The information revolution has shaped a new generation. Our study focused on the relation between the social networks that benefit from the opportunities arising from information technologies and the communication behaviors of Generation 2000 university students. According to the findings of this research, in Turkey, university students' use of mobile Internet and social networks is increasing and becoming widespread when compared to that observed in the previous years. For both Generation 2000 and others in Turkey, Facebook is the preferred network. In contrast to the expectations, our study showed that members of Generation 2000 in Turkey do not exhibit difficulty in using electronic communication. These technologies prevent face-to-face communication, determine social networks to a certain degree, and remove the above-mentioned contradiction. We found that Generation 2000 in Turkey is aware of information technology and the possible negative effects of electronic social networks. Finally, we noted that Generation 2000 in Turkey is addicted neither to the Internet nor to electronic social networks.


T he ability to distinguish between self versus nonself is the most salient feature of the immune system. It is of vital importance for the immune system to mount vigorous humoral and cellular responses to foreign antigens. On the other hand, it is equally important for the immune system to be tolerant against self-antigens. Tolerance can be maintained either by physical elimination (clonal deletion) or functional inactivation (clonal anergy) of the autoreactive T or B cells. Several excellent reviews have explored in depth the mechanisms by which clonal deletion or anergy might occur.1-5 The failure to delete or inactivate autoreactive T or B cells would lead to generalized or organ-specific autoimmunity. In this issue of Circulation, Sharaf and colleagues show that the cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase may be a candidate autoantigen in experimental cardiomyopathy. I will briefly review key concepts in immunology before discussing the validity of this claim.


Enzyme immunoassays have been used to detect Helicobacter pylori infection in human body materials such as faeces, urine and saliva. The stool antigen assay (HpSA), which uses polyclonal anti‐H. pylori antibody as a capture reagent, has been widely used in the pre‐treatment diagnosis of the infection in adults and children. Although the assay has the potential for monitoring eradication therapy, there are controversies over its use, especially at an early stage after treatment. The efficacy of the stool antigen assay can be modified by using monoclonal antibodies towards well characterized H. pylori faecal antigens. Two types of enzyme immunoassays (enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA] and immunochromatography) have been used to detect antibodies to H. pylori in urine. Immunochromatography of urine is a rapid assay well suited for epidemiological studies. The salivary ELISA, used in a number of studies, has shown inconsistent results with less than optimum sensitivity and specificity. Urinary and salivary immunoassays may not distinguish between past and present infections, thus limiting their potential to monitor eradication therapy.


This paper proposes a spatial heterodyne Raman spectrometer (SHRS) based on a multi-Littrow-angle multi-grating (MLAMG). Compared with a conventional multi-grating, the MLAMG not only provides higher spectral resolution and a broader spectral range, but is also easier to produce. A verification breadboard system is built using the MLAMG combined with four sub-gratings with a groove density of 300 gr/mm and Littrow angles of 4.6355°, 4.8536°, 5.0820°, and 5.3253°. This MLAMG-SHRS is used to obtain the Raman spectra of inorganic solids and organic solutions for different integration times, laser powers, suspension contents, and containers. The Raman spectra of mixed targets and minerals are also presented. The experiments demonstrate that the MLAMG-SHRS is suitable for broadband measurements at high spectral resolution in a wide range of potential applications.


A patient (Travis) suffering from ALS received a holistic principle-based protocol that combined manual-movement techniques with philosophical counseling. After 4 sessions, he exhibited a remarkable improvement in head-neck alignment, balance/mobility, autonomic activity, and worldview for a 2-month span. These changes occurred only after his worldview underwent a shift from a dualistic split of mind and body to a nondualistic orientation. After this 2-month period of improvement, Travis' structural alignment and balance/mobility suddenly deteriorated rapidly. Yet, his enhanced worldview and autonomic tone continued through a final follow-up taken 17 weeks after the initial evaluation.


The occurrence of renal insufficiency associated with heavy glomerular proteinuria during the course of continuous rifampin therapy in a patient with pulmonary tuberculosis is reported. Renal biopsy demonstrated acute interstitial nephritis, normal glomerular histology, effacement of glomerular epithelial cell foot processes, and electron-dense deposits in mesangial matrix and subendothelial and paramesangial sites. Discontinuation of rifampin was followed by improvement in renal function and abatement of proteinuria. We call attention to the broad clinical and morphologic spectrum of nephrotoxicity which may be induced by rifampin and a variety of other drugs.


235 Background: The Institute for Healthcare Improvement developed the Global Trigger Tool (GTT) for measuring harm rates over time in 2006. Few studies have been published on the measurement properties of GTT and no studies have assessed the value of adding specific modules to the generic GTT. We, therefore, aimed to determine inter-rater reliability, and to evaluate the effect of interrater variation on the reliability of the generic GTT to detect adverse event rates over time. Furthermore to evaluate the effect of adding an oncology specific module to the generic GTT on number and category of adverse events (AEs) identified.

METHODS
A retrospective chart review was performed by two teams consisting of two primary reviewers. One team used the general GTT, and the other used an oncology specific GTT (GTTO); consisting of the general GTT module plus an additional oncology module. A random sample of 10 charts was selected every two weeks between all discharged patients from a Department of Oncology in 2010. n=240. All charts were reviewed by both teams using standard GTT methods and measures. AEs per 1,000 admission days and AEs per 100 admissions where used to draw Statistical process control (SPC) charts for evaluation of the patient safety process. Inter-rater variability between review teams was assessed calculating the Kappa Cohen coefficient using data from the identical general GTT module.

RESULTS
Reliability between the two teams of reviewers to identify an AE was moderate [K=0.45]. A comparison of SPC charts, using the results from the identical general module, showed that moderate agreement gave rise to different conclusions on the patient safety process between teams. Comparing GTT with GTTO we found no significant difference (CI 95% [0.06-0.08]) in number of identified AEs and an equal distribution of the events on harm categories. GTT and GTTO identified 56 and 57 AEs respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Moderate agreement between review teams gave rise to different conclusions on the patient safety process suggesting limited use of the GTT to track harm rates over time. Addition of an oncology specific module showed no significant effect on the total number or distribution of AEs on harm categories.


[1] In this work, we numerically simulated the saltating particles in a turbulent boundary layer over flat bed and sand ripples. By using natural sand grains in a wind tunnel, we obtained the initial conditions for the simulation and also verified the correctness of the numerical model. We carefully analyzed the numerically simulated saltating particle movement over the two sand beds, and we found the following. (1) The aeolian sand transport is a dynamic equilibrium process on both sand beds, and it took longer to reach equilibration on the sand ripples than on the flat bed. (2) According to the mass flux profile at the trough of the sand ripples, there is a maximum mass flux at about 4 cm height in the leeward section. The mass flux increases with height below 4 cm and decreases with height above 4 cm. (3) The wind profile near the surface is modified by saltating particles on the two different sand beds, and the flow field characteristics of the sand ripples are more complex than that of the flat bed.


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

Epithelial ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers and because of the pelvic location of the ovaries, the patients present at an advanced stage that is generally incurable. SV40 is a type of polyoma virus has been shown to induce tumors in rodents, transform cells in tissue culture and promote tumor transformation in transgenic mice. Many studies have reported the presence of simian virus 40 (SV40) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or protein in human brain tumors, bone cancers, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, malignant mesothelioma and other solid epithelial tumors including epithelial ovarian carcinomas. We studied the expression of SV40 in a tissue microarray cohort of 156 epithelial ovarian cancers by immunohistochemistry. The incidence of SV40 expression was 44.3% (58/131) and poorly differentiated carcinomas showed a trend towards higher expression of SV40 as compared to moderately and well differentiated tumors (p=0.0898). Validation of SV40 IHC expression was done by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay in selected clinical samples and ovarian cancer cell lines. A good concordance was observed between immunohistochemical expression of SV40 and amplification by PCR. Earlier studies have reported various molecular targets of SV40: up-regulation of c-MET oncogene and IGF-1; inhibition of tumor suppressor genes like p53, RASS1FA and protein phosphotase PP2A. To elucidate the link between these targets and SV40 we assessed the immunohistochemical expression of p53, RASS1FA, PP2A, c-MET and IGF-1 the cohort of epithelial ovarian carcinomas. In addition we also analyzed the association of SV40 with known oncogenic mutations in p53, KRAS and PIK3CA genes. SV40 expression showed a significant association with presence of p53 mutation (p<0.0001.) as well as p53 overexpression (p<0.0001). In addition, SV40 expression was associated with overexpression of c-MET (p=0.0111) and IGF-1(p=0.0334). EOC patients with SV40 expression had a poor progression free survival (PFS) of 13.2 months as compared to 20 months with absent SV40 expression (p=0.0980). In the multivariate analysis using Cox Proportional Hazard model for multiple factors like age, FIGO stage, grade, the relative risk was 1.70 for high SV40 expression (95% CI 1.10 – 2.69; p=0.0227) and 2.32 for high stage group III-IV (95% CI 1.33 – 3.90; p=0.0038). Thus, SV40 over expression was an independent prognostic marker in EOC. Altogether, our data highlights the prognostic utility of SV40 as a prognostic biomarker and confirms the well-known effect of SV40 on down-regulation or inactivation of p53, and activation of c-MET/IGF-1 in the epithelial ovarian carcinogenesis.

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 2711. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2711


It is commonly assumed that in ultrastrong laser fields, when the strong field parameter of the laser field $\xi$ is larger than one, the electron radiation is well described by the local constant field approximation (LCFA). We discuss the failure of this conjecture, considering radiation of an ultrarelativistic electron interacting with strong counterpropagating laser waves. A deviation from LCFA, in particular in the high-frequency domain, is shown to occur even at $\xi\gg 1$ because of the appearance of an additional small time scale in the trajectory. Moreover, we identify a new class of LCFA violation, when the radiation formation length becomes smaller than the one via LCFA. It is characterized by a broad and smooth spectrum rather than an harmonic structure. A similar phenomenon is also demonstrated in the scenario of an electron colliding with an ultrashort laser pulse. The relevance to laser-plasma kinetic simulations is discussed.


Enhancing therapeutic efficacy is essential for successful treatment of chemoresistant cancers such as metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). To improve the efficacy of doxorubicin (DOX) for treating chemoresistant disease, the feasibility of using nanodiamond (ND) particles was investigated. Utilizing the pH responsive properties of ND, a novel protocol for complexing NDs and DOX was developed using a pH 8.5 coupling buffer. The DOX loading efficiency, loading on the NDs, and pH responsive release characteristics were determined utilizing UV-Visible spectroscopy. The effects of the ND-DOX on HRPC cell line PC3 were evaluated with MTS and live/dead cell viability assays. ND-DOX displayed exceptional loading efficiency (95.7%) and drug loading on NDs (23.9 wt%) with optimal release at pH 4 (80%). In comparison to treatment with DOX alone, cell death significantly increased when cells were treated with ND-DOX complexes demonstrating a 50% improvement in DOX efficacy. Of the tested treatments, ND-DOX with 2.4 μg mL−1 DOX exhibited superior efficacy (60% cell death). ND-DOX with 1.2 μg mL−1 DOX achieved 42% cell death, which was comparable to cell death in response to 2.4 μg mL−1 of free DOX, suggesting that NDs aid in decreasing the DOX dose necessary to achieve a chemotherapeutic efficacy. Due to its enhanced efficacy, ND-DOX can be used to successfully treat HRPC and potentially decrease the clinical side effects of DOX.


AIM To investigate clinical, etiological, and prognostic features in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who were followed-up from 2001 to 2011 were included in the study. The diagnosis was established by histopathological and/or radiological criteria. We retrospectively reviewed clinical and laboratory data, etiology of primary liver disease, imaging characteristics and treatments. Child-Pugh and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage was determined at initial diagnosis. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was done to find out treatment effect on survival. Risk factors for vascular invasion and overall survival were investigated by multivariate Cox regression analyses. RESULTS Five hundred and forty-five patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were included in the study. Viral hepatitis was prevalent and 68 patients either had normal liver or were non-cirrhotic. Overall median survival was 16 (13-19) mo. Presence of extrahepatic metastasis was associated with larger tumor size (OR = 3.19, 95%CI: 1.14-10.6). Independent predictor variables of vascular invasion were AFP (OR = 2.95, 95%CI: 1.38-6.31), total tumor diameter (OR = 3.14, 95%CI: 1.01-9.77), and hepatitis B infection (OR = 5.37, 95%CI: 1.23-23.39). Liver functional reserve, tumor size/extension, AFP level and primary treatment modality were independent predictors of overall survival. Transarterial chemoembolization (HR = 0.38, 95%CI: 0.28-0.51) and radioembolization (HR = 0.36, 95%CI: 0.18-0.74) provided a comparable survival benefit in the real life setting. Surgical treatments as resection and transplantation were found to be associated with the best survival compared with loco-regional treatments (log-rank, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Baseline liver function, oncologic features including AFP level and primary treatment modality determines overall survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.


At present, motivation is gaining a special significance in the organization management process. It has become a management function that encourages people to work. The objective of a wellorganized motivation system is to determine rewards at a level appreciated by the subordinate and to set ambitious but achievable goals. One of a number of such rewards is the promotion understood as moving a person to a higher position in the organization's hierarchy. An organization in which this type of motivational tool plays an important role is the State Forests National Forest Holding (hereinafter: the State Forests) an organizational unit having no legal personality and operating for over ninety years. The purpose of this paper is to explain motivation techniques used in the State Forests based on the example of Antonin Forest Inspectorate. The study focuses on the promotion as the most important and most effective motivational incentive for the State Forests staff (15.32% of the surveyed said so).


Wewould like to thank the authors for taking a keen interest in our recently published RCT to examine the outcome of a singleversus double-layer hysterotomy closure at cesarean delivery using ultrasound to assess uterine scar thickness [1]. Our results suggest that the residual myometrium thickness (RMT) at least six months after surgery was significantly increased after double-layer closure compared with single-layer unlocked suturing of the low transverse uterine incision in women with primary or elective cesarean delivery. Despite the fact that this is the largest randomized trial in this field to date, further statistical comparisons between the subgroups of women in each arm were difficult due to a limited sample size after lost to follow-up. Regarding women who underwent a primary cesarean in labor, we were able to perform scar assessment (intention to treat) at least six months after birth in 13 participants with a singlelayer unlocked suture, 18 women after single-layer locked suture and 10 women with double-layer closure. As mentioned by Roberge and Bujold [2], including the inner side of the uterine wall (decidua) in the suture may lead to impaired scar healing, isthmocele and placenta accreta [3] in a subsequent pregnancy. This is in agreement with your results, showing a 2.4 mm thicker RMT of the cesarean scar after double-layer closure excluding the decidua in comparison to women with a locked single-layer suture including the endometrium. Therefore, we decided that in all closure types the first layer suture should penetrate the full thickness of the myometrium, including a narrow band of the endometrial layer avoiding the involvement of large segments of the decidua within the stitch. We are not able to ensure that this technique was performed in all participants, in particular in women who were delivered by an in labor cesarean section at the second stage and in whom the lower uterine segment was thin. However, due to randomization and intention to treat as well as treated analyses, we may argue that this bias did not significantly influence our results.


In Type 1 and advanced Type 2 diabetes mellitus, elevation of plasma epinephrine plays a key role in normalizing plasma glucose during hypoglycaemia. However, recurrent hypoglycaemia blunts this elevation of plasma epinephrine. To determine whether recurrent hypoglycaemia affects peripheral components of the sympatho-adrenal system responsible for epinephrine release, male rats were administered subcutaneous insulin daily for 3 days. These recurrent hypoglycaemic animals showed a smaller elevation of plasma epinephrine than saline-injected controls when subjected to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia. Electrical stimulation of an adrenal branch of the splanchnic nerve in recurrent hypoglycaemic animals elicited less release of epinephrine and norepinephrine than in controls, without a change in adrenal catecholamine content. Responsiveness of isolated, perfused adrenal glands to acetylcholine and other acetylcholine receptor agonists was also unchanged. These results indicate that recurrent hypoglycaemia compromised the efficacy with which peripheral neuronal activity stimulates adrenal catecholamine release and demonstrate that peripheral components of the sympatho-adrenal system were directly affected by recurrent hypoglycaemia.


We observed the response of nesting Florida sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis pratensis) to 27 instances of nest inspection. The disturbed bird flew from the area 81% and walked 19% of the time. The median distance moved was 330 meters (range 28 to 480 meters). The median length of time the nest was left unattended following inspection was 50 min (range: 10 to 166 min). The median length of time that observers stayed at the nest was 16 min (range: 5 to 48 min). Ten of the nests inspected (40%) eventually failed to produce young. Statistical analysis was focused on the direction and strength of association between various predictors and 4 disturbance-related outcomes; flying vs. walking, distance moved, time-off-nest, and nest fate. A limited sample size precluded the use of more than 2 predictors simultaneously in any of the statistical models. We found that the farther into incubation the nest was (nest age) the greater the likelihood the incubating bird would fly from the nest (r2=0.28, P= 0.064). Greater time-in nest area was associated with a longer time-off-nest (r2=0.29, P= 0.008). Greater time-in nest area and longer time-off-nest were both univariantely associated with a greater probability of nest failure (r2=0.36, P=0.018 and r2=0.40, P=0.008 respectively). Four variables (time-in-area, time-off-nest, age of nest, whether the disturbed crane or its mate returned to the nest) considered in pair wise combinations were all significantly associated with probability of nest failure (r2 range: 0.46 to 0.72). Longer time-in-area and whether the disturbed bird was the returning bird had the strongest overall association with likely nest failure (r2=0.72, P=0.010). Although the nest failure rate of 44% in the experimental nests was greater than the failure rate of 26% for a concurrently collected sample of control nests, the 2 rates were not significantly different (P=0.353). Based on these results we would recommend that crane nests be inspected in 12-13 min or less. If possible, nest inspections should occur later rather than earlier in the incubation period, carried out in a manner that increases the likelihood that the disturbed bird will walk rather than fly from the nest area, and timed to increase the chance that the non-disturbed bird will be the returning bird. PROCEEDINGS NORTH AMERICAN CRANE WORKSHOP 9:241-246


Abstract. The accommodative response of 15 myopic, 10 hypermetropic and 15 emmetropic (<+0.50 D) subjects was assessed by the laser optometer. The Snellen E target was viewed binocularly whilst the monocular response to various levels of stimuli (0 D to 5 D) was measured. The mean response/stimulus curves and resting points for each group are compared. No significant difference is present between the 3 groups. There is no correlation between a) the resting point and spectacle prescription (r = 0.20) and b) the slope of the response/stimulus curve and the spectacle prescription (r = –0.32). The effect of ametropia on the accommodative response is insignificant.


We found that the SU UMa-type dwarf nova NY Ser in the period gap [orbital period 0.097558(6) d] showed standstills twice in 2018. This is the first clear demonstration of a standstill occurring between superoutbursts of an SU UMa-type dwarf nova. There was no sign of superhumps during the standstill, and at least one superoutburst directly started from the standstill. This provides strong evidence that the 3:1 resonance was excited during standstills. This phenomenon indicates that the disk radius can grow during standstills. We also interpret that the condition close to the limit of the tidal instability caused early quenching of superoutbursts, which resulted substantial amount of matter left in the disk after the superoutburst. We interpret that the substantial matter in the disk in condition close to the limit of the tidal instability is responsible for standstills (as in the high mass-transfer system NY Ser) or multiple rebrightenings (as in the low mass-transfer system V1006 Cyg).


OBJECTIVE
Organised child sexual abuse is characterised by commercial exploitation of children and adolescents by networking perpetrator groups. Ritual abuse is further characterised by ideological frameworks (e.g., cults).

METHODS
Forty-one confidential hearings and written reports, gathered by the German Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse from individuals as well as contemporary witnesses subjected to organised and ritual abuse (ORA) were analysed by means of a quantitative content analysis.

RESULTS
Right-wing extremist, Satanist and religious ideologies were most frequently described. The perpetrators were, next to unknown offenders, mostly described as fathers, and in half of the reports, besides also mothers of the victims. Dissociative identity disorders resulting from such traumatic violence present a challenge to psychosocial and psychiatric professionals.

DISCUSSION
It is necessary to educate professionals in psychosocial care settings about ORA and the psychological consequences of extreme violence.


Although exercise training is generally thought to exert a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, additional experimental work is required to determine the mechanism(s) by which training influences cardiovascular function. The utilization of an in situ preparation for cardiovascular studies should provide valuable information since both peripheral circulatory and myocardial performances can be evaluated. However, this paper specifically considers functional evaluation of the intact, in situ heart. The underlying physiological basis for ventricular pump performance evaluation in the intact heart is presented. Isolated muscle mechanics (force-velocity) principles are discussed and their application to the intact heart is illustrated. Proposed biochemical correlates of total tension development, the maximal rate of tension development, and maximal velocity of shortening are presented. The methods and procedures currently available for functional evaluation are described. Finally, the results of previous exercise studies where in situ cardiac functional evaluation has been utilized are reviewed.


The actions of 2,6-dimethyl-3,5-dicarbomethoxy-4-(2-isothiocyano)phenyl-1,4- dihydropyridine (o-NCS-DHP), a nifedipine analog bearing a reactive group, have been characterized in vitro by pharmacological and radioligand binding techniques in a number of smooth muscles and in vivo by blood pressure and radioligand binding. o-NCS-DHP exhibits persistent, but slowly reversible, antagonism in guinea pig ileal longitudinal smooth muscle, guinea pig bladder, taenia coli, rat portal vein, and rat tail artery to receptor responses (muscarinic and alpha-adrenoceptor) and K+ depolarization initiated responses. Duration of response was significantly longer than that of equivalent concentrations of nifedipine. In many tissues a component of antagonism produced by o-NCS-DHP was not reversed by repeated washing over the duration of the experiment (up to 2 or 7 h). A comparison of the actions of o-NCS-DHP and its isomers m-NCS-DHP and p-NCS-DHP revealed the former to be significantly longer lasting in rat tail artery against K+ depolarization induced responses. A similar profile was exhibited when the Ca2+ channel activator Bay K 8644 was employed as the stimulant, but the antagonism produced by all three compounds was fully reversed with sufficiently prolonged washing. In vivo administration of o-NCS-DHP (5-25 mg/kg) produced a persistent reduction of [3H]nitrendipine binding in rat brain, gut, and heart characterized as Bmax, but not KD, changes. No effects on [3H]dihydroalprenolol or [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate binding were detected. Binding site recoveries were characterized by t1/2 values of 35-50 h, and these were significantly prolonged to 91-107 h in animals treated with cycloheximide. Recovery of [3H]nitrendipine binding sites correlated with blood pressure restoration in spontaneously hypertensive rats. These data suggest that o-NCS-DHP possesses both reversible and irreversible actions. The reversible actions are unusually persistent compared with nifedipine and other 1,4-dihydropyridine analogs. This persistent, but reversible component, may be accompanied by an irreversible action particularly at the higher concentrations employed in the in vivo experiments.


Much of our knowledge about land use and ecosystem services in interrelated social-ecological systems is derived fromplace-based research.While local and regional case studies provide valuable insights, it is often unclear how relevant this research is beyond the study areas. Drawing generalized conclusions about practical solutions to landmanagement from local observations and formulating hypotheses applicable to other places in the world requires that we identify patterns of land systems that are similar to those represented by the case study. Here, we utilize the previously developed concept of land system archetypes to investigate potential transferability of research from twelve regional projects implemented in a large joint research framework that focus on issues of sustainable landmanagement across four continents. For each project, we characterize its project archetype, i.e. the unique land system based on a synthesis ofmore than 30 datasets of land-use intensity, environmental conditions and socioeconomic indicators.We estimate the transferability potential of project research by calculating the statistical similarity of locations across the world to the project archetype, assuming higher transferability potentials in locations with similar land system characteristics. Results show that areas with high transferability potentials are typically clustered around project sites but for some case studies can be found in regions that are geographically distant, especially when values of considered variables are close to the globalmean or where the project archetype is driven by large-scale environmental or socioeconomic conditions. Using specific examples from the local case studies, we highlight themerit of our approach and discuss the differences between local realities and information captured in global datasets. The proposedmethod provides a blueprint for large research programs to assess potential transferability of place-based studies to other geographical areas and to indicate possible gaps in research efforts. OPEN ACCESS


Piezoelectric actuators are usually stacked or bimorph in configuration. In this paper the mechanics of a three-layer piezoelectric bimorph is discussed and its dynamic model with hysteresis is presented. The results can be used to analyze piezoelectric actuators constructed with three-layer piezoelectric bimorphs. A piezoelectric bimorph actuator has been fabricated and experiments have been carried out to verify the model. The calculated results of this model closely matched the tested results. This model can also be used with other types of piezoelectric actuators with a slight modification.


The longitudinal and transverse beam shifts, namely, the Goos-Hänchen (GH) and the Spin-Hall (SH) shifts are usually observed at planar interfaces. It has recently been shown that the transverse SH shift may also arise due to scattering of plane waves. Here, we show that analogous in-plane (longitudinal) shifts also exist in the scattering of plane waves from micro/nano systems. We study both the GH and the SH shifts in plasmonic metal nanoparticles/nanostructures and dielectric micro-particles employing a unified framework that utilizes the transverse components of the Poynting vector of the scattered wave. The results demonstrate that the interference of neighboring resonance modes in plasmonic nanostructures (e.g., electric dipolar and quadrupolar modes in metal spheres) leads to great enhancement of the GH shift in scattering from such systems. We also unravel interesting correlations between these shifts with the polarimetry parameters, diattenuation and retardance.


Objective: This cross-sectional survey assessed the knowledge about HIV/AIDS and sexual behaviours of the Commercial Motor Cycle Riders in Jos Metropolis, Plateau state.
Methodology: A two stage sampling technique was used to recruit 47 subjects from each of the eight (8) Commercial Motor Cycle Riders station to make up a total of 376 eligible subjects for this study. Data was generated using semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire and the results were analyzed using EPI info version 2000 computer software.
Results: The study revealed that all the respondents were males, with mean age of 25.7+3.6 years and 86.4% of them were not married. Up to 55.0% of the respondents did not attend any school, while 30.0% attended either Arabic or primary schools. Only 21.3% of the respondents had good knowledge about HIV/AIDS Whereas 47.8% and 30.9% of them had fair and poor knowledge respectively. Up to 43.0% of the respondents had their first sexual intercourse at or before the age of 17 years, the major circumstance for which was 'fun' (73.4%). Out of the 24.0% of the respondents who admitted to have had casual sex in the last 12 months, 89.0% had sex with commercial sex workers (as well as other women) and in 87.0% of the cases condom was used. The major reason for not using condom during casual sex was 'dislike of condom' (41.6%) followed by 'unavailability of condom' (33.0%) and 'refusal of partner' (25.0%). One form of illicit drug or the other was used (at least once) by 81.6% of the subjects, while 32.0% of them had ever consumed alcohol.
Conclusion: The study revealed that being unmarried have a statistically significant relationship with keeping multiple sexual partners. Alcohol consumption is also shown to have a strong statistically significant relationship with indulgence in casual sex. However it was observed that knowledge had no statistically significant relationship with use of condom, frequency of casual sex and sex with commercial sex workers. Illicit drug use was also not found to have a statistically significant relationship with indulgence in casual sex.
 Keywords : Commercial Motor-cycle Riders (Okada), HIV/AIDS, Commercial Sex Workers, Regular sexual partner. Highland Medical Research Journal Vol. 4 (2) 2006 pp. 32-38


Buildings bear much of the damage from natural disasters, and determining the extent of this damage is of great importance to post-disaster emergency relief. The application of deep learning to satellite remote sensing imagery has become more and more mature in monitoring natural disasters, but there are problems such as the small pixel scale of targets and overlapping targets that hinder the effectiveness of the model. Based on the SegFormer semantic segmentation model, this study proposes the SegDetector model for difficult detection of small-scale targets and overlapping targets in target detection tasks. By changing the calculation method of the loss function, the detection of overlapping samples is improved and the time-consuming non-maximum-suppression (NMS) algorithm is discarded, and the horizontal and rotational detection of buildings can be easily and conveniently implemented. In order to verify the effectiveness of the SegDetector model, the xBD dataset, which is a dataset for assessing building damage from satellite imagery, was transformed and tested. The experiment results show that the SegDetector model outperforms the state-of-the-art (SOTA) models such as you-only-look-once (YOLOv3, v4, v5) in the xBD dataset with F1: 0.71, Precision: 0.63, and Recall: 0.81. At the same time, the SegDetector model has a small number of parameters and fast detection capability, making it more practical for deployment.


Compressional velocities V P were measured in laboratory samples at ultrasonic frequencies (0.5-1.5 MHz) and under varying confining and pore fluid pressures (up to 40 MPa). Forty-two water saturated sandstones having a range of porosities Phi (2 to 36 percent), permeabilities K (0.001 to 306 mD) and clay contents C (negligible to 30 percent) were studied. I found that at 40 MPa the compressional velocity is inversely proportional to clay content. P-wave velocity decreases with increasing porosity, but the scatter is large even at very high pressures. The velocity-porosity scatter is reduced when the clay content is included. The dependence of V P on permeability for a wide range of porosities (6 to 36 percent) is indeterminable due to a large scatter. When the rocks are grouped into identical porosities the scatter is reduced and V P increases with decreasing clay content and increasing permeability. However, the effect of permeability alone on V P was found to be negligible in rocks with identical porosity, lithology, and negligible or similar clay content. Hence, the velocity-permeability relationship is controlled by the velocity-clay content and permeability-clay content interrelations.For all samples, the compressional-wave velocity V P in km/s at ultrasonic frequencies and 40 MPa is related to porosity Phi (fractional), clay content C (fractional) and permeability K (millidarcy) by V P = 5.66 - 6.11Phi - 3.53C + 0.0007K, r = 0.96 where r is the correlation coefficient. The relationship shows empirically that the permeability effect is very small compared to that of porosity and clay content.By calculating the elastic moduli, I extrapolated from ultrasonic to seismic frequencies and obtained V (sub P(seismic)) = 5.27 - 5.4Phi - 2.54C + 0.001K, r = 0.93 for porosities 6-36 percent.


We discuss entry wages, career patterns and inequality developments of successive cohorts who have entered the Italian labour market between 1974 and 2014. We find that entry wages started to decline around the mid-1990s; the drop continued at least until the onset of the global financial crisis, seemingly slowing down thereafter. This pattern cannot be explained by changes in observable job characteristics. Falling entry wages have not been accompanied by faster subsequent career paths; rather, subsequent career paths have increasingly featured rising earnings dispersion due to both increased workers heterogeneity and greater temporary earnings instability. We relate such developments to the changes in labour market institutions that took place between the early 1990s and the mid-2000s.


The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of service education to the emotional labor of dental hygienists and influential factors for their job burnout. The subjects in this study were 155 dental hygienists, on whom a survey was conducted. The findings of the study were as follows: The respondents who ever received service education and were satisfied with that education were better at emotional regulation. After job burnout was classified into physical symptoms and psychological symptoms, a multiple regression analysis was carried out to explore what variables would affect the two subfactors. And it`s found that psychological symptoms were positively affected by emotional dissonance. The above-mentioned findings illustrated that service education had something to do with the emotional labor of the dental hygienists, and that the emotional labor of the dental hygienists had an impact on their job burnout.


ABSTRACT InSAR processing is vastly used for land deformation monitoring from the space. Machine learning methods are known as strong tools for data modeling as well as predicting. In this study, we are going to model and predict the future behavior of land subsidence by InSAR processing and leveraging deep learning methods over the lands in the vicinity of Lake Urmia (located in the northwest of Iran). Accordingly, Sentinel-1 data over 56 months from November 2014 to June 2019 and small baseline subsets (SBAS) InSAR methods were utilized. Several regions with a high rate of subsidence were identified (maximum monthly subsidence of 13.3 mm). Furthermore, environmental factors affecting subsidence were considered. Therefore, parameters such as rainfall, groundwater, and lake area variations were measured using TRMM, GRACE, and MODIS satellite data, respectively. In order to determine and assess the relation between land deformations and environmental variations, several machine learning methods were implemented. The environmental parameters were used as the input of models and ground deformations as the target to be predicted. Eventually, ground deformations were estimated using multi-layer perceptron (MLP), convolutional neural network (CNN), and long short-term memory (LSTM) networks, in which each network had strengths and weaknesses on different occasions. Thus, by blending the forecast of the three models, a weighted ensemble was constructed, which outperformed the single models and reached the root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and standard deviation (SD) of 8.2 mm, 6.4 mm, and ±5.2 mm, respectively. The result indicated that although each single model had proper accuracy, an ensemble model can improve land deformation anticipation using the strength of networks in various conditions.


PRINCIPLES
Analysis of the spatial distribution of mortality data is important for identification of high-risk areas, which in turn might guide prevention, and modify behaviour and health resources allocation. This study aimed to update the Swiss mortality atlas by analysing recent data using Bayesian statistical methods. We present average pattern for the major causes of death in Switzerland.

METHODS
We analysed Swiss mortality data from death certificates for the period 2008-2012. Bayesian conditional autoregressive models were employed to smooth the standardised mortality rates and assess average patterns. Additionally, we developed models for age- and gender-specific sub-groups that account for urbanisation and linguistic areas in order to assess their effects on the different sub-groups.

RESULTS
We describe the spatial pattern of the major causes of death that occurred in Switzerland between 2008 and 2012, namely 4 cardiovascular diseases, 10 different kinds of cancer, 2 external causes of death, as well as chronic respiratory diseases, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, and liver diseases. In-depth analysis of age- and gender-specific mortality rates revealed significant disparities between urbanisation and linguistic areas.

CONCLUSIONS
We provide a contemporary overview of the spatial distribution of the main causes of death in Switzerland. Our estimates and maps can help future research to deepen our understanding of the spatial variation of major causes of death in Switzerland, which in turn is crucial for targeting preventive measures, changing behaviours and a more cost-effective allocation of health resources.


Cambrian volcanic rocks in Nova Scotia occur in small grabens or half grabens in the Avalon Zone (Composite Terrane) as part of a thin sequence of continental to shallow-marine Cambro-Ordovician rocks. In the northern Antigonish Highlands, the volcanic rocks occur mainly in the Lower Cambrian McDonalds Brook Group. In southern Cape Breton Island, they occur predominantly in the Middle Cambrian Bourinot Group. The chemistry of these volcanic rocks indicates that they are bimodal (basalts–rhyolites) and within plate. The basalts are alkalic in the Antigonish Highlands and tholeiitic in Cape Breton Island. The rising basaltic magma is postulated to have produced the felsic magma by anatexis of the crust. It is proposed that the Antigonish Highlands volcanic rocks erupted in a small pull-apart basin. A similar structural setting is probable in southern Cape Breton Island, but there the bounding faults are poorly exposed. These basins probably formed during a period of transpression in the last stages of the l...


There are two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C12H12N2O3S. With the exception of the methylene groups, a mean plane fitted through all non-H atoms of each molecule has an r.m.s. deviation of 0.035 Å for one molecule and 0.120 Å for the second. In one of the independent molecules, the methylene groups was refined using a disorder model with an occupancy ratio of 0.53:0.47 (14). Each molecule features an intramolecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond, which generates an S(7) ring.


The mechanical properties of commercial polycrystalline pure niobium sheet used for superconducting radiofrequency cavities are known to provide inconsistent yield, springback and surface smoothness characteristics when plastically formed into a radiofrequency cavity. These inconsistent properties lead to significant variations in cavity geometry and thus superconducting cavity performance. One approach to reduce these problems is to refine the microstructure so that its properties are more uniform. Microstructural refinement of Nb sheet for RF cavities using multi-axis severe plastic deformation via equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) was examined. ECAE was performed on 25 mm square cross-section bars of Reactor Grade Nb in a right angle die at room temperature following different extrusion routes to true strains above nine. This heavily worked material was rolled to 4 mm thick sheet and recrystallized. Measurements of hardness, springback, texture, and microstructural uniformity are reported and compared to those of commercial RRR Grade Nb sheet. Preliminary results show noteworthy promise for bulk Nb processed via severe plastic deformation prior to sheet rolling.


Transcriptional control of last stages of erythropoiesis is a complex and well orchestrated process controlled by lineage-specific transcription factors. The precise contribution of the different transcription factors to this multistep process has not been fully elucidated. Foxo3 is a transcription factor that is required for terminal erythroid maturation and Foxo3 mutant mice exhibit ineffective erythropoiesis. In order to gain further insight into the contribution of Foxo3 to the control of adult terminal erythroid maturation we analyzed the transcriptome of three adult bone marrow erythroid precursor populations: pro-, basophilic and polychromatophilic erythroblasts from wild type and Foxo3-/- mice. Populations were FACS sorted according to their TER119 and CD44 cell surface expression and FSC properties. RNA was then isolated and sequenced using the Illumina GaII platform. Genes were grouped into 3 categories according to their expression during erythroid cell maturation using the Short Time Series Expression Miner (STEM) program: no change (4577 genes), down-regulated (2868 genes) or up-regulated (2637) ([Figure 1][1]). Enrichment analysis of groups of genes using the ChEA database identified Myb, Meis1, Runx1, Fli1 and PU.1 as the main transcription factors regulating gene repression over erythroid maturation. In contrast, ChEA identified known erythroid transcription factors like Gata1, Eklf and Tal1 to drive the up-regulation of many of the erythroid-specific genes. This analysis also enabled the identification of putative novel transcription factors implicated in erythroid cell maturation. Interestingly, the difference between WT and Foxo3-/- cells increased gradually from pro- to polychromatophilic erythroblasts in correlation with increased Foxo3 expression during these steps of maturation. Strikingly, pathway enrichment analysis detected several immune-related pathways such as Toll-like receptors, TGF-β and IL-1 signaling as expressed in maturing wild type erythroid cells and significantly deregulated in Foxo3-/- cells. The expression of a number of these immune genes in erythroid cells has been validated by qRT-PCR. In addition, among others, a cluster of genes from the autophagy pathway was noted to be significantly down-regulated in Foxo3 mutant erythroid cells. In order to better dissect Foxo3 transcriptional control during erythroid maturation, STEM analysis of Foxo3-/- samples revealed an unexpected number of differences compared to WT. Most remarkably the STEM analysis identified that 90% of the 1198 genes that are continuously up-regulated during erythroid maturation from pro- to polychromatophilic are highly compromised in their level of expression during erythroid maturation in the absence of Foxo3. Interestingly, this group was also enriched for Foxo3 direct target genes as determined by ChIP-seq studies. We also identified a subset of genes whose expression increased from pro- to basophilic erythroblasts but decreased thereafter in the absence of Foxo3 in contrast to wild type cells. Interestingly, ChEA analysis on this group identified a subset of genes that are targets of Gata1, Eklf and Tal1 that may require Foxo3 for their full expression at the last stages of erythroid cell maturation. In conclusion, we present an unbiased genome-wide approach using RNA sequencing of adult bone marrow erythroid cells to study the contribution of Foxo3 to the regulation of gene expression at the last stages of erythroid cell maturation. This analysis enabled us to identify novel genes and pathways whose function in the control of red cell generation requires further investigations.

![Fig. 1][2]

Fig. 1
Genes with FPKM>2 from WT and Foxo3-/- samples analyzed with the STEM software, divided into 6 different categories according to their expression profiles during terminal erythroid cell maturation from pro- to polychromatophillic erythroblasts. Genes were then further grouped in 3 subsets: down-regulated, up-regulated and no change. The number of genes in each profile is indicated at the bottom for wild type and Foxo3-/- samples.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

 [1]: #F1
 [2]: pending:yes


The paper presents a system on chip embedded bit-serial FPGA, targeting at multi-purpose applications. The proposed SoC used fingerprint authentication system as a typical application. The system inherits the compatibility of using AMBA architecture, the flexibility of using bit-serial FPGA, and provides designer with freedom of reconfigure the system for both hardware and software. The system mainly consists of a 32-bit RISC processor, bit-serial FPGA, on-chip memory and state-of-the-art IPs.


The results of skeletal traction for the treatment of eighty-one femoral-shaft fractures in children are described. The traction pin, placed through the proximal end of the tibia, allows traction suspension of the extremity in 90 degrees of flexion at the hip and knee.

Position, length, and alignment were easy to obtain, and patient care was very easy. The healing was prompt, and the average time in traction was from three to four weeks followed by a spica cast for an average of from five to six weeks. The average duration of limited activity was from three to four months. In children over ten years old or weighing more than forty-five kilograms, knee pain, angulation, and difficulty in maintaining length were frequent problems. Therefore, 90-90 traction is not recommended for treating such children.

No serious complications occurred. Potential complications of treatment were sought, but none was found.

Only two significant limb-length inequalities occurred.


Part IExtinction, Delay, and Trace of Conditioned Salivary Reflex in Human SubjectsFormerly we succeeded in establishing the conditioned salivary reflex in human subjects, of which Zebrowski, Brunacci, Richter, Lashley, Krasnogorski, and others have never been able to report any setisfactory result, and showed several phases of generalization, (c.f. "Ten Tears of Research on the Conditioned Response in Human Subjects" by Yasho Kotake, in Brain Study vol. 6). And here, after making efforts, we could catch the phenomena of extinction by the manometer which was connected to the suction disk. The sound of metronome was used as conditioned stimulus, and special care was taken for unconditioned stimulus, trying to establish complicated temporal scheme which is more advanced than simple basic scheme of conditioned reflex. And at last, we succeeded in establishing the delayed conditioned salivary reflex and the trace conditioned salivary reflex in human subjects, which have been thought to be impossible. The results of the experiments were showed in detail following the development of reinforcement process. The results have enough reliability as they were acquired by perfect arrangements of the sound proof room and our experimental technique mastered through ten years' experience. We made a psycho-physiological scheme of human being and found psycho-physiological laws of the functions of the human brain by executing just the same experiments as pavlov did on dogs. The laws which were drawn out from the relation between introspective data and establishing process of conditioned reflex, the facts about strengthening of differentiation, and especially time relation in trace conditioned reflex, are, we believe very interesting achievements.Part IIA Method of Acute Establishment of Conditioned Reflex in Human Subjects.On the basis of the confidence acquired at Part I, we found acute method of establishing conditioned reflex in human subjects by extremely shortened reinforcing xprocess. And we succeeded with offering it as a research method of clinicalmedicine. The method is to measure galvanic skinreflex by simple electric condenser circuit. Thus weconditioned this galvanicskin reflex by weak electricshock as uncond itioned sti mulus and pure tone asconditioned stimulus.We have the conviction that conditioned reflex can be established by means of 14-25 times reinforcing trials within only 30 or 60 minutes. Comparing single reinforcing method and differential reinforcing method, We have found that the latter is more effective and reliable in human subjects. By this research an indicator of the function of the human brain was acquired. Certainly it may play an interesting role on the researches of psychopathology and brain surgery.There are many authers in U.S.A. who have reported on the conditioned galvanic skin reflex. However, it is the first time that it was offered as a practical method by introducing differential reinforcing method, being based upon the researches of conditioned salivary reflex for many years. Thus we could contribute to apply conditioned reflex theory to the new fields. Our second theme is to complete all the schemes containing generalization, trace, and delay of human conditioned galvanic skin reflex by this acute method of conditioning, and in future "Brain Wave" will be introduced in our experimental study.Part IIIVoluntary Cootrol of Conditioned Salivary Reflex in Human Subjects.In this part one of the most difficult problems for the experiments in the field of psycho-physiology is taken up. The problem is to prove experimentally the fact that conditioned salivary reflex in human subjects which hasthe most clear form is controlled voluntarily, and to make the basis firm for solviug the more interesting problems of reflex, volition and language. It was found that conditioned salivary reflex in human subjects is controlled voluntarily through five


Microstructural modifications (amorphization, lattice deformation, phase transformations) in alumina induced by implantation of zirconium, copper, or titanium ions and by postimplantation thermal annealings were studied using grazing incidence x-ray diffraction. It was shown that the amount of lattice deformation and the type of damage resulting in the lattice depend on the ion implanted. When zirconium was implanted, the alumina lattice was highly deformed. Amorphization was observed when a high ion dose was implanted. Copper implantation led to the formation of gamma alumina. With titanium ions, very high strain was created and delta alumina was formed. After postimplantation annealings, lattices returned to their equilibrium state through crystallization of alpha alumina and precipitation of oxides of the implanted species (ZrO2, CuO and CuAl2O4, and TiO2).


High school presents certain obstacles for Colin Fisher, whose Asperger's means he has difficulty reading social cues despite his high intelligence. When a melee breaks out in the cafeteria one day, culminating in a gun's going off, Colin is convinced that as the nearest person to the gun he's likely to be suspected of being the shooter. He therefore decides to bring his inquisitive nature and love of logic to the problem and solve the mystery himself, a plan that leads to a strange partnership between Colin and one of his biggest tormentors, the bullying Wayne. While the neuro-atypical detective is now familiar casting, Colin's an interesting character, with his logical and literal approach often serving as a shield rather than a drawback (it even allows him become an ace shooter in basketball). Inclusions of passages from his precious notebook, where he jots down his observations and questions about the world, add texture to the story. The narrative wavers between focalizing through Colin and treating him as a marvelous show, however, and the book sometimes is more adult in its references and language than the accessible format would suggest. Secondary characters are flatly drawn and difficult to keep straight, and the mystery itself is more complicated than interesting. Colin and his thought process are the appeal here, so this could interest readers looking for observations about school dynamics as well as readers who enjoyed Dowd's The London Eye Mystery (BCCB 4/08). DS


Considered are tasks and objectives of forest policy in a context of radically changed ownership relationships, unstable economic growth and enormous harm inflicted by the "shadow" sector activity on the forest stock quality and use. A brief discussion is given to the forest policy of countries with different shares of private ownership of forests, namely Canada, Finland and the USA. The case of the USA with its wide gamut of forest ownership types is considered in a more detail, and its experience in stable forest use both in private and federal (public) forests is examined. In conclusion, the Russian approach to funding forest preservation measures is commented on.


Background: Considering the increased activity of hippocampal glial cells due to chronic morphine administration and the involvement of hippocampus in restoration of the addictive drugassociated experience, the role of these cells on morphine induced conditioned place preference (CPP) was investigated. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, four groups of animals were evaluated. After habituation to CPP apparatus on the first day, conditioning was done by injection of morphine (5 mg/kg) or its vehicle (saline) during three consecutive days. On the fifth day, the time spent in each compartment of CPP cage and locomotor activity was recorded for 20 min. To investigate the role of hippocampal glial cells in CPP, these cels were inbibited by bilaterally injecting fluorocitrate (1nmol/1l), before each morphine injection. CPP testing in this group and animals received fluorocitrate vehicle (Phosphate buffer saline) was done before morphine injection. Results: Fluorocitrate pretreatment reduced morphine induced conditioned place preference acquisition, so that a significant decrease was observed in conditioning score (unpaired t-test, p<0.01) in this group (n=8) compared to animals received morphine (n=9). Neither morphine nor fluorocitrate pretreatment did not affect locomotor activity (ANOVA, p>0.05). Conclusion: The results suggest that glial cells in the hippocampus are involved in morphine induced conditioned place preference.


Machine learning and artificial intelligence play an ever more crucial role in mitigating important societal problems, such as the prevalence of hate speech. We describe the Hateful Memes Challenge competition, held at NeurIPS 2020, focusing on multimodal hate speech. The aim of the challenge is to facilitate further research into multimodal reasoning and understanding.


Each of the reviewers teaches a course in state constitutional law: at the University of Washington and Seattle University, respectively. Both use Robert Williams' text together with supplemental Washington State readings.1 Williams' book is also being used at the state's third law school, Gonzaga University in Spokane, which is offering a state constitutional law course for the first time this year, reflecting a steadily increasing interest in the subject. The nationwide resurgence of our fifty other constitutions is customarily said to have begun with Justice Brennan's important 1977 essay in the Harvard Law Review.2 Within ten years the amount of judicial activity in the field of state declarations of rights was surpassed only by the volume of academic debate on the legitimacy of court reliance on state constitutions when the federal constitution also applies.3 Despite that debate, state appellate courts moved firmly ahead, aided by the United States Supreme Court's recognition of the right of state courts to apply their own constitutions and to interpret them differently from the national constitution based on "bona fide


From interviews with prisoners and ex-prisoners in Israel, it emerges that their delinquency was an outcome of what is called in many languages, including Hebrew,balagan (a chaotic or messy life). The balagan is caused by a lack of moral and behavioral centers, and it is characterized by confusing and contradictory norms of criminal and noncriminal behavior. This conclusion is inconsistent with theories that explain criminality in terms of cultural perspective, but it fits the center theory and the theories of social control. The balagan was mainly expressed by contradictions between their attitudes and behavior, as well as between their positive images and criminal acts. None of the convicts and ex-convicts justified breaking the law, but they attempted to minimize their responsibility by means of justifications and excuses. This study is based on phenomenological interviews conducted with 25 prisoners and 50 former prisoners who underwent programs of rehabilitation in kibbutzim and in yeshivot in Israel.


Background: Stroke is a leading cause of Cardiovascular mortality in India and the world over. Two types of strokes are more common, Ischemic and Haemorrhagic. The prompt diagnosis and differentiation between the two is of paramount importance for treatment. However CT scan, as conventionally used, is not available in many peripheral parts of India. Siriraj score provide an effective bedside tool for this differentiation. However it has not yet been validated in India. Method: 200 patients admitted in the hospital satisfying the WHO definition of stroke were evaluated and Siriraj score evaluated for them. They were subjected to CT scan and the results compared. Results: Siriraj score had a sensitivity of approximately 93% and 65% for Haaemorhhagic and Ischemic Strokes respectively, while specificities were 91% and 71% respectively. Conclusion: The Siriraj score has a good utility in Indian population in differentiating between Haemorrhagic and Ischemic strokes bed side, without needing a CT scan in peripheral locations.


An interventional MRI system is used to guide thermal ablation of cancerous tumors. Image registration and 3D visualization techniques are found to be useful in the planning and assessment of therapy. For example, T2-weighted, Gd-enhanced, and STIR image volumes are obtained before treatment, immediately after treatment, and from serial follow-ups. Image registration of the volumes allows one to compute region of interest statistics on a given tissue section. Comparison of registered images allow us to compare the region of the thermal lesion with the tumor regions identified prior to treatment. Three-dimensional visualization allows one to determine the extent and symmetry of the thermal lesion.


Background: The Src homology phosphotyrosyl phosphatase 2 (SHP2) acts as a transducer of mitogenic and cell survival signaling downstream of receptor tyrosine kinases, cytokine receptors and integrins. As such, SHP2 promotes cell growth, transformation, survival, and motility, among other processes. Recent studies suggest that SHP2 is overexpressed in breast cancer and is essential for the maintenance of the transformed phenotype both in the HER2−positive and the basal-type/triple-negative breast cancer (BTBC) cells. Materials and Methods: The expression of SHP2 in BTBC cells was suppressed constitutively by lenti virus-mediated transduction of specific shRNA. Impact of SHP2 inhibition on cell migration was determined by the monolayer wound healing assay. The SHP2 substrate-trapping mutant was used to identify FAK as an SHP2 substrate. Site-directed mutagenesis, binding studies and phosphatase assays were employed to further characterize FAK as a bona fide SHP2 substrate. Immunofluorescence microscopy was conducted to visualize the amounts of phosphorylated FAK and its location in the cell after adhesion. Results: We demonstrate that SHP2 is essential for the migration of BTBC cells as evidenced by loss of the enhanced migratory behavior upon its inhibition. Using the SHP2 substrate-trapping mutant, FAK was identified as a biological substrate of SHP2. Site-directed mutagenesis, binding studies and phosphatase assays confirmed that SHP2 indeed associates with and dephosphorylates FAK at the pY397 site, a site known to promote the focal adhesion activity of FAK. Immunofluorescence of breast cancer cells with SHP2 inhibition were found to have higher levels of FAK pY397 further confirming that FAK is an SHP2 substrate. The increase in pY397 level correlated with loss of cell polarity, enhanced focal adhesion formation, and acquisition of non-transformed morphology. Discussion: These results suggest that dephosphorylation of pY397 of FAK by SHP2 is the major mechanism by which it is able to modulate cancer cell migration. Together with previous findings, the current studies show that SHP2 is a suitable target for therapeutic intervention to combat breast cancer metastasis. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-02-05.


The generation of 3D tissue constructs with multiple cell types and matching mechanical properties remains a challenge in cardiac tissue engineering. Recently, 3D bioprinting has become a powerful tool to achieve these goals. Decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) is a common scaffold material due to providing a native biochemical environment. Unfortunately, dECM's low mechanical stability prevents usage for bioprinting applications alone. In this study, we developed bioinks composed of decellularized human heart ECM (dhECM) with either gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) or GelMA- methacrylated hyaluronic acid (MeHA) hydrogels dual crosslinked with UV light and microbial Transglutaminase (mTGase). We characterized the bioinks' mechanical, rheological, swelling, printability and biocompatibility properties. Composite GelMA-MeHA-dhECM (GME) hydrogels demonstrated improved mechanical properties by an order of magnitude, compared to GelMA-dhECM (GE) hydrogels. All hydrogels were extrudable and compatible with human induced pluripotent stem cells derived cardiomyocytes (iCMs) and human cardiac fibroblasts (hCFs). Tissue-like beating of the printed constructs with striated sarcomeric alpha-actinin and Connexin 43 expression was observed. The order of magnitude difference between the elastic modulus of these hydrogel composites offers applications in in vitro modelling of the myocardial infarct boundary. Here, as a proof of concept, we created an infarct boundary region with control over mechanical properties along with cellular and macromolecular content through printing iCMs with GE bioink and hCFs with GME bioink.


the characteristic point carries important information as a characteristic point on the image. This article, in view of the image multi-criterion space method of portrayal, by improving the multi-criterion Harris algorithm, studies the precise locating methods in which the characteristic point can be extracted and the ideal characteristic point can be obtained. Keywords-characteristic point; multi-scale space; precision location; algorithm


The pRAM (probabilistic RAM) is a nonlinear stochastic device with neuron like behavior. The pRAM is realizable in hardware, and the third-generation VLSI pRAM chip is described. This chip is adaptive since learning algorithms have been incorporated on-chip, using reinforcement training. The pRAM chip is also adaptive with respect to the interconnections between neurons. Results achieved from a small net of pRAM's performing a pattern-recognition task using reinforcement training are presented.


Background Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain (MSP) in children can be due to various non-inflammatory conditions, such as the benign joint hypermobility syndrome (BJHS) or idiopathic MSP (IMSP). MSP heavily influences patient's quality of life and is often misdiagnosed or included in the vast category of unspecific MSP. A careful differential diagnosis and knowledge of possible risk factors are needed to properly approach a child/adolescent with osteoarticular symptoms. Objectives Aim of the study was to evaluate the persistence of osteoarticular symptoms in a cohort of schoolchildren with MSP followed for three years and to analyze the main risk factors for it, with particular attention to the role of the pubertal stage. We also evaluated the immunological profile and its relation with MSP and puberty. Methods The participants were selected among an initial cohort of 88 schoolchildren with MSP, aged 11-16 years, followed for three years. Chronic MSP was defined as continuous or recurrent pain lasting more than 3 months interfering with daily life activities in the previous 6 months. All children underwent a general and rheumatologic examination focused on the presence of generalized joint hypermobility, identified by Beighton score ≥4/9, the body mass index and the pubertal stage. Finally, a laboratory test was performed to determine the presence of ANA, ENA and anti-dsDNA. Results Seventy subject entered the study: 38 (54.3%) still presented MSP, including 27% with BJHS and 27% with IMSP. Main symptoms were lower limbs arthralgia and myalgia. MSP persisted more in females than in males (p=0.038) and in pubertal rather than pre-pubertal subjects (p=0.022). In particular, the pre-pubertal patients recovered significantly more frequently from BJHS (p=0.004) and IMSP (p=0.016) than the pubertal ones. Gender did not influence the distribution of MSP according to pubertal stage. ANA (titer ≥1:80) was found in 42.9%; none of the subjects resulted positive at ENA or anti-dsDNA tests. No significant association between ANA-positivity and MSP or BJHS was found. Conclusions Pre-pubertal patients have a higher probability of recovering from MSP than the pubertal ones; vice versa pubertal subjects are at high risk for suffering from MSP during early adulthood, especially females with BJHS. The prevalence of ANA-positivity in this cohort was particularly high but was not significantly associated with BJHS or IMSP. These findings clearly suggest that female gender, BJHS and pubertal stage are important risk factors for persistence of MSP. Further studies are needed to evaluate the natural history of MSP towards adulthood and the role of ANA in the pubertal age. References Sherry DD. Pain syndormes in Children. Curr Rheumatol Rep 2000; 2:337-42. Kirk JA, Ansell BM, Bywaters GL. The hypermobility syndrome: musckuloskeletal complaits associated with generalized joint hypermobility. Ann Rheum Dis 1967;26:419-425. Beighton P, Soloman L, Soskolne CL. Articular mobility in an African population. Ann Rheum Dis 1973;32:413-418. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (INSAR) and laser altimeter (LIDAR) systems are both widely used for mapping topography. INSAR can map extended areas but accuracies are limited over vegetated regions, primarily because the observations are not measurements of true surface topography. The measurements correspond to a height above the true surface that depends on both the sensor and the vegetation. Conversely, topography from LIDAR is very accurate, but coverage is limited to smaller regions. We demonstrate how these technologies can be used synergistically. First, we determine surface elevations and vegetation heights from dual-baseline INSAR data by inverting an INSAR scattering model. We then combine sparse LIDAR observations with the INSAR inversion results to improve the estimates of ground elevations and vegetation heights. This is accomplished via a multiresolution Kalman Filter that provides both the estimates and a measure of their uncertainty at each location. Combining data from the two sensors provides estimates that are more accurate than those obtained from INSAR alone yet have dense, extensive coverage, which is difficult to obtain with LIDAR. Contributions of this work include 1) combining physical modeling with multiscale estimation to accommodate nonlinear measurement-state relationships and 2) improving estimates of ground elevations and vegetation heights for remote sensing applications.


The problem of multiple faults detection in domino-CMOS logic circuits is considered. The multiple faults can be of the stuck-open and stuck-on types. It is shown that a multiple fault in the domino-CMOS circuit can be mapped to a multiple stuck-at fault in its gate-level model. A method is given to initialize the domino-CMOS circuit and apply a multiple stuck-at fault test set based on the gate-level model of the circuit. This results in the detection of all multiple faults having detectable consistent faults. The problem of test set invalidation due to arbitrary signal delays is easily taken care of in domino-CMOS circuits, making such an implementation of a function even more attractive than a fully complementary CMOS implementation, from the testability point of view. >


A number of techniques have been developed to improve the immediate mechanical anchorage of implants for enhancing implant longevity. This issue becomes even more relevant in patients with osteoporosis who have fragile bone. We have previously shown that a dynamic hip screw (DHS) can be augmented with a calcium sulphate/hydroxyapatite (CaS/HA) based injectable biomaterial to increase the immediate mechanical anchorage of the DHS system to saw bones with a 400% increase in peak extraction force compared to un-augmented DHS. The results were also at par with bone cement (PMMA). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of CaS/HA augmentation on the integration of a different fracture fixation device (gamma nail lag-screw) with osteoporotic saw bones.Osteoporotic saw bones (bone volume fraction = 15%) were instrumented with a gamma nail without augmentation (n=8) or augmented (n=8) with a CaS/HA biomaterial (Cerament BVF, Bonesupport AB, Sweden) using a newly developed augmentation method described earlier. The lag-screws from both groups were then pulled out at a displacement rate of 0.5 mm/s until failure. Peak extraction force was recorded for each specimen along with photographs of the screws post-extraction. A non-parametric t-test was used to compare the two groups.CaS/HA augmentation of the lag-screw led to a 650% increase in the peak extraction force compared with the controls (p<0.01). Photographs of the augmented samples shows failure of the saw-bones further away from the implant-bone interface indicating a protective effect of the CaS/HA material.We present a novel method to enhance the immediate mechanical anchorage of a lag-screw to osteoporotic bone and it is also envisaged that CaS/HA augmentation combined with systemic bisphosphonate treatment can lead to new bone formation and aid in the reduction of implant failures and re-operations.


An open-loop control strategy for vibration suppression of a flexible manipulator system using genetic algorithms is presented in this paper. This consists of developing suitable forcing functions so that the dominant vibration modes of the system are not excited and hence the system vibration is reduced. The method requires that the vibration modes of the system be determined very precisely. Genetic algorithms (GAs) are used for this purpose. Low-pass and band-stop (elliptic type) filtered bang-bang torque inputs are accordingly developed on the basis of the identified vibration modes. The filtered torque inputs thus developed are applied to the system in an open-loop configuration and their performances in suppressing structural vibrations of the system are assessed in comparison to a bang-bang torque input. A comparative study of the low-pass and band-stop filtered torque inputs in suppressing the system vibrations are also presented and discussed.


Hypertree decompositions (HDs), as well as the more powerful generalized hypertree decompositions (GHDs), and the yet more general fractional hypertree decompositions (FHDs) are hypergraph decomposition methods successfully used for answering conjunctive queries and for solving constraint satisfaction problems. Every hypergraph H has a width relative to each of these methods: its hypertree width hw(H), its generalized hypertree width ghw(H), and its fractional hypertree width fhw(H), respectively. It is known that hw(H)≤ k can be checked in polynomial time for fixed k, while checking ghw(H)≤ k is NP-complete for k ≥ 3. The complexity of checking fhw(H)≤ k for a fixed k has been open for over a decade. We settle this open problem by showing that checking fhw(H)≤ k is NP-complete, even for k=2. The same construction allows us to prove also the NP-completeness of checking ghw(H)≤ k for k=2. After that, we identify meaningful restrictions that make checking for bounded ghw or fhw tractable or allow for an efficient approximation of the fhw.


Spectral stability analysis for solitary waves is developed in the context of the Hamiltonian system of coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations. The linear eigenvalue problem for a non–self–adjoint operator is studied with two self–adjoint matrix Schrödinger operators. Sharp bounds on the number and type of unstable eigenvalues in the spectral problem are found from the inertia law for quadratic forms, associated with the two self–adjoint operators. Symmetry–breaking stability analysis is also developed with the same method.


Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) frequently develop liver metastases during the course of their disease. A substantial proportion of them receive neoadjuvant FOLFOX (5-Fluorouracil, Oxaliplatin, Leucovorin) prior to surgery in an attempt to enable successful surgical removal of their metastases and to reduce the risk of recurrence. Yet, the majority of patients progress during treatment or recur following surgery, and molecular mechanisms that contribute to FOLFOX resistance remain poorly understood. Here, using a combination of phenotypic, transcriptomic and genomic analyses of both tumor samples derived from patients with metastatic CRC and matching patient-derived tumor organoids (PDTOs), we characterize a novel FOLFOX resistance mechanism and identify inhibitors that target this mechanism to resensitize metastatic organoids to FOLFOX. Resistant PDTOs, identified after in vitro exposure to FOLFOX, exhibited elevated expression of E2F pathway, S phase, G2/M and spindle assembly checkpoints (SAC) genes. Similar molecular features were detected in CRLM from patients with progressive disease while under neoadjuvant FOLFOX treatment, highlighting the relevance of this finding. FOLFOX resistant PDTOs displayed inactivating mutations of TP53 and exhibited transcriptional features of P53 pathway downregulation. We found that they accumulated in early S-phase and underwent significant DNA damage during FOLFOX exposure, thereafter arresting in G2/M while they repaired their DNA after FOLFOX withdrawal. In parallel, results of a large kinase inhibitor screen indicated that drugs targeting regulators of the DNA damage response, G2M checkpoint and SAC had cytotoxic effects on PDTOs generated from patients whose disease progressed during treatment with FOLFOX. Corroborating this finding, CHK1 and WEE1 inhibitors were found to synergize with FOLFOX and sensitize previously resistant PDTOs. Additionally, targeting the SAC master regulator MPS1 using empesertib after exposure to FOLFOX, when cells accumulate in G2M, was also very effective to kill FOLFOX-resistant PDTOs. Our results indicate that targeted and timely inhibition of specific cell cycle checkpoints shows great potential to improve response rates to FOLFOX in patients with metastatic CRC, for whom therapeutic alternatives remain extremely limited.


Abstract The study aimed to assess the influence of excessive use of a photostimulable phosphor plate (PSP) on the density, image noise, and contrast of radiographs. For that, radiographs of an acrylic block were acquired with a PSP of the Express intraoral system to assess the density and image noise. Initially, five images were obtained and exported (first group). After 400 exposures to X-rays and scannings of PSP, other five images were obtained and exported (second group). The same procedure was done after 800 (third group), 1200 (fourth group), 1600 (fifth group), and 2000 acquisitions (sixth group), resulting in 30 images to be evaluated. The mean and standard deviation of the gray values were calculated for the images using the ImageJ software. For contrast analysis, radiographs of an aluminum step-wedge were acquired with a new PSP following the same acquisition intervals. The percentage of contrast variation was calculated. Another two unused PSP receptors were employed to evaluate the method's reproducibility. The comparison of the results among the acquisition groups was performed with one-way Analysis of Variance (α=0.05). Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) assessed the reproducibility of the receptors. Image noise did not differ among the groups (p>0.05). There was a slight increase in density after 400 acquisitions and a slight difference in contrast for all acquisition groups without a pattern of increase or decrease (p<0.05). ICC showed excellent reliability for the methods. Therefore, excessive PSP use slightly affected the radiograph's density and contrast.


Deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) is one of the most important etching techniques because it is independent of crystal orientation and does not require any wet process. DRIE can be applied for many applications. For examples, this technique can be used to fabricate MEMS devices (e.g. accelerometers, scanners, etc.), microfluidic devices, electrical through wafer interconnects, and so on. In many cases, when DRIE can achieve high aspect ratio (AR) silicon etching, device design flexibility can be increased and device performance also can be improved. Therefore, it is important to have high AR etching recipes. In this paper, I discuss the background for high AR process, and introduce three different recipes that have been developed for use in STS2: (1) HAR recipe, (2) low frequency bias recipe, and (3) low power recipe. HAR recipe is developed to achieve the AR over 40 for 2μm-wide trenches. The low frequency bias recipe is to enable relatively high AR with small notching effect in SOI wafer process. Finally, the low power recipe is to minimize the heating problem that is caused during DRIE.


In order to identify predominant circulating types of infectious bronchitis(IB) virus in the period of 19992004 in Iran, samples(trachea, lung, kidney) from 150 various flocks showing respiratory signs suspected to be related to IB infection were inoculated to SPF eggs. Then allantoic fluids studied by RT-PCR and Nested PCR using group and type specific primers to probing Massachusset, 793/B and D274 types viruses respectively. Out of 150 tested flocks approximately 72% were IBV positive in RT PCR tests. Specific nested PCRs on RTPCR products of tested samples revealed that 57 flocks (52.7%) had been infected by 793/B type IBV alone. Massachusetts type IBV also could be detected in 18 flocks (16.6%) alone. Thirty three (30.5%) flocks had been infected by 793/B and Massachusetts type IBV in combination. Collectively, there were 90(approximately 83%) flocks that were infected by 793/B type IBV. Our results showed that the predominant circulating serotype of IBVs during the study period was 793/B type. The 274D type did not detected in any flocks during this study. The co-existence of Masachusset and 793/B type's viruses in the same times in 33 flocks revealed that Masachuset type virus vaccines have not conferred a proper immunity against 793/B type viruses.


Chip Weiant serves as a principal of CompassUSA, an organizational re-engineering consultancy serving Ohio business CEOs and elected government clients. He also founded and serves as president of The American Center for Civic Character, a non-profit character ethics education initiative. In this article, Weiant shares his leadership ethics guide, called UncommonSense, which has been adopted by the Ohio Secretary of State as a leadership character ethics model for Ohio business and government leaders.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cancer in females and the third in males. Since CRC is often diagnosed at an advanced stage when prognosis is poor, identification of biomarkers for early diagnosis is urgently required. Recent advances in proteomics, genomics and transcriptomics have facilitated high-throughput profiling of data generated from CRC-related genes and proteins, providing a window of information for biomarker discovery and validation. However, transfer of candidate biomarkers from bench to bedside remains a dilemma. In this review, we will discuss emerging proteomic technologies and highlight various sample types utilized for proteomics-based identification of CRC biomarkers. Moreover, recent breakthroughs in genomics and transcriptomics for the identification of CRC biomarkers, with particular emphasis on the merits of emerging methylomic and miRNAomic strategies, will be discussed. Integration of proteomics, genomics and transcriptomics will facilitate the discovery and validation of CRC biomarkers leading to the emergence of personalized medicine.


In the clinical practice, the oncological decision is based rather on the experience than on the analytical evaluation of prospective studies. Therefore the definition of practice guidelines, based on validity, reproducibility, representativity, clinical feasibility, with clear definition of evidence levels and recommendations strength is mandatory. Thus many scientific societies and national or international authorities have worked out clinical guidelines. They show significant differencies about the number of considered neoplastic pathologies, the adopted model, frequency of upgrade, method of distribution. The oncologists carefully pay attention to these guidelines, and they follow them if guidelines are well structured, so their behaviour is modified. In the legal context, guidelines have the value of non-mandatory recommendations, without a specific power, nevertheless they can help the judges in the interpretation of clinical controversies. Oncologists are not forced to adopt literally recommendations and guidelines in the clinical field. The decision to follow them or not is generally on individual basis and it takes into account the specific characteristics of each patient. In this context, also who hopes the employment of guidelines as indicators of the quality of medical behaviour, is in agreement with the fact that an exclusively administrative approach could generate conflicts and it does not reflect the complexity of the clinical practice. This statement has been largely approved in clinical oncology and it suggests caution concerning an exclusively regulatory approach to guidelines and recommendations.


ABSTRACT Avian vision is fundamentally different from human vision; however, even within birds there are substantial between-species differences in visual perception in terms of visual acuity, visual coverage, and color vision. However, there are not many species that have all these visual traits described, which can constrain our ability to study the evolution of visual systems in birds. To start addressing this gap, we characterized multiple traits of the visual system (visual coverage, visual acuity, centers of acute vision, and color vision) of the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), one of the most abundant and studied birds in North America. We found that Red-winged Blackbirds have: wide visual coverage; one center of acute vision per eye (fovea) projecting fronto-laterally with high density of single and double cones, making it the center of both chromatic and achromatic vision; a wide binocular field that does not have the input of the centers of acute vision; and an ultraviolet sensitive visual system. With this information, we parameterized a Red-winged Blackbird-specific perceptual model considering different plumage patches. We found that the male red epaulet was chromatically conspicuous but with minimal achromatic signal, but the male yellow patch had a lower chromatic but a higher achromatic signal, which may be explained by the pigment composition of the feathers. However, the female epaulet was not visually conspicuous in both the chromatic and achromatic dimensions compared with other female feather patches. We discuss the implications of this visual system configuration relative to the foraging, antipredator, mate choice, and social behaviors of Red-winged Blackbirds. Our findings can be used for comparative studies as well as for making more species-specific predictions about different visual behaviors for future empirical testing.


The book falls neatly into two sections: the first gives a standard optical theory background concerning light, polarization and the microscope, refractive index, and interaction of light and crystals. The presentation is succinctly and systematically presented in 28 pages. It proved well-structured for student use. A valuable two pages follow which explain cleavage, twinning, alteration, zoning, exsolution, inclusions, etc. concisely but in sufficient detail for beginners. The second section, of 71 pages, is devoted to systematic descriptions of the optical properties of minerals. It includes an additional 32 pages of coloured plates of minerals in thin section in the centre of the book.

Perkins and Henke adopt a middle of the road approach to optical theory. If their explanation of concepts is akin to that taken in your department, then this could be the book for you. This material should also provide an excellent summary for any course that has limited time to present …


We study instanton solutions and superpotentials for the large number of vacua of the plane-wave matrix model and a 2+1 dimensional Super Yang-Mills theory on R× S2 with sixteen supercharges. We get the superpotential in the weak coupling limit from the gauge theory description. We study the gravity description of these instantons. Perturbatively with respect to a background, they are Euclidean branes wrapping cycles in the dual gravity background. Moreover, the superpotential can be given by the energy of the electric charge system characterizing each vacuum. These charges are interpreted as the eigenvalues of matrices from a reduction for the 1/8 BPS sector of the gauge theories. We also discuss qualitatively the emergence of the extra spatial dimensions appeared on the gravity side.


The Bi2Te3/FeTe heterostructure intersects several phenomena and key classes of materials in condensed matter physics: topological insulators, superconductivity, magnetism, and the physics of interfaces. While neither the topological insulator (Bi2Te3) nor the iron chalcogenide (FeTe) are themselves superconductors, superconductivity forms in a thin 7nm interfacial layer between the two. The restricted dimensionality and the extraordinarily conductive normal state, possibly sourced by the topologically protected surface states, have led to the observation of novel phenomena such as the Likharev vortex explosion and transitions in behavior resulting from the interplay between current induced depairing and the Berezinski-Kosterlitz-Thouless regime. Bi2Te3/FeTe also displays the anomalous oscillatory magnetoresistance phenomenon, which we had previously observed in cuprates.


A consistent set of high precision viscosity data for water at various temperatures and for 20, 30 and 40 per cent sucrose solutions is reported. These were obtained using a glass capillary viscometer with an extensively flared capillary. The negligibility of the kinetic energy correction term for this viscometer is confirmed. The reported viscosities are based only on the absolute viscosity of water at 20 degrees C. These data are recommended as reliable standards for capillary viscometer calibration.


Conventional quantifi cation of L. helveticus, in presence of other lactobacilli species, using classical plate method employing low selective media is very inaccurate. Determination of L. helveticus using quantitative PCR (qPCR) was performed in six artisanal Kazakh soft cheeses made from cow's milk or from a mixture of cow's and goat's milk. L. helveticus was quantifi ed by species-specifi c qPCR, monitoring the presence of genes encoding for peptidoglycan hydrolases. Quantifi cation of L. helveticus based on qPCR ranged from 2.6×106 to 4.1×108 CFU·g–1 according to the type of the cheese. The microfl ora of cheese consisted of a mixture of starter and non-starter lactic acid bacteria.


The effects of various selective phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors on muscle contractility and cyclic nucleotide contents in the guinea pig gall bladder were investigated. Various selective PDE inhibitors, vinpocetine (type 1), erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (EHNA, type 2), milrinone (type 3), Ro20-1724 (type 4), and zaprinast (type 5), inhibited CCh-induced contractions in a concentration-dependent manner. The rank order of potency for the gall bladder was Ro20-1724 > vinpocetine > EHNA > milrinone > zaprinast, which was different from that of the trachea, taenia coli, and aorta. In the presence of CCh (0.3 muM), vinpocetine, milrinone, and Ro20-1724 each increased cAMP content, but not cGMP. By contrast, zaprinast increased cGMP content, but not cAMP, and EHNA increased both cAMP and cGMP contents. These results suggest that vinpocetine-, milrinone-, and Ro20-1724-induced relaxation was correlated with cAMP, zaprinast-induced relaxation was correlated with cGMP, and that EHNA-induced relaxation was correlated with cAMP and cGMP in the guinea pig gall bladder. In conclusion, the effect of PDE inhibitors in the guinea pig gall bladder was different from those in smooth muscles, such as the trachea, taenia coli, and aorta.


Cefmenoxime, a new third-generation cephalosporin, was used as a single drug in the therapy for female genital tract infections. Therapeutic response was considered satisfactory in 21 of 22 cases of pelvic inflammatory disease, six of nine tuboovarian abscesses, two of three severe wound infections, and all five cases of endometritis. Overall, 34 of 39 patients responded. The peak serum antibiotic levels in this study ranged from 15.8 to 64 (average 48.7) μg/mL, and the trough level ranged from 0.9 to 4 (average 3.1) μg/mL. Cefmenoxime was tested in vitro against 424 isolates of anaerobes including 208 strains of bacteroides of which 80 were Bacteroides fragilis. Cefmenoxime inhibited the growth of 90% or greater of the organisms (minimal inhibitory concentration 90) at less than or equal to 64 μg/mL. The minimal inhibitory concentration for 75% of B fragilis was 32 μg/mL. This study suggests that cefmenoxime as a singledrug therapy is effective in the treatment of female genital tract infections caused by aerobic (including the gonococcus) and anaerobic bacteria.


Two new species of the crab genus Actumnus Dana, 1851 (family Pilumnidae) are reported from the Ryukyu Islands, southwest Japan. Actumnus tsurukaii sp. nov. is similar to A. squamosus (De Haan, 1835), A. setifer (De Haan, 1835) and A. forficigerus (Stimpson, 1858) in possessing a poorly defined dorsal surface of the carapace with a coat of short setae, but differs in having relatively larger, fewer and more widely spaced conical granules or tubercles on the outer surfaces of the palms of both chelipeds. Actumnus uformis sp. nov. is similar to A. dorsipes Stimpson, 1858 and A. granotuberosus Garth & Kim, 1983 in having a prominently areolated dorsal surface of the carapace with a soft thick tomentum, but can be distinguished by the stronger areolation and the distinctly U-shaped protogastric region.


This paper reflects on my experiences of recruiting older people to talk about sex. The research I discuss was a three year PhD study funded by the School of Health and Social Welfare at the Open University, entitled 'Older women talking about sex: a discursive analysis' (Jones, 2003). I report on some practical issues I encountered and discuss the results of the recruitment processes I used. In the first part of the paper I discuss at a more theoretical level some of the implications of asking older people to talk about sex, given the broader cultural resources about older people's sexuality that are available in 21st-century Britain.


A major common feature of the chemically disparate compounds that inhibit advanced glycation end product (AGE) accumulation or signaling is their ability to show end‐organ protection in experimental models of diabetes complications. The mechanisms by which these AGE‐ lowering therapies confer their benefits remain unsolved. Is it the reduction in tissue AGE levels per se or the inhibition of downstream signal transduction (as has been described with the soluble receptor for AGE)? Possible modes of action that need to be investigated include the ability of some of these agents to stimulate antioxidant defenses, to lower cholesterol and other lipid levels, and to inhibit low‐grade inflammation. To understand these novel mechanisms, further examination of the advanced glycation pathway and, in particular, the diverse action of these agents in ameliorating the development of diabetic complications is needed.