Seltman's powers of perception again and again startle with a sharp sense—almost a pang—of pleasure. Arethusa's dolphins ' swimming clockwise against a current of ten letters' (p. 49); the pine-tree, on the wonderful coin of Aetna, that sways slightly under the eagle's weight (p. 56); the descriptions of the Selinus didrachm (p. 59), of the Amphipolis tetradrachm with ' Apollo's hair . . . pressed forward lightly by the wreath that rests upon i t ' (pp. 94 f.), and of the dolphin, on Kimon's Syracusan tetradrachm, which ' comes diving out of her hair to meet a second whose long snout comes from behind her right shoulder' (p. 98), are quite admirable: that of the decadrachm of Acragas could not be surpassed (p. 105). The keen-eyed reader will discover a mass of new detail for himself, for example, the curling of the two leaf-tips in Terina's olivewreath (p. 67), the flexible head-band of Amenanos (p. 87), and the hard, gem-like brilliance of the Syracusan gold (p. 93) with its Heracles and lion superbly constricted alike by desperate effort and the narrow circuit of the flan.


Neurons are generated from neural progenitor cells not only during development but also in the mature brain. To develop an in vivo system for analyzing neurogenesis, we generated transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of regulatory regions of the nestin gene. GFP fluorescence was observed in areas and during periods connected with neurogenesis, including embryonic neuroepithelium, neonatal cerebellum, and hippocampal dentate gyrus and rostral migratory pathway from the subventricular zone to the olfactory bulb in the adult. GFP-positive cells in the adult brain included immature neuronal cells expressing polysialylated NCAM. BrdU labeling experiments revealed that newly generated interneurons which migrated rostrally from the subventricular zone expressed GFP until they reached the olfactory bulb. These results indicate that nestin promoter-GFP transgenic mice can be utilized to visualize the regions of neurogenesis throughout the life of the animals and to follow the migration and differentiation of newly generated neurons.


A high value of (BH)_{\max} is not the most important material characteristic for all applications of permanent magnets, and, in discussing a number of ways in which magnets are used, an attempt is made to show what are desirable properties. Among uses of permanent magnets that are particularly mentioned are the production of fields greater than 20 000 gauss; a novel magnetic bearing for a spindle rotating at 700 000 r/min; lifting and holding devices, including large ones with improved switching mechanisms; and a proposal for vehicles supported by magnetic repulsion in place of wheels. An attempt is made to apply modern methods of forecasting future trends and choosing profitable lines of research on permanent magnets. It is concluded that permanent magnet properties can reasonably be expected to continue to increase, perhaps even at an increased rate, but it may be equally important to reduce costs by improved design and methods of manufacture.


A general theory for rigidly rotating spiral waves including multi-armed ones is presented. This theory is valid over the entire spatial region including the core. It is also valid for both oscillating and excitable kinetics. The notions of winding number and generalized phase are introduced so that we may conveniently deal with the multi-armed waves. By employing a phase averaging procedure, some symmetry properties of the wave pattern are discussed, which is important in investigating the behaviour of the spiral waves near the core. We show a radically different behaviour for different number of arms. A simple model is investigated and simulated numerically to clarify some essential points of our theory.


The authors describe a trial application based on the results of a process simulation analysis in network service maintenance. Specifically, by converting the customer trouble resolution process (CTRP) into a quasi manufacturing framework, they applied process simulation to understand the tradeoffs among the process cycle time, customer transaction time, and resource requirements. Through this, they learned that process simulation can be an effective tool to systematically manage and improve repetitive service processes, such as those associated with a service work center.<<ETX>>


Service Integration plays an important role in Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA).With the thriving of SOA, many approaches have been proposed to address the issue. Several languages or specifications are introduced for the definition of integration plan, such as WSFL, BPML and BPEL4WS. And many recent researches employ semantic web techniques to enable the automatic service discovery and interoperation, OWL-S included. Most of the existing approaches are originally introduced for application developers or programmers to use, in which user requirement is usually expressed based on the services themselves. However, a service may be very complex, the functions of which are usually the composite and interconnection of several basic functions. It is sometimes difficult for normal users without developing skills to understand the services and then utilize them to define the integration solution. In the paper, we think that, the most familiar things for normal users are the functions they need and the working process they expect. Based on the intuitive idea, we propose a normal User-Centric Service Integration approach (UCSI). In the approach, a set of function elements are predefined for each specified service domain and three working process notations are introduced to model the relationships between function elements. Then user requirement and service function can both be represented as function elements interconnection based on the process notations. With the representation, the functionality relationship between user requirement and services can be resolved and the service integration solutions can be generated. Normal users with certain knowledge of specified service domains can try using the approach to achieve personalized service integration. And a prototype system is introduced in the end.


Genotype × environment interaction plays an important role in the identification of genotypes with high and stable yields. The environmental components of such interaction can be attributed to location (spatial) and year (temporal) factors. This study considers a specific aspect of the location factor, i.e. that locations not geographically close to each other are likely to vary in terms of the conditions that determine the effect of the year factor, even during the same calendar year. In these situations, the year effects are considered to be random variables within each location. This study addresses the question of whether genotype × location interactions are consistent (or repeatable) over time: a question which is crucial when defining the target environments in a plant breeding programme and when deciding the optimum environment for selection. Using three sets of data from field experiments, various computation methods were developed to estimate variance components; the methods and estimates are presented here. Using the bootstrapping procedure to sample one year from each location within a given calendar year, we obtained bootstrap replicated values of genotype × location interaction and their summary statistics, including the coefficient of variation (CV). We suggest that the CV can be used to measure the repeatability of genotype × location interactions. A Genstat program that can be used to perform the required computations is available from the authors upon request.


ABSTRACT This article seeks to reframe how early childhood educators think about their role in play by answering these questions: What really matters in play? How should we spend our time and energy planning, implementing, and building our expertise around play in early childhood teaching and learning? The answers reside in 5 big ideas from play research studies, meta-analyses, and meta-syntheses. We unpack these research findings and show the implications for practice. Across all 5 big ideas, the common factor is developing language. The quality of our interactions and conversational rounds and the intentionality of our language are pivotal, controllable factors that impact children's learning and development. Therefore, we must enter children's play with intentionality to talk with children and to create equitable and inclusive spaces for all children.


Both plasma/serum/pleural effusion osteopontin concentration (PSPO) and tumor tissue osteopontin expression (TTO) have recently been reported to be involved in the prognosis of lung cancer. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to demonstrate the association between PSPO/TTO and survival in patients with lung cancer. We searched in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Web of Science and Chinese Biomedical database (CBM) for relevant literatures. Stata 12.0 was applied to pool the eligible studies and synthesize hazard ratios (HRs) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). For PSPO, a total of 8 studies with 1000 patients were included in final analysis. Combined HR suggested high PSPO predicted an unfavorable overall survival (OS) (HR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.13-2.05) and progress-free survival (PFS) (HR=1.73, 95% CI: 1.35-2.21). For TTO, 5 studies with a total of 747 patients were employed in final analysis. Pooled HR indicated that elevated TTO was associated with poor OS (HR=2.16, 95% CI: 1.65-2.83) and disease/relapse-free survival (D/RFS) (HR=2.36, 95% CI: 1.79-3.12). Subgroup analysis was performed to explore the causes of heterogeneity. Publication bias by begg's test was not statistically significant. Sensitivity analysis showed that the pooled results were robust. This study revealed that both high TTO and PSPO are associated with poor prognosis in patients with lung cancer.


Technology affected human life in many ways in different eras of mankind history. Today, the information and telecommunication technology has revolutionized basic structures of human life. Changes are from the whole to the parts and vice versa, which include family and society too. Family lost its former structure in the information age and differentiated from patriarchy family. Societies have been formed based on logic of networking and new network societies are predominant form of our societies with their advantages and flaws comparing with the traditional societies. Basic concepts of the life i.e. space and time also have been transformed and living in space of flows and concurrency of functions require a special structure or body. Architecture constitutes the body of our societies which must meet physical and mental needs of humankind. In a transforming world, architecture is connecting ring between society and surrounding environment, previous traditions and future world, which its borders between reality and virtuality are very close. Architecture with a global-local approach can assist human who is wondering in the virtual world to redefine its own identity and finds its position in labyrinth of global networks and also safeguards his survival via respecting nature and paying attention to sense of place as one of the principles of vernacular and traditional architecture. Technology has affected on the architectural design, leading to creation of new shapes and distinct erections. Architectural design by employing networks and collective intelligence, overcome temporal and spatial limits and became a collective activity. Architecture by creating spaces according to global, regional and local considerations and emphasis on principles of design supported by collective intelligence and strengthening bonds among the human, nature and technology, will act as a panacea which will heal crisis of identity and cultural multitude; the crisis that storm out human body and soul in our present stressful world.


ABSTRACT Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate the expression of mRNA and can affect various biological processes and phenotypes. Currently, studies of lncRNAs in cattle are under way, but their exact function for several tissues has not yet been established. Hanwoo cattle (Bos taurus coreanae) have inhabited the Korean peninsula for about 6000 years and are one of the representative domesticated animals in Korea. As a result of intensive breeding, the meat of Hanwoo cattle is high in marbling content and is preferred by Koreans and other East Asian people. In this study, the expression of lncRNAs was identified in 36 samples from skeletal muscle and three adipose tissues (intramuscular, subcutaneous, and omental) of nine Hanwoo individuals. We identified 76 tissue-specific lncRNAs for each of the four tissues using the differences in expression levels. Through QTL information, we could identify 12 lncRNAs associated with shear force and six lncRNAs associated with body weight, which are two important traits in the Hanwoo population breeding strategy. By the physical position comparison of lncRNA and Bovine transcripts information, we could identify 11 lncRNAs that were in bovine transcripts, and four of the 11 genes related to transcripts of lncRNAs were biologically associated with muscle function. We believe this Hanwoo lncRNAs study will help reveal the lncRNA role in the physiological mechanisms of these four tissues.


Analyzing massive social networks challenges both high-performance computers and human understanding. These massive networks cannot be visualized easily, and their scale makes applying complex analysis methods computationally expensive. We present a region-growing method for finding a smaller, more tractable subgraph, a community, given a few example seed vertices. Unlike existing work, we focus on a small number of seed vertices, from two to a few dozen. We also present the first comparison between five algorithms for expanding a small seed set into a community. Our comparison applies these algorithms to an R-MAT generated graph component with 240 thousand vertices and 32 million edges and evaluates the community size, modularity, Kullback-Leibler divergence, conductance, and clustering coefficient. We find that our new algorithm with a local modularity maximizing heuristic based on Clauset, Newman, and Moore performs very well when the output is limited to 100 or 1 000 vertices. When run without a vertex size limit, a heuristic from McCloskey and Bader generates communities containing around 60% of the graph's vertices and having a small conductance and modularity appropriate to the result size. A personalized PageRank algorithm based on Andersen, Lang, and Chung also performs well with respect to our metrics.


This paper reports on a randomized survey experiment among 1840 households, designed to compare pen-and-paper interviewing (PAPI) to computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI). We find that PAPI data contain a large number of errors, which can be avoided in CAPI. We show that error counts are not randomly distributed across the sample, but are correlated with household characteristics, potentially introducing sample bias in analysis if dubious observations need to be dropped. We demonstrate a tendency for the mean and spread of total measured consumption to be higher on paper compared to CAPI, translating into significantly lower measured poverty, higher measured inequality and higher income elasticity estimates. Investigating further the nature of PAPI's measurement error for consumption, we fail to reject the hypothesis that it is classical: it attenuates the coefficient on consumption when used as explanatory variable and we find no evidence of bias when consumption is used as dependent variable. Finally, CAPI and PAPI are compared in terms of interview length, costs and respondents' perceptions.


Dental caries and periodontitis are among the most common health conditions that are currently recognized as growing socio-economic problems relating to their increasing prevalence, negative socio-economic impact, and harmful effects on systemic health. So far, the exact effects of caries and standard restorative materials on periodontal inflammatory and oxidative status are not established. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of caries and its restoration using standard temporary and permanent filling materials on a panel of 16 inflammatory and oxidative markers in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of periodontally healthy individuals, 7 (D7) and 30 (D30) days post-restoration, while the intact teeth represented the control. One hundred ninety systemically and periodontally healthy patients with occlusal caries underwent standard cavity preparation and restorations with one of six standard temporary or permanent restorative material according to indication and randomization scheme. Interleukin (IL)-2, IFN- γ, IL-12, IL-17A, IL-13, IL-9, IL-10, IL-6, IL-5, IL-4, IL-22, TNF-α, IL1- β, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, superoxide dismutase, and reduced form of glutathione were measured in GCF samples by flowcytometry and spectrophotometry in aid of commercial diagnostic assays. Caries affected teeth exhibited significantly increased IL-1 β, IL-17, IL-22, and TBARS and decreased IL-9 concentrations compared to healthy controls. Treatment generally resulted in an increased antioxidant capacity with exception of zinc-polycarboxylate cement showing distinctive inflammatory pattern. Comparison of inflammatory and oxidative profiles in temporary and permanent restorations showed material-specific patterning which was particularly expressed in temporary materials plausibly related to greater caries extension. Caries affected teeth exhibited a balanced inflammatory pattern in GCF, with a general tendency of homeostatic re-establishment following treatment. Restorative materials did not provide specific pathological effects, although some material groups did exhibit significantly elevated levels of inflammatory and oxidative markers compared to healthy controls, while the material-specific patterning was observed as well.


Despite our increasingly sophisticated understanding of transcriptional regulation in pancreas development, we know relatively little about the extrinsic signaling pathways involved in this process. We show here that the early pancreatic epithelium exhibits a specific enrichment in unphosphorylatedβ -catenin protein, a hallmark of activation of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. To determine if this pathway is functionally required for normal pancreas development, we have specifically deleted the β-catenin gene in these cells. Pancreata developing without β-catenin are hypoplastic, although their early progenitors appear normal and exhibit no premature differentiation or death. Surprisingly, and in marked contrast to its role in the intestine, loss of β-catenin does not significantly perturb islet endocrine cell mass or function. The major defect of theβ -catenin-deficient pancreas is an almost complete lack of acinar cells, which normally comprise the majority of the organ. β-Catenin appears to be cell-autonomously required for the specification of acinar cells, rather than for their survival or maintenance, as deletion of β-catenin specifically in differentiated acinar cells has no effect. Thus, our data are consistent with a crucial role for canonical Wnt signals in acinar lineage specification and differentiation.


Background: This 4-week, phase 3b, multicenter, open-label, single-arm, outpatient study demonstrated the safe and effective use of the dulaglutide single-dose pen containing 0.5 mL of placebo for subcutaneous injection in injection-naïve adult patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), with A1C ≤ 8.5% (69 mmol/mol), BMI ≥ 23 kg/m2 and ≤ 45 kg/m2. Method: Patients completed a modified self-injecting subscale of the Diabetes Fear of Injecting and Self-Testing Questionnaire (mD-FISQ) and were trained to self-inject with the single-dose pen. Patients completed the initial self-injection at the site, injected at home for 2 subsequent weeks, and returned to the site for the final injection. The initial and final self-injections were evaluated for success; the final (initial) self-injection success rate was the primary (secondary) outcome measure, and the primary (secondary) objective was to demonstrate this success rate as being significantly greater than 80%. Patients recorded their level of pain after each injection. After the final injection, patients completed the mD-FISQ and the Medication Delivery Device Assessment Battery (MDDAB) to assess their perceptions of the single-dose pen, including ease of use and experience with the device. Results: Among 211 patients (mean age: 61 years), the primary objective was met, with a final injection success rate of 99.1% (95% CI: 96.6% to 99.7%). Among 214 patients, the initial injection success rate was 97.2% (95% CI: 94.0% to 98.7%), meeting the key secondary objective. Overall, most patients (>96%) found the device easy to use, were satisfied with the device, and would be willing to continue to use the single-dose pen after the study. There was a significant reduction (P < .001) from baseline to study end in patients' fear of self-injecting, as measured by the mD-FISQ. Conclusions: The dulaglutide single-dose pen was found to be a safe and effective device for use by patients with T2D who were injection-naïve. A positive injection experience is an important factor for patients and providers when initiating injectable therapy.


Objective: To empower clinicians to discern when health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) evidence from a single trial, or from constituent trials within a systematic review or meta-analysis, is compelling enough to after clinical practice. Data Sources: To determine the criteria that would be most useful in assessing the quality of HRQoL data, recommendation statements or consensus guidelines that offer guidance to those conducting HRQoL trials were located through a MEDLINE search (1950–April 2009) using the search terms health-related quality of life and recommendations or guidelines. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Recommendation statements or consensus guidelines that offer guidance to investigators conducting HRQoL trials were evaluated to determine what criteria would be the most useful in assessing the quality of HRQoL data. Data Synthesis: We discuss how quality of HRQoL data may be assessed by evaluating the following broad questions: (1) Is the HRQoL analysis hypothesis-driven? (2) How is HRQoL being measured? (3) Are the HRQoL data being collected adequately and analyzed correctly? and (4) To what extent do investigators discuss the results of HRQoL analyses? Using select examples from the literature on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, we applied the 4 broad questions in the assessment of their quality. Also, the use of scoring systems for quality rating for HRQoL data is discussed and applied to the example cases. Conclusions: HRQoL data are an important outcome because they capture treatment impact on physical, social, and psychological well-being. Assessing the quality and usefulness of HRQoL data requires an understanding of the advantages, limitations, and caveats of their use. Because of the potential lack of quality in HRQoL outcomes, clinicians should thoroughly assess the validity and usefulness of the evaluation. Tools are available to aid clinicians and decisionmakers in the assessment of HRQoL outcomes, but additional research needs to be conducted on the topic of quality assessment of HRQoL studies to improve the usefulness of these evaluations to clinicians.


Abstract Although Turkey took its initial steps toward establishing democracy in 1950, it has thus far failed to become a fully functioning democracy. Using the comparison cases of Spain and Greece, this article discusses two related variables that are likely to have thwarted the development of full democracy in Turkey: the country's experience with authoritarian rule, and the lack of elite settlement or convergence towards acceptance of the democratic rules of the game. The article ultimately contends that despite the EU's attempt to push Turkey towards full democracy in the modern day it is unlikely that it will become a fully functioning democracy unless it manages to achieve civilian elite agreement regarding the rules of the Turkish democratic game, and that Turkey's experience with authoritarian rule may, in turn, have hindered the development of such rules.


Wound healing involves an orchestrated response that engages multiple processes, such as hemostasis, cellular migration, extracellular matrix synthesis, and in particular, inflammation. Using a murine model of cutaneous wound repair, the transcriptome was mapped from 12 h to 8 days post-injury, and in response to a multicomponent, multi-target natural product, Tr14. Using single-molecule RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), there were clear temporal changes in known transcripts related to wound healing pathways, and additional novel transcripts of both coding and non-coding genes. Tr14 treatment modulated >100 transcripts related to key wound repair pathways, such as response to wounding, wound contraction, and cytokine response. The results provide the most precise and comprehensive characterization to date of the transcriptome's response to skin damage, repair, and multicomponent natural product therapy. By understanding the wound repair process, and the effects of natural products, it should be possible to intervene more effectively in diseases involving aberrant repair.


Bituminous coals and clastic rocks from the Lublin Formation (Pennsylvanian, Westphalian B) were subjected to detailed biomarker and Rock-Eval analyses. The investigation of aliphatic and aromatic fractions and Rock-Eval T max  suggests that the Carboniferous deposits attained relatively low levels of thermal maturity, at the end of the microbial processes/initial phase of the oil window. Somewhat higher values of maturity in the clastic sediments were caused by postdiagenetic biodegradation of organic matter. The dominance of the odd carbon-numbered n-alkanes in the range n-C 25  to n-C 31 , high concentrations of moretanes and a predominance of C 28  and C 29  steranes are indicative of a terrigenous origin of the organic matter in the study material. This is supported by the presence of eudesmane, bisabolane, dihydro-ar-curcumene and cadalene, found mainly in the coal samples. In addition, tri- and tetracyclic diterpanes, e. g. 16β(H)-kaurane, 16β(H)-phyllocladane, 16α(H)-kaurane and norisopimarane, were identified, suggesting an admixture of conifer ancestors among the deposited higher plants. Parameters Pr/n-C 17  and R dit in the coal samples show deposition of organic matter from peat swamp environments, with the water levels varying from high (water-logged swamp) to very low (ephemeral swamp). Clastic deposits were accumulated in a flood plain environment with local small ponds/lakes. In pond/lake sediments, apart from the dominant terrigenous organic matter, research also revealed a certain quantity of algal matter, indicated, i.a., by the presence of tricyclic triterpanes C 28  and C 29  and elevated concentrations of steranes. The Paq parameter can prove to be a useful tool in the identification of organic matter, but the processes of organic matter biodegradation observed in clastic rocks most likely influence the value of the parameter, at the same time lowering the interpretation potential of these compounds. The value of Pr/Ph varies from 0.93 to 5.24 and from 3.49 to 22.57 in the clastic sediments and coals respectively. The microbial degradation of organic matter in both type of rocks and during early stages of diagenesis is confirmed by a high concentration of hopanes, the presence of drimane homologues, bicyclic alkanes and benzohopanes. Moreover, bacteria could also have been connected with the primary input of organic matter, which is shown by the presence of e.g. C 30  neohop-13(18)-ene.


Fibronectin is a unique polyfunctional regulator of different cells. Its property is due to the presence of many domains and cell integrin receptors which recognize the RGD sequence.


The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) was largely driven by the catastrophic EXXON VALDEZ tanker spill and several other major tanker spills that followed in 1989. Under the OPA 90 mandate, the U.S. Coast Guard, in partnership with other Federal agencies and industry have implemented a number of initiatives that have significantly enhanced the national oil spill prevention, preparedness and response capability. Declining trends in the volume of oil spilled into U.S. waters indicates that these initiatives are at least in some measure successful. The Coast Guard is now concerned about what the future may hold in terms of oil pollution threats, and prevention, preparedness and response program shortcomings and opportunities in the future. To address this issue, the Coast Guard, in partnership with other National Response Team agencies and industry, is conducting a Broad-Based Programmatic Risk Assessment to develop a comprehensive vision and strategy for the Oil Spill Prevention, Preparedness and Response (OSPPR) Program in the 21 st Century. This study will characterize the current and emerging oil spill threats by source category, assess the potential impacts of these threats to define overall risk, and examine the current and projected effectiveness of OSPPR initiatives in minimizing these risks. Key issues, problems and focus areas will be identified and targeted for follow-on risk analysis and management activities by the Coast Guard and agency and industry stakeholders.


This article considers Haudenosaunee recitals of the history of the Covenant Chain as a powerful communicative mechanism to define and assert sovereign identity and rights in the context of intercultural diplomacy. It reflects initially on the metaphorical language used to structure these historical narratives and how it enabled the Haudenosaunee to articulate self-understandings of their sovereignty. Contending that the narrative's main power stemmed from its application in specific diplomatic contexts, the article then examines three instances when the Haudenosaunee recounted the entire history of the Chain during mid-eighteenth century treaty councils with the British. It explores the reasons underpinning the narrative's use on these occasions and its overall implications. Finally, the article discusses the adoption of the narrative by one British diplomat, Sir William Johnson, considering his motivations for using the Covenant Chain and its intended effects.


Several theories for the origin of life have gained widespread acceptance, led by primordial soup, chemical evolution, metabolism first, and the RNA world. However, while new and existing theories often address a key step, there is less focus on a comprehensive abiogenic continuum leading to the last universal common ancestor. Herein, I present the "minimotif synthesis" hypothesis unifying select origin of life theories with new and revised steps. The hypothesis is based on first principles, on the concept of selection over long time scales, and on a stepwise progression toward complexity. The major steps are the thermodynamically-driven origination of extant molecular specificity emerging from primordial soup leading to the rise of peptide catalysts, and a cyclic feed-forward catalytic diversification of compound and peptides in the primordial soup. This is followed by degenerate, semi-partially conservative peptide replication to pass on catalytic knowledge to progeny protocells. At some point during this progression, the emergence of RNA and selection could drive the separation of catalytic and genetic functions, allowing peptides and proteins to permeate the catalytic space, and RNA to encode higher fidelity information transfer. Translation may have emerged from RNA template driven organization and successive ligation of activated amino acids as a predecessor to translation.


The effects of the antioxidants tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD), propyl gallate (PG), quercetin (QC), 2-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (TBMP), tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), 3,3'-thiodipropionic acid (TDPA), guaiac gum (GG) and caffeic acid (CA) on 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-initiated mammary gland, ear duct and forestomach carcinogenesis were examined in female Sprague--Dawley rats. Fifty-day-old rats were treated with 2.5 mg/100 g body wt of DMBA and, commencing 1 week thereafter, were given diets supplemented with 0.1% TMPD, 1.0% PG, 1.0% QC, 1% TBMP, 0.8% TBHQ, 1.0% TDPA, 1.0% GG or 0.5% CA for 51 weeks and then killed. Mammary tumor development was reduced by diet containing TMPD, PG, TBMP, TBHQ or GG, although this could be partly due to antioxidant treatment-associated decrease in body wt gain. The incidence of ear duct tumors was not affected by any of the antioxidant treatments. Development of forestomach tumors was enhanced in the group given DMBA followed by CA.


Neuromorphic engineers develop event-based spiking neural networks (SNNs) in hardware. These SNNs closer resemble the dynamics of biological neurons than conventional artificial neural networks and achieve higher efficiency thanks to the event-based, asynchronous nature of the processing. Learning in the hardware SNNs is a more challenging task, however. The conventional supervised learning methods cannot be directly applied to SNNs due to the non-differentiable event-based nature of their activation. For this reason, learning in SNNs is currently an active research topic. Reinforcement learning (RL) is a particularly promising learning method for neuromorphic implementation, especially in the field of autonomous agents' control. An SNN realization of a bio-inspired RL model is in the focus of this work. In particular, in this article, we propose a new digital multiplier-less hardware implementation of an SNN with RL capability. We show how the proposed network can learn stimulus-response associations in a context-dependent task. The task is inspired by biological experiments that study RL in animals. The architecture is described using the standard digital design flow and uses power- and space-efficient cores. The proposed hardware SNN model is compared both to data from animal experiments and to a computational model. We perform a comparison to the behavioral experiments using a robot, to show the learning capability in hardware in a closed sensory-motor loop.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to report the incidence, the antecedents, and the clinical significance of clinically recognized cerebrovascular accidents or transient ischemic attacks (CVA-TIA) complicating acute myocardial infarction.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
During 1981 to 1983, a secondary prevention study with nifedipine (SPRINT) was conducted in 14 hospitals in Israel among 2,276 survivors of acute myocardial infarction. During the study, demographic, historical, and medical data were collected on special forms for all patients with diagnosed acute myocardial infarction in 13 of these 14 hospitals (the SPRINT registry, n = 5,839). Mortality follow-up was completed for 99% of hospital survivors for a mean follow-up of 5.5 years (range: 4.5 to 7 years).

RESULTS
The incidence of CVA-TIA was 0.9% (54 of 5,839). The latter rate increased significantly only with age, from 0.4% among patients up to 59 years old to 1.6% among those aged greater than or equal to 70 years. Multivariate analysis identified age, congestive heart failure, and history of stroke as predictors of CVA-TIA during the acute phase of myocardial infarction. Patients with CVA-TIA exhibited a complicated hospital course, with a 15-day mortality rate of 41%. Subsequent mortality rates in survivors at 1 and 5 years were 34% and 59%, respectively. Rates at the same time points in patients without CVA-TIA were 16%, 11%, and 29% (p less than 0.01). In a multivariate analysis that included age, gender, congestive heart failure, history of previous myocardial infarction, and hypertension, CVA-TIA was independently associated with increased 15-day mortality (covariate-adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.62; 90% confidence interval [CI], 1.59 to 4.32), as well as subsequent 1-year (OR = 3.29; 90% CI, 1.70 to 6.36) and long-term (mean follow-up = 5.5 years) mortality (OR = 2.46; 90% CI, 1.30 to 4.69).

CONCLUSION
In this large cohort of consecutive patients with myocardial infarction, CVA-TIA was a relatively infrequent complication of acute myocardial infarction. Factors independently favoring the occurrence of CVA-TIA were old age, previous CVA, and congestive heart failure. CVA-TIA occurring during acute myocardial infarction independently increased the risk of early death threefold as well as the risk of long-term mortality in early-phase survivors. (2.5-fold).


Abstract : Experts estimate that in 1978 over four quadrillion Btu of energy were lost in the United States because of simple friction and wear--enough energy to supply New York City for an entire year. This translates to a $20 billion loss, based on oil prices of about $30 per barrel. Because of the enormity of this energy loss, the Energy Conversion and Utilization Technologies (ECUT) Program in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiated a program in 1983 to study tribology--the science of friction and wear--to learn more about the causes of these energy losses (or tribological "sinks") and how to reduce them. The ECUT Program itself was started in 1980 to encourage research to improve energy conversion and utilization efficiency. The enormous energy loss in tribological sinks has been targeted by the ECUT program as having significant potential for energy conservation. One goal of the ECUT Tribology Program is to reduce these energy losses by developing improved lubricants and more durable materials.


The Heuristic Inquiry (HI) qualitative method applied in this study explored the role of Pentecostal faith in the post-migration lived experiences of Jamaican Canadian immigrant women (JCIW). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven JCIW whose Pentecostal faith helped them to reconstruct their cultural identity post-migration. The creative flexibility of HI allowed for the integration of the primary researcher's (i.e., first author's) voice into the study alongside those of the co-researchers. Positioning the study within a postmodern social constructionism theoretical framework created space for multiple realities to emerge that were constructed through social interaction and language. These realities were evident in the unique ways in which the JCIW used faith to reconstruct their cultural identity during the migration process. Results revealed four key categories and 10 salient themes which were used to inform theory, research, and practice for counseling professionals. Recommendations for future research in using HI and the topic of cultural identity are discussed.


The Survey on Household Income and Wealth, conducted every two years by the Bank of Italy, and the Italian Financial Accounts, published quarterly, provide information on the wealth of Italian households which are independent and, for the time being, not directly comparable. In this paper we perform a detailed comparison of the estimates of the householdsi?½ various financial assets and liabilities coming from the two sources, identifying the causes responsible for the observed discrepancies. In general, the outstanding amounts reported in the Financial Accounts are significally larger than those arising from the Survey. Reconciling the data in terms of classification criteria and of valuation methods reduces the differences only to a small extent. Once the variability due to sampling and measurement errors is taken into account, the discrepancies are mainly caused by under-reporting on the survey results; the bias from non-response is less important. As a by-product of the analysis, suggestions for some methodological improvements to both the Survey and the Financial Accounts do also arise, possilby from the joint use of the two sources.


This study investigates system generated cues (SGCs) that influence microblog users' reposting behavior from the perspective of source credibility. A comprehensive set of SGCs were identified through an exploratory qualitative study (study 1) to reflect each source credibility dimensions (ie. expertise, trustworthiness, attraction and coorientation), and were later adopted in a quantitative study (study 2) to test robust nature of the conceptual framework of source credibility and its impact on users' actual repost behavior when incentives are presented to them. Data indicate that by holding expected reward and perceived cost constant, all dimensions of source credibility were found to have significant main effects on repost behavior, with no interaction. Number of friends to @ was found to be inversely related to repost behavior. Implications of these findings are discussed, along with limitations of the current study and directions for future research.


Global warming and energy depletion are the main problems faced in recent years due to energy consumption by industries and the global population. Phase change materials (PCMs) with significant properties tend to store and release energy and fill the demand and supply gap. Most organic and inorganic PCMs are not considered environmentally eco-friendly when used for thermal energy storage (TES). Because they are formed from non-conventional energy resources, their carbon footmark and environmental effect are not ignored. To reduce problems, an urgent need for eco-friendly materials is required. Green substitute bio-based phase change materials (BPCMs) have gained extensive attention and are considered the best suitable replacement for organic and inorganic PCMs because BPCMs exhibit significant properties that are cost-effective, eco-friendly, renewable and convenient for thermal energy storage. However, the thermal conductivity of BPCMs is too low, which delays TES and heat transfer rates. Furthermore, this paper summarizes the reduction of low thermal conductivity problems with the help of highly conductive nanoparticles dispersed into the BPCMs and the fabrication methods of BPCMs composites. This article also provides information for futuristic researchers about the methods of fabrication and factors for enhancing the thermal conductivity of an eco-friendly BPCM composite and draws an important conclusion from the literature.


Introduction The treatment of psychotic disorders uses antipsychotic drugs, acting by blocking dopamine in the brain's cortex. Most patients experience extrapyramidal side effects because of dopamine blockage in the motor center in the striatum. Antipsychotics show varying degrees of these side effects. Defining the distribution (Vu,brain) of the drug could determine the specific binding, which could explain the differences. Haloperidol and risperidone and the PET-ligands raclopride and flumazenil were chosen to investigate in this study. PET-ligands used when performing a PET-scan, show the distribution of a certain receptor in different brain regions. Aim The aim of the project was to evaluate the Vu,brain of haloperidol, risperidone, raclopride and flumazenil in different regions of the brain: cortex, corpus callosum and striatum using the brain slice method, in order to understand if there may be differences in the binding of these drugs in the brain regions. Materials and Method The brain slice method was used. Six slices from a rat brain was cut and put into a buffer containing the drug being investigated. After 5 h incubation a buffer sample was taken. Four slices were dissected and the amount of drug in each region was determined using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and compared to the amount in an entire brain slice. Results Vu,brain of risperidone in the entire brain slice was 15.3 mL g brain-1. Kp,uu,cell was 0,76, showing predominant extracellular distribution of risperidone. Discussion The aim was not met due to analytical difficulties, but as the questions formulated in this project are still very relevant, further research is needed. Results could possibly have a large bearing for the practicing clinician, as well as drug developing companies.


Cryptococcosis is a life-threatening fungal infection that affects immunocompromised patients, causing predominantly meningoencephalitis and pneumonia. Lymph node involvement is rare and its identification may not be obvious. We report the case of a patient recently diagnosed with AIDS and previously treated for cryptococcal meningitis who developed multifocal cryptococcal disease despite antifungal treatment, expressed as cervical and mediastinal lymphadenitis and constitutional symptoms. The difficulty of the diagnosis was based on the fact that cryptococcal meningitis was resolved after treatment, and the new manifestations were more typical of other conditions such as tuberculosis and malignancy. Final diagnosis was established after fine-needle aspiration cytology of a lymph node with Cryptococcus identification. Such cases may be difficult to manage, and the possibility of clinical relapse versus cryptococcal immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome is discussed. Induction therapy was restarted and maintained for a longer period, and the total duration was based on clinical response.


In order to ascertain whether hormones influence social organization of lizards, caged Sphenomorphus kosciuskoi were studied both before and after treatment with testosterone, estradiol, adrenaline and thyroxine. Testosterone and estradiol increased aggressiveness in male lizards and caused shifts in dominance. Adrenaline caused a temporary increase in activity and agressiveness but no change in social structure. Thyroxine did not affect social behaviour.


A television interview involves some heart searching. More so now than when I was a college spokesman. In that role you could reassure your colleagues (and yourself) that you were driven by duty. You received briefings and a line to take, and you could usually confine yourself to facts.

But when you're on your own, the phone call takes you by surprise. The questions are less research, more audition. "Are Britain's maternity services getting worse?" "Well, yes and no," you reply, "or to put it another way, no and yes." Finally the voice asks: "Would you be willing to talk to us?"

Would you? Do you trust the person behind the voice? She sounds concerned and well informed and her programme has a good reputation. The real question is, how deep is your despair? Services across the country are now controlled by national politicians who no longer listen to practising doctors. Let's go for it.

"We're in your area on Saturday," says the voice, "but in the morning we're interviewing a real person." Shared irony is a good sign. I ask if the interview will be over in time for me to get to the opera. The reply is not entirely reassuring.

Our managers, relaxed and helpful, say it's okay to film in the hospital. On Saturday afternoon, men with drills begin long awaited repairs to the lift. I feel a pang of conscience asking them to stop. The television crew decide my untidy bookshelves make a good background. "We like random," says the cameraman, removing my wall clock.

The interviewer already knows all the facts and figures. What she wants are opinions, succinctly expressed. Professors don't do succinct. She nudges me to be more outspoken, but I say I can't bring myself to frighten women viewers. Gently, she points out that this may be the only way to change things. We're both thinking the same: what a way to run a health service.

A final take in the ward. Beds are screened off, but the midwife and I sign a release allowing our images to be distributed "throughout the universe." Big in Ursa Minor, maybe. Will any of this be used? Will it make a difference? I suspect not. Anyway, I made it to the opera. The heroine died but, thank goodness, she wasn't pregnant.


BACKGROUND
Sarcomatoid intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (SICC) is an extremely rare and highly invasive malignant tumor of the liver. To our knowledge, the imaging findings of sarcomatous cholangiocarcinoma have been rarely reported; and radiological features of this tumor mimicking liver abscess have not yet been reported.

CASE SUMMARY
We present a case of SICC mimicking liver abscess. The patient, a 43-year-old male, complained of repeated upper right abdominal discomfort and intermittent distension over a period of one month. Radiology examination revealed a huge focal lesion in the right liver. The lesion was hypointense on computed tomography with honeycomb enhancement surrounded by enhanced peripheral areas. It showed a hypo-signal on non-contrast T1-weighted images and a hyper-signal on non-contrast T2-weighted images. Radiologists diagnosed the lesion as an atypical liver abscess. The patient underwent a hepatectomy. After surgery, he survived another 2.5 mo before passing away. A search of PubMed and Google revealed 43 non-repeated cases of SICC reported in 20 published studies. The following is a short review in order to improve the diagnostic and therapeutic skills in cases of SICC.

CONCLUSION
This report presents the clinical and radiological features of SICC and imaging features which showed hypovascularity and progressive enhancement. SICC can present as a multilocular cyst on radiological images and it is necessary to distinguish this lesion from an atypical abscess. Simple surgical treatment is not the best treatment option for this disease.


Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells with regenerative and immunomodulatory properties. Several aspects of MSC function have been attributed to the paracrine effects of MSC derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). Although MSC EVs show great promise for regenerative medicine applications, insights into their uptake mechanisms by different target cells and the ability to control MSC EV properties for defined function in vivo have remained elusive knowledge gaps. The primary goal of this study is to elucidate how the basic properties of MSC derived EVs can be exploited for function-specific activity in regenerative medicine. Our first important observation is that, MSC EVs possess a common mechanism of endocytosis across multiple cell types. Second, altering the MSC state by inducing differentiation into multiple lineages did not affect the exosomal properties or endocytosis but triggered the expression of lineage-specific genes and proteins in vitro and in vivo respectively. Overall, the results presented in this study show a common mechanism of endocytosis for MSC EVs across different cell types and the feasibility to generate functionally enhanced EVs by modifications to parental MSCs.


A pharmacophore is a structural abstraction of the interactions between various functional group types in a compound. They are described by a spatial representation of these groups as centres (or vertices) of geometrical polyhedra, together with pairwise distances between distances.

We provide an analysis that facilitates counting 3 and 4 centre pharmacophores, including a mathematical model for distance interval ratios, triangle and other inequality requirements for feasible triangles and tetrahedra, and symmetries.

Beside spatial symmetries and and distance similarities for each edge of the polyhedra, there does not appear to be any other relevant structural similarity feature between two pharmacophores that can be used to reduce the classification of a typical compound.


Abstract A qualitative study was carried out with 12 HIV-positive women to describe their feelings about motherhood, to learn whether they make plans for the care of their children, and to identify mechanisms of defence they use to face their seropositivity. Motherhood was seen as an essential attribute of women and a reason of living. Breastfeeding was considered a fundamental component of the maternal role. Some women made provisions with their family for the care of their children. Thinking about the possibility of their children becoming orphans made women feel impotent and guilty. Such painful feelings were minimized through mechanisms of defence like compensation, denial, rationalization and projection. Health care professionals should consider that clinical assistance and free distribution of medication are not sufficient to HIV-positive women. These women need continuous support and guidance with respect to their physical, mental and emotional health as well as that of their children.


High-temperature resummed perturbation theory is plagued by poor convergence properties. The problem appears for theories with bosonic field content such as QCD, QED or scalar theories. We calculate the pressure as well as other thermodynamic quantities at high temperature for a scalar one-component field theory, solving a three-loop 2PI effective action numerically without further approximations. We present a detailed comparison with the two-loop approximation. One observes a strongly improved convergence behavior as compared to perturbative approaches. The renormalization employed in this work extends previous prescriptions, and is sufficient to determine all counterterms required for the theory in the symmetric as well as the spontaneously broken phase.


High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) is etiologically associated with the development and progression of cervical cancer, although other factors are involved. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) detection in premalignant and malignant tissues from uterine cervix has been widely reported; however, its contribution to cervical cancer development is still unclear. Here, a comprehensive analysis regarding EBV presence and its potential role in cervical cancer, the frequency of EBV/HR-HPV coinfection in uterine cervix and EBV infection in tissue-infiltrating lymphocytes were revised. Overall, reports suggest a potential link of EBV to the development of cervical carcinomas in two possible pathways: (1) Infecting epithelial cells, thus synergizing with HR-HPV (direct pathway), and/or (2) infecting tissue-infiltrating lymphocytes that could generate local immunosuppression (indirect pathway). In situ hybridization (ISH) and/or immunohistochemical methods are mandatory for discriminating the cell type infected by EBV. However, further studies are needed for a better understanding of the EBV/HR-HPV coinfection role in cervical carcinogenesis.


Considered important analogues of pre-salt reservoirs in hydrocarbon-producing basins throughout eastern Brazilian shore, the coquinas of the Morro do Chaves Formation (Barremian-Aptian of the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin) were studied in this work from a petrophysical standpoint using advanced characterization methods for cores recovered from four wells (2-SMC-01-AL, 2-SMC-02-AL, 2-SMC-03-AL e 2-SMC-01-AL) drilled in the Atoll Quarry, which is located in city of São Miguel dos Campos, Alagoas State, Brazil. To understand the relationships between lithological and diagenetic heterogeneities that control the distribution of permeability-porosity properties of this rock type, the cores underwent Dual-Energy X-ray imaging, which determines bulk density and photoelectric factor data to define seven rock types and generate effective porosity curves for the studied wells. Permeabilities in wells were modeled based on the Flow Zone Index (FZI) concept, and each reservoir interval based on the Global Hydraulic Elements (GHEs) approach. Results were calibrated with laboratory measurements in plugs, and porosity was classified by petrographic analysis by Digital Image Analysis (DIA). All wells were correlated and four internal flooding surfaces identified, with a regressive surface (RS) dividing the Morro do Chaves Formation into an upper section with better reservoir characteristics and a lower one with worse ones.


Children between 6 and 8 years of age with metatarsus adductus deformity have been considered to be in the gray zone for surgical correction. Should osseous or soft tissue procedures be implemented to reduce the adducted attitude of the metatarsals? The literature clearly describes one or the other and the intermediary chondrotomy procedure described by Johnson. The use of a combined approach has not been presented. The present authors offer a brief review of metatarsus adductus, and two case reports using a modified, combined approach. Two 7-year-old girls presented with bilateral resistant metatarsus adductus deformities. The authors contend that the first and fifth metatarsals are the major deforming forces in this age group, and may be corrected with base wedge osteotomies, while the central three metatarsals are more amendable to capsular and ligamentous releases. Advantages of soft tissue procedures on the central rays include avoidance of extensive dissection, creating less trauma and avoidance of the need for internal fixation. The obvious disadvantage is the inability to adequately reduce the deformity. This can be assessed intraoperatively. These authors, therefore, conclude that this modified surgical approach is a viable alternative to the previously described procedures for resistant metatarsus adductus.


Truxillines are alkaloids produced by Erythroxylum species and are thought to be derived from the UV‐driven dimerization of cinnamoylcocaines. This study was conducted to determine the effects of ambient UV radiation on the production of truxillines in Erythroxylum novogranatense var. novogranatense. Field plants were grown under shelters covered with plastic filters that were transparent to UV radiation, filtered UV‐B, or both filtered UV‐B and UV‐A radiation. The treatments had no significant effect on plant biomass or specific leaf weight. Absorption values in the UV‐C and UV‐A region of acidified‐methanol leaf extracts were higher for plants exposed to UV radiation compared to the no UV radiation treatment. There was a trend in decreasing levels of trans‐cinnamoylcocaine and a statistically significant decrease in levels of cis‐cinnamoylcocaine in the leaves of plants exposed to UV radiation compared to the no UV radiation treatment. Truxilline levels increased in leaves from plants exposed to UV radiation compared to the no UV radiation treatment. Most significantly, the ratio of truxillines to total cinnamoylcocaines in the leaves was affected by UV, increasing with increased UV exposure. The results support the hypothesis that UV radiation is involved in the formation of truxillines from cinnamoylcocaines.


In the process of downhole oil-water separation, the traditional liquid-liquid separation hydrocyclone (LLSH) is used in conjunction with screw pumps, which makes the hydrocyclone rotating around its own axis. The rotation of wall of hydrocyclone affects its internal flow characteristics and separation properties directly. The orthogonal experiment of the downhole oil-water separation hydrocyclone (DOWSH) is designed to analyze the effect of flowrate, rotating speed and split ratio on separation efficiency and pressure drop, The primary and secondary factors of operation parameters have been studied, and the optimum condition and reasonable working range of DOWSH have been obtained. It provides reli- able basis for process of practical application of DOWSHso as to guide the production.


paper presents the application of an active disturbance rejection controller (ADRC) to an electrical power assist steering system (EPAS) in automobiles. The control objective is to reduce the steering torque exerted by a driver so as to achieve good steering feel in the presence of external disturbances and system uncertainties. With the proposed ADRC, the driver can turn the steering wheel with the desired steering torque which is independent of load torques that tend to vary depending on driving conditions. The ADRC is constructed on a column-type EPAS model. The computer simulation and frequency-domain analyses verify the robustness and stability of the ADRC controlled system.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to perform a qualitative and quantitative comparison of image quality of gadoxetate disodium-enhanced imaging of the biliary system acquired using different flip angles (FAs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty-two patients (21 men and 11 women; mean [± SD] age, 51 ± 16 years) who underwent gadoxetate disodium-enhanced 1.5-T MRI were included. A 3D fat-suppressed T1-weighted gradient-echo sequence was acquired during the hepatobiliary phase using FAs of 12°, 25°, and 40°. One radiologist, who was blinded to FA, measured signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) of the biliary tree. Two other blinded radiologists assessed subjective biliary duct clarity, overall image quality, background signal suppression, and ghosting artifact from the biliary tree using a scale of 1 to 4.

RESULTS
SNRs and CNRs of the common bile duct were significantly higher for FAs of 25° (227.5 ± 113.2 and 191.0 ± 102.2, respectively) and 40° (239.6 ± 118.7 and 201.7 ± 107.7, respectively) than for 12° (168.9 ± 73.9 and 126.7 ± 59.7, respectively; all p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in SNR or CNR between FAs of 25° and 40° (p ≥ 0.360). Clarity of first-, second-, and third-order intrahepatic ducts, background signal suppression, and overall image quality were significantly higher for both readers for FAs of 25° and 40° than for 12° (all p ≤ 0.031). None of these comparisons was significantly different for either reader between FAs 25° and 40° (all p ≥ 0.091), aside from improved depiction of third-order ducts at 40° for one reader (p = 0.030). Biliary ghosting artifact was significantly worse at 40° than at 12° for both readers (p ≤ 0.016).

CONCLUSION
The use of an FA larger than the clinical standard of approximately 12° has the potential to improve the image quality of gadoxetate disodium-enhanced biliary imaging.


The molecular genetic basis for early onset dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is largely unknown. We have identified that Lrrc10 is a cardiac-specific gene regulated by Nkx2.5 and GATA4. Lrrc10-null (Lrrc10-/-) mice exhibit prenatal systolic dysfunction followed by early onset DCM after birth. However, mechanistic roles for LRRC10 in the regulation of cardiac pathophysiology are unknown. We hypothesize that LRRC10 expression is critical for myocyte contractility and proper responses to pressure overload. Various mouse models with pathological cardiac hypertrophy showed decreased levels of Lrrc10. To test roles of LRRC10 in response to biomechanical stress, transverse aortic constriction (TAC) was performed. Lrrc10-/- mice showed significant increases in left ventricular inner diameter dimensions and drastically reduced % fractional shortening in response to 4 weeks of TAC (13%) after 4 weeks, while no significant changes occurred in WT after TAC (26% F.S.). These data indicate that pressure overload greatly exacerbates systolic dysfunction in Lrrc10-/- vs WT hearts. Next, the role of LRRC10 in cardiac excitation contraction coupling was investigated. Myocyte contractility and calcium transients were studied using the video-edge detection system and fura 2-AM loading at basal levels and following perfusion with Isoproterenol (ISO, 10 nM) at 0.5 - 2 Hz pacing. Cell shortening was significantly reduced following perfusion with ISO in Lrrc10-/- myocytes (55% and 49% at 1 and 2 Hz, respectively) vs WT. Calcium transient analysis showed that there were no differences in peak amplitudes of [Ca2+]i between Lrrc10-/- and WT myocytes at baseline or with ISO treatment. Whole-cell voltage clamp experiments demonstrated a significant reduction in the L-type Ca2+ current (ICa,L) density in Lrrc10-/- myocytes (-2.5 ± 0.2 pA/pF) compared to WT myocytes (-6 ± 0.6 pA/pF). The inactivation of the ICa,L in Lrrc10-/- myocytes was significantly delayed. Further, co-immunoprecipitation showed that LRRC10 directly associated with Cav1.2 subunit of LTCC, which correlates well with the localization of LRRC10 to dyadic regions in adult cardiomyocytes by TEM. Therefore, LRRC10 is a novel DCM candidate gene essential for normal myocyte contractility via regulating ICa,L.


AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the developmental tendency of velopharyngeal structures in different-age patients with cleft palate (CP) to provide reference for selecting surgery in clinic. The investigators implemented a retrospective study, and 66 patients were selected, including 38 boys and 28 girls (average age, 15 years 5 months ± 7 years). These patients were divided into 3 groups (G1, G2, and G3) according to their ages and were taken lateral preoperative cephalograms at rest and during phonation of /i/. Twelve lengths and 3 ratios variables were defined in this study. All these measurements were analyzed by analysis of variance and post hoc test, whereas P value was set at 0.05. There were significant differences of velar thickness and height, vertical velar length, pharyngeal height and depth, uvular pharyngeal depth, and hard palate length and height. Except velar height and vertical velar length of which the differences were only significant between G1 and G2, the difference of the others was significant between G1 and G2, and G1 and G3. In conclusion, velar thickness and posterior velar length increased significantly before 20 years old, whereas the motility of velar muscles between 12 years old and 20 years old was weaker. Growths of maxilla in vertical and horizontal dimension were faster before 20 years old. Besides, height-depth ratio was increasing with increase in age.


In this paper, we develop a gap model based on a reduced form of the New Keynesian Model. The model offers various scenario structure tools which analyze the dynamics of key macroeconomic variables under diverse shocks and depicts their properties and historical decompositions. This framework rationalizes the monetary transmission mechanism as well as the effects of major shocks influencing the macroeconomic variables and can assess the role of monetary policy in reacting to observed and anticipated changes in inflation and other economic variables. This model provides a useful framework detailing monetary policy and helping policymakers mainly to react strongly to inflation.


Tremendous changes have been made to China's urban housing since the housing policy reform began 30 years ago. These changes can be objectively assessed in terms of housing supply, housing quality, and housing access options available to urban residents. But using residents' subjective assessment to evaluate the impacts of housing policy reform has been very limited. This paper uses urban residents' housing satisfaction as a basis to see if housing obtained through post-reform transitional market can deliver higher satisfaction levels to their residents than housing accessed through other options. We take advantage of a large-scale 2005 residential satisfaction survey data that was collected to assess City of Beijing's livability. Based on more than 6000 sample cases we conduct statistical analysis to study residents' satisfaction toward their housing in relation to their housing access types. Our analysis shows that residents who acquired housing through the housing market were more likely to be satisfied with their housing than those living in similar housing that were acquired from other housing options such as affordable housing, past public housing, and replacement housing. Accessing housing in the market can improve the chance of obtaining satisfactory housing especially for low-income residents. Since low-income residents who lived in affordable housing units were less likely to be satisfied with their housing than their counterparts living in market housing, we suggest that a more effective policy to solve low-income residents' housing problem is to allow them more opportunities to obtain housing through market mechanism (e.g., housing voucher).


Surgical correction of large, rigid scoliotic and kyphotic curves carries an increased risk of perioperative complications, such as neurological injury and excessive blood loss, compared with correction of less severe curves. Titanium temporary flexible rods (TFRs), designed for pediatric long bone fracture fixation, may be helpful as adjuncts to achieve gradual, stepwise intraoperative correction of severe pediatric spinal deformities. A retrospective review was conducted of spinal fusion cases for pediatric scoliosis or kyphosis at our institution that used TFRs as a correction technique from 2007 to 2019. Patients underwent posterior spinal fusion with predominantly pedicle screw instrumentation. Intraoperatively, a non-contoured titanium elastic nail was temporarily positioned in the screws unilaterally to achieve partial correction while the contralateral side was instrumented. Then, the TFR was removed and replaced with a permanent rod. Thirty-four patients with severe spinal deformities underwent posterior spinal fusion. Seventeen had scoliosis (mean major Cobb angle, 89.3°) and 17 had kyphosis (mean T5-T12 kyphosis, 73.8°). Idiopathic deformity was the most common etiology; neuromuscular, syndromic, and postsurgical causes contributed to the remainder of cases. All patients had Ponte osteotomies. Four patients (11.8%) had neuromonitoring alerts, 1 of which was related to insertion of the TFR; all were reversible. For patients with scoliosis, the mean postoperative Cobb angle measured 40.2° (53.6% correction). For patients with kyphosis, the mean postoperative T5-T12 angle measured 43.3° (30.4° of correction). TFRs appear to be helpful adjuncts for correction of severe pediatric spinal deformities, facilitating gradual intraoperative correction in a single-stage operation. Neuromonitoring alerts are common but reversible. [Orthopedics. 202x;4x(x):xx-xx.].


Abstract. From 1985 to 1989 the Department of Geography of the ETH in Zurich carried out a project called "Stadtklima Zurich". Following a brief description of the project the paper is centered on theoretical and experimental studies concerning the air-flow above Zurich. The wind measurements were undertaken with a network of about 20 stations. The interpretation of these measurements was concentrated on important weather types. Apart from a cartographie representation of the measured data, a diagnostic model (DIAMO) was used for the data interpolation. A non-hydrostatic numerical model (MONARC) helped to interprete dynamicalm processes over complex topography. With an example of a Situation with easterly synoptic wind the measured windfield is compared with the simulations which show a fairly good correspondence. Measurements over the railroad tracks near the Central Station show the transition from mesoscale topographic to microscale or urban building effects. By using a particle trajectory model (LADI and TRAMO), the problem of air pollution dispersion over the complex urban topography is discussed.


Little is known about the mechanism of necrotizing pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in children. Pulmonary gangrene secondary to vascular thrombosis was reported in adults with necrotizing pneumococcal pneumonia. We conducted a retrospective study of 15 children with a diagnosis of necrotizing pneumococcal pneumonia at National Taiwan University Hospital to explore its association with pulmonary gangrene, based on evidence from chest computed tomography, serial chest radiographic patterns, and pathologic results. S. pneumoniae serotype 14 was the prevalent pneumococcal serotype. Overall, 63.6% of isolates were not susceptible to penicillin. One child with pneumonia caused by S. pneumoniae serotype 3 complicated by hemolytic uremic syndrome had a rapidly fatal course. An autopsy in this patient documented lung necrosis and pulmonary gangrene. Radiographic follow‐up was performed during the clinical course in 9 patients, and showed no evidence of pulmonary gangrene. Four children had no radiographic follow‐up. The relationship between pulmonary gangrene and necrotizing pneumonia was unclear in the remaining one. In conclusion, necrotizing pneumococcal pneumonia may be infrequently associated with pulmonary gangrene in children. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2006; 41: 623–629. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


A low intrinsic capacitance probe system for measuring capacitance to detect the liquid fill level of a pressure vessel that incorporates a high pressure center rod retention system and an explosionproof flame path seal into its mounting gland. The system reduces or eliminates the cold flow of PTFE within the probe and eliminates the need for periodic retorquing.


We consider a controlled Markov chain with finite state space, whose transition probabilities are assumed to depend linearly upon an unknown real parameter α. In particular, we study the asymptotic behavior of the maximum likelihood estimate of α under an arbitrary realizable control when α is known to belong to a given bounded interval on the line. We show that the estimate converges with probability one and characterize those realizations for which convergence does not lead to the true value. We also suggest corrections to the control policy which guarantee almost sure convergence to the true value. For the adaptive situation, where the control depends only on the current estimate of α and the present state, we show that the maximum likelihood estimate converges to a value α*indistinguishable from the true one under the feedback law induced by α*.


Purpose. This study examines the usefulness of using the stages and processes of change model to explore exercise adoption and maintenance over time. Design. Data for this study were collected as part of the baseline and follow-up survey of participants in a worksite health promotion project. Subjects. Three hundred fourteen employees completed exercise questionnaires. The average age was 41 years, mean body mass index was 26, average years of education were 13, and 66% were women. Setting. The study was conducted in two worksites, a retail outlet and a manufacturing company. Measures. Previously validated questionnaires to determine stages and processes of exercise adoption were administered at baseline and 6-month follow-up, along with questions about demographic variables. Results. Four patterns of stage change emerged: subjects who became more active (adopters, 26%), those who became less active (relapsers, 15%), and those who did not change over time (stable sedentary, 32%; stable active, 27%). Adopters displayed increases in use of the processes of change, whereas relapsers displayed decreases in process use. Stable profiles were associated with no change in process use. Conclusions. These findings have important implications for research on exercise adoption and maintenance. Interventions tailored specifically to subjects' stage of readiness to be active and using specific processes to help in the change process are warranted at this time.


A nomogram to simplify the determination of pulmonary shunt is presented. It is based on Leigh's et al. shunt-equation (1969). The nomogram aggregates the factors which contribute most to the pulmonary shunt in acute respiratory failure. Arterial and venous oxygen saturation, Hb content, arterial oxygen tension and barometric pressure do influence strongly the result of calculated shuntflow. For the factors with little importance in the calculation (vapor pressure, mixed venous oxygen tension, alveolar-CO2 tension), international mean values are used. The shunt determined with the nomogram deviates less than 1% from the calculated values, if the range of PCO2 is between 32 and 52 mm Hg and the error does not exceed 1,5% with a PCO2 up to 82 mm Hg unless it is combined with a very low Hb and a high mixed venous saturation. By the nomogram the effect of the different parameters on the shunt can be very well illustrated. Especially mistakes in determination of the mixed venous saturation and of arterial O2 tension result in errors. Too high saturation values in mixed venous blood occur in distally located catheters due to pulmonary capillary admixtures. This contamination can be easily detected if the relationship between PVO2 and PACO2 is examined. The other source of error lies in the technical problems of PO2 determination in high ranges and is caused by escape of O2 into the PO2-electrode and O2-consumption of the blood. The end effect which the factors of O2 escape have on the accuracy of PO2 determination in high ranges is demonstrated with blood samples which have been equilibrated with different gas mixtures at different temperatures and had their PO2 measured at regular intervals. The error in PaO2 measurement can be reduced if blood-gas analyses are performed immediately or on cooled samples.


Here we report the syntheses of polyimides with meta-carborane cages embedded in the polymer chain and their characterizations. Aromatic carborane diamines were prepared by a Sonogashira reaction in the first place; reaction of the obtained diamines with commercially available dianhydride led to the formation of carborane polyimides with high molecular weight. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the samples showed that they have excellent thermal stability, with 5 wt% decomposition temperatures (Td5%) higher than 520 °C. Due to the boron-rich nature of the obtained polyimides, samples prepared here have potential applications in the aerospace industry and nuclear power stations as building blocks for neutron shielding and detecting devices.


The World Health Organization recommends identifying a Lead Road Safety Agency (LRSA) within the government to coordinate preventive interventions. As LRSAs in developing countries have rarely been evaluated, this case study describes the performance of the LRSA of Pakistan with respect to the World Bank criteria. The designated LRSA, the National Road Safety Secretariat, was put into operation in 2006 and worked for about two years with World Bank funding. The agency had a stand-alone structure headed by an experienced road safety specialist during the first year only and faced difficulty in recruiting other required experts. The LRSA drafted the first National Road Safety Plan, including strategic review of road safety and existing legislation, articulated multisectorial collaboration nationally and provincially, and collected traffic injury data in some districts. Its progress was halted by its dissolution because of funding problems. Currently, two agencies specialising in traffic enforcement and transport research respectively are fulfilling LRSA functions on an ad-hoc basis. Results suggest that sustainability and consistency of LRSAs in developing countries like Pakistan may only be ensured if they are legally protected, inter-ministerial, have permanent funding and are provided with the required expertise through international cooperation, so they can perform their required functions effectively.


In this paper, we discuss the characteristics and operation of Astro Space Center (ASC) software FX correlator that is an important component of space–ground interferometer for Radioastron project. This project performs joint observations of compact radio sources using 10m space radio telescope (SRT) together with ground radio telescopes at 92, 18, 6 and 1.3 cm wavelengths. In this paper, we describe the main features of space–ground VLBI data processing of Radioastron project using ASC correlator. Quality of implemented fringe search procedure provides positive results without significant losses in correlated amplitude. ASC Correlator has a computational power close to real time operation. The correlator has a number of processing modes: "Continuum", "Spectral Line", "Pulsars", "Giant Pulses","Coherent". Special attention is paid to peculiarities of Radioastron space–ground VLBI data processing. The algorithms of time delay and delay rate calculation are also discussed, which is a matter of principle for data correlation of space–ground interferometers. During five years of Radioastron SRT successful operation, ASC correlator showed high potential of satisfying steady growing needs of current and future ground and space VLBI science. Results of ASC software correlator operation are demonstrated.


Gladys developed type 2 diabetes at age 58. She was concerned when the doctor told her to go to the local diabetes education center (DEC) to learn about diabetes because she had never done well in school. In fact, she disliked school and did not want to get back into a school setting. The DEC secretary told her she would be there for about 2 hours and that she would be with a small group of people who had also just been diagnosed with diabetes.

When Gladys arrived and saw the Conversation Map on the table, she thought, "Oh, it's a game." The educator explained that it was not a game, but rather a tool to help stimulate and focus discussion. Although the group started out very quietly, Gladys found that after the first few questions, she and the others were all interacting. She discovered that she actually did know some things about diabetes, but she also realized she learned many new things. One woman in the group lived near her, so they decided they would go for a walk together on the weekend.

At the end of 2 hours, Gladys said, "That was a nice way to learn about diabetes. I was afraid we were going to be lectured at and told what to do. I met people in the same situation and who have the same worries I do. It was good to see that I am not alone."

Conversation Maps are tools used to generate discussion and encourage self-reflection and sharing of the experience of living with diabetes. They are not a game, but they do provide a visual platform to engage participants and allow them to discover facts about diabetes for themselves. Conversation Maps are usually used with small groups led by a facilitator who may …


The sigma-meson, which is at best a broad resonance in the vacuum, may suffer a substantial red-shift and appear as a soft and narrow collective mode at finite temperature and baryon densities. The physics behind this softening phenomena and its relation to the partial restoration of chiral symmetry are discussed. Possible experiments in laboratory to test the idea are also summarized.


The aim of present work is to develop a fast disintegrating solid oral dosage form of Metoprolol succinate. The concept of fast dissolving drug delivery system emerged from the desire to provide patient with more conventional means of taking their medication. Problems associated with conventional tablets can be resolved by means of fast dissolving tablets when put on tongue these tablets disintegrate and dissolve rapidly in saliva without need of drinking water. The faster the drug disintegrates in to solution, the quicker the absorption and onset of clinical effect. Preformulation results reveal that the flow properties of the active pharmaceutical ingredient were found to be excellent as per IP limits. To perform drug-polymer compatibility FT-IR studies were carried out and observed that there was no interaction between the APl and excipients. Eight formulations were prepared with varying super disintegrating agent ratios and were found that as the level of super disintegrating agent decreased the drug release rates were found to be increased. Amongst all the formulations, formulation containing CCS (F4) as super disintegrant is fulfilling all the parameters satisfactorily. It has shown excellent in-vitro disintegration, in-vitro dissolution compared to other formulations. The prepared tablets disintegrate within few minutes without need of water; thereby enhance the absorption leading to its increased bioavailability. It was concluded that Fast Disintegrating tablets of Metoprolol can be prepared successfully as it satisfies all the criteria as a dispersible tablet and would be alternative to the currently available conventional tablets. Prepared formulations were stable during 90 days storage period at controlled 40°C and 75%RH.


An integrated five-transistor/one-capacitor approach for realizing a a-Si:H thin-film transistor (TFT) gate driver operating in multiphase-clock mode is proposed and investigated. The driver needs only one large-size TFT and one small-size storage capacitor. The performance and function of the proposed driver are verified experimentally. The dependence of the performance on the device size is studied in detail. Stability of the fabricated drivers is tested using a flexible measurement scheme. Measured results show that the fabricated gate driver can work stably even though the low-level-holding TFTs have a threshold-voltage shift of 19 V.


This review summarizes research performed over the last 23 years on the genetics, enzyme structures and functions, and regulation of the expression of the genes encoding functions involved in adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl, or coenzyme B12) biosynthesis. It also discusses the role of coenzyme B12 in the physiology of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 and Escherichia coli. John Roth's seminal contributions to the field of coenzyme B12 biosynthesis research brought the power of classical and molecular genetic, biochemical, and structural approaches to bear on the extremely challenging problem of dissecting the steps of what has turned out to be one of the most complex biosynthetic pathways known. In E. coli and serovar Typhimurium, uro'gen III represents the first branch point in the pathway, where the routes for cobalamin and siroheme synthesis diverge from that for heme synthesis. The cobalamin biosynthetic pathway in P. denitrificans was the first to be elucidated, but it was soon realized that there are at least two routes for cobalamin biosynthesis, representing aerobic and anaerobic variations. The expression of the AdoCbl biosynthetic operon is complex and is modulated at different levels. At the transcriptional level, a sensor response regulator protein activates the transcription of the operon in response to 1,2-Pdl in the environment. Serovar Typhimurium and E. coli use ethanolamine as a source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy. In addition, and unlike E. coli, serovar Typhimurium can also grow on 1,2-Pdl as the sole source of carbon and energy.


A major neuropathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the deposition of aggregated β amyloid (Aβ) peptide in the senile plaques. Aβ is a peptide of 38–43 amino acids and its accumulation and aggregation plays a key role early in the disease. A large fraction of β amyloid is N-terminally truncated rendering a glutamine that can subsequently be cyclized into pyroglutamate (pE). This makes the peptide more resistant to proteases, more prone to aggregation and increases its neurotoxicity. The enzyme glutaminyl cyclase (QC) catalyzes this conversion of glutamine to pE. In brains of AD patients, the expression of QC is increased in the earliest stages of pathology, which may be an important event in the pathogenesis. In this study we aimed to investigate the regulatory mechanism underlying the upregulation of QC expression in AD. Using differentiated SK-N-SH as a neuronal cell model, we found that neither the presence of Aβ peptides nor the unfolded protein response, two early events in AD, leads to increased QC levels. In contrast, we demonstrated increased QC mRNA levels and enzyme activity in response to another pathogenic factor in AD, perturbed intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis. The QC promoter contains a putative binding site for the Ca2+ dependent transcription factors c-fos and c-jun. C-fos and c-jun are induced by the same Ca2+-related stimuli as QC and their upregulation precedes QC expression. We show that in the human brain QC is predominantly expressed by neurons. Interestingly, the Ca2+- dependent regulation of both c-fos and QC is not observed in non-neuronal cells. Our results indicate that perturbed Ca2+ homeostasis results in upregulation of QC selectively in neuronal cells via Ca2+- dependent transcription factors. This suggests that disruption of Ca2+ homeostasis may contribute to the formation of the neurotoxic pE Aβ peptides in Alzheimer's disease.


Ethnopharmacological relevance: Angelica archangelica Linn. is a herb distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Angelica is largely used in grocery trade as well as for medicine. The herb is traditionally used for the treatment of leukoderma, nervous headaches, fever, skin rashes, wounds, rheumatism, toothaches, gastric ulcers, anorexia, migraine, bronchitis, chronic fatigue, menstrual and obstetric complaints and for dental preparation. Aim of the study: Evaluation of preliminary Pharmacognostical and phytochemical parameters of Angelica archangelica Linn. Material and methods: The whole plant material was subjected to successive soxhlet extraction with petroleum ether (40-600C), chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and finally decocted with water to get respective extracts. Fluorescence characters of powdered material were analysed under ultraviolet light and ordinary light. Different physicochemical parameters such as ash value, extractive value, foaming index, pH values, loss on drying and determination foreign matter were carried out as per WHO guidelines. The total fat, flavonoid and saponin contents were also determined. Results and discussions: Macroscopical studies revealed the authentication of plant drug. Physicochemical parameters helped to standardize the plant material while Preliminary qualitative chemical test of different extracts showed the presence of Glycosides, Carbohydrates, Phytosterols/triterpenoids, Saponins, Fixed oils & Fats and phenols/tannins. Quantification of total flavonoids, saponins and fat contents was also carried out. Conclusion: Results shall pave a way in the standardization of the drug


Sixty-seven consecutive patients who had suffered an acute myocardial infarction but no serious complications during the first to fourth hospital days were considered for a trial of hospital discharge at one week. Thirty-three of the 67 patients were discharged at one week, the remainder having a mean hospital stay of 11 +/- 2 days. The incidence of late complications and recurrent infarctions, as well as mortality and functional status, were determined in all patients six months after discharge. No serious complications occurred in either subgroup within three weeks after discharge. There were no deaths in either subgroup and no difference in functional status at six months. Patients without serious complications during the four days after an acute myocardial infarction can be spared the economic costs and psychologic stress of prolonged hospitalization.


Chickpeas are basic food in many countries with several cultivars distributed all over the world. However, little is known about their secondary metabolites. Thus, this work is focused on the study of the phenolic profiles of seven Egyptian cultivars of chickpea. Selecting the most appropriate extraction method and analytical conditions using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection, with a core–shell column, and coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (MS), a total of 96 phenolic compounds were characterized based on their retention time, UV spectra, and accurate MS and MS2 data. Among them, the major phenolic subclasses were hydroxybenzoic acids and flavonoids. Moreover, other minor and major metabolites including organic acids, amino acids, nucleosides, peptides and soyasaponins were characterized. Using standards, 22 compounds were unequivocally identified. Remarkably, 88 of these compounds were tentatively reported for the first time in chickpeas. The total phenol content of the cultivars was determined as well as the antioxidant activity by the trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assay.


In this article, we examine the key ideas of Wilhelm von Humboldt about language and their relevance to the contemporary research in the field of linguistics. In his works, N. Chomsky describes Humboldt as a key predecessor of the generative approach. The authors discuss the concrete aspects of Humboldt's influence on generative linguistics drawing special attention to his notion of Form. The authors also observe that Humboldt's works also contain statements about the deep differences that exist between different languages, as well as statements that different languages can form different pictures of the world. These ideas resonate with philosophical ideas about linguistic relativity (the famous Sapir – Whorf hypothesis), which are incompatible with generative linguistics. The authors try to reconcile an apparent contradiction by appealing to two different perspectives on language that they call the dynamic and the static one. They provide arguments in favor of the former and explore existing arguments against the later, which is associated with the aforementioned hypothesis. The authors conclude by pointing out that Humboldt's legacy has so many facets that it introduces to incompatible views on language each of which had a serious impact on the studies of language in the 20th century.


Researchers and engineers of the 21st century have produced technologies that might deeply change our way of life. There is Blockchain which could revolutionise the trust between people and the financial sector, Internet of Things that can allow machines to communicate with each other to provide better services, and Artificial Intelligence that assigns machines with the ability to ?think? and empowers them to make decisions by themselves. The intersection between technological development and society ? understood as economic activities, social habits, politics, political institutions, etc. ? has always been a delicate issue in human history. It can generate both wealth and poverty, wars and peace or illnesses and health. It all depends on how we use technology and how prepared we are to accept changes and to adapt to them. Artificial Intelligence fits all previous scenarios and it generates highly concern among regular people. Therefore, in this paper, I will try to answer the following research question: does artificial intelligence have the potential to create more inequality in the European Union? In the first phase of this endeavour, I will analyse the AI?s state of the art to see the most recent achievements in the field, its area of implementation and the potential it could achieve. Secondly, by using the concept of digital divide, I will try to figure out what are the mechanisms of this new technology that could create more inequality. Digital divide focuses on the possibility that people would become even more marginalized due to the lack of basic skills and the impossibility to afford new technologies available on the market. Then, my case study will focus on the European Union, which is one of the three main global actors in the field. Because AI is still an emerging technology, I will focus on AI strategies of the EU member states in order to emphasise possible future cleavages.


This paper describes the solution of Shanda Innovations team to Task 1 of KDD-Cup 2012. A novel approach called Multifaceted Factorization Models is proposed to incorporate a great variety of features in social networks. Social relationships and actions between users are integrated as implicit feedbacks to improve the recommendation accuracy. Keywords, tags, profiles, time and some other features are also utilized for modeling user interests. In addition, user behaviors are modeled from the durations of recommendation records. A context-aware ensemble framework is then applied to combine multiple predictors and produce final recommendation results. The proposed approach obtained 0.43959 (public score) / 0.41874 (private score) on the testing dataset, which achieved the 2nd place in the KDD-Cup competition.


Although digital technology has, in theory, made it possible for many more people to access content at no extra cost, fewer people than ever before are able to read the books written by university-based researchers.

This article looks, very briefly, at the role that open access licenses might play in reviving the scholarly monograph: a specialised area of academic publishing that has seen sales decline by more than 90% over the past three decades. It also introduces a new approach to funding open-access scholarly books being pioneered by the not-for-profit social enterprise Knowledge Unlatched.


An established strategy for improving immune responses to mucosal vaccines relies on targeting ligands to promote vaccine uptake by microfold (M) cells. M cells are antigen-sampling epithelial cells mostly found in the epithelium covering Peyer's patches and other organized mucosal lymphoid tissues, but also present on a subset (~7%) of small intestinal villi as villous M cells (vM). Recently we showed that 4 days of systemic treatment (50 μg s.c. per day) with RANKL, a TNF superfamily cytokine, induces differentiation of vM on 100% of small intestinal villi, dramatically increasing the total number of available vM and leading to large increases in uptake of fluorescently labeled bacteria (30-fold) and 200 nm microspheres (100-fold). The present study was done to test a novel strategy for enhancing mucosal vaccine responses to oral vaccines based on RANKL pretreatment to induce supraphysiologic numbers of vM. Mice treated daily with RANKL beginning 4 days prior to a single oral immunization with 2 x 108 fixed OVA-expressing E. coli had an average 8-fold increase in the serum IgM anti-OVA response measured 7 to 11 days later. This effect of RANKL on the antibody response also synergized with the use of LPS as a systemic adjuvant given i.p. at the time of oral immunization. These results provide a proof of principle demonstration that RANKL-mediated induction of vM prior to oral immunization is a novel and effective strategy capable of enhancing the potency of mucosal vaccines.


The object of this article is to show a certain proximity of Duhem to Poincare in his first philosophical reflections. I study the relationships between the scientific practices of the two scholars, the contemporary theoretical context and their reflections. The first part of the article concerns the changes in epistemological consensus at the turn of the century. The second part will be devoted to Poincare's reflections on the status of physical geometries and physical theories, as they appear in his texts written around 1890. Then I analyze the first reflections of Pierre Duhem on physical theory, in particular his thesis of the hypothetical/symbolic character of physical theories and his criteria for selecting good theories, partly associated with his ideal of physical theory; the whole set of considerations, highlighting the Poincarean inspiration.