Background: Although metformin, a first-line drug for treating diabetes, may play an important role in inhibition of epithelial ovarian cancer cell growth and cancer stem cells (CSCs), metformin at low dose showed less effect on proliferation of ovarian cancer cells. In this study, we evaluated the effect of metformin at low dose on ovarian CSCs in order to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying ovarian tumorigenesis. Methods: The inhibitory effects of metformin at los dose on proliferation and population of ovarian cancer cells including SKOV3 and A2780 were assessed by cell proliferation assay and flow cytometry. Quantitative real-time PCR assays on expression of Bcl-2, Survivin and Bax were performed to determine the effect of the metformin at low dose on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cancer cells and CSCs. Tumor sphere formation assay was also performed to evaluate the effect of metformin on spheres forming ability of CSCs. The therapeutic efficacy and the anti-CSC effects of metformin at low dose were investigated by using both SKOV3 cells and primary tumor xenografts. In addition, the CSC frequency and EMT in tumor xenograft models were also assessed by flow cytometry and quantitative real-time PCR. Results: Metformin at low dose did not affect proliferation of ovarian cancer cells, however, it inhibited the population of the CD44+/CD117+ selectively, neither CD133+ nor ALDH+ cells. It suppressed expression of snail2, twist and vimentin significantly in cancer cells and CD44+/CD117+ CSCs in vitro. Low dose of metformin reduced survivin expression in CSCs leading to arrest of cell cycle. Metformin at low concentration inhibited the secondary and the tertiary tumor sphere formation, decreased the growth of either SKOV3 or primary ovarian tumor xenograft, enhanced the anticancer effect of the cisplatin, and lowered the proportion of the CD44+/CD117+ CSCs in the xenograft tissue. Metformin was also associated with a reduction of snail2, twist, and vimentin in CD44+/CD117+ ovarian CSCs in vivo. Conclusions: Our results implicate that metformin at low dose inhibits selectively CD44+/CD117+ ovarian CSCs through inhibition of EMT and potentiates the effect of the cisplatin. Citation Format: Gary G. Xiao, Rongrong Zhang, Ping Zhang, Hong Wang, Dongming Hou, Wentao Li, Chenwei Li. Inhibitory effects of metformin on epithelial-mesenchymal transition of CD44+/CD117+ ovarian cancer stem cells. [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 4734.


As cancer treatment cost soar and the mantra for "personalized medicine" grows louder, we will increasingly be searching for solutions to these diametrically opposed forces. In this review we highlight several exciting novel imaging strategies including MRI, CT, PET SPECT, sentinel node, and ultrasound imaging that hold great promise for improving outcomes through detection of lymph node involvement. We provide clinical data that demonstrate how these evolving strategies have the potential to transform treatment paradigms. J. Surg. Oncol. 2011;103:587–601. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In 1994, the Government of Malaysia received 61.518 million yen to commence Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) project. The airport is located in the district of Sepang, Selangor, which was originally oil palm plantations and small villages. The construction project completed and began in used in the 1998. This paper is to evaluate the impact of Japan's ODA for Malaysia, particularly yen loan to socioeconomic. In term of socioeconomic impact, many new cities were established such as Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Bandar Baru Nilai, Banting, Bandar Enstek and Cyber Jaya. Similarly, new housing, schools, shopping malls and other facilities such as the Sepang International Circuit and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) were built. New roads connecting to the airport also completed the development of these places. In terms of employment, previously many who depended on agriculture, now turned to business, hospitality, services, transportation and others. In fact the huge investment significantly affected the surrounding population, particularly the creation of modern towns, businesses and educational centers which gave rise to various types of employment.


By analyzing Fu 's subcutaneous needling phenomenon, the attribute of Fu 's subcutaneous needling therapy in traditional acupuncture, the innovation and the role in the development of traditional acupuncture were demonstrated. The authors believe that the de-meridian in Fu 's subcutaneous needling therapy is similar to the connotation of meridian before the Han dynasty, the de-acupoint phenomenon in Fu 's subcutaneous needling therapy reproduces the acupoint evolution, and the sites of needle insertion of this therapy are partially overlapped with the location of traditional acupoints. In manipulation, the technique of Fu 's subcutaneous needling therapy is derived from the traditional acupuncture technique and it is also in reference to the theory and the method of modern medicine, such as muscle energy technology and fasciology. The needle device and the sweeping technique are the most essential innovation of Fu 's subcutaneous needling therapy. Fu 's subcutaneous needling therapy has the distinct attribute of traditional acupuncture.


This workshop aims to gather researchers in the field of user interface design tools to identify important themes for the next decade of research. These tools aid in the design and development of interactive systems: they include interface builders, development environments for writing code, and toolkits that provide software architectures and building blocks to aid development. These tools have provided tremendous benefit for the designers and developers of graphical user interfaces. The CHI community has shown that the next generation of user interfaces is moving off the desktop: these emerging interfaces employ novel input techniques such as tangible, haptic, and camera-based interaction, access to vast information repositories and sensor networks, and information presentation to a wide range of devices. In this workshop, we will discuss common themes, conflicting ideas, and future directions for the next generation of software tools that will support ubiquitous computing. Development is driven by tools and technologies History has shown that revolutions in the way people interact with computers are often driven by basic technology and by tools for developing solutions on top of that technology. Graphical interaction had been around for more than a decade before the Xerox Star showed how it could be effectively used in an office setting and the Macintosh provided a set of tools that put programming such interfaces within the grasp of the average programmer and provided an environment in which solutions could effectively interoperate. The Internet had existed for decades before the World Wide Web provided a set of interoperable tools that put network interaction within the range of average programmers rather than network specialists. REASONS FOR THE WORKSHOP In the early 1980's a series of workshops were held to outline the challenges of how to support people interacting with computers [1, 2]. These workshops were simultaneous with the advent of personal computing and in particular the digital desktops that are now pervasive in homes and businesses Those workshops helped to establish the research communities and identify the challenges that shaped UI research over the next 15 years. The nature of computing, however, has changed radically since 1980. Personal computers are 10,000 times faster with 10,000 times more memory and disk space. Virtually all computers are connected to the Internet. Over the next 10 to 20 years we face a similar growth in computational capacity along with an ever increasing amount of network connectivity. The personal workstation of 2015 will likely have a 300 GHz processor, 50 GB of RAM and 10 terabytes of disk. The direct-manipulation / document-processing model of interaction will be inadequate. Not only will personal workstations be tremendously powerful but other forms of computing will change also. Mobile phones will have tens of gigabytes of storage and gigahertz processors with no increase in cost. A processor that supports today's state of the art in speech recognition will be a $5 part. Webcams will likely have at least a gigabyte of RAM and a gigahertz processor. The model for interactive computing created in the 1980's does not take advantage of the computational realities of the 21 century. New paradigms for interacting with computers are not only required but possible [3]. Limitations of today's interactive computing Interaction on the desktop is physically and socially limited in many ways. Computing at the desktop is a solo activity that requires one to be seated. Laptops are not much better. U.S. labor statistics show that the majority of Americans do not work at a desk, but like health care and manufacturing workers spend most of their time interacting in the physical world where things are made and people are served. The current direct manipulation model for interaction limits users to interaction with what they can see and touch. If a user must spent 20 seconds reading and 10 seconds clicking or typing to process a piece of information then they can handle at most 240,000 pieces of information per year (with no breaks or rest). If each piece of information was 1 MB then the user can handle at most 240 GB per year. This pales in comparison with the capacity of future workstations. Such a user could not sift through their own RAM (much less their disk space) more than 5 times per year. Future interaction Interaction with computers must move beyond the desktop and beyond direct manipulation. New interactive techniques that empower users to filter, manage, sift, and organize massive amounts of information are required. If a university president has every class taken by every student in the past 20 years on his PDA, how will he use that information effectively to explore new university initiatives? If an oncologist has all of the medical data, test results and radiology images of every cancer patient in the hospital for the last 15 years on her PC, how will she be interactively empowered to discover new trends, treatments or problems? The potential form factors for computing devices are changing radically and thus empowering new ways of interacting with computers. The future ranges from computers that fit in one's ear through palm-sized, lapsized, and desk-sized devices to where an entire office becomes an interactive environment. This can further expand to where conferences, buildings and urban environments become vast interconnected interactive resources. When interaction is embedded in the world, how will that interaction occur and who will have the skills to create, design and adapt such interactions? The Future of User Interface Software Tools Currently, developing this next generation of interfaces is difficult, time-consuming, and requires a high level of technical expertise. Consequently, only a small cadre of technology experts can currently build these UIs. The difficulty of technology development and lack of appropriate interaction abstractions make designing different variations of an application and performing comparative evaluations unrealistic. These difficulties echo the experiences of developing GUIs twenty years ago. One of the earliest GUI toolkits, MacApp, reduced application development time by a factor of four or five [7]. Similar reductions in development time, with corresponding increases in software reliability and technology portability, will be achieved by the next generation of user interface software tools. GOALS OF THE WORKSHOP In the HCI research community, we have seen early examples of these future tools [4-6]. This workshop will serve as an organizing force for this emerging area of research, and will address questions including: • What common "big goals" should the UI tools community have? • Traditional UIs presume discrete, unambiguous, singleuser input. How does input that is continuous, ambiguous, and/or multi-user impact tool design? • What tools can be used to rapidly prototype novel physical devices? How do these tools bridge the physical and electronic worlds? • How can interface tools not just lower the threshold for existing areas, but be catalysts for growth and experimentation? Applicant Responsibilities Each applicant for attendance will be requested to submit a two-page position paper outlining their vision of the future of UI tools and what they think the relevant research problems are. Applications must also commit to being actively involved in the writing of the resulting workshop report. REFERENCES 1 Computer Graphics, ACM Workshop on Software Tools for UI Management, 1986. 2 GIIT Workshop, Computer Graphics 17(1), 1982. 3 Abowd, Gregory D. and Elizabeth D. Mynatt. Charting Past, Present, and Future Research in Ubiquitous Computing. Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 7(1): ACM Press. pp. 29 – 58, 2000. 4 Fails, Jerry Alan and Dan R. Olsen. A Design Tool for Camera-based Interaction. CHI: ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI Letters 5(1). pp. 449 – 56, 2003. 5 Greenberg, Saul and Chester Fitchett. Phidgets: easy development of physical interfaces through physical widgets. UIST: ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, CHI Letters 3(2). pp. 209 – 18, 2001. 6 Klemmer, Scott R., Jack Li, James Lin, and James A. Landay. Papier-Mâché: Toolkit Support for Tangible Input. CHI: ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI Letters 6(1). pp. 399 – 406, 2004. 7 Myers, Brad, Scott E. Hudson, and Randy Pausch. Past, Present, and Future of User Interface Software Tools. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 7(1). pp. 3 – 28, 2000.


Super-Resolution (SR) image reconstruction is the process in which the perceptual quality of image is improved to a greater magnitude. In other words, it is used to improve the clarity of the low resolution image. In this paper, first image is scaled by gamma contrast. It relates to the pixel intensities of the image. The variable gamma specifies the shape of the curve describing the relationship between the values in I and J. If gamma is less than 1, the mapping is weighted toward higher (brighter) output values. If gamma is greater than 1, the mapping is weighted toward lower (darker) output values. The image is later transformed from RGB to YCbCr. The SR algorithm is then applied to the Y (intensity) channel. The Cb and Cr chromatic channels are only interpolated. The three portions are then combined to form our SR result.


Objectives. We sought to study the relationship between left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and infarct size in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and to determine a dysfunction index based on the maximum possible LVEF in relation to infarct size. Design. In 149 patients with chronic IHD, LVEF and infarct size were quantified by MRI. Dysfunction index was defined as the maximum possible LVEF minus measured LVEF. Results. The maximum possible LVEF was found to be LVEF=72.2−[1.18*infarct size]. Dysfunction index for the study population was mean 20 (range −6 to 57), 74% of the study population had a dysfunction index >10 and 44% had a dysfunction index >20. Conclusions. The present study suggests that infarct size by MRI can be used to estimate a maximum possible LVEF and a dysfunction index. The distribution of dysfunction index in the population suggests a considerable prevalence of dysfunctional but viable myocardium. Future studies are needed to assess if the dysfunction index can be useful to assess the potential for improvement in LVEF following revascularization.


The Government Offices for the English regions (GORs) were established in 1994 in response to mounting pressures for improved territorial coordination in the English regions. For the first time government departments with a regional presence were brought under the management control of a single senior civil servant, the Regional Director. The article explores the underlying pressures which led to their establishment, their role and functions within the regions and their relationship with Whitehall.

Against the background of the government's own stated objectives for the GORs and the expectations of others the article examines some of the problems which have emerged in the first two years of their operation. The article highlights the issue of the openness and accountability of the GORs to their regions. the extent of influence over government departments and agencies outside the immediate span of control of the GORs, and how far they have proved able to have an impact on policy making at the centre. It is concluded that from the perspective of a Conservative administration the GORs have proved successful in strengthening the presence of central government in the regions and should provide the administrative building blocks for a more devolved and democratically accountable regional tier of government in the event of a change in government.


20 The wall adhesion of 1 µm microparticles in human blood was studied in circular microchannels. 21 The level of particle wall adhesion was measured for varying levels of shear rate and varying degrees of 22 red blood cell aggregation, which was modulated by the addition of macromolecule dextran 500. The blood 23 preparations were injected into PDMS microfluidic devices that were modified to have circular channels, 24 better matching the geometry of physiological microcirculation compared to square channels or Couette 25 flow systems. The circular walls of the microchannels were embedded with biotinylated phospholipids to 26 which marginating microspheres coated with streptavidin bound. The particle wall adhesion was evaluated 27 by counting the particles that adhered to the channel's wall after flushing the channel. Blood preparations 28 of five dextran concentrations (including baseline case of 0%) were tested for four flow velocities, to 29 quantify the effects of aggregation for varying shear rate. It was found that the level of particle wall adhesion 30 was positively correlated with the level of RBC aggregation, particularly at low shear rates, when 31 aggregation was enhanced. The particle adhesion was especially enhanced at aggregation levels in the range 32 of physiological aggregation levels of whole blood, suggesting that RBC aggregation plays an important 33 role in the dynamics of platelets and leukocytes in vivo .


Chloroplasts isolated from spinach leaves have been transferred in large numbers into protoplasts of Neurospora crassa with the help of polyethylene glycol. The chloroplasts show high photosynthetic activity--at least until the time of uptake--and the protoplasts continue to show active cytoplasmic streaming after chloroplast uptake.


An antenna formed by the union of a four-armed, reflective-backed spiral antenna with a top-fed quadrifilar helix, operating over the 0.35-2.6-GHz band, is presented. The antenna features a novel dual-layering scheme that allows the modal impedance of the four-armed spiral to be greatly reduced while maintaining the desirable self-complementary metallization. A reconfigurable end-loading scheme is also presented that allows the attachment of high power-handling resistive loads, which along with other design features enables the use of the antenna in high-power transmitting applications. Mode 1 VSWR less than 2.2 is maintained throughout the 0.35-2.6-GHz band. Respective cutoff and nominal gains of 0 and 7 dBiC with excellent pattern characteristics are demonstrated. Over 30 dB broadside cross-polarization discrimination and high conical pattern uniformity are also obtained.


The ability of tirapazamine (1, 3-amino-1,2,4-benzotriazine 1, 4-dioxide, SR4233) to fix DNA radical lesions is demonstrated by studying the reaction between the antitumor drug and an oligonucleotide radical that is independently produced at a defined site within a biopolymer. Using beta-mercaptoethanol as a competitor, it was determined that tirapazamine traps a C1'-nucleotide radical with a rate constant of approximately 2 x 10(8) M-1 s-1. Product and isotopic labeling studies suggest that tirapazamine reacts with the radical via covalent adduct formation, resulting primarily from reaction at the N-oxide oxygen. Intermediate covalent adducts could not be observed, but are postulated to decompose to the alkaline labile 2'-deoxyribonolactone lesion. These experiments affirm recent proposals suggesting that tirapazamine can serve as a surrogate for O2 in converting DNA radicals into toxic strand damage events.


ABSTRACT Background Integrating evidence-based midwifery practices improves healthcare quality for women and newborns, but an evidence-to-practice gap exists. Co-created quality improvement initiatives led by midwives could bridge this gap, prevent resource waste and ensure intervention relevance. However, how to co-create a midwife-led quality improvement intervention has not been scientifically explored. Objective The objective of this study is to describe the co-creation process and explore the needs and determinants of a midwife-led quality improvement targeting evidence-based midwifery practices. Methods A qualitative deductive approach using the Consolidated Framework for Advancing Implementation Science was employed. An analysis matrix based on the framework was developed, and the data were coded according to categories. Data were gathered from interviews, focus group discussions, observations and workshops. New mothers and birth companions (n = 19) were included through convenience sampling. Midwives (n = 26), professional association representatives, educators, policymakers, managers, and doctors (n = 7) were purposely sampled. Results The co-creation process of the midwife-led Quality Improvement intervention took place in four stages. Firstly, core elements of the intervention were established, featuring a group of midwife champions leading a quality improvement initiative using a train-the-trainers approach. Secondly, the intervention needs, context and determinants were explored, which showed knowledge and skills gaps, a lack of shared goals among staff, and limited resources. However, there was clear relevance, compatibility, and mission alignment for a midwife-led quality improvement at all levels. Thirdly, during co-creation workshops with new mothers and companions, the consensus was to prioritise improved intrapartum support, while workshops with midwives identified enhancing the use of birth positions and perineal protection as key focus areas for the forthcoming Quality Improvement intervention. Lastly, the findings guided intervention strategies, including peer-assisted learning, using existing structures, developing educational material, and building stakeholder relationships. Conclusions This study provides a practical example of a co-creation process for a midwife-led quality improvement intervention, which can be relevant in different maternity care settings.


A new class of high performance switches has been created based on the conducting-to-insulating phase transitions in the semiconductor materials germanium telluride and vanadium dioxide. The exceptional small signal RF performance of these switches points to a future where generic RF radios can be constructed and programmed for a specific application after manufacture. In order to realize this potential, further improvements in switch power handling, tighter integration with other RF components, and increases in switch reliability are needed. This paper reviews some of the history of the development of the switch, some of the decisions made during the development, and the perspective of where the development might go next.


There are a limited number of studies dealing with abnormal behavior in caged birds kept as pets. However, these studies demonstrate the presence of abnormal behavior in both songbirds and parrots. Ethological studies on these birds, as well as studies on domestic and zoo birds, indicate that inappropriate rearing and housing conditions may lead to behavioral abnormalities. Together these data indicate that behavioral abnormalities occur among both wild-caught and domesticated pet birds. The severity and magnitude of these abnormalities is probably underestimated, and there is a need for systematic studies on the nature, origin, variability, species-specificity, and reversibility of behavioral problems in pet birds. Abnormal behavior in caged birds may to some extent be prevented and reduced by environmental enrichment. However, most enrichment studies are anecdotal and not based on a thorough analysis of the behavioral abnormalities, which may lead to measures resulting in a reduction of symptoms rather than the underlying causes. Although it is likely that several of these problems could be reduced by modifying rearing and housing conditions, the current insights into the causal mechanisms underlying abnormal behavior of domesticated and wild-caught pet birds are limited, as are the insights into the possibilities of preventing or curing abnormal behavior.


ABSTRACT Based on the assumption that a strong teacher contract can restrict the latitude of school administrators, this study tested the following hypothesis: School principals who participate fully in board-teacher collective bargaining as negotiators or active consultants will perceive themselves to have greater on-the-job discretion than principals who are not active in the process. Researchers surveyed 165 principals in two New York State counties about their negotiations roles and level of managerial discretion. Statistical analysis indicated that negotiating role and school district size were significantly related to differences in principals' on-the-job discretion. Principals in smaller districts had more discretion than those in larger districts. Through regression analysis it was determined that the roles of negotiator and active consultant provided principals with higher levels of perceived on-the-job discretion than did the roles of passive advisor and nonparticipant. riscretion was examined in such areas as assigning pupils, teacher discipline, calling additional meetings, and other managerial powers. The data did not indicate that sitting at the bargaining table provides principals with any stronger discretionary authority than being an active consultant does, but researchers concluded that principals should be consultants in the bargaining process to prctect their own jobs and autonomy. (JM)


We present an unsupervised approach to cluster sequences. This method is inspired by topology learning methods for hidden Markov models, and is built upon the definition of a distance between Markov models. This type of technique may be used to learn Markovian character models from data or to identify allographs or handwriting styles.


—This paper investigates the performance of network coding for an IEEE802.11 enabled meshed network. By means of basic setups the impact of the medium access control in combination with network coding is investigated. In contrast to prior work the network coding approach is tailored to commercial WiFi hardware without any special tweaks. The implementation of network coding is done on top of an existing routing scheme known as B.A.T.M.A.N. which has some inherent advantages to support network coding. We present schemes to utilize the B.A.T.M.A.N. routing to detect coding opportunities. One finding is that the performance gain for the well known Alice and Bob scenario using network coding is 60% compared to a pure relaying scheme. The software used in the presented measurement campaign is made publicly available.


MALAYSIAN mainstream cinema is notable (!) for its emphasis on pure entertainment and nothing but. The films were also notable (until recently), for not reflecting the ethnic and cultural diversity of Malaysia in spite of the official promotion of the country internationally as Malaysia, Truly Asia. Dishing out cliched, stereotypical and antiquated narratives and characters, many of these films somehow attain box-office success, proof that they are popular with a certain segment of the cinema-going public. None of these films, however, have been invited to participate in international film festivals. The few alternative films that have surfaced from time to time (and have had international exposure), have never had a mass audience, and them have ever made back their initial investment.


Most scholarship on Sofonisba Anguissola's art focuses on her portraits in general and selfportraits in particular.1 To date, however, no art historian has analyzed the gender-based differences between the style and iconography of Anguissola's male portraits and those of male painters who paint female portraits.2 The purpose of this essay is threefold: to examine Anguissola's Ponce Portrait of a Young Man of 1579-1580 (now at the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico Fig. 1), to attempt to identify its subject, and to address the context in which the portrait was conceived. The provenance of the Ponce Portrait of a Young Man is not clear. What is known is that in Paris in 1910, the art dealer and restorer Joseph Leegenhoek consigned the painting to Vienna's Dorotheum auction house.3 On November 19, 1966, the Dorotheum sold the painting (lot no. 4) to the Puerto Rican industrialist and engineer Luis Ferré, who founded the Museo de Arte de Ponce and the Fundación Luis Ferré.4 The painting is executed on slate (lavagna), a material available in Genoa, which Anguissola visited in 1559 on her way to Barcelona, where she would later reside.5 In employing this medium, she followed Giorgio Vasari's suggestion that a "picture painted on slate lasts much longer than any other material."6


Due to the well-documented problems associated with inductive loops, most jurisdictions have replaced many intersection loops with video image vehicle detection systems (VIVDS). While VIVDS have overcome some of the problems with loops such as traffic disruption and pavement degradation, they have not been as accurate as originally anticipated. The objective of this project is to conduct evaluations of alternative detector technologies for application into the state's traffic signal systems. The research will include investigating the available detectors that could replace loops or VIVDS through a literature search and agency contacts, followed by field and/or laboratory investigations of promising technologies. Deliverables will include a research report, a project summary report, and a detector selection guide. Findings indicate that three detectors should be considered as alternatives to VIVDS for signalized intersections – one is a radar detector and the other two are magnetic detectors. The radar detector is only for dilemma zone detection and does not cover the stop line area. The other two are point detectors, so their basic function would be for loop replacements. One is an intrusive detector, requiring a short lane closure for installation and replacement. Field testing of performance for all three detectors indicated they are worth considering as inductive loop or VIVDS replacements.


Data are given on lymphokins, the biologically active substances lymphocytes when the latter are stimulated with specific antigens or unspecific mitogens. Discussed are their essence, antigen specificity, cell origin, and the methods of purification, standardization, and evaluation of biologic importance. It is believed that the lymphokins appear to be the products of primary activation of T lymphocytes. They possess pharmacologic activity, but have no antigenic specificity. Their function consists in mediating hypersensitive and inflammatory reactions through the activation of phagocytes. The effectiveness of cellular immunity depends on the activity of these factors.


The 2015 presidential election in Cote d'Ivoire was the first since multiparty elections were introduced in 1990 in which all major parties were able to compete without triggering a civil war. We examine the extent of democratic progress registered by this milestone election, focusing on three democratic qualities of elections: competition, participation, and legitimacy. Whereas competitiveness and participation measures both fell relative to the 2010 election, the 2015 election was contested by all major parties and its results were accepted peacefully, registering a dramatic step forward in the legitimacy of the electoral process and outcome. We support this conclusion with a historical analysis; and by comparing the final 2015 results with parallel vote tabulation for the 2015 election, Afrobarometer survey data from 2014, and a subnational analysis of voter turnout in 2015 relative to 2010.


Purpose of reviewTo review recent published literature around three areas: long-term nonprogression/viral control; predictors of viral load set point/disease progression; and the potential impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in early HIV infection. Recent findingsThe natural course of untreated HIV infection varies widely with some HIV-positive individuals able to maintain high CD4 cell counts and/or suppressed viral load in the absence of ART. Although similar, the underlying mechanistic processes leading to long-term nonprogression and viral control are likely to differ. Concerted ongoing research efforts will hopefully identify host factors that are causally related to these phenotypes, thus providing opportunities for the development of novel treatment or preventive strategies. Although there is increasing evidence that initiation of ART during primary infection may prevent the immunological deterioration which would otherwise be seen in untreated HIV infection, recent studies do not address the longer term clinical benefits of ART at this very early stage. SummaryA better understanding of the relative influences of viral, host, and environmental factors on the natural course of HIV infection has the potential to identify novel targets for intervention to prevent and treat HIV-infected persons.


By using a form of the Cauchy-Bunyakovsky-Schwarz inequality, we establish new inequalities for some classical integral transforms such as Laplace transform,Fourier transform, Fourier cosine transform, Fourier sine transform, Mellin transform and Hankel transform.


Case studies, anecdotal evidence and theory suggest that firms obtain valuable knowledge inputs from engaging in exporting. Yet the prevailing consensus is that good firms self-select into exporting while the evidence for an additional gain in productivity from entering into exporting – "learning by exporting" – is generally characterized to be weak or inconclusive. The literature on this issue is growing explosively and important methodological issues have been raised; accordingly, a solid consensus remains to be developed. Given that it is reasonably clear that learning by exporting is not ubiquitous but it does exist, this paper seeks to extract from the available evidence a working hypothesis regarding where and when it is likely to be found. Based on a survey of over 170 studies, it concludes that learning by exporting is found more or less where it would be expected, in younger, innovating firms based in less-advanced economies or in sectors for which external sources of learning, particularly in respect of not easily codified knowledge, can be important; which are operating at some distance from the technological frontier; which engage in exporting intensively rather than opportunistically; which interact directly with foreign markets rather than through domestic intermediaries; and which interact with more advanced markets.


Alnarp's Healing Garden is a place for rehabilitation as well as an ongoing multidisciplinary scientific research experiment. The garden is built on research results from the disciplines of Landscape architecture, Environmental Psychology and Garden Therapy. In the garden, people diagnosed with burnout syndromes are being rehabilitated. The participants need safe and calm environments which activate their bodies self healing systems.
Theories show that water as an element, per se, increases the observer's preference for an environment. But what is it with water? Why is it calming? How does it affect the experience of an environment?
The aim of this project is to design new water features based on literary studies of theories from Environmental Design, Garden Therapy and the participant's needs. The method used for this project is a survey-analyses-design with emphasis on the survey of theories. What is important when experiencing an environment? What are the restorative qualities of water? What are the participant's situations? What demands do they have on their environment? How does the staff work with the garden in Alnarp?
Alnarp's Healing Garden is analysed from the theories of environmental psychology, field research, and personal contact with therapist and scientists. Seven new water features are thereafter presented.

1. The Well
2. The Brook
3. The Sea with wetland
4. The Falls
5. The Mirror pond
6. The Farm pump
7. The Water drum

The suggested water elements strengthen the garden's initial design, the coherency with the garden rooms and their characters. The new water elements create different spaces which activate and awaken the participant's senses according to there individual situations.

Keywords; design with water, restorative environments, healing gardens, landscape architecture.


The physiological significance of 24R,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [24R,25 (OH)2D3] is still controversial. The effects of 24R,25-(OH)2D3 on serum calcium level were examined in rats. While 24R,25-(OH)2D3 had no effect on serum calcium level in normal rats, 200 micrograms/kg of 24R,25-(OH)2D3 showed significant hypocalcemic effect in rats pretreated with vitamin D3 (changes of serum calcium level compared with control group were 1.3 and 1.5 mg/dl at 24 and 36 hours respectively) and also showed a significant antagonistic effect against the action of 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1 alpha,25(OH)2D3) in the thyroparathyroidectomized rats (changes of serum calcium compared with control group were 0.5 and 0.8 mg/dl at 12 and 24 hours respectively). It was concluded that the effect of 24R,25-(OH)2D3 on serum calcium differs from that of 1 alpha,25-(OH)2D3.


Background Previous studies suggest that adults with Tourette syndrome (TS) can respond unconventionally on tasks involving social cognition. We therefore hypothesized that these patients would exhibit different neural responses to healthy controls in response to emotionally salient expressions of human eyes. Method Twenty-five adults with TS and 25 matched healthy controls were scanned using fMRI during the standard version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task which requires mental state judgements, and a novel comparison version requiring judgements about age. Results During prompted mental state recognition, greater activity was apparent in TS within left orbitofrontal cortex, posterior cingulate, right amygdala and right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), while reduced activity was apparent in regions including left inferior parietal cortex. Age judgement elicited greater activity in TS within precuneus, medial prefrontal and temporal regions involved in mentalizing. The interaction between group and task revealed differential activity in areas including right inferior frontal gyrus. Task-related activity in the TPJ covaried with global ratings of the urge to tic. Conclusions While recognizing mental states, adults with TS exhibit greater activity than controls in brain areas involved in the processing of negative emotion, in addition to reduced activity in regions associated with the attribution of agency. In addition, increased recruitment of areas involved in mental state reasoning is apparent in these patients when mentalizing is not a task requirement. Our findings highlight differential neural reactivity in response to emotive social cues in TS, which may interact with tic expression.


ABSTRACT
 Historically, Point Loma had the highest fishery landings of pink abalone (Haliotis corrugata Wood 1828) along the California coast. The current status of the population in this key location is described using population and aggregation surveys from 2004 to 2007. We developed a size-based matrix model to assess the recovery potential of this low-density population. We incorporated fecundity parameters into the model, modified by empirical nearest-neighbor distance, aggregation size, sex ratio, and size-frequency data, to evaluate their influence on the population growth rate. We found the density of the population (∼170 abalone/ha) is an order of magnitude less than the minimum spawning density (2,000 abalone/ha) used by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for abalone management. The average aggregation size was ∼2 abalone, and more than 50% of the abalone were solitary (no neighbors within a 2.5-m distance). The average nearest-neighbor distance was greater than 5 m in all 3 y, corresponding to an estimated fertilization success rate of ∼20%. The per capita recruitment potential was 1.3–5.3 recruits per female in 2006 and 2007. Population growth rates (&lgr;) from the models including aggregation characteristics were 12%–18% less than the models with no aggregation information. A further 12% reduction in &lgr; occurred between models assuming high and low fertilization success (high, 1.04/y; low, 0.91/y), showing that inclusion of aggregation characteristics has a large impact on population viability analyses. Under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature threat categories, a population with a &lgr; of 0.91 would be classified as endangered. Based on these results, we define recovery targets for pink abalone as (1) aggregation size ≥ 5 abalone and (2) nearest-neighbor distance less than 1.6 m. We suggest aggregation characteristics will be important to include when quantifying recovery goals for depleted populations of species susceptible to reproductive Allee effects.


The purpose of this study was to set and analyze the utilization of the substituted agricultural land in the Dongtan new town in Hwa-seong city. The results of this study were as follows. In the respect of the land efficiency and utilization, the need of the agricultural land in the Dongtan has shrunk. Therefore, the land should be reconsidered and developed as other purposes. The land could be developed as the weekend farm for the city people. The weekend farm is currently gaining popularity because the citizens want to not only experience the nature but also get a healthy food. So, the land in the new town could provide them with a good place. And the Han-ok(Traditional Korean style housing) is recently in the limelight of many people because of its healthy function and the special aesthetic, so the agricultural land of Dongtan could be a great opportunity to develop the Han-ok village. Lastly, the logistics center for agricultural products could be proposed. Because the traffic condition of the new town is satisfactory, the land is idealistic as the logistics center which connect the capital with the local. These practical uses of agricultural land in the Dongtan new town will be able to provide opportunities to improve the quality of life in the area and develop the land more efficiently.


Literature on information integration across databases tacitly assumes that the data in each database can be revealed to the other databases. However, there is an increasing need for sharing information across autonomous entities in such a way that no information apart from the answer to the query is revealed. We formalize the notion of minimal information sharing across private databases, and develop protocols for intersection, equijoin, intersection size, and equijoin size. We also show how new applications can be built using the proposed protocols.


Local place names in the landscape represent an important part of the spiritual component of the landscape memory and form an essential part of the intangible traditional folk culture on the local scale. This paper presents the research results regarding the level of knowledge of the landscape place names in the Hana region (Czech Republic) in children belonging to the age group of primary school pupils. It was revealed by the method of questionnaire survey that the majority of pupils in rural schools in Hana do not currently know the specific local names in the landscape. In the investigated sample of respondents, we found a statistically significant correlation between the knowledge of local names and active use of the Hana dialect. At present, a large share in maintaining the knowledge of landscape local names can be attributed to local and regional social activities aimed at conservation of the traditions of folk culture and at maintaining the relationship of the young generation to the landscape.


With effect from 8 October 2004, it will be possible to establish a European company, a so-called SE, under the SE Regulation, no. 2157/2001 of 8 October 2001 on the statute for a European Company (SE), and directive 2001/86 adopted on the same date and complementing the statute on the involvement of employees.
If one were to express in one sentence the need for a common European company, the SE, it would be this: there is a need for a type of company which (A) is as uniform as possible from one member state to the next in order to allow businesses to enter known territory when using a foreign company of this type, and which (B) has the unique feature that the company can change nationality, i.e. it is able to move to another member state without the need to dissolve in the state from which it is moving and to re-establish ab initio in the state to which it is moving.
This article discusses the most important features of the regulation and the directive which companies and their advisers now have about two years to study.


Introduction: The lack of direct Ras inhibitors, has led to the development of inhibitors of downstream components of the Ras pathway albeit with mixed success. Unexpected mechanistic complexity, feedback loops and tumor specific synthetically lethal requirements continue to be major obstacles. In the past we investigated the mechanisms of the Ras membrane signaling system on the nanoscale (nanoclustering). Ras nanoclustering on the plasma membrane is critical for its signaling activity and we and others recently showed how it is exploited in a number of physiological and pathophysiological conditions, including cancer. Importantly, Ras isoform specificity seems to emerge at the level of laterally segregated nanocluster. This is supported by isoform specific nanocluster scaffolds, such as galectin-1 (Gal-1), which specifically augments GTP-H-ras nanocluster. Methods: The effect of compounds and siRNAs targeting the TOR pathway and associated proteins on H- vs. K-ras4B (hereafter K-ras)-nanoclustering was evaluated using FRET-measurements in BHK and HEK cells, or point pattern analysis of electron micrographs from BHK cell plasma membrane sheets. Ras specific effects of treatments were furthermore assessed in PC12 differentiation assays, driven by oncogenic H- or K-ras. Changes in downstream signaling were evaluated using Western Blotting of treated BHK and HEK cells. The effect of treatments (compounds or siRNAs) on mammosphere formation was assessed in MDA-MB-231 cells. Results: Here we describe a new feedback mechanism from the TOR-pathway specifically to H-ras, but not K-ras. Inhibition of FKBP12 inhibitors cycloheximide (CHX), Rapamycin (Rapa) and FK506, as well as knockdown of FKBP12 specifically increased H-ras nanoclustering. While all compounds could also specifically increase differentiation of H- but not K-rasG12V transfected PC12 cells, their effect on cellular signaling pathways differed in BHK cells. Both, CHX and Rapa increased Erk phosphorylation, but only Rapa blocked S6K and S6 phosphorylation, while CHX did the opposite. Surprisingly, siRNA-mediated ablation of FKBP12 upregulated Gal-1 protein levels, suggesting that the observed increase in H-ras nanoclustering is due to this response. This was however not observed for FKBP12 inhibitors. On the other hand overexpression of Gal-1 also increased FKBP12 levels. Intriguingly, only FKBP12 ablation (with concomitant Gal-1 upregulation) was sufficient to increase the mammosphere forming ability, but not Gal-1 overexpression alone. This effect could be mimicked by FKBP12 inhibition with CHX or Rapa, but not FK506. Conclusions: Our data indicate a H-ras specific feedback from inhibition of the TOR pathway, which can lead to increased mammosphere formation. These data suggest a tumor promoting effect by TOR pathway inhibitors via H-ras probably in a specific cellular and genetic context. Citation Format: Itziar M. D. Posada, Benoit Lectez, Christina Oetken-Lindholm, Daniel Abankwa. A new H-ras specific feedback loop from the TOR-pathway impacts on tumorigenicity. [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 1877.


The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of material heterogeneity on damage evolution and subsequent crack propagation in bimaterial systems. Strain gradient theory analysis reveals that a higher stress triaxiality always occurs on the softer material side due to the material mismatch in yield capacity and the corresponding strain gradient along the interface. High stress triaxiality is a major condition which promotes ductile damage and facilitates crack growth. To investigate this link, numerical simulations of ductile interface crack growth are performed using a damage based constitutive model. Both the numerical and experimental results show that a crack may grow along the interface or deviate into the softer material, but never turn into the harder material. The theoretical and numerical analysis reveal three factors which strongly affect the direction of crack growth and the resistance capacity of the bimaterial system against fracture. These are the boundary conditions which determine the global kinematically admissible displacement field, the stress/strain gradient near the interface due to the material mismatch, and the distance from the crack tip to the interface.


Goal. Determining the essence of the index of economic complexity and the feasibility of its use as a tool for assessing the level of development and economic potential of the country. Method. A systematic approach, a deductive method, comparison, grouping, generalization were applied in order to solve these tasks. Results. In this paper, the essence of the economic complexity index and the expediency of its use as evaluation tool of the development level and economic potential of the country are investigated. It is determined that it is the most complex and accurate indicator, that characterize the level of manufacturability and diversification of a particular national economy. It is found out that the index can be considered not only as a descriptive indicator, but also as a tool for predicting the growth of the country's economy. The ability of the index to predict changes in gross national income per capita more accurately than traditional management tools, such as the human development index or the global competitiveness index, is estimated. The nature and stability level of the correlation between the level of gross national income per capita and the value of economic complexity index are characterized. It has been found that the index also provides a statistically more accurate explanation of interstate variations in income inequality than the Kuznets curve. In particular, a negative correlation with the Gini coefficient was analyzed, which allowed to suggest that the distribution of income in complex economies is more uniform than in simple ones. Practical importance. The relationship between the effectiveness of the education system in the country and its economic complexity is considered. It has been established that one of the most important priorities for any country is the creation of high-quality and available education as a process of transferring accumulated knowledge and skills. It is determined that the main factors of a successful economy are a developed manufacturing sector, a network of technological knowledge between universities and enterprises, as well as a high quality of human capital


Dysmenorrhea is defined as cramping pain in the lower abdomen occurring just before or during menstruation. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the mainstay of treatment, with the addition of oral contraceptive pills when necessary. With the widespread availability of over-the-counter NSAIDs, it is often assumed that women are treating themselves adequately. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Therefore we evaluated the use of drugs for treating primary dysmenorrhea in Mexican students. A multiple-choice questionnaire was administered to 285 psychology students (20.6 +/- 2.4 yrs; range, 17-33 yrs), to assess the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and medications employed. The reported prevalence of dysmenorrhea among these women was 67%. Dysmenorrhea was mild in 34% moderate in 43% and severe in 21%. Of the dysmenorrheic sample, only 33.5% consulted physician in 2.6 +/- 0.2 cycles per year for their problem and the most common prescriptions were an over-the-counter medication with paracetamol pamabrom and pyrilamine maleate (Syncol; 22.4%) naproxen (18.4%), metamizole plus butylhyoscine bromide (10.2%), ibuprofen (6.1%) and butylhyoscine bromide (6.1%). On the other hand, self-medication was practiced by 64.9% of the women with dysmenorrhea in 6.1 +/- 3.8 cycles per year and the most common drugs by self-medication were Syncol (35.5%), naproxen (16.9%), metamizole plus naproxen butylhyoscine bromide (13.7%), an over-the-counter medication with adiphenine and propyphenazon (Espasmo-cibalgina; 10.5%), paracetamol (5.6%) butylhyoscine alone (4%) and ibuprofen (4%). Our data suggest that dysmenorrheic women use numerous drugs by self-medication for pain but infrequently accessed formal medical care.


The stabilization of uncertain discrete-time linear systems with both saturating actuators and time-varying delays is addressed in this paper. Based on a novel Lyapunov function combined with LMI (Linear Matrix Inequality) techniques, sufficient conditions are developed to guarantee robust stabilization. A state feedback control law and the associated stability region are simultaneously determined via an LMI formulation. A numerical example illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Among recent rule of law scholarship, the work of legal philosopher Jeremy Waldron stands out by placing emphasis on the procedural element in the rule of law. The implications of a procedural view of the rule of law are not completely clear, however. The article discusses Waldron's main line of argument and the way his theory diverges from the standard typologies. It argues that there are two weaknesses in his argumentation and that these can be remedied to a large extent by linking the rule of law work more firmly to his account of dignity and to Lon Fuller's interactionism. I will then discuss his view of the rule of law in relation to international law and argue that he does not fully understand the importance of the interrelations of national and international law for conceptualizing the rule of law. Again, turning to another part of his work that does not concern the rule of law directly provides a source of argument, this time the idea of ius gentium, which can support a different reading of the rule of law as transnational. Thus, by reconstructing Waldron's argument I hope to show that a procedural conception of the rule of law is important in order to relate the rule of law to changing legal circumstances.


Impedance spectroscopy data show that polycrystalline ZnO films can show either increases or decreases in their effective resistances after UV exposure, depending on the frequency of the applied AC excitation. Simple equivalent circuit models, based on resistance (R) and capacitance (C) in parallel, are sufficient to confirm the observed experimental trends. Simulated data demonstrate that that arbitrary R and C values will not produce the sign change, but that typical resistance and capacitance characteristics for photoconductive semiconductors like ZnO can cause the sign change. These results suggest that it could be desirable to manipulate the R and C values of photodetector materials to either control – or eliminate – such frequency-dependent UV responses.


Diesel fuel was injected through a pintle nozzle into quiescent ambient air and the transient characteristics of the spray were examined as a function of injection pump speed. The laser-based techniques characterized the spray in terms of its transient structure, tip penetration, droplet axial mean and rms velocities and average droplet size. The results, when correlated with the fuel line pressure and nozzle exit conditions, revealed the presence of four regimes in the transient spray development: an early injection period representing the first stage of droplet formation, the main injection period associated with the formation and break up of a dense core and representing the second stage of droplet formation, a late injection period corresponding to the collapse of the dense core and a post injection period where, depending on the injection conditions, liquid ligaments and/or large droplets are present near the nozzle and may give rise to a third stage of droplet formation. The relevance of these regimes to diesel combustion is discussed.


For proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, proper water management is important to obtain maximum performance. In understanding the water process within the fuel cell, the exhaust back pressure was found to be a useful indicator of the water content within the cell. Measured back pressure at the exhaust is an indication of how much water content is in the membrane during the electrochemical reaction. From these experiments, the measured back pressure shows when the fuel cell suffered from flooding because of generated water. When humidified inlet gases are supplied to the fuel cell, maintaining back pressure at the exhaust is an indication that the produced water is removed properly by the supplying gas. For the cases of dry operation, the average back pressure at the anode side continued to increase due to the back diffusion. This back diffusion was a result of the water concentration gradient between the anode and the cathode.


Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) ripening involves a number of physiological processes that include the visible breakdown of chlorophyll and build-up of carotenoids, with massive accumulation of antioxidant compounds such as lycopene and β-carotene (provitamin A) within the chromoplasts. Although the catalytic steps of the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway have been well-characterised, the regulatory mechanisms that control carotenoid accumulation remain poorly understood.
In this study, I used expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the genetic basis of regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis in tomato fruit using the S. lycopersicum x S. pennellii introgression population. In total, 31 cis-eQTLs related to 18 carotenoid biosynthetic genes were identified, and the isoforms of some structural genes functional during fruit ripening were identified in this analysis. Six trans-eQTL hotspots were identified for lycopene biosynthesis. Co-expression analysis of one of the trans-eQTL candidates, residing in IL2-1, revealed that a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, SlHONG likely acts as a positive regulator of lycopene accumulation in fruit, by activating the expression of the structural genes involved in lycopene biosynthesis. SlRIN, a master regulator of fruit ripening, binds directly to two adjacent CArG motifs in the promoter of SlHONG, to control the expression of SlHONG in an ethylene-independent manner. Genome-scale phylogenetic analysis of bHLH proteins in Arabidopsis and tomato found SlHONG was the most similar protein to BEE2 in Arabidopsis, which is involved in brassinosteroid signalling by forming the BEE complex together with another three bHLH transcription factors. bHLH transcription factors potentially involved in the BEE complex with SlHONG in tomato, were identified by phylogenetic analysis and interactions between the candidate proteins were detected. SlHONG was identified as a regulator of lycopene biosynthesis in tomato fruit, and may be under the control of multi-layered regulatory mechanisms.


Neighborhood characteristics are important considerations when offenders make targeting decisions. Movement patterns among adults and juveniles vary widely, which impacts both the number of crime opportunities and the range of neighborhoods to which an offender is exposed. We test whether offending patterns among adult and juvenile burglars vary based on distances traveled, the types of neighborhoods targeted, and whether suspects acted alone or in a group. Using discrete choice modeling, we draw upon a unique sample of cleared burglaries in a representative city in the south over a 13-year period. Results show that adult burglars consistently travel further and are more sensitive to neighborhood conditions than their juvenile counterparts, but that group participation makes little difference in target decisions.


Background: Dynamic property of the neurons in the ventral horn cells of the spinal cord in the rabbit were partly treated utilizing the activity of cytochrome oxidase, a mitochondrial enzyme which is responsible for electron transport in oxidative phosphorylation needed for vital processes. Objective: It has been known recently that the vital role of this enzyme was clearly evident in the apoptosis. This study high lightens a point on a part of the metabolic map of the anterior horn cells with the use of cytochrome oxidase activity as a tool. Methods: Healthy adult New Zealand rabbits in resting condition were used. After Laminectomy slices of cord tissue obtained from the lumbosacral region precisely its gray mater of the anterior horn, then they were treated with a histochemical method based on the oxidative polymerization of diaminobenzidine, then examined under electron microscopy. Result: Results revealed different intensity of final reaction products at both cellular and subcellular levels. Conclusion: This reflects that the oxidative metabolism was varied in this area of the CNS, the majority of this activity were due to effect of the higher centers. At subcellular level the initiation of retrograde cell reaction "apoptosis" correlates positively with intensity of the FRP. Key word: Cytochrome oxidase, Enzyme commission number, Central nervous system, Final reaction product


Chemotherapy has limited efficacy in the treatment of advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer (PC), and has serious side effects. The development of novel effective agents, especially targeted therapy, is essential for patients with PC. We present a 58-year-old Chinese woman initially diagnosed with locally advanced PC. As the disease progressed to Stage IV, the patient was unable to tolerate chemotherapy after the fourth-line treatment. She was then treated with apatinib, a novel and highly selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 and achieved a progression-free-survival of 7 mo. All drug-related side effects were well controlled with medication. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of PC which responded to apatinib. Considering this remarkable response, apatinib may be a promising agent in the treatment of PC. We also reviewed the literature on chemotherapy and targeted therapy, especially the anti-angiogenesis therapy for patients with PC, and investigated the effect of apatinib in other solid tumors as well.


The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has played a key role in reducing soil erosion, improving water quality and protecting wildlife habitat. Rising crop prices, partly induced by the expansion of biofuel production, is likely to increase the maintenance cost of the program. This study develops a dynamic, multi-market, mathematical program to estimate the cost of maintaining CRP enrollment at the 2007 level in Illinois over 2007-2020 under exogenously given ethanol prices. We conduct the analysis under three policy scenarios, including the existing CRP policy and two modified policies that provide subsidies to induce energy crop production on expiring CRP land. We also explore the mix of biofuels produced from corn and various cellulosic feedstocks over this period under these policies. Our results show that in the presence of biofuels, to maintain CRP enrollment at the 2007 level, government expenditure would increase by as much as $0.1-3.9 billion depending on ethanol prices over the 2007-2020 compared to a no-biofuel baseline. If the government allows farmers to grow perennial energy crops on retired CRP land and provides existing soil rental payments, it will lead to a 37.7% ($2.3 billion) reduction in the maintenance cost relative to the existing CRP policy. If the subsidy provided is similar to those under the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, the saving in the maintenance cost will be 34.4% ($2.1 billion) compared to the existing CRP policy.


A simplified optimization procedure is described for a novel fiber reinforced plastic bridge system. The bridge system is modeled using a transformed anisotropic plate that is discretized using the Ritz method. This provides a structural model that is incorporated into a stiffness-based optimization algorithm using the optimality criteria method. The resulting procedure provides a useful design tool that can be used to produce a minimum weight design without resorting to finite-element analysis, which is only used to check the strength of the final design. A two-lane highway bridge serves as a demonstration problem.


Text chance discovery is the process of extracting author's potential hidden issue from a large number of texts. For the main question keyword (i.e. Chance) extracting , we propose a framework of text chance discovery system based on immune and multi-agent in this paper. By immunization and agent self-learning, this system reduces the person's subjective consciousness impact on the results, and enhances the process of decision-making. It can more accurate and more effectively to achieve recognition and automatic keyword extraction.


Hip resurfacing arthroplasty has become an attractive treatment option for young, active patients with femoral head necrosis. However, little information is available about the potential thermal damage to the remaining femoral head when a cemented component is used. We used an experimental model to measure the temperature profile at the cement–bone interface during hip resurfacing. We compared four simulated lesion sizes—15, 25, 33, and 50%—of the femoral head, and a control group with no cystic lesion. Temperatures were measured with the specimens in a 37°C saline bath or with copious pulsed lavage. With specimens tested in the bath, peak temperatures were higher, and durations of temperatures above 50°C were longer, in femoral heads with necrotic lesions (88.8 ± 7.5°C; 17.6 ± 1.1 min for a 15% lesion; 96.2 ± 7.2°C; 22.86 ± 1.3 min for a 25% lesion; 99.7 © 200 ± 9.4°C; 28.6 ± 2.0 min for a 33% lesion; and 97.2 ± 4.2°C; 35.6 ± 2.4 min for a 50% lesion) than those in the control group (65.8 ± 4.9°C; 10.0 ± 1.3 min). The larger the cement‐filled cysts, the longer the temperatures remained above 50°C. Although copious lavage reduced the temperature profile in each group, the temperatures remained above 50°C for 7 to 17 min in specimens with necrotic cysts. The measured temperatures during surface replacement are sufficiently high in magnitude and long in duration to cause thermal damage to the remaining bone in femoral heads with preexisting necrotic lesions. Hip resurfacing for femoral head necrosis should be performed with caution. © 2008 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 26:1206–1209, 2008


We have isolated a novel gene, DIR1, from L132 cells that is transiently repressed after exposure to low radiation doses and has a potential role in induced radioresistance. Molecular and cellular characterization of this gene reveals that it is unique but has similarities to a family of heat-shock-related proteins known as immunophilins. These have been implicated in various cellular functions including general stress responses and control of the cell cycle. Antisense strategies have demonstrated that the DIR1 gene also appears to have some involvement in the control of the cell cycle. Furthermore, there appears be a potential role for this gene product in the phenomenon of induced radioresistance through a mechanism that increases the rate of DNA repair in cells exposed to X rays and subsequently increases the cells' resistance to radiation. This is the first description of an immunophilin-like gene that has a possible role in adaptive/inducible responses to X rays in mammalian cells.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. CRC incidence and mortality rates are higher among blacks than among whites, and screening rates are lower in blacks than in whites. For the current study, the authors tested 3 interventions that were intended to increase the rate of CRC screening among African Americans.


Title of theses : Evaluation of some herbicides in green gram (Vigna radiata L.) and their residual effect on succeeding mustard crop Full Name of the Degree Holder : RAJNI PUNIA Admission Number : 2012A13M Title of the Degree : Master of Science Name of Discipline : Agronomy Name and Address of Major Advisor : Dr. S.K. Thakral, Assoc. Professor (Agronomy) Degree Awarding University : CCS HAU, Hisar Year of Award of Degree : 2014 Major Subject : Agronomy Total Number of Pages in Thesis : 53 + viii + II Number of Words in Abstract : 265 Keyword: Imazethapyr, imazamox, pendimethalin, crop injury, residual effect, green gram and mustard Evaluation of some herbicides in green gram and their residual effect on succeeding mustard crop was studied at Research farm of Department of Agronomy, CCSHAU, Hisar during kharif 2013 and Rabi 2013-14. Weed flora of the experimental field was dominated by Echinocloa colona (78%), Cyperus rotundus (18%) and other weeds (4%) at 30 DAS. PRE application of imazethapyr + pendimethalin (RM) at 1000 g ha provided good control (80%) of Echinocloa colona up to 30 DAS. At 60 DAS, imazethapyr + imazamox (RM) at 80 g ha applied at 3-4 leaf stage provided maximum control of weeds which was at par with two hoeings employed at 20 & 40 DAS. Post-emergence use of imazethapyr + imazamox (RM) at 60-80 g ha exhibited 70-80 % control of weeds with slight crop suppression which mitigated within 10-15 days after spray resulting maximum crop growth and seed yield. Early post- emergence application of imazethapyr at 50, 60 and 70 g ha although caused mild injury to green gram in terms of yellowing of leaves and stunted crop growth up to 30, but it diminished within two weeks. Maximum seed yield (1078 kg ha) of green gram was obtained with two hoeings at 20 & 40 DAS followed by imazethapyr + imazamox (RM) at 80 g ha and imazethapyr at 70 g haapplied at 3-4 leaf stage. All herbicides, irrespective of their dose and time of application, did not cause any injury to mustard planted as succeeding crop after harvest of green gram due to enhanced microbial degradation of herbicides due to high rainfall (477 mm) during crop growing season. MAJOR ADVISOR SIGNATURE OF THE STUDENT HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT


Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is emerging as a potential treatment for a host of neuropsychiatric disorders. Data appear to indicate that tDCS applied over frontal or prefrontal brain regions may reduce symptoms of major depression, yet results have been mixed. Early studies showed promise, but recent work failed to replicate earlier results. The decision whether to use tDCS is further affected by the complex regulatory environment; no tDCS devices are cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for clinical use. Older systems have grandfathered regulatory approval for treating mood, anxiety, and insomnia, although they have not demonstrated efficacy in rigorous trials. Furthermore, as the field of noninvasive brain stimulation advances, various side effects and contraindications are increasingly recognized. Over the last few years, research and consumer use of tDCS have outpaced education, thus providing little guidance for clinicians and trainees about how to understand tDCS. Therefore, this focused review includes those items psychiatric clinicians and trainees most need to understand tDCS, including basic electrical and neurophysiological principles, a brief review of efficacy data in major depressive disorder, and suggested guidelines about how to manage patients using tDCS.


BACKGROUND
Alendronate sodium is an aminobisphosphonate indicated for the treatment of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women and has been associated with esophagitis in many reports. Esophageal stenosis, gastrointestinal symptoms as dyspepsia, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain could be present.

OBJECTIVE
Report a case of a patient who underwent total gastrectomy with Y-en-Roux anastomosis for a gastric carcinoid tumor and developed an esophagus-enteric anastomosis ulceration after the use of alendronate.

PATIENT AND METHOD
A 63-year-old woman started medical therapy with alendronate in a dose of 10 mg daily. After a period of one month of medical treatment with this drug she began to complain of dysphagic symptoms and abdominal pain. She was submitted to endoscopic examination that showed an esophageal ulceration, an enteric ulceration of the anastomosis and an esophageal stenosis.

RESULTS
Medical treatment with alendronate was discontinued and the symptom of abdominal pain disappeared. The intensity of dysphagia has decreased. The ulcerated lesion remitted although esophageal stenosis did not. The patient was subsequently treated with esophagus-enteric anastomosis dilation. She improved in her general state and nowadays she is free of symptoms.

CONCLUSION
Alendronate sodium could cause lesions of the inferior esophageal portion or in distal segments of the gastrointestinal tube, in patients with a fast gastrointestinal transit. Special attention must be given to gastrectomized patients that use this drug because of the possibility to develop mucosal lesions in the enteric anastomosed part and its fearful complications as stenosis.


We have reported on two cases of pretibial myxedema. In one patient, the pretibial myxedema developed symmetrically half a year after the appearance of endocrine exophthalmos. Recently, acropachy developed as well. In the second case, the pretibial myxedema arose unilaterally in an old cicatricial area, six years after the onset of endocrine exophthalmos. In this syndrome, the development of the whole group of symptoms, dermopathy, ophthalmopathy, and osteopathy at the same time is very rare. The clinical picture is seen in thyroid disorders, as a rule occuring in hyperthyroidism, rarely in hypothyroid or euthyroid states. Apparently, the development of the symptoms does not depend on thyroid hormone production. One of our patients showed conspicuous hyperthyroidism, the other, thyroxin deficiency. The thyreohypophyseal feedback mechanism in this syndrome was examined for the first time by means of TRH stimulation tests. In both patients, thyroid auto-antibodies indicative of autoimmune thyroiditis were demonstrated. A high activity of long acting thyroid stimulator was measured in the one patient's serum.


The solitary endoparasitoid Aenasius vexans Kerrich (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is used for augmentative releases against the cassava mealybug, Phenacoccus herreni Cox & Williams (Sternorrhyncha: Pseudococcidae), an important pest on cassava in South America. In light of the need for large numbers of high quality females, experiments were conducted on host stage suitability and sex allocation. In choice and no‐choice experiments, individual female wasps were offered second and third instar, as well as adult, hosts. During the first five days after emergence, the wasps showed a steady increase in the number of hosts they successfully parasitised per day, but the respective secondary sex ratio for each instar remained constant. Parasitism was highest for third instar hosts in no‐choice tests, while in choice tests parasitism was highest in both third instars and adults. The later the developmental stage of the host at oviposition, the faster the parasitoids developed and emerged, and for each host stage, the development time of males was shorter than for females. The sex ratio of the wasps emerging from hosts that were parasitised as second instars was strongly male‐biased, while the apparently preferred later stages yielded significantly more females than males. Female and male A. vexans emerging from hosts parasitised at the third instar were significantly larger than for the other stages. This may explain the preference for the third instar as well as the female‐biased sex ratio, as size is usually positively correlated with higher fitness, especially in females. The results suggest that third instar hosts are the most suitable for rearing high numbers of large females.


Inclusion of evaluation methods in decision support systems gives way to extensive sensitivity analysis. In this article new methods for sensitivity analysis are developed and applied to the siting of nuclear power plants in the Netherlands.


This study aimed to determine the different marketing practices em-ployed among sari-sari store owners in Dapitan City during the Calendar Year 2020. It used a descriptive research method utilizing a questionnaire as the principal tool for gathering data. The data were statistically treated using frequency counting, percent, weighted mean, standard de-viation, and Mann-Whitney Test. The study's findings revealed that sari-sari store owners in Dapitan City had the same marketing practices focusing on process and people. Customers of the sari-sari stores had the same observation on the marketing practices of sari-sari store owners in Dapitan City, which focus on people and place. It was found that sari-sari store owners and customers had different perspectives or views on marketing practices. It was recommended that sari-sari store owners and potential sari-sari store owners attend training and seminars aiming to improve their marketing practices in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Local Government Unit of Dapitan. Further, customers are encouraged to give their feedback on the marketing practices of the sari-sari store owners, and researchers are encouraged to conduct a separate study on this matter.


Non-causal associations between periodontitis and systemic diseases may be spuriously induced by smoking because of its strong relationship to both. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether adjustment for self-reported smoking removes tobacco-related confounding and eliminated such spurious confounding. Using NHANES III data, we evaluated associations between attachment loss and serum cotinine after adjustment by self-reported number of cigarettes smoked. Cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, should not be related to attachment loss, if self-reported smoking captures the effect of tobacco on attachment levels. Adjustment for self-reported cigarette smoking did not completely remove the correlation between attachment loss and serum-cotinine level (r = 0.075, n= 1507, p = 0.003). Simulation studies indicated similar results for time-to-event data. These findings demonstrate the difficulty in distinguishing the effects of periodontitis from those of smoking with respect to a smoking-related outcome. Future studies should report results of analyses on separate subcohorts of never-smokers and smokers.


Circadian periodicity of plasma 17-hydroxycorticosteroids (17-OHCS) was studied in ten patients with advanced breast cancer and ten healthy volunteers. A marked rhythm in plasma 17-OHCS concentration was noticed in normal controls; the maximum concentration occurred at 0800 hr followed by a consistent decline throughout the daytime, reaching a minimum at 0000 hr. The circadian rhythm of plasma 17-OHCS was found to be deranged in six of the patients with breast cancer, but a normal rhythmic pattern was seen in the remaining four patients, although the values remained elevated at all time points of the 24-hr cycle in the patients with breast cancer compared to the healthy volunteers. The normal and altered plasma 17-OHCS rhythms in the patients presumably could be due to individual susceptibility and response to the pathophysiological stress of cancer.


This paper describes control applications in automobiles. Many aspects of automotive applications of advanced control methods, which include suspension systems, stability control systems, engines, hybrid vehicle control systems, electric vehicle controls systems, advanced driver assistance systems and automated driving control systems, are reviewed. The control methods used in each area are briefly reviewed to help readers understand the applicability and effectiveness of these methods. In addition, some new trends in the research of automotive applications are described.


This paper shows that higher macroeconomic uncertainty causes higher oil price volatility. Regimes of low and high uncertainty are identified in a threshold VAR model in which the effects of structural oil demand and supply shocks are estimated. The results show that higher macroeconomic uncertainty, as measured by global industrial production volatility, significantly increases the sensitivity of oil prices to shocks in oil demand and supply. This occurs as uncertainty lowers the price elasticity of oil demand and supply. The difference in the estimated oil price elasticities is economically meaningful as the price impact of a similar change in oil production might double when it hits the economy in uncertain times. As such, varying uncertainty can explain why oil price volatility is typically higher during periods such as financial crises and recessions, and why oil price volatility changes over time more generally.


Benzene is known to be highly toxic to a variety of cell types, including lymphocytes. A previous study showed that T-lymphocyte immune function disorder might be related to benzene exposure. To elucidate characteristics of TCR signal transduction in benzene-exposed workers, expression levels of CD3γ, CD3δ, CD3ϵ, and CD3ζ genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were analyzed. Real-time RT-PCR using SYBR Green I was used to detect CD3 gene expression levels in PBMC from 20 benzene-exposed workers, seven workers with chronic mild benzene poisoning, five workers with chronic severe benzene poisoning and 14 healthy individuals (controls). The relative mRNA expression level was analyzed by the 2−Δct × 100% method. In benzene-exposed worker cells, significantly higher CD3δ, CD3ϵ, and CD3ζ, expression levels were observed as compared with values for cells from the healthy controls. In the workers with chronic severe benzene poisoning, lymphocyte CD3γ, CD3ϵ, and CD3ζ gene expression levels were significantly lower than in control cells. Lymphocytes from chronic mildly benzene- poisoned workers evinced two different gene expression patterns, i.e., CD3γ and CD3ϵ levels were similar to those in the benzene-exposed worker cells, but CD3δ and CD3ζ expression levels were significantly lower relative to those in cells from chronic severely-benzene-poisoned counterparts. It remained to be determined if these reductions in expression of these genes presage or are indicative of deficiencies in the activities of T-lymphocytes in these workers. For now, it is hoped that this study may contribute to a better understanding of the disorders in cellular immunity frequently found with benzene-exposed workers.


Key-words: Small mammals - Lower Burdigalian - Lisbon.

Improved bromofonn concentration as developped at CEPUNL allowed better recovery of small marnmals'teeth, many of which were previously overlooked.
At Universidade Catolica and Avenida do Uruguay 19 taxa (and a further one with doubt) were recognized. Sorne are new for the level and for Tagus basin: Lagopsis cadeotiand Melissiodon dominans (1 st reference for the genus); Glirudinus modestus (formerly under another name); Armantomys (1 st reference for this level); Peridyromys murinus (referred before under another name); Microdyromys legidensis (1 st ref. of gen. and sp. for this level); and Heteroxerus rubricati, fonnerly reported to other species of the same genus. Both localities share the same position viz marine levels under and
above.
This aIlows us to correlate them with N5 or N6 Blow's zones. Both are distinctly younger than glauconite in underlying beds about 21 MY old (K-Ar). Small marnmals point out to MN3a Neogene subunit. Fauna is much aIike Lower BurdigaIian ones in Spain, France, Germany and Austria.
Terrestrial, maybe steppe fonns predorninate. Land environment was open, with scant plant coyer but not devoid of trees. Peridyromys murinus numerical importance and other data suggest a not so warm climate in correspondance to a minimum temperature event. This is corroborated by associated marine fish fauna entirely without warm water stenothenn species, and by paleobotanical/palynological data.
Results are in close agreement with Central Northem Spain. The localities studied here are even more interesting as direct correlations between marine and continental stratigraphical scales are possible.


Patients are selected for group therapy primarily on the basis of therapists' clinical judgements. Although a number of clinicians have attempted to specify what these judgements might be, a brief survey of these accounts shows little agreement apart from the proposal that appropriate patients should have interpersonal difficulties. Most clinicians appear to select patients on the basis of whether they are suitable for the type of therapy on offer (e.g. dynamic psychotherapy or behaviour therapy), rather than the format of the therapy (e.g. individual or group). Recent attempts to use self-report questionnaires also confound therapy type and therapy format. However, it is argued that a combination of clinical judgement, self-report questionnaire, and observation of patients in preparatory groups may overcome the problem of premature termination--a problem that has negative effects both for the patient who drops out and for the patients who remain.


When a chemical reaction forms two molecular products, even if the state-resolved differential cross section (DCS) for each product is obtained individually, the coincident attributes of the coproducts are still lacking. We exploit a method that provides coincidence information by measuring the state-resolved, pair-correlated DCS. Exemplified by the reaction F + CD4 → DF + CD3, a time-sliced ion velocity imaging technique was used to measure the velocity distribution of a state-selected CD3 product and to reveal the information of the coincident DF in a state-correlated manner. The correlation of different product state pairs shows a striking difference, which opens up a new way to unravel the complexity of a polyatomic reaction.


The transition of the networks to support forthcoming beyond 5G (B5G) and 6G services introduces a number of important architectural challenges that force an evolution of existing operational frameworks. Current networks have introduced technical paradigms such as network virtualization, programmability and slicing, being a trend known as network softwarization. Forthcoming B5G and 6G services imposing stringent requirements will motivate a new radical change, augmenting those paradigms with the idea of smartness, pursuing an overall optimization on the usage of network and compute resources in a zero-trust environment. This paper presents a modular architecture under the concept of Convergent and UBiquitous Intelligent Connectivity (CUBIC), conceived to facilitate the aforementioned transition. CUBIC intends to investigate and innovate on the usage, combination and development of novel technologies to accompany the migration of existing networks towards Convergent and Ubiquitous Intelligent Connectivity (CUBIC) solutions, leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) mechanisms and Machine Learning (ML) tools in a totally secure environment.


ABSTRACT The failure of insulin to stimulate muscle glucose uptake and suppress hepatic glucose production represents two of the fundamental pathophysiologic lesions in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Defining insulin action at the molecular level, therefore, provides the critical background against which to elucidate the mechanisms of insulin resistance that underlie type 2 DM, obesity and many other disorders. Over the past two decades substantial progress has been made in identifying many of the molecular mechanisms involved in insulin signaling. Much of this progress has been due to the use of homologous recombinant gene targeting. The present review examines the various insights that have been provided by studies of knockout mice strains. Taken together, the results present the possibility of a unifying hypothesis for type 2 DM, in which insulin resistance in the ß-cell synergizes with insulin resistance in the periphery to produce the two classic defects of this disease: relative hypoinsulinemia and peripheral insulin resistance.


The aim of this article is to show with the example of contemporary Poland the ideological function of anti-communism. It explains how "communism" has been constructed and utilized mainly in order to legitimize the political/economic power in the decades of Transition after 1989. The question is not only why anti-communism has been relatively successful in functioning as the hegemonic ideology, but also what its limits are. This article examines the roots of anti-communism with an attempt to find its universal and particular features. The Polish example is helpful to distinguish major, contradictory, ideological explanations operating within its framework: apologetic and contesting.


The field of engineering education has adapted different theoretical frameworks from a wide range of disciplines to explore issues of education, diversity, and inclusion among others. The number of theoretical frameworks that explore these issues using a critical perspective has been increasing in the past few years. In this review of the literature, we present an analysis that draws from Freire's principles of critical andragogy and pedagogy. Using a set of inclusion criteria, we selected 33 research articles that used critical theoretical frameworks as part of our systematic review of the literature. We argue that critical theoretical frameworks are necessary to develop anti-deficit approaches to engineering education research. We show how engineering education research could frame questions and guide research designs using critical theoretical frameworks for the purpose of liberation.


A study was conducted to determine the activity of the 3-methylindole (3MI)-forming enzyme in Lactobacillus sp. strain 11201. Cells were incubated anaerobically with 17 different indolic and aromatic compounds. Indoleacetic acid (IAA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, 5-methoxy-3-indoleacetic acid, indole-3-pyruvate, or indole-3-propionic acid induced 3MI-forming activity. The highest total enzyme activity induced by IAA was observed in cells incubated with an initial concentration of 1.14 mM IAA. Peak activity of the 3MI-forming enzyme occurred 4 h after bacteria were incubated with either 0.114 or 1.14 mM IAA. Enzyme activity peaked earlier (2 h) and disappeared more rapidly at 5.7 mM IAA than at other concentrations of IAA. The effects of IAA and 3MI on the growth of Lactobacillus sp. strain 11201 and formation of 3MI from IAA also were determined. Bacterial growth and 3MI formation from IAA were reduced in medium containing exogenous 3MI. The growth depression observed in medium containing 5.7 mM IAA appears to be due to the toxicity of 3MI rather than IAA. The formation of 3MI in this ruminal Lactobacillus sp. is mediated by an inducible enzyme, and as 3MI accumulates, bacterial growth and rates of 3MI formation from IAA are reduced.


BACKGROUND
Intrapartum factors may have a role in the development of asthma and allergic diseases among offspring.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between umbilical arterial pH values at birth and asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic eczema in children.

METHODS
We performed a case-control study of 222 asthmatic children and 183 control children aged 5 to 6 years with umbilical artery pH values recorded at birth. Associations were evaluated using logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS
Asthmatic children had significantly lower umbilical artery pH values at birth than nonasthmatics, even after adjusting. Children who were born with pH values of 7.20-7.25 had a 2.62-fold (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31-5.23) higher risk of asthma and children who were born with umbilical arterial pH values < or = 7.19 had a 3.22-fold (95% CI, 1.51-6.87) higher risk of asthma than children who were born with umbilical arterial pH values of 7.26-7.30. In contrast, children who were born with umbilical arterial pH values > or = 7.30 had a 0.41-fold lower risk of atopic eczema than children who were born with umbilical arterial pH values of 7.26-7.30. No such association was detected between umbilical artery pH values and allergic rhinitis.

CONCLUSIONS
Stressful events at birth may play an important role in the development of asthma during early childhood. In contrast, higher umbilical arterial pH values were associated with a decreased risk of parent-reported atopic eczema at 5-6 years.


Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programmes were first described in colorectal surgery in the 1990s and since then the core principles have been utilised in many major surgical groups with adaptations being tailored to the specific surgery. The overall aim is to reduce length of stay and complications whilst improving patient satisfaction and long-term outcomes. Liver surgery is high risk and there are important considerations that need to be appreciated to guide the perioperative care of these patients. ERAS for liver surgery has been shown to be safe and efficacious when compared to traditional management and ongoing research is now focusing on improving outcomes further through optimal analgesia, nutrition and perioperative care.


A complete risk analysis related to a complex of dams may involve the assessment of a large number of different scenarios of failures and dysfunctions. However, a high computation time would be needed to perform a two-dimensional analysis of the flows generated by all possible scenarios. For this reason, the present paper expounds two complementary flow models, developed to be exploited within a rational methodology for analysing the flows induced by various incidents on a complex of dams and reservoirs. The first model is the two-dimensional flow solver WOLF 2D, while the second one is a simplified lumped model, requiring very low computation time. An original analytical study is presented to demonstrate the conditions of applicability of the lumped model. This study leads to the practical conclusion that the evaluation of two non-dimensional parameters enables to assess a priori the validity of the simplified approach for any specific application. The paper also describes the combined application of both models to a practical case study involving a complex of five dams. In a first step the lumped model has been validated by comparisons with the results provided by the two-dimensional model WOLF 2D. Secondly the simplified model has been successfully applied, at a very low CPU cost, to simulate flows induced by various dysfunctions and to conduct sensitivity analysis. In conclusion, based on both theoretical developments and numerical studies, the paper provides new advances of practical relevance for dam break risk analysis.


The IEEE 802.16 provides QoS support, but it does not specify the details of how the QoS can be achieved for different types of applications. Since the gradual deployment of new multimedia applications generate traffic that is more sensitive to delay thus it required proper scheduling of packets. The objective of this paper is to analysis WiMAX network with and without scheduling methods by varying nodes density from 2 to 10 nodes. To recapitulate, WiMAX 802.16d gives better results with scheduling method (round robin) which is almost same with time and the performance parameters are throughput, packet delivery ratio and end-to-end delay.


In this paper we present a new approach to deal with attributed graphs and attributed graph transformation. This approach is based on working with what we call symbolic graphs, which are graphs labelled with variables together with a formula that constrains the possible values that we may assign to these variables. In particular, in this paper we will compare in detail this new approach with the standard approach to attributed graph transformation.