In this paper, a space-time turbo coded (STTC) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system with QPSK signalling is explored when joint transmit and receive antenna selection is employed. Maximization of signal to noise ratio is used for antenna selection based on per-tone, all-tone or hybrid selection criteria. Simulation results show that applying joint transmit/receive antenna selection techniques for STTC-OFDM systems can improve error rate performances considerably by achieving high diversity orders, thus make it preferable for standards of high speed wireless networks.


The Ig Nobel award for medicine—one of the prizes given annually to scientists who have produced unusual research—was given this year to a team of researchers who had found that cities in which radio stations played a higher than average amount of country music had higher than average suicide rates.

The award went to Steven Stack of Wayne State University, Michigan, and James Gundlach of Auburn University, Alabama, for their report, The Effect of Country Music on Suicide. Dr Stack protested to the BMJ that it was unfair of Newsweek to call him and his colleague "academic coneheads."

"We had hard data showing that cities with higher than average country music radio market share had higher white suicide rates," he said. …


Empathy is often split into an affective facet for embodied simulation or sometimes sensorial processing, and a cognitive facet for mentalizing and perspective-taking. However, a recent neurophenomenological framework proposes a graded view on empathy (i.e., "Graded Empathy") that extends this dichotomy and considers multiple levels while integrating complex neural patterns and representations of subjective experience. In the current magnetoencephalography study, we conducted a multidimensional investigation of neural oscillatory modulations and their cortical sources in 44 subjects while observing stimuli that convey vicarious pain (vs no-pain) in a broad time window and frequency range to explore rich neural representations of pain empathy. Furthermore, we collected participants' subjective-experience of sensitivity to vicarious pain, as well as their self-reported trait levels of affective and cognitive empathy to examine the possible associations between neural mechanisms and subjective experiences and reports. While extending previous electrophysiological studies that mainly focused on alpha suppression, we found here four significant power modulation patterns corresponding to multiple facets of empathy: an early central (peaking in the paracentral sulcus) alpha (6–11 Hz) suppression pattern plausibly reflecting sensory processing, two early beta (15–23 Hz) suppression patterns in the mid-cingulate cortex (plausibly reflecting the affective component) and in the precuneus (plausibly reflecting the cognitive component), and a late anterior (peaking in the orbitofrontal cortex) alpha-beta (11–19 Hz) enhancement pattern (plausibly reflecting cognitive-control inhibitory response). Interestingly, the latter measure was negatively correlated with the subjective sensitivity to vicarious pain, thereby possibly revealing a novel inhibitory neural mechanism determining the subjective sensitivity to vicarious pain. Altogether, these multilevel findings cannot be accommodated by the dichotomous model of empathy (i.e., affective-cognitive), and provide empirical support to the Graded Empathy neurophenomenological framework. Furthermore, this work emphasizes the importance of examining multiple neural rhythms, their cortical generators, and reports of subjective-experience in the aim of elucidating the complex nature of empathy.


The involvement of the nm23 gene, initially documented as a putative metastasis-suppressor gene, in normal development and differentiation has been supported by several investigations. To date, however, localization and expression pattern of nm23 in the human placenta has not been determined. In the present study, the expression of nm23-H1 was examined by Northern blot and immunohistochemical analyses in human placentas from various stages of gestation. In first trimester placenta, the villous cytotrophoblast and the extravillous trophoblast exhibited strong cytoplasmic staining for nm23-H1. In second trimester and term placentas, the few cytotrophoblasts present showed less intense staining than those in first trimester placenta. Northern blot analysis demonstrated a progressive decrease in nm23-H1 gene expression with advancing gestational age, which is consistent with the results obtained by immunohistochemistry. These findings suggest that nm23-H1 is involved in the differentiation process of the trophoblast, and high levels of nm23-H1 expression seem to reflect the proliferating, less differentiated state of that reserve.


Structural models of the exchange rate have performed very poorly for the industrialized nations during the post-Bretton Woods period. A number of studies found that the out-of-sample forecasts of structural models are no better than those of the random walk model. This result is readily explained if the fundamental determinants of exchange rates (e.g., money supplies, income levels, and interest rates) are themselves near-random walk processes. However, some studies provide evidence that there are no cointegrating relationships between bilateral nominal exchange rates and the so-called fundamentals;One aim of this research is to estimate a structural exchange rate determination model. To this end, the Johansen cointegration technique is used to re-examine the existence of cointegrating vector(s) between the exchange rate and the supposed fundamentals;The second aim of the research is to propose a modelling strategy for models with cointegrated variables. In that regard, each cointegrating vector is viewed as either a behavioral or a reduced form equation stemming from a structural model. Identification of the behavioral equations can be facilitated by the imposition of zero restrictions on the cointegrating vector(s). Given that these equations represent long-run static properties of the data, a more complex dynamic structure can be derived combining this prior analysis to the system. This can be achieved by using conventional innovation accounting (variance decomposition and impulse response functions) techniques based on the error-correction representation;We apply the procedure to estimate a structural model of the French Franc/U.S. Dollar and Italian Lira/U.S. Dollar exchange rates. Using quarterly data from the post Bretton Woods period, we find multiple cointegrating vectors which we identify as (1) the money market equilibrium relationship(s) and (2) the modified Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) relationship consistent with the Dependent Economy Model of exchange rate determination. We also estimate the error-correction representation (with the restricted and unrestricted equilibrium errors) in order to characterize the short-run properties of the system. Using conventional accounting techniques, we show that a reasonable proportion of exchange rate variability is explained by the fundamentals.


We have found that the frequencies of continuous-wave (CW) microwave oscillations in nanocontact spin-transfer (ST) devices occur in well-defined planes of frequencies, as a function of the dc current bias, the direction of the magnetic field, and the magnitude of the magnetic field. The frequency, f, of these technologically significant peaks for each magnetic field direction is described empirically by the equation of a plane, f=a|Boarr|+bI+c, where |Boarr| is the magnitude of the magnetic field, I is the dc bias current, and a, b, and c are constants of the plane. The primary frequency plane described by this equation is accompanied by a smaller secondary plane. The empirical equation describing the primary plane serves as a guide for efficiently locating CW oscillations within the independent variable space


In many African countries, the income generated from the informal sector and the entrepreneurship is particularly important for reducing poverty. Previous studies have not found clear evidence on the relationship between self‐employment by gender and food security. We argue that this may be a result of the gender inequality in resource accessibility. In this paper, we analyze the implication of household entrepreneurship on food security in Niger, where gender disparities in resource accessibility are reduced. We find that owning female‐managed non‐agricultural enterprises is positively related to food accessibility and food availability within female‐headed households. The results draw the attention on reducing gender differences in resource accessibility in entrepreneurship for improving food security.


Multiple dose intensive chemotherapy regimens have been used for induction/mobilization of stem cells for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in multiple myeloma. However, the exact role and regimens of such dose intensive chemotherapy has not been clearly defined. We therefore did a retrospective study to determine if dose intensive cyclophosphamide (Cyclo) 5.25 g/m 2 , etoposide 1.05 g/m 2 and cisplatin 105 mg/m 2 (DICEP) results in improved relapse rate and survival compared to standard mobilization with only Cyclo 2 g/m 2 . Between January 1998 and March 2004, a consecutive series of 57 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients receiving DICEP (38) or Cyclo (19) for in-vivo purging/mobilization were analyzed. Both groups were similar in regards to age and sex. There were no significant differences in IPI score, Durie-Salmon stage, B 2 microglobulin, calcium, creatinine and albumin levels between treatment groups. Outcomes included time to relapse and time to death. Median follow up time was 799 days. Kaplan-Meier plots for time to relapse showed no significant difference (p=0.0992). Median relapse time in the DICEP group was 905 days (95% CI 580–1604) compared to 1112 days (95% CI 742-infinity) in the Cyclo group. Kaplan-Meier plots for overall survival showed no significant difference between both groups (p=0.8664). The median survival times have not yet been reached in either group and are not reported. Analysis revealed no discernable confounding risk factors. Effects of treatment on outcomes were not altered after adjusting for IPI score and Durie-Salmon staging using the stratified log-rank test. Small sample size and short duration of followup are potential limiting factors for this study, however, preliminary analysis of a larger sample of 91 multiple myeloma patients receiving either DICEP or a less intense induction/mobilization regimen, also revealed no significant difference in disease free or overall survival. Monoclonal plasma cell contamination of stem cell products was not significantly different between both groups (DICEP 42.9%, Cyclo 56.3%, p=0.5573). This study therefore suggests that the very intense DICEP induction/mobilization regimen results in no significant difference in survival outcomes. The more intense regimen does not significantly decrease tumor contamination of autograft stem cells. Overall, our experience suggests that novel induction therapies such as bortezomib, lenolidomide etc. should be pursued in preference to any further study of high dose cytotoxic chemotherapy induction.


This study examined the relationship among trait anxiety (A-trait), sex, general ability and academic achievement of tenth-grade students in a public school in Puerto Rico. GPA was used as the criterion of academic achievement. The sample used was 144 female and 122 male subjects between 15 and 17 years old. It was found that low A-trait subjects had higher academic achievement scores than did high A-trait subjects. The female subjects had higher academic achievement scores than the male subjects. Furthermore, it was found that the academic achievement of subjects with relatively high general ability was superior to that of subjects with relatively low general ability. The results of this study were compared with those of other studies from a methodological viewpoint and in relation to the theory of state and trait anxiety advanced by Spielberger (1966a; 1970).


The dynamic instability of microtubules is a critical phenomenon that regulates several biological processes. Chemical perturbation of microtubules disrupts these processes and is known to stimulate phosphorylation of downstream substrates. Despite decades of research into microtubule pharmacology, unanswered questions remain regarding the relationship between anti-tubulin drugs and downstream signaling and phenotypes. The following work addresses and answers three outstanding questions regarding the biology of anti-tubulin drugs. It first addresses an important metric for anti-tubulin drug efficacy – site occupancy – and relates classic drug-induced phenotypes to drug occupancy of the taxane site on microtubules in live cells and tissues. The data presented suggest that, when considering site occupancy, the spindle-assembly checkpoint is relatively insensitive to microtubule-stabilizing drugs. Next, after probing the relationship between site occupancy and drug-relevant phenotypes, work is described which utilized mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomics to elucidate differences in phospho-regulation induced by microtubule-stabilizing and destabilizing drugs. Analysis of this data revealed a large wave of rapid phosphorylation that was common to both classes of drug and highlighted the prominent activity of a protein phosphatase stimulated by microtubule destabilization. Furthermore, the data demonstrated a surprising increase of JNK activity without additional JNK activation in response to microtubule stabilization. Lastly, after comparing drug effects on phospho-signaling in an averaged cell population, work is presented which involved high-content analysis at the single-cell level to elicit information regarding cell heterogeneity in anti-tubulin drug responses. This required development of a novel approach to quantify microtubule dynamics, namely EB3 comet counting in segmented single cells. The data revealed drug-induced singlecell heterogeneity with respect to microtubule dynamics upon treatment with a panel of drugs. Moreover, this occurred in the presence of a pan-efflux pump inhibitor, suggesting that drug-induced heterogeneity can occur independently of drug pump action. This biological finding, along with those mentioned above, is likely important for understanding the therapeutic efficacy of these drugs in cancer chemotherapy.


Self-supervision based deep learning classification approaches have received considerable attention in academic literature. However, the performance of such methods on remote sensing imagery domains remains under-explored. In this work, we explore contrastive representation learning methods on the task of imagery-based city classification, an important problem in urban computing. We use satellite and map imagery across 2 domains, 3 million locations and more than 1500 cities. We show that self-supervised methods can build a generalizable representation from as few as 200 cities, with representations achieving over 95% accuracy in unseen cities with minimal additional training. We also find that the performance discrepancy of such methods, when compared to supervised methods, induced by the domain discrepancy between natural imagery and abstract imagery is significant for remote sensing imagery. We compare all analysis against existing supervised models from academic literature and open-source our models11https://github.com/sachith500/self-supervision-remote-sensing-abstraction for broader usage and further criticism.


Newborn lambs were delivered by hysterotomy, their respiratory passages occluded, and their umbilical cords ligated. Lead II electrocardiographs and aortic blood pressures were taken during the increasing asphyxia. Precipitous fall in heart rate resulting from heart block occurred within two minutes of cord ligation. Thereafter progressive fall in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and pulse pressure occurred. In sequence, the electrocardiogram revealed heart block, return of slow sinus rhythm, lowering of T wave and shortening of QT interval, and terminal loss of P wave with development of bizarre broad QRS complex, low ST takeoff and loss of definition of the QS endpoint.


This research work focused on the contribution of depth to the yield of boreholes for water supply project in parts of Fadama Floodplain West Chad Basin, Northeastern Nigeria. An integrated method involving geoelectric and borehole lithological analysis and record of yields and aquifer hydraulic properties from boreholes was employed. Four distinct subsurface geologic layers and corresponding depths were delineated. These included the topsoil, alluvial sand, Chad Formation/weathered column and the bedrock. The thicknesses of the upper three layers were 0.4 – 6.7; 1.6 - 32.2 and 15.9 -168.6 m respectively. The depth to rockheads varied from 18.4 to 175.5 m.  The second layer presumably alluvium layer constitutes the main aquifer unit with optimum depth not greater than 30 m. However, within the upper 25 - 30 m, high groundwater yield of between 9 – 13.4 l/s (779.3 – 1163.8 m3/day ) with  hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity values of  6.7 to 1329.4 m/day and 122.7 to 10427.5 m3/day respectively were obtained. Beyond this depth, yields were wholly retarded between 2.0 l/s (172.8 m3/day) and 6.9 l/s (602.2 m3/day) arising from the significant contribution of the poor hydrogeological materials . It is, therefore, concluded that borehole depth model (25 - 30 m) and not those terminated at rock heads or within bedrock depression zones as in general case gave an optimum groundwater yield with a cumulative discharge capacity greater than 420 l/s (36,288 m3/day) expected from a battery of maximum of 42 boreholes in this part of the Chad Basin. Keywords: Depth, Contribution, Yield, Borehole, Transmissivity, Permeable, Floodplain.


Swiftness and robustness of natural communication is tied to the redundancy and complementarity found in our multimodal communication. Swiftness and robustness of human-computer interaction (HCI) is also a key to the success of a virtual reality (VR) environment. The interpretation of multimodal interaction signals has therefore been considered a high goal in VR research, e.g. following the visions of Bolt's put-that-there in 1980 [1]. It is our impression that research on user interfaces for VR systems has been focused primarily on finding and evaluating technical solutions and thus followed a technology-oriented approach to HCI. In this article, we argue to complement this by a human-oriented approach based on the observation of human-human interaction. The aim is to find models of human-human interaction that can be used to create user interfaces that feel natural. As the field of Linguistics is dedicated to the observation and modeling of human-human communication, it could be worthwhile to approach natural user interfaces from a linguistic perspective. We expect at least two benefits from following this approach. First, the human-oriented approach substantiates our understanding of natural human interactions. Second, it brings about a new perspective by taking the interaction capabilities of a human addressee into account, which are not often explicitly considered or compared with that of the system. As a consequence of following both approaches to create user interfaces, we expect more general models of human interaction to emerge.


A finite element-based model was developed to predict progressive damage evolution within a plain weave textile composite subjected to various combinations of in-plane tension and shear. Cracking in the tows, matrix, and interfaces was accounted for through cohesive zone modeling. Shear damage in the tows was accounted for through a continuum damage model. The damage behavior in the tows was stochastic in nature with properties determined from prior investigations of composite microstructures that included randomness in fiber positions. The predicted progressive damage evolution was found to qualitatively match well with experimental observations performed on similar material systems. The effect of temperature change, which modifies the thermally induced stresses in the tows as well as the apparent strength of the tows (due to changes in thermally induced microstresses at the fiber–matrix scale) was examined. Finally, the progressive failure responses under different loadings were compared to identify common characteristic behaviors. The effect of these characteristic behaviors on the textile's effective response was investigated along with approaches to incorporate the behaviors into a structural scale progressive failure model.


Modern fault detection/location technique for an EHV/UHV transmission network usually works based on the data measured by Phaser Measurement Units (PMU). The synchronized voltage and current phasors measured by PMU are transmitted to a monitoring center for analysis. Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers are also equipped with PMU, which is called GPS-PMU, to increase the accuracy of fault detection/location by tagging all of the measured data with time stamps. Once a fault was occurred in the transmission network, the time of those measured data transmitted to the monitoring center is crucial. Therefore, a high-quality communication network is required to reduce the response time of the fault detection/location algorithm. In this study, an evolutionary routing algorithm is developed to handle guarantee the minimal data transmission delay, and also robust against faults in communication system itself. The proposed routing algorithm has been tested through two kinds of experimental simulations, and the result shows that the proposed algorithm can provide minimal transmission delay by balancing the traffic over the communication network, and while the network topology has been changed, the proposed routing algorithm can adapt to the new topology in a very short time without seriously affect the response time of the transmission network fault detection/location algorithm.


A systematic approach for improving the water-solubility of anti-MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) cephalosporin derivatives is described. We first tried to improve the water-solubility of 7beta-[2-(5-amino-1,2,4-thiadiazol-3-yl)-2(Z)-fluoromethoxyiminoacetamido]-3-[(E)-2-(1-methylimidazo[1,2-b]pyridazinium-6-yl)thiovinyl]-3-cephem-4-carboxylate (1a) by substitution of the C-3' pharmacophore. Replacement of the C-3' pharmacophore with a 1-methyl-4-pyridinio group improved the water-solubility without decreasing the anti-MRSA activity. Furthermore, we applied the N-modified prodrug strategy to the C-7 acyl group in order to enhance the water-solubility drastically. Among the compounds prepared, the N-phosphono type prodrugs 2a(1-methylimidazo[1,2-b]pyridazinium derivative) and 2b (1-methyl-4-pyridinio derivative) showed water-solubility appropriate for a product intended for intravenous injection and in vivo anti-MRSA activity comparable to that of vancomycin.


This paper reports results of experimental investigations of contamination build-up on slider surfaces and its effects on the performance of tri-pad slider-based near-contact recording systems. Results indicate that the head-disk clearance changes, caused by contamination build-up, can be comparable to the designed head-disk clearance. As a result, the drive's performance and reliability can be strongly affected. Results obtained show that the amount of increase in the value of transition region length parameter is greater than the corresponding increase in head-disk clearance. Consequently, the writing performance suffers more severe degradation than the read performance. This is shown by error-rate measurements at the drive level as well as PW50 and NLTS measurements at the component level.


Ontology-based data access (OBDA) is a new paradigm aiming at accessing and managing data by means of an ontology, i.e., a conceptual representation of the domain of interest in the underlying information system. In the last years, this new paradigm has been used for providing users with abstract (independent from technological and system-oriented aspects), effective, and reasoning-intensive mechanisms for querying the data residing at the information system sources. In this paper we argue that OBDA, besides querying data, provides the right principles for devising a formal approach to data quality. In particular, we concentrate on one of the most important dimensions considered both in the literature and in the practice of data quality, namely consistency. We define a general framework for data consistency in OBDA, and present algorithms and complexity analysis for several relevant tasks related to the problem of checking data quality under this dimension, both at the extensional level (content of the data sources), and at the intensional level (schema of the data sources).


Chest injuries were reported as early as 3000 BC in the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus. Ancient Greek chronicles reveal that they had anatomic knowledge of the thoracic structures. Even in the ancient world, most of the therapeutic modalities for chest wounds and traumatic pulmonary injuries were developed during wartime. The majority of lung injuries can be managed non-operatively, but pulmonary injuries that require operative surgical intervention can be quite challenging. Recent progress in treating severe pulmonary injuries has relied on finding shorter and simpler lung-sparing techniques. The applicability of stapled pulmonary tractotomy was confirmed as a safe and valuable procedure. Advancement in technology have revolutionized thoracic surgery and ushered in the era of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), providing an alternative method for accurate and direct evaluation of the lung parenchyma, mediastinum, and diaphragmatic injuries. The aim of this article is to describe the incidence of the penetrating pulmonary injuries, the ultimate techniques used in its operative management, as well as the diagnosis, complications, and morbidity and mortality.


Burnout syndrome is a very prevalent condition of physical and mental wear in the medical profession. It is associated with serious physical and emotional consequences in health professionals, and is generally produced by an adverse working environment. Several research papers have proven that resilience, defined as the capacity to overcome adversity, can be a protective factor against burnout. In this study, levels of resilience were evaluated through a validated questionnaire in cardiology fellows and residents, and a relationship with burnout syndrome was established. One third of participants showed low resilience levels and a similar amount had positive criteria for burnout syndrome. A statistically significant association was found between these two conditions. Resilience was also negatively associated with tiredness, and positively with the perception of personal realization. Therefore, it is important to incorporate procedures for detecting low resilience levels in residents in order to attempt to improve them and thus diminish the risk of experiencing burnout.


I have just returned from the 11th World Congress of Psycho-oncology, which was held in the beautiful and historic city of Vienna from June 21–25, 2009, and attracted close to 800 participants from over 50 countries around the world. By every measure possible, the World Congress of Psycho-oncology in Vienna was a resounding success, in no small measure due to the extraordinary efforts of the Austrian Congress Co-Chairs Professors Elisabeth Andritsch and Hellmut Samonigg (both from the University of Graz) and their colleagues in the Austrian Society of Psycho-oncology and their local Congress Committee. The scientific program was at once extraordinarily diverse, multidisciplinary, and groundbreaking in many ways. One could not help but be impressed by the explosion of psychosocial oncology research being conducted throughout the world; at once exhilarating in its transcultural scope as well as extremely impressive in its sophistication and clinical relevance. Vienna was an amazing setting for this particularly transitional meeting in the evolution of the International Psycho-oncology Society (IPOS). As President of IPOS, I, along with the IPOS Board and Immediate Past President Professor Luigi Grassi, have been cautiously guiding the development of the IPOS Federation of National Societies. In Vienna, we held the first meeting of Federation of National Societies, which included the initial 20 national societies that had met criteria for membership in the Federation. We hope that in the next years up to 50 national societies will have completed the membership application process and meet criteria for membership in the Federation. Currently, the Federation of National Societies represents in excess of 5,000 psycho-oncology professionals internationally, allowing IPOS to have a significant voice in influencing psychosocial oncology care throughout the world. In 1814, almost 200 years ago, "The Congress of Vienna" was convened in Vienna to redraw the political map of the European Continent. "The Congress of Vienna" was eventually seen as a model for the League of Nations and the United Nations due to its goal to serve as a forum for peace, cooperation, and progress. Our World Congress of Psycho-oncology in Vienna will be remembered as the beginning of a process that culminates in a truly international movement united to the advancement of psychosocial oncology care, research and education. For me, the IPOS Vienna World Congress was intense, exciting, exhausting, unforgettable, and profoundly meaningful. The pre-conference IPOS Psychosocial Academy Workshops were held both in English and in German on June 21–22. The topics of the workshops were diverse and included Research Methods in Psychosocial Oncology, Communications Skills Training, Screening for Distress, Quality of Life Assessment, Patient Advocacy, Caring for the Caregivers and Staff, Cancer Survivorship, Building a Psycho-oncology Service, and workshops on specific psychotherapy interventions including: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Family Focused Grief Therapy, Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy, Psychoeducational Groups, Psychodrama, and others. The scientific meeting itself had numerous highlights; too many to mention all, but here are a select few. I was honored and privileged to receive the 2009 Arthur Sutherland Award for Lifetime Achievement (a "late career award" given to me much too prematurely!). IPOS honored both Phyllis Butow Ph.D and Ruth McCorkle Ph.D with the Bernard Fox Award for Research, and Alex Mitchell M.B.B.S. and Anje Menhert Ph.D with the Hiroomi Kawano New Investigator Award. Penelope Hopwood M.D. was honored with the Noemi Fisman Award for Lifetime Clinical Excellence. The Opening Plenary session featured an astonishing tour de force lecture by Christoffer Johansen M.D., PhD, in which Dr. Johansen presented a fascinating set of data Address correspondence and reprint requests to: William Breitbart, Chief, Psychiatry Service, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 641 Lexington Avenue, 7thFloor, York, New York 10022. E-mail: email@example.com Palliative and Supportive Care (2009), 7, 269–270. Copyright # Cambridge University Press, 2009 1478-9515/09 $20.00 doi:10.1017/S1478951509990381


Synchrotron microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) is an advanced form of radiotherapy for which it is extremely difficult to provide adequate quality assurance. This may delay or limit its clinical uptake, particularly in the paediatric patient populations for whom it could be especially suitable. This study investigates the extent to which new developments in 3D dosimetry using optical computed tomography (CT) can visualise MRT dose distributions, and assesses what further developments are necessary before fully quantitative 3D measurements can be achieved. Two experiments are reported. In the first cylindrical samples of the radiochromic polymer PRESAGE® were irradiated with different complex MRT geometries including multiport treatments of collimated 'pencil' beams, interlaced microplanar arrays and a multiport treatment using an anthropomorphic head phantom. Samples were scanned using transmission optical CT. In the second experiment, optical CT measurements of the biologically important peak-to-valley dose ratio (PVDR) were compared with expected values from Monte Carlo simulations. The depth-of-field (DOF) of the optical CT system was characterised using a knife-edge method and the possibility of spatial resolution improvement through deconvolution of a measured point spread function (PSF) was investigated. 3D datasets from the first experiment revealed excellent visualisation of the 50 μm beams and various discrepancies from the planned delivery dose were found. The optical CT PVDR measurements were found to be consistently 30% of the expected Monte Carlo values and deconvolution of the microbeam profiles was found to lead to increased noise. The reason for the underestimation of the PVDR by optical CT was attributed to lack of spatial resolution, supported by the results of the DOF characterisation. Solutions are suggested for the outstanding challenges and the data are shown already to be useful in identifying potential treatment anomalies.


The large population and the limited resources of soil and climate appear to make industrialisation a necessary ingredient of any true solution to Italy's "Southern problem". Whether correct or not, this conclusion is embodied in Italian economic policy. The purpose of the present article is not to evaluate the whole program for industrialisation, but rather only one small part of it, the special aids in the fields of taxation and credit which attempt to provide rather specific additional profit incentives in favour of Southern as opposed to Northern industrial investment. After a brief description of these provisions, and a general analysis of their effects, the authors attempt, through a series of hypothetical but realistic examples, to assess their quantitative importance and to understand to what extent they affect the profit margins on potential Southern investment. JEL: L52, O14, O25, O52


BACKGROUND
 The lack of accurate and efficient diagnostic devices for extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) makes it a severe threat to global public health. A prospective clinical study in an intended-use cohort was designed to evaluate the Akonni Biosystems XDR-TB TruArray and lateral flow cell (XDR-LFC) to address this gap in tuberculosis diagnostics.

 OBJECTIVE
 This paper presents the protocol for a study that aims to document the conceptualization and design of this evaluation method for early dissemination while data collection and analysis are ongoing.

 METHODS
 The clinical study was conducted in three phases. The first phase was to observe changes in bacterial load and culture positivity in patient sputa over time and better understand the diversity of prospective clinical samples. The second phase was to prospectively collect clinical samples for sensitivity and specificity testing of the Akonni Biosystems XDR-LFC device. Lastly, the third phase was to explore the anti-TB drug concentrations in serum throughout the drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment.

 RESULTS
 The methodology described includes the study design, laboratory sample handling, data collection, and the protection elements of human subjects of this clinical study to evaluate a potential new XDR-TB diagnostic device. A total of 664 participants were enrolled across the three phases. The implemented complex systems facilitated a thorough clinical data collection for an objective evaluation of the device. The study is closed to recruitment. The follow-up data collection and analysis are in progress.

 CONCLUSIONS
 This paper outlined a prospective cohort study protocol to evaluate a rapid XDR-TB detection device, which may be informative for other researchers with similar goals.

 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT
 DERR1-10.2196/26748


Pentacyano-N,N-dimethylaniline (PCDMA) does not undergo an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) reaction, even in the strongly polar solvent acetonitrile (MeCN), in clear contrast to 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile (DMABN). Within the twisted ICT (TICT) model, this is unexpected, as the electron affinity of the pentacyanobenzene moiety of PCDMA is much larger than that of the benzonitrile subgroup in DMABN. According to the TICT model, the energy of the ICT state of PCDMA would be 2.05 eV (∼16550 cm(-1)) lower than that of DMABN, on the basis of the reduction potentials E(A(-)/A) of pentacyanobenzene (-0.29 V vs saturated calomel electrode (SCE)) and benzonitrile (-2.36 V vs SCE), more than enough to compensate for the decrease in energy of the locally excited (LE) state of PCDMA (E(S(1)) = 19990 cm(-1)) relative to that of DMABN (E(S(1)) = 29990 cm(-1)). This absence of a LE → ICT reaction shows that the TICT hypothesis does not hold for PCDMA in the singlet excited state, similar to what was found for DMABN, N-phenylpyrrole, and their derivatives. In this connection, the six dicyano-substituted dimethylanilines are also discussed. The energy gap ΔE(S(1),S(2)) between the two lowest singlet excited states is, at 7170 cm(-1) for PCDMA in MeCN, considerably larger than that for DMABN (2700 cm(-1) in n-hexane, smaller in MeCN). The absence of ICT is therefore in accord with the planar ICT (PICT) model, which considers a sufficiently small ΔE(S(1),S(2)) to be an important condition determining whether an ICT reaction will take place. The fluorescence quantum yield of PCDMA is very small: Φ(LE) = 0.0006 in MeCN at 25 °C, predominantly due to LE → S(0) internal conversion (IC), as the intersystem crossing yield Φ(ISC) is practically zero (<0.01). From the LE fluorescence decay time of 27 ps for PCDMA in MeCN at 25 °C, a radiative rate constant k(f)(LE) = 2 × 10(7) s(-1) results, comparable to the k(f)(LE) of DMABN (6.5 × 10(7) s(-1)) and 2,4,6-tricyano-N,N-dimethylaniline (TCDMA) (1.2 × 10(7) s(-1)) in this solvent, but clearly larger than the k'(f)(ICT) = 0.79 × 10(7) s(-1) of DMABN in MeCN. The IC reaction with PCDMA in MeCN at room temperature, with a rate constant k(IC) of 3.6 × 10(10) s(-1), is much faster than with TCDMA (25 × 10(7) s(-1)) and DMABN (1.3 × 10(7) s(-1), in n-hexane). This is connected with the nonzero (37°) amino twist angle of PCDMA, which leads to a decrease of the effective LE-S(0) energy gap. The femtosecond excited state absorption (ESA) spectra of PCDMA in MeCN at 22 °C are similar to the LE ESA spectra of TCDMA and DMABN and are therefore attributed to the LE state, confirming that an ICT reaction does not occur. The decay of the LE ESA spectra of PCDMA is single exponential, with a decay time of 22 ps, in reasonable agreement with the LE fluorescence decay time of 27 ps at 25 °C. The spectra decay to zero, showing that there is no triplet or other intermediate.


and financial institutions. While the Ninth Plan perceptions clearly emphasise the imperative need for providing adequate credit support to priority sectors, it is the credit policy which is at fault. RBI was perhaps carried away by the first flush of enthusiasm to implement the banking sector reforms on the lines of Basle norms and in the process neglected priority sectors. The phase 1991-96 could in fact be regarded as an unhappy episode in the history of monetary and credit policies: not only was the quantum of credit flowing to these sectors inadequate but also the interest rate regime became unfriendly. Fortunately winds of change are blowing in the RBI as the more recent appointment of two committees to look into the problems of credit flow to these sectors clearly demonstrates. Perhaps this is the beginning of the process of realignment of credit policy with the perceptions of the Ninth Plan, This neglect of priority sectors at the macro- level was exacerbated at the micro-level by the emergence of the new backing culture, with its emphasis on a 'quick kill'. The new culture also signalled the abdication of commitment to development. No doubt public sector banks have reattained the priority sector credit target in 1996-99 but it is the mindset of bankers which is yet to change. Public sector banks have such an excellent track record in penetratingthe rural sector and in reaching out to the mass of small borrowers; it should not be difficult for them to rediscover their sense of commitment to development.


The performance of 3D object detection models over point clouds highly depends on their capability of modeling local geometric patterns. Conventional point-based models exploit local patterns through a symmetric function (e.g. max pooling) or based on graphs, which easily leads to loss of fine-grained geometric structures. Regarding capturing spatial patterns, CNNs are powerful but it would be computationally costly to directly apply convolutions on point data after voxelizing the entire point clouds to a dense regular 3D grid. In this work, we aim to improve performance of point-based models by enhancing their pattern learning ability through leveraging CNNs while preserving computational efficiency. We propose a novel and principled Local Grid Rendering (LGR) operation to render the small neighborhood of a subset of input points into a low-resolution 3D grid independently, which allows small-size CNNs to accurately model local patterns and avoids convolutions over a dense grid to save computation cost. With the LGR operation, we introduce a new generic backbone called LGR-Net for point cloud feature extraction with simple design and high efficiency. We validate LGR-Net for 3D object detection on the challenging ScanNet and SUN RGB-D datasets. It advances state-of-the-art results significantly by 5.5 and 4.5 mAP, respectively, with only slight increased computation overhead.


Modern collaborative filtering algorithms seek to provide personalized product recommendations by uncovering patterns in consumer-product interactions. However, these interactions can be biased by how the product is marketed, for example due to the selection of a particular human model in a product image. These correlations may result in the underrepresentation of particular niche markets in the interaction data; for example, a female user who would potentially like motorcycle products may be less likely to interact with them if they are promoted using stereotypically 'male' images. In this paper, we first investigate this correlation between users' interaction feedback and products' marketing images on two real-world e-commerce datasets. We further examine the response of several standard collaborative filtering algorithms to the distribution of consumer-product market segments in the input interaction data, revealing that marketing strategy can be a source of bias for modern recommender systems. In order to protect recommendation performance on underrepresented market segments, we develop a framework to address this potential marketing bias. Quantitative results demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly improves the recommendation fairness across different market segments, with a negligible loss (or better) recommendation accuracy.


A significant problem in internal radiation dosimetry is the discrepancy between the radiation dose from exposure to radon inferred from epidemiological studies and the higher dose calculated using the Human Respiratory Tract Model (HRTM) adopted by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The difference is a factor of about 3. The agreement between these two assessments by radically different approaches is surprisingly good. Nevertheless, there has been concern to understand fully the reasons for this discrepancy and to attempt to reconcile the two approaches. This is of importance because radon contributes about half of the total effective dose from natural background radiation. Furthermore, the HRTM was developed with application to radon exposure in mind, yet at present it is not used for risk assessment purposes although ICRP does suggest that it is useful for comparative dosimetry.


A case of Sturge-Weber disease treated with left hemispherectomy presented, 11 years later, with complications related to delayed intracranial haemorrhage. A loculation syndrome of the right lateral ventricle was detected and it was corrected by a ventriculoatrial shunt operation. The side of the hemispherectomy was evacuated of all the chronic products of haemorrhage, including the subdural membrane. The patient was relieved of her symptoms. It is considered that complications related to delayed haemorrhage after hemispherectomy are remediable.


The relevance of the analyzed issue is due to the existing need for more attention to the problems of large cities, which are the social and economic centers that perform important functions and realize the interests of the population, business and local government. The purpose of this article is to disclose the sources of the urban growth and development, the integrated assessment of the size and spatial distribution of the economic activity, regional planning and the government activity. The leading approaches to the study of this issue are systemic and reproduction, which, along with the use of econometric modeling and statistical analysis, allowed revealing significant shortcomings of the institutional urban management mechanism and proposing a number of measures to correct these shortcomings. The article illustrates the theoretical basis of modeling of large cities as spatial economic systems, determines their sources of growth, gives the characteristic features of the urban development in modern conditions, and proposes a conceptual model of a modern city. The contents of the article may be useful for the development of social and economic development strategies both the urban district, and the region as a whole, since large cities act as a locomotive, and they move the regional economy in the direction of the social and economic well-being.


Non muscle invasive bladder cancer, given its high tendency to recur, coupled with an ever-present possibility to progress to potentially life-threatening muscle-invasive disease, remains a challenging clinical problem. Optimal management begins with early detection and accurate risk assessment through careful attention to clinical and histology features. Prevention of recurrence requires the sequential application of tools to completely remove all visible disease, avert reimplantation during surgical resection, ablate microscopic foci and prevent the emergence of new primary tumors amidst a field of carcinogen-exposed urothelium. Previously standard adjunctive intravesical chemo-immunotherapies are obtaining new vitality as optimization strategies, while new drugs and rational drug combinations provide the potential for improved efficacy with reduced toxicity. Novel therapeutic modalities under investigation include activation of the host immune system and enhancement of the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapeutic agents. New technological advances such as microwave chemothermotherapy offer further hope for better outcomes even for disease previously refractory to conservative measures. While much of this research is in the preclinical phase, the encouraging results of many of the studies discussed here suggest that testing in human trials should follow in the coming years. Yet despite these advances, aggressive surgical management involving bladder removal continues to be an indispensable life-saving maneuver that must be considered in all high-risk cases that fail to promptly respond to other measures. Although great strides continue to be made each year in the diagnosis and management of bladder cancer considerably more work needs to be done in order to improve the lives of our patients with this disease.


In this study, the extraction of naproxen, ibuprofen and diclofenac from Ladysmith water resources was conducted by means of a multi-template molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as selective sorbent in solid-phase extraction. Quantification was done using high performance liquid chromatography with photo diode array detection system. Bulk polymerization of MIP was carried out at 70 °C for 24 h and characterized with differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and zeta potential. The analytical method detection limits for naproxen, ibuprofen and diclofenac in wastewater treatment plant effluent were 0.23, 1.02 and 0.30 μg L, respectively. Recoveries obtained in wastewater, river water, deionized water and drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) samples spiked with 5 μg L of target compounds and pre-concentrated using molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) were greater than 80 %. All compounds were not detected in DWTP samples, whereas in river water the concentrations were generally higher in the upstream of wastewater treatment plants compared to downstream. The maximum concentrations detected in river water for naproxen, ibuprofen and diclofenac were 2.77, 6.72 and 2.58 μg L, respectively. Only diclofenac was present in wastewater at concentrations above the limit of quantification. In conclusion, the high levels of naproxen, ibuprofen and diclofenac detected in river water could be attributed to poor sanitation in Ladysmith.


This thesis offers an examination of some ways in which moral philosophy imposes requirements on itself that often unduly limit, obscure, and distort our moral understanding, thinking, and responsiveness. Taking my motivation from Cora Diamond, I critically examine the work of some moral philosophers that I take to exemplify this kind of laying down of requirements. This examination will be taken in three broad directions, with a different critical focus in each of the chapters: a requirement that moral thinking and responsiveness ought to go on only through the use of rational capacities, to the exclusion of personally engaged responsiveness and understanding; a requirement that moral philosophers must make arguments, which can distort and obscure the meaning of complex and difficult moral realities through attempts to render dimensions of them into 'facts' that can be used in arguments; the assumption that moral responsiveness is primarily a matter of making 'choices' about how to act based on discrete options, and in which one's moral understanding of a situation can be thought of as a matter of judgement involving the exercise of rational capacities to choose which principles or concepts are appropriate to apply to a particular situation. Each of these kinds of requirement is brought into contact with examples from elsewhere in philosophy, that I consider to offer meaningful possibilities for moral understanding and responsiveness. I attempt to illuminate the various ways in which these meaningful possibilities are limited, obscured, distorted, deflected from, and excluded through the aforementioned requirements that are laid down. Other related requirements and assumptions are drawn out from those I primarily focus on, in an attempt to show the connectedness of various kinds of requirements and how they shape philosophical pictures of moral life. This gives a better sketch of the extent of the presence of requirements in moral philosophy.

I simultaneously invite consideration of a philosophical orientation to moral life that is grounded in a kind of 'receptiveness' that I argue is a crucial dimension of Iris Murdoch's 'attention'. In contrast to the kinds of outlooks that begin with philosophical assumptions and commitments and then look towards the world in which moral life takes place, this orientation begins with an openness to moral life and what possibilities might be disclosed to us through our receptiveness and attentiveness to the realities of moral life. This way of thinking re-situates moral philosophy, bringing its relatedness to moral life to the foreground so as to make philosophy responsive to life, and not the other way around. This offers a liberation from the philosophical requirements Diamond draws attention to. Moral philosophy thus becomes less of an outward pressing onto the world in ways that can unduly shape our sense of moral reality, and more of an answering to that reality. An answering that, following Murdoch, is in a spirit of justness and love.


On the trial of the accused for an offence, can the Crown lead evidence tending to show that the accused is guilty of a different offence of which he was previously acquitted? The author argues that although the rules of evidence do not bar this form of proof, under some circumstances the doctrine of issue estoppel should bar it. There are at least three reasons why issue estoppel should apply in criminal proceedings: 1) the accused should be able to rely on the acquittal to prevent the Crown from re-alleging the offence, 2) using a prior acquittal as similar fact evidence involves inconsistent verdicts, 3) issue estoppel is a way of avoiding abuse of process. If the probative value of the evidence derives from a fact that was previously decided in the accused's favour, the evidence should be inadmissible. However, if a subsequent proceeding involves accepting, rather than challenging, the outcome of an earlier proceeding, the evidence should be admissible. Moreover, issue estoppel should apply only where the accused was acquitted on the merits, not where the prior proceedings were judicially stayed.


Preprocessors support the diversification of software products with #ifdefs, but also require additional effort from developers to maintain and understand variable code. We conjecture that #ifdefs cause developers to produce more vulnerable code because they are required to reason about multiple features simultaneously and maintain complex mental models of dependencies of configurable code. We extracted a variational call graph across all configurations of the Linux kernel, and used configuration complexity metrics to compare vulnerable and non-vulnerable functions considering their vulnerability history. Our goal was to learn about whether we can observe a measurable influence of configuration complexity on the occurrence of vulnerabilities. Our results suggest, among others, that vulnerable functions have higher variability than non-vulnerable ones and are also constrained by fewer configuration options. This suggests that developers are inclined to notice functions appear in frequently-compiled product variants. We aim to raise developers' awareness to address variability more systematically, since configuration complexity is an important, but often ignored aspect of software product lines.


The purpose of this study is to utilize Score Equity Assessment (SEA) to examine measurement comparability and equity in reported scores on a statewide fifth-grade science assessment with respect to groups of students defined by disability status, English Language Learner status and use of test accommodations. Benefits of SEA include a focus on equity in reported scores, the connection of SEA to equal construct assessment, and no a priori assumptions about how accommodations should affect the mean test scores of subpopulations. The findings of this study indicate that students with disabilities and English language learners who utilized accommodations on this assessment displayed a slightly higher degree of measurement comparability to the overall population of test takers than did students with disabilities and students who are English Language Learners who did not utilize accommodations. This study supports the use of SEA to assess equity in reported scores and the validity of inferences based on accommodated test scores.


An effective biosensor based on two-dimensional (2D) Co-ZIF-L nanosheets for sensitive electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose detection is developed, which exhibits high electrocalalytic activities towards glucose due to the ordered porous structure as well as ultrahigh specific surface area. The fabricated Co-ZIF-L nanosheets electrodes present an outstanding performance with higher sensitivity of 769.5 *10$^{-6}$ A mM$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ and lower detect limit of 90.4 nM, while the constructed 3D ZIF-67 nanoparticles electrodes show a weaker sensitivity of 697.4 *10$^{-6}$ A mM$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ and a limited detection range from 2 *10$^{-6}$ M to 414 *10$^{-6}$ M. Furthermore, the Co-ZIF-L based non-enzymatic glucose biosensors possess an acceptable selectivity, long-term stability as well as reproducibility. This work may offer a new approach to develop 2D ZIF nanosheets as a potential candidate in electrochemical biosensors.


For a conventional time-hopping impulse-radio (TH-IR) system, all the pulses corresponding to the same information symbol are transmitted with the same sign. In this paper, we consider a slightly modified TH-IR system in which each user will be assigned a randomly generated binary sequence that modulates the transmitted pulses. We further present a detector based on the likelihood ascent search algorithm (LAS). It is shown that for TH-IR system with large number of users (orders of hundreds to thousands), this detector can approach the single-user performance at an average per bit complexity linear in the number of users.


Background : Currently, around 36.7 million people in the world are living with HIV. Among these, 52% are living in sub-Saharan African. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has played an important role in improving the prognosis and quality of life of HIV/AIDS patients, and in reducing the rate of disease progression and death. Several previous researches on factors affecting HAART adherence competence had controversies. As far as the author's knowledge concerned, no research had been conducted on longitudinal HAART adherence competence in the study area. The main objective of this study was to identify Socio-demographic and Clinical factors associated with HAART adherence competence in successive visits among adult HIV patients after commencement of HAART. Methods : A retrospective cohort study on 792 HAART attendants was conducted to analyze the current study for HIV positive adults who had a minimum of two clinical visits. Secondary data were employed to examine Socio-demographic, economic, individual and clinical factors affecting the variable of interest overtime among HAART users. The Structural Equation modeling (SEM) was applied to identify predictors of HAART adherence competence over time. Results : In this longitudinal study, factors affecting long-term HAART adherence competence in successive visits had been identified. Socio-demographic factors (like Marital status, level of disclosure of the disease, residence area, education, economic factors (owner ship of cell phone, household income), individual factors (age, sex, weight) and clinical factors (CD4 cell count, WHO stages), directly associated with retention of HAART medication care. On the other hand, HAART medication care was significantly and independently associated with the longitudinal HAART adherence competence. Conclusion : The HAART adherence competence in successive visits increased with the number of follow-up visits, but the rate of increase was different for different groups such as male & female, urban & rural, and disclosing & hiding the disease to family members. An integrated health related education should be given for poor adherent patients like rural residents, males, patients living without partners, patients with no cell phone and aged patients.


In highly polyandrous species, where females mate with multiple males within a single fertility period, there is typically a high level of sperm competition. To cope with this challenge, males apply various behavioral and physiological strategies to maximize their paternity rates. Previous studies in Drosophila melanogaster established a link between the composition of the social environment and the reproductive success of individual male flies. While most studies until now focused on the adaptive responses of male flies to the presence of rival males, little is known about whether the outcomes of sexual interactions with female partners affect male-male social interactions in a competitive environment such as the social group. Here we show that repeated failures to mate promote a coordinated physiological and behavioral responses that can serve to increase paternity chances over mating rivals. We exposed male flies to sexual deprivation or successful mating and analyzed the behavioral repertoires of individuals within groups and the structure of their emerging social networks. We discovered that failures to mate and successful mating generate distinct emergent group interactions and structures, where sexually deprived males form low density social networks and actively minimize their encounters with other group members, while increasing their aggressive behavior. In addition, sexually deprived male flies elevate the production of seminal fluid proteins (known to facilitate post-mating responses in females) and extend mating duration upon mating with receptive females, altogether leading to reduced re-mating rates. Our results demonstrate the existence of a flexible mating strategy that may provide a short-term fitness advantage over competing rivals and pave the path for using simple model organisms to dissect the neurobiology of social plasticity as coping strategy to living in a highly dynamic environment as the social domain.


The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the digital radiographic method (Digora), when compared to the conventional radiographic method, allows better identification of the mineralized tissue barrier formed after pulpotomy in dogs and protection of the remaining pulp with a resorbable membrane of demineralized bovine cortical bone (Group I) and calcium hydroxide (Group II). Two dogs were used, according to the International Organization for Standardization, specification #7405:1997: one for a follow-up period of 7 days and another for the 70–day period. Ten teeth of each dog were submitted to pulpotomy, being 7 for Group I and 3 for Group II, resulting in sixteen treated roots for each period. Standardized procedures were used to obtain and analyze the conventional and digital radiographs. Radiographic images suggesting a mineralized barrier were only distinguished in the roots treated with calcium hydroxide; however, no agreement was achieved between four experienced observers. Concerning the comparison between the digital and conventional methods, a suggestive image of a mineralized barrier was observed in four and five roots, respectively, but only one such root belonged to the follow-up period of 70 days, when a dentin-like bridge was expected. In conclusion, the initial hypothesis was not confirmed.


ABSTRACT COVID-19 resulted in massive disruption and changes in every aspect of our lives. To curb the spread of the virus, many governments limited the movement of people or imposed full 'lockdowns'. This created significant challenges for social workers practising with people often reliant on interpersonal support such as those at risk of domestic abuse; with mental health problems or learning disabilities. Measures to reduce viral spread affected the education sector at all levels from pre-school to higher education, disrupted traditional classroom pedagogy and shifted to technologically supported e-learning to minimise disruption to the students' education. In lockdown, online teaching has become the new norm. E-learning has its limitations for professional curricula such as social work. Like most countries, field practice represents a compulsory component of the social work curriculum in Malaysia which measures the capabilities or competency of students to enable them to become qualified social workers. When COVID-19 forced universities and agencies to halt field placements in Malaysia, the immediate challenge was to find alternative ways of assessing students. This paper aims to provide an overview of field education assessment in Malaysia during the pandemic and to pose questions for future assessment as Malaysian social work drives towards increased professional regulation.


In the era of digitalization, the importance of digital marketing has increased from one year to another as part of the marketing strategy practiced by organizations of any type and any size. Given that digital marketing requires the existence of a content marketing, the success or the failure of the company's online communication depends to a significant extent on the quality of its content marketing. In this context, besides promoting a high quality of the content marketing, the digital marketers must undertake an analysis of the target in order to adapt their content and to choose the right way of promoting it. This article defines the concept of content marketing and the importance that it has within the marketing policies, as well as the proper means of developing a correct content marketing strategy. Key-words: Content marketing, content marketing strategy, digital marketing, copywriting


Some plant cells are able to rebuild new organs after tissue damage or in response to definite stress treatments and/or exogenous hormone applications. Whole plants can develop through de novo organogenesis or somatic embryogenesis. Recent findings have enlarged our understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms required for tissue reprogramming during plant regeneration. Genetic analyses also suggest the key role of epigenetic regulation during de novo plant organogenesis. A deeper understanding of plant regeneration might help us to enhance tissue culture optimization, with multiple applications in plant micropropagation and green biotechnology. In this review, we will provide additional insights into the physiological and molecular framework of plant regeneration, including both direct and indirect de novo organ formation and somatic embryogenesis, and we will discuss the key role of intrinsic and extrinsic constraints for cell reprogramming during plant regeneration.


A multilayered electrostatic film actuator to realize a high force/weight ratio actuator applicable for large-scale machines is proposed. It has numerous films with plenty of small electrodes stacked and connected. In order to build this structure, an electrostatic actuator named the image charge stepping actuator has been developed. It utilizes image charges induced on a high resistance to produce force. It is fabricated on polymer films and a prototype of the multilayered actuator with four film actuators has been constructed. The fabricated multilayered actuator can produce a force of 0.4 N.<<ETX>>


Healthcare professionals' psychological involvement in perinatal loss is a largely overlooked subject by healthcare systems, scientific research and prevention policies. A systematic scientific review has been carried out about emotional experiences, attributed meanings and needs conveyed by healthcare professionals in relation to perinatal loss. We identified 213 studies between 1985 and 2015, 20 of which were included in the present study for qualitative analysis. Our results point out the need for a targeted vocational training in perinatal loss, enabling healthcare professionals to achieve a proper management of their own internal states.


This project is based on developing a straightforward application to apply a simple mean-reversion strategy tailored to Energy stocks (XOM, COP, CVX) and two ETFs (XLE and SPY). Firstly, a VAR model is built using security price returns as first step before conducting IRF (Impulse Response Function) analysis and Granger Causality tests to obtain preliminary clues about the most interesting pair trading combinations. Secondly, 2-step Engle Granger is used to provide a formal framework to shortlist the best pair combinations, with the first stage based on testing each pair for cointegration, and the second step allowing to test for the existence of an ECM (Error Correction Mechanism) that brings the cointegrated pair ultimately towards a long term equilibrium. The result obtained downsized significantly the pair combinations more likely to be successful with COP-XOM as one of the best choices. The last section delves into backtesting of the COP-XOM pair starting by identifying key strategy parameters using an Ornstien-Uhlenbeck (OU) process to model the spread. Finally, the backtested strategy returns are compared against a sample of Fama-French risk factors in order to ascertain whether or not the alpha delivered by the cointegration exit/entry points is significant.


We report a new type of self-powered gas sensors based on the combination of a colorimetric film with hierarchical micro/nano-structures and organic photovoltaic cells. The transmittance of the colorimetric film with micro/nano-structures coated with N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) changes by reacting with NO2 gas and it is measured as a current output of the photovoltaic cell. For this purpose, materials for the organic photovoltaic cells were carefully chosen to match the working wavelength of the TMPD. Micropost array and nanowires increase the surface area for the gas reaction and thus improves the transmittance changes by NO2 gas (6.7 % change for plain film vs. 27.7 % change for the film with hierarchical micro/nano-structures to 20 ppm NO2). Accordingly, the colorimetric device with the hierarchical structures showed a response of ΔI/I0=0.27 to 20 ppm NO2, which is a 71 % improvement compared to those of plain sensing film. Furthermore, it showed a high selectivity against other gases such as H2S and CO with almost negligible responses. Since the current output change of photovoltaic cell is utilized as a sensor signal, no extra electrical power is required for the operation of gas sensors. We also integrated the sensor device with an electrical module and demonstrated a self-powered gas alarm system.


Four designs of substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) filter employing integrated broadside-coupled complementary split-ring resonators are compared. By changing the orientation of the rings, four types of SIW unit cell are proposed and investigated and it is shown that, for one particular topology, two poles and two zeros can be realised with a single unit cell. Bandpass filters based on the proposed resonators coupled by evanescent-mode SIW sections have been fabricated and tested. The proposed filters have the advantages of compact size, high selectivity and ease of integration.


In recent years, systems have begun to emerge that use speech in the user interface. However, compared with graphical user inlerfaces, speech-only interfaces have several problems: speech technology is not yet sufficiently robust. and it is more difficull to make clear to the user which funct ionality is available and how it can be accessed. We explore potential solutions to these problems by means of presenting a visual representation of the domain of discourse and the state of the dialogue. We describe an experiment in which a uni-modal (speech-only) and a multi-modal interface are compared in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction. The results show a strong learning effect. Subjects who first work with the multi-modal system and then switch to the uni-modal system have a strong advantage over subjects who start with the uni-modal system, switching to the multi-modal system later on. The results are discussed in terms of the need to establish an appropriate conceptual model of the system as early as possible.


Phosphorylation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase, E, is first order with kb = 70 +/- 7 s-1 after free enzyme was mixed with saturating ATP and 50 microM Ca2+; this is one-third the rate constant of 220 s-1 for phosphorylation of enzyme preincubated with calcium, cE.Ca2, after being mixed with ATP under the same conditions (pH 7.0, Ca2+-loaded vesicles, 100 mM KCl, 5 mM Mg2+, 25 degrees C). Phosphorylation of E with ATP and Ca2+ in the presence of 0.25 mM ADP gives approximately 50% E approximately P.Ca2 with kobsd = 77 s-1, not the sum of the forward and reverse rate constants, kobsd = kf + kr = 140 s-1, that is expected for approach to equilibrium if phosphorylation were rate limiting. These results show that (1) kb represents a slow conformational change, rather than phosphoryl transfer, and (2) different pathways are followed for the phosphorylation of E and of cE.Ca2. The absence of a lag for phosphorylation of E with saturating ATP and Ca2+ indicates that all other steps, including the binding of Ca2+ ions and phosphoryl transfer, have rate constants of greater than 500 s-1. Chase experiments with unlabeled ATP or with ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) show that the rate constants for dissociation of [gamma-32P]ATP and Ca2+ are comparable to kb. Dissociation of ATP occurs at 47 s-1 from E.ATP.Ca2+ and at 24 s-1 from E.ATP. Approximately 20% phosphorylation occurs following an EGTA chase 4.5 ms after the addition of 300 microM ATP and 50 microM Ca2+ to enzyme. This shows that Ca2+ binds rapidly to the free enzyme, from outside the vesicle, before the conformational change (kb). The fraction of Ca2+-free E.[gamma-32P]ATP that is trapped to give labeled phosphoenzyme after the addition of Ca2+ and a chase of unlabeled ATP is half-maximal at 6.8 microM Ca2+, with a Hill slope of n = 1.8. The calculated dissociation constant for Ca2+ from E.ATP.Ca2 is approximately 2.2 X 10(-10) M2 (K0.5 = 15 microM). The rate constant for the slow phase of the biphasic reaction of E approximately P.Ca2 with 1.1 mM ADP increases 2.5-fold when [Ca2+] is decreased from 50 microM to 10 nM, with half-maximal increase at 1.7 microM Ca2+. This shows that Ca2+ is dissociating from a different species, aE.ATP.Ca2, that is active for catalysis of phosphoryl transfer, has a high affinity for Ca2+, and dissociates Ca2+ with k less than or equal to 45 s-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


A key challenge regarding development of carbonate platforms is predicting the temporal pattern of platform-margin progradation, aggradation, retrogradation, and drowning. Numerical forward models of carbonate sedimentation have been widely applied to this problem, shedding substantial light on the roles of sediment production, transport, tectonic subsidence, and eustasy on the evolution of carbonate platforms. However, forward models are typically complex and computationally expensive, preventing comprehensive exploration of parameter space. In addition, the interactions among parameters are often nonlinear, preventing the development of simple expressions relating the position of the platform margin to the governing parameters of the model. To complement the considerable insights derived from numerical forward models, this study presents analytical expressions for the temporal evolution of the position of platform margins using the simplest possible assumptions regarding sediment production and transport. These expressions provide useful null models, deviations from which can be used to identify the particular effects of biology or seawater chemistry on carbonate factories in influencing the development of these important sedimentary deposits. Application of the model to synthetic and outcrop examples demonstrates that these simple equations are useful for parameter estimation that can then be used to guide more detailed, process-based numerical forward models.


Recent research into the history of some of the most prominent and successful firms in the for-profit sector has shown that industry leadership is extraordinarily fragile. Over and over; in industries as diverse as microelectronics, steel, motorcycles, and software, leading firms whose management practices at one point were widely admired and imitated have stum-bled badly and even failed. The factor that consistently has triggered these failures has not been complacent, arrogant, or bureaucratic management. It has been the emergence in their markets of disruptivem technology—simple, convenient-to-use innovations that initially are used only by unsophisticated customers at the low end of markets. Ironically, two of the funda-mental paradigms of good management—the importance of listening closely to customers and the necessity of bringing to market a regular flow of improved products that can be sold at higher profit margins—are the reasons why well-managed companies have consistently failed when confronted by disruptive technologies in their markets. This paper asserts that in a very analogous way, disruptive innovations in continuing education for managers and for health care professionals pose a significant threat to the impact and profitability of the continuing education programs of the leading schools of medicine and business. Through their focus on the leading edges of technology, therapy, and practice, many of these programs have lost sight of a very different set of educational needs among the fastest growing health care institutions in our environment. The paper suggests that unless leading providers of continuing medical education at medical schools aggressively begin offering courses that are customized to the needs of specific health care providers, in formats and venues that are conveniently accessi-ble, they will increasingly be displaced by new providers of these services.


The Coronavirus Pandemic has had enormous impact on both large and small businesses in the United States and Worldwide. As COVID-19 spread throughout the United States and worldwide in March of 2020, many countries imposed lockdowns. The lockdowns have had significant impact on many Large and Small Businesses. In this article we will examine the performance of large versus small businesses. We will use annual returns for small and large businesses as a proxy for performance. To obtain annual returns, we will calculate the annual changes in Net Worth. To test whether there are significant differences between the means of Large and Small Business Returns we will conduct single-factor Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Tests. We will examine Correlations and conduct single and multi-factor regressions. The results show that means of returns of Large Businesses are not statistically different from the means of returns to Small Businesses. We also find that Large Businesses returns are strongly correlated with Small Business Returns. Regression results show that S&P 500 returns, T-Bill returns and 10-year T-Bond returns are not effective at explaining Large or Small Business Returns. However, Large Business Assets and Large Business Liabilities as independent variables significantly explain Large Business Returns. The finding that Large Business Returns are not statistically different from small business returns might seem surprising to some. Future research should examine the determinants of Large and Small Business Assets.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the short-term clinical and radiographic results of modular fully porous-coated stem in revision operation of total hip arthroplasty.

METHODS
From May 2001 to November 2002, ten cases with twelve hips received revision total hip arthroplasty using modular Profemur R with fully porous-coated stem. There were three males and seven females and the average age was 54.2 years (35 to approximately 71 years). The reasons for revision operation included aseptic loosing in eleven hips and septic loosing in one hip. All the patients were evaluated radiographically and clinically. Radiographic evaluation included the classification of bone loss, leg discrepancy, offset and antiversion before and after revision and bone in-growth postoperatively. Clinical evaluation were based on Harris score system.

RESULTS
The average follow-up period is 13.5 months (range: 6 to approximately 24 months). Leg discrepancy from more than 2 cm in six cases were restored to less than 1 cm postoperatively. Femoral offset, antiversion angle and neck-shaft angle were also restored to normal limitation. All the patients were allowed to full weight-bearing 3 to approximately 5 months later and pain relief occurred in all involved hips. At the last follow-up, bone in-growth occurred in eleven hips and solid fibrous fixation only in one case. Harris score was improved from a mean of 25 to 72. Complications mainly consisted of femoral shaft fracture in three cases but no infection or dislocation was found postoperatively.

CONCLUSIONS
Satisfactory results of short-term radiographic and clinical follow-up can be achieved using modular fully porous-coated stem for revision total hip arthroplasty.


In the design of Lane Departure Warning Systems (LDWS), it is necessary to determine the warning timing that does not only ensure the effectiveness of the warning but also reduce the annoyance of the warning. Concerning the relation between the warning timing and the effectiveness of the warning, we have reported the performance of the steering avoidance by an experimental study using a driving simulator. The results showed that it is necessary to keep the time margin longer than 0.9 s for the successful avoidance of lane departure. This paper mainly describes the latter point regarding the relation between the warning timing and the annoyance. We have investigated Time to Departure that means the predicted time margin before the lane departure, when 10 drivers drove a passenger vehicle on 5 kinds of Japanese highways in a metropolitan area. The results show that the accumulated frequency of Time to Departure at 1.0 s is approximately 0.5 percentile, in terms of the frequency distribution of Time to Departure. This means that the frequency of time margin less than 1.0 s is equal to 0.5 percent in the total driving time. Further analysis concerning the relation between the frequency of warning output and the annoyance might be necessary. But, it can be seen from the investigations that the annoyance will be reduced when the warning timing is set at 1.0 s of Time to Departure, since the frequency of the warning output will be substantially small under normal driving conditions. We regard that these experimental results can be useful for designing the warning timing of LDWS. For the covering abstract see ITRD E114174.


Ideology not science drove the prevention side of PEPFAR, the US international HIV/AIDS programme, during the Bush administration, an insider with personal knowledge of the situation said last week. The charge is not new but the source and the details are. They came at a forum at the liberal think tank The Center for American Progress.

They are contained in a new report and recommendations, "How Ideology Trumped Science: Why PEPFAR has failed to meet its potential," written by Scott Evertz, which is to be published shortly. He was the domestic "AIDS Czar" appointed by President George Bush in 2001. He lasted only 15 months before being shifted to a position in the department of health dealing with AIDS internationally.

Speaking at the forum, Mr Evertz called PEPFAR (President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief ) "a heroic programme of monumental consequences" in terms of testing, treatment, prevention of mother to child transmission, and care for orphans. "However, from the very early discussions about the PEPFAR programme it became patently clear to me that we weren't going to discuss certain harm reduction strategies in relation to either our domestic or international programming."

Bush "did indicate to me rather strongly that needle exchange and condom …


A first-principles theoretical comparison of the performances of identical Al/sub 0.32/Ga/sub 0.68/As/GaAs and Al/sub 0.15/Ga/sub 0.15/As/In/sub 0.15/Ga/sub 0.85/As/GaAs pseudomorphic HEMTs based on an ensemble Monte Carlo simulation coupled with a two-dimensional Poisson solver is presented. The Monte Carlo calculations incorporate the full physics of the device operation. As a test of the accuracy with which the calculations successfully model a real device, the calculated current-voltage characteristic of the pseudomorphic device is first compared to recent experimental measurements made on a comparable structure, showing excellent agreement over a full range of gate and drain biases. The device performance as measured in terms of the transconductance, cutoff frequency, and current-voltage characteristics of both devices can then be compared as a function of gate and drain bias. It is found that the pseudomorphic HEMT outperforms the conventional GaAs/AlGaAs device by approximately a factor of two in the above-mentioned criteria. The greatly improved performance of the pseudomorphic HEMT over the GaAs device stems predominantly from greater confinement of the electrons within the high-mobility two-dimensional system, higher electron drift velocity, and greater gamma valley confinement. >


This study identifies personality characteristics in a group of Swedish women (N = 60) attending their first treatment for alcohol problems. The treatment programme specifically addressed women in an early phase of their drinking career, and was called "Early Treatment of Women with Alcohol Addiction" (EWA). Rorschach personality profiles of the 60 women differed significantly in almost all investigated aspects in a psychopathological direction from norms reported by Exner for a reference group of female non-patients. The findings are consistent with the assumption that, although the EWA women were socially well-functioning and fairly early in their drinking career, they nevertheless reveal serious underlying psychopathology. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.


Especially in recent decades, in many jurisdictions there has been a shift away from a classical liberal conception of the constitution to a conception of the constitution as geared towards the alleviation of social and economic disadvantage. This development is the result of three interlocking trends: the growth of positive obligations; the embrace of substantive equality; and the proliferation of socio-economic rights. The article explores these developments from a liberal constitutionalist perspective, sourced in the work of John Rawls. With reference to A Theory of Justice, the article argues that liberal constitutionalism is not wedded to the classical liberal conception of the constitution and so is not inconsistent with these trends. However, in light of Political Liberalism, the article contends that the liberal understanding of the constitution as a social contract limits these developments by seeking the hypothetical consent of reasonable individuals. This results in an understanding of socio-economic rights as generating a social minimum, as opposed to more expansive forms of distributive justice; and an understanding of substantive equality as circumscribed by the need to maintain the hypothetical consent of reasonable individuals adversely affected by measures such as positive action. These arguments are illustrated with reference to decisions of the South African Constitutional Court.


Two yellow dyes, together with tartrazine (Y4), were found in cucumbers pickled in soy sauce, for which the use of tartrazine is permitted, by TLC, LC-DAD, and LC-MS. The retention times on LC chromatograms and the maximum absorbance wavelengths measured by LC-DAD of the two dyes were different from those of tartrazine. Mass spectra of the dyes indicated that these dyes lacked one sulfonyl group of tartrazine. The presence of two less sulfonated dyes in tartrazine has been reported. Hence, the two less sulfonated dyes were synthesized. The two dyes found in cucumbers were compared with the synthesized dyes by LC-DAD and LC-MS. Since the retention times of the dyes in cucumbers on the LC chromatograms, as well as their LC-DAD spectra and mass spectra, were found to be identical with those of the synthesized dyes, we concluded these dyes are the less sulfonated subsidiary dyes of tartrazine.


Abstract The liver is unique in its remarkable regenerative capacity, which enables the use of liver resection as a treatment for specific liver diseases, including removal of neoplastic liver disease. After resection, the remaining liver tissue (i.e, liver remnant) regenerates to maintain normal hepatic function. In experimental settings as well as patients, removal of up to two-thirds of the liver mass stimulates a rapid and highly coordinated process resulting in the regeneration of the remaining liver. Mechanisms controlling the initiation and termination of regeneration continue to be discovered, and many of the fundamental signaling pathways controlling the proliferation of liver parenchymal cells (i.e., hepatocytes) have been uncovered. Interestingly, while hemostatic complications (i.e., bleeding and thrombosis) are primarily thought of as a complication of surgery itself, strong evidence suggests that components of the hemostatic system are, in fact, powerful drivers of liver regeneration. This review focuses on the clinical and translational evidence supporting a link between the hemostatic system and liver regeneration, and the mechanisms whereby the hemostatic system directs liver regeneration discovered using experimental settings.


14-3-3 proteins are a family of dimeric proteins found in in every eukaryotic organism. Over 100 proteins bind to 14-3-3, including various protein kinases and phosphatases: proteins involved in cell cycle control and in transcriptional control of gene expression, metabolism, and apoptosis. 14-3-3 proteins are known in plants as regulators of the proton pump H+-ATPase.
Plasma membrane H+-ATPases constitute a family of proton pumps driven by hydrolysis of ATP and are found exclusively in the plasma membrane of plants and fungi. The enzyme's C-terminus regulatory domain is an autoinhibitory domain that interacts directly with regulatory protein 14-3-3.
The study carried out in this thesis has been divided in two parts: in the first one we investigated the possible role of the polyamines in modulating 14-3-3 association with the H+-ATPase.
Polyamines are abundant polycationic compounds involved in many plant physiological processes such as cell division, dormancy breaking, plant morphogenesis and response to environmental stresses.
In vivo experiments demonstrate that, among the different polyamines, spermine brings about two fold stimulation of the H+-ATPase activity and this effect is due to an increasing of 14-3-3 levels associated with the enzyme. In vivo administration of polyamines synthesis inhibitors causes a significant decrease of the H+-ATPase phosphohydrolitic activity, demonstrating a physiological role of the polyamines in regulating the enzyme activity. Spermine stimulates the activity of the H+-ATPase AHA1 expressed in yeast ER, in the presence of exogenous 14-3-3 proteins. Moreover, spermine strongly stabilizes the 14-3-3 association with regulatory C-terminal domain of the proton pump. Comparison of spermine with Mg2+, necessary for binding of 14-3-3s to different target proteins, shows that polyamine effect is stronger and additive to that of the divalent cation.
In the second part of this thesis we analyzed a sugar-mediated regulation of plasma membrane H+-ATPase.
Since the involvement of 14-3-3 proteins in sugar sensing regulated processes has recently emerged, in this thesis we address the question as to whether sugars sensing plays a role in the regulation of the H+-ATPase. The data reported show that sugar depletion inhibits the association of 14-3-3 proteins to the H+-ATPase by hampering phosphorylation of the 14-3-3 binding site of the enzyme. By using non-metabolizable disaccharides it is proven that H+-ATPase regulation by 14-3-3 proteins can involve a specific sugar perception and transduction mechanism.


Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an acquired thrombocytopenia caused by the action of autoantibodies against platelet antigens. It is traditionally defined by a platelet count of less than 10 × 104/μL. Most patients with ITP are asymptomatic; however, symptoms have been confirmed in some cases. Conversely, it is very rare to find epistaxis as the first sign of ITP. We report the case of an 84-year-old man who came to the ear, nose, and throat department with severe and repeated epistaxis. We decided to keep him hospitalized as it was very difficult to stop the nasal bleeding. A full blood count showed a platelet level of only 1000/μL. Hematologic results confirmed the diagnosis of ITP. The patient underwent treatment with intravenous gamma-globulin, platelet transfusions, and romiplostim with a favorable response.


Quality of life for children with developmental disabilities (DD) has recently received increasing attention. This qualitative study examines quality of life for children with DD in care based on the perspectives of a small group of foster, adoptive and kinship caregivers. Placement stability is identified as a contributing factor to quality of life by using grounded theory methodology. Respondents expressed the importance of meeting the child's needs; provision of a family environment; and supporting the parents to support the child. The implications for child welfare practice are briefly discussed.


We report a case of leaking pseudoaneurysm of right hepatic artery in a 54-year old female after laparoscopic cholecystectomy who presented with massive gastrointestinal haemorrhage and was successfully managed with angiography and coil embolization.


This paper presents the role of an innovative university masters' degree programme as a basis for skills development in human capital analysis for finance and business students in their core degree programmes. The programme uses general systems theory to provide a framework for describing two components of the sustainable organisation: firstly, the inter-relationships of organisations to their context; and secondly, to describe the configuration of internal management systems. In the subject, the students take the role of human capital analysts in order to focus on defining, assessing and measuring the human elements of corporate sustainability. This postgraduate business subject has been developed within the framework of the UNSW guidelines on teaching and learning, designed to encourage innovation in both content and process. The authors conclude that the role of education is instrumental in creating a community of practice which uses sustainability principles as a basis for investment decision making amongst business students, who will be the next generation of executives and financial analysts.


Background

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a critical disease that considered a detriment to the health of people all over the world. Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) is the response cause by endoplasmic reticulum misfolded and unfolded protein aggregation, which induces cell apoptosis. Our previous work showed that EIso could alleviate ERS in lung reperfusion injury. This study aimed to elucidate whether Emulsified isoflurane (EIso) could alleviate apoptosis induced by glucose in rat islet beta cell RIN-m5F via inhibiting ERS.

Methods

RIN-m5F cells were divided into five groups: Control group, cultured in 0.1M glucose for 24h (0.1G group), culture in 0.3M glucose for 24h (0.3G group), culture in 0.3M glucose with 57uM EIso for 24h (0.3G+57E group), and culture in 0.3M glucose with 76uM EIso for 24h (0.3G+76E group). First, the cellular proliferation was measured by MTT assay, and the level of insulin secretion was measured with ELISA kit. Second, the expression of Bax and Bcl-2 were detected by Western blotting. The level of caspase-3 activity was assessed by colorimetric method. Finally, the CHOP and GRP78 expression were detected by Western blotting. The level of ATF6, Xbp1 and eIF2α mRNA were assessed by qRT-PCR after treated with EIso for 24h.

Results

High glucose induced significant loss of RIN-m5F cell viability, and stimulated the secretion of insulin; EIso improved the survival and protected the function of RIN-m5F. Compare to 0.3G group, treatment with EIso inhibited the activity of caspase-3, decreased the expression of Bax and increased the expression of Bcl-2. The expression of CHOP and GRP78 were inhibited by EIso at 24 h after treatment, and decrement of CHOP and GRP78 expression were correlated with EIso concentration. The level of ATF6, Xbp1 and eIF2α mRNA of RIN-m5F were enhanced culture with high glucose, but only eIF2α mRNA was decreased by EIso treatment.

Conclusion

High glucose induces rat islet beta cell RIN-m5F apoptosis and aggravates the function of beta cells. EIso protects beta cells from glucose-induced apoptosis, and anti-apoptosis is mediated, at least in part, by inhibiting ERS.


The last few years have witnessed a flurry of activity in global governance and international lawseeking to address the protection gaps for people fleeing the effects of climate change. This book discusses cutting-edge developments in law and policy on climate change and forced displacement, including theories and potential solutions, issues of governance, local and regional concerns, and future challenges. Chapters are written by a range of authors from academics to key figures in intergovernmental organisations, and offer detailed case studies of policy developments in the Americas, Europe, South-East Asia, and the Pacific. This is an ideal resource for graduate students and researchers from a range of disciplines, as well as policymakers working in environmental law, environmental governance, and refugee and migration law. This is one of a series of publications associated with the Earth System Governance Project. For more publications, see www.cambridge.org/earth-system-governance.