We consider the current status continuous mark model where, if an event takes place before an inspection time T a "continuous mark" variable is observed as well. A Bayesian nonparametric method is introduced for estimating the distribution function of the joint distribution of the event time (X) and mark variable (Y). We consider two histogram‐type priors on the density of (X,Y) . Our main result shows that under appropriate conditions, the posterior distribution function contracts pointwisely at rate n/logn−ρ3(ρ+2) if the true density is ρ ‐Hölder continuous. In addition to our theoretical results we provide efficient computational methods for drawing from the posterior relying on a noncentered parameterization and Crank–Nicolson updates. The performance of the proposed methods is illustrated in several numerical experiments.


"This chapter reviews the capacity of the discipline field to account for the velocity and quality of digitally-driven transformations, while making a case for a "middle range" approach that steers between unbridled optimism ("all-change") and determined scepticism ("Continuity") about the potential of such change. The chapter focuses on online screen distribution as a case study, considering the evidence for, and significance of, change in industry structure and the main payers, how content is produced and by whom, the nature of content, and the degree to which online screen distribution has reached thresholds of mainstream popularity."


Local leadership is crucial to the functioning of local organizations in small-scale fishing (SSF) communities. By analyzing local leadership experiences of 54 international SSF researchers and practitioners, we aim in this paper to fill knowledge gaps that recent research has identified regarding our understanding of factors that influence the effectiveness of local leadership. Influencing factors are organized using modified versions of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory, and Schwartz's theory of cultural values. We identified factors that help shape leadership engagement and effectiveness at multiple levels, including: precursors to individual action that relate to potential SSF leaders' perceptions of threat and opportunities; institutional constraints at the individual level and community level; and high level governance issues. Precursors to individual action were numerous and multi-faceted, and individual behaviors were shaped by core values and attitudes, culture, experiences, and education. Motivation to participate in leadership can either be altruistic in nature or oriented towards self-enhancement. A lack of motivation for leadership could be attributed to the individualistic nature of many fishers. The availability of capital assets can facilitate or hinder participation in leadership. Individuals who may be willing to take on leadership roles were often hindered by lack of money and time, low educational attainment, or poor social cohesion among community members. The interactions between leaders and followers were crucial for effective leadership, especially a leader's perceived legitimacy and the ability of a community to groom appropriate successors. At the higher level, constant policy change and the resulting uncertainty were linked to decreasing motivation and apathy regarding SSF management at the local level, and disintegrating relationships between government level and local level actors. Our research highlights how local leadership and context are linked, and suggests potential researchable hypotheses that would in the future help further advance empirical and theoretical understanding of leadership influences in SSFs.


In the recent years, vehicular Ad Hoc Networks have gained tremendous attention of researchers due to various services they provide and likely to be deployed commercially in coming years. VANET enables vehicles to communicate with each other to avoid any critical situation such as vehicle collision, unseen obstacles etc. Safety applications such as collision warning, highway/rail collision avoidance, obstacle detection and avoidance are one of the driving forces behind the deployment of VANETs. Collision detection and prevention is a critical issue to work at as there is an increased rate of collisions between vehicles in fog during night time or zero visibility situations and rescue operations in inconvenient places such as military battlefield, highways. So any strategy that can detect and prevent such collisions to some extend will be beneficial. In this paper, a simple and cooperative strategy for collision detection and prevention for Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) in military battlefield using WSN based VANET is proposed.


Visual tracking requires sophisticated algorithms working in real-time, and often spacelimited, settings. While the input streams may be regular in structure, the algorithms are not, and must often deal with probabilistic metrics. To ensure progress in algorithm design without incurring excessive development costs, we propose a high-level programming approach married with predictable and compositional performance metrics. This enables the combination of independently developed program components into coherent software architecture, with certified resource use guarantee. Here, we present our approach and discuss its application to the development and resource analysis of a space bound mean shift algorithm for motion tracking, using the new embedded system-oriented language Hume.


ABSTRACT Transverse deficiencies should be a priority in orthodontic treatment, and should be corrected as soon as diagnosed, to restore the correct transverse relationship between maxilla and mandible and, consequently, normal maxillary growth. Corrections may be performed at the skeletal level, by opening the midpalatal suture, or by dentoalveolar expansion. The choice of a treatment alternative depends on certain factors, such as age, sex, degree of maxillary hypoplasia and maturation of the midpalatal suture. Thus, the present study discusses different treatment approaches to correct maxillary hypoplasia in patients with advanced skeletal maturation.


Introduction: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma represents one of the most common malignant salivary gland tumors. However, the sclerosing morphologic variant is extremely rare with only 23 reported cases in the English-language literature since it was discovered in 1987. Case Report: Herein, we describe another case that was diagnosed in a 25-year-old woman presenting with a posterior auricular mass, as well as a review of the literature, which demonstrates that this is an extremely rare malignancy with no strict protocol for treatment. Conclusion: Pathologists must be aware of recognizing low grade sclerosing mucoepidermoid carcinoma which has metastatic potential and is frequently misdiagnosed as a benign lesion.


The Two-Component System (TCS) AbrA1/A2 from Streptomyces coelicolor M145 is a negative regulator of antibiotic production and morphological differentiation. In this work we show that it is able to auto-regulate its expression, exerting a positive induction of its own operon promoter, and that its activation is dependent on the presence of iron. The overexpression of the abrA2 response regulator (RR) gene in the mutant ΔabrA1/A2 results in a toxic phenotype. The reason is an excess of phosphorylated AbrA2, as shown by phosphoablative and phosphomimetic AbrA2 mutants. Therefore, non-cognate histidine kinases (HKs) or small phospho-donors may be responsible for AbrA2 phosphorylation in vivo. The results suggest that in the parent strain S. coelicolor M145 the correct amount of phosphorylated AbrA2 is adjusted through the phosphorylation-dephosphorylation activity rate of the HK AbrA1. Furthermore, the ABC transporter system, which is part of the four-gene operon comprising AbrA1/A2, is necessary to de-repress antibiotic production in the TCS null mutant. Finally, in order to test the possible biotechnological applications of the ΔabrA1/A2 strain, we demonstrate that the production of the antitumoral antibiotic oviedomycin is duplicated in this strain as compared with the production obtained in the wild type, showing that this strain is a good host for heterologous antibiotic production. Thus, this genetically modified strain could be interesting for the biotechnology industry.


This thesis documents a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project conducted from 2011 to 2013 in a rural communal area in southern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The area is a microcosm of the global environmental and socio-economic polycrisis; with adult unemployment at 50 percent, 73 percent femaleheaded households, heavy dependence on government social grants and a food system reliant on purchased food. Eight, mainly female-headed households (the co-researchers), assisted by the student researcher, implemented and assessed a cropping system, designed on agroecological principles, on their abandoned garden plots. The objective was to grow culturally acceptable food crops to supplement their household diets and positively affect their food security. The student researcher provided the necessary infrastructure, including goat-proof plot fences, hand tools, a grain hammermill, seed, and fertiliser. The literature review, which also used early 1900's photographs and contemporary isiZulu language as evidence, revealed the agroecological basis of pre-colonial agriculture. However, colonial and apartheid influences destroyed this knowledge base. The cropping system design utilized practices from this precolonial era combined with current agroecological techniques. The agroecological techniques employed on the plots included non-inversion tillage of planting pits using garden forks, precision placement of phosphate fertiliser and animal manures, open pollinated seeds, east-west orientated strip cropping, soil surface mulches, crop rotations including legumes and the use of chickens to control pests. Dryland crops included maize, beans, sweet potatoes, and butternuts, with small trial vegetable patches on some plots. The research identified a method to calculate the planting frequency of these vegetables to ensure a constant annual supply, however further research is needed. The dryland crops supplemented household diets between harvests. The formation of structured groups amongst the households proved vital to the success of the cropping system, providing mutual labour assistance, shared decision-making, building knowledge and moral support. The importance of dialogue and trust, reinforced by the student researcher's ability to communicate in isiZulu with the co-researchers, formed the basis of both the PAR, and Focus Group Discussions(FGD), used to qualitative assess the cropping system. During these, the households reported a good understanding of the agroecological principles of the cropping system, a willingness to continue with it post research, and positive benefits, including better health, and money saved on food purchases, redirected to improve their asset base. The World Food Programme (2008) Food Consumption Score Analysis Method (FCS), modified to show the percentage contribution of homegrown food to the FCS, provided the quantitative assessment of the cropping system. The FCS scores rose during the research, with homegrown food contributing over a third of the FCS at times. Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za


The Simian virus 40 (SV40) capsid is a T = 7d icosahedral lattice ∼45 nm in diameter surrounding the ∼5 kb circular minichromosome. The outer shell is composed of 360 monomers of the major capsid protein VP1, tightly bound in 72 pentamers. VP1 is a jellyroll β-barrel, with extending N- and C-terminal arms. The N-terminal arms bind DNA and face the interior of the capsid. The flexible C-arms tie together the 72 pentamers in three distinct kinds of interactions, thus facilitating the formation of a T = 7 icosahedron from identical pentameric building blocks. Assembly in vivo was shown to occur by addition of capsomers around the DNA. We apply a combination of biochemical and genetic approaches to study SV40 assembly. Our in vivo and in vitro studies suggest the following model: one or two capsomers bind at a high affinity to ses, the viral DNA encapsidation signal, forming the nucleation centre for assembly. Next, multiple capsomers attach concomitantly, at lower affinity, around the minichromosome. This increases their local concentration facilitating rapid, cooperative assembly reaction. Formation of the icosahedron proceeds either by gradual addition of single pentamers to the growing shell or by concerted assembly of pentamer clusters.


The design, synthesis, properties, and performance of a new class of promesogenic calamitic side-tethering organic ligands used to direct quantum dot nanoparticle self-assembly via nematic templating are described. This work was motivated by inadequate modularity, step count, and yield associated with syntheses of existing ligands. Attaching the new ligands to quantum dots and dispersing them in a liquid crystal host affords hollow micron-sized capsules via nematic templating. The capsules resist thermal decomposition up to 350 °C — significantly higher than any previously reported microcapsules assembled from side-tethering calamitic ligand-functionalized nanoparticle. Evaluation of the capsules by small-angle X-ray scattering shows that interparticle spacing varies from 10–13 nm depending on the ligand used, and is correlated to aminoalkyl chain length.


Complement-dependent antibody (CDA) and complement levels were measured in sera from 314 cats. Many of the cats (65%) had received prior natural exposure to horizontally transmitted feline leukemia virus (FeLV), and some of the cats (13%) had lymphoid tumors. In CDA assays, sera were tested against 51Cr-labeled cat lymphoma cells, and normal cat serum was used as a complement source. In assays for total lytic complement activity, the lymphoma cells were presensitized with alloantiserum. CDA was frequently detected in sera from persistently viremic cats, suggesting no direct CDA-FeLV interaction, and lack of such antibody-virus interaction in sera was confirmed by contingency table analysis. CDA was infrequently detected in cats with tumors, and data analysis provided strong support for CDA-tumor interaction ( p = 0.002), thereby supporting the concept that CDA has specific antitumor activity. Most individual cat complement values were distributed normally, but a reduction in mean activity was found in FeLV-infected cats with detectable CDA. Wide variations in complement activity occurred from week to week only in FeLV-infected animals, and severely depleted complement levels were sometimes associated with FeLV-related anemia or lymphoid cancers. The possibility is discussed that some lymphoid tumors of cats develop and progress in the face of a CDA-mediated (anti-feline oncornavirus-associated cell membrane antigen) tumor immune response at times when complement levels are depleted.


This paper is concerned with complexity theoretic aspects of a general formulation of quantum game theory that models strategic interactions among rational agents that process and exchange quantum information. In particular, we prove that the computational problem of finding an approximate Nash equilibrium in a broad class of quantum games is, like the analogous problem for classical games, included in (and therefore complete for) the complexity class PPAD. Our main technical contribution, which facilitates this inclusion, is an extension of prior methods in computational game theory to strategy spaces that are characterized by semidefinite programs.


We report on the contrasting phase behavior of a bent-core liquid crystal with a large opening angle between the mesogenic units in the bulk and in freely suspended films. Second-harmonic generation experiments and direct observation of director inversion walls in films in an applied electric field reveal that the nonpolar smectic C phase observed in bulk samples becomes a ferroelectric "banana" phase in films, showing that a mesogen with a small steric moment can give a phase with polar order in freely suspended films even when the corresponding bulk phase is paraelectric.


Italian municipalities distant from main service supply hubs are defined by the Development Ministry as "inner areas". A new business model, called community-based cooperatives, has recently developed in these areas. The name itself highlights the strong link between these firms and the local population. Their essential features are the pursuit of general interest and the creation of partnerships. This research explores the potential contribution of these enterprises to the growth of Italian inner areas. The data come from a direct survey, and the methodology includes text analysis techniques and correspondence analysis to create useful concept maps that define the paths that community-based cooperatives can take to regenerate their territories. The results highlight the critical issues of inner areas and the needs of their communities, together with the potential fields of business for the establishment of a community-based cooperative. In conclusion, these new firms may lead to real and enduring benefits to local communities. They could also contribute to demographic decline inversion by introducing new practices that reduce inequalities, enhance social, natural, and artificial capital, and boost the sustainable development process.


Pornography use is a common sexual activity engaged in mostly alone, including for partnered individuals. Evidence concerning the benefits and costs of solitary pornography use for romantic relationship quality is mixed and may vary depending on the circumstances of pornography use, including partner knowledge of one's solitary use. Adopting a dyadic daily diary and longitudinal design, we examined the associations between knowledge of a partner's solitary pornography use and one's own and the partner's relationship satisfaction and intimacy on the same day, and trajectories over one year. A convenience sample of 217 couples completed daily surveys over 35 days and self-reported measures three times over one year. Each participant reported if they used pornography today and whether their use was known by their partner. Findings showed that when an individual's solitary pornography use was unknown by their partner, they reported lower same-day relationship satisfaction and intimacy as well as a lower initial level of relationship satisfaction. When an individual's solitary pornography use was known, they reported higher intimacy over one year and their partner reported lower intimacy over one year. Findings underscore the complexity of the relational context surrounding solitary pornography use in couples, in particular the partner's knowledge of pornography use.


Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) Secundum type was detected in a female patient Miss S.A at 20 years of age. She was operated from Birla Heart Research Center, Kolkata India in 1995.She got married after two years. Her son Master Z.S was also diagnosed as ASD secundum and was operated from Narayana Hrudayalaya Institute of Cardiac Science, Bangalore, India in the year 2005 when he was 8 years old. Her daughter was born in the same year and was diagnosed as a case of large ASD secundum (almost common atrium). This girl is now waiting for device closure from Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Dhaka, but her weight is still low for such procedure. This family is a rare family where mother and both children have ASD secundum and possibility of genetic inheritance was strongly suspected which lead to the writing of this report. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/cardio.v1i2.8173 Cardiovasc. j. 2009; 1(2) : 226-228


The phenomenon of misinformation spreading in social media has developed a new form of active citizens who focus on tackling the problem by refuting posts that might contain misinformation. Automatically identifying and characterizing the behavior of such active citizens in social media is an important task in computational social science for complementing studies in misinformation analysis. In this paper, we study this task across different social media platforms (i.e., Twitter and Weibo) and languages (i.e., English and Chinese) for the first time. To this end, (1) we develop and make publicly available a new dataset of Weibo users mapped into one of the two categories (i.e., misinformation posters or active citizens); (2) we evaluate a battery of supervised models on our new Weibo dataset and an existing Twitter dataset which we repurpose for the task; and (3) we present an extensive analysis of the differences in language use between the two user categories.1


BACKGROUND
The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic challenged nurse educators to develop teaching strategies to engage students in a virtual classroom. This pilot study examined the effect of virtually delivered video-recorded (VDVR) simulation-based experiences (SBEs) with standardized participants on the management of clinical emergencies in patients and families affected by cancer on nursing student learning outcomes.

METHOD
A pre- and posttest, one-group, convergent mixed-methods design with questionnaire variant was used. Data were collected before and after SBEs.

RESULTS
Nineteen senior baccalaureate nursing students participated in this pilot study. The VDVR SBEs resulted in a significant increase in self-perceived competence. Participants had positive perceptions about the use of VDVR SBEs as a teaching strategy. Qualitative themes included realism, critical analysis, and preference for hands-on learning.

CONCLUSION
The VDVR SBEs were well-received by prelicensure nursing students as a supplemental teaching strategy to enhance self-perceived competence. Additional research is needed about the effects of VDVR SBEs on learning outcomes. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(3):167-170.].


Background Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the commonest fatal autosomal recessive condition of Caucasians. The lung in CF is characterised by chronic bacterial colonisation, inflammation, and lung tissue destruction. Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) are proteases that are expressed in inflammatory states that degrade lung matrix. Whilst MMPs are known to be raised in many inflammatory lung conditions, their role in CF is poorly understood. Aims The study aimed to compare lung function and MMP levels throughout an exacerbation. Methods Sputum samples and clinical information were obtained with written consent from 23 adult subjects with CF. Samples were collected at day 0, day 14 and week 6 of an exacerbation of CF. Samples were frozen, before Luminex bioassay and IL-8 ELISA was performed. The sputum concentration of MMP 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9,10,12,13 and IL-8 were measured. Results A statistically significant increase in IL-8 concentration (pg/ml) occurred between day 14 and week 6 (p = 0.0387). The concentration of MMP-9 decreased from day 0 to day 14 (p = 0.006), and then rose significantly between day 14 and week 6 (p = 0.0412). However, the concentration of MMP-9 at week 6 was significantly less than at day 0 (0.0453). A significant decrease in the concentration of MMP-8 occurred between day 0 and day 14 (p = 0.0124); and between day 0 to week 6 (p = 0.0426). Conclusions MMPs and other inflammatory markers are raised during exacerbations, and fall with treatment. High proteolytic activity may lead to a worsening lung function and contribute significantly to structural changes within the CF lung. Furthering our understanding of this diverse group of proteases could lead to potential novel therapeutic targets which could help prevent irreversible lung damage. Abstract P202 Figure 1 The sputum concentration of MMP-9 (pg/ml) at sample time. Values at 3000 represent values above the level of detection. Significant values are represented with a line and an asterix (*). A significant decrease in MMP-9 concentration was found between Day 0 and Day 14 (p = 0.006). An increase in MMP-9 concentration was seen between day 14 and week 6 (p = 0.0412). There was a statistically significant decrease in MMP-9 concentration between day 0 and week 6 (p = 0.0453)


Abstract We examined the pattern of epiphyte accrual along the life-span of Posidonia oceanica leaves, both for the total epiphyte community and the main epiphyte groups (i. e. red encrusting algae and brown erect algae). Moreover, we document the importance of this epiphyte accrual pattern for evaluating P. oceanica-epiphyte interactions by assessing the dependence of the quantity and quality of light absorbed by epiphytes on their accrual pattern. Epiphyte biomass increased with leaf age following a sigmoidal curve (r2 = 0.90, P < 0.001), both for the epiphyte community and for the two main groups. Total epiphyte biomass increased with leaf age at a rate of about 0.03 day−1 to reach a constant maximum value of 2.60 mg DW cm−2 on leaves older than 200 days. Brown erect algae grew about an order of magnitude faster (0.120 day−1) than red encrusting ones (0.017 day−1). However, the former group of algae reached their maximum biomass (1 mg DW cm−2) on 150 days-old leaves, whereas red encrusting algae continued to grow along the whole leaf life-span to reach a maximum biomass of 1.70 mg DW cm−2. The non-linear increase in epiphyte biomass with leaf age involved a non-linear increase in epiphyte light absorption with leaf age, which reached a maximum constant value of 30% of incident light on 250 days-old leaves. Moreover, because red encrusting algae contribute a higher fraction to total epiphyte biomass on older leaves, we observed a shift in absorbed light quality with increasing leaf-age. Our results indicate the importance of accounting for the pattern of epiphyte accrual with leaf age when assessing seagrass-epiphytes interactions, especially for long-lived seagrass species where epiphytes may differ much in growth and biomass between young and old leaves.


51 specimens of endometrium, taken from women 22-38 years of age who had all experienced pregnancy, 26-32 months after insertion, were examined. Oncological changes were found in 4% and inflammatory changes were found in 28%. Delay of the secretory function of the endometrium was found in 2/3 of the cases and signs of dysfunction were found in 36%; only 30% of the specimens were normal.


At the ubiquitous age, applications of Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) technology using LEDs are in progress. However, visible light communication using LED have weakness, which deteriorates performance of communication. To reduce information losses, which is caused by optical noise, such as incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps, sunbeam etc., proposed channel coding scheme, double binary turbo codes. In this paper, encoding scheme of the proposed system is described and simulation results are analyzed. We had expected improved performance by using double binary turbo codes. Finally, performances of the proposed system came up to our expectations.


Even though COVID-19 is transmitted internationally, there are very different ways of combating its threats nationally. This article is a psychoanalytically informed psychosocial analysis of how the risk of COVID-19 contagion was dealt with politically and received by the population in Denmark in the first month after it arrived in the country. The question is how the social democratic Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, at the initial press conference addressing the nation in March and April 2020, succeeded in making the population accept comprehensive restrictions in their daily lives. The article argues that an unheard of agreement between the population, government and opposition was furthered by the Prime Minister's double communication of a horror scenario and a construction of an exclusive and containing group of 'Danes' and served as a means of instilling anxiety and relief from anxiety at one and the same time. Psychologically, the group as a good object offers a defence against regressive, anxiety-ridden phantasies of infection and potential death. Politically, it forms a comforting cohesion between government and 'Danes', emphasised by Mette Frederiksen's invocation of a caring welfare state that is closely associated with social democratic leadership. It thus stresses the interplay of the psychological as well as political aspects of an anxiety-provoking situation. On the one hand, the situation gave rise to a citizenship-based community, acting as a political and psychological subject, but on the other hand, this political mobilisation of community spirit neglected conflicts of interests, which surfaced later.


The absolute frequency of 87Rb 5S1/2 (F = 2)→5D5/2 (F″ = 4) two-photon transition at 778nm is measured in an accuracy of 44 kHz. A home-made erbium-doped fiber laser frequency comb with frequency stability of 5.0 × 10−13@1 s is employed for the light source. By using a periodically poled lithium niobate, the femtosecond pulse operating in 1556nm is frequency-doubled to 778nm to obtain the direct two-photon transition spectroscopy of thermal rubidium vapor. Through sweeping the carrier envelope offset frequency (fceo), the 5S1/2 (F = 2)→5D5/2 (F″ = 4) two-photon transition line is clearly resolved and its absolute frequency is determined via the peak-finding of the fitting curve. After the frequency correction, the measured result agrees well with the previous experiment on this transition. The entire system configuration is compact and robust, providing a potential candidate of optical frequency standard for telecommunication applications.


This paper describes our work on using qualitative spatial interpretation and reasoning to achieve a natural and efficient interaction between a human and an intelligent robot on navigation tasks. The Conceptual Route Graph, which combines conventional route graphs and qualitative spatial orientation calculi, serves as an internal model of human spatial knowledge on top of the robot's quantitative representation, such that humans' qualitative route instructions can be interpreted according to the model. The tool SimSpace then visualizes and proves the interpretation using qualitative spatial reasoning. Furthermore, SimSpace will generate appropriate natural feedback if a route instruction cannot be interpreted properly.


The research investigated how women with learning disabilities understand and experience the menopause, and the support available. This paper Reports the experiences and attitudes of those people to whom women with learning disabilities might turn for support. GPs generally Reported relatively little experience in treating women with learning disabilities for menopause‐related symptoms and some recognised the need for pro‐active work. Carers played a key role in facilitating women's access to primary health care. Staff in residential and day services recognised the role they played in supporting women through the menopause, but were hampered by lack of time and resources. Mothers of middle‐aged women with learning disabilities who still lived at home felt well‐placed to support their daughters through the menopause and viewed this transition positively. The need for specialist educational materials was emphasised by all those who took part in this research.


The shear flow induced deformations of a nematic liquid crystal layer have been modelled numerically for the case of flow-aligning nematics. The director deviation from the plane of shear, which was predicted earlier for special surface orientation angles, has been confirmed. This deformation takes a form of director rotation about the axis perpendicular to the layer plane. As a result, transverse flow of the nematic arises. The rotation angle is close to pi at sufficiently strong shear stress, and the director is oriented at the usual flow alignment angle in a significant part of the layer. The director coming out of the shear plane should not be treated as a separate effect taking place during the flow, but rather as a way in which the usual flow-aligned structure is achieved.


n order to investigate the efficacy of short-term life skills instruction, two classes of female students in Bent-ol-Hoda high school in region 18 of Tehran were selected randomly (n=63) and were divided into an experimental (n=33) and a control group (n=30). the experimental group received a 6-session course in social communication and interpersonal skills while the control group continued their normal courses. These two groups were tested by Matson's Scale of Social Skills before and after the instruction. The data were analyzed using mixed ANOVA. Results showed a significant decrease in impulsiveness of the experimental group compared with the control group. No significant difference was found in other variables. Although there is no particular evidence concerning the effect of short term instruction on social skills of Matson's scale and it is not possible to compare the findings of this study with other studies, regarding the nature of the other four skills, it seems that in order to change these factors, in addition to some modifications in the content of instruction, (for instance including some other life skills), the length of instruction should be increased. However, since impulsiveness is considered an important problem, the results of this study can be employed in promotion of students' mental health.


Angiogenesis, a highly regulated process, is exploited by tumors like breast cancer to ensure a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients and is key for tumor survival and progression. Estrogen and alcohol independently have been observed to contribute to angiogenesis in breast cancer but their combinatorial effects have never been evaluated. The exact mechanism by which estrogen and alcohol contribute to breast cancer angiogenesis remains to be elucidated. In this study, we defined the in vitro effects of the combination of estrogen and alcohol in breast cancer angiogenesis using the tubulogenesis and scratch wound assays. Conditioned media, generated by culturing the murine mammary cancer cell line, TG1-1, in estrogen and ethanol, enhanced tubule formation and migration as well as modulated the MAP Kinase pathway in the murine endothelial cell line, SVEC4-10. Additionally, estrogen and ethanol in combination enhanced the expression of the pro-angiogenic factors VEGF, MMP-9, and eNOS, and modulated Akt activation. These observations suggest that TG1-1 cells secrete pro-angiogenic molecules in response to the combination of estrogen and ethanol that modulate the morphological and migratory properties of endothelial cells. The data presented in this study, is the first in attempting to link the cooperative activity between estrogen and ethanol in breast cancer progression, underscoring correlations first made by epidemiological observations linking the two.


OBJECTIVE
To assess and score the progression of osteoarthritis (OA) of the distal and proximal interphalangeal (DIP and PIP) and metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints.

METHODS
Forty-six patients with OA of the finger joints were followed up for 3 years; 36 of them were followed up for 5 years. Posteroanterior radiographs of the hands were obtained at the start of this prospective study and at yearly intervals. The scoring systems used were based on the increased incidence of OA during consecutive years in previously normal joints, the radiologic progression of anatomic lesions in the affected finger joints, and the consecutive pathologic phases recognized in the course of the disease.

RESULTS
Significant increases both in the numbers of affected DIP, PIP and MCP joints per subject and in the anatomic progression of the disease (changes in osteophyte growth, loss of joint space, and subchondral cysts or sclerosis) in the different finger joints of each patient were recorded during the 3 and 5 years of followup. In approximately 40% of the patients, the classic picture of OA was complicated by erosive changes, which preceded a period in which repair phenomena in the "eroded" finger joints led to the generation of a new subchondral plate covered by cartilaginous tissue. Huge osteophytes were then responsible for the nodular aspect of the affected finger joints.

CONCLUSION
OA of the finger joints is progressive in nature and passes through predictable phases. The recognition of and the attribution of a score to these respective phases made assessing the progression of OA less time-consuming and led to the same conclusions as when the anatomic progression was scored.


A unique experience of seeing the Earth from outer space produces a profound emotional reaction in most astronauts leading to a cognitive shift increasing their feeling of connectedness and a sense of responsibility for our planet. This experience, called "Overview Effect", is a remarkable example of a transformative experience. However, such phenomenon is not only inaccessible to the majority of the population, it's also inaccessible to most researchers interested in studying it. Can Virtual Reality (VR) serve as a novel medium for creating environments that invite transformative experiences? I propose a transformative framework suggesting how VR can facilitate progression though a transformative experience; analyze interviews of astronauts and derive specific design and evaluation guidelines for a virtual experience of the Overview Effect; describe the development and report on the initial study with a VR experience "AWE", inspired by the Overview Effect. The results suggest that VR is a viable transformative medium.


Reconstructive procedures were investigated in meniscal lesions in 14 dogs. Large wedge-shaped lesions were repaired with a graft containing carbon fibers and an organic polymer, prepared from physical mixtures of poly(L-lactide) and a segmented polyurethane. Four and eight weeks postoperation, arthroscopy was performed and the implants were excised. In ten dogs, the reconstructed area appeared to be invaded almost completely by fibrous tissue and, occasionally, by repair-simulating hyaline cartilage. There were no signs of infection.


The influence of food on the absorption of midazolam, a new benzodiazepine derivative, was investigated in 18 healthy volunteers in a four‐way, randomized, crossover study with a one‐week washout period between treatments. Single 15‐mg oral doses of midazolam were administered one hour before, with, and one hour after a standard meal as well as under fasting conditions (control). Following serial blood sampling over the next 24‐hour period, midazolam plasma concentrations were determined by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for pharmacokinetic evaluation. The maximum plasma concentration (Cmax), time of maximum concentration (tmax), lag time prior to absorption (tlag), area under the plasma concentration‐time curve (AUC), and elimination rate constant of midazolam and 1‐hydroxymethylmidazolam were determined. Significant changes in these parameters were not found when midazolam was taken one hour before or with a meal as compared with the control condition. Significant changes in the Cmax, tmax, and AUC parameters for both midazolam and its metabolite were seen when midazolam was ingested one hour after a meal: There was a delayed and reduced rate of absorption as well as a small reduction in the extent of absorption. Thus, ingestion of midazolam within one hour after a meal may result in a delay in the onset of the pharmacologic effect These changes may be of some clinical significance in that they may potentially delay the onset of sleep.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of docetaxel plus thiotepa(TXT/TSPA) and docetaxel plus capecitabine(TXT/CAPE) in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

METHODS
The patients were randomized to give intravenous TXT 35 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 plus intravenous TSPA 60-65 mg/m(2) on day 1 every 3 weeks, or intravenous TXT 35 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 plus oral CAPE 1 000 mg/m(2) twice daily on days 1 to 14 every 3 weeks, at least 2 cycles applied.

RESULTS
TXT/TSPA group (22 patients) and TXT/CAPE group (24 patients) had consistent baseline. Docetaxel thiotepa group (21 cases) and docetaxel combined with capecitabine group (22 cases) were evaluated for their clinical responses, which showed that 2 of the 21 (9.52%) from TXT/TSPA group and 6 of the 22 (27.27%) from TXT/CAPE group had achieved partial remission; 11 of the 21 (52.38%) from TXT/TSPA group versus 7 of the 22 (31.82%) from TXT/CAPE group for stable diseases; 8 of the 21 (38.10%) from TXT/TSPA group versus and 9 of the 22 (40.91%) from TXT/CAPE group for progressive diseases, respectively. The disease control rate was 61.90% (13/21) and 59.09% (13/22) for TXT/TSPA and TXT/CAPE groups, the median progression-free survival(PFS) was 7.9 months [95% confidence interval(CI) 0.77 to 15.03] from TXT/TSPA group versus 8.3 months (95% CI 4.01 to 11.79) from TXT/CAPE group. One year survival rate was 88.20% for TXT/TSPA versus 81.00% for TXT/CAPE group, respectively. P values all exceeded 0.05, and the two groups showed no difference. No chemotherapy-related deaths occurred. Myelosuppression was the major side effect. The adverse events of grades 3 to 4 respectively occurred in TXT/TSPA and TXT/CAPE groups:leucocytopenia was 45.45% vs. 26.09%; neutropenia 45.45% vs. 21.74%; thrombocytopenia 9.09% vs. 0%; hand-foot syndrome 0% vs. 13.04%. P values all exceeded 0.05, and the two groups showed no difference.

CONCLUSION
Combination of docetaxel and thiotepa in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer has some curative effect and adverse reactions can be tolerated. It can be used as an economical and effective rescue plan.


Abstract Extreme-high-speed communication exceeding 100 Gbps is one requirement for 6G. To satisfy extreme-high-speed-communication, one solution is to utilize terahertz bands above 100 GHz. To determine the new radio-interface technologies and service frequency bands for 6G, terahertz propagation characteristics above 100 GHz need to be understood. In this paper, we introduce our new radio-network topology for 6G and then show the frequency dependency of key propagation phenomena such as the characteristics of path loss in an urban environment, human blockage, and scattering from a rough building surface up to 150 GHz. Human blockage loss increases and the scattering is more diffused as the frequency increases. In the path-loss characteristics, it was found that path-loss frequency dependency is stronger than that given by conventional path-loss model because of scattering effects from a rough building surface.


Purpose of the study. Distance education is one of the possibilities for the successful realization of the didactic potential of information and communication technologies in teaching foreign languages. In the situation of transition of a higher school to a competence-oriented system of education, mastering scientific and technical translation by students of non-linguistic faculties within the framework of an electronic information and educational environment is of particular relevance. The ability to correctly interpret an authentic text testifies not only to sufficient translation training, but also the ability to use electronic educational resources based on the student's remote access to information referral systems and teaching materials. In this regard, the purpose of this study was to determine the capabilities of remote technologies in teaching scientific and technical translation and assessing the quality of its implementation.Materials and methods. Standardizing the definition of types of semantic distortions on the material of educational translations prepared in the framework of the electronic informational and educational environment of a building university allowed to evaluate the effectiveness of this training format, to develop guidelines for overcoming gaps in the basic interlingua training of future engineers and served as a criterion for evaluating in the process of attestation to master the discipline "Foreign language". In the process of the study descriptive, comparative, categorical and statistical methods were used.Results. The article describes the modular organization of the electronic information and educational environment in a building university, which implies the inclusion of several interactive platforms in its composition with an indication of their capabilities in teaching scientific and technical translation. The theoretical concepts of understanding the semantic violation in the interlingua text transformation as an unreasonable deviation from the normative requirement of meaningful correspondence of the translation to the original are presented.Comparative analysis allowed us to identify two main categories of translation violations: (I) reducing the accuracy of the semantic content of the text and (II) distorting the semantic content of the original in the form of unjustified omission, addition and replacement. Practical assessment of violations of scientific and technical translation allowed describing the quantitative ratio of categories of errors with a predominance of semantic inaccuracies over semantic distortions, which demonstrates an increased level of formation of students' linguistic translation competence.Conclusion. The effectiveness of the use of electronic information-educational environment in the daily work of a construction institution has been proved, which allows improving the quality of student learning in the framework of ensuring remote synchronous and asynchronous interaction between participants in the educational process.It was concluded that the future engineering and construction specialists need to focus on choosing the right translation solutions in the process of preparing practical tasks in the electronic information and educational environment.The following guidelines for the effective teaching of translation in non-language faculties in higher education have been developed:denotative correspondence of the translation of engineering and construction texts to the original at the lexical level should be associated with the selection of equivalent units of the translating language reflecting the semantics and mastery of application in the professional sphere;the denotative correspondence of the translation of engineering and construction texts at the syntactic level, understood as the preservation of semantic accents, is determined by the study of various traditions of the communicative progression of the text in English and Russian languages and the establishment of logical links between the syntactic units of the original text;mandatory editing of automated translation is required.


In the analysis of velocity fields in turbulent boundary layers, the traditional Reynolds decomposition is universally employed to calculate the fluctuating component of streamwise velocity. Here, we demonstrate the perils of such a determination of the fluctuating velocity in the context of structural analysis of turbulence when applied in the outer region where the flow is intermittently turbulent at a given wall distance. A new decomposition is postulated that ensures non-turbulent regions in the flow do not contaminate the fluctuating velocity components in the turbulent regions. Through this new decomposition, some of the typical statistics concerning the scale and structure of turbulent boundary layers are revisited.


CD73 (ecto-5'-nucleotidase), a cell surface enzyme hydrolyzing AMP to adenosine, was lately demonstrated to play a direct role in tumor progression including regulation of tumor vascularization. It was also shown to stimulate tumor macrophage infiltration. Interstitial adenosine, accumulating in solid tumors due to CD73 enzymatic activity, is recognized as a main mediator regulating the production of pro- and anti-angiogenic factors, but the engagement of specific adenosine receptors in tumor progression in vivo is still poorly researched. We have analyzed the role of high affinity adenosine receptors A1, A2A, and A3 in B16F10 melanoma progression using specific agonists (CCPA, CGS-21680 and IB-MECA, respectively). We limited endogenous extracellular adenosine background using CD73 knockout mice treated with CD73 chemical inhibitor, AOPCP (adenosine α,β-methylene 5'-diphosphate). Activation of any adenosine receptor significantly inhibited B16F10 melanoma growth but only at its early stage. At 14th day of growth, the decrease in tumor neovascularization and MAPK pathway activation induced by CD73 depletion was reversed by all agonists. Activation of A1AR primarily increased angiogenic activation measured by expression of VEGF-R2 on tumor blood vessels. However, mainly A3AR activation increased both the microvessel density and expression of pro-angiogenic factors. All agonists induced significant increase in macrophage tumor infiltration, with IB-MECA being most effective. This effect was accompanied by substantial changes in cytokines regulating macrophage polarization between pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic phenotype. Our results demonstrate an evidence that each of the analyzed receptors has a specific role in the stimulation of tumor angiogenesis and confirm significantly more multifaceted role of adenosine in its regulation than was already observed. They also reveal previously unexplored consequences to extracellular adenosine signaling depletion in recently proposed anti-CD73 cancer therapy.


We review the concept of Bessel weighted asymmetries for semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering and focus on the cross section in Fourier space, conjugate to the outgoing hadron's transverse momentum, where convolutions of transverse momentum dependent parton distribution functions and fragmentation functions become simple products. Individual asymmetric terms in the cross section can be projected out by means of a generalized set of weights involving Bessel functions. The procedure is applied to studies of the double longitudinal spin asymmetry in semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering using a new dedicated Monte Carlo generator which includes quark intrinsic transverse momentum within the generalized parton model. We observe a few percent systematic offset of the Bessel-weighted asymmetry obtained from Monte Carlo extraction compared to input model calculations, which is due to the limitations imposed by the energy and momentum conservation at the given energy and hard scale Q 2 . We find that the Bessel weighting technique provides a powerful and reliable tool to study the Fourier transform of TMDs with controlled systematics due to experimental acceptances and resolutions with different TMD model inputs.


Nasogastric tube feeding is often used to provide optimal nutrition and hydration in patients with aspiration pneumonia. However, evidence regarding radiologic indicators for successful nasogastric tube weaning is lacking. We investigated whether thoracic skeletal muscle assessment can be useful for predicting successful weaning from nasogastric tube feeding in patients with aspiration pneumonia. This longitudinal, observational study included subjects with aspiration pneumonia who underwent a videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) and chest computed tomography (CT) in Boramae Medical Center, from January 2012 to December 2019. We estimated the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) to evaluate the predictive performance of skeletal muscle and visceral fat parameters and VFSS results for successful weaning from nasogastric tube feeding. A board-certified radiologist measured muscle and fat areas. Muscle and fat volumes were segmented and measured using an externally validated convolutional neural network model. Among the 146 included patients, nasogastric tube feeding was successfully transitioned to oral feeding in 46.6%. After adjusting for covariables related to successful weaning, skeletal muscle areas, indices, and volume indices were positively associated with successful nasogastric tube weaning. Although VFSS results and skeletal muscle parameters alone showed suboptimal performance for predicting successful weaning, a prediction model combining skeletal muscle index at the T4 level and VFSS results improved the prediction performance to an acceptable level (AUC ≥ 0.7). Skeletal muscle index measured at the T4 level may be a useful supplementary indicator for predicting successful weaning from nasogastric tube feeding in patients with aspiration pneumonia.


HYSYS.Plant Version 3.0.1 in steady-state mode was used to simulate the Scrubber Section of a Syncrude Canada Ltd.'s Fluid Coker, a plant for oil sand bitumen upgrading. In this scrubber, hot vapours from the Fluid Coker are contacted counter-currently with cooler oils to remove heavy components. The objective was to develop a reliable simulation model, which would describe the plant operation as closely as possible, and to use this model to investigate possible process improvements, by changing process and design parameters. Plant data was used to define the composition, flow rate, temperature and pressure of all inlet streams, as well as parameters for all unit operation blocks. Additional data was provided to evaluate the reliability of the simulation model. The Scrubber Section was simulated using a number of unit operation blocks and process streams. The HYSYS Peng-Robinson property package was utilized. Heavy hydrocarbon mixtures were defined using pseudo-components derived from input laboratory assays data: boiling curves, density and viscosity. An investigation on presence of liquid phase in the vapour streams and heavy components in the Scrubber Overhead was undertaken, and its suggestions taken into account during the simulation. When the whole flowsheet was set up and a converged solution obtained, the HYSYS optimizer tool was used to determine unknown parameters in the system, such as tray and section efficiencies in the sheds and the packed section of the Scrubber, respectively, and fractions of vapour and liquid that reach equilibrium above the scrubber pool. An objective function was defined to quantify the extent of matching of model predictions with the plant data. The unknown parameters were varied to minimize the objective function. The set of parameters that resulted in the smallest deviation from the plant data was chosen and fixed as the "Base Case". Results of the simulation match the plant data very well (within 3.2% of the plant data). Eleven case studies were carried out in which different operating parameters and design changes were simulated to study their effects on predicted process performance: ATB Flow Rate, HGO Wash Flow Rate, HGO Underwash Flow Rate, HGO Wash Temperature, HGO Underwash In and Out of Service, Number of Trays in the Sheds, Number of Grid Sections, Simulation of the Conditions from Start of Run to End of Run, Water Instead of HGO Underwash, Saturated Steam Instead of HGO Underwash and Overhead Recycle Cut Point Changes. Based on the results of the case studies the suggestions for further process improvements were made, as well as recommendations for additional investigations. ii


Digital transformations of the economy are spreading rapidly, thus making it necessary to measure their impact on the quality of life In this research, we present the findings of the experiment aimed at measuring the impact of social networks on student's subjective quality of life The experiment involved 256 university students from Novosibirsk aged 17-20 years The experiment was conducted between February 2019 and February 2020 Hence, the Russian ruble depreciation and the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia did not affect the behavior of the participants To measure the subjective quality of life, we apply the methodology for diagnosing the level of psychoemotional stress elaborated by O Kopina The results of the experiment demonstrate the impact of short-term use of the social networks on the subjective assessment of the quality of life Negative for most of the participants, this effect is likely to occur due the active use of social networks which leads to a change in the rituals of interpersonal interaction This experiment shows that the negative effect of using social networks is greater for women than for men The type of social network used during the experiment (VKontakte or Instagram) has not impacted on the change in the subjective assessment of the participants' quality of life This was probably due to the short time interval during which the impact of social networks on the participants in the experiment took place © 2020 All Rights Reserved


: Xenografting of ovarian tissue into immunodeficient mice is useful in studying the dynamics of follicular development. We have demonstrated that xenografted bovine secondary follicles develop to the antral stage in female severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. We did this by examining the development of bovine secondary follicles (140(cid:150)190 µ m in diameter) that had been grafted into male and female SCID mice for 4 and 6 weeks. We then compared the results for the two groups. The rate of surviving follicles in the grafts was similar in male and female mice, but the survival rate of oocytes was lower in male mice in these follicles, especially the antral follicles. In addition, the basement membranes of relatively large follicles were thinner and torn in the male mice, and erythrocytes had invaded the follicular cavity. The mean diameters of surviving follicles and oocytes were significantly larger in both male and female mice than before grafting. In female mice, the diameter of antral follicles increased gradually as the grafting was prolonged, although the difference was not in significant. Surviving oocytes in the follicles increased in diameter. In contrast, development of antral follicles in male mice seemed to be accelerated, but, in contrast to female mice, the mean diameters of antral follicles and surviving oocytes showed no further increase after 4 weeks of grafting. These results suggest that bovine follicles can develop in male SCID mice, but oocyte degeneration together with the follicular degeneration occurs in large antral follicles at a higher rate in males than in the females.


The complex process of spermatogenesis is regulated by various factors. Studies on spermatogonial stem cells (SCCs) have provided very important tool to improve herd genetic and different field. 0.2 to 0.3 percent of total cells of seminiferous tubules is consist of spermatogonial stem cells. To investigate and biomanipulation of these cells, proliferation and viability rate of cells should be increased in vitro, at first. Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) has been suggested to play a determinant role in the survival of germ cells in addition to increasing spermatogonial proliferation. In this study, the in vitro effects of FSH on spermatogonial cell colony formation were investigated. Sertoli and spermatogonial cells were isolated from 3-5 months old calves. The identity of the Sertoli cells and spermatogonial stem cells were confirmed through immunocytochemistry and colony morphology, respectively. Co-cultured Sertoli and spermatogonial cells were treated with FSH in different dose of 10, 20 and 40 IU mL-1 FSH, before colony assay. Results indicated that, FSH increased in vitro colonization of spermatogonial cells in comparison with control group. In conclusion, using FSH provided proper bovine spermatogonial stem cell culture medium for in vitro study of these cells.


Primary monolayer cultures of rat hepatocytes show an initial transient azide-sensitive capacity to concentrate methotrexate several-fold from the medium. However, after 48 h in culture they lose the azide-sensitive ability to accumulate methotrexate. The uptake of (+) 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and folate is not altered greatly with time in culture and is unaffected by azide. Once inside the cell, methotrexate is converted predominantly to di- and triglutamate derivatives. After a short exposure to methotrexate (up to 4 h) most of the intracellular methotrexate is unaltered, but by 24 h nearly 80% is present as polyglutamates. Unlike the capacity of the cells to accumulate methotrexate, the ability of the cells to form polyglutamates does not appear to diminish with the age of the culture.


Hypotrigona species are difficult to identify morphologically. Here, we show that nest sites and nest architecture can be used to discriminate three Hypotrigona species found in Kenya. Hypotrigona gribodoi, H. araujoi and H. ruspolii colonies from Kakamega forest and H. gribodoi from Mwingi, were collected and placed in a meliponiary at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE). The following parameters were recorded: nest sites, internal nest entrances, external nest entrance colour and size, sizes (in terms of volume) of brood cells, honey and pollen pots, arrangement of brood cells and presence or absence of involucrum (cerumen covering brood). It was found that nest sites are specific to species. Hypotrigona gribodoi nests mostly in crevices in mud walls while H. ruspolii and H. araujoi nest in cavities in specific tree species, mainly in indigenous forests. The colour of external nest entrances varies between the species. H. araujoi's is yellowish brown, H. gribodoi's is white or cream while that of H. ruspolii is dark brown. There is an internal nest entrance in H. gribodoi, which is absent in the other two Hypotrigona species. Brood cells are clustered in H. gribodoi and H. ruspolii whereas H. araujo's form vertical semi comb-like layers. The area of the apical opening of the entrance tube and volumes of brood cells, honey and pollen pots differ significantly between the three Hypotrigona species. Therefore, nest sites and nest architecture can be used to discriminate three Hypotrigona species. Furthermore, the study indicates that conservation of indigenous forests, the main habitat for H. araujoi and H. ruspolii is important for their conservation.


Abstract Australian government policy now embodies a clear expectation that consumers should be participants in all aspects of mental health services. A number of barriers have been identified as inhibiting the realisation of this goal, with the negative attitudes of professional staff being recognised as a major factor. A more pervasive barrier with the potential to minimise the positive developments in consumer participation is the issue of representation. It has been claimed that consumers who are actively involved in participatory roles are not necessarily representative of the broader population of mental health consumers. The paucity of literature makes this argument difficult to either defend or refute, although there is limited research evidence to suggest that the views of active consumers may indeed be similar to those who do not choose to have involvement. The aim of this paper is to consider the implications of engaging in debate about the extent to which consumer advocates might represent a broader group. In particular the potential consequences of this argument include: silencing activism; questioning the legitimacy of consumer roles; and, discriminatory expectations of consumers. These issues are discussed with the aim of establishing the need to use the term consumer leadership to describe participation which is aimed at the systemic level.


Supraglottitis is a rare life-threatening paediatric disease whose occurrence has declined with the rise of immunization; however, it remains an important clinical diagnosis in the adult population. It is vital to consider in patients presenting with an acute sore throat. Misdiagnosis can lead to serious morbidity. This article will review the pathophysiology of supraglottitis, explain the changing demographics of the disease, important clinical features and management particularly where relevant to presentation in general practice.


A new set of relative
orbit elements (ROEs) is used to derive a new elliptical formation flying model
in previous work. In-plane and out-of-plane relative motions can be completely
decoupled, which benefits elliptical formation design. In order to study the
elliptical control strategy and perturbation effects, it is necessary to derive
the inverse transformation of the relative state transition matrix based on
relative orbit elements. Poisson bracket theory is used to obtain the linear
transformations between the two representations: the relative orbit elements
and the geocentric orbital frame. In this paper, the details of these
transformations are presented.


Technology of weather modification is one of human interventions to manage atmospheric resources. Other than to increase rainfall, the UPT Hujan Buatan is currently assessing the application of weather modification to lower the intensity of rainfall as inspired by the community. This activity has been applied on two locations: Jratun Seluna Watershed in Central Java and Saguling Watershed in West Java. On assessment of technology for lowering the intensity of rainfall, Calcium Oxide (CaO) was used as a seed material. To analyze whether this material affect negatively to the quality of rain fall and reservoir, a monitoring of the environment was conducted in target areas. This monitoring activity was intended to have an early diagnosis of any changes to qualities of rain fall or the reservoir water that might occur. The method used in this analysis was the comparative method that compares the result analysis of rain fall and reservoir water qualities with a maximum content value according to the PP No. 20 of 1990 for standard water quality type A. The analysis showed that the use of Ca O during modification activity gave no effect on qualities of rain fall and reservoir water because they were still under the maximum limit of standard quality type A, before, during and after the modification activity. In general, rainwater and reservoir water qualities, notably the pH parameter, for areas of Cemara and Banjaran during the activity were still below the maximum limit of standard water quality. This fact may be due to the existence of various industries in the area.


Depression is common in the developing world and accounts for 10–20% of attendances at primary care clinics. It is a condition associated with considerable morbidity. This paper considers the characteristics of depressive illness in Zimbabwe and discusses ways to improve detection and management.


Use of injectable volume replacement products has increased dramatically in the US in recent years. An optimal outcome with volume replacement depends on a thorough knowledge of the products on the part of the dermatologic/aesthetic physician specialist, identification of patients with a likelihood of benefiting from volume replacement procedures, selection of an appropriate product for the individual patient, and effective patient counseling to ensure adherence to posttreatment care instructions. Adherence to physician instructions in the field of dermatology appears limited, and there is very little published information on adherence to physician instructions following facial volume replacement procedures. The purpose of this review is to provide strategies for understanding and overcoming the barriers to adherence with the widely used dermal fillers. Strategies include using patient-centered techniques, such as a motivational interview encouraging the patient to follow postprocedure care instructions, eg, massage. In this case, demonstrating massage techniques while the patient is still in the office, with patient participation and detailed feedback, also contributes to good adherence with posttreatment care instructions. Telephone counseling, reminder postcards, and text messages may help improve clinic attendance for follow-up. Motivated patients who demonstrate good adherence to physician instructions generally respond well to volume replacement treatments, and usually experience fewer adverse events than patients who do not follow instructions. Although promoting adherence to pretreatment and posttreatment protocols remains a challenge, patient counseling throughout the treatment process can lead to successful results.


Background:
 Unruptured cerebral aneurysms (UCAs) have a relatively low prevalence of approximately 3%, but detection can prevent devastating consequences of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Here, we assess the performance of a machine-learning (ML) algorithm to identify UCAs and determine whether routine use of the algorithm would have improved detection rates and patient care.

 Methods:
 From a prospectively maintained multi-center registry across 8 certified stroke centers (1 comprehensive, 7 primary), we identified patients who underwent CT angiogram for evaluation of stroke from 3/14/21 - 11/31/21. A convolutional deep neural network (Viz.AI) trained to identify UCAs > 2mm analyzed the images. Ground truth was provided by independent expert neuroradiology read. The primary outcome was rate of UCAs detected by the ML algorithm but not detected or addressed in the clinical radiology report or clinical notes, which was determined by two independent researchers.

 Results:
 Among 1191 CT angiogram scans performed during the study period, 110 were flagged by the ML algorithm as possibly demonstrating an UCA, of which 36 cases were confirmed as true positive (PPV 33%). The most common locations included posterior communicating artery (22%), followed by MCA bifurcation (19%). Of these cases, 13 (26%) were not noted in the clinical radiology report or clinical notes, with a median size of 3 mm [IQR 2.7-4.4 mm], and 28 (78%) were not referred for follow up, with median size of 4.3 mm [IQR 3-9 mm]. Of the 28 cases not referred for follow up, 15 (54%) had been noted in the radiology report. 40% (6/15) of the detected but not referred cases had a diameter greater than 10mm.

 Conclusion:
 UCAs of sizes and intra-dural locations that may warrant treatment are frequently missed in routine clinical care. An ML algorithm that flags studies and notifies clinicians may minimize missed treatment opportunities.


The study in the paper is placed in the broad context of research for increasing the efficiency of motion control. The purpose of the paper is to make a comparative analysis of the state feedback fuzzy control with the linear control for angular positioning of mechanical parts. The structure of the fuzzy control system and its design is presented. Transient characteristics obtained are compared from the point of view of their control efficiency criteria. The differences in performance criteria between the control methods studied are small


BACKGROUND: The water method decreases patient discomfort and sedation requirement. Applicability in non-veteran community settings in the United States (U.S.) has not been reported. AIMS: Our aim is to perform a pilot study to establish feasibility of use the water method at 2 community sites. We tested the hypothesis that compared with air insufflation patients examined with the water method would require less sedation without adverse impact on outcomes. METHODS: Two performance improvement projects were carried out. Consecutive patients who consented to respond to a questionnaire after colonoscopy were enrolled. Project 1: The design was single-blinded (patient only); quasi-randomized - odd days (water), even days (air). Colonoscopy was performed by a staff attending. Project 2: A supervised trainee performed the reported procedures. In both, patient demographics (age, gender and body mass index), amount of sedation required during colonoscopy and procedure-related variables were recorded. The patients completed a questionnaire that enquired about discomfort during colonoscopy and willingness to repeat the procedure within 24 hours after the procedure. RESULTS: Project 1: Significantly lower doses of fentanyl and midazolam were used and a higher adenoma detection rate (ADR) was demonstrated in the water group. Project 2: 100% cecal intubation rate was achieved by the supervised trainee. CONCLUSION: This is the first pilot report in the U.S. documenting feasibility of the water method as the principal modality to aid colonoscope insertion in both male and female community patients. In a head-to-head comparison, significant reduction of sedation requirement is confirmed as hypothesized. No adverse impact on outcomes was noted.


Abstract Purpose To investigate the effects of spectacle and telescope corrections on visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivity (CS) and reading rates (RR) in students with oculocutaneous albinism (OCA). Methods An observational study design was conducted on 81 students with OCA. Distance and near VA, CS and RR were measured without correction, with spectacle correction and with a combination of spectacle correction and telescopes. Results The mean distance and near VA values with a combination of spectacle correction and telescopes were significantly better than those without correction and with spectacle correction alone (p = 0.01). Mean CS values achieved with spectacles alone were significantly better than those obtained with a combination of spectacles and telescopes (p = 0.01). There was no significant difference between logCS values obtained without correction compared to those obtained with a combination of spectacle correction and telescopes. There were no significant differences between RR values obtained with a combination of spectacles and telescopes and those without and with spectacle correction alone (all p > 0.05). Conclusion This article provides valuable information to eye care practitioners on the effects of spectacles and telescopes on visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and reading rate in students with OCA.


Here is an inspiring collection of glass art made by women artists, along with their stories told in their own words. Throughout the early and mid 20th century, women had difficulty finding support in many art mediums. This book displays over 40 talented female artists who have triumphed in the world of glass art, including Asa Brandt, Yoko Ono, and Linda MacNeill. Coming from the 1960s to contemporary times, their beautiful sculptures, mosaics, and delicate creations are illustrated in over 350 dazzling color photographs. This book is a must-have for collectors, enthusiasts, historians studying the studio glass movement, and especially aspiring young artists.


The paper gives a survey on recent experiments on the deterministic generation of photons. Experiments using Rydberg atoms in microwave cavities and trapped ions in optical cavities are discussed. The latter experiments show that lasers on the basis of single atoms are possible.


In this paper, we present a method for converting a given scene image into a sketch using different types and multiple levels of abstraction. We distinguish between two types of abstraction. The first considers the fidelity of the sketch, varying its representation from a more precise portrayal of the input to a looser depiction. The second is defined by the visual simplicity of the sketch, moving from a detailed depiction to a sparse sketch. Using an explicit disentanglement into two abstraction axes -- and multiple levels for each one -- provides users additional control over selecting the desired sketch based on their personal goals and preferences. To form a sketch at a given level of fidelity and simplification, we train two MLP networks. The first network learns the desired placement of strokes, while the second network learns to gradually remove strokes from the sketch without harming its recognizability and semantics. Our approach is able to generate sketches of complex scenes including those with complex backgrounds (e.g., natural and urban settings) and subjects (e.g., animals and people) while depicting gradual abstractions of the input scene in terms of fidelity and simplicity.


In this paper, we describe a system for wandering in a realistic environment over the Internet. The environment is captured by the concentric mosaic, compressed via the reference block coder (RBC), and accessed and delivered over the Internet through the virtual media (Vmedia) access protocol. One of the key contributions of the paper is the proposal of the RBC concentric mosaic coder. The RBC coder not only compresses the huge dataset of the concentric mosaic very efficiently, but also produces a well-organized bitstream that can be accessed just-in-time (JIT). To reconstruct a virtual view, only a portion of the RBC bitstream needs to be accessed and decoded. This greatly reduces the memory and computation requirement of the viewer compared with first decoding the entire concentric mosaic data set and then rendering from the decoded data. Our second contribution is the employment of the Vmedia protocol to deliver the compressed concentric mosaic bitstream just-in-time over the Internet. Only the bitstream segments corresponding to the current view are streamed over the Internet. The delivered bitstream segments are managed by a local Vmedia cache, so that frequently used bitstream segments do not need to be streamed over the Internet repeatedly, and a RBC bitstream larger than the memory capacity can be easily handled. Combining RBC and Vmedia, a concentric mosaic interactive browser is developed through which the user can freely wander in a realistic environment, e.g., rotate around, walk forward/backward, and sidestep, even under a tight bandwidth.


—This paper proposes an interaction and safety-aware dynamic motion-planning method for an autonomous vehicle in uncertain multi-vehicle traffic environments. An interaction-aware motion-prediction model is used to predict the behaviors of surrounding vehicles. The multi-modal prediction uncertainties, containing both the maneuver and trajectory uncertainties of surrounding vehicles, are considered in the method for resilient motion planning of the ego vehicle. Based on the prediction of the surrounding vehicles, an optimal reference trajectory of the ego vehicle is computed by model predictive control (MPC) to follow the time-varying reference targets and avoid collisions with obstacles. A trade-off between the performance and robustness of the method is achieved by tuning a safety-awareness parameter in the MPC. The efficiency of the method is illustrated in challenging highway-driving simulation scenarios and a driving scenario from a recorded traffic dataset.


Cisplatin is a chemotherapeutic agent that causes the irreversible death of auditory sensory cells, leading to hearing loss. Local administration of cytoprotective drugs is a potentially better option co-therapy for cisplatin, but there are strong limitations due to the difficulty of accessing the inner ear. The use of nanocarriers for the efficient delivery of drugs to auditory cells is a novel approach for this problem. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are biodegradable and biocompatible nanocarriers with low solubility in aqueous media. We show here that stearic acid-based SLNs have the adequate particle size, polydispersity index and ζ-potential, to be considered optimal nanocarriers for drug delivery. Stearic acid-based SLNs were loaded with the fluorescent probe rhodamine to show that they are efficiently incorporated by auditory HEI-OC1 (House Ear Institute-Organ of Corti 1) cells. SLNs were not ototoxic over a wide dose range. Glucocorticoids are used to decrease cisplatin-induced ototoxicity. Therefore, to test SLNs' drug delivery efficiency, dexamethasone and hydrocortisone were tested either alone or loaded into SLNs and tested in a cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in vitro assay. Our results indicate that the encapsulation in SLNs increases the protective effect of low doses of hydrocortisone and lengthens the survival of HEI-OC1 cells treated with cisplatin.


Brain tumors are now the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children under age 15. Malignant gliomas are, for all practical purposes, incurable and new therapeutic approaches are desperately needed. One emerging strategy is to use the tumor tracking capacity inherent in many stem cell populations to deliver therapeutic agents to the brain cancer cells. Current limitations of the stem cell therapy strategy include that stem cells are treated as a single entity and lack of uniform technology is adopted for selection of clinically relevant sub-populations of stem cells. Specifically, therapeutic success relies on the selection of a clinically competent stem cell population based on their capacity of targeting brain tumors. A novel and generalizable organotypic slice platform to evaluate stem cell potential for targeting pediatric brain tumors is proposed to fill the gap in the current work flow of stem cell-based therapy. The organotypic slice platform has advantages of being mimic in vivo model, easier to manipulate to optimize parameters than in vivo models such as rodents and primates. This model serves as a framework to address the discrepancy between anticipated in vivo results and actual in vivo results, a critical barrier to timely progress in the field of the use of stem cells for the treatment of neurological disorders. Introduction: current challenges in treatment of pediatric brain tumors Over 1.4 million people in the United States were diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and the national cost of the disease was over $206 billion in 2006, accounting one-thirds of healthcare dollars (total: $686 billion) spent in the U.S. [1,2]. An estimated 18,820 new cases of brain cancer was diagnosed in the United States of America in 2006, and more than 12,000 would die from the disease (data from the National Cancer Institute of the United States of America). Our current forms of therapy for these diseases are brain surgery followed by administration of toxic drugs and exposure to radiation, which lead that the patients face challenges due to both the effects of treatment and potential neurological dysfunction. Overall the cost of care per patient was $67,887 with accrued mean monthly health care costs that were 20 times higher than demographically similar individuals without cancer ($6364 vs. $277)[3]. Primary malignant tumors such as high grade gliomas diffusely migrate into the brain early in the disease course, Published: 22 May 2008 Cancer Cell International 2008, 8:19 doi:10.1186/1475-2867-8-9 Received: 18 September 2007 Accepted: 22 May 2008 This article is available from: http://www.cancerci.com/content/8/1/9 © 2008 Calvin Li and Loudon; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


Primary pulmonary plasmacytoma (PPP) is extremly rare. Because of its rarity, PPP may present a diagnos-ticchallenge to the radiologists and there is a little information on the diagnosis and treatment of this condi-tion.We report on a patient with PPP presenting with a left hilar mass on chest radiograph and CT scan. The diagnosiswas confirmed by immunohistochemical study of the resected specimen.


change would represent a departure from this tainted title and as such could be considered a fresh start. Nonetheless, changing a title used almost universally by healthcare professionals, patients, and the wider public would not be without problems. The ''student doctor'' label may imply a rank senior to that of a medical student, with patients likely to make a false distinction and consider ''student doctors'' more qualified. The dangers of misleading patients in an increasingly patient-centred healthcare environment are very real, and the implications of patients consenting to ''student doctor'' involvement when actually unwilling to be treated by medical students are worrying. Healthcare professionals may be so accustomed to the current title that they are reluctant, or even unable, to switch to the term ''student doctor''. Furthermore, in a challenged health service experiencing considerable upheaval, this may seem a somewhat trivial issue to pursue with staff. Patient confusion would result from the interchangeable use of ''medical student'' and ''student doctor''. There is minimal evidence to date concerning the attitudes of staff, medical students or patients to their understanding, and opinions, of the term ''student doctor''. It is therefore difficult to draw any meaningful, evidence-based conclusions about whether or not a name change would be beneficial. Nevertheless, the issue may well merit further consideration in future years.


With the increasing availability of Internet type services on mobile devices and the attractive flat rate all-you-can-eat billing system, cellular telecommunication networks are experiencing a tremendous growth in data usage demand. However, there are increasing concerns that current network deployment trends (including more efficient radio access techniques and increased spectrum allocation strategies), will be unable to support the increased Internet traffic in a sustainable way. The delay tolerant nature of mobile Internet traffic allows for a large degree of flexibility in optimizing network performance to meet different design objectives and it's a feature that has mostly gone unexplored by the research community. In this paper, we introduce a novel message forwarding mechanism in cellular networks that benefits from the inherent delay tolerance of Internet type services to provide flexible and adjustable forwarding strategies for efficient network operation while guaranteeing timely deliveries. By capitalizing on the elasticity of message delivery deadlines and the actual mobility of nodes inside the cell, considerable performance gains can be achieved by physically propagating information messages within the network.


The use of marker-peptides, measured by LC-MS/MS, is investigated for the quantitative analysis of proteins. To that end, cystatin C is chosen as a model protein. It not only functions as a proof of concept protein but the growing interest in cystatin C as a new marker of kidney failure provides a practical application at the same time. The use of trypsin-based proteolysis, to obtain so-called marker-peptides, simplifies the quantification of a protein to the quantification of a single or a number of peptides. Reproducibility of the trypsin proteolysis procedure is vital and has been optimised. A number of the marker-peptides obtained are selected for LC-MS(/MS) analysis. They are completely separated by high-pressure LC allowing maximum selectivity and mass spectrometric multiple reaction monitoring sensitivity. By doing so, linear calibration curves can be obtained for cystatin C over two orders of magnitude. Experiments have been performed on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer by single ion monitoring (maximum sensitivity) as well as by multiple reaction monitoring (maximum specificity).


Contents: H.L. Swanson, Preface and Overview of Theoretical and Research Issues. B. Keogh, Definitional Assumptions and Research Issues. Part I::Intelligence and Learning Disabilities. H.L. Swanson, Intelligence and Learning Disabilities: An Introduction. J. Pellegrino, S. Goldman, A Cognitive Science Perspective on Intelligence and Learning Disabilities. S. Ceci, A Sideway Glance at This Thing Called LD: A Knowledge X Process X Person Framework. R. Wagner, J.A. Kistner, Implications of the Distinction Between Academic and Practical Intelligence for Learning Disabled Children. E. Short, C.L. Cuddy, S.E. Friebert, C.W. Schatschneider, The Diagnostic and Educational Utility of Thinking Aloud During Problem Solving. L.S. Siegel, IQ and Learning Disabilities. Part II:Social Cognition: Motivational and Social Aspects. T. Bryan, J. Bryan, Social Factors in Learning Disabilities: An Overview. R. Pearl, T. Bryan, Learning Disabled Adolescents' Vulnerability to Crime Victimization and Delinquency. R.J. Thompson, Jr., W. Kronenberger, Behavior Problems in Children with Learning Disabilities. S. Vaugh, A. Hogan, Social Competence and Learning Disabilities: A Prospective Study. Part III:Subtyping Research. S.R. Forness, Subtyping in Learning Disabilities: Introduction to the Issue. D.L. Speece, Methodological Issues in Cluster Analyses: How Clusters Become Real. K.A. Kavale, A Critical Appraisal of Empirical Subtyping Research in Learning Disabilities. Part IV:Cognition and Academic Performance. R. Hall, M. Gerber, Cognition and Academic Performance: An Introduction. C. Bos, P. Anders, Toward an Interactive Model: Teaching Text- Based Concepts to Learning Disabled Students. J.K. Torgesen, S. Morgan, Phonological Synthesis Tasks: A Developmental, Functional, and Componential Analysis. J.F. Carlisle, Diagnostic Assessment of Listening and Comprehension. J.W. Hagen, G. Kamberelis, Cognition and Academic Performance of Children With Learning Disabilities, Low Academic Achievement, Diabetes Melittus and Seizure Disorder. S. Forness, E. Sinclair, Learning Disabilities in Children With Clinical Depression. A.M. LaGreca, W.L. Stone, Children With Learning Disabilities: The Role of Achievement in Their Behavioral, Personal and Behavioral Functioning.


The origin of smooth muscles in the skin of bird embryos has been analyzed in heterospecific quail/chick recombinants. The somitic mesoderm of the wing level of 2-day chick embryos was replaced by homotopic or heterotopic somitic mesoderm from quail embryos. The cellular constitution of tissues was observed in twelve recombinant embryos at 17 or 18 days of incubation. Results show that feather smooth muscles and vascular smooth muscles have the same origin as the cutaneous mesenchyme in which they differentiate. They are of somatopleural origin in the wing integument and of somitic (dermatomal) origin in the dorsal integument. This study further reveals that the muscular and connective tissue wall of blood vessels does not have the same embryonic origin as the endothelium. It is suggested that the latter originates from the primitive aorta.


The mechanism of phase transformation in nanocrystalline TiO2 powders at ambient temperature during high energy ball milling and the role of brookite phase in anatase-to-rutile phase transformation were investigated by the use of Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction patterns and Raman spectroscopy methods. The milling process was performed on a fully anatase phase nanocrystalline TiO2 powder via a high energy planetary ball mill with different ball-to-powder weight ratios followed by annealing of the as-milled samples. Some transformation from anatase-to-brookite was observed in all as-milled powders by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. It was proposed that brookite occurs at the {112} twin surfaces of anatase phase and therefore promotes anatase-to-rutile phase transformation. Based on the XRD and Raman results, it was proposed that brookite appears as an essential intermediate phase in mechanically induced anatase-to-rutile phase transformation which facilitates the phase transformation at ambient temperatures and also at higher temperatures during the post-annealing step.


Purpose
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong disorder that requires intervention and support services for a growing geriatric population. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mean age at death of individuals with ASD and subsequent comorbidity with Alzheimer's disease, and any form of dementia, as a whole and according to sex.

Design/methodology/approach
Data consisted of 1,754 individuals who had an ASD listed as one of the causes of deaths from the National Vital Statistics System with data from 1999 to 2015. In the current study, the authors present contradictory results with a mean age at death for individuals with ASD was 68 years by adjusting for changing prevalence rates.

Findings
Females with ASD had a higher mean age at death than males with ASD; consistent with the trend in the sex differences in the general population. The results of the current study also indicate that individuals with ASD were, in fact, less likely than the general population to have Alzheimer's disease or a form of dementia. However, males with ASD were significantly more likely to have acquired Alzheimer's disease or a form of dementia as compared to females with ASD.

Originality/value
Guan and Li (2017) reported a mean age at death of 36 years old for individuals with ASD, which was subsequently reported in the mass media, most notably CNN. The authors contend that this study provides a more accurate estimate mean age at death.


In the history of urban thought, density has been closely indexed to the idea of citylife. Drawing on commuters' experiences and perceptions of crowds in and around Tokyo's Shinjuku Station, this article offers an ethnographic perspective on the relationship between urban crowds and life in the city. We advance understandings of the relations between the crowd and citylife through three categories of 'crowd relations'– materiality, negotiation and inclusivity – to argue that the multiplicity of meanings which accrue to people's encounters with crowds refuses any a priori definitions of optimum levels of urban density. Rather, the crowd relations gathered here are evocations of citylife that take us beyond the tendency to represent the crowd as a particular kind of problem, be it alienation, exhaustion or a threshold for 'good' and 'bad' densities. The portraits of commuter crowds presented capture the various entanglements between human and non-human, embodiment and mobility, and multiculture and the civic, through which citylife emerges as a mode of being with oneself and others.


In this paper, we describe the gas sensor using Y-cut quartz resonator. The sensor response property is decided not only by the mass loading effect, but also the heat of adsorption caused when the gas molecule is adsorbed. This type of sensor has a response characteristic different from the conventional sensors using AT-cut resonator that is stable against temperature change around room temperature, even if the gas molecule adsorption characteristic on the surface of the sensor is the same.


This thesis contains both macro- and microeconomic analyses of banking organisational structure, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) lending and local economic development. The first examination is based on a bank-level analysis to investigate the impact of bank size on bank propensity to small and micro business lending. Secondly, I review the regional banking-growth literature and highlight the need for original investigations of the effects of local small business lending, as a measure of local banking development, on local economic development, emphasising the importance of distributional heterogeneity and spatial effects across regions within a one-country framework. Thirdly, I empirically investigate whether small and micro business lending, provided by small local banks, has an impact on the performance of local economies, taking into consideration the distributional heterogeneity among regions. Finally, I examine whether spatial spillover effects of local banks on local economies are significant. Using an econometric approach and data on over 14,000 U.S banks of all sizes, from 1994 to 2013, the results indicate an inverse relationship between bank size and the propensity of banks to lend to small and micro businesses. The relationship is robust and survives a number of rigorous specification checks. The subsequent review of the literature of regional banking-growth studies reveals that previously employed econometric methodologies do not account for distributional heterogeneity and spatial spillover effects in the examination of the regional banking-growth relationship. I also offer the small business lending channel as a proxy measure for local banking development. Furthermore, the subsequent analyses of the local banking-growth nexus indicate a boosting impact of local banks on the local economies through the small business lending channel. Besides, such impact varies in accordance to the regions' level of economic development and the magnitude of the spillovers of SME loans from one region to another. Important policy implications can be drawn from my empirical findings. The inverse association of bank size with propensity to small business lending indicates that small banks are superior in SME lending through their form of relationship lending. Accordingly, small banks can be the optimal financial machinery to facilitate credit to and support the growth of SMEs. Moreover, the results emphasise the importance of small locally-operating banks to development of the local economies through small business lending, as well as confirm the existence of heterogeneous effects and significant spatial spillover effects of small local banks on the growth of the regions. The policy implication is that policy-makers need to ensure that localisation effects are sustained, because of the comparatively minimal cost required to minimize individual (in relation to aggregate) uncertainties and local stability can be relied upon to achieve global stability. Both can be done by supporting the creation and continued viability of small local banks. For this, a positive yield curve is required – which currently central banks in many countries are not delivering


Nuclear import of the two uracil-rich small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (U snRNP) components U1A and U2B′′ is mediated by unusually long and complex nuclear localization signals (NLSs). Here we investigate nuclear import of U1A and U2B′′ in vitro and demonstrate that it occurs by an active, saturable process. Several lines of evidence suggest that import of the two proteins occurs by an import mechanism different to those characterized previously. No cross competition is seen with a variety of previously studied NLSs. In contrast to import mediated by members of the importin-β family of nucleocytoplasmic transport receptors, U1A/U2B′′ import is not inhibited by either nonhydrolyzable guanosine triphosphate (GTP) analogues or by a mutant of the GTPase Ran that is incapable of GTP hydrolysis. Adenosine triphosphate is capable of supporting U1A and U2B′′ import, whereas neither nonhydrolyzable adenosine triphosphate analogues nor GTP can do so. U1A and U2B′′ import in vitro does not require the addition of soluble cytosolic proteins, but a factor or factors required for U1A and U2B′′ import remains tightly associated with the nuclear fraction of conventionally permeabilized cells. This activity can be solubilized in the presence of elevated MgCl2. These data suggest that U1A and U2B′′ import into the nucleus occurs by a hitherto uncharacterized mechanism.