: Nowadays, biogas technology applications are gradually increasing worldwide due to the economic and environmental benefits. Many researches and studies related to the determination of the biogas potential of waste organic materials have been carried out in the recent years. Studies to determine the specific methane potential of organic waste materials have a great importance for both design and economical operation of the biogas plants.Energy potential that will be recovered from organic wastes are substantial in our country.Thanks to biogas plants gathering vegetable-fruit wastes and other organic wastes are planned to produce significant amount of renewable energy in our country markets. Owing to the use of organic wastes, the disposal of waste as well as energy production, soil, water, air pollution in terms of environmental protection are also minimized. On the other hand, the organic wastes produced from plants can also be utilised as fertilizer in vegetable production. In this study, the cumulative biogas and methane productions of tomato wastes were experimentally determined with HBT (Hohenheim Batch Testing) method. Biogas and methane yields of tomato wastes were found as 0.687-0.695 Nm3/kg OKM and 0.364-0.374 Nm3/kg OKM respectively. Obtained results for biogas production has importance.


Abstract #4137 Lymphoedema (≥10% increase in arm swelling) occurs in 30% of patients after axillary clearance but the factors predicting the development of early lymphoedema (within 18 months of surgery) are unknown. To determine factors predicting lymphoedema at 18 months we analysed the ALMANAC trial database.
 Methods: All patients had baseline and prospective tape arm measurements, prior to undergoing axillary dissection and statistical analysis of 13 management variables affecting lymphoedema was performed.
 Results: Out of 407, 91 (25%) underwent axillary sampling and the remainder had clearance surgery. Mean increase in arm volume was 4.02% and 5.14% at 3 and 6 months respectively. By 18 months, 148 (36%) women out of 407 had developed lymphoedema.
 Arm volume increases of 5% or greater at 3 or 6 months predicted development of lymphoedema by 18 months ( p≤0.01 ) and identified 56% of patients with lymphoedema at 18 months. Increase in age ( p=0.039 ), extent of axillary surgery ( p=0.045 ) and breast radiotherapy ( p=0.022) were also significant predictors of lymphoedema at 18 months. In multivariate analysis only early arm swelling remained predictive of lymphoedema.
 Conclusions: Early arm swelling after axillary clearance predicts early lymphoedema. Baseline arm measurement of patients undergoing axillary clearance should be routine preoperative care to identify women who need early intervention with arm compression sleeves. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 4137.


We present results from a study of the globular cluster lumin osity function (GCLF) in a sample of 89 earlytype galaxies observed as part of the ACS Virgo Cluster Surve y. Using a Gaussian parametrization of the GCLF, we find a highly significant correlation between the GCLF disp er ion,σ, and the galaxy luminosity, MB,gal, in the sense that the GC systems in fainter galaxies have narrow er luminosity functions. The GCLF dispersions in the Milky Way and M31 are fully consistent with this trend, implying that the correlation between sigma and galaxy luminosity is more fundamental than older sugges tions that GCLF shape is a function of galaxy Hubble type. We show that the σ − MB,gal relation results from a bonafide narrowing of the distributi on of (logarithmic) cluster masses in fainter galaxies. We furth er show that this behavior is mirrored by a steepening of the GC mass function for relatively high masses, M& 3×10M⊙, a mass regime in which the shape of the GCLF is not strongly affected by dynamical evolution over a H ubble time. We argue that this trend arises from variations in initial conditions and requires explanation by theories of cluster formation. Finally, we confirm that in bright galaxies, the GCLF "turns over" at the canonic al mass scale of MTO ≃ 2×10M⊙. However, we find thatMTO scatters to lower values ( ≈ 1-2×10M⊙) in galaxies fainter thanMB,gal & −18.5, an important consideration if the GCLF is to be used as a distance indicato r for dwarf ellipticals. Subject headings: galaxies: elliptical and lenticular, cD — galaxies: star cl usters — globular clusters: general


Stochastic robustness analysis is a flexible probabilistic framework for defining the robustness of control systems. Here, robust linear-quadratic-regulators are synthesized to control the nonlinear longitudinal dynamics of a hypersonic aircraft with uncertainties in 28 parameters. The compensators are designed using a genetic algorithm to search a design parameter space and Monte Carlo evaluation to define the robustness cost surface. The method is shown to produce control structures that satisfy nominal stability and performance goals, while minimizing robustness cost functions.<<ETX>>


Background Dysautonomia describes a group of conditions associated with a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system. Symptoms of dysautonomia and inflammation have been described in Fibromyalgia (FM) and Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) [1–4]. Symptoms include increased disabling fatigue, pain, dizziness and digestive problems. Objectives This ongoing study investigates, for the first time, how a sympathetically mediated challenge and induced systemic inflammatory state impact on mood, pain, fatigue, and autonomic function. Methods In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 25 participants with FM and/or ME/CFS underwent an autonomic- and inflammatory challenge during three visits. Outcome measures included a range of questionnaires including the Profile of Mood States (POMS), Pain visual analogue scales (VAS), measures of heart rate (HR), Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT), alongside subjective pain and fatigue measures. Autonomic function was assessed using a passive non-invasive tilt-test (upright tilt of 60°) and active-stand (AS) with beat-to-beat HR and blood pressure monitoring. Remaining visits involved an inflammatory challenge using intramuscular typhoid- and saline (placebo) injection. Results Tilt-table test was positive in 20% participants and AS in 92% participants indicated by HR rise >30 bpm or a sustained HR of 120 bpm. Overall fatigue correlated with peak HR during tilt (r=.465, p=.025, n=23). There was a positive correlation between the average HR during AS under typhoid after controlling for placebo and average HR during tilt (r=.517, p=.049, n=15). Scores on the Wide Spread Pain Index (WPI) at screening correlated with the change in POMS pre-and post-typhoid after controlling for placebo (r=.479, p=.045, n=18). Scores on the Fibromyalgia Severity Scale correlated with the change in physical fatigue pre-and post-typhoid after controlling for placebo (r=.633, p=.015, n=14). Pain at screening correlated with change in physical fatigue pre-and post-tilt (r=.405, p=.044, n=25). Scores on the pain severity scale at baseline correlated with change in pain measured on a visual analogue scale pre and post tilt (r=.517, p=.049, n=15). Mean change in heart rate pre-post active stand correlated with a change in pain VAS pre-and post-typhoid after controlling for placebo (r=.582, p=.047, n=12). Conclusion Preliminary findings suggest that dysautonomia and induced inflammation significantly impacts on pain, fatigue, and autonomic function in FM and ME/CFS. On-going data collection of 100 participants (25 controls) will allow extended analyses to test how autonomic function and inflammation affect symptom domains that impact on quality of life. References [1] McIntosh DN, Miller LJ, Shyu V, Hagerman RJ. Sensory-modulation disruption, electrodermal responses, and functional behaviors. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2007Feb13;41(9):608–15. [2] López-Solà M, Woo CW, Pujol J, Deus J, Harrison BJ, Monfort J, et al. Towards a neurophysiological signature for fibromyalgia. Pain. 2017;158(1):34–47. [3] Solano C, Martinez A, Becerril L, Vargas A, Figueroa J, Navarro C, et al. Autonomic dysfunction in fibromyalgia assessed by the Composite Autonomic Symptoms Scale (COMPASS). J Clin Rheumatol. 2009;15(4):172–6. [4] Maia MM, Gualano B, S??-Pinto AL, Sallum AME, Pereira RMR, Len CA, et al. Juvenile fibromyalgia syndrome: Blunted heart rate response and cardiac autonomic dysfunction at diagnosis. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2016;46(3):338–43. Disclosure of Interests None declared


Proceeding from the hydrodynamic approach, we construct exact solutions to the nonlinear Schrodinger equation with special properties. The solutions describe collapse, in finite time, and scattering, over infinite time, of wave packets. They generalize known blow-up solutions based on the ground state.


Self-adaptation is a potential alternative to provide a higher level of autonomic abstractions and run-time responsiveness in parallel executions. However, the recurrent problem is that self-adaptation is still limited in flexibility and efficiency. For instance, there is a lack of mechanisms to apply adaptation actions and efficient decision-making strategies to decide which configurations should be conveniently enforced at run-time. In this work, we are interested in providing and evaluating potential abstractions achievable with self-adaptation transparently managing parallel executions. Therefore, we provide a new mechanism to support self-adaptation in applications with multiple parallel stages executed in multi-cores. Moreover, we reproduce, reimplement, and evaluate an existing decision-making strategy in our scenario. The observations from the results show that the proposed mechanism for self-adaptation can provide new parallelism abstractions and autonomous responsiveness at run-time. On the other hand, there is a need for more accurate decision-making strategies to enable efficient executions of applications in resource-constrained scenarios like multi-cores.


Chemoresistance is a major cause of treatment failure in patients with lung cancer. Although the extensive efforts have been made in overcoming chemoresistance, the underlying mechanisms are still elusive. Cancer cells reprogram cellular metabolism to satisfy the demands of malignant phenotype. To reveal roles of cancer metabolism in regulating chemoresistance, we profiled the metabolic characteristics in paclitaxel-resistant lung cancer cells by flux assay. Glucose and oleate metabolism were significantly different between resistant and non-resistant cells. In addition, targeting metabolism as a strategy to overcome drug resistance was investigated using specific metabolic inhibitors. Inhibition of glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation by 2-deoxyglucose and malonate, respectively, potentiated the effects of paclitaxel on nonresistant lung adenocarcinoma cells but not paclitaxel-resistant cells. By contrast, inhibition of lipolysis by mercaptoacetate or etomoxir synergistically inhibited drug-resistant lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation. We conclude that lipolysis inhibition potentially be a therapeutic strategy to overcome drug resistance in lung cancer.


While software is now being developed with more sophisticated tools, its complexity has increased considerably, and, as a consequence new vulnerabilities are discovered every day. To address the constant flow of vulnerabilities being identified, patches are frequently being pushed to consumers. Patches, however, often involve having to shutdown services in order to be applied, which can result in expensive downtime. To solve this problem, various hot-patching systems have been devised to patch systems without the need for restarting. These systems often require either the cooperation of the system or the process they are patching. This still leaves out a considerable amount of systems, most notably embedded devices, which remain unable to be hot-patched. We present Piston, a generic system for the remote hot-patching of uninterruptible software that operates without the system's cooperation. Piston achieves this by using an exploit to take control of the remote process and modify its code on-the-fly. Piston works directly on binary code and is capable of automatically counter-acting the destructive effects on memory that might be the result of the exploitation.


A dynamical system being described by its state equations and
its initial state, we develop a method for drawing its output: It is based on the juxtaposition of local approximating outputs on successive time intervals $[t_i, t_(i+1)]0<=i<=n-1$. It consists in computing an approximated value of the state at initial point $t_i$ and an approximated output $y_i(t)$ on $[t_i, t_(i+1)]0<=i<=n-1$. An expression of the generating series $G_(q_r,t)$ for every component $q_r$ of the state $q$, an expression of the generating series $G_(y,t)$ of the output $y$ truncated at order $k$ are calculated and specified at every initial point $t_i$. We obtain an approximated output $y(t)$ at order $k$ in every interval $[t_i, t_(i+1)]0<=i<=n-1$. This method presents some theoretical advantages over Runge-Kutta methods: genericity, independency of the system and of the input, estimate of the error. So, an estimate of the suitable largest step can be computed. We have developed a Maple package for the creation of the generic expression of $G_(q_r,t),G_(y,t)$ and $y(t)$ at order $k$ and for the drawing of the local curves on every interval $[t_i, t_(i+1)]0<=i<=n-1$. For stable systems with oscillating output, for unstable systems near instability points, our method provides an appropriate result when a Runge-Kutta method is not suitable.


The work is focused on the investigation of features of quantum dynamics for photons in spaser systems consisting of metal nanoparticles (NP) and semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). The non-classical photon states generation in a three-particle spaser system with nonlinear plasmon-exciton interaction is predicted.


Users' addiction to online social networks is discovered to be highly correlated with their social connections in the networks. Dense social connections can effectively help online social networks retain their active users and improve the social network services. Therefore, it is of great importance to make a good prediction of the social links among users. Meanwhile, to enjoy more social network services, users nowadays are usually involved in multiple online social networks simultaneously. Formally, the social networks which share a number of common users are defined as the "aligned networks".With the information transferred from multiple aligned social networks, we can gain a more comprehensive knowledge about the social preferences of users in the pre-specified target network, which will benefit the social link prediction task greatly. However, when transferring the knowledge from other aligned source networks to the target network, there usually exists a shift in information distribution between different networks, namely domain difference. In this paper, we study the social link prediction problem of the target network, which is aligned with multiple social networks concurrently. To accommodate the domain difference issue, we project the features extracted for links from different aligned networks into a shared lower-dimensional feature space. Moreover, users in social networks usually tend to form communities and would only connect to a small number of users. Thus, the target network structure has both the low-rank and sparse properties. We propose a novel optimization framework, SLAMPRED, to combine both these two properties aforementioned of the target network and the information of multiple aligned networks with nice domain adaptations. Since the objective function is a linear combination of convex and concave functions involving nondifferentiable regularizers, we propose a novel optimization method to iteratively solve it. Extensive experiments have been done on real-world aligned social networks, and the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model.


Abstract This study assessed the psychometric properties of the SOC-13 scale in a sample of 448 Peruvian college students aged 18-29 years old. Internal consistency reliability was estimated; criterion validity and factor structure analysis were also analyzed. Cronbach's alpha for the full scale was .80. The dimensional structure of the SOC was evaluated by means of Multidimensional Scaling and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The former assessed goodness of fit of two proposed structure models namely a one factor solution against a three factor solution. An acceptable model fit was found for the three-factor solution ( RMSEA =  0.06, CFI =  .92). SOC Correlations with Mental and Physical Health were r =  .59, p  .001 and r =  .40, p  .001 respectively. The SOC-13 scale showed appropriate psychometric properties regarding internal consistency, criterion validity and factor structure when tested in this Peruvian sample. Limitations were due to strong homogeneity within the sample, age range and non-representative sample size for all Peruvian population. Future studies should focus on further analyzing the SOC-13 structure and the ability of all items to properly measure Sense of Coherence in Peruvian young adults.


Purpose: The WEE1 tyrosine kinase regulates G2–M transition and maintains genomic stability, particularly in p53-deficient tumors which require DNA repair after genotoxic therapy. Thus, a need arises to exploit the role of WEE1 inhibition in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) mostly driven by tumor-suppressor loss. This completed phase I clinical trial represents the first published clinical experience using the WEE1 inhibitor, AZD1775, with cisplatin and docetaxel. Patients and Methods: We implemented an open-label phase I clinical trial using a 3+3 dose-escalation design for patients with stage III/IVB HNSCC with borderline-resectable or -unresectable disease, but who were candidates for definitive chemoradiation. Escalating AZD1775 was administered orally twice a day over 2.5 days on the first week, then in combination with fixed cisplatin (25 mg/m2) and docetaxel (35 mg/m2) for 3 additional weeks. The primary outcome measure was adverse events to establish MTD. Secondary measures included response rates, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics, and genomic data. Results: The MTD for AZD1775 was established at 150 mg orally twice per day for 2.5 days. RECISTv1.1 responses were seen in 5 of 10 patients; histologic adjustment revealed three additional responders. The only drug-limiting toxicity was grade 3 diarrhea. The PK C8hr target of 240 nmol/L was achieved on day 4 at all three doses tested. Pharmacodynamic analysis revealed a reduction in pY15-Cdk, and increases in γH2AX, CC3, and RPA32/RPA2 were noted in responders versus nonresponders. Conclusions: The triplet combination of AZD1775, cisplatin, and docetaxel is safe and tolerable. Preliminary results show promising antitumor efficacy in advanced HNSCC, meriting further investigation at the recommended phase II dose. Clin Cancer Res; 24(12); 2740–8. ©2018 AACR.


The standard (AGM) approach to belief change assumes that the underlying logic is at least as strong as classical propositional logic. This paper investigates an account of belief change, specifically contraction, where the underlying logic is that governing Horn clauses. Thus this work sheds light on the theoretical underpinnings of belief change by weakening a fundamental assumption of the area. This topic is also of independent interest since Horn clauses have been used in areas such as deductive databases and logic programming. It proves to be the case that there are two distinct classes of contraction functions for Horn clauses: e-contraction, which applies to entailed formulas, and i-contraction, which applies to formulas leading to inconsistency. E-contraction is applicable in yet weaker systems where there may be no notion of negation (such as in definite clauses). I-contraction on the other hand has severe limitations, which makes it of limited use as a belief change operator. In both cases we explore the class of maxichoice functions which, we argue, is the appropriate approach for contraction in Horn clauses theories.


This study aimed to analyze the effect of (1) public investment education sector, the health sector and public investment on labor productivity IPM West Sumatra (2) labor productivity, shopping areas, infrastructure and income inequality on economic growth of West Sumatra. This type of research is descriptive and associative. While this type of data is data documentary, source of data is secondary data as well as data in the form of data panel with 19 districts / cities from 2010 - 2013. This study uses a simultaneous equation model analysis tool with Indirect methods Stages Least Squared (ILS). The study concluded that (1) public investment education sector, the health sector and public investment IPM significant effect on labor productivity in West Sumatra. With the meaning of words, if public investment and public investment education sector increased health sector and accompanied by HDI is the better it would be the better labor productivity in the area. (2) shopping areas, infrastructure and income inequality affects economic growth in West Sumatra significantly. That is, the increase in shopping areas, improved infrastructure and declining inequality of income then this condition will lead to an increase in the economic growth. Based on these results the policies suggested the government may need to increase budget allocations for education and health. Good quality education will give a good effect on the mindset and behavior patterns of people of West Sumatra. With the increase in budget for health, the public will have better access to services and to health.


The impact of cutting speeds and feed rates on the components of the forces exerted on a 16MnCr5 steel workpiece is experimentally measured, when turning with PCBN tool. The cutting speed range of the tests varies between 90 to 240 m/min while the feed rate is between 0.05 and 0.25 mm/rev for each cutting speed, allowing for the determination of the influence of cutting conditions on forces. Additionally, finite elements models for the simulation of the aforementioned experiments are provided. The proposed models exhibit good correlation of their results on cutting forces and chip formation with the measurements and observations of the experiments. Furthermore, the models can provide a wide range of additional parameters, i.e. plastic strain rates and temperatures within the workpiece. Results of the presented analysis can be used for an efficient process planning for the turning of steels under cutting conditions used in the industry.


Infected circuits are becoming more complex with increased density. Consequently, IC testing is also becoming more complex according to the complexity and density of ICs. This paper presents the simulation result of a test processor chip design which includes a complete reseeding technique and an effective seed selection. Using linear feed back shift register (LFSR) based test pattern generator (TPG) different test vectors have been applied for efficient result by using 24-bit test length. An improved reseeding technique has been applied for reduced test length and time. RAM and signature analyzer have been used for storage and comparison purpose.


In this letter, a no-reference perceptual sharpness metric based on a statistical analysis of local edge gradients is presented. The method takes properties of the human visual system into account. Based on perceptual properties, a relationship between the extracted statistical features and the metric score is established to form a Perceptual Sharpness Index (PSI). A comparison with state-of-the-art metrics shows that the proposed method correlates highly with human perception and exhibits low computational complexity. In contrast to existing metrics, the PSI performs well for a wide range of blurriness and shows a high degree of invariance for different image contents.


The aim of this study was to evaluate, in young volunteer subjects, the effects of salicylates on evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAEs), which presumably reflect an active mechanical process in the cochlea due to outer hair cell (OHC) activity, and on remote masking (RM), which has been proposed as a useful tool in the study of the non-linear cochlear distortion products generated by high-frequency maskers. Data from the present research are consistent with the literature showing a reversible effect of salicylate leading to elevated hearing thresholds and reduced EOAE amplitudes. From the point of view of new findings, the results demonstrate a reversible effect of salicylates on RM magnitude, which decreases as serum salicylate concentration increases. As described previously by other authors, salicylate selectivity inhibits OHC motility and, in consequence, reduces the amplitude of the motion of the basilar membrane. According to these data it is very likely that the observed reduction in RM magnitude after salicylate administration is also the result of the decreased ability of the OHCs to contract and of the reduced basilar membrane motion. The results are consistent with the conclusion that the OHC system function plays a role in producing RM.


X-ray microtomography (microCT) is a highly versatile imaging method, and with appropriate contrast stains and sample mounting, it can produce high-quality images of embryos at a wide range of developmental stages. The techniques presented here provide simple and robust methods for gel embedding and microCT scanning of vertebrate embryos. The specimens are fixed by any common method, contrast-stained with phosphotungstic acid (PTA, a common reagent in histological staining), and mounted in agarose gel for scanning. The gel mounting immobilizes the sample effectively during a long scan, and holds the embryo in its liquid medium (70% ethanol), allowing nondestructive three-dimensional (3D) imaging to be followed by, for example, histological processing. An alternative procedure is given for imaging resin-embedded samples intended for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or subsequent sectioning and ultrastructural analysis. These procedures are expected to lend themselves well to quantitative analyses of mutant and experimental phenotypes and to generating accurate 3D anatomical data for embryological atlases.


Antigen determinants (epitopes) are recognized by the combining sites (paratopes) of B and T cell antigen receptors (BCR/TCR), which again express clone-specific epitopes (idiotopes) that can be recognized by BCR/TCR not only of genetically different donors but also within the autologous immune system. While xenogeneic and allogeneic anti-idiotypic BCR/TCR are broadly cross-reactive, only autologous anti-idiotypes are truly specific and of functional regulatory relevance within a particular immune system. Autologous BCR/TCR idiotopes are (a) somatically created at the third complementarity-determining regions, (b) through mutations introduced into BCRs during adaptive immune responses, and (c) through the conformational impact of both. As these idiotypic characters have no genomic counterparts they have to be regarded as antigen receptor-intrinsic nonself-portions. Although foreign, however, they are per se non-immunogenic, but in conjunction with immunogenicity- and adjuvanticity-providing antigen-induced immune responses, they induce abating regulatory idiotypic chain reactions. The dualistic nature of antigen receptors of seeing antigens (self and nonself alike) and being nonself at the same time has far reaching consequences for an understanding of the regulation of adaptive immune responses.


Cancer may be recognized as non-self by antibiotics such as minor groove binders, which show self / non-self recognition partially due to preferential DNA sequence recognition and distinguish from other non-self bacteria. We learned minor groove binders produced from Streptomyces and synthesized Pyrrole-Imidazole polyamide indol-seco CBI conjugate to alkylate specific sites in the cancer genome. Although a tremendous amount of studies has been made to directly target oncogenic drivers, such as RAS and MYC, yet no drug is clinically available because of difficulties to develop RAS- or Myc-targeted anti-cancer therapeutics due to the smooth 3D surface topology. One of major limitations of targeting the RAS pathway may be intrinsic or acquired resistance as seen in the other molecular target therapy. New approaches that directly target driver genes may provide a more direct route to helps address unmet medical needs for refractory cancer conquest. We therefore synthesized several Pyrrole-Imidazole polyamide conjugates, each of which specifically alkylated KRAS codon 12 mutant DNA (G12D or G12V), amplified MYCN or mutated DNA of PI3K E542K mutation. All three conjugates reduced expression of the mutated oncogenic-protein by RNA transcription inhibition and induced cancer cell death at low dose (1 to 50 nM). Low dose tail vein injections of conjugates-targeting KRS or MYCN also demonstrated significant anti-tumor effects on xenograft models of human tumors harboring oncogenic mutated driver with minimum host toxicity, but not in xenografts harboring wild type or non-recognized mutations. We also performed a series of biological searches for toxicities by applying Modified SHIRPA (behavioral and functional analysis of mouse phenotype) to test any pathological phenotypes and examinations of blood and urine in ICR mice. Modified SHIRPA screening, blood chemistry, blood cell analysis and urea tests exhibited no toxicologically significant changes. Additionally, we examine pharmacokinetics of PI polyamide conjugates In vivo using LC-mass and fluorescent imaging of tumor-bearing mice. Intriguingly, 48 hours after the administration the highest fluorescence intensity was observed in the tumor-cell nuclear and almost no fluorescent intensity in all other organs, tissues and cells. These data suggest that sequence-dependent alkylating approach using antibiotic mimics of alkylating PI-polyamide conjugates, may open a new strategy not only targeting point mutation of driver oncogene but also targeting key driver gene in the cancer amplicon. This approach should be used for future ' Precision cancer medicine'. Citation Format: Hiroki Nagase, Kiriko Hiraoka, Takahiro Inoue, Hiroyuki Yoda, Krishnamurthy Sakthisri, Jason Lin, Takayoshi Watanabe, Nobuko Koshikawa, Atsushi Takatori. Mutated cancer cell-specific cell death activity of alkylating Pyrrole-Imidazole polyamide conjugates targeting a variety of oncogenic driver gene mutations. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3775.


A channel sounder for wideband car-to-car 2 x 2 multiple input multiple output (MIMO) radio channel measurements at 5.7 GHz with a bandwidth of 1 GHz has been developed. With the use of highly accurate synchronization units a high degree of coherence was achieved. The HHI-channel-sounder has been used in a measurement campaign in typical urban traffic scenarios in Berlin, Germany. This paper presents the basic operating concept of the system, followed by first results from the campaign.


For the past 18 months, cyclosporin A has been used in our renal transplantation center, according to a randomized protocole in which the drug is introduced late (3rd month), following a standard treatment with prednisone, azathioprine and antilymphocyte serum, in a low dosage (4-6 mg/mg/day) and alone. This protocol has been designed to preserve the full benefits of the antilymphocyte serum given immediately after transplantation, to reduce the risk of cyclosporine nephrotoxicity and to allow the withdrawal of corticosteroids. When compared with 27 patients under standard treatment, the 31 patients who received cyclosporin A have an actuarial graft survival rate of 94% at 12 and 18 months, against 68% in the other group. At least one rejection episode was observed in 43% and 51% of patients under respectively cyclosporin A and standard treatment. Renal function remained stable after cyclosporin A was introduced and 1 year post-grafting mean serum creatinine values were similar in both groups. Acute and chronic nephrotoxicity has been the major complication of cyclosporin A. Excellent results (94% graft survival rate at 18 months) can be obtained using the sequential association of antilymphocyte serum and cyclosporin A, without the impairement in renal function that has been observed in other studies where cyclosporin A is given on the day of transplantation.


An individual's attitude has always been a core concept in IS research and a major determinant for individual technology adoption behavior. However, screening information systems (IS) and underlying social psychology literature reveals a onedimensional view on attitude as evaluative affect in IS research compared to three classes of attitude (affective, cognitive, and behavioral) in social psychology. In order to improve the theoretical and methodological understanding of attitude, the social psychological tripartite view on attitude is transferred to IS research. Based on the results of a linear regression and ANOVA with scientometric data coming from 378 measurements for attitude in 147 articles in IS top journals, the following insights could be outlined: Regarding hedonic systems, attitude should be scaled affectively, whereas the research subject of utilitarian IT applications demands a cognitive-based scaling of attitude in order to increase predictive validity of attitude. Moreover, the adjustment of attitudinal scales according to the characteristics of the regarded attitude object (in IS: hedonic and utilitarian technologies), does influence the impact of attitude on behavior. Implications, supporting future technology adoption research in handling the attitude construct, are outlined.


We use a new construction method to build synthetic sandstone samples with controlled fracture parameters and mineral composition, porous morphology, and cementation more similar to natural rocks. Four samples are built for experimental measurements; one is unfractured while the other three have different fracture diameters but the same fracture density. The fracture density in the fractured samples are 4.8%, 4.86% and 4.8% with fracture scales 2 mm, 3 mm, and 4 mm respectively; the fracture thicknesses in the fractured samples are all about 0.06 mm. Four samples are tested with ultrasonic devices, and both P and S wave velocities in different propagation directions are measured with 0.5 MHz transducers. The measurements show that the P wave and S wave velocity is substantially affected by the fracture scale. The P and S wave anisotropy of samples with smaller scale fractures is significantly higher than the samples with larger scale fractures.


Crossing autotetraploid plants with diploid parent is an efficient way to produce autotriploid and trisomics. Comparative studies on cytogenetics and pollen fertility in diploid and autotetraploid common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) and their autotriploid hybrids and trisomics were conducted. Observation of meiosis metaphase I of pollen mother cells showed that the average configurations of chromosome pairing in in the autotetraploid cultivar Emka, its inbreeding line Emka-1, and autotriploid hybrids were 0.671 + 11.60ΙΙ + 0.32 III + 1.79ΙV, 0.711 + 7.4211 + 1.19 III + 3.22IV, and 4.711 + 4.71ΙΙ + 3.29ΙΙΙ, respectively. The average numbers of micronuclei in telophase II cells in the diploid cultivar Siva, autotetraploids Emka and Emka-1, and the autotriploid hybrids were 0.03, 0.09, 0.20, and 0.86, respectively. Siva had the highest pollen fertility (98.89%), followed by the autotetraploids Emka and Emka-1 (95.33 and 93.33%); the autotriploid hybrids had the lowest (31.28%). When autotriploid hybrids were backcrossed with diploid cultivar Sobano, 27.72% of the flowers pollinated yielded shriveled dead seeds, and only 3.08% yielded normal seeds. Of the 34 achenes of the autotriploid hybrids, 6 were double trisomics (2n + 2), 23 trisomics (2n + 1) and 5 diploids (2n). The segregation of short-style (Ss) and long-style (ss) plants in backcrossing progenies of trisomics showed that the S gene of common buckwheat was located on chromosome 4E. The common buckwheat trisomic lines produced in this study will become an important tool for common buckwheat genetics and breeding.


The efficacy of plasma exchange (PE) and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) therapies for Guillain-Barré syndrome have been established by numerous randomized controlled trials. However, 10-20 % of GBS patients cannot walk without aid after one year from onset of the disease. Thus, new treatment is required for these intractable cases. The Japan GBS outcome study (J-GOS) has been conducted to identify clinical or biological markers that predict the prognosis of Japanese GBS patients at an early stage. In the future, we expect to provide intractable patients so predicted with novel therapy, including molecular target drugs.


Ma Jian. London, UK: Chatto & Windus, 2013. ISBN-13: 978-0-701-18753-8. Price: £14.99. Pages: 368 (paperback)

The Dark Road by Ma Jian, a Chinese author and artist living in London, is set in contemporary rural China and is, as the title suggests, dark. It is disturbing and thought-provoking but compelling.

Meili is a peasant girl, who lives with her husband and young daughter in a remote village, in the heart of his family, surrounded by the traditions of their people. He has standing as the village schoolteacher. …


Abstract A variety of methods for measurement of (2)H/(1)H from H(2) are evaluated for their ability to be fully automated and for applicability to automated isotopic analysis of water and organic compounds. Equilibration of water with H(2) gas with the aid of a platinum catalyst has been commercialized into a fully automated sample preparation device. A second and newer technique, involving injecting water, methane, or other volatile organic compounds onto hot chromium in a reactor attached to the dual inlet system of a gas isotope ratio mass spectrometer, can be integrated with a conventional GC-autosampler to allow automated analysis of a variety of substrates. Both techniques result in precisions around 1‰ (δ notation) on the VSMOW scale, and are fast and accurate, and with appropriate mass spectrometers require only negligible scaling for the SLAP/VSMOW difference. Several experimental methods which show considerable promise employ "isotope ratio monitoring" (irm) inlet systems, in which a carrier gas is used for transport of H(2) to the mass spectrometer. Any such method has to address the problem of He ions corrupting the measurement of the H(2) ions. One such approach uses a heated palladium membrane for selective introduction of H(2) into the mass spectrometer, and a second involves modifications to the ion optics to control the stray helium ions. Both approaches have significant limitations that must be overcome before irm techniques can be used in routine applications, in particular for measuring hydrogen isotopes from GC effluents (irm-GCMS).


The work presents a study of the earth crust movements for the territory of Bulgaria and north Greece on the base of new processing of GPS data from 36 GNSS permanent stations on the territory of study. One week data from each year are used from all four years 2011-2014. The estimated station coordinates and station velocity components in system ITRF2008 are transformed in the system ETRF2000 to be obtained the local movements of the stations as more representative of their behaviour. Combinations of the obtained relative velocity vectors of different stations are used for estimation of different relative Euler poles and rotations. Estimated Euler parameters are analyzed to be defined potential microplates of the study territory. The results confirm the motion of Moesia platform in direction and magnitude, determined by other researchers as well. A clear transition boundary between the Moesia platform and the southern Bulgaria zone is not found but it is found a counterclockwise rotation of the central-south part of the Maritsa zone. The behaviour of the stations of north-west and north-central Greece confirm the suggestion that they belongs to the Aegean extensional zone.


Tri- and tetra-alkylimidazoles are quaternised into their corresponding ionic liquids with dimethyl carbonate. Upon metathesis of the obtained methyl carbonate salts, only gaseous by-products are generated. These methyl carbonate salts can be transformed into hydrogen carbonate salts by reaction with water. The salts containing a carbonate anion are very alkaline, which results in a hydrogen/deuterium exchange on the anion and some of the cation protons, depending on the substitution. Moreover, the crystalline 1-ethyl-3,4,5-trimethylimidazolium hydrogen carbonate formed carboxylate species upon dissolution. In particular, the carboxylate was able to regenerate the carbene and in the presence of chloroform, this led to the formation of the chloride salt.


SUMMARY
FuncAssociate is a web-based tool to help researchers use Gene Ontology attributes to characterize large sets of genes derived from experiment. Distinguishing features of FuncAssociate include the ability to handle ranked input lists, and a Monte Carlo simulation approach that is more appropriate to determine significance than other methods, such as Bonferroni or idák p-value correction. FuncAssociate currently supports 10 organisms (Vibrio cholerae, Shewanella oneidensis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Arabidopsis thaliana, Caenorhaebditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus and Homo sapiens).

AVAILABILITY
FuncAssociate is freely accessible at http://llama.med.harvard.edu/Software.html. Source code (in Perl and C) is freely available to academic users 'as is'.


In the light of the recent results concerning CMB observations and GW detection we address the question of whether it is possible, in a self-consistent inflationary framework, to simultaneously generate a spectrum of scalar metric perturbations in agreement with Planck data and a stochastic background of primordial gravitational radiation compatible with the design sensitivity of aLIGO/Virgo and/or eLISA. We suggest that this is possible in a string cosmology context, for a wide region of the parameter space of the so-called pre-big bang models. We also discuss the associated values of the tensor-to-scalar ratio relevant to the CMB polarization experiments. We conclude that future, cross-correlated results from CMB observations and GW detectors will be able to confirm or disprove pre-big bang models and—in any case—will impose new significant constraints on the basic string theory/cosmology parameters.


s : Unicorn company, a new term in today's business climate, is the integration of different types of innovations in the new era, and its internal relations and spatial organization reflect the pattern and characteristics of regional innovation networks. Consistent with the emerging entrepreneurship and the rapid development of the Internet, increasingly more unicorn companies appear in China, which provides an opportunity for us to catch a glimpse of China's innovation development through a new perspective. In this study, we used the ownership linkage model to map China's urban innovation network based on 164 Chinese unicorn companies' internal relations, and analyzed the spatial structure through the following social network analysis perspectives: urban hierarchy, association pattern, and city nodes. The "unicorn index" was developed as an indicator to evaluate the development and magnitude of a city's unicorn companies as well as its innovation environment and position in the network. Cities of high unicorn index values rank high in the urban innovation network hierarchy, which constitutes four tiers in a pyramid-shaped structure with 253 cities, only nine of which are in the top three tiers. Among them, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen show their innovative activity and advanced development in the unicorn entrepreneurship. To analyze the association pattern, we calculated the network density, assortativity coefficient, and the degree correlation for the network. The results show that most cities are not closely linked with each other in this generally loose-association urban innovation network, while intensive connections only happen between the cities with high unicorn index, highlighting an intensive-connection diamond-shaped structure. To further examine each city node, we regard outdegree as its innovative influence and "power", indegree as its innovative attraction and "prestige", and eigenvector centrality as its connectivity. We found that Beijing and Shanghai still play leading roles in the innovation network, but Nanjing and Wuhan start to exhibit innovative attraction and potential. In conclusion, the development of urban innovation network is driven by four leading cities—Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen, showing a spatial polarization character. The network pattern highlights a diamond structure whose activity weakens from the east to the west. Cities having high unicorn index are strongly linked to each other and playing important roles while other cities enter the network by establishing links to those cities, shaping the core-periphery network structure. Moreover, those important cities enjoy power and prestige and have various influences in the innovation network. This study provides a new look into China's urban innovation network and some insights for policymakers to promote urban innovation. Also, the unicorn index can be considered in city innovation evaluation.


Introduction. Percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (PNL) is traditionally used in the surgical treatment of patients with kidney stones. The use of retrograde intrarenal surgery using a flexible endoscope (RIRS) and micropercutaneous nephrolithotripsy (micro PNL) in the treatment of kidney stones with a diameter of 10-15 mm allows minimizin renal bleeding and reducing the period of hospitalization of the patient. Despite the development of urolithiasis treatment methods, the results of a comparative study of the medical and economic aspects of various surgical options for kidney stones treatment were not described. Materials and methods. We carried out a retrospective analysis of 654 cases of PNL and RIRS for the period of 2015-2019. We analyzed the results of surgical and medical material costs in 15 patients whom micro PNL was done according to the standard protocol. All patients underwent an assessment of the blood hemoglobin level and the frequency of complications according to Clavien-Dindo classification, as well as a control examination to exclude residual stones was done. Results. According to the data of the planning and economic service of healthcare institutions, the costs under the mandatory medical insurance tariff for RIRS and PNL amounted to 47,743.10 rubles and 71,300.00 rubles, respectively, without differences in hardware. The cost of endoscopes used for RIRS and PNL differed significantly (1,045,185. 00 rubles and 886,203. 00 rubles, respectively). Taking into account labor costs and general anesthesia, the cost of surgical treatment of kidney stone in PNL increased by 7,429. 78 rubles (74.9%). For fragmentation of the stone with micro PNL, a thulium or YAG laser was used, without nephrostomic drainage. The duration of the PNL was longer-on average 113 minutes (62-186 minutes), than with micro PNL – on average 83 minutes (42-122 minutes,). After micro PNL, there was a slight decrease in the level of hemoglobin and a minimal degree of complications (I-II Grade Clavien-Dindo), compared with PNL. The transition to the RIRS was required in three cases: during the mobilization of the migration of the stone into the middle calyx and during the removal of residual fragments of the upper and lower calyx. The duration of hospitalization of patients decreased after micro PNL to 2 days. Conclusions. Micro PNL for small (up to 2 cm) kidney stones treatment is more advantageous compared to traditional PNL in a number of positions: less the duration of the operation, reduced blood loss, lack of drainage, reduced costs for hospital observation of the patient. From a medical and economic point of view, the RIRS is the most preferable, but it requires initially large costs for the purchase of flexible endoscopes with a small working resource and a relatively high cost. The development of surgical equipment and production capacities, as well as the accumulation of clinical experience of micro PNL will allow us fairly assess the feasibility of this technique with a personalized approach.


Aberrant activation of the Wnt signaling pathway is a common cause of colon cancer and other tumor types, accomplishing many of the hallmarks of cancer including sustained proliferative signaling, replicative immortality, reprogrammed metabolism, angiogenesis, and invasion. Yet, the dominant mutation that leads to chronic Wnt signaling in colon cancer is quite different from the spectrum of mutations that activate Wnt signaling in other tumor types. In this issue of The EMBO Journal, Huels et al ( ) focus on the influential role E‐cadherin plays in shaping these differences.


Orius  species are considered effective biological control agents of thrips both in fields and greenhouses worldwide. The seasonal abundance and distributions of  Orius  and thrips species were determined from different arable crops and weeds in Adana Province in 2015-2016. In this study, a total of six species of genus  Orius  namely,  Orius albidipennis  (Reuter,1884),  Orius horvathi  (Reuter,1884),  Orius laevigatus  (Fieber, 1860),  Orius minutus  (L., 1758),  Orius niger  (Wolff, 1881) and  Orius vicinus  (Ribaut, 1923) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) were identified.  Orius niger  was the most common predatory Anthocorid species with 1944 specimens, and followed by  O. laevigatus  with 447 specimens. While,  O. laevigatus  and  O. niger  were found to be active throughout the year,  O. vicinus  was only active in spring and summer, and the other  Orius  spp. were collected in summer. The predatory bugs were mostly found with the pestiferous thrips,  Frankliniella occidentalis  Pergande, 1895 and  Thrips hawaiiensis  (Morgan, 1913) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in diverse agricultural areas. Alfalfa, faba bean and sunflower were determined as a crucial host plant for  Orius  spp. Also, sesame could be potential companion (trap or banker) plant to support the predatory bugs in augmentative and conservative biological control strategies. Of the weeds sampled,  Glebionis segetum Fourr. and  Sinapis arvensis  L. were the most colonized by  Orius  spp. From results it is concluded that  O. niger  and  O. laevigatus  are well adapted to the geographical conditions and plant biodiversity in Adana Province. Therefore, these predatory bugs could be crucial biological control agents of thrips species in field crops.


Character projection is a promising technique to dramatically improve throughput of E-beam lithography. However, its effectiveness depends on how good the stencils are planned and optimized. Recently Kuang and Young proposed an efficient heuristic based on 2-D bin-packing for the stencil optimization. In this paper, we identified drawbacks in their approaches, and developed a better algorithm that reduces the shot numbers to less than half of theirs in average. The key point is introducing the merit frequency/area (f/A) to select candidate characters and proposing an accurate and efficient algorithm to estimate the occupied area of characters before placement. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.


The paper is divided, in two parts. In the first part a deep investigation is made on some system theoretical aspects of periodic systems and control, including the notions of H 2 and H∞ norms, the parametrization of stabilizing controllers, and the existence of periodic solutions to Riccati differential equations and/or inequalities. All these aspects are useful in the second part, where some parametrization and control problems in H 2 and H∞ are introduced and solved.


(THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION AND THE INCIDENCE OF DIARRHEA IN INFANTS)

Lili Amaliah
Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Kesehatan Mahardika,Cirebon
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
  Background: Diarrheal disease is still one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality. Almost all geographic regions of the world and all age groups attacked diarrhea, but severe disease with high mortality primarily found in infants and toddlers. Diarrheal disease is a disease that based environment. Several factors related to the incidence of diarrhea is inadequate water supply, water contaminated by feces, the lack of sanitation (excreta disposal unhygienic), personal hygiene and bad environmental, food preparation undercooked and storage of food cook at room temperature is not should.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between environmental sanitation with the incidence of diarrhea in infants.Method: This research is in the form of observational survey with cross-sectional approach. The subject of this research houses who have children and reside in Puskesmas Mundu Cirebon. Total population of the house who have children and reside in Puskesmas Mundu Cirebon as many as 6021 children under five. the sampling is done using random sampling techniques Stratefied that the sample in this study, there are 98 people. Data collected from interviews using questionnaires and analyzed statistically using Chi square test significant level of p> 0.05 (95% confidence level).
Result: The result showed no relationship between drinking water, latrine ownership and type of floor of the house with the incidence of diarrhea in infants in Puskesmas Mundu Cirebon. There is no relationship between the physical quality of water with the incidence of diarrhea in infants in the work area of the health center mundu Cirebon Distric.

Keywords  : environmental sanitation, infants, the incidence of diarrhea


OBJECTIVE
To study the changes of plasma vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) levels and the relationship of plasma VIP levels with feeding intolerance (FI) in preterm infants.

METHODS
Plasma VIP concentrations were measured using radioimmunoassay in 53 preterm infants with FI 1, 4, 7 and 14 days after birth. Fifty-nine preterm infants without FI served as the control group.

RESULTS
The fasting plasma concentrations of VIP in the FI group 1, 4 and 7 days after birth (129 ± 46, 144 ± 32 and 166 ± 31 pg/mL respectively) were significantly lower than those in the control group (195 ± 63, 197 ± 31 and 205 ± 34 pg/mL respectively) (P<0.05). The increased plasma VIP concentrations were associated with the increased gestational age, age in days and enteral feeding volume in the FI group. By 14 days, the plasma concentrations of VIP in the FI group (198 ± 41 pg/mL) were similar to those in the control group (202 ± 48 pg/mL) (P>0.05). The younger the infant's gestational age, the more prolonged the FI. Plasma levels of VIP on day 1 of life in the FI group were negatively correlated with the duration of FI (r=-0.799, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Plasma levels of VIP might be related to the development of FI in preterm infants and might serve as a predictor of FI.


Many commentators argue that the White House does not have a policy regarding the Middle East and North Africa. Based on observations of the White House's foreign policy decisions over a breadth of seven years, this article argues that The White House does have a clear policy and it is one of Strategic Absence. The term Strategic Absence is used to describe political behavior that arises from a belief that sometimes, in foreign affairs, it is better to be absent rather than present. Strategic Absence has led to a degradation of American influence in the Middle East and has contributed to deteriorating conflict situations in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya. The author describes the six core tenets of Strategic Absence and demonstrates, through case studies, that the Obama Administration has responded to challenges and threats to the United States' strategic interests in Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria according to the parameters of the doctrine of Strategic Absence.


Tumors within the central hepatic region can be managed by various operative techniques. The aim of hepatic resection should be to render the patient free of disease while limiting the excision of functioning parenchyma. Technical feasibility, improved anatomical understanding, and advanced support services have enabled access to lesions previously considered unresectable. Various surgical options and outcomes from a single surgeon's experience are presented. Thirty-three patients underwent surgical resection for central hepatic lesions adjacent to the anterior hilar plate from 1980 to 2001. The mean patient age was 55.7 years (range 34–82). The mean lesion size was 7.7 cm (2–21). Malignant lesions were most commonly encountered in segments IV and V (43%). The most common resection performed was a central hepatic resection (55%) followed by right trisegmentectomy (27%). Resections were primarily performed for metastatic colon cancer (48%), cholangiocarcinoma (25%), and hepatocellular carcinoma (15%). The 5-year survival was 45 per cent for metastatic colon cancer, 20 per cent for cholangiocarcinoma, and 66 per cent for hepatocellular carcinoma. The overall morbidity was 43 per cent, and there was a single mortality. The size, location, and extension of hepatic tumors are important factors that may predict the extent of hepatic resection. Small centrally located focal lesions are amenable to central hepatic resection with biliary reconstitution hence limiting extensive resections. Valuable 5-year patient survival and a low mortality rate were achieved.


The floors of San Pedro and Santa Monica basins off southern California lie at a depth of nearly 1000 meters. Yet they contain layers of clean sand interbedded with normal deep-water green muds. The sands and their associated beds of silt and of fine gravel are believed to have been rapidly deposited by turbidity currents which started as mass movements at the shallow heads of submarine canyons and at the tops of basin slopes. A similar sequence is present in Pliocene sediments of completely filled basins now on land, for which the shales serve as source beds of petroleum and the sandstones as reservoir beds.


We reviewed 90 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue. Fifty-three patients were treated with external beam radiotherapy alone (3 T1, 11 T2, 21 T3, and 18 T4 tumors) and thirty-seven patients were treated with external beam radiotherapy plus brachytherapy boost (4 T1, 15 T2, 11 T3, and 7 T4 tumors). For patients with T1, T2 and T3 primaries, the actuarial 3-year local relapse-free survival was 42% following external beam radiotherapy alone and 67% following external beam radiotherapy plus brachytherapy (p < 0.05). The actuarial 3-year cause specific survival for these T-stages was 37% for patients treated with external beam radiotherapy alone and 53% for patients treated with external beam radiotherapy plus brachytherapy (p = 0.1). In the Cox multivariate analyses restricted patients with T1, T2 and T3 staged tumors, treatment modality was the only predictor for local control but no influence on specific survival was found. The trend towards significant differences in specific survival found in the univariate comparison of both treatment modalities was probably due to the significantly higher number of N-positive patients treated with external beam radiotherapy alone. When all stages were included in the Cox analysis, low hemoglobin level, invasion of deep muscle, number of palpable nodes, and history of weight loss significantly influenced the outcome. Soft tissue necrosis occurred more frequently in patients treated with external beam radiotherapy plus brachytherapy (33% vs. 10%, p = 0.52).


The thermal stability of human cytidine deaminase (CDA), an enzyme involved in pyrimidine metabolism was investigated. With this in view, the residues R68 and Y60, supposed to be involved in the intersubunit interactions and in the catalytic site of CDA, were mutated to glutamine and glycine, respectively. Thermal stability experiments were performed on the purified mutants by means of circular dichroism and enzymatic assays. The results obtained should be useful for designing more efficient cytidine based drugs for chemotherapy.


Summary Unlike the "situationsl metafiction" (Attwell 1993: 20) of J.M. Coetzee's earlier novels, whose imbrication in the political matrix of the late‐apartheid State has become a matter of critical orthodoxy, Elizabeth Costello: Eight Lessons (2003) rejects a South African emplacement for its writer‐protagonist and hereby seems to suspend questions relating to the positioning of this work within post‐apartheid literary culture. Coetzee's privileging of the transcultural, or formal aesthetic, dimensions of the work ratifies the normative exclusion of the historical master‐narrative in the name of universalism (Butler 2000). Yet, for all that it defensively forecloses the possibility of "post‐apartheid South Africa" being taken as its referent, I claim, "Lesson 8: At the Gate", of Elizabeth Costello contains a persistent interrogation of the relations between representation and material embodiment that draws the text back ‐ despite itself ‐ into the semiotic matrix of South African literary culture, here to intersect the working through of these relations in extraliterary form before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The survie/survival of the material body before a tribunal oriented towards "confession" (Coetzee 2003: 211) presents an opportunity for the haunted and displaced analogy with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that my paper pursues.


The "Three Rs" definition of alternatives by Russel and Burch (1959) refers to all methods, protocols, or technologies which replace the use of animals altogether, reduce the number of animals required, or refine existing procedures or technologies so as to minimize the level of stress endured by the animal. The move towards alternative methods in biomedical research must be seen as a gradual and evolutionary process during which each candidate method must be considered in a sequence of three consecutive steps, i.e., development of the test protocol, validation of its scientific merits and evaluation of its applicability to problems arising in practice. The validity of alternative methods is discussed in relation to the new legislation on animal experimentation and validation schemes already published.


Abstract Insoluble bone collagen is one of the most common materials used for high-resolution radiocarbon (14C) dating. Unfortunately, in some bones, poor preservation of the insoluble collagen excludes the possibility of dating. During the burial of the bone the collagen sometimes degrades into peptides. These peptides are soluble in the acid used to dissolve the bone mineral. It is known that under appropriate conditions, collagen has the ability to self-assemble. Here we exploit this capability and present a method for reassembling the soluble collagen peptides in archaeological bones and dating them. We treated the acid fraction generated during the demineralization of the bone by desalting and neutralizing the solution by dialysis. During the dialysis, the soluble collagen peptides reassemble and precipitate in the dialysis bag. We used FTIR spectroscopy to determine that the precipitated material is indeed collagen. The 14C dates obtained from the reassembled collagen were compared to the dates of "standard" insoluble collagen, extracted in parallel from the same bone. Although there are some divergences of the dates, 3 out of 10 samples could have been dated only by the reassembled collagen. This shows that collagen peptides reassembly can be a valuable tool for dating bones with little or no insoluble collagen.


The ParaOpt algorithm was recently introduced as a time-parallel solver for optimal-control problems with a terminal-cost objective, and convergence results have been presented for the linear diffusive case with implicit-Euler time integrators. We reformulate ParaOpt for tracking problems and provide generalized convergence analyses for both objectives. We focus on linear diffusive equations and prove convergence bounds that are generic in the time integrators used. For large problem dimensions, ParaOpt's performance depends crucially on having a good preconditioner to solve the arising linear systems. For the case where ParaOpt's cheap, coarse-grained propagator is linear, we introduce diagonalization-based preconditioners inspired by recent advances in the ParaDiag family of methods. These preconditioners not only lead to a weakly-scalable ParaOpt version, but are themselves invertible in parallel, making maximal use of available concurrency. They have proven convergence properties in the linear diffusive case that are generic in the time discretization used, similarly to our ParaOpt results. Numerical results confirm that the iteration count of the iterative solvers used for ParaOpt's linear systems becomes constant in the limit of an increasing processor count. The paper is accompanied by a sequential MATLAB implementation.


Materials exhibiting higher mobility than conventional organic semiconducting materials, such as fullerenes and fused thiophenes, are in high demand for applications in printed electronics. To discover new molecules that might show improved charge mobility, the adaptive design of experiments (DoE) to design molecules with low reorganization energy was performed by combining density functional theory (DFT) methods and machine learning techniques. DFT-calculated values of 165 molecules were used as an initial training dataset for a Gaussian process regression (GPR) model, and five rounds of molecular designs applying the GPR model and validation via DFT calculations were executed. As a result, new molecules whose reorganization energy is smaller than the lowest value in the initial training dataset were successfully discovered.


The present study included 21 lower limbs with micro varicosities, 56 lower limbs with retrograde flow-varicosities (positive Rivlin) and 35 health lower limbs. Technics used for diagnosis were: Doppler ultrasonography and strain gauge plethysmography. We found a higher incidence of valvular failure on the varicose patients with retrograde flow (showing changes on their viscoelastic features of their venous walls). On the contrary, patient with microvaricosities showed an hemodynamics similar to the healty patient: we did not found any difference on the variables analyzed between the two groups. We conclude that the presence of microvaricosities has no influence on the analyzed hemodynamic parametres.


Background Infective Endocarditis (IE) occurs in groups of people who are deemed high risk. Previously high-risk individuals undergoing invasive procedures were recommended prophylactic antibiotics. In 2008 NICE issued new guidance to avoid prophylactic antibiotics use. Aim We aimed to evaluate the incidence of confirmed Infective Endocarditis in two sites across the North West region prior to and after the implementation of the 2008 guidance, including causative infective organisms, Echo findings, subsequent morbidity and mortality. Methods OPCS-4 (Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys classification-4th Edition) system and the standard code allocated were retrospectively analysed for all admissions related to Infective Endocarditis for the years 2007–2008 and then again for the years 2012–2015. Results The incidence of IE dramatically increased for the years after the guidance came in to effect compared to prior to the guidance. Initial data from one sites showed an increase in total numbers of cases year on year. All except 3 patients had positive blood cultures. Our data also shows that mortality remains high due to IE (2012%–18% of patients died as a direct result of IE, 2013%–38%, 2014%–11%, 2015%–21%). Conclusions Incidence of IE has increased subsequently to the universal change in NICE guidance. Mortality associated with IE being still high. Although this is a small initial study from one centre, data from our second site is being collated to add support to our findings.Abstract 135 Table 1 Distribution of streptococcal species isolated in blood cultures and their aetiological role in cases of infective endocarditis according to age less than or greater than 18 years.


In Brazil, the state of Tocantins, located in north-central Brazil, has experienced a significant number of cases of arboviral disease, particularly Dengue virus (DENV). This study aimed to deepen the knowledge on DENV circulation within that state by conducting full genome sequencing of viral genomes recovered from 61 patients between June 2021 and July 2022. There were a total of 8807 and 20,692 cases in 2021 and 2022, respectively, as reported by the state's Secretary of Health. Nucleotide sequencing confirmed the circulation of DENV serotype 1, genotype V and DENV serotype 2, genotype III in the State. Younger age groups (4 to 43 years old) were mostly affected; however, no significant differences were detected regarding the gender distribution of cases in humans. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the circulating viruses belong to DENV-1 genotype V American and DENV-2 genotype III Southeast Asian/American. The Bayesian analysis of DENV-1 genotype V genomes sequenced here are closely related to genomes previously sequenced in the state of São Paulo. Regarding the DENV-2 genotype III genomes, these clustered in a distinct, well-supported subclade, along with previously reported isolates from the states of Goiás and São Paulo. The findings reported here suggest that multiple introductions of these genotypes occurred in the Tocantins state. This observation highlights the importance of major population centers in Brazil on virus dispersion, such as those observed in other Latin American and North American countries. In the SNP analysis, DENV-1 displayed 122 distinct missense mutations, while DENV-2 had 44, with significant mutations predominantly occurring in the envelope and NS5 proteins. The analyses performed here highlight the concomitant circulation of distinct DENV-1 and -2 genotypes in some Brazilian states, underscoring the dynamic evolution of DENV and the relevance of surveillance efforts in supporting public health policies.


The extracellular matrix protein, fibronectin stimulates cells to self-assemble into three-dimensional multicellular structures by a mechanism that requires the cell-dependent conversion of soluble fibronectin molecules into insoluble fibrils. Fibronectin also binds to collagen type I and mediates the co-assembly of collagen fibrils into the extracellular matrix. Here, the role of collagen-fibronectin binding in fibronectin-induced cellular self-assembly was investigated using fibronectin-null fibroblasts in an in vitro model of tissue formation. High resolution, two-photon immunofluorescence microscopy was combined with second harmonic generation imaging to examine spatial and temporal relationships among fibronectin and collagen fibrils, actin organization, cell proliferation, and microtissue morphology. Time course studies coupled with simultaneous 4-channel multiphoton imaging identified regional differences in fibronectin fibril conformation, collagen fibril remodeling, actin organization, and cell proliferation during three-dimensional cellular self-assembly. Regional differences in cell proliferation and fibronectin structure were dependent on both soluble fibronectin concentration and fibronectin-collagen interactions. Fibronectin-collagen binding was not necessary for either fibronectin matrix formation or intercellular cohesion. However, inhibiting fibronectin binding to collagen reduced collagen fibril remodeling, decreased fibronectin fibril extension, blocked fibronectin-induced cell proliferation, and altered microtissue morphology. Furthermore, continual fibronectin-collagen binding was necessary to maintain both cell proliferation and microtissue morphology. Collectively, these data suggest that the complex changes in extracellular matrix and cytoskeletal remodeling that mediate tissue assembly are driven, in part, by regional variations in cell-mediated fibronectin-collagen co-assembly.


As the concept of Building Information Modelling (BIM) gains traction in the construction
industry, many studies have been attracted to understanding its adoption in firms (micro-level),
implementation in projects (intermediate level), and diffusion across the industry (macro-level).
This is a theoretical paper which mobilises contextual theories from Social Science and Project
Management, such as institutional logics and project ecologies respectively, to map and
rationalise the various social layers activated in diffusing BIM innovation across different
national contexts (countries). Drawing upon data about Anglo-Saxon and corporatist-type
national business systems, there is currently a mismatch between their BIM innovation diffusion
strategy – which unfolds in a top-down and bottom-up manner respectively –, and their intended
outcomes. This study highlighted that the diffusion of BIM innovation has been seen as
disruptive in the United Kingdom and incremental in countries such as the Netherlands and
Norway. Apart from mapping various social layers activated in BIM diffusion, this study
outlines implication for policy-makers and practitioners, by stressing that not only global
solutions for BIM diffusion are probably misguided, but re-establishing the links between project
and context is a comprehensive approach to dismiss the rhetoric of BIM panacea and a sensible
way to increase BIM diffusion and effective BIM implementation in projects


A link between affective disturbances and physical disorders has been suggested since the Greco–Roman era. However, evidence supporting an association between mind and body is limited and mostly comes from North America and Europe. Additional local epidemiologic studies are needed so that more evidence can be collected on effective treatments and health management. Epidemiologic studies of Japanese with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and those on chronic hemodialysis examined the association between psychosocial factors and patient quality of life (QOL). Strong associations among depression, social support, and patient QOL were confirmed, which supports the findings of studies performed in Western countries. In addition, disparities between the perspectives of patients with RA and their doctors were observed. Alexithymia, a personality construct that reflects a deficit in the cognitive processing of emotion, had a stronger independent association with increased risk of 5-year mortality than did depression among patients with chronic hemodialysis. Physiological, biological, and psychosocial factors are associated and independently and interactively determine our health. Epidemiology is a powerful tool for identifying effective points of intervention, after considering all possible confounders. Future studies must clarify how health can be improved by using a psychosocial approach.


The aim of this study was to determine if a three-day treatment of lower urinary tract infection (UTI) is effective. 215 women with symptoms of lower UTI, seen in general practice, were randomly allocated to a double-blind study and given either amoxycillin 1000 mg twice a day for three days or trimethoprim 90 mg/sulphadiazine 410 mg (co-trimazine) 2 tablets initially, then one tablet twice daily for three days. 157 women (73%) had significant bacteriuria. Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated in 146 patients. One week after treatment had started, 88% of the women in the amoxycillin group and 100% in the co-trimazine group were cured (p less than 0.01). After a follow-up period of four weeks, the cumulative relapse frequencies were 19% and 9% respectively. Adverse reactions were mild in most cases. Two patients, both on co-trimazine, had to discontinue treatment because of nausea and vomiting. Vulvovaginal irritation was more often reported by women treated with amoxycillin (n = 8) than by those treated with co-trimazine (n = 1) (p less than 0.05). It is concluded that a three-day course of amoxycillin or co-trimazine in lower UTI is safe, causes few adverse reactions, is simple to administer and comfortable for the patient. Co-trimazine seems to be more effective than amoxycillin.


The structure of the pellicles and cells of the cellulose-producing bacteria, Acetobacter xylinum and Acetobacter acetigenus, was studied by transmission electron microscopy of thin sections and freeze-etch replicas of glucose-stimulated cell suspensions, quiescent cell suspensions, and discrete pellicles. These bacteria have a relatively thin cell wall in section, with several irregular features superimposed on an otherwise simple, Gram-negative morphology. There are no flagella or pili. Unfixed, unextracted cells, viewed as whole mounts, show spherical or ellipsoidal bodies of undetermined composition which disappear after extraction with water or ethanol and propylene oxide. For both species, there are several kinds of cell surface irregularities, some of which are localized protrusions of the cell envelope. A variety of irregularities is seen frequently on cells in the first minutes of glucose incubation, on cells in a discrete pellicle, on quiescent cells, and on starved cells. Immediately after the addition of glucose to cellulose-free cells in suspension culture, fine fibrils appear on and (or) near the cell envelope. The fine fibrils are frequently as small as 3 nm in diameter in both freeze-etch and thin-section preparations and are frequently associated with freshly synthesized cellulose fibrils. Starved cells in suspensions free of (classical) microfibrils sometimes reveal stubs of an extracellular structure whose morphology resembles that of a nascent cellulose fibril.


Modern technologies of mobile computing and wireless sensing prompt the concept of pervasive social network (PSN)-based healthcare. To realize the concept, the core problem is how a PSN node can securely share health data with other nodes in the network. In this paper, we propose a secure system for PSN-based healthcare. Two protocols are designed for the system. The first one is an improved version of the IEEE 802.15.6 display authenticated association. It establishes secure links with unbalanced computational requirements for mobile devices and resource-limited sensor nodes. The second protocol uses blockchain technique to share health data among PSN nodes. We realize a protocol suite to study protocol runtime and other factors. In addition, human body channels are proposed for PSN nodes in some use cases. The proposed system illustrates a potential method of using blockchain for PSN-based applications.


Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus infecting more than 90% of adult population in the world. EBV is involved in the pathogenesis of a wide variety of malignancies, including Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and lymphoproliferative disease of immunocompromised hosts. In addition, abundant evidence has been obtained implicating the virus in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis. In particular, seroepidemiological data strongly suggest that EBV is a prerequisite factor for the development of multiple sclerosis. Although no decisive theory has explained the mechanism of EBV's involvements in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, a number of hypotheses have been presented, including molecular mimicry, bystander damage, mistaken self, and EBV infection of autoreactive B cells. In this review, evidence so far obtained to suggest a crucial role for EBV in triggering autoimmune diseases is summarized and hypothetical mechanisms of EBV's involvement in these diseases are discussed. In addition, results obtained from a recent humanized mouse model of EBV infection that reproduced rheumatoid arthritis‐like erosive arthritis are described.


Mobile and multi-access devices have become commonplace today. In this context, nodes have multiple interfaces that can form the foundation for the always best connected paradigm. Mobile IPv6, the staple mobility management technology for the Internet, enables nodes to roam between different networks while minimising session disruption due to handovers. However, in standard MIPv6, a mobile node can register only a single IP address as its Care-of-Address (CoA), therefore the multiplicity of network interfaces may be managed suboptimally while simultaneous multi-access is not possible. Recently, MIPv6 has been extended with a much-anticipated feature, namely Multiple Care-of Address (MCoA) registration. MCoA allows a MIPv6 node to register all active addresses configured on the respective interfaces and then use them at will, possibly in an alternating fashion as well as simultaneously. MCoA is anticipated to improve the performance of multimedia applications, yet this is still to be quantified. This paper provides a first answer to this question. In particular, we employ simulation to evaluate the benefits for multimedia applications, such as VoIP and video, from the use of MCoA. We compare the MCoA results with those obtained when MIPv6 with single address registration is used based on objective multimedia evaluation metrics, such as PESQ. In addition we examine the tradeoffs between application benefits and signaling costs for the network.


Carbon nanocoil (CNC), which has excellent properties of near-infrared (NIR) absorption and photoelectrical response, is considered as a potential NIR sensing and bioengineering material. In this work, a high-speed living cell ejection is realized in a yeast cell solution based on the photothermal conversion induced by a NIR laser irradiation on the surface of a CNC. The cell ejection reveals a thermal convection of solution induced by the laser irradiated CNC and can be used to evaluate the photothermal conversion ability of CNC. The dynamic behavior of the thermal convection behind cell ejection is studied experimentally and analytically. It is found that the initial solution flow velocity of the dynamic process reaches more than 103 μm/s. Approximately, 60% of the laser energy illuminated on the CNC is converted into thermal energy. The unique helical morphology of CNC enables its high NIR photothermal conversion efficiency. The average convective heat transfer coefficient on the contact area between C...


For years the construction sector has been keen to enhance its productivity and efficiency, besides many initiatives been proposed. The confusion lies on the selection of an appropriate innovation for better construction project delivery. Presently, a number of advanced construction tools, innovations, and methods are available that could be used to improve construction project delivery. Hence, this study aimed to examine how advanced technological tools and methods can be used to reduce the number of construction project delivery errors in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and propose an integrated framework that will comprise of advanced technological solutions for better delivery of construction projects in UAE. As highlighted in this study, the proposed framework can be used by UAE practitioners to overcome current project delivery challenges. It is worth noting that low productivity and delay in UAE construction projects have been observed as main challenges. The factors that influences the construction project delivery were identified in the literature and a conceptual framework proposed. The conceptual framework comprises of key technologies, innovations, tools, methods, and materials that could positively impact the construction project delivery and to address the current challenges of UAE's construction projects. The data was collected through quantitative research method. Professional construction practitioners in UAE were the participants of this study. The findings of the study suggest that there is a need for the integration of construction technologies in the UAE sector. Advanced technological solutions were used to formulate the proposed integrated framework, that could be used to enhance project delivery in UAE. The findings of the study further suggest that the framework could be used to by construction practitioners to address technological project delivery challenges in UAE.


To detect transient arrhythmias or conduction disturbances, 200 patients with the symptoms of palpitations, syncope or dizziness, and patients with coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, arrhythmias or conduction disturbances on resting 12-lead electrocardiogram, were studied by submaximal treadmill exercise and portable Holter recording. Thirty-nine patients (19.5%) had arrhythmias on the resting 12-lead ECG, 136 patients (68%) showed arrhythmias either on treadmill or Holter recording or both. Eighty-nine patients (44.5%) showed arrhythmias on exercise, while 123 patients (61.5%) had rhythm or conduction disturbances on Holter recording. Twenty-two patients (11%) had arrhythmias only on treadmill walking, while 68 (34%) had arrhythmias only with the Holter. In six patients different arrhythmias was noted by each method. Although the Holter recording technique affords a higher yield of recording transient arrhythmias than did exercise testing, both methods are useful and complementary in evaluating the ambulatory patients suspected of having rhythm or conduction disturbances.


The paper discusses the concept of an economic man in economics and management. The concept of "homo oeconomicus" assumes the full rational behaviour of a deciding man and was applied in classical and neoclassical theories. Based on resent findings of the neuronal, cognitive and behavioural sciences, a the concept of an emotional man seems to be better. Thus some scholars believe that "homo sapiens oeconomicus" emerges as an alternative to "homo oeconomicus". The paper present the chronological survey of the evolution of the above mentioned concepts resulting in the change of the paradigm.


The In-N clusters form in the dilute nitride InxGa1−xNyAs1−y alloys after annealing. It is found that the formation of the In-N clusters not only raises the N levels lying above the conduction band minimum (CBM) of InGaAs, but also raises the N levels below the CBM of InGaAs, leading to the variation of the impurity-host interaction. The blueshift of the band gap energy is relative to the variation of the impurity-host interaction. In order to describe the blueshift of the band gap energy due to the formation of the In-N clusters, a model is developed. It is found that the model can describe the blueshift of the band gap energy well. In addition, it is found the blueshift of the band gap energy due to the atom interdiffusion at the interface can be larger than that due to the formation of the In-N clusters.


The principal idea in the present paper is that the study of institutionalization can be developed if informed with FoucaultOs disciplinary power concept. Empirically the paper centers on the institutionalization of TQM, particularly at the County Council of Varmland (CCV), the public health care authority in the region of Varmland, Sweden. At CCV, focus is on two groups; the new management and the old administrators. The analysis displays that the dissimilar discourses and techniques advanced by the groups frame their worldview, which cause a lack of reflexivity amongst managers/administrators. In the remainder it is argued that the paper contributes to the study of institutionalization in two ways. First, it deepens the understanding of contradictions between conflicting social structures and, second, it elaborates on the relationship between the construction of subjectivity and institutionalization. Key words: Organization studies, Institutionalization, Disciplinary power, TQM, Subjectivity, Social structure


Triggering peritoneal macrophages with IFN-gamma and a low concentration of LPS induced the expression of the inducible form of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). This process was significantly inhibited when IFN-alpha/beta was added during the initial 2 h after the start of IFN-gamma/LPS activation. Evaluation of the transcriptional activity using run-on assays indicated that IFN-alpha/beta inhibited the transcription of iNOS. Transfection experiments using a 1.7-kb promoter sequence corresponding to the 5' flanking region of the murine iNOS gene showed decreased promoter activity in the presence of type I IFNs. Analysis of the transcription factors that participate in iNOS expression revealed a marked decrease of NF-kappaB activation, a nuclear factor required for the transcription of this gene. The degradation of IkappaB alpha and IkappaB beta, which is required for the translocation of NF-kappaB to the nucleus, was inhibited in the presence of IFN-alpha/beta. However, the activity of other transcription factors such as IFN regulatory factor 1, which is involved in the expression of iNOS in response to IFN-gamma, was not affected by IFN-alpha/beta stimulation. These results suggest that in the presence of IFN-alpha/beta, the activity of the iNOS promoter is impaired, and this attenuated nitric oxide synthase expression could be important in pathophysiologic situations in which secretion of type I IFNs occurs.


OBJECTIVE
Prevention of incorrect positioning of the surface replacement, whereby the center of the femoral head for the implantation of the replacement surface is ascertained by central drilling of the femoral neck under image intensifier control.

INDICATIONS
An arthritically damaged, but not too severely deformed femoral head that can be reamed without injuring the femoral neck.

CONTRAINDICATIONS
Hip ankylosis. Femoral head necrosis. Severe deformity of the femoral head. State after varus osteotomy.

SURGICAL TECHNIQUE
Using a 6-mm drill bit, the femoral neck of the affected hip is drilled from lateral to medial under anteroposterior and lateral imaging deliberately perforating the femoral head. The hip joint is exposed through a minimized invasive anterolateral, lateral, or posterior approach and dislocated. A guide rod corresponding in size to the 6-mm drill channel is inserted into the drill hole; it serves as a guide for all subsequent preparations of the femoral head, depending on the type of prosthesis. After implantation of the corresponding acetabular component, resurfacing of the femoral head is done. Reduction of the joint completes surgery.

RESULTS
In the first 14 hips the midpoint of the femoral head was ascertained by using the manufacturer's centering device. In 31 subsequent hips the midpoint of the femoral head was found by central drilling of the femoral neck. Using the centering device, the average deviation of the angle of the prosthesis from the preoperative CCD angle was 7 degrees (+/- 5.7 degrees ); for central drilling of the femoral neck it was only 3 degrees (+/- 3.4 degrees ). The exact alignment of the resurfacing component is crucial for the success of surgery. It is achieved with greater precision with central drilling of the neck than with the manufacturer's centering device.


This paper concerns a multilocation newsboy problem with normal demand at each location and identical linear holding and penalty cost functions at each location. Consolidation of demand from several facilities is considered, and an expression is derived for the resulting expected holding and penalty costs as a function of the demand parameters for each location means, variances, and correlation coefficients. The expression is used to demonstrate that i the expected holding and penalty costs in a decentralized system exceed those in a centralized system; ii the magnitude of the saving depends on the correlation of demands; and iii if demands are identical and uncorrelated, the costs increase as the square root of the number of consolidated demands.


The polyadic mu-calculus is a modal fixpoint logic whose formulas define relations of nodes rather than just sets in labelled transition systems. It can express exactly the polynomial-time computable and bisimulation-invariant queries on finite graphs. In this paper we show a hierarchy result with respect to expressive power inside the polyadic mu-calculus: for every level of fixpoint alternation, greater arity of relations gives rise to higher expressive power. The proof uses a diagonalisation argument.


Deep level defects in Zn0.25Cd0.75Se mixed crystals, grown from the vapour phase, were investigated by a variety of space charge techniques. A total of five deep levels have been observed, two with activation energies of 0.54 and 1.04 eV with respect to the conduction band and three with activation energies of 0.2, 0.55 and 0.85 eV relative to the valence band. Crystal structure and composition were determined by X-ray diffraction, EDAX and atomic absorption spectroscopy.


AbstractThe rise of the Home Industry business in Paninggaran District shows that the MSME sector is growing very rapidly. Paninggaran Village is one of the villages where community income is obtained from the sale of usek crackers. So it's not surprising that Paninggaran village is  known for its typical usek crackers. Usek crackers are known as sand crackers because during the frying process they use heated sand. The purpose of this study is to find out from an Islamic economic perspective about production management and marketing to branding of usek crackers at home in order to increase the economic value in Paninggaran Village. This study uses a type of field research (field research) and data collection methods using observation, interviews and documentation. The results of the research in the field show that the management of usek cracker production in Paninggaran Village is in line with Islamic law, although there is no labeling permit or brand marked as halal. This business is able to provide an increase in the economy of the cracker entrepreneur family and can reduce the unemployment rate for the community in Paninggaran Village.


Abstract SAP and EAT-2 are intracellular adaptor proteins that link SLAMF receptors to downstream intracellular signalling pathways. Their expression and functions vary among different types of hematopoietic cells. The roles of SAP and EAT-2 in haematological malignancies are poorly understood. Here, we attempted to optimise a method for the detection of intracellular SAP and EAT-2 by flow cytometry. We found that using PerFix EXPOSE kit for cell fixation and permeabilization ensures optimal results in terms of staining intensity and signal-to-noise ratio.


Mutations in human KCNE2, which encodes the MiRP1 potassium channel ancillary subunit, associate with long QT syndrome (LQTS), a defect in ventricular repolarization. The precise cardiac role of MiRP1 remains controversial, in part, because it has marked functional promiscuity in vitro. Here, we disrupted the murine kcne2 gene to define the role of MiRP1 in murine ventricles. kcne2 disruption prolonged ventricular action potential duration (APD), suggestive of reduced repolarization capacity. Accordingly, kcne2 (−/−) ventricles exhibited a 50% reduction in IK,slow1, generated by Kv1.5—a previously unknown partner for MiRP1. Ito,f, generated by Kv4 α subunits, was also diminished, by ~25%. Ventricular MiRP1 protein coimmunoprecipitated with native Kv1.5 and Kv4.2 but not Kv1.4 or Kv4.3. Unexpectedly, kcne2 (−/−) ventricular membrane fractions exhibited 50% less mature Kv1.5 protein than wild type, and disruption of Kv1.5 trafficking to the intercalated discs. Consistent with the reduction in ventricular K+ currents and prolonged ventricular APD, kcne2 deletion lengthened the QTc under sevoflurane anesthesia. Thus, targeted disruption of kcne2 has revealed a novel cardiac partner for MiRP1, a novel role for MiRPs in α subunit targeting in vivo, and a role for MiRP1 in murine ventricular repolarization with parallels to that proposed for the human heart.—Roepke, T. K., Kontogeorgis, A., Ovanez, C., Xu, X., Young, J. B., Purtell, K., Goldstein, P. A., Christini, D. J., Peters, N. S., Akar, F. G., Gutstein, D. E., Lerner, D. J., Abbott, G. W. Targeted deletion of kcne2 impairs ventricular repolarization via disruption of IK,slow1 and Ito,f. FASEB J. 22, 3648–3660 (2008)


Local Binary Pattern (LBP) is a simple yet efficient texture operator which has become a popular approach in texture classification. In this paper, we propose a novel hardware architecture for texture classification algorithms based on local binary patterns that can be executed efficiently on a field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). A new memory structure and window operations have been used in this hardware design to accelerate images processing. The new architecture is implemented on Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA. The experiments show that this new method exhibits more efficient execution compared with standard implementations based on central processing units and graphics processing units.