.The purpose of this paper is to explore whether immigrant entrepreneur's use of bootstrapping is affected by the entrepreneur's characteristics and the company's life cycle. A hermeneutic research philosophy has been used in conjunction with a deductive and a qualitative approach. The reason for using a qualitative approach is to create a deeper understanding of an unfamiliar area. The qualitative study has been performed with the help of eight respondents to answer the study's problem and purpose.The paper indicates that immigrant entrepreneurs mainly uses owner-financed in the introduction and growth phase. The study demonstrates that delaying bootstrapping is also a common method that immigrant entrepreneurs use during the growth phase. Another method that is also used but not as much as the other two methods is relationship oriented bootstrapping. The most influencing characteristics when using bootstrapping is the need of control over the business and risk aversion against external financiers.


A male infant with Menkes Kinky Hair Syndrome was treated with a 3‐week course of cupric acetate infusions, which was terminated when he developed aminoaciduria. The lack of improvement seen in this infant is representative of the reported experience with parenteral copper therapy in this condition, and may be attributable to the presence of a clinically significant abnormality in copper metabolism in utero.