Until our knowledge of the disposition and motion of the electrons in atoms and molecules is more complete, we cannot hope to make a direct calculation of the nature of the forces called into play during an encounter between molecules in a gas. It is true that a step in this direction has recently been made by Debye, who has investigated the nature of the field in the neighbourood of a hydrogen atom, assumed to consist of a negative charge in motion in circular orbit about a positive nucleus, and has shown how the pulsating eld gives rise on the whole to a force of repulsion, as well as one of attraction n a unit negative charge. But it is difficult to see how this work can be extended to more complex systems. At present we can only hope to derive information by more indirect methods. One such method is to assume a definite law of force, and then by the methods of the kinetic theory to deduce the appropriate law of dependence of the viscosity of a gas on temperature. Comparison with the actual law, as observed experimentally, serves to support or discredit the assumed law of molecular interaction. Unfortunately, the calculations involved in the application of be kinetic theory are so complicated that progress has been made only in certain simple cases. Thus, the original investigation by Maxwell applied only to molecules repelling as the inverse fifth power law. His work has since be generalised by Chapman and Enskog and formulae have been obtained: the coefficient of viscosity in the case of (i) molecules, which repel according an inverse n th power law, (ii) molecules which behave on collision like rig elastic spheres and (iii) molecules which behave as rigid elastic spheres with weak attractive field of force surrounding them. Of these models the la generally referred to as Sutherland's model, is found to give the best agreement between theory and experiment. But the agreement is by no means perfe As Schmidt, Bestelmeyer, Vogel, and others have pointed out, there considerable divergence from observed values a t low temperatures.


Pioglitazone HCl is an antidiabetic agent with poor aqueous solubility. Inclusion complexes of pioglitazone HCl were prepared with β-cyclodextrin using various methods (physical mixing, kneading method, co-precipitation). The main aim of the present invention is to study the effect of the method of preparation on the dissolution profiles of pioglitazone HCl-β-Cyclodextrin inclusion complexes. The phase solubility profile of pioglitazone HCl with β-cyclodextrin was classified as AL-type and stability constant with 1:1 molar ratio was 115.45, calculated from the phase solubility diagram. Formation of the inclusion complex between pioglitazone HCl and β-cyclodextrin was confirmed by the Fourier Transform Infrared (FT- IR) spectroscopy. The dissolution profile of inclusion complexes were determined and compared with those of pioglitazone HCl alone and its physical mixtures.The dissolution rate of the pioglitazone HCl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex prepared by the co-precipitation method was six times higher when compared with the pure drug. The method of complexation of pioglitazone HCl in β-CD increased the dissolution rate of the drug in the following order: Coppt > KM > PM >Drug.


The sparsely-activated models have achieved great success in natural language processing through large-scale parameters and relatively low computational cost, and gradually become a feasible technique for training and implementing extremely large models. Due to the limit of communication cost, activating multiple experts is hardly affordable during training and inference. Therefore, previous work usually activate just one expert at a time to alleviate additional communication cost. Such routing mechanism limits the upper bound of model performance. In this paper, we first investigate a phenomenon that increasing the number of activated experts can boost the model performance with higher sparse ratio. To increase the number of activated experts without an increase in computational cost, we propose SAM (Switch and Mixture) routing, an efficient hierarchical routing mechanism that activates multiple experts in a same device (GPU). Our methods shed light on the training of extremely large sparse models and experiments prove that our models can achieve significant performance gain with great efficiency improvement.


Background:The management of trigeminal neuralgia in patients with associated skull base meningiomas is complex. Objective:We evaluated the pain management needs and outcomes in patients with petroclival meningiomas associated with medically refractory trigeminal neuralgia. Methods: During a 21-year period, 168 patients underwent stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for meningiomas involving the petroclival region. We identified 12 patients (10 females; median age 54 years) who had trigeminal neuralgia in association with an ipsilateral petroclival meningioma. The median tumor volume was 3.8 cm3 (1.0–15.9 cm3). The median prescription dose for tumor margins was 13 Gy (11–16 Gy). Results: Initial pain control [Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) grades I–IIIb] was obtained in 10 of 12 patients (83%). However, 3 patients with initial adequate relief later developed pain. Follow-up imaging revealed control of tumor growth in all patients at a median follow-up of 68 months. No patient developed any new sensory dysfunction. The tumor shrinkage was not associated with pain relief. At the final follow-up, 5 patients had pain of BNI grade I (2 after surgery), 4 had grade IIIb and 3 had grade IV. Conclusions: SRS provided effective tumor control, but trigeminal neuralgia persisted to varying degrees in most patients. Multimodality pain management strategies were required in most patients with skull base meningiomas associated with trigeminal neuralgia.


The effects of standing, and lying with the back extended, on F wave minimal latency and F chronodispersion were studied in patients with lumbar canal stenosis, lumbosacral root compression syndromes, and low back pain. Standing for 3 min produced increased F chronodispersion in lumbar canal stenosis and root compression syndromes but had less effect on the F minimal latency. In patients with low back pain these variables were unchanged by these postural manoeuvres. These observations illustrate the value of adapting electrophysiological investigations to those clinical features that induce symptoms in these disorders.


The transcription factor nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is a key mediator of the inflammatory response, and its activation correlates with poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer patients. Oncogenic K-ras and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations occur frequently in lung adenocarcinoma and are associated with an inflammatory response in lung tumors. Recent papers have shown that inhibition of epithelial NF-κB signaling in a mouse model of K-ras-mediated lung tumorigenesis decreased tumor formation. However, the mechanisms linking NF-κB signaling to tumor formation remain unclear. We hypothesize that epithelial NF-κB signaling is a common requirement for lung tumorigenesis, causing activation and/or recruitment of inflammatory cells that promote lung tumor formation. For our studies, we used mice that inducibly express oncogenic K-rasG12D or EGFRT790M+L858R as well as a dominant negative inhibitor of κB signaling (DN-IκB) specifically in the lung epithelium. Mice expressing DN-IκB together with K-rasG12D or EGFRT790M+L858R developed significantly fewer tumors than mice expressing K-rasG12D or EGFRT790M+L858R alone after two months of doxycycline administration. However, two months of K-rasG12D or EGFRT790M+L858R expression did not significantly alter total inflammatory cell numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL). EGFRT790M+L858R expression led to an increase in BAL neutrophils that was lost when NF-κB signaling was inhibited, while no changes in BAL macrophage, lymphocyte, or neutrophil subpopulations were observed in K-rasG12D-expressing mice with or without NF-κB signaling. At later time points, both K-rasG12D- and EGFRT790M+L858R-expressing mice demonstrated a profound inflammatory response, which was associated with an increased tumor burden. Using a model of long term alveolar macrophage depletion by intratracheal administration of liposomal clodronate, we found that depletion of alveolar macrophages decreased tumor burden in K-rasG12D-expressing mice. Together, these results suggest that, rather than causing a profound inflammatory influx, epithelial NF-κB signaling may be important for activating resident inflammatory cell populations that aid in K-ras- and EGFR-mediated tumor formation. From these studies, we hope to broaden understanding of the role of inflammatory signaling pathways in regulation of lung carcinogenesis. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 313. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-313


Water depth is an important measure for nautical charts. Accurate methods to provide water depth information are expensive and time costing. For this reason, since late 70's, it started to be estimate by multispectral sensors with empirical models. In the literature there is no investigation using empirical models partitioned in depth intervals, for this reason, we evaluated the accuracy of partitioned and single bathymetric models. The results have shown that to retrieve depth in from 0 to 15 m the single model provided an RMSE of 3.57 m, with a bias of about -0.83 m; while the RMSE for the partitioned model was 2.29 m with a bias of 0.41 m. For updating nautical charts using multispectral sensors it was concluded that the partitioned model can provide a better result than using a single model.


We consider effectively one-dimensional planar and radial kinks in two-dimensional nonlinear Klein-Gordon models and focus on the sine-Gordon model and the $\phi^4$ variants thereof. We adapt an adiabatic invariant formulation recently developed for nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger equations, and we study the transverse stability of these kinks. This enables us to characterize one-dimensional planar kinks as solitonic filaments, whose stationary states and corresponding spectral stability can be characterized not only in the homogeneous case, but also in the presence of external potentials. Beyond that, the full nonlinear (transverse) dynamics of such filaments are described using the reduced, one-dimensional, adiabatic invariant formulation. For radial kinks, this approach confirms their azimuthal stability. It also predicts the possibility of creating stationary and stable ring-like kinks. In all cases we corroborate the results of our methodology with full numerics on the original sine-Gordon and $\phi^4$ models.


Cactaceae Nopalea cochenillifera cell cultures and intact plants (cladodes) transform various toxic textile dyes, including Red HE7B into less phytotoxic, non-hazardous metabolites. The [tentative] pathway analysis demonstrates that Red HE7B is transformed into 3-amino-5-imino-5,8-dihydronaphthalen-2-ol, 2-amino-6-(carboxycarbonyl)-3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 4-aminophenol, and phenol. The significant induction of the activities of intracellular laccase (687%), tyrosinase (219%), azoreductase (144%), and 2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol reductase (167%) indicated the involvement of these enzymes in the transformation pathways of Red HE7B but these enzymes have not been definitively linked to the phytotransformation of this toxic dye. The present foundation work could add another plant candidate for phytoremediation of undesirable products from industry wastes and harmful chemicals.


Recommendation system algorithm based on multi-task learning (MTL) is the major method for Internet operators to understand users and predict their behaviors in the multi-behavior scenario of platform. Task correlation is an important consideration of MTL goals, traditional models use shared-bottom models and gating experts to realize shared representation learning and information differentiation. However, The relationship between real-world tasks is often more complex than existing methods do not handle properly sharing information. In this paper, we propose an Different Expression Parallel Heterogeneous Network (DEPHN) to model multiple tasks simultaneously. DEPHN constructs the experts at the bottom of the model by using different feature interaction methods to improve the generalization ability of the shared information flow. In view of the model's differentiating ability for different task information flows, DEPHN uses feature explicit mapping and virtual gradient coefficient for expert gating during the training process, and adaptively adjusts the learning intensity of the gated unit by considering the difference of gating values and task correlation. Extensive experiments on artificial and real-world datasets demonstrate that our proposed method can capture task correlation in complex situations and achieve better performance than baseline models.


Understanding future ecosystem changes is central to sustainable natural resource management especially when coupled with in-depth understanding of impacts of drivers, such as governance, demographic, economic and climate variations and land use policy. This offers comprehensive information for sustainable ecosystem services provision. A foresight process of systematic and presumptive assessment of future state and ecosystem integrity of Lake Victoria basin, as participatory scenario building technique, is presented. Four scenarios have been illustrated as possible future states of the basin over the next twenty years. Using a scenario building model developed in Ventana Simulation (VENSIM � ) platform, the paper presents a scenario methodology for tracking changes in lake basin ecosystem status. Plausible trends in land use change, changes in lake levels and contribution of fisheries are presented. This is part of an initial attempt to setup long-term environmental policy planning strategies for Lake Victoria basin. The assumptions, driving forces, impacts and opportunities under each scenario depict major departure and convergence points for an integrated transboundary diagnosis and analysis of regional issues in the basin as well as strategic action planning for long-term interventions. The findings have been presented in terms of temporal, spatial, biophysical and human well-being dimensions. The attempts in this study can be embedded in a policy framework for basin management priority setting and may guide partnerships for environmental management.


The first fluorinated analogue of the naturally occurring 2,4-methanoproline, 4-fluoro-2,4-methanoproline, has been synthesized in five steps from commercially available methyl 2-fluoroacrylate through a photochemical cyclization as a key step in generating a 2-azabicyclo[2.1.1]hexane skeleton.


RECONSTRUCTIVE surgery of the external ear—like that of any other part of the body—deals with the repair of congenital or traumatic defects and the reconstruction of congenital or acquired deformities. The aim of any reconstructive operation must be the restoration of form and function. While in some parts of the body restoration of function is the major issue, in exposed parts—particularly in the face—restoration of form is of equal importance. Hence, in patients with defects or deformities of the ear, reconstruction and repair are very often desired. There are certain ear deformities which can be reconstructed in such a way that the results achieved are very striking and appear to some patients almost miraculous. There are many other deformities in which patient and physician must satisfy themselves with improvement only, a fact that should be recognized and discussed preoperatively. I have particularly in mind the reconstruction of a total or


A multiuser system employing on-off FSK modulation in conjunction with frequency hopping is examined for digital transmission. The receiver consists of a bank of bandpass noncoherent detectors followed by a message decoder. An analysis is presented for a transmission channel characterized by Rayleigh fading and additive Gaussian noise. The main source of impairment is interference between users. An upper limit on the number of simultaneous system users for acceptable transmission quality is derived. An example of a system with (one-way) bandwidth of 20 MHz and transmission rate of 32 kbits/s per user shows a maximum of 169 users at an average SNR on the channel of 25 dB and a bit error probability not exceeding 10-3. The effect of applying error correcting codes to the system is evaluated. It is shown how Reed-Solomon codes can be used to generate both user identification and message coding. Such coding increases the number of users the system can accommodate in the example above to 212. Convolutional codes are shown to be even more effective. Such a code of constraint length 2 results in 285 simultaneous users in the example, which is an increase of 70 percent over an uncoded system. The drawback of coding is an increased complexity of the receiver. The amount of computation needed for the decoding of block and convolutional codes is estimated.


Memristive technologies offer fascinating opportunities for unconventional computing architectures and emerging applications. While memristive devices have received substantial attention as sources of entropy for security applications, security vulnerabilities of memristive technologies for implementing cryptographic circuits have been largely neglected so far. In this article, we provide the first in-depth analysis of power side-channel analysis against memristive cryptographic implementations based on both: physical experiments and simulations. We show that power consumption models developed for CMOS are not fully adequate for memristive circuits. In particular, the memory effect makes even input-independent initialization cycles vulnerable to attacks that would be fundamentally impossible in CMOS technologies. We propose a memristive-oriented Power Estimation Model (mPEM) integrated into the Stochastic Approach (StA) framework and demonstrate its effectiveness against larger-scale circuits. Finally, we demonstrate that attack countermeasures that were effective for CMOS fail for fundamental reasons in the memristive case.


This paper proposes a concept of "Robotic Room" of the environment-type robot system for human service and describes the feasibility of novel functions by constructed three prototype robot systems taking account of the features of the environment-type robot system. The features are: 1) a spatial system; 2) a human-robot symbiosis system; and 3) a distributed system. Novel functions of the Robotic Room based on the research fields of a) Behavior Media and b) Behavior Contents and Behavior Adaptation is revealed by constructed prototype system of "Robotic Room 1 (Robotic Sick Room)," "Robotic Room 2 (Sensing Room)," and "Robotic Room 3," taking account of the stated features of the systems.


Three basic properties which standard graded artinian k-algebras may or may not enjoy are the Weak and Strong Lefschetz Properties and the Maximal Rank Property (respectively WLP, SLP, and MRP). In this paper we will assume that the base field k has characteristic zero. It is known that SLP implies MRP, which in turn implies WLP, but that both implications are strict. However, it surprisingly turned out (see [8]) that the set of Hilbert functions admitting any algebras with WLP coincides with the corresponding set for SLP (and therefore with that for MRP). In [16], J. Migliore and the first author, using Green's theorem and a result of Wiebe, characterized the Hilbert functions forcing all algebras to enjoy WLP. The purpose of this note is to prove the corresponding characterizations for both SLP and MRP. Unsurprisingly (or surprisingly??), the two characterizations coincide, but they define a class of Hilbert functions strictly smaller than that determined for WLP in [16]. Our methods include the Herzog-Popescu theorem on quotients of k-algebras modulo a general form, a result of Wiebe, and gins and stable ideals. At the end, we will also discuss the importance of assuming that the characteristic be zero, and we will exhibit a class of codimension 2 monomial complete intersections for which SLP (but not MRP) fails in positive characteristic.


Background. In the last decades, several hospitals have adopted this concept of integrative medicine for the treatment of chronic and acute states of illnesses in in-patient treatment. The aim of this paper was to summarize the current evidence for a possible effectiveness of integrative on-patient treatment in patients' quality of life by means of a meta-analysis. Material and Methods. The databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, PsycInfo, PsycLit CCMED, and CAMbase were screened to find articles. We also screened publisher databases to find relevant information. Articles were included if patients were treated in a hospital. To guarantee comparability SF-36 was the predefined outcome measure for patients' quality of life. Data of pre/posteffects on the mental and physical scores of the SF-36 were extracted and effect sizes were calculated and entered into a random effect meta-analysis. Results. Eight articles published between 2003 and 2010 were included in the final meta-analysis. Random effect meta-analysis of the eight studies revealed an overall effect size of 0.37 (95% CI: [0.28; 0.45]) in the physical score and 0.38 (95% CI: [0.30; 0.45]) in the mental score of the SF-36. I 2 statistics indicate a high heterogeneity in the effects in both the physical and mental scores of the SF-36 (I 2 = 91.8%, P < 0.001, resp.; I 2 = 86.7%, P < 0.001). Discussion. This meta-analysis might help to rediscover the importance of integrative in-patient treatment for patients, physicians, and stakeholders.


The military coup in Egypt and the Taliban insurgency in Pakistan and Afghanistan have once again highlighted the political stakes of incorporating Islam within a constitution. Many constitutions in the Muslim world contain clauses that recognize the Islamic character of the state; yet, there is little scholarship empirically analyzing these clauses; indeed, while much has been written about the effects of incorporating a particular type of clause — the Islamic supremacy clause, to date, we know very little about the comparative constitutional universe of Islamic clauses: How prevalent is Constitutional Islamization? Which countries have the most or least Islamized constitutions? Do secular countries in the Muslim world promise more human rights than Islamic countries? Does having more Islam in the constitution correlate with weaker political participation and gender equality? This Article tries to fills this gap. Relying on an original dataset based on the coding of the constitutions of all Muslim majority countries globally, it introduces the Islamic Constitutions Index (ICI) — the first index to measure and rank constitutions according to their Islamicity. Using this index as a proxy for Constitutional Islamization, we investigate the universe of Islamic constitutions. Our analysis shows that roughly half of all Muslim majority countries have Islamic features in their constitutions and geography and colonialism seem to have some influence on Islamicity. Further, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan lead the rankings of Constitutional Islamization while the Central Asian countries all have secular constitutions. We also show that while Muslim countries' constitutions generally promise a number of important human rights and none explicitly incorporate corporal punishments, constitutions that privilege secularism tend to, on average, promise more rights than constitutions that privilege Islam. Indeed, of the top 10 countries in the Muslim world measured in terms of de jure constitutional promise of rights, all but one — Maldives, are secular. We also find that Islamicity of the constitution seems to correlate negatively with democracy, gender equality and political stability. Although preliminary and not implying causation, our correlation analysis has considerable implications: not only can it provide some support to peace-making efforts with Islamic militant groups doubting the Islamic character of the states they are fighting, it implies that the Muslim world may in fact chart its own version of "Islamic constitutional democracy" that may be different from the Western paradigm of democracy. Further, our work lays the foundation for a research agenda that investigates the relationship between political Islam and constitutional democracy.


Effect of storage conditions on the development of lenticel disorders was evaluated for two potato cultivars. Tubers were harvested at maturity, 3 weeks after vine kill. Tubers were stored for 12 days at 10 °C or 20 °C, and low (65%) or high (95%) relative humidity (RH). The highest incidence of the enlarged lenticel disorder was observed in tubers from both cultivars stored under high RH. Enlarged lenticels on 'Red LaSoda' stretched diagonally into oval shapes, while those on 'Fabula' remained round. The halo disorder occurred at 20 °C/low RH in both cultivars, with halos appearing as dark areas surrounding the lenticel aperture. The critical time for the development of the enlarged lenticel disorder was 3 days into storage. Characterization of lenticel suberization indicated that increased suberin deposition may be a response to stress such as lenticel enlargement.


Our current understanding of initial pathogenetic steps in IgA nephropathy (IgAN) provides relatively limited rationale for immunosuppressive therapy. However, it is conceivable that immunosuppressive drugs might affect secondary inflammatory events triggered by glomerular immune deposits or even proteinuria per se . Some but not all randomized clinical trials on either corticosteroid monotherapy, mycophenolate mofetil monotherapy or immunosuppressive combination therapy have provided evidence for a benefit on either surrogate parameters such as proteinuria or hard end points such as renal failure. The central problem of these studies is that most were designed in the 1980s or 90s, when recommendations for supportive therapy were strikingly different from those of today. In the meantime an equal number of randomized clinical studies reporting a benefit of supportive therapy only has been published in patients with IgAN and, unfortunately, no head-to-head comparison of these two approaches is currently available. Several ongoing clinical trials may help to resolve this dilemma. Until the data of such studies become available, a pragmatic approach is to first optimize supportive therapy and reserve immunosuppressive medication for those patients failing a supportive approach and remaining at risk for progressive loss of renal function.


The rainfed lowland is a predominant rice ecology in Bihar (2.7 million ha). As it is monsoonbased, sowing and transplanting of rice are invariably delayed. The crop also faces flood and drought, singly or in combination, at any growth stage. Because of these constraints, the high-yielding varieties developed for this ecology through on-station efforts are not widely adopted. Traditionally, to develop varieties adapted to this ecology, photoperiod-sensitive cultivars are grown. A participatory approach began in 1995 at RAU. The program was further strengthened when an IRRI-sponsored participatory breeding project was launched in 1998. From the beginning, farmers were partners in varietal selection. An on-farm research trial consisting of 12 improved varieties and advanced breeding lines (including local checks) that differed in height and growth duration was conducted at three representative sites in farmers' fields. Of these materials, four entries were selected, mainly on the basis of high yields, and were included in large-scale multilocation on-farm trials. A survey conducted under the Farmers' Participatory Breeding (FPB) Project found that RAU 1306-4-3-2-2, a line included in the 1995 on-farm trial, was already being grown in several villages. Farmers liked its excellent grain and cooking quality and tolerance for submergence and drought. It is about 15 d earlier than some popular local cultivars such as Bakol. This entry was thus included in the ongoing multi-location on-farm trials to assess its performance in farmers' fields. All the entries were evaluated at the vegetative and reproductive stages and a relative ranking, by both scientists and farmers, was made. RAU 1306-4-3-2-2 was rated the best by farmers.


The need to integrate men and women more effectively into team roles requires a fuller consideration of the dynamics of work‐team diversity and the consequences for both behavior and cognition among team members. Drawing from sociological and psychological perspectives, this study examines the influence of team gender composition and gender‐orientation of the task on members' perceptions of their team's performance. The participants for this study included 216 university students (108 men, 108 women) who were randomly assigned to one of three types of gender‐mixed teams – male‐dominated, female‐dominated and balanced‐gender work‐teams. Teams were required to generate, in a (videotaped) team meeting, a negotiation strategy for two business‐related cases. Self‐report instruments provided information regarding perceptions of team performance, and expert judges offered objective measures of team performance. The findings of this study offer striking evidence that team gender composition and the gender‐orientation of the task, can clearly affect member perceptions of the quality of their team's performance, regardless of the actual performance level achieved.


Abstract On Barro Colorado Island, Panama, a series of field observations were conducted to evaluate the role of burrower species of Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in the removal of dung. Using tapir dung placed on the soil surface, three species were observed during the diurnal period, five other species were observed in the nocturnal period. Of those eight species, Onthophagus acuminatus Harold was demonstrated to be the most varied behaviorally in obtaining dung, to include kleptoparasitism.


The mechanical properties of Advanced Pore Morphology (APM) foam elements depend strongly upon their internal porous and external structural geometry. This paper reports on a detailed investigation of external (e.g. shape and size) and internal (e.g. distribution, size, number of pores) geometry and porosity changes of APM foam elements, during compressive loading by means of the ex-situ micro-Computed Tomography, and advanced digital image analysis and recognition. The results show that the porosity of APM foam elements decreases by only 25% at the engineering strain of 70% due to an increase of the number of pores at high stages of compressive deformation. The APM foam elements also exhibit a positive macroscopic Poisson's ratio of υ = 0.2, which is uncharacteristic for cellular structures.


Coordination between heat and electricity markets is essential to achieve a cost-effective and efficient operation of the overall energy system. In the current sequential market practice, the heat market is cleared before the electricity market, and has no insight into the impacts of heat dispatch on the electricity market. While preserving this sequential practice, this paper introduces an ``electricity-aware'' bid format for the coordination of heat and electricity systems. This novel market mechanism defines heat bids conditionally on day-ahead electricity prices. Prior to clearing heat and electricity markets, the proposed bid selection mechanism selects the ``valid'' bids which minimize the operating cost of the heat system, while anticipating heat and electricity market clearing.} This mechanism is modeled as a trilevel optimization problem, which we recast as a mixed-integer linear program using a lexicographic function. We use a realistic case study based on the Danish electricity and heat system, and show that the proposed bid selection mechanism yields a 4.5\% reduction in total operating cost of heat and electricity systems compared to the existing market-clearing procedure, while reducing the financial losses of combined heat and power plants and heat pumps due to invalid bids by up to 20.3 million euros.


When data is insufficient to support a probabilistic assumption, the structural seismic performance evaluation results with probabilistic approach are suspicious. In this paper, the convex set theory, which requires much less information, is employed to model the uncertainties of peak acceleration and frequency characteristics of earthquake ground motions. The bounds of shear forces are first derived with Chinese seismic code, and then a lateral bound load method for Push-over analysis is conducted. Then the convex analysis is integrated into Push-over analysis to study the bounds of structural capacity. Furthermore, the bounds of earthquake demand are deduced with the bounded convex set model and Chinese seismic code. The bounds of target displacement are obtained using capacity spectrum method. The seismic performance of structure is then evaluated with an interval. Finally, seismic performance evaluation of a three-storey RC building is given to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed method.


An oral health epidemiological survey using WHO assessment forms was conducted in the Republic of Slovenia (Yugoslavia) in 1987. The study population consisted of 1623 persons aged 6, 12, 15, 18, 35-44 and over 65 yr. The survey included 10 towns in 9 geographical areas of Slovenia. The results showed the prevalence of dental caries in the Slovenian population to be very high (93.6% in 12-yr-olds). The mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) scores were as follows: 5.1 at age 12 yr, 10.2 at 15 yr, 12.9 at 18 yr, 20.5 at 35-44 yr, and 27.0 in persons aged over 65 yr. Assessment of the periodontal status showed calculus to be the predominant disorder in the age groups 18 and 35-44 yr, while shallow pockets prevailed in persons aged over 65 yr.


Mobile Ad hoc networks are networks of mobile hosts with wireless interfaces that can dynamically form a network without the aid of any pre-existing infrastructure or centralized administration. Battery capacity is an important factor that decides the network lifetime. If any node is dying out of low battery capacity then as a consequence there will be dropping of packets. So, it is vital to protect the node from becoming unstable due to reduction in remaining battery capacity. Realizing the importance, this paper proposes a novel method to recover the node by continuous "unstable node' tracking method at an optimum threshold battery capacity value. This method also rectifies the drawback of the network getting blocked with the help of two methods: either self recovery of nodes or by intelligently adapting to the safest routing point in order to conserve the energy until recharge. Initially, the extensive analysis and after effects of unstable nodes due to reduction in remaining battery capacity is discussed followed by the two novel ways to self recover dying nodes and eventually making the network healthy.


ABSTRACT Bacterial sexually transmitted infections are widespread and common, with Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonorrhea) and Chlamydia trachomatis (chlamydia) being the two most frequent causes. If left untreated, both infections can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and other sequelae. The recommended treatment for gonorrhea is ceftriaxone plus azithromycin (to empirically treat chlamydial coinfections). Antibiotic resistance to all existing therapies has developed in gonorrheal infections. The need for new antibiotics is great, but the pipeline for new drugs is alarmingly small. The aminomethyl spectinomycins, a new class of semisynthetic analogs of the antibiotic spectinomycin, were developed on the basis of a computational analysis of the spectinomycin binding site of the bacterial 30S ribosome and structure-guided synthesis. The compounds display particular potency against common respiratory tract pathogens as well as the sexually transmitted pathogens that cause gonorrhea and chlamydia. Here, we demonstrate the in vitro potencies of several compounds of this class against both bacterial species; the compounds displayed increased potencies against N. gonorrhoeae compared to that of spectinomycin and, significantly, demonstrated activity against C. trachomatis that is not observed with spectinomycin. Efficacies of the compounds were compared to those of spectinomycin and gentamicin in a murine model of infection caused by ceftriaxone/azithromycin-resistant N. gonorrhoeae; the aminomethyl spectinomycins significantly reduced the colonization load and were as potent as the comparator compounds. In summary, data produced by this study support aminomethyl spectinomycins as a promising replacement for spectinomycin and antibiotics such as ceftriaxone for treating drug-resistant gonorrhea, with the added benefit of treating chlamydial coinfections.


The nuclear transcription factors κB (NF-κB) is widely existed in various kinds of cell types in the nervous system and plays an important role in neuron apoptosis and neurodegenerative diseases. Estrogen receptor alpha 36 (ER-α36) is a novel variant of ERα (as known ER-α66) which can transduce both estrogenand antiestrogen-dependent activation of MAPK signal pathway and stimulate cell growth. Here, we aimed to detect the effect of ER-α36 gene silencing on the expression of NF-κB in normal cultured PC12 cells and to provide an experimental foundation for understanding the function of ER-α36 in nerve cells. PC12 cells with ER-α36 expression knocked down by the shRNA method. Then Western blot and immunocytochemical staining were performed to detect the expression and translocation of NF-κB after transfection. The results showed that NF-κB expression was significantly higher comparing with the control group after transfection (P < 0.01). Also, NF-κB subunit entered nuclear after transfection; Immunofluorescence staining and immunocytochemical staining of PC12 cells demonstrated that ER-α36 was expressed mainly on the plasma membrane and on the cell nucleus membrane. These data indicate that ER-α36 gene silencing can increase the expression of NF-κB and promote its nuclear translocation in PC12 cells.


Background Congenital midline cervical cleft (CMCC) is a rare developmental anomaly of the anterior neck, mostly found in Caucasian females. Most authors consider it within the spectrum of branchial arch developmental abnormalities. There have been about 100 reported cases in the literature. However, there is no agreement on the age of surgery in this anomaly. Case Presentation In this report we present our experience of managing this anomaly in the early neonatal period in two neonates. One of them had concomitantly congenital heart disease. Conclusion It is important to recognize this rare congenital anomaly in neonate. Although the exact time of surgery for CMCC is not mentioned, based on our results the earliest time of intervention is recommended since then the operating result will be excellent.


Biogas technology provides an alternative source of energy to fossil fuels in many parts of the world. Using local resources such as agricultural crop remains, municipal solid wastes, market wastes and animal waste, energy (biogas), and manure are derived by anaerobic digestion. The hydrolysis process, where the complex insoluble organic materials are hydrolysed by extracellular enzymes, is a rate-limiting step for anaerobic digestion of high-solid organic solid wastes. Biomass pretreatment and hydrolysis are areas in need of drastic improvement for economic production of biogas from complex organic matter such as lignocellulosic material and sewage sludge. Despite development of pretreatment techniques, sugar release from complex biomass still remains an expensive and slow step, perhaps the most critical in the overall process. This paper gives an updated review of the biotechnological advances to improve biogas production by microbial enzymatic hydrolysis of different complex organic matter for converting them into fermentable structures. A number of authors have reported significant improvement in biogas production when crude and commercial enzymes are used in the pretreatment of complex organic matter. There have been studies on the improvement of biogas production from lignocellulolytic materials, one of the largest and renewable sources of energy on earth, after pretreatment with cellulases and cellulase-producing microorganisms. Lipids (characterised as oil, grease, fat, and free long chain fatty acids, LCFA) are a major organic compound in wastewater generated from the food processing industries and have been considered very difficult to convert into biogas. Improved methane yield has been reported in the literature when these lipid-rich wastewaters are pretreated with lipases and lipase-producing microorganisms. The enzymatic treatment of mixed sludge by added enzymes prior to anaerobic digestion has been shown to result in improved degradation of the sludge and an increase in methane production. Strategies for enzyme dosing to enhance anaerobic digestion of the different complex organic rich materials have been investigated. This review also highlights the various challenges and opportunities that exist to improve enzymatic hydrolysis of complex organic matter for biogas production. The arguments in favor of enzymes to pretreat complex biomass are compelling. The high cost of commercial enzyme production, however, still limits application of enzymatic hydrolysis in full-scale biogas production plants, although production of low-cost enzymes and genetic engineering are addressing this issue.


Pancreatic Cancer (PC) is one of the most aggressive and deadliest types of cancer, and it is projected to be the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. by the year 2030.
 PC evades immune surveillance by disrupting the immune homeostasis of effector T cells (Teff). T cells homeostasis is critical for proper anti-tumor immune responses. Preliminary flow cytometry data revealed that murine pancreatic (Panc02) cancer cells produce inflammatory soluble factors and in addition, express Major Histocompatibility Complex class I (MHC-I) and Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) and 2 (PD-L2). PD-L1/2 can bind to PD-1 receptors on Teff and induce apoptosis or anergy, dampening the anti-tumor immunity. Cytokine bead array and flow cytometry analysis of serum from peripheral blood from C57BL/6 mice injected with Panc02 cells (TB mice) showed a significant increase in inflammatory factors compared to Control (CTRL) mice. Additionally, Teff from splenocytes from TB mice showed significant reduction in Teff percentages compared to CTRL mice, in vitro. In this study, CD3+ cells from CTRL mice were co-incubated with Panc02 cells pre-treated with anti-PD-L1 antibody (ab) to evaluate the modulation of Teff and cytokines production, in vitro. Mice were inoculated with the Panc02 pre-treated cells with anti-PD-L1 ab, to evaluate the modulation of Teff and cytokines production, in vivo. The results from this project may lead to the identification of new immunotherapeutic strategies to stabilize Teff homeostasis and function that could increase anti-tumor immune responses and combat PC progression.


The problem of finding a work assignment for crew members of an airline in a given
time horizon, is addressed. In the literature such a problem is usually referred to as
the Airline Crew Rostering problem and consists of constructing monthly
schedules for crew members by assigning them pairings, rest periods, leaves, training
periods, union activities, and so forth, so as to satisfy the collective agreements and
security rules.
We formulate the Airline Crew Rostering problem as a 0-1 Multicommodity Flow
problem where each employee corresponds to a commodity; determining a monthly
schedule for an employee is the same as computing a path on a suitably defined graph
while satisfying the clauses of the union conventions and distributing the workload
evenly among the employees. Each path on the graph alternates between activity arcs
which represent the activities to be covered in the programming period, and
compatibility arcs linking together pairs of activities which can be assigned consecutively
to the same employee.
A preprocessing phase is performed which reduces the dimension of the graph. In order
to tighten the linear programming formulation of our model we propose some families of
valid inequalities which have proven to be computationally very effective; some of them
have the characteristic that can be treated implicitly in the construction of the graph.
Computational results obtained with a commercial integer programming solver (CPLEX)
are analyzed. Finally, some decomposition techniques are identified which exploit the
particular structure of the problem, as an alternative solution approach.


Five new mononuclear lanthanide complexes, [LnL2][Et3NH]·THF/H2O (Ln = Nd, Tb, Dy) (H2LCl = 2-bis(2-hydroxy-3,5-dichloro benzyl)aminomethyl]pyridine), Ln = Nd (1), Tb (2), and Dy (3), and (H2LBr = 2-bis(2-hydroxy-3,5-dibromo benzyl)aminomethyl]pyridine), Ln = Nd (4, H2O) and Tb (5), were synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. Being isostructural in all the five cases, the metal center is octa-coordinated with a triangular dodecahedron (D2d symmetry) geometry, and it is independent of the halogen substitution (Cl/Br). This close similarity is due to the composite interplay of hydrogen/halogen bond interactions that control the overall crystal packing, yet notable differences in association patterns among the individual ones arise from the subtle stereo-electronic requirement of individual molecules in the three-dimensional (3D) architecture. Hirshfeld surface and density functional theory (DFT) calculations clearly vouch for the importance of the hydrogen bond and halogen bond interactions observed in the structure. Detailed magnetic measurements using direct-current and alternating-current susceptibility measurements show slow magnetic relaxation in 3, a characteristic feature of the single-molecule magnets (SMMs), which is not shown by 1 and 2. Steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence of Tb(III) complexes shows a strong ligand-to-metal energy transfer that can be modulated by changing the substitution on phenolic ligands. The results from these analyses indicate that it may be advantageous to consider the subtle role of hydrogen bond (HB)/halogen bond (XB) intermolecular interactions judiciously for the design of SMMs and luminescent materials based on halogen-substituted ligands.


This study considered the existing approximation theories of solitary wave for stable generation of it with different waveforms in a hydraulic/numerical wave tank for coping with the tsunami. Based on the approximation theory equations, two methods were proposed to estimate various waveforms of solitary wave. They estimate different waveforms and flow rates by applying waveform distribution factor and virtual depth factor with the original approximate expressions of solitary wave. Newly proposed estimation methods of solitary wave were applied in the wave generation of hydraulic/numerical wave tank. In the result, it was able to estimate the positional information signal of wave generator in the hydraulic wave tank and to find that the signal was very similar to an input signal of existing hydraulic model experiment. The waveform and velocity of solitary wave was applied to the numerical wave tank in order to generate wave, which enabled generate waveform of tsunami that was not reproduced with existing solitary wave approximation theory and found that the result had high conformity with existing experiment result. Therefore, it was able to validate and verify the two proposed estimation methods to generate stable tsunami in the hydraulic/numerical wave tank.


The unit root problem plays a central role in empirical applications in the time series econometric literature. However, significance tests developed under the frequentist tradition present various conceptual problems that jeopardize the power of these tests, especially for small samples. Bayesian alternatives, although having interesting interpretations and being precisely defined, experience problems due to the fact that that the hypothesis of interest in this case is sharp or precise. The Bayesian significance test used in this article, for the unit root hypothesis, is based solely on the posterior density function, without the need of imposing positive probabilities to sets of zero Lebesgue measure. Furthermore, it is conducted under strict observance of the likelihood principle. It was designed mainly for testing sharp null hypotheses and it is called FBST for Full Bayesian Significance Test.


1School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; 2Sleep Unit, University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health at the Royal, Ottawa, ON, Canada; 3University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada Introduction: Second-language learning (SLL) depends on distinct functionalneuroanatomical systems including procedural and declarative long-term memory. Characteristic features of rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep such as rapid eye movements and sleep spindles are electrophysiological markers of cognitively complex procedural and declarative memory consolidation, respectively. In adults, grammatical learning depends at first on declarative memory ("early SLL") then shifts to procedural memory with experience ("late SLL"). However, it is unknown if the shift from declarative to procedural memory in early vs late SLL is supported by sleep. Here, we hypothesized that increases in sleep spindle characteristics would be associated with early SLL, whereas increases in REM activity (eg, density and EEG theta-band activity time-locked to rapid eye movements) would be associated with late SLL. Methods: Eight Anglophone (English first language) participants completed four polysomnographic recordings throughout an intensive 6-week French immersion course. Sleep spindle data and electroencephalographic spectral power time-locked to rapid eye movements were extracted from parietal temporal electrodes. Results: As predicted, improvements in French proficiency were associated with changes in spindles during early SLL. Furthermore, we observed increased event-related theta power timelocked to rapid eye movements during late SLL compared with early SLL. The increases in theta power were significantly correlated with improvements in French proficiency. Discussion: This supports the notion that sleep spindles are involved in early SLL when grammar depends on declarative memory, whereas cortical theta activity time-locked to rapid eye movements is involved in late SLL when grammar depends on procedural memory.


Adult female Grey seals were sampled from the Farne Islands, Northumbria at monthly intervals during 1980 and 1981. The mean date of implantation was 7 April and most females implanted between 11 March and 5 May. Sculp, core and total body weights declined most at the time of lactation in November and were lowest during February. These weights increased most rapidly during March and April; at the same time as implantation occurred. The pectoral blubber depth followed a similar pattern. Females in which the spring increase in body condition occurred earliest also had the earliest implantation. The study demonstrates a correlation between body condition and the time of implantation.


We compared the effects of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and thrombin with those of nonlytic concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by hypoxanthine (HX)-xanthine oxidase (XO) on the adhesion properties of human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) to resting polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). PMN adherence to HX-XO-treated HUVEC was increased approximately twofold to 2.5-fold relative to untreated HUVEC, both immediately and after 2 hours. It was not additive to that induced by PMA or thrombin stimulation of HUVEC. ROS-induced adherence was not due to platelet-activating factor (PAF) or P-selectin expression, as it was neither antagonized by BN52021 (PAF receptor antagonist) nor inhibited by anti-P-selectin monoclonal antibody (MoAb), contrary to the increased adhesion of PMA- and thrombin-stimulated HUVEC. PMN preincubated with mannose-6-P or N-acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid), but not mannose or galactose-6-P, showed reduced adherence to ROS-treated HUVEC, suggesting that carbohydrate molecules were expressed on the latter and served as the ligand for the PMN L-selectin. Intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1), constitutively present on the surface of resting HUVEC, was involved in the PMN adherence to ROS-treated HUVEC, since this adherence was inhibited by anti-ICAM-1, anti-CD11a, anti-CD11b, and anti-CD18 MoAbs. A non-CD18, non-ICAM-1-dependent mechanism is also involved in this adherence, since effects of these MoAbs were not additive; moreover, combinations of anti-CD18 and anti-ICAM-1 MoAbs with mannose-6-P and sialic acid completely inhibited PMN adherence. The increased binding of PMN to HX-XO-exposed HUVEC observed here involved IC-AM-1, but was independent of its upregulation, and another non-ICAM-1-dependent mechanism, in which carbohydrates expressed on HUVEC recognize L-selectin on PMN.


RyRs contain 80-100 cysteine residues per subunit, of which approximately 25% are free for covalent modification, while the remainder are either modified or form intraprotein disulfides. Oxidizing and nitrosylating reagents have several effects on single RyR channel activity, which depend on the type of modifying reagent, the isoform of the RyR, and ligands bound to the channel. We present evidence here for four major classes of functional cysteine residues associated with RyR channels, i.e., two classes with free -SH groups that either activate or inhibit channels when covalently modified and two classes, with endogenous modification, that either inhibit or activate. Single-channel characteristics provide evidence for four discrete responses within the first activating class, two responses within the second inhibiting class and two types of response within the third endogenously modified class. All but one of these changes in channel properties depend on residues located on the cytoplasmic or membrane-associated domains of the RyR; the remaining response is confined to the luminal domain. If it is assumed that each type of response depends on a separate subclass of cysteine residue and that each subclass contains a minimum of one cysteine per subunit, our results suggest that there are at least nine cysteine residues per subunit with functional connections to the gating mechanism of RyR channels. These cysteine residues may be selectively modified under physiological and pathological conditions to regulate Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum and contraction.


Legionella surveillance is an important issue in public health, linked to the severity of disease and the difficulty associated with eradicating this bacterium from the water environment. Different treatments are suggested to reduce Legionella risk, however long-term studies of their efficiency are lacking. This study focused on the activity of a new formulation of hydrogen peroxide and silver salts, WTP828, in the hospital hot water network (HWN) to contain Legionella contamination during two years of treatment. The effectiveness of WTP828 was tested measuring physical-chemical and microbiological parameters such as Legionella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), and a heterotopic plate count (HPC) at 36 °C. Legionella isolates were identified by serotyping and genotyping. WTP 828 induced a reduction in Legionella–positive sites (60% to 36%) and contamination levels (2.12 to 1.7 log10 CFU/L), with isolates belonging to L. pneumophila SG1 (ST1 and ST104), L. anisa and L. rubrilucens widely distributed in HWN. No relevant contamination was found for other parameters tested. The long-term effect of WTP828 on Legionella containment suggest the easy and safe application of this disinfectant, that combined with knowledge of building characteristics, an adequate environmental monitoring and risk assessment plan, become the key elements in preventing Legionella contamination and exposure.


A buried archaeological site at Tecolote Canyon provides an ideal case study for relating past human land use patterns to changes in coastal paleogeography. Postglacial sea level transgression, erosion, and other marine and fluvial processes form the context for examining two deeply buried archaeological components excavated at CA‐SBA‐72. Archaeological shellfish assemblages provide proxy data for evaluating the evolution of local marine environments. Pismo clams dominate shellfish assemblages dated to 5800 cal yr B.P., suggesting the presence of a broad and sandy, high‐energy beach environment. At 5500 cal yr B.P., the almost exclusive use of California mussels by humans signals the development of rocky intertidal habitats. During the late Holocene, estuarine species dominate the marine mollusk assemblages at CA‐SBA‐72, reflecting the development of local estuarine conditions or trade with nearby Goleta Slough villages. The buried components at Tecolote Canyon appear to have served as temporary camps for shellfish harvesting and processing. While general changes in coastal paleogeography and human subsistence have been reconstructed for the Santa Barbara Coast, high resolution ecological data from Tecolote Canyon suggest that Native peoples also adapted to localized and shorter‐term shifts in intertidal habitats, changes not evident in most larger or more disturbed surface sites in the region. Linking these changes with shifts in human land use patterns highlights the interaction between humans and a dynamic coastal system. These data demonstrate the importance of small, buried sites in understanding the full spectrum of human subsistence and settlement choices and local environmental change. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Slag generated during submerged arc welding has been recycled by replenishing it with suitable alloying elements and deoxidizers and by agglomeration process. This recycled slag in combination with EL-8 filler wire was used in these investigations. Desired chemistry of weld metal was obtained. It was further observed that the chemical composition of weld metal prepared using recycled slag is within the acceptable range of AWS (American Welding Society) specifications.


When learning to recognize a novel body shape, e.g., a panda bear, we are not misled by changes in its pose. A "jumping panda bear" is readily recognized, despite having no prior visual experience with the conjunction of these concepts. Likewise, a novel pose can be estimated in an invariant way, with respect to the actor's body shape. These body and pose recognition tasks require invariance to non-generic transformations [10, 16] that previous models of the ventral stream do not have. We show that the addition of biologically plausible, class-specific mechanisms associating previouslyviewed actors in a range of poses enables a hierarchical model of object recognition to account for this human capability. These associations could be acquired in an unsupervised manner from past experience.


Background
On 20th Jan 2020, a new coronavirus epidemic with "human-to-human" transmission was officially announced, which inevitably caused public panic in China. Perinatal depression (PND) is one of the most common mental health problems. The purpose of this study is to explore the mental impact of COVID-19 outbreak on pregnant women.

Methods
A total of 4124 pregnant women during third trimester from 25 hospitals in 10 provinces were recruited in this cross-sectional study, from Jan/01 to Feb/09, 2020. Among them, 1285 pregnant women were assessed after Jan/20, and 2839 were assessed before that time point. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to evaluate the maternal psychological situation. Prevalence of PND and anxiety were compared between two groups.

Findings
Pregnant women had higher scores in EPDS (7.7 vs 7.4, P=0.03) and anxiety subscale (3.4 vs 3.2, P=0.04), especially the highest score for thoughts of self-harm (P=0.005) after the declaration of COVID-19 epidemic. Awareness of COVID-19 significantly increased the prevalence of PND (26.0% vs 29.6%, P=0.02). The COVID-19 number of newly- confirmed, suspected infections, and death cases per day was positively associated with the prevalence of PND (P=0.003, 0.004, and 0.001, respectively). Pregnant women those who were underweight, full-time employed, middle income, age < 35 yrs, primiparous, less exercise, appropriate living area appeared to be more susceptible to the outbreak.

Interpretation
COVID-19 outbreak can increase the depressive risk of pregnant women, especially in the self-harm inclination, suggesting that psychological intervention is an urgent need for maternal population.

Funding: The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81661128010, 81671412), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC1001300, 2018YFC1002804, 2016YFC1000203), Foundation of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning (20144Y0110), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit, Shanghai Jiao Tong University(2019RU056), CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (2019-I2M-5-064) and Shanghai Municipal Key Clinical Specialty, Shanghai, China.

Conflict of interest: The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.

Ethical Approval: This study was registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1900027020) and the ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital (GKLW2019-11). Informed consent was obtained from all participants before inclusion.


Helminths are known to exert immunomodulatory effects on the host, an effect largely mediated by their induction of generalized Th2 responses. In a recent study, using the murine nematode Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (Nb), we have shown that a prior infection with Nb makes the host more susceptible to tuberculosis (TB). In this study we sought to investigate whether coinfection would exacerbate chronic infection, a phase where Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is contained within granulomas. Mice chronically infected with Mtb were coinfected with Nb. We report herein that despite a helminth induced Th2 component, coinfected animals had a similar bacterial burden in comparison with Mtb alone infected animals. This observation could be due to the fact that the Mtb is already established in the granuloma and any effect of the helminth induced Th2 response is unable to shift this balance. In order to further understand the kinetics of helminths influencing TB, we infected mice with Mtb and these were infected 5days later with Nb. Interestingly we observed a significant increase in lung bacterial burden in coinfected animals. These results suggest that the timing of a helminth infection in an Mtb infected individual could have completely different outcomes. Studies are underway to unravel the mechanisms behind these observations. This finding is significant as a helminth infection can occur even during adulthood in endemic areas of the world, regions which are also endemic with TB


In this paper we discuss the regularity conditions required for the classical Craḿer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for real-valued (nonrandom unknown) parameters to hold. It is shown that the commonly assumed requirement that the support of the likelihood function (LF) should be independent of the parameter to be estimated can be replaced by the much weaker requirement that the LF is continuous at the end points of its support. Parameter-dependent support of the LF arises when an unknown parameter is observed in the presence of additive measurement noise and the measurement noise probability density function (pdf) has a finite support. It is also pointed out that the commonly cited requirements of absolute integrability of the derivatives of the LF should be replaced by requirements on the log-LF (LLF). Some practical examples of finite-support measurement noises, which lead to parameter-dependent LF support, are discussed in light of the above. For the case where the LF is not continuous at the end points of its support, a new modified CRLB -designated as the Craḿer-Rao-Leibniz lower bound (CRLLB), since it relies on Leibniz integral rule - is presented and its use illustrated. The CRLLB is shown to provide valid bounds for a number of long-standing problems for which the CRLB was shown in the literature as not valid, in particular, for a uniformly distributed measurement noise.


Classical counterinsurgency theory explains why discriminate counterinsurgency violence is effective, but does not convincingly explain why many counterinsurgents resort to indiscriminate violence and why it sometimes appears effective. Political scientists explain the motivation for indiscriminate counterinsurgency violence, but do not convincingly explain when it should be inefficient relative to discriminate violence. I formalize the model of insurgency found in the classical counterinsurgency literature to derive predictions over the discrimination of violence that the counterinsurgent uses. The theory explains when discriminate violence is more/less efficient from the counterinsurgent's perspective and how enforcement behavior on the part of the rebels and population affects the counterinsurgent's strategy. The counterinsurgent defeats the insurgency by deterring cooperation between the rebels and population. It targets the actor—be it the rebel group or the population—with the greater short term temptation to defect from its accomplice, regardless of the consequences. Thus, the counterinsurgent targets the actor who profits most from war, where profit is the temptation for wartime opportunism minus the costs. I discuss two examples of this pattern occurring during insurgencies in Guatemala and Turkey.


In this study, we designed geometry learning activities so that students could apply newly learned knowledge to solve real-life problems, such as estimating the distance to real objects they find in their local community, measuring objects' length, width, and height, and calculating objects' surface area. Our participating students were divided into three groups, and each group used different tools in different contexts for the measurements and calculations: the students in control group A used traditional tools, such as rulers, paper, and pencil, and their learning activities took place in the local community; the students in control group B used traditional tools as well, but their learning activities took place in classroom; the students in the experimental group learned geometry in a local community setting using a tablet PC-based ubiquitous geometry (UG) system that we developed for this study. We tested the difference in geometry learning performance, such as geometry reasoning and spatial estimation abilities, among the three groups. We also investigated the perceptions of students in the experimental group toward the UG system. Furthermore, student behaviors toward measuring objects using the UG system and their relationship with geometry reasoning and spatial estimation abilities were explored. Our results showed that the geometry learning performance of the students in the experimental group was significantly better than that of the students in the other two groups. Our results also showed that the students in the experimental group had high learning motivation and intention to use the UG system. Further analysis revealed that the students who measured more objects in the real world using our system had better geometry reasoning and spatial estimation abilities. However, only the students who measured objects correctly had high learning gains. The results suggest that the learning activities supported by the UG system were beneficial for enhancing geometry reasoning and spatial estimation abilities because the students were able to apply newly learned knowledge to the real world. Based on the results, we give some advice on the design of learning activities.


My career pathway has taken a circuitous route, beginning with a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from The Johns Hopkins University, followed by five postdoctoral years in biology at Hopkins and culminating in a faculty position in biological sciences at the University of Southern California. My startup package in 1973 consisted of $2,500, not to be spent all at once, plus an ancient Packard scintillation counter that had a series of rapidly flashing light bulbs to indicate a radioactive readout in counts/minute. My research pathway has been similarly circuitous. The discovery of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase V (pol V) began with an attempt to identify the mutagenic DNA polymerase responsible for copying damaged DNA as part of the well known SOS regulon. Although we succeeded in identifying a DNA polymerase, one that was induced as part of the SOS response, we actually rediscovered DNA polymerase II, albeit in a new role. A decade later, we discovered a new polymerase, pol V, whose activity turned out to be regulated by bound molecules of RecA protein and ATP. This Reflections article describes our research trajectory, includes a review of key features of DNA damage-induced SOS mutagenesis leading us to pol V, and reflects on some of the principal researchers who have made indispensable contributions to our efforts.


The issue of saints is a difficult and complicated problem in Buddhology. In this magisterial work, Ray offers the first comprehensive examination of the figure of the Buddhist saint in a wide range of Indian Buddhist evidence. Drawing on an extensive variety of sources, Ray seeks to identify the "classical type" of the Buddhist saint, as it provides the presupposition for, and informs, the different major Buddhist saintly types and subtypes. Discussing the nature, dynamics, and history of Buddhist hagiography, he surveys the ascetic codes, conventions and traditions of Buddhist saints, and the cults both of living saints and of those who have "passed beyond." Ray traces the role of the saints in Indian Buddhist history, examining the beginnings of Buddhism and the origin of Mahayana Buddhism.


This article examines the compelling enigma of how the introduction of a new international law, the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), helped stimulate labor cooperation and collaboration in the 1990s. It offers a theory of legal transnationalism—defined as processes by which international laws and legal mechanisms facilitate social movement building at the transnational level—that explains how nascent international legal institutions and mechanisms can help develop collective interests, build social movements, and, ultimately, stimulate cross‐border collaboration and cooperation. It identifies three primary dimensions of legal transnationalism that explain how international laws stimulate and constrain movement building through: (1) formation of collective identity and interests (constitutive effects), (2) facilitation of collective action (mobilization effects), and (3) adjudication and enforcement (redress effects).


This study deals with the effect of thermal annealing on structural/microstructural, thermal and mechanical behavior of pristine Se80Te16Cu4 and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) containing Se80Te16Cu4 glassy composites. Pristine Se80Te16Cu4, 3 and 5 wt%CNTs-Se80Te16Cu4 glassy composites are annealed in the vicinity of glass transition temperature to onset crystallization temperature (340–380 K). X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern revealed formation of polycrystalline phases of hexagonal CuSe and trigonal selenium. The indexed d-values in XRD patterns are in well conformity with the d-values obtained after the indexing of the ring pattern of selected area electron diffraction pattern of TEM images. The SEM investigation exhibited that the grain size of the CNTs containing Se80Te16Cu4 glassy composites increased with increasing annealing temperature and decreased at further higher annealing temperature. Thermal conductivity, microhardness exhibited a substantial increase with increasing annealing temperature of 340–360 K and slightly decreases for 380 K. The variation of thermal conductivity and microhardness can be explained by cross-linking formation and voids reduction.


Recently, it has been observed that a quantum field theory need not be hermitian to have a real, positive spectrum. What seems to be required is symmetry under combined parity and time-reversal transformations. This idea is extended to massless electrodynamics, in which the photon couples to the axial-vector current with an imaginary coupling constant. The eigenvalue condition necessary for the finiteness of the theory can now be solved; the value for the charge appears to be stable order-by-order. Similarly, the semiclassical Casimir model for the fine-structure constant yields a positive value.


Abstract. Assessing ground visibility is a crucial step in automatic satellite image analysis. Nevertheless, several recent Earth observation satellite constellations lack specially designed spectral bands and use a frame camera, precluding spectrum-based and parallax-based cloud detection methods. An alternative approach is to detect the parts of each image where the ground is visible. This can be done by comparing locally pairs of registered images in a temporal series: matching regions are necessarily cloud free. Indeed, the ground has persistent patterns that can be observed repetitively in the time series while the appearance of clouds changes at each date. To detect reliably the "visible" ground, we propose here an a contrario local image matching method coupled with an efficient greedy algorithm.


Energy balance is associated with risk of development of many common cancers, and with clinical outcomes after cancer diagnosis in several solid tumors. Higher BMI leads to an increased risk of most solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Exceptions in both sexes include lung and esophageal cancer; in women they also include premenopausal breast cancer (Renehan et al Lancet 2008). Physical inactivity has been convincingly or probably associated with increased risk of cancer of the breast, colon and endometrial cancer and possibly associated with an increased risk of lung, prostate and ovarian cancers; it has been estimated risk of these cancers might be reduced by 20–30% in active individuals (Friedenreich C et al Eur J Cancer 2010). Furthermore, observational data suggest that cancer risk may be reduced in obese individuals who undergo bariatric surgery (Renehan Lancet Oncology 2009) and that risk of obesity-related cancers (breast, colon, endometrial, any obesity associated cancer) is reduced in individuals reported an intentional weight loss of 20 pounds or more. Similar associations have been reported in patients diagnosed with several common types of cancer. For example, higher BMI has been convincingly associated with poor breast cancer outcomes; meta-analyses suggest relative risk of recurrence or death is increased by 25–40% in obese women. Evidence is less convincing for colorectal cancer; obesity may be associated with prostate cancer having more aggressive characteristics. Higher levels of physical activity pre and/or post diagnosis have been associated with improved outcomes in breast and colorectal cancer. One randomized trial involving 2437 early stage breast cancer patients reported improved relapse free survival (HR 0.96, 95%CI 0.60–0.98) in those randomized to a reduced fat diet (associated with modest weight loss) versus controls. A second RCT in breast cancer survivors failed to identify a prognostic effect of a more complex dietary intervention that lowered fat intake but was not associated with weight loss. Intervention studies have convincingly demonstrated that modification of energy balance (physical activity, dietary change, weight loss) in cancer patients is feasible, particularly in those with breast cancer, but confirmation of beneficial effects on cancer outcomes is lacking. Potential physiologic mediators of prognostic effects of energy balance include members of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor pathway, inflammation, adipocytokines and sex hormones; it is likely the relative importance of these factors varies across tumor types. Large scale intervention studies targeting energy balance, its components (e.g. physical activity) and/or key physiologic mediators are needed to provide high level evidence regarding benefits of modifying energy balance, or its physiologic mediators. One study targeting insulin (MA32) is underway in breast cancer survivors; others have been proposed. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2011;4(10 Suppl):PL02-02.


The new-borns' cries are relevant for their health status. Their analysis may constitute a non-invasive diagnosis method. The paper presents a new tool (NEONAT) that allows digital processing of the vocal signal representing the cry, visualizing the frequency spectrum and several values of interest as well as managing the data regarding mothers and babies. A protocol for performing recordings is proposed. The application has a facility to export data in ARFF format to be processed by the algorithms supplied by the data mining tool WEKA. Testing the data mining opportunities was made building a sex classifier based on the information extracted from the cry. Its performances have been good, and based on that, a process for the detection of neurologic suffering was suggested. The application runs in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinique in the Emergency County Hospital from Timisoara.


Purpose behind the study is to explore the influence of organizational politics of bankers on the ability based emotional intelligence and their diversified interplay. The sample of 292 bankers was used for testing organizational politics' effect on emotional intelligence as well as individual and collective effect of facets of organizational politics (general political behavior, going along to get ahead, and pay and promotions policies) on dimensions of emotional intelligence (self and others' emotional appraisal, use and regulation of emotions). The results witnessed that organizational politics significantly affects emotional intelligence, whereas organizational politics' dimensions significantly predict each emotional intelligence dimension collectively. It is also noted that general political behavior and going along to get ahead have a negative effect on the dimensions of emotional intelligence. But pay and promotion policies positively influences emotional intelligence dimensions. The study can be helpful for the managers, who can identify the patterns of political behaviors and the persons who use it by openly discussing it with the employees through training. Limitations and future suggestions are presented in later part.


INTRODUCTION
Next to official surveillance system in Poland, established by Public Statistic Act in 1995, other surveillance data collection system exists - historically connected with Ministry of Health Decree, which is not in force from 1995 y. Data in this system comes from National Sanitary Inspection laboratories and contains results of clinical samples examinations for Salmonella and Shigella presence.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Analysed data were collected since 2007 to 2014 y. Database has been created, which contains data - results of Salmonella / Shigella (SS) detection in faecal samples, rectal swabs, urine samples, blood samples collected from patients, people exposed in outbreaks, Salmonella carriers, food workers and other people.

RESULTS
The number of performed tests for SS in 2014 is 447033. Systematic decrease of this number has been observed since 2008. Most common material tested for SS was stool samples, then rectal swabs. Number of Salmonella identification going down each year during analysed time. The highest decrease in group of sick people has been observed. Most common serotype in 2008-2014 years was S. Enteritidis, then S. Typhimurium. Only in 2010 y. second most common serotype was S. Mbandaka. In 2014 y. highest number of S. enterica 1,4,[5],12:i:- has been observed (37 cases).

CONCLUSIONS
The reason of decreased number of performed SS test and positive Salmonella results is unclear. One of theories is decreased level of quality of SS diagnostic. From the other hand, decreased number of false-positive Salmonella identification outside of National Sanitary Inspection laboratories is observed. This demonstrates improving quality of Salmo nella diagnostic in laboratories performing such tests. High disproportion between number of Salmonella cases in described database and official notification system is observed. It comes from, that both systems collect different data. Both systems could exist independently and could supplement each-other.


The production of white wines with the presence of grape skins is a historical technique used in different regions with winemaking tradition. However, the current trend is to maintain the presence of grape skins during white wine making only during the pre-fermentation phase in order to enrich and give greater complexity to the sensory profile of the wines. Given these precedents, this study is the first to consider the effect of the presence of different grape skins doses throughout the alcoholic fermentation process. To this end, the effect of 5 different doses of grape skins (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%) has been studied with respect to a control (0%) during alcoholic fermentation, the physicochemical composition of the final wines and a preliminary sensory analysis. The presence of grape skins has led to an increase in viable biomass and speed of fermentation with respect to the control. However, no differences have been observed in terms of the consumption of nitrogenous sources by yeasts. The wines produced have not shown great differences in their physicochemical composition, except for the volatile acidity. In addition, the preliminary sensory analysis showed differences between the different grape skins doses studied, where the wine produced with 20% grape skins has been the best evaluated by the tasting panel. In this sense, the production of wines with a 20% grape skins presence during the entire alcoholic fermentation is presented as a viable technique that would allow the diversification of the production of white wines and meet the trends and expectations of current wine consumers.


In the genome of Artiodactyla (cow, sheep, pigs, camels, and whales), a major retroposon group originated from a presumable horizontal transfer of BovB, a retrotransposon-like element retroposon, between 52 and 70 million years ago. Since then, BovB retroposons have proliferated and today occupy a quarter of the cow's genome sequence. The BovB-related short interspersed elements (SINEs) were used for resolving the phylogeny of Bovinae (cows, spiral-horned antelopes, and nilgais) and their relatives. In silico screening of 55,000 intronic retroposon insertions in the cow genome and experimental validation of 126 introns resulted in 29 informative retroposon markers for resolving bovine evolutionary relationships. A transposition-in-transposition analysis identifies three different phases of SINE activity and show how BovB elements have expanded in the cattle genome.


1. The optimum conditions for vaccinia virus multiplication in shavings of adult rabbit skin maintained in rocker flasks in a fluid medium have been investigated. Satisfactory virus multiplication occurred in 5 ml. of medium containing 40 per cent, rabbit serum, 40 per cent, phosphate-buffered saline, and 20 per cent, mouse embryo extract; an air atmosphere was used. 2. A growth curve for vaccinia virus grown in vitro under these conditions was obtained by estimating the virus content of cultured skin at known intervals after inoculation. The curve was essentially similar to that obtained by growth of vaccinia in vivo , and could be divided into three phases: ( a ) during the first few hours infectivity fell, ( b ) from 10 to 40 hours there was a rapid increase of infectivity, and (c) flattening of the curve started after 40 hours, although some increase of virus continued, until, at 80 hours, the concentration of virus present was at a maximum. 3. An attempt is made to correlate the multiplication of virus with the cytological changes known to occur in infected cells.


Received: 20 December 2016 Abstract Accepted: 31 March 2017 One of the main tasks in the planning of production processes is to satisfy the needs of the customers in terms of quantity, quality and time. The issue of the timely execution of production orders is becoming increasingly important. Based on the conducted studies it can be concluded that the size of the delay depends on the adopted scheduling of orders. This paper focuses on the problem of implementing a scheduling of production orders that will allow to avoid delays, and in the event such a scheduling is not possible, for minimizing the sum of delays of all the orders. A new algorithm has been proposed that allows to determine of the optimal sequence of production orders with the minimum sum of delays. The considerations have been limited to the issue of a two-machine system in which the orders are carried out in a flow.


Introduction.— Carotid angioplasty headache and diagnostic criteria are based on scarce data and small series. Here, we aimed to determine presence, frequency, and characteristics of headache after carotid artery stenting and angiography headache and speculate on possible mechanisms of head and neck pain emerging during or after the carotid artery stenting procedure.


Detailed mapping of "clean" sandstones of the Hampshire and Pocono formations of northern West Virginia illustrates paralic facies of north-south trend, intersected by belts of sandstones with east-west trends representing fluvial and tidal channel facies. The strike-trending paralic sandstones commonly have maximum thickness of 20 to 30 ft, and successive isopach maps of individual sandstones indicate irregular shifts that are interpreted to represent embayed shorelines advancing and retreating in uneven fashion. These small-scale changes affect small segments of the shoreline and probably result from fluctuations in sediment supply related to upstream avulsion or stream capture. Isolith maps of multiple sandstones of intervals such as the Fifth, Fourth, Gordon, Thirty-f ot and Fifty-foot, show greater shoreline shifts probably due to sea level changes. Regional cross sections through the Catskill clastic wedge show vertical stacking of shoreline sands in a belt with north-south trend. This preferential zone of subsidence is bounded on the west by the eastern margin of the Rome trough, and on the south by the northern edge of the Pocono dome. This interpreted subsidence increases southward toward the Pocono dome, suggesting basement sub-blocks with southerly tilt. End_Page 1433------------------------------ Dip-trending sandstones show southeast-northwest trends with a large degree of vertical persistence. Major fluvial axes occur approximately every 40 mi along strike and may also be a reflection of basement structure. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1434------------


We consider several main aspects of the practical application of continued fraction expansions in scattering problems and in the field of equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. We present some recursive algorithms needed for an efficient evaluation of continued fraction coefficients. The method is then applied to the summation of badly converging series which occur in scattering theory and to the asymptotic solution of the Schrödinger equation. In addition, the use of the method for the calculation of response functions, correlations and their derivatives in systems whose time-dependence is described by a master equation is discussed. Finally, the construction of error bounds is investigated.


We consider the possibility of treating (e, 2e) experiments in the region of autoionizing resonances as `perfect experiments' in which parameters relating to the direct and resonance ionization amplitudes can be determined. An angle-independent parameter is defined for the autoionization of a doubly excited s-state to the s-state of an ion. Experimental values of this parameter from recent data for decay of the ( state of helium to the state of the helium ion are discussed. The more general situation involving states with L>0 is outlined.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the clinical effect of Devine's technique with free skin grafting in the treatment of concealed penis with prepuce deficit.

METHODS
This study included 7 children with concealed penis, aged 6 - 15 (mean 8.6) years, 6 of them treated by circumcision previously. All the patients underwent Devine's operation to resect the inelasticity sarcolemma and lengthen the penis. The length of prepuce deficit ranged from 2 to 4 cm. Intermediate split thickness skin grafts of the corresponding length were taken from the femoribus internus to wrap up the tunica albuginea penis, followed by the procedures of saturation, encapsulation and fixation.

RESULTS
Surgery time ranged from 70 to 120 minutes, averaging 90.5 minutes. The penis was prolonged about 2 - 4 cm after surgery. A 6-month follow-up revealed desirable penile appearance and normal penile erection.

CONCLUSION
Devine's technique with free skin grafting from the femoribus internus is an ideal treatment for concealed penis with prepuce deficit.


This paper takes a three dimensional approach - technological, human and practical - to highlight the elementary aspects of online learning premises. Today Learning Management Systems are complex applications, which offer faculty and learners many different tools to aid in implementation of an online learning experience. The students need to be empowered towards their own learning in a way that the educator appears as the facilitator of learning but won't directly teach the learners. The importance of communication dynamics grows even bigger in online learning because of the compilation of the independent nature of the learning environment and the directed nature of learning opportunities.


Oxide (SiO2)/Metal(Ag)/Oxide(SiO2, ITO, ZnO) multilayer films were fabricated using a magnetron sputtering technique at room temperature on Si (p-type, 100) and a glass substrate. The electrical and optical properties of the asymmetric multilayer films depended on the thickness of the mid-layer film and the type of oxide in the bottom layer. As the metal layer becomes thicker, the sheet resistance decreases. However, the transmittance decreases when the metal layer exceeds a threshold thickness of approximately 10~12 nm. In addition, the sheet resistance and transmittance change according to the type of oxide in the bottom layer. If the oxide has a large resistivity, the overall sheet resistance increases. In addition, the anti-reflection effect changes according to the refractive index of the oxide material. The optical and electrical properties of multilayer films were investigated using an ultraviolet visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer and a 4-point probe, respectively. The optimum structure is SiO2 (30 nm)/Ag (10 nm)/ZnO (30 nm) multilayer, with the highest FOM value of 7.7×10 Ω.


The effects of iohexol, sodium diatrizoate, and physiologic saline on intestinal distension and circulation were observed for 8 h in nine minipigs with closed-loop obstruction of the small bowel. The two contrast media led to an elevation of intraluminal pressures when initially instilled at pressures above 35 mm Hg. These elevated pressures were not high enough to cause rupture of the bowel wall. Both contrast media caused severe mucosal ischaemia as judged from histologic sections, loops containing sodium diatrizoate more so than iohexol. The blood circulation of the bowel wall, examined by laser Doppler flowmetry, was after 6 to 8 h reduced to about 10% of the values of non-obstructed bowel at intraluminal pressures of about 70 mm Hg in the loops with iohexol and sodium diatrizoate. The correlation to osmolality was obvious when compared with concurrent observations in the loops with physiologic saline. In the bowel loops filled with physiologic saline the pressure fell to 5 mm Hg after 8 h, regaining approximately one-third of pre-instillation levels of blood flow. On microscopy these bowel loops had a nearly normal mucosa.


This chapter critiques the anticipatory practices of contemporary organizations, such as think tanks and management consultancies, which offer methods and forecasts about possible and desirable futures. These organizations, the chapter argues, contribute to creating a sense of urgency with respect to the future, capitalizing on the perceived need among decision makers to grasp contemporary events, and provide tools and content by which the future can be designed. It argues that future forecast scenarios assist in the creation of a particular type of authority: one geared to the contemporary global situation and to an increasingly complex system of global governance. The chapter interrogates this particular type of authority to argue it is not singular and dominant, but instead comprises the varying interests of many different actors and is underscored by rational process, which offers the possibility of a wider shared understanding


Pichia membranefaciens Hansen and Candida guilliermondii (Cast) Langeronet Guerra are two antagonists of R. stolonifer on harvested nectarine and peach fruits. In this study, β-1,3-glucanase and chitinase activities of the antagonists were induced in vitro and in vivo. The highest β-1, 3-glucanase activity was detected in Lilly-Barnett minimal salt medium supplemented with glucose in combination with CWP of R. stolonifer as a carbon source. The β-1,3-glucanase activity of P. membranefaciens reached the maximum level, being 114.0 SU (specific activity unit), and that of C. guilliermondii reached 103.2 SU. The lowest β-1,3-glucanase activity was observed in the medium containing glucose as sole carbon source. P. membranefaciens was able to produce significantly higher levels of chitinase (exochitinase and endochitinase) in vitro than C. guilliermondii grown in Czapeck minimal medium. An increase in β-1,3-glucanase and chitinase activity was also triggered by wounding, adding of carbon sources and yeast cells. The results showed that both β-1,3-glucanase and chitinase from P. membranefaciens and C. guilliermondii exhibited some effects on controlling R. stolonifer, and might have a synergistic activity against R. stolonifer.


Granuloma annulare (GA) is a difficult-to-treat granulomatous skin disorder characterized by multiple annular, raised, and erythematous lesions. While numerous therapies have been proposed, there is currently no clear gold standard of treatment. We present a series of five patients with biopsy-proven generalized GA who were treated with pentoxifylline and oral vitamin E. Each patient in this series had at least a one-year history of GA refractory to other treatments. After three months of treatment, four of the five patients demonstrated objective improvement in their lesions through before and after clinical photographs. No patients suffered any adverse events on this treatment regimen. As our series has demonstrated modest benefits in concurrence with previously published studies, we recommend combination therapy with pentoxifylline and vitamin E as a strong contender for first- or second-line treatment for generalized GA. Pentoxifylline and vitamin E are advantageous for their tolerability, cost-effectiveness, minimal drug interactions, and convenience.


Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer related death in men and second most common in women, after breast cancer. It is known to be responsible for 1.3 million deaths worldwide annually. The p53 gene, is a tumor suppressor gene, i.e. its activity stops the formation of tumors. The gene has been mapped to chromosome 17. In the cell, p53 protein binds DNA, which in turn stimulates another gene to produce a protein called p21 that interacts with a cell division-stimulating protein (cdk2). When p21 is complexed with cdk2 the cell cannot pass through to the next stage of cell division. In present study we check Association of P53 polymorphism with lung cancer in Pakistani population. Polymorphisms in human P53 gene (16bp duplication in intron 3) were studied in patients with lung cancer and controls. Three types of genotypes were seen, homozygous insertion (1\1), homozygous deletion (2\2) and heterozygous insertion/deletion (1/2). Frequency of 1/2 allele was 0.2 in controls and 0.32 in lung cancer patients. This difference is statistically significant (P = 0.053, 95 CI). Our study further showed that smoking increases the risk of lung cancer. Study of polymorphism in p53 gene will help in understanding the patho-physiology of the lung cancer and will open new fronts in future therapeutics. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2011 Nov 12-16; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2011;10(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B91.