Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a common and lethal type of brain cancer, with a very poor prognosis. Current therapy consisting of surgical resection, radiation and chemotherapy produces a median survival of only 12-15 months. Therefore, there is a need to develop new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of GBM.  This thesis investigates a new series of synthetic cancer vaccines, conjugating tumour-associated antigens (TAAs) to an isomer of ɑ-Galactosylceramide (ɑ-GalCer), a potent invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell agonist with documented adjuvant activity. Upon antigen encounter, activated iNKT cells are capable of licensing dendritic cells (DCs) through CD40:CD40L interactions and cytokine production. The licensed DCs subsequently stimulate potent CD8⁺ T cell responses, capable of killing cancerous tissue. Conjugation of ɑ-GalCer to the TAA-derived peptide was achieved via an enzymatically cleavable linker sensitive to cathepsin B activity. This strategy allows co-delivery of the active components, with the rationale that the same DC will be able to co-present both ɑ-GalCer for iNKT cell activation, and peptide to induce an enhanced CD8⁺ T cell responses.  The conjugate vaccines assessed in this thesis were able to induce iNKT cell activation and produce CD8⁺ T cell cytoxicity. However, this did not correlate with in vivo antitumour activity, as the vaccine that incorporated the TAA survivin, produced minimal cytotoxicity but potent anti-tumour responses against an implantable model of glioma.  Enhancing T cell-mediated immune responses has been validated by immune checkpoint inhibition for the treatment of cancer. However, many patients do not respond to the therapy. It is thought that this subset of patients may lack pre-existing T cell responses, which are required for the efficacy of checkpoint inhibition. Therefore, there is considerable interest in whether the use of vaccines that stimulate T cell activation can improve responses to checkpoint blockade and other immune modulating drugs. The survivin vaccine was combined with the immune checkpoint blockade inhibitors ɑ-PD-1, ɑ-CTLA-4 and ɑ-LAG-3, the co-stimulatory agent a-4-1BB, or administered with T regulatory cell (TREG) depletion, to reveal the immunogenicity of the vaccine.  This research revealed that combining the survivin vaccine with the immune checkpoint inhibitor ɑ-CTLA-4 improved overall survival of mice, compared to the vaccine alone. This finding suggests that this combined therapy may be a useful immunotherapeutic strategy for the treatment of GBM.


Adipocyte-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) may serve as novel endocrine mediators of adipose tissue and impact upon vascular health. However, it is unclear whether adipocyte-derived EVs are present in the human circulation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to seek evidence for the presence of adipocyte-derived EVs in circulating plasma. Size-exclusion chromatography of platelet-free plasma identified fractions 5 to 10 as containing EVs by a peak in particle concentration, which corresponded with the presence of EV and adipocyte proteins. Pooling fractions 5 to 10 and subjecting to ultracentrifugation yielded a plasma EV sample, as verified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showing EV structures and Western blotting for EV (e.g., CD9 and Alix) and adipocyte markers. Magnetic beads and a solid-phase assay were used to deplete the EV sample of the four major families of circulating EVs: platelet-derived, leukocyte-derived, endothelial-derived, and erythrocyte-derived EVs. Postdepletion samples from both techniques contained EV structures as visualized by TEM, as well as CD9, Alix, and classic adipocyte proteins. Postdepletion samples also contained a range of other adipocyte proteins from an adipokine array. Adipocyte proteins and adipokines are expressed in optimally processed plasma EV samples, suggesting that adipocyte-derived EVs are secreted into the human circulation.


The paper deals with the application of phenomenological, invariant-based strength conditions (fracture failure) and their interrelationships. The conditions have been generated and are just applied here for a variety of materials. These might possess a dense or a porous consistency, and belong to brittle and ductile behaving isotropic materials, brittle unidirectional laminae and brittle woven fabrics. The derivation of the conditions was based on the author's socalled Failure Mode Concept (FMC) which basically builds up on the hypotheses of Beltrami and Mohr-Coulomb. Essential topics of the paper are: 'global fitting' versus 'failure mode fitting', a short derivation of the FMC, the presentation of the FMC-based strength failure conditions for the material families mentioned above, and the visualization of a variety of conditions. Various links or interrelationships between the materials are outlined. Conclusions which may be drawn from the laborious investigations: 1. The application of Beltrami's assumption together with the consideration of material friction forms a common basis in the determination of strength conditions. 2. The FMC is an efficient concept because it very strictly utilizes a 'thinking in failure modes' as well as an application of material symmetryrelated invariants. It has proven to be a helpful tool in simply fitting the course of multi-axial strength test data, and it finally can capture several failure modes in one equation avoiding the shortcomings of the usual 'global fitting' strength conditions. 3. Different but similar behaving materials can be basically treated with the same strength 1 Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Ralf G. Cuntze, formerly MAN Technologie AG, Augsburg, Germany. D-85229 Markt Indersdorf, Tel. & Fax: 0049 8136 7754, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com condition. Keyword: Failure criteria, visualization, brittle and ductile isotropic materials, brittle UD and woven fabrics laminae, material behaviour links


The need to conserve the under-resourced languages is becoming more urgent as some of them are becoming extinct; natural language processing can be used to redress this. Currently, most initiatives around language processing technologies are focusing on western languages such as English and French, yet resources for such languages are already available. Sesotho language is one of the under-resourced Bantu languages; it is mostly spoken in Free State province of South Africa and in Lesotho. Like other parts of South Africa, Free State has experienced a high number of non-Sesotho speaking migrants from neighbouring provinces and countries. Such people are faced with serious language barrier problems especially in the informal settlements where everyone tends to speak only Sesotho. As a solution to this, we developed a parallel corpus that has English as a source and Sesotho as a target language and packaged it in UmobiTalk Ubiquitous mobile speech based learning translator. UmobiTalk is a mobile-based tool for learning Sesotho for English speakers. The development of this tool was based on the combination of automatic speech recognition, machine translation and speech synthesis. This application will be used as an analysis tool for testing accuracy and speed of the corpus. We present the development, testing and evaluation of UmobiTalk in this paper.


BACKGROUND
Cystic fibrosis blocks the airways with mucus and causes frequent respiratory infections. This leads to inflammation and lung disease, which frequently causes death from breathing failure. People with cystic fibrosis are sometimes given antibiotics regularly, in an attempt to prevent infections. However, antibiotics also have adverse effects, and longterm use might lead to the development of infections that can no longer be cleared by antibiotics. The review found some evidence from trials that preventive antibiotics for babies continued to two years may have some benefits. However, there is no evidence of the effects on adults or of longterm use.

OBJECTIVES
We aimed to compare continuous oral antibiotic prophylaxis with no prophylaxis (short courses of oral antibiotics given as clinically indicated) in patients with cystic fibrosis. This review considers both the effectiveness of prophylaxis (bacteria isolated from the respiratory tract, requirement for additional antibiotic treatment, lung function, survival) and the adverse effects.

SEARCH STRATEGY
The Cochrane Cystic Fibrosis and Genetic Disorders Group clinical trials register was used. This comprises references identified from a comprehensive search of electronic databases, as well as hand searching relevant journals and conference abstracts. Companies manufacturing anti-staphylococcal antibiotics were also approached for unpublished data. Date of the most recent search of the Group's specialised register: February 2001.

SELECTION CRITERIA
All randomised or pseudo-randomised trials where continuous oral prophylactic antibiotics, given for a period of at least one year, were compared to intermittent antibiotic therapy given "as required." Cystic fibrosis patients of any disease severity were considered.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Trials were assessed for eligibility, methodological quality and data extraction by the reviewers. The following outcomes were assessed: lung function; nutrition (weight standard deviation score); survival; requirement for additional antibiotic treatment; isolates of pathogens from the respiratory tract; occurrence of adverse reactions to prophylactic antibiotics.

MAIN RESULTS
Three studies, totaling 177 patients aged 0-7 years on enrollment, were suitable for inclusion in the review. A reduced prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in the respiratory secretions was seen in children receiving anti-staphylococcal antibiotic prophylaxis, although no effect was seen on other common pathogens. One eligible study showed a shorter duration of hospital admissions in the second year of life, in patients receiving prophylaxis. No effect on infant lung function has been shown after one year of prophylactic treatment. Data are not available on adverse effects of the interventions. There was a trend towards a lower cumulative isolation rate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the prophylaxis group, after three years. However, as the duration of the studies reviewed has been of three years or less, conclusions cannot be drawn about the long term effects of prophylaxis on acquisition of P. aeruginosa and survival.

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS
Anti-staphylococcal antibiotic prophylaxis may be of benefit when commenced early in infancy and continued up to three years of age. There is insufficient evidence from this review to say whether use in older children, or adults, or for periods of over three years is beneficial.


Background Genital herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) infection consists of shedding episodes that correlate with transmission and genital lesion formation. Episodes are heterogeneous in terms of viral production and duration. Methods Using quantitative PCR data from 14 685 daily genital swabs performed daily in 531 persons, we summarised 1020 episodes according to their frequency, duration, peak HSV DNA copy number, first and last swab copy number, expansion and decay slopes, and morphology. We designed competing dynamical stochastic mathematical models and attempted to fully reproduce result ranges for each of these episode features. The models assumed the possibility of concurrent, spatially distinct plaques of viral infection and immunologic response. Results Our spatial model reproduced all kinetic features of the empirical shedding data. The model and parameter set that achieved best fit highlights three distinct mechanisms of viral spread. First, HSV-2 is constantly dispersed from neurons to epidermal cells throughout the genital tract at a rate of ∼100 HSV DNA copies/day. Approximately 75 times each year, a neuron-derived viral particle infects an epidermal cell, initiating an infectious plaque of epidermal cells and a detectable shedding episode. Second, within each plaque, cell-to-cell spread of HSV-2 particles occurs extremely rapidly between epidermal cells. One cell can produce 105 cell-associated HSV genomic copies/day, with 3% of viral particles infecting a neighbouring cell each day. In large plaques, >105 cells may be infected within ∼12 h producing up to 109 HSV DNA copies/ml. Third, cell-free viruses, despite being 3000-times less infectious than cell-associated viruses, decay more slowly and initiate spatially distinct secondary plaques. We use video simulations to display that episodes longer than 3 days, consist of dozens of concurrent viral plaques. Despite rapid cell-to-cell spread of HSV-2, infected cells are eliminated by localised CD8+ T-cells within 24 h of plaque initiation. Moreover, the extent of secondary plaque formation prior to episode termination is determined by spatial CD8+ T-cell density surrounding the site of infection. Conclusions Genital HSV-2 utilises three kinetically distinct methods of spread to initiate and sustain prolonged shedding episodes. The extent and severity of secondary plaque formation is determined by spatial immune cell density.


During September 2011, post-emergence damping off of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla L.) was observed in a greenhouse in Villa del Prado (Spain). About 20% of the seedlings showed damping off symptoms. Lesions were initially water soaked, dark brown necrosis of crown tissue, irregular in shape and sunken in appearance on large plants, causing the infected seedlings to collapse and eventually die. Rhizoctonia solani was isolated consistently from symptomatic plants. After morphological and molecular identification of the isolates, pathogenicity was tested by placing agar plugs of four isolates adjacent to the stem at the three or four true leaf stage. In inoculated plants, brown crown and stem necrosis occurred while control plants did not show disease symptoms. Pathogenicity using non-germinated seeds was also tested. All four isolates produced extensive damping off when inoculated on non-germinated seeds. To our knowledge, this is the first report of damping off of Swiss chard caused by R. solani in Europe.


[1] We present results of a simulation of a substorm on 23 March 2007 using the one-way coupled Open Geospace General Circulation Model–Rice Convection Model (OpenGGCM/RCM). In the standalone RCM, inputs are typically taken from empirical models or inferred from satellite data; however, in this simulation, the OpenGGCM magnetic field and plasma information are used to supply inputs and boundary conditions for the RCM. The OpenGGCM ionospheric potential is used to drive a RCM run. That simulation is used to investigate the short time scale dynamics that occurred around substorm onset and assumes the OpenGGCM has a realistic representation of the inner magnetospheric magnetic field during this event. In these runs, a channel of low total entropy plasma opened up on the RCM tailward boundary around substorm onset, and plasma bubbles were injected into the inner magnetosphere. These bubbles were produced by nonadiabatic processes in the OpenGGCM such as magnetic reconnection. We compare the RCM energetic particle flux with measurements from two Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) satellites. A dispersionless electron injection is reproduced at the LANL-89 location and a dispersed flux increase at the LANL-97A location. The results indicate the low-PV5/3 plasma accompanying magnetic field dipolarization produced earthward plasma motion as the result of these low-entropy flux tubes interchanging their way into the inner magnetosphere; this process may play an important role in substorm particle injection. A comparison simulation in which the electric field is solved by the RCM is also presented, suggesting the need to use RCM's electric field for more accurate inner magnetosphere modeling.


Background : Anagrelide is a widely used therapeutic agent for patients with essential thrombocythemia. While other cytoreductive agents, such as hydroxyurea, influence multi-lineage blood cells, anagrelide exerts less effect on the white and red blood cell lineages. Although the clinical efficacy of anagrelide has been reported, the exact mechanism of action is unclear. Recently, immortalized megakaryocyte progenitor cell lines (imMKCLs) were established from human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells by the introduction of doxycycline-inducible lentiviral vectors harboring c-MYC, BMI1, and BCL-XL for the clinical application of artificially generated platelets. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanism of anagrelide on the inhibition of platelet production using imMKCLs as an ideal model for human megakaryogenesis and platelet formation.
 Materials and Methods : imMKCLs, established at Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University, Japan, were cultured in Iscove's modified Dulbecco's medium with thrombopoietin (TPO), stem cell factor (SCF), and doxycycline. The differentiation of imMKCLs and platelet generation were induced by doxycycline removal. The generation of mature platelets was observed approximately 7 days after the differentiation was initiated. Both undifferentiated and differentiated imMKCLs were treated with several different concentrations of anagrelide. The cell proliferation and number of generated platelets following anagrelide treatment were analyzed by BrdU cell proliferation assay and flow cytometry, respectively. To explore the molecular mechanism of anagrelide treatment in imMKCLs, we performed mRNA sequencing in imMKCLs treated with or without anagrelide followed by gene ontology (GO) analysis and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The expression of genes related to megakaryogenesis and platelet formation was also analyzed utilizing quantitative real-time PCR.
 Results : Anagrelide exposure caused morphologically suppressive changes in the differentiation of imMKCLs. Anagrelide treatment also suppressed the mRNA expression of the megakaryocytic surface markers CD41 and CD61 in both undifferentiated (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively) and differentiated (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively) settings. The BrdU incorporation rate in differentiated imMKCLs decreased significantly following anagrelide treatment (P < 0.001, anagrelide 0 vs. 1 or 10 µM). The resultant generation of mature platelets (double positive for CD41 and CD42b) was significantly decreased by exposure to anagrelide, as analyzed by flow cytometry (P < 0.001). Regarding the molecular mechanism of anagrelide treatment on imMKCLs, GO analysis following RNA sequencing demonstrated that gene sets related to platelet activation and degranulation were significantly downregulated in both undifferentiated and differentiated conditions. Moreover, GSEA revealed that gene sets related to the cell cycle, such as mitosis and DNA replication, were decreased as well as platelet-specific genes. The mRNA expression levels of genes related to megakaryogenesis and platelet-formation, such as FLI1, TAL1, GATA1, and PF4, were significantly downregulated, especially in differentiated imMKCLs, by anagrelide treatment (P < 0.001, P = 0.013, P < 0.01, and P < 0.01, respectively).
 Conclusions : We successfully reproduced the platelet-lowering effect of anagrelide by using imMKCLs from human iPS cells that could generate functional platelets in culture. Our RNA sequencing results revealed that anagrelide specifically suppressed megakaryogenesis and platelet formation-related genes. Additional studies including an apoptosis assay and cell cycle analysis of imMKCLs following anagrelide exposure are ongoing to elucidate further molecular mechanisms of anagrelide treatment.

 Takayama: Megakaryon co. Ltd.: Research Funding. Eto:Megakaryon co. Ltd.: Research Funding.


This paper presents a VR experiment investigating how people construct the cognitive map in mind, generate spatial memory and respond when exploring the urban environment. 76 participants were recruited to explore the virtual town of Xidi. By analyzing the traces of the participants and the data of subjective feedbacks, the research examines how the space affects people generating spatial memory and producing the corresponding behavior pattern during the exploration. Furthermore, the interaction mechanism between the urban evolution and human behavior is investigated by comparing the participants' behavior trajectory and the real town spatial structure. Results from this research shed light on the future use of VR technology as an efficient tool in cognitive urban research.


Abstract Coffee is one of the most popular and widely consumed beverages worldwide due to its stimulating effects on the central nervous system as well as its taste and aroma. Coffee is a complex mixture of more than 800 volatile compounds whereas caffeine and chlorogenic acids are the most common compounds. During the last years, coffee has progressively moved to a less negative position on health due to its better-known pharmacology. Caffeine, e.g., in a cup of coffee, appears to exert most of its effects through an antagonism of the adenosine receptors. Novel approaches in epidemiological studies and experimental researches suggest that coffee consumption may help to prevent several chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus and liver disease. Most prospective cohort studies have not found coffee consumption to be associated with a significantly increased cardiovascular disease risk. There is also evidence that decaffeinated coffee may, in some respect, have similar benefits as regular coffee, indicating that besides caffeine other components contribute to the health protecting effects. For adults consuming moderate amounts of coffee (3 – 4 cups/d providing 300 – 400 mg/d of caffeine), there is little evidence of health risks and some evidence of health benefits. This review provides up-to-date information about coffee on health. Topics addressed include the cardiovascular system, liver diseases, and diabetes as well as gastrointestinal disorders.


This article deals with the essential characteristics of the social activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1990-2000s. There are characterized priorities, shape, effective practice of social work and examined the conceptual foundations of the social activities of the Russian Orthodox Church. The analysis enables to establish the conceptual framework and the specifics of the social activities implementation of the Russian Orthodox Church. Particular attention is paid to the study of the status of the Russian Orthodox Church in the state and society. The specificity of the Social Concept of the church was active development, determined by social practices. In this regard, special attention is paid to the activities of the spiritual and educational centers, which are formed into a single system connected to various forms of ecclesiastical education and social service. In the analyzed period the Church clarified its position towards the state and civil society institutions and identified the principles and promising areas of cooperation. The Russian Orthodox Church has become one of the key social institutions that implement the function of the spiritual care of the moral state of society.


Autonomous lower-limb exoskeletons must modulate assistance based on locomotion mode (e.g., ramp or stair ascent) to adapt to the corresponding changes in human biological joint dynamics. However, current mode classification strategies for exoskeletons often require user-specific tuning, have a slow update rate, and rely on additional sensors outside of the exoskeleton sensor suite. In this study, we introduce a deep convolutional neural network-based locomotion mode classifier for hip exoskeleton applications using an open-source gait biomechanics dataset with various wearable sensors. Our approach removed the limitations of previous systems as it is 1) subject-independent (i.e., no user-specific data), 2) capable of continuously classifying for smooth and seamless mode transitions, and 3) only utilizes minimal wearable sensors native to a conventional hip exoskeleton. We optimized our model, based on several important factors contributing to overall performance, such as transition label timing, model architecture, and sensor placement, which provides a holistic understanding of mode classifier design. Our optimized DL model showed a 3.13% classification error (steady-state: 0.80 $\pm$ 0.38% and transitional: 6.49 $\pm$ 1.42%), outperforming other machine learning-based benchmarks commonly practiced in the field (p<0.05). Furthermore, our multi-modal analysis indicated that our model can maintain high performance in different settings such as unseen slopes on stairs or ramps. Thus, our study presents a novel locomotion mode framework, capable of advancing robotic exoskeleton applications toward assisting community ambulation.


In this Article, the author assesses the role of science in a maturing modern environmental law. She describes this maturation process, beginning in the early 1970s with a first wave of "behavior-based" (BB) regulations. These regulations constrained the actions of resource-users, but generally they abandoned the very difficult task of linking the required constraints directly to an impact on environmental quality. BB regulations served a useful purpose in cutting back large pollution sources, but by the 1980s they came under increasing criticism for their lack of flexibility, including their inattentiveness to costs, to actual impact on quality, and to small and diffuse sources that could be cumulatively more damaging than large or easily controlled ones. In an attempt to remedy these problems, a now-maturing environmental law has turned increasingly but as yet incompletely to quality-based (QB) approaches. The QB regulations, which include market-based efforts, attempt to connect regulatory requirements to actual improvements in environmental quality. The newer QB approaches, however, entail much greater reliance on measurement of the relationship between resource uses and quality changes. This pattern in turn puts new demands on scientific knowledge, especially for ways to measure or model (a) small and scattered sources and their impacts, (b) marginal or cumulative effects of differing amounts of the same kinds of resource uses, and c) synergistic effects among different kinds of resource uses, particularly in connection with system-wide approaches. More generally, policymakers need the scientific community to be tolerant of the ways in which policy decisions are made under conditions of uncertainty. Finally, scientific study can be important to environmental policy simply by enhancing interest in the environmental questions.


An investigation is made of the disturbances produced in a closed, gas-filled tube by the oscillations of a piston at one end, when the piston oscillates at near resonant frequencies. Within a well-defined frequency band around each resonant frequency, shock waves appear in the solution; outside this interval the oscillations are continuous, but not purely sinusoidal. The solution includes the effects of compressive viscosity, and of shear viscosity in the boundary layer at the walls of the tube. For typical laboratory conditions the effect of compressive viscosity is found to be quite small (giving a shock thickness of the order of 10−4in.). The boundary layer effect can be more significant, though the most important modification required of the usual acoustic theory is found to arise from the non-linear terms.


Boiling crisis or departure from nucleate boiling is a key phenomenon in heat transfer processes. It appears when a vapor blanket is created at the heated wall and impedes its cooling. Due to either excessive heat flux (Critical Heat Flux - CHF) or high local void (dryout), a significant temperature rise is observed and the clad might be damaged. Thermalhydraulic accident analysis includes therefore the determination of appearance of boiling crisis in order to compute the evolution of the clad temperature during the transient. The timing of departure from nucleate boiling (DNB) provides the corresponding value of residual power and therefore the clad temperature. Boiling crisis cannot be predicted from first principles. Numerous experiments form a huge database from which hundreds of correlations have been derived. As the primary use of boiling crisis correlation is associated with subchannel analysis codes, the developed correlations of interest are constructed with two-fluid mixture local thermalhydraulic variables. This approach imposes that, when used in two-fluid six equation codes, the liquid and vapor variables are combined to compute the two-phase mixture mass velocity and thermodynamic quality to get the CHF. Therefore, it is logical to consider the possibility to set up a correlation directly connecting CHF and two-fluid (liquid and vapor) thermalhydraulic variables (velocities and enthalpies along with pressure and void fraction). Two additional features were considered. The first one was to establish a correlation using data obtained in rod cluster configuration and not in tubes as the ones currently implemented in thermalhydraulic system codes. For this, the measurements carried out at Columbia University on different rod bundle configurations were considered, as being now released by EPRI in the public domain. The second one was to attach to the coefficients of the correlation their uncertainties to allow best estimate plus uncertainties calculations. First calculations showed promising results such as obtaining a correlation with similar qualities as the already existing ones, based on two-phase mixture parameters. However, a lot still remains to be done in order to obtain a reliable correlation to be implemented in thermalhydraulic system codes.


20 Bat populations are known to be affected by anthropogenic activities because bats are an 21 extremely diverse group occupying almost all available niches in terrestrial environment. Hence, 22 bats are considered bioindicators to monitor changes in the environment, but their value as such 23 also depends on the ease to monitor and detect demographic trends in their populations. The 24 long-term interest of researchers in the acoustic of bats results from the fact that it is a non25 invasive, time-efficient method to monitor spatiotemporal patterns of bat diversity and 26 activity.The analysis of sounds emitted by organisms has been considered useful to gain insight 27 into species-specific biotic and abiotic interactions, which can further be applied to conservation. 28 Besides manual identifications of bat calls, some automated species identification programs 29 using regional call classifiers have been introduced into the market as an effective tool in the 30 monitoring of bat populations. Most of these programs have not been validated using field data. 31 This study evaluates the reliability of two automated software, SonoChiro, and Kaleidoscope 32 Pro, in comparison to manual identifications of field data collected from the Neotropical region. 33 There was low agreement between the two automated methods at the species level, fair 34 agreement at the genus level and moderate agreement at the family level. There was also a 35 significant difference between the proportions of correctly identified calls of the two-automated 36 software at the species level identifications. Major challenges for using automated identification 37 software include the need for comprehensive call libraries of the regions under scope; significant 38 opportunities, on the other hand, include the widespread possibility to monitor spatiotemporal 39 patterns of bat activity. Overall, there are serious gaps that preclude a widespread application of 40 automated programs ecological and conservation studies of bats, but it has the potential to serve 41 as a useful tool. 42 PeerJ Preprints | https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.26712v2 | CC BY 4.0 Open Access | rec: 20 Mar 2018, publ: 20 Mar 2018


We give upper bounds on the size of the gap between the constant term and the next nonzero Fourier coefficient of an entire modular form of given weight for Γ0(2). Numerical evidence indicates that a sharper bound holds for the weights h ≡ 2 (mod 4). We derive upper bounds for the minimum positive integer represented by level-two even positive-definite quadratic forms. Our data suggest that, for certain meromorphic modular forms and p = 2, 3, the p-order of the constant term is related to the base-p expansion of the order of the pole at infinity


This chapter focuses on the study of the relationship between reading of music and verbal texts and it seeks to define an ecological music reading task that allows comparison of musical and verbal domains. Participants were preservice music students who performed different music reading tasks correlated with a verbal text comprehension test. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA), was performed, explaining 91,5% of the variance. The following two axes were defined: one related to reading compression and the other to music performance variables. The relationship between the selected variables in the factorial plane, particularly the strong association between sight-reading and literal comprehension, suggest that sight-reading is a relevant factor with regards to the study of musical and verbal domains.


Surface water flow dynamics in the Florida Everglades were investigated using sulfur hexafluoride tracer releases, from which advection and dispersion were determined. Several sites were studied, each characterized by different vegetation patterns and proximity to hydrologic control structures. The measured flow directions suggest that basin‐scale forcing from water management structures and operations can override the effects of local landscape features in guiding the flow. Management effects were particularly evident in two regions where the historic, natural landscape patterning has degraded. The large spatial scale over which tracer data were collected allows the dispersion rate to be determined at unprecedented spatial scales. These measurements showed much larger dispersion coefficients than reported by previous experiments at smaller scales. This finding and a measurement of the drag due to vegetation over large scales are of interest to Everglades water resource managers concerned with the transport of sediment and biologically active solutes such as phosphorous.


Fresh Water and salt are the most important necessities in human life. The scarcity and the difficulty to get fresh water and salt became main problems that emerge in many places such as for people who live in coastal areas and small islands where their main source of water and salt is the sea water. In order to obtain fresh water, people needs to process seawater into fresh water and salt. The term of fresh water used here means water which is free from dirt, bacteria, and other substances that are harmful for human health. To process the sea water into fresh water and salt has been done by distillation technic. The distillation technic requires heat to evaporate seawater before condensed and produce clean water. Heat for distillation process can be derived from a variety of sources, one of them is solar energy. The purpose of this study is to compare between a flat plate with one slope cover and two slope cover to produce fresh water and salt. The distilled water was tested in laboratory to determine whether the quality of water and salt after distillation meets the consumable requirements. The working principle of the distillator is by filled the basin with sea water and then heated with solar power. The water will be evaporated and due to the different of temperature between inside and out side of cover so that the condensation accurs at inside of cover. The condensed water will flow through surface of glass cover and then the distilled freshwater gathered in storage. The process will continue until water runs out and creates salt crystals in the basin. Solar distillation testing by using one slope cover with a size of 140 cm x 220 cm produce 3,482 ml / day of clean water and 322 grams of salt / 4 days at average intensity of 697 W/m2. While solar distillation by using two-slope cover with size of 80 cm x 50 cm produce 1,551 ml clean water/day and 199.9 grams of salt / 4 days.


We introduce an efficient first-order primal-dual method for the solution of nonsmooth PDE-constrained optimization problems. We achieve this efficiency through not solving the PDE or its linearisation on each iteration of the optimization method. Instead, we run the method interwoven with a simple conventional linear system solver (Jacobi, Gauss-Seidel, conjugate gradients), always taking only one step of the linear system solver for each step of the optimization method. The control parameter is updated on each iteration as determined by the optimization method. We prove linear convergence under a second-order growth condition, and numerically demonstrate the performance on a variety of PDEs related to inverse problems involving boundary measurements.


On behalf of the Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology and the editors of Circulation, we are pleased to present this series of monographs on topics in venous thromboembolic disease. The objective of these supplements is to provide clinicians with a current review of the epidemiology, diagnosis, natural history, prevention, and treatment of deep venous thrombosis, and its principal complications, pulmonary embolism and chronic venous insufficiency. These disorders affect millions of people, especially those predisposed by serious illness, major surgery, intrinsic venous disease, or hypercoagulable states, and are responsible for considerable mortality and chronic disability. As with most vascular diseases, responsibility for recognition and prevention of venous thromboembolism in patients at risk falls mainly to the primary care physician. Hence, these supplements have been written with the needs of the practitioner in mind, aiming to provide a comprehensive compendium of practical information based, whenever possible, on data from well-designed clinical trials, so that recommendations parallel widely accepted clinical practice guidelines. Areas of controversy are identified as such, and when there is no consensus about optimum management, pragmatic approaches are offered. We have selected as guest editor for each monograph a widely recognized specialist in the topic at hand, and have asked each editor to guide the selection of authors for the detailed clinical reviews. A board jointly selected by the Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology and the editors of Circulation has reviewed each manuscript. The series begins with an issue devoted to the epidemiology, risk factors, and natural history of venous thromboembolic disease. Discussions of hypercoagulability and of criteria for identifying high-risk patient populations are aimed at clarifying these complex issues for the practicing clinician. The second monograph is centered on diagnostic approaches to patients with venous thromboembolism. Detailed descriptions of duplex ultrasonography, contrast venography, D-dimer assays, and emerging diagnostic modalities, including computerized tomographic angiography for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, are provided, along with diagnostic algorithms. Additional issues review alternative strategies for prevention and management of venous thromboembolic disease. Although effective prophylaxis against venous thromboembolism is available in the form of a variety of antithrombotic agents, these drugs are associated with risks of bleeding, making their judicious use dependent on appropriate assessment of patient-specific thromboembolic risk. When preventive strategies have been overlooked or fail, the problem of venous thromboembolism itself similarly requires a riskbased therapeutic approach. Hence, a comprehensive review of therapeutic alternatives completes the series. Comparisons of low-molecular-weight heparins with unfractionated heparin, the use of oral vitamin K antagonists, and emerging opportunities, like direct thrombin inhibitors and synthetic pentasaccharides, round out the analysis of current algorithms. We hope this series of monographs provides a comprehensive resource, for primary care physicians and specialists alike, about current strategies in the diagnosis and management of this common and debilitating disease, and helps to foster improved patient care.


Have you ever thought how nice it would be to have better photographs and more instructions on basic moccasins construction? This craft article includes photographs during the moccasin construction process, discusses moccasins supplies, and shares lessons learned.


The practice of health care often relies heavily on the use of a bewildering array of chemicals for diagnostics, therapy, prophylaxis, and lifestyle or cosmetic modification. Excretion, bathing, manufacturing, and disposal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) serve as conduits to the environment for complex mixtures of parent chemicals and transformation products, primarily via sewage and domestic refuse. As members of a much larger universe of natural products and other anthropogenic chemicals that already pervade the environment, PPCPs enter the environment primarily from multitudes of individually miniscule sources. Each source by itself contributes relatively insignificant quantities, but the combined inputs can yield measurable levels in waters and other environmental compartments, with the general exception of air. Scenarios abound for chronic, low-level ambient exposure of wildlife, microbiota, and humans, but special situations can lead to higher level, acute exposures. Whatever the existing risks, they can span a wide spectrum of modalities and can be difficult to decipher because of the complexities posed by simultaneous exposures to numerous chemical stressors—perhaps each present below any individual level known to perturb biological processes—and some leading to difficult-to-detect or delayed-onset subtle effects. The study of PPCPs in the environment (PiE) has proved challenging over the course of the last 15 to 20 years of international research. Significantly, the ultimate aims of PiE research are sometimes unclear. Overall priorities need to be established to achieve outcomes that still remain to be articulated. While the published scientific literature has grown to thousands of papers targeted primarily at deciphering the shape, scale, intensity, and spatiotemporal aspects of the environmental footprint, exposure envelope, and potential for biological effects of PPCPs, many aspects of PiE remain obscure. Given the possible reality of continually diminishing resources for research, a concerted effort is needed to identify those select aspects capable of removing the most uncertainty in assessing whatever risks might be posed by PiE, target those aspects having the highest potential to broadly benefit human health and the environment, and better coordinate and focus future research. The study of PiE is notable in that it requires expertise spanning a remarkably diverse spectrum of disciplines— ranging from hydrology, civil engineering, and chemistry, to pharmacology, toxicology, medicine, and even social psychology and risk communication. Study of PiE has captured the attention of not just scientists, but also policy makers, legislators, regulators, environmental agencies, health-care communities, public, press, and the pharmaceutical, pharmacy, and health insurance industries. It has also slowly morphed into the much larger issue of the so-called but loosely defined ''emerging contaminants''—a catch-all term for contaminants whose presence or significance was previously unknown, unrecognized, or underappreciated [1]. Why does PiE persist as a topic of interest for so many? A major reason is that despite the accelerating pace of published investigations, new questions continue to be generated while some major ones remain unanswered. Moreover, the fact that PPCPs (a term coined 10 years ago [2]) occur in waters serves to illustrate the intimate connections between the activities and behaviors of humans and the environment—a continual reminder of the hydraulic connectivity between sewage and ''natural'' waters. They remind each of us that we are integral parts of the water cycle. Their seeming ubiquity in waters, especially potable waters, serves as a constant (and sometimes emotional) reminder that these waters originated at least in part from the excretions of others—from feces, urine, and sweat [3]. This factor certainly looms large with the life cycle of PPCPs and can play a critical role in the public acceptance of water reuse. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products comprise thousands of distinct chemical entities and tens of thousands of commercially formulated products, possessing an immense range of physicochemical and physiological properties. For drugs, each active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) can be assigned to one of many therapeutic groups, such as those of the tiered Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system or the analogous system for veterinary medicines (e.g., see discussion in Table 5 of Ruhoy and Daughton [4]). Because of the extreme diversity of PPCPs (especially their wide range of biochemical activities), generalizations applied across the entire spectrum (or even within defined classes) are prone to misrepresentation and numerous exceptions. Even broad classes sharing the same therapeutic modalities (e.g., lipid regulators [ATC C10] or antidepressants [ATC N06A]) can act via a wide variety of biochemical routes. Despite these categories of therapeutic action, actual mechanisms of action are frequently unknown and individual APIs can be promiscuous in their biochemical actions. Among the reference citations in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) bibliographic database on PPCPs (www.epa.gov/ppcp/lit.html), publications with a focus on personal care products comprise a much smaller portion (about 10% of the total) than do APIs. The major personal care product groups that have been investigated are the synthetic musks, triclosan and triclocarban, ultraviolet filters and sunscreens, parabens, and siloxanes, in decreasing order of prevalence in the literature. Phthalates, bisphenol A, and nonylphenols are involved with higher numbers of publications but their usage in personal care is minor compared with other commercial uses. In general, the active agents in the thousands of commercial formulations of personal care products are produced and consumed in much larger quantities than APIs but their biological potencies are also much lower. Published on the Web 8/14/2009. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Vol. 28, No. 12, pp. 2490–2494, 2009 ' 2009 SETAC Printed in the USA 0730-7268/09 $12.00 + .00


The Sixes River in southwestern Oregon has a summer discharge of only about 2 m 3 /sec. During these low-discharge conditions, a flood-dominated system of bottom tidal currents develops in the estuary and a deltalike sill, as much as 1.5 m in height, builds across the mouth of the estuary by upstream progradation. Flood-tide currents move across this sill at velocities of as much as 90 cm/sec 15 cm above the bottom, but the velocity of ebb-tide currents usually does not exceed about 40 cm/sec. Dispersal patterns of dyed sediment injected at the river mouth during low river discharge show that flood-tide currents transport sand across the sill and up the estuary as far as 0.8 km (about one-fourth the length of the estuary) in a single flood-tide phase. During ebb tide, the sill impedes movement of salt water along the estuary bottom, producing a sharply stratified two-layer water system. Although tracer experiments show that some fine sand is removed from the estuary during the ebb phase, primary sedimentary structures and the mineral composition of the sand indicate that flood-tide dominance of the bottom tidal currents causes a net gain of marine sediment in the estuary while the sill is in place. River discharge after winter storms may increase to more than 400 m 3 /sec, and large quantities of detritus, including gravel, are transported downstream into and through the estuary. High river discharge also causes erosion of the sill, greatly reducing the sediment-trapping capacity of the estuary. The finer fluvial detritus, together with fine marine sediment deposited during the summer, is swept from the estuary, leaving it floored largely by gravel. Thus, the hydraulic sediment-trapping mechanisms observed in the estuary of the Sixes River appear to be effective only on a seasonal basis under present hydrologic conditions.


I discuss some aspects of heavy-ion collisions and, in general, of nuclear physics, about which the study of lepton-nucleus collisions as proposed in the EIC and the LHeC/FCC-eh, can provide crucial information. First, I analyse aspects related with the nuclear wave function: nuclear parton densities, small-x dynamics and transverse structure. Second, I focus on items related with the initial stages of heavy-ion collisions, mainly on azimuthal correlations and the ridge. Finally, I mention the analysis of the medium created in high-energy heavy-ion collisions through hard probes, specifically on the nuclear modifications of QCD radiation and hadronisation.


The reaction of 2-bromo-5-nitrothiophene with morpholine was studied as an aromatic nucleophilic substitution reaction in various compositions of methanol with ethyl acetate and aqueous solution of methanol, ethanol, and propane-2-ol at 25°C. The second-order rate coefficients of the reaction were spectrophotometerically determined. It was shown that a mounting trend with the mole fraction of water in aqueous solution of alcohols and a mild decreasing with the mole fraction of ethyl acetate in methanol–ethyl acetate mixtures. Solvent effect investigations based on linear free energy relationship (LFER) confirm that polarity has a major effect, whereas the hydrogen-bond donor and acceptor abilities of the media have a minor effect on the reaction rate. A nonlinear free energy relationship based on preferential solvation hypothesis showed differences between the microsphere solvation of the solute and the bulk composition of the solvents, and nonideal behavior was observed in the trend of rate coefficients, which was consistent with LFER results. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 45: 59–67, 2013


Italy is often considered as a mother country of vertical breakwaters for harbour protection, since they have been widely used all along our coasts long since. An updated location map is given in fig. 1, which also shows the position of the directional wave recording stations of the existing Italian network. The most common vertical breakwaters are in fact composed by prefabricated monolithic cellular r.c. caissons, which are typically floated and sunk with seawater ballast upon a rubble mound foundation and then filled with sand and/or concrete. They are also called "upright" or "composite" breakwaters. New research work (including large-scale physical models and advanced numerical models) is being addressed to the dynamic behaviour of vertical structures, particularly under breaking wave impact loading, as within the EC-funded MAST G6-S project (1990-92), which already produced many new contributions (see references). Also a new PIANC working group (n.28) is just about to start. This report gives useful information on the most recent caisson breakwaters designed and constructed in Italy, which include particular solutions for the configuration of the caisson walls and superstructure in order to reduce the main "drawbacks" of vertical structures, such as wave reflection and toe scour, wave forces and wave overtopping. This report concludes that vertical breakwaters are still very popular structures in Italy, despite the dramatic failures occurred to a few old breakwaters in the last 60 years. The main reasons for this "success" can be attributed to: - the progress in construction technology of prefabricated monolithic concrete caissons which ensures reduced costs, shorter installation times and better quality and durability of the structure (with low maintenance); - a favourable environmental impact in relation to spatial and visual obstruction, potential removability of infilled caissons and smaller air/water/acoustic pollution during construction compared to a rubble mound; - the greater confidence in the design which takes advantage of the recent advances of knowledge in maritime hydraulics and of the extensive use of laboratory model testing; - the introduction of new alternative caisson geometries (e.g. cylindrical fronts, perforated absorbing chambers, sloping parapet walls) which can reduce the wave forces, wave reflection, overtopping discharge and toe scour effects. The safety against wave overtopping in particular is gaining importance for the increased recreational use of breakwaters which should he easily accessible to the public. Further improvement of knowledge of the complex wave-caisson-foundation interaction are being achieved from new research activity (particularly within the present European MAST G6-S project) and increased practical engineering experience. Useful information is also expected from new prototype measurements, just about to start in two instrumented caissons of the West Breakwater at Porto Torres industrial harbour. A better insight of the effective dynamic response of vertical structures under high impact forces due to breaking waves will undoubtedly promote a wider application of the caisson technology even in shallow waters and will lead to safer and more economic breakwaters.


INTRODUCTION
In this study, thick polyethersulfone (PES) nanofibrous scaffolds were prepared by fine tuning of electrospinning parameters and was evaluated for wound dressing applications.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Scanning electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller methods were used for PES nanofibers characterization. The interaction between fibroblasts and nanofibers was studied in vitro. Further, a mouse model was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the PES scaffold in wound healing. Vaseline gauze dressing and a conventional gas permeable bandage were used as a control. The wound repair process was evaluated by histological examination and immunohistochemistry staining using antibodies to cytokeratin 10 (CK10), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA).

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
The characterization of nanofibers showed that the PES membrane has nanoscale, porous, high surface area structure. These properties conferred higher exudate absorption capacity for the PES scaffold which is essential for effective wound healing. In vitro results indicated that the PES scaffold can support fibroblast proliferation similar to that with tissue culture polystyrene. Epithelial regeneration was expeditiously accelerated under PES as compared with Vaseline gauze. Greater fibroblast maturation, improved collagen deposition and faster edema resolution were the superior properties of PES over the commercial dressing. Based on these results we conclude that the biocompatible PES nanofibers can effectively be used as a dressing to accelerate wound healing.


Same sex marriage is one of the most controversial human rights issues in the developed world. At a public forum held in May 2005 presenters discussed a range of issues including the legal implications of same sex marriage, recent legal developments in Australia and overseas and the philosophical arguments relating to this issue. Two papers from the forum - by Grevis Beard and Raimond Gaita - are available online.


Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen, in particular the methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain USA300 that is epidemic in the United States. Type III interferons (IFN-λ) signal through the IL-28 receptor (IFNLR) located on epithelial cells and neutrophils. Neutrophil-mediated killing is a crucial defence system against S. aureus. Compared to WT mice, Ifnlr−/− mice had significantly improved clearance of S. aureus from the airway and lung tissue (>90%; P<0.001) following a 24-hour infection. In a mortality model of infection, all Ifnlr−/− mice survived, whereas 75% of WT mice succumbed to infection (P<0.05). Despite a lack of difference in neutrophil recruitment to the airway in WT and Ifnlr−/− mice in response to S. aureus, Ifnlr−/− infected mice showed a significant increase in the neutrophil related cytokine G-CSF (38%; P<0.05). Moreover, expression of the neutrophil surface markers, Ly6C and Ly6G, were higher (39% and 20%, respectively; P<0.01) on infected Ifnlr−/− neutrophils compared to WT infected mice. Neutrophils isolated from Ifnlr−/− mice compared to WT neutrophils also displayed a 2-fold increase in MPO activity (peroxidation) (p<0.05) and a 2.1-fold increase in Ca2+ flux when compared to WT neutrophils (P<0.001), while WT neutrophils stimulated with purified IFN-λ displayed a 0.5-fold decrease in Ca2+ flux (p<0.005). In addition, stimulation of WT neutrophils with purified IFN-λ led to a 2-fold decrease of their S. aureus killing capacity (P<0.05). Controlling neutrophil recruitment and activation is important to provide a balanced response to infection. Our data suggests that type III IFN signalling can impair neutrophil activation and their killing capacity in response to S. aureus.


The Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (IFMIS) are two major public expenditure management reforms that have been adopted in many developing countries in recent years. A review of the publicly available literature on the implementation of these reforms in three African countries considers the history of their introduction and their relative success. On the basis of this review, consideration is given to the risks involved with adopting such large scale reforms; the extent to which the international financial institutions and consultants were wise to recommend such widespread adoption of large scale reforms; and whether public sector financial officers in developing countries were wise to accept these prescriptions quite so uncritically in preference to paying more attention to tried and tested financial controls and getting the basics right. However, additional research is needed to ascertain whether the introduction of an MTEF or IFMIS can successfully ensure the effective use of public sector resources whilst maintaining the principles of universality, equity and accountability.


An analysis is made of the background level and counter efficiencies actually necessary to perform a loophole-free Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen experiment. Both requirements are correlated. Photon counters do not absolutely have to have more than 82.8% efficiency if the signal-over-noise ratio is very high.


A simple yet sensitive high performance liquid chromatography method was developed and validated for the determination of paracetamol (PCM) content in different tablets dosage form. The mobile phase consisted of a mixture of methanol: water (80:20 v/v). The HPLC analysis was performed at a flow rate of 1 mL/min using a Thermo Synchronise C18 (150 × 4.6mm, 5μM) and an UV detection wavelength of 254 nm was used. The method was validated for selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of quantification (LOQ), limit of detection (LOD), robustness and solution stability. The calibration curve was linear over a concentration range of 20 to 70 µg/mL (r2 = 0.9997) with LOD and LOQ of 0.01 and 0.03 μg/mL, respectively. The retention time for paracetamol was 1.5 min. The relative standard deviation percent (%RSD) and the relative error percent (%RE) of calibration curve were between 0.03-1.03% and 0.05-1.11%, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy were between 0.02-1.55% and 0.10-0.78%, respectively. In addition, the %RSD of short term stability and the method robustness were between 0.4-1.20% and 0.09-1.43%, respectively. All results followed the ICH guideline Q2 (R1) which indicates the precision and accuracy of the developed method. The method was successfully applied to assess PCM content in different marketed tablets in Iraq.


The private sector, comprised of transnational corporations (TNCs) and smaller-sized domestic firms, has become an important partner for governments, non-governmental organizations, and intergovernmental (international) organizations in the process of economic, social, and human development in conflict or post-conflict areas. By creating multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) and multisectoral partnerships, an attempt has been developed by non-state actors, such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector, to construct a collective way of finding solutions for various problems. The expansion of the strategic alliances between these actors paves the way for creating a collaboration that can facilitate better transmission of information, knowledge, and experience and enhance the allocation of resources. This kind of a strategic alliance will not only be advantageous for both parties in their efforts to fulfill their own action plans, but also create a new way of thinking and acting as a result of integrating the social, political, and economic life of the globalized and more complex world by combining diverse types of powers. Moreover, this new way of relations will help domestic and international companies act together to support norms with respect to transparency, participation, and accountability of "collective governance." The conflict in Syria has resulted in devastating consequences-250,000 Syrian people dead, seven point six million displaced, and four point five million migrating into neighboring countries- as well as negative social and economic effects for many other countries in the region. The Syrian refugee crises can be a significant case to comprehend the need for "collaborative partnerships" and reveals the importance of cross-sector partnerships as an alternative to the traditional belief that the governments are the only problem solvers in conflict and post-conflict areas. The number and the quality of these partnerships and projects should be increased to support social, economic, and cultural integration, rehabilitation, and relief of the Syrian refugees and migrants.


Lipid nanocarriers are reaching new heights in the field of drug delivery. The core of this technology resides in simple molecules i.e. lipids. Solid and liquid lipids of biocompatible and generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status are employed for developing lipid nanoparticles along with surfactant(s), solvents, and drug molecules. Researchers have practiced a variety of solid and liquid lipids with acceptable profiles in the formulation of lipid nanoparticles. Solid lipids like triglycerides, fatty acids, fatty alcohols, waxes, and butter have been used in designing lipid nanocarriers. The potential of various plant-based oils has also been tested in designing nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC). With the exponential advancement in lipid-based delivery systems, there exists a need for an appropriate lipid system to obtain an effective product. This review gives a brief insight into lipids which has been exploited by researchers for designing solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers. A tabular presentation of important key points of past studies exploiting these lipids for preparing SLN/NLC is the highlight of the article.


Through data analysis of 7 571 883 pig carcasses slaughtered from 2004 to 2007 the means of quality classes (QC) 2.32, lean meat percentage (LM) 55.83%, carcass weight (CW) 87.21 kg, muscle thickness (MT) 61.95 mm and fat thickness (FT) 15.95 mm were determined. The highest correlation coefficients are between QC and LM (r = –0.920), LM and FT (–0.900) as well as QC and FT (0.828), the lowest between FT and MT (r = –0.084). Quality class as the dominant indicator is influenced mainly by LM, which explains from 77% to 89% of variability in the case of linear regression. Among the eight methods of pig carcass classification the FOM apparatus was used the most frequently (46.5% carcasses) followed by the ULTRA-FOM 300 apparatus (15.6%), another apparatus (13.2%) and by the IS-D-05 unit (9.8%). In the statistical models used all effects (differences) are statistically significant because of the large size of the data set. The results from the separate evaluation of each cross-classified effect are that EV has the largest influence and yearseason and methods have a smaller influence. The time trend (42 months) documents stable CW and MT, a slight increase in LM and improvement of QC. The estimated results indicate the successful introduction of pig carcass classification in the CR after accession to the EU.


In recent years, the underwater wireless optical communication has been arising a great concern of academia because of its high bandwidth, low time delay spread, stability, high rate and so forth. In this paper, a distributed energy-efficient and balanced routing algorithm (DEEB) for an underwater wireless optical sensor network is proposed. The DEEB is applicable for both static and dynamic network. It reveals through simulation experiments that the DEEB can significantly reduce the routing consumption of energy, balance the energy load of nodes to prolong the work time of nodes comparing with existing algorithms.


The most common form of nasal obstruction in neonates is soft tissue edema, but congenital bony nasal anomalies are recognized as an important cause of newborn airway obstruction. We reviewed 20 cases of congenital bony nasal abnormalties such as choanal atresia and nasal stenosis referred to National Children's Hospital between 1996 and 2001. Of the 20, 8 involved choanal atresia (6 bilateral and 2 unilateral) and 12 nasal stenosis (5 nasal cavity stenosis, 2 pyriform aperture stenosis and 5 unknown). Six cases of bilateral choanal atresia and 5 of 12 cases of the nasal stenosis presented severe airway distress. Most cases in respiratory distress required immediate surgical enlargement of nasal cavity and stenting with an endotracheal tube for 4 to 8 weeks. Of 12 with nasal stenosis, 5 with mild nasal obstruction were treated with nasal drops and 3 with mild airway distress required no treatment. Five of 7 (71%) with choanal atresia and 1 of 4 with nasal stenosis (25%) required restenosis of the nasal cavity after stent removal. Restenosis occurred more often in choanal atresia than in nasal atresia. Two of 5 with nasal restenosis required stenting for 1 to 2 months again and 1 of those was followed by stenting for more 4 months. Longer stenting did not prevent choanal from restenosis, however, no standard stenting protocol exists for neonates, highlighting the need for further study.


ABSTRACT Motor and non-motor manifestations are common and disabling features of hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). Botulinum toxin type A (Btx-A) is considered effective for spasticity and may improve gait in these patients. Little is known about the effects of Btx-A on non-motor symptoms in HSP patients. Objective To assess the efficacy of Btx-A on motor and non-motor manifestations in HSP patients. Methods Thirty-three adult patients with a clinical and molecular diagnosis of HSP were evaluated before and after Btx-A injections. Results Mean age was 41.7 ± 13.6 years and there were 18 women. Most patients had a pure phenotype and SPG4 was the most frequent genotype. The Btx-A injections resulted in a decrease in spasticity at the adductor muscles, and no other motor measure was significantly modified. In contrast, fatigue scores were significantly reduced after Btx-A injections. Conclusion Btx-A injections resulted in no significant functional motor improvement for HSP, but fatigue improved after treatment.


There is a vital need for portable and cost-effective point-of-care (PoC) testing technologies that provide reliable and rapid results. Lateral Flow Immunoassays (LFIA) are suitable PoC diagnostic tools with the potential for use in a wide variety of field applications ranging from uses in clinical diagnostics to aiding law enforcement. Quick and reliable diagnosis of non-communicable diseases (NCD) like diabetes is vital especially in developing countries like India where the burden of these diseases is very high and is increasing day by day. In this paper, we have presented the design of smartphone-based fully quantitative LFIA analyser, An automatic image processing algorithm is also described. A repeatability study was done with stable fluorescence reference cartridges. The Coefficient of Variation (CoV) for repeatability study was calculated and it was found to be good (< 1.5%). The instrument was tested with blood samples to generate a calibration curve for Glycated Haemoglobin (HbA1c) with respect to standard lab instrument. Three different set of settings parameters were used in smartphone camera their calibration curve formed. All three curves were linearly correlated with R2-value greater than 0.985. Finally, the calibration curve was validated through three HbA1c blood sample tests- for each sample, CoV was less than 5%. The PhoneQuant analyser is the portable cost-effective solution to traditional bulky LFIA analysers and it has good potential to be deployed at physician's desk or for in-home PoC testing for quick and reliable diagnosis.


Background: The N2 MBW method is increasingly used in research studies to assess ventilation distribution inhomogeneity. In addition to global indices such as the lung clearance index (LCI), specific indices of inhomogeneity in the conducting airway zone (Scond) and more peripherally (Sacin) can be calculated (1). The MBW is, however, time consuming and N2 SBW based on a single breath, either a vital capacity maneuver or a 1 litre inspiration of pure O2 from functional residual capacity (FRC), are much quicker to perform. The sensitivities of these tests have not been compared before in CF.

Methods: Spirometry and triplets of N2 MBW, VC and FRC+1L SBW tests were recorded using the Exhalyzer D (Eco Medics AG) in 20 CF subjects aged 27(7) yrs and 20 healthy controls also aged 27 (7) yrs. From the SBW tests concentration and volume normalized phase III slopes (SnIII*Vol,exp) were calculated. The results from the controls were used to calculate z-scores from the N2 washout indices. Spirometry data were related to Swedish reference values (2-3).

Results: LCI and Scond were abnormal (z > +1.96 SD) in all 20 subjects. Compared to LCI or Scond, Sacin was abnormal in only 12/20 subjects (p=0.003), VC SnIII * Vol,exp in 13/20 (p=0.008), and FRC+1L SnIII * Vol,exp in 18/20 subjects (n.s.). FEV1 was abnormal (<-1.96 SD) in 6 only (p<0.001).

Conclusion: LCI and Scond are the most sensitive indices, but a single breath test based on inspiration of 1 L of O2 from FRC followed by a slow maximal expiration is almost as sensitive as Scond or LCI.

References:

1. Respiration 2009; 78: 339.

2. Bull Eur Physiopatol Respir 1985; 21: 551.

3. Upsala J Med Sci 1986; 91: 299.


Bone mineral accretion during childhood and adolescence is subject to a number of influences, including body composition changes, sexual maturation and growth. Bone mass and density increase with age and vary by sex, so bone health must be evaluated like other growth outcomes, i.e. in relation to age- and sex-specific reference ranges. Peak bone mass, the amount of bone acquired at the end of skeletal development is an important determinant of lifelong skeletal health. The timing of puberty is inversely related to peak bone mass, such that individuals who experience puberty at older ages have lower bone mass in young adulthood. Height, an indicator of skeletal size, is correlated with bone mineral content and density. Even more importantly, children who are tall for their age have greater bone mass and density than children of average or short stature. Body composition, particularly lean body mass, has a positive effect on bone accretion because of the mechanical strains of muscle mass on bone accretion. The effect of height growth is positively associated with bone accretion, but the magnitude of the effect is not the same at all pubertal stages; in Tanner stage 5, height growth has a more pronounced effect on bone accretion than at the beginning of puberty. Understanding these complex relationships is essential to understanding bone metabolism during this part of the life cycle and the challenges of assessing bone health in children with medical conditions that threaten bone health.


Hydrogen interactions with Nd2Fe17 and Nd2Fe14B was investigated by means of the calorimetric method with application of differential heat-conducting calorimeters that were of the Tean-Calvet type. The reaction of hydrogen absorption and desorption was carried out at 250 and 300 °C for Nd2Fe17, while the pressure-composition-isotherms (P-C-T) and enthalpy change with hydrogen concentration in the intermetallic compound (IMC) were obtained. The Nd2Fe14B-H2 system was studied at 50 °C and the dependence of the enthalpy change with hydrogen concentration in the intermetallic compound was also obtained. Based on the measured data, the assumption about the order of filling the interstitial sites by hydrogen atoms was made.


Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCMP) remains a life threatening disease in young patients and is often difficult to differentiate from myocarditis. Early recognition and treatment of DCMP are crucial for good prognoses in this patient population. The clinical course of patients with DCMP that result in cardiogenic shock varies according to the etiology as well as patient age. The volumetric expansion of the enlarged heart can compress adjacent structures causing a number of related symptoms, especially in infants with soft cartilaginous bronchi. Therapeutic strategies for treating these issues vary according to the type of complication encountered. We report a case of severe DCMP with sudden onset of massive cardiomegaly with heart failure complicated by bronchial obstruction in an infant.


We present the design and experimental results of a near-field scanning microwave microscope working at a frequency of 1 GHz. Our microscope is unique in that the sensing probe is separated from the excitation electrode to significantly suppress the common-mode signal. Coplanar waveguides were patterned onto a silicon nitride cantilever interchangeable with atomic force microscope tips, which are robust for high speed scanning. In the contact mode that we are currently using, the numerical analysis shows that contrast comes from both the variation in local dielectric properties and the sample topography. Our microscope demonstrates the ability to achieve high resolution microwave images on buried structures, as well as nanoparticles, nanowires, and biological samples.


The effect of intravenous hyperalimentation with essential amino acids and hypertonic dextrose on nitrogen metabolism, total body urea and creatinine was studied in 16 patients with end-stage renal disease prior to and after bilateral nephrectomy, splenectomy and appendectomy. Parenteral essential amino acids and hypertonic dextrose are effective in lowering blood urea nitrogen in anephric patients who are incapable of improving renal function. The inclusion of essential amino acids in hypertonic dextrose increases nutritional value far beyond that which can be attributed to the caloric concentration of the amino acids themselves.


Tetanus Toxoid loaded biodegradable microspheres (MTT) (poly (DL-Lactide-co-Glycolide) were administered intramuscularly to pregnant Wistar rats from Days 6 to 15 of gestation, at 1, 5 and 10-times the human equivalent dose of TT. Developmental defects in relation to soft tissues and skeleton, weight and sex of live pups and early fetal deaths from treated and control rats were analysed. The findings in treatment groups were comparable to those in the controls. These observations show that MTT was safe for pregnant rats and developing pups.


Electrooptical engineering has become of great importance in defense and industrial communities. Great strides have been made in the sciences of optics to the extent that much of the lore and knowledge is available for engineering purposes. In the same way instrumentation and industrial engineering has developed a curriculum that has become an integral part of the entire field, electrooptical engineering is finding its place in the technology of today. Several schools have been developing curricula for graduate and undergraduate studies. This paper outlines one man's opinions on the subjects, which, when mastered, will equip a young engineer for fruitful contributions to electrooptical engineering.


We report here a rare case of intestinal obstruction caused by a peach seed. A 15-year-old boy was admitted to our hospital because of abdominal pain and vomiting. The patient had no history of previous gastrointestinal surgery and his medical comorbidity was autism. A computed tomography (CT) scan showed an obstruction of the ileum by a foreign body. Surgical treatment was successfully performed, and we found a peach seed in the ileum. He was discharged eight days after the operation without postoperative complications. Intestinal obstruction caused by plant seeds without gastrointestinal disease is rare.


Implantation of allografts has increased widely with not only the availability of many allogenic bone but also allogenic soft tissues. The aim of tissue banking is to provide surgeons with safe tissues compatible with their intended clinical application. The incidence of tissue transplant-transmitted infection is unknown and can only be inferred from prospective studies. The possibility of donor-to-recipient disease transmission through soft tissue transplantation can be considered by reviewing the risk associated with other transplanted hard tissues. Viral, bacterial, and fungal infections have been transmitted via transplantation of soft tissue allografts such as skin, cornea, dura, pericardium. fascia lata, and heart valves. Corneas have transmitted rabies, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), hepatitis B (HBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), bacteria, and fungi. Heart valves have been implicated in transmitting tuberculosis, hepatitis B. HIV-1 and CMV. CJD has been transmitted by dura and pericardium transplants. Skin has transmitted CMV, bacteria, and fungi. Cadaveric skin, pericardium, dura, and fascia lata have been used in dental patients with intra-oral soft tissue injuries and GBR. This study is review of the considering transmission of infectious disease in allogenic soft tissues and guidelines of reducing the risk. Prior to use, many tissues are exposed to antibiotics, disinfectants, and sterilants, which further reduce or remove the risk of transmitted disease. Because some soft tissue grafts cannot be subjected to sterilization steps, the risk of infectious disease transmission remains and thorough donor screening and testing is especially important.


Recent clinical and experimental studies demonstrated that the neuroendocrine system accelerates cancer development and progression. To investigate the cellular and molecular mechanism of neuroendocrine regulation of cancer, we have used advanced in vivo imaging technologies to investigate spatial relationships between peripheral neural system, tumor cells and the metastatic microenvironment. We found that chronic activation of the sympathetic nervous system accelerates breast cancer metastasis to distant tissues. Increased metastasis was dependent on beta-adrenergic signaling which induced macrophage recruitment to primary tumors and induced a switch to pro-metastatic and pro-inflammatory gene expression. Our recent studies in orthotopic xenograft models of pancreatic cancer and leukemia showed that activation of neural stress-response pathways similarly accelerated disease progression, suggesting that adrenergic signaling may be a general physiological regulator of cancer progression. These findings raise the possibility that beta-blockade of neural stress response pathways may be a novel therapeutic strategy to slow or prevent metastasis. In addition, we will discuss findings that targeting peripheral nerve fibers may provide therapeutic leverage against metastasis.

Citation Format: Caroline P. Le, Donald Lamkin, Ming G. Chai, Corina Kim, Matthew A. Pimentel, Steven W. Cole, Erica K. Sloan. Neural regulation of metastasis: New avenues for therapeutic intervention. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Invasion and Metastasis; Jan 20-23, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(3 Suppl):Abstract nr A7.


A fast response analyzer for measuring carbon dioxide concentration has been developed for transient characteristic and researches tested on internal combustion engine. The analyzer uses the well known NDIR(Non-Dispersive Infrared) method with miniaturized detection system, giving a time constant of approximately 30 microsecond, and sampling module consists of capillary tube. Since the transit time and the time constant of the sampling system depend on the sampling conditions, it is necessary to investigate the characteristics of sampling system before applied to exhaust gas measurement in engine. A unique method was designed to study the influence of the diameter of transfer sample line and operating conditions of the FRNDIR on transit time and time constant. A database of transit time and time constant was built up for different measured and simulated pressure conditions. The database can be used for correcting eventual concentration measurement.


Finite difference schemes are here solved by means of a linear matrix equation. The theoretical study of the related algebraic system is exposed, and enables us to minimize the error due to a finite difference approximation.


Gastric ulcer is a serious condition that results from the tearing of the stomach mucosa. A physiological equilibrium is maintained between mucosal defense and aggressive factors. In this study, the effectiveness of medicinal plant ( Hypericum perforatum ) in the management of gastric ulcers was compared to that of omeprazole, a well-known drug for gastric ulcers. This study involved numerous study groups of male rats comprising the following: The first group (control group exposed to Helicobacter pylori and fed with normal animal feed), the second group (rats exposed to H. pylori and treated with two doses (of 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg) of aqueous H. perforatum ), and the third group (rats exposed to H. pylori and treated with 20 mg/kg of omeprazole). The outcome of the study demonstrated that a high dose of 50.65% H. perforatum prevents the development of stomach ulcers. The group treated with omeprazole revealed a formation of stomach ulcers (24.50%). A high dose of the aqueous plant extracts showed greater effectiveness in preventing gastric ulcer formation compared to the lower dosage.


The long-term outlook for the pediatric patient with lupus nephritis has improved dramatically over the past several decades. In 1968, Meislin and Rothfield compared childhood with adult SLE and found the prognosis to be worse when disease onset was at the age of 15 years or younger. Children with renal disease had only a 42% 5-year survival rate vs. an 82% survival rate in adults. Caeiro et al. found the 10-year survival rate in childhood to be only 48%. However, more recent data have demonstrated comparable results for patients of all ages. Ten-year patient survival rates have improved to 69% to 85% as a result of better immunosuppressive therapy, more effective antibiotics, and improved control of hypertension. Despite this overall improvement, severe renal disease continues to complicate the course of 20% to 35% of patients with SLE originating in childhood and demands further investigation of newer therapeutic measures.


Summary form only given. Near-stoichiometric LiNbO/sub 3/ crystals have been grown by the top-seeded solution method using the melt containing 59 mol% Li/sub 2/O and 41 mol% Nb/sub 2/O/sub 5/ with 200 ppm Tb/sub 4/O/sub 7/ and 100 ppm Fe/sub 2/O/sub 3/. A sample (a/spl times/b/spl times/c=8/spl times/3.1/spl times/10 mm/sup 3/) investigated here was cut from the boule, oriented, and optically polished. The absorption spectrum of as-grown crystal was similar to that of ordinary Fe-doped crystal. However, this doubly-doped crystal exhibited a strong and thermally stable induced absorption band in the visible range when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. The UV-induced absorption band was very stable against thermal decay at room temperature, but could be optically bleached with visible lights. The response to UV light was very fast, and the induced absorption was saturated in a few sec. at each UV intensity. The fast coloration upon UV exposure can be effectively used for a quick erasure of the stored information if holograms are recorded from the colored state. Holographic storage was carried out using the conventional two-wave mixing technique.


Citizen science has a significant contribution to Natural Resource Management (NRM) through the acquisition and sharing of knowledge. Innovative online technology is playing an increasing role in the support and implementation of citizen science activities. Two projects being conducted in Victoria are using web-based spatial applications to facilitate and support the use of community sourced information for natural resource management and biodiversity conservation. The Natural Resource Management planning portal (NRMPP) is a regional catchment planning tool designed for Catchment Management Authorities and Landcare organisations to plan and prioritise natural resource management works. State-wide Flora and Fauna Teams (SWIFFT) is network of community groups, individuals and organisations that is underpinned by online technology to share knowledge and data on biodiversity issues throughout Victoria. Open source web-based spatial platforms are being used to deliver existing data from multiple sources, provide tools for the entry of spatial data and to provide information required for decision making. The focus of the two projects is to build knowledge management systems with tools that can be used by the community, land managers and other stakeholders to manage, control and share their own data in an online environment. Submission and sharing of community biodiversity and NRM data using online spatial platforms, and federating it with regional, state and national environmental data is facilitating community engagement and providing a process for identifying opportunities to collaborate on NRM activities and biodiversity conservation projects.


As the fastest growing sector within the international tourism industry, having grown at roughly double the rate of international tourism as a whole, the cruise liner business has shown impressive growth in the North American and European markets. For port management purposes, as well as for transport policy, it is essential to be able to forecast accurately cruise passenger arrivals and their variability. In the presence of time-varying variances (or volatility), it is crucial to model such volatility in order to provide sensible forecast intervals in addition to the forecast themselves. Time-varying volatility in port management is important because governments and businesses need to be aware of the uncertainty associated with the number of cruise passenger arrivals and their associated growth. In calculating income elasticities, port taxes and tourist taxes, it is essential to obtain accurate estimates of cruise passenger arrivals and their volatility. Moreover, in an international context in which natural disasters, terrorism, crime and ethnic conflicts, among others, have significant impacts on tourism, it is crucial to assess the persistence of shocks on cruise passenger arrivals for effective crisis management plans, including different forms of co-operation among ports facing similar shocks. Appropriate models are required to enable optimal private and public decision making in designing ports for cruise ships. Daily cruise passenger arrivals data for the three major ports in the Balearic Islands, Spain, namely Palma, Ibiza and Mahon, for the period 1997-2006, as well as for the high cruise season for each island,are analyzed using alternative conditional mean and conditional volatility models in order to provide empirical support for purposes of optimal decision making. Four different types of asymmetries are analyzed according to the positive and negative shocks to daily cruise passenger arrivals, as well as from distinctions between the high and low cruise seasons. The estimates of cruise passenger arrivals and their volatility are generally found to be sensible and to have valid statistical properties. Likelihood ratio tests of the constancy of coefficients in the high and low cruise seasons indicate that the weekly delayed response of cruise passenger arrivals differ significantly spatially across islands and temporally across seasons.


Under the guidance of alert adults, young children can develop new understandings, learn valuable skills, and acquire positive attitudes toward life and learning by taking part in activities in the kitchen. This book provides ideas that parents and parent surrogates can use to provide experiences in the kitchen that will contribute to children's intellectual growth. The activities discussed are varied and offer a range of opportunities for child involvement. Several categories of activities are included. Exploring activities are those that allow children to freely examine materials. Cooking experinces allow children to handle food and assist in the preparation of foods. Chores activities offer experiences which lead to the formation of good work habits and responsible behaviors. Play activities encourage children to express themselves freely and creatively. A section on talking and storytelling provides suggestions for promotirg open communication, language development, use of symbolism, and growth in imagination. (21 references) (BB) A******************************************A*************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made A from the original document. **********************************%************************************


Abstract Let
$q\ge2$
 be an integer,
$\{X_n\}_{n\geq 1}$
 a stochastic process with state space
$\{0,\ldots,q-1\}$
 , and F the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of
$\sum_{n=1}^\infty X_n q^{-n}$
 . We show that stationarity of
$\{X_n\}_{n\geq 1}$
 is equivalent to a functional equation obeyed by F, and use this to characterize the characteristic function of X and the structure of F in terms of its Lebesgue decomposition. More precisely, while the absolutely continuous component of F can only be the uniform distribution on the unit interval, its discrete component can only be a countable convex combination of certain explicitly computable CDFs for probability distributions with finite support. We also show that
$\mathrm{d} F$
 is a Rajchman measure if and only if F is the uniform CDF on [0, 1].


Abstract A tissue mimic material with a sound velocity of 1540 m s–1 and an acoustic attenuation of 0·5 dB MHz–1 cm–1 is required for calibrating medical Doppler ultrasound transducers. These properties can be obtained with a solid material comprised of a gel containing a high water content. If solid elastomers are to be used to provide a more stable tissue mimic, modelling suggests that the materials would require low viscoelastic damping, with a low glass transition temperature, Tg. Castable polyurethanes have been made using a polybutadiene soft segment and by adding process oil, the acoustic loss has been reduced to 0·9 dB MHz–1 cm–1 with a sound velocity of 1459 m s–1. Unfilled butadiene rubber (with a high-cis microstructure) had an acoustic loss around 1 dB MHz–1 cm–1, the low loss being associated with its low Tg, with a sound velocity of 1567 m s–1. Silicone elastomers made from unfilled poly dimethyl siloxane had an acoustic loss of 0·71 dB MHz–1 cm–1, but the sound velocity was too low at 1033 m s–1. Filler particles were added to raise the sound velocity, but they seemed to act as scattering centres and the composite had high acoustic attenuation. None of the elastomers were able to reproduce the acoustic attenuation characteristics of the tissue mimic gel.


The concepts of unitary evolution matrices and associative memory have boosted the field of Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) to state-of-the-art performance in a variety of sequential tasks. However, RNN still have a limited capacity to manipulate long-term memory. To bypass this weakness the most successful applications of RNN use external techniques such as attention mechanisms. In this paper we propose a novel RNN model that unifies the state-of-the-art approaches: Rotational Unit of Memory (RUM). The core of RUM is its rotational operation, which is, naturally, a unitary matrix, providing architectures with the power to learn long-term dependencies by overcoming the vanishing and exploding gradients problem. Moreover, the rotational unit also serves as associative memory. We evaluate our model on synthetic memorization, question answering and language modeling tasks. RUM learns the Copying Memory task completely and improves the state-of-the-art result in the Recall task. RUM's performance in the bAbI Question Answering task is comparable to that of models with attention mechanism. We also improve the state-of-the-art result to 1.189 bits-per-character (BPC) loss in the Character Level Penn Treebank (PTB) task, which is to signify the applications of RUM to real-world sequential data. The universality of our construction, at the core of RNN, establishes RUM as a promising approach to language modeling, speech recognition and machine translation.


HyLine Brown laying hens at 30 weeks of age were treated twice daily with Fadrozole, a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor (AI; 1 mg/kg body weight; i.m.) for six consecutive days; control hens received saline. Blood was collected every day 0.5 h after oviposition, i.e. just before AI treatment. Ovarian steroids: progesterone (P4), testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2), and iodothyronines: thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) and reverse-triiodothyronine (rT3) were measured in blood plasma by radioimmunoassay methods. In AI-treated hens a gradual delay in oviposition time was observed. AI significantly decreased P4 and E2 levels, maximally by 43% on day 4 and by 74% on day 5, respectively, and elevated T level, maximally by 248% on day 4. Simultaneously, the increases in T4 and T3 levels with no changes in rT3 levels were observed. The maximal effect of AI on T4 and T3 levels was found on day 4 (60% increase) and day 5 (312% increase), respectively. Moreover, statistically significant, negative coefficient of correlation between E2 and T3 (r = -0.51), and positive coefficient of correlation between T and T3 (r = 0.42) in AI-treated hens were found. The results obtained indicate that in mature laying hens there is a strong relationship between ovarian steroids and thyroid hormones, and suppression of E2 synthesis not only disrupts ovarian function but also affects the activity of the thyroid gland and peripheral metabolism of thyroid hormones.


In industrialized countries, endometrial cancer is the most common pelvic gynecologic malignancy, with a 2% to 3% lifetime risk. Expression of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) is known to be associated with good prognosis and response to anti-hormonal therapy. Still, up to 20% of receptor positive cancers recur. The G-protein coupled receptor GPR30 has been suggested as an alternative estrogen receptor. We have studied a prospective series of 472 endometrial cancer patients by immunohistochemistry and 76 for mRNA expression levels by oligonucleotide array. We identify that loss of GPR30 is significantly correlated with non-endometrioid histology and high histologic grade both at the mRNA and protein levels (all p-values≤0.006). In ER positive patients (n=363), loss of GPR30 significantly correlates with high FIGO stage, non-endometrioid histology and high histologic grade (all p-values≤0.005). Loss of GPR30 reduces the 5-year survival of ER positive patients from 93% to 76% (p=0.003) and identifies a subgroup of patients with poor prognosis that until now has been evaluated as favorable survivors. Examination of the gene expression profile for ER positive tumors with and without loss of GPR30, indicates mechanisms involved related to GPR30 expression. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4169. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4169


This paper provides a new hedge fund replication method, which extends Kat and Palaro (2005) and Papageorgiou, Remillard and Hocquard (2008) to multiple trading assets with both long and short positions. The method generates a target payoff distribution by the cheapest dynamic portfolio. It is regarded as an extension of Dybvig (1988) to continuous-time framework and dynamic portfolio optimization where the dynamic trading strategy is derived analytically by applying Malliavin calculus. It is shown that the cost minimization is equivalent to maximization of a certain class of von Neumann-Morgenstern utility functions. The method is applied to the replication of a CTA/Managed Futures Index in practice.