Monocytes migrate to the lungs and enter the alveoli where they come into contact with surfactant and differentiate into alveolar macrophages. This study focused on the question of the extent to which monocytes and monocyte‐derived macrophages (MDM) incubated with surfactant resemble alveolar macrophages. Surfactant‐incubated monocytes shared with alveolar macrophages the intracellular presence of surfactant, efficient phagocytosis of opsonized Staphylococcus aureus, and poor intracellular killing of ingested bacteria. The suppressive effect of surfactant on bactericidal activities of monocytes could not be attributed to either the surfactant lipid fraction or surfactant protein A. Monocytes incubated with surfactant differed from alveolar macrophages with respect to expression of various Fc and complement receptors involved in intracellular killing of bacteria. Surfactant‐incubated monocytes produced significantly more H2O2 upon stimulation with phorbol ester than alveolar macrophages, but significantly less than control monocytes. Together, monocytes and MDM incubated with surfactant, although similar to alveolar macrophages in some aspects, are not an adequate model for alveolar macrophages. Most likely, factors other than surfactant in the microenvironment of the alveoli, such as oxygen tension, play a role in the differentiation of monocytes to alveolar macrophages as well. J. Leukoc. Biol. 62: 485–492; 1997.


Poverty alleviation policies in Tanzania are focused on market development and local economic transformations as primary contributors to the countrys growth. These policies are intertwined with government legislation creating Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) near protected areas which encourage local people to use village land for ecotourism activities which will add value to natural resources while providing local opportunities for expanded livelihood options. Actively promoted by international conservation NGOs, WMAs are marketed as a people-friendly way to protect wildlife while encouraging conservation-friendly livelihood strategies. This study uses qualitative ethnographic methods to determine the effects of the Burunge WMA in northern Tanzania on people living in nearby villages. Results indicate that the needs and priorities of local people were not adequately or equitably identified and that WMAs actually reregulate land and resources in a way that allows external stakeholders to gain control of village assets, exclude local people, and capitalize on newly available economic opportunities. Moreover, because WMAs merge economic and conservation objectives in a way that is consistent with both the global neoliberal framework and powerful Western images and beliefs about nature and consumption, the rhetoric regarding this newest form of community-based conservation has been transformed into an officially legislated truth that is difficult to challenge. Suggestions forcountering this discourse and for future research into the effectiveness of community-based conservation as a viable mechanism for environmental protection and economic development are offered.


Antenatal care is very important for pregnant women; mothers who do not do prenatal care have a higher risk of pregnancy complications and maternal death. The benefits of pregnancy tests are to detect complications such as preeclampsia, diabetes mellitus, gestational age, fetal growth, and maternal and fetal health. The purpose of this health education is to make participants aware of the importance of Antenatal care visits during pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic. This community service was carried out in October 2021 at BPM Suratmi, Batam City. Participants who were included in this activity were pregnant women who were willing to attend when the activity took place, as many as 14 participants. This form of community service activity is in the form of providing health education to pregnant women, with material on understanding Antenatal care, Antenatal care goals benefits of Antenatal care, Antenatal care examination standards, and the impact of not having Antenatal care visits. Counseling is presented with media in the form of laptops, infocus, power points, and brochures given to mothers. After completing the counseling activities, a pregnancy examination was carried out in accordance with the standard of examination, it was found that the results of the examination were good for the mother and fetus of all respondents. From the evaluation results, it was found that the respondents understood and understood the importance of antenatal care visits during the COVID-19 pandemic and the respondents were enthusiastic about the material presented, as seen from the questions given by the participants. It is hoped that mothers can carry out pregnancy checks according to the schedule of examinations to midwives or other health facilities regarding the state of physical and psychological health during pregnancy so that they can detect the development and health of the mother and fetus while still implementing strict health protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Causal analysis of vulnerability aims to identify root causes of crises so that transformative solutions might be found. Yet root-cause analysis is absent from most climate response assessments. Framings for climate-change risk analysis often locate causality in hazards while attributing some causal weight to proximate social variables such as poverty or lack of capacity. They rarely ask why capacity is lacking, assets are inadequate or social protections are absent or fail. This contribution frames vulnerability and security as matters of access to assets and social protections. Assets and social protections each have their own context-contingent causal chains. A key recursive element in those causal chains is the ability – means and powers – of vulnerable people to influence the political economy that shapes their assets and social protections. Vulnerability is, as Sen rightly observed, linked to the lack of freedom – the freedom to influence the political economy that shapes these entitlements. In the Anthropocene, human causes of climate hazard must also now be accounted for in etiologies of disaster. However, attention to anthropogenic climate change should not occlude social causes of (and responsibility for) vulnerability – vulnerability is still produced in and by society.


Kumar, Ekula Praveen. M.S.C.S., Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Wright State University, 2022. Few-Shot Malware Detection Using A Novel Adversarial Reprogramming Model. The increasing sophistication of malware has made detecting and defending against new strains a major challenge for cybersecurity. One promising approach to this problem is using machine learning techniques that extract representative features and train classification models to detect malware in an early stage. However, training such machine learning-based malware detection models represents a significant challenge that requires a large number of high-quality labeled data samples while it is very costly to obtain them in real-world scenarios. In other words, training machine learning models for malware detection requires the capability to learn from only a few labeled examples. To address this challenge, in this thesis, we propose a novel adversarial reprogramming model for few-shot malware detection. Our model is based on the idea to re-purpose high-performance ImageNet classification model to perform malware detection using the features of malicious and benign files. We first embed the features of software files and a small perturbation to a host image chosen randomly from ImageNet, and then create an image dataset to train and test the model; after that, the model transforms the output into malware and benign classes. We evaluate the effectiveness of our model on a dataset of real-world malware and show that it significantly outperforms baseline few-shot learning methods. Additionally, we evaluate the impact of different pre-trained models, different data sizes, and different parameter values. Overall, our results suggest that the proposed adversarial reprogramming model is a promising direction for improving few-shot malware detection.


For investigation of function of the male posterior urethra, morphological study was performed in terms of the muscle architecture including sphincter muscle of the posterior urethra. The muscle localization was demonstrated by microdissection in eight male cadavers. Histological examination was also employed with HE staining and immunohistochemical method to detect the nature of these muscles. At the dorsal side, the muscle fibers of the deep trigone were located from the inter-ureteral ridge beyond the bladder neck to the vermontanum surrounding the posterior urethra. They were regarded as the internal urethral sphincter muscles. At the ventral side, the muscle fibers were also found just outside the ventral prostate running from the base to the apex of the prostate. Then, they were circularly located around the membranous urethra. These saddle shaped muscles were proved to be striated muscle by the immunohistochemical examination using anti-Desmin and anti-Myoglobin antibody. Therefore, the external urethral sphincter muscle would consist of the pelvic floor muscles and the urethral sphincter muscles.


Anatomic variations in tibial nerve branches may help explain discrepancies between clinical examination and electrophysiologic tests as to the location of neuronal lesions. Dissection of 20 cadaveric feet (10 pair) along the course of the tibial nerve and its branches confirmed that it bifurcates within 2 cm of the medio-malleolar-calcaneal axis in 90% (18/20) and that it gives off frequent small branches with its accompanying vascular structures. Unlike other studies, however, we found that 60% had multiple calcaneal branches off the tibial nerve and that 20% evidenced previously undescribed accessory innervation to the abductor hallucis muscle from other than the medial plantar nerve.


The probability density function of the first reflection coefficients of adaptive lattice filters is experimentally characterised. Specifically, for small significance levels, the gradient noise at the adaptive coefficients can be modelled as a coloured Gaussian noise process. These coefficients are then used to detect linear FM signals in white Gaussian complex noise.


Clean water is indispensable for the sustenance of life and maintenance of health. However, water quality is threatened by changes in socio-economic developments (population growth, urbanisation, livestock increase and sanitation) and climate (surface air temperature and precipitation patterns). Major water quality contaminants include microorganisms, such as fecal coliforms, Escherichia Coli (E.coli) and pathogens. Microbial contamination poses serious health risks in developing countries like Pakistan, where people do not have access to clean water due to lack of waste water treatment and thorough manure management. Therefore, to reduce the present and future health risk, it is important to understand the impacts of socio-economic development and climate-change on microbial fate and transport in surface water resources in the Kabul River Basin in Pakistan. The objective of this study is quantifying the impact of socio-economic development and climate change on E.coli concentrations in the Pakistani Kabul River. To reach the objective, I sampled E.coli concentrations at several locations in Kabul River, applied statistical and process based modelling, developed future global change scenarios and analysed the impact of these scenarios on E.coli concentrations. I focus on E.coli rather than pathogens, because sampling of pathogens and its chemical analysis are expensive. Kabul River Basin is a tributary of the Indus river and is located in the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalayas (HKH) and suffers from floods every year. The population suffers from a high risk of waterborne diseases. The water is contaminated by direct sewage inputs from large cities, like Peshawar, direct manure inputs from animal sheds along the river and indirect manure inputs from the land. Kabul River Basin is subjected to hazardous levels of microbiological pollution. The concentration of micro-organisms is influenced by hydro-climatic variables, such as water and surface air temperature, precipitation and discharge. However, the net effect of these variables remains thus far unclear. High concentrations of E.coli were found in the main stream and its tributaries (Chapter 2). Samples were collected along the Kabul river and drinking water samples from the city of Nowshera (April 2013 to July 2015) and all surface water samples violate the bathing water criteria and all drinking water samples violate the drinking water criteria. The correlation between hydro-climatic variables and E.coli concentration was analysed. Water temperature and surface air temperature were positively correlated, most likely because high temperatures coincide with high precipitation and discharge. Precipitation and river discharge data were also positively correlated with E.coli concentrations. This shows that precipitation, which increases the surface runoff, transports E.coli and other waterborne pathogens to the river nearby (correlation with precipitation) and further upstream (correlation with discharge). A regression model was also applied that explained 61% of the E.coli variability in surface water and 55% of E.coli variability in drinking water resources, even when other factors, such as location and land-use variables are ignored (Chapter 2). To better understand the hydrology in the basin, the current and future flows of Kabul river were modelled using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), which serves as a basis for the process-based E.coli model. Flash floods occur every year in the basin as a result of increased discharge due to snow and glacier melt together with monsoon precipitation. The Kabul River Basin is one of the most vulnerable regional basin to climate change. The hydrological model was calibrated and validated for the full Kabul River Basin and performed well (NSE equals 0.77 and 0.72 respectively). Flood frequency and expected return period were analysed for a contemporary period (1981-2000) and two future periods (i.e. 2031-2050 and 2081-2100) using the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios based on four bias-corrected downscaled climate models (Chapter 3). The flood frequency analysis shows that the present day's one-in-a-fifty year event could occur between once in every 3 year (EC-EARTH and MIROC climate-models) and once in every 24 years (IPSL climate-model). This study presents climate-change impact assessment in the Kabul River Basin. The selected approach is in general well accepted in the scientific community and the results can be useful in flood management in the region. Outcomes of this study can be helpful for regions that have similar hydro-climatological conditions. To better understand the fate and transport of bacteria from land to water resources and to assess source contribution, the SWAT model was calibrated and validated for E.coli. Our study is the first bacterial modelling study for the Kabul River Basin (Chapter 4). The simulated concentrations have slightly lower variability than the observed concentrations. The model performance could be improved further by using more input E.coli data, but the current model results agree well enough with our measured E.coli concentrations (NSE equals 0.69 and 0.66 for calibration and validation respectively). Based on the pathogen source estimations, point (direct) sources are identified to be the most important microbial pollution sources. Pollution from upstream areas is also important, while non-point (diffuse) sources play a role mostly during the periods with high discharge. Our study underlines the importance of wastewater treatment and manure management both in and upstream of the study area. Studies like ours were lacking in developing countries like Pakistan and can be used for scenario analyses in the region (Chapter 4). The model can be useful in microbial water quality assessments in other watersheds and for pathogenic microorganisms, such as Cryptosporidium and Rotavirus. The calibrated and validated SWAT bacterial model (Chapter 4) was used to assess E.coli concentrations in a comprehensive scenario analysis (Chapter 5). We developed two future scenarios based on state-of-the-art approaches, using the Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs), RCPs and own assumptions in line with the SSP storylines. We took the modelled E.coli concentrations from Chapter 4 as baseline scenarios and defines two future scenarios as Scenario_1 (sustainability scenario) and Scenario_2 (uncontrolled scenario). These scenarios represent different socio-economic development and climate change. The two scenarios were developed by combining SSP1, a sustainable, equitable and environmentally focussed world with RCP4.5 (limed climate change) in Scenario_1, and SSP3 (a divided world, with no interest in the environment) with RCP8.5 (strong climate change) in Scenario_2. Currently, no wastewater treatment plant exists in the basin, because the 2010 floods destroyed the available plants. We assumed excellent and poor wastewater and manure treatment for 2050s and 2100s for Scenario_1 and Scenario_2 respectively, in line with the storylines. Scenario_2 resulted in higher E.coli concentrations compared to the baseline scenarios due to high population growth, poor wastewater and manure treatment and land-use changes. However, microbial water quality was found to improve under Scenario_1. This was achieved by implementing improved and technologically advanced wastewater treatment and manure management. Future concentrations were found to be between 0.6% and 7% of the baseline concentrations depending on the treatment technology used (Chapter 5). This study highlights the need for substantial improvements in wastewater and manure treatment systems in the Kabul River Basin to assure future E.coli concentrations in water sources will be within the limits of WHO and US-EPA regulations for drinking and bathing water quality. The primary treatment facility that is currently installed is a good start, but insufficient to strongly reduce concentrations. Hence major investments are required to install technologically advanced wastewater treatment and manure treatment plants to cut-down the current contamination level of Kabul river. My PhD thesis provides a base for devising optimal coping strategies that are essential for the sustainability of hydrological resources under socio-economic developments and climate-change impacts. The results of our research are helpful to further assess alternative water quality management options. The outcomes of this study also increase the knowledge in the field of microbial fate and transport in water resources in a developing country like Pakistan, where such studies are lacking. A limited number of previous studies on global change impacts on microbial contamination of surface water in other areas of the world focused only on the climate-change impacts on microbial water quality. This is the first study to evaluate the influence of combined socio-economic and climate-change impacts on E.coli concentrations in the Kabul River Basin. The developed SWAT model and scenario analysis can be used for other contaminants, such as nutrients, pesticides and heavy metals. Our study can be a first step to improve water quality of the Kabul River Basin by providing tools for water managers and health specialists to improve the water quality and reduce the risks related to the use of contaminated water resources. This study will be useful not only in this region, but also for other regions of the world with similar microbial water contamination issues.


Joined-up government' (JUG) approaches have emerged in many industrialized countries as a means to tackle persistent wicked' public and social policy problems (Pollit ). Despite this, limited evidence exists concerning their implementation or effectiveness. JUG' was popularized by the Blair Government (UK) with its focus on addressing social exclusion. Following in these footsteps, in 2007 the Australian Government launched the Social Inclusion Agenda: a joined-up approach to improving the wellbeing of all Australians and addressing disadvantage. This paper focuses on findings from a study that examined the SIA as a natural experiment in JUG. Drawing on the implementation experiences of federal policy makers, our findings lend weight to emerging research into JUG that suggests that compatibility and consistency between goals, instruments, and processes is critical to success. We argue that closer attention needs to be given to developing supportive architecture' around joined-up initiatives to facilitate implementation.


ABSTRACT Plastic waste has now spread to every corner of the globe. To avoid wreaking additional havoc on our world, wholesale change is needed. Collaboration, creative rewards, forward-thinking businesses, and consumer demand are all needed for viable and sustainable changes. Starbucks believes a call to action is necessary not only to innovate more environmentally friendly solutions but also to share those solutions in response to an almost unavoidable crisis. To this end, Starbucks has introduced Borrow a Cup, a cup rental program in line with its mission of reducing disposable plastics. This case study has implications for teaching by encouraging students to consider how they might deal with a similar situation if they were in the shoes of those executives, as well as practical implications for what hospitality companies can do to halt nature loss and foster an environment-positive economy.


Background Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) has been widely accepted as a standard treatment option for the patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis with good clinical outcomes. However, some patients suffered from the back pain postoperatively. With the development of minimally invasive endoscopic methods in spine surgery, the current trend of evolution lumbar spinal surgery has been toward endoscopic procedures. Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes and efficacy of endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (ELIF) in the treatment of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis by compare to the standard transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). Methods A total of 93 patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis who had surgery from February 2016 to January 2018 were categorized into different groups depending on the procedure by ELIF or TLIF. The ELIF and TLIF procedures was performed, and the clinical outcomes of blood loss, operation times, hospital stay days, pain index, ODI score, the spondylolisthesis rate and reduction rate, and the disk height and intervertebral foramen height were recorded. Results In ends 86 cases had follow-up at least one year and seven cases lost, and the follow-up rate and followed time were no difference between two groups (P > 0.05). The operational time was longer in ELIF than TLIF (P < 0.01).The hospital days and blood loss were significant less in endoscopic group than TLIF (P < 0.01). The pain index and ODI score, the spondylolisthesis rate and reduction rate, and the disk height and intervertebral foramen height were better than preoperational (P < 0.01), and there were no difference between two groups (P > 0.05). All patients achieved spinal fusion with no cases of cage extrusion, and no infection, and no dural tear of cerebrospinal fluid leakage complication. There were one case of radiculitis (man) at endoscopic group. CT-myelogram revealed the radiculitis patients had normal radiologic findings, and the patient was recovered by neurotrophy drugs and functional exercises after 3 months. Conclusions Endoscopic lumbar decompression and interbody fusion procedures was an effective and safe measure in the treatment of the lumbar spondylolisthesis. Compare to open interbody fusion techniques, endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion was a minimally invasive surgery with less bold loss and earlier postoperative recovery.


On the Spectrum explores the recent flourishing of autistic self-advocates as social actors, stakeholders, and co-creators of autism worlds. In the contentious and contradictory discourses surrounding autism, it considers ways that all participants - medical practitioners, researchers, educators, parents, and autistics - are interested actors. To understand how and why autism worlds both overlap and diverge, contemporary concerns are examined in terms of inherited legacies from earlier historical `turns.' In recent decades, an autism `spectrum' and `epidemic' emerged together as some parent-advocates redirected efforts toward development of biomedical treatments. Autistic self-advocacy simultaneously emerged as a social movement, where previously there had been virtually no recognizably autistic voices heard publicly. Self-advocates locate themselves in relation to powerful discourses shaped by psychiatry, bio-medicine, and cure autism now parent advocacy organizations. Rather than minimize the distance between what have come to be known as pro-cure and pro-acceptance (or neurodiversity) positions, On the Spectrum sustains the tension as necessary for movement toward a re-articulation of contentious encounters.The analytic work is grounded by engagement with autistic self-advocates and participant-observation at autism conferences. Professional, community, and policy meetings are described as important sites of negotiation where public discourses reflect multiple personal and ontological commitments. Actors engage one another in an effort to reformulate ways of talking about and living with autism, understood variously as disease, disability, and difference. A theoretical framework is assembled to consider how autism simultaneously exists as a behavioral disorder and biomedical disease, alongside emergent formulations of autism and autistic personhood which are significantly depathologized. It shows how autism becomes recognizable as a diagnostic category, boundary object, cultural resource, and biosocial entanglement. In the conclusion, an idiom of situated functioning is proposed as a way to rethink normative assessment practices, where notions of intelligence and functioning are understood to be personal qualities and contained fully within individuals. In contrast to how autistic populations are typically labeled as either high-functioning or low-functioning, a non-binary twining of facilities and difficulties productively disrupts the tendency to talk and think about assessment as locating fixed attributes and the upper limits of individual potential.


A result by Dehornoy (1992) says that every nontrivial braid admits a sigma-definite word representative, defined as a braid word in which the generator sigma_i with maximal index i appears with exponents that are all positive, or all negative. This is the ground result for ordering braids. In this paper, we enhance this result and prove that every braid admits a sigma-definite word representative that, in addition, is quasi-geodesic. This establishes a longstanding conjecture. Our proof uses the dual braid monoid and a new normal form called the rotating normal form.


Background Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are two global public health problems. Liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 analogue (GLP-1), is considered an effective option for weight loss. Hence, it is meaningful to understand the impact of GLP-1 therapy on body composition, particularly fat mass percentage (%), in determining health risks associated with obesity. The current meta-analysis and systematic review aimed to appraise and summarize available studies regarding the efficacy of liraglutide on fat mass (%), anthropometrics and glycemic control. Methods Three databases were searched up to March 2022 for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and studies that evaluated the efficacy of liraglutide on T2DM patients: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, and PUBMED: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, and PUBMED. If at least two studies had the same outcome and treatment, a random effect model meta-analysis was used to report pooled mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The protocol of this review was registered in PROSPERO under registration number CRD42022313002. Results From the 4031 articles identified and reviewed, only 5 studies (N = 263 patients) matched the inclusion criteria. Only two out of 3 RCTs have complete data to produce forest plots. No significant changes were observed from the pooled MD for body fat % [−0.56 (−2.63, 1.26)] and weight [−0.68 (−2.63, 1.26)]. A significant change in Hba1c with a pooled MD of −1.25 (−2.13, −0.36) (p = 0.006) was observed. I2 tests were above the threshold of 50% for weight and Hba1c, indicating heterogeneity among the included studies. Conclusion This review suggests that liraglutide is effective in glycemic control with no significant effect on weight and fat mass % among overweight patients with T2DM. It is important to note, however, that the certainty of the available evidence is weak.


These contradictions, however, can be relativized by means of the theory of evolution. Here, Theissen distinguishes biological form from cultural evolution. Both have analogous processes. For example, the tendency of life to preserve particular structures of adaptation through genetic preservation had its cultural analog in tradition. Biological adaptation has its cultural analbg in learning. Biological mutations have their cultural analog in cultural innovations; in religion, the analog would be revelation or a revealer. But there are also fundamental


Management and culture of mangrove oysters may reduce harvesting pressure on natural populations in northern Brazil. Densities of oyster seed, scars and other epibenthos on plastic sheets and bottles were observed over two years at a mangrove island (Ilha Canela), Braganca, Para, northern Brazil. The only oyster species found settling on the substrates was a possibly exotic oyster ( Crassostrea sp. canela) that is closely related to Indo-Pacific Crassostrea and that also occurs in southern China. Densities of seed and scars of Crassostrea sp. canela on bottles were about half those on sheets. Seed and scars predominated (>95% relative abundance) on both collectors. Although densities of other epibenthos were low and irregular, these were positively correlated with densities of seed on both collectors. Oyster seed and barnacles on sheets were more abundant in the wet season. However, in the dry season, seed predominated on the inside of bottles, a refuge from predation or desiccation or both, whereas oyster scars and barnacles were more abundant on the outside. The target species for oyster culture in Para is Crassostrea gasar . Oyster growers are concerned about potential impacts of Crassostrea sp. canela, the larvae of which appear to prefer high salinity. Seed is regular and abundant as densities exceed published figures for several other Crassostrea species. Knowledge of the timing and density of settlement of this oyster and associated epibenthos is important in order to minimize interference during seed collection of target species. The timing and location of seed collection is therefore critical. We also suggest experiments with collectors conditioned with adult Crassostrea gasar shell remnants, as well as those where limited establishment of epibenthos, such as barnacles, has been allowed, in order to maximize spat collection of the target species, C. gasar , along the Para coast.


Purpose: Human corneal endothelial cells (hCECs) pump out water from the stroma and maintain the clarity of the cornea. The sex-determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2) participates in differentiation during the development of the anterior segment of the eye and is found in the periphery of wounded corneas. This study was performed to investigate the effect of SOX2 repression on hCECs. Methods: Cultured hCECs were transfected by siRNA for SOX2. The wound healing rate and cell viability were measured. The cell proliferation-associated protein level was evaluated by Western blotting and RT-PCR. The energy production and mitochondrial function were measured, and cell shape and WNT signaling were assessed. Results: Upon transfecting the cultured cells with siRNA for SOX2, the SOX2 level was reduced by 80%. The wound healing rate and viability were also reduced. Additionally, CDK1, cyclin D1, SIRT1, and ATP5B levels were reduced, and CDKN2A and pAMPK levels were increased. Mitochondrial oxidative stress and mitochondrial viability decreased, and the cell shape became elongated. Furthermore, SMAD1, SNAI1, WNT3A, and β-catenin levels were increased. Conclusion: SOX2 repression disrupts the normal metabolism of hCECs through modulating WNT signaling and mitochondrial functions.


The wikileaks documents about the death of Osama Bin Laden and the debates about the economic crisis in Greece and other European countries are some of the controversial topics being played on the news everyday. Each of these topics has many different aspects, and there is no absolute, simple truth in answering questions such as: should the EU guarantee the financial stability of each member country, or should the countries themselves be solely responsible? To understand the landscape of opinions, it would be helpful to know which politician or other stakeholder takes which position - support or opposition - on these aspects of controversial topics.


The purpose of this paper is to define a new topology called symmetrized omega algebra topology and discuss some of its topological properties. Two different examples from an ordered infinite set of symmetrized omega topology are introduced. Furthermore, we study the relationship between symmetrized omega topology and weaker kinds of normality.


Trypanosoma cruzi is a protozoan parasite and the causative agent of Chagas disease. The T. cruzi protein trans-sialidase (TS) is currently under investigation as a vaccine candidate. There are defects in CD4+ T cell responses after T. cruzi infection as compared to TS vaccination. We sought to compare T cell receptor transgenic (Tg) TS-specific CD4+ T cell responses induced by infection versus vaccination through RNA microarrays. Tg TSaa57-74-specific CD4+ T cells were purified from naïve transgenic mice and activated in vitro by peptide-pulsed DCs or T. cruzi-infected and peptide-pulsed DCs, as well as in vivo by TS-DNA vaccination or T. cruzi infection. At various time points post activation, RNA was extracted from purified Tg CD4+ T cells and analyzed by microarray. In vitro, infection of DCs resulted in an increase in the expression of the signaling molecule Map3k10, the cytokine Il21, and factors involved in cell death/survival in CD4+ T cells. Following in vivo activation, proliferation was similar among Tg T cells stimulated with TS vaccination and T. cruzi infection. The microarray will reveal genes differentially expressed in response to T. cruzi infection with further analysis ongoing. These in vitro and in vivo studies using our transgenic T. cruzi-specific CD4+ T cells suggest that T. cruzi infection and TS vaccination differentially activate CD4+ T cells which may explain the defects in CD4+ T cells observed following T. cruzi infection.


Unstable pelvic ring injuries AO type C ("vertical shear") with a fractured sacrum are treated operatively in less than 50% of the cases (DGU pelvis study group). Furthermore, only 12% of these ORIF involve the sacrum bone itself. No specific technique has gained wide acceptance in treating transsacral instability. In accordance with earlier publications (Käch, Josten) suggesting an internal fixator, we developed the dorsal sacrum fracture distantly anchored ORIF (DSDO). This procedure closes the dorsal pelvic ring by joining the two dorsal iliac crests (fixed-angle screws inserted in the posterior superior iliac spine) and additionally anchors in a lumbar pedicle. Thus, a three-dimensional reduction and stable fixation device with optional local nerve decompression and even plating possibility is achieved. Between January 1996 and July 2001, 35 unstable sacrum disruptions were treated with DSDO in 180 patients operated for pelvic trauma. This allowed immediate mobilization in all cases. The radiologic follow-up examination ( n=20) revealed a solid union in all patients. Complications focused on management of the soft tissue degloving injury (Morel-Lavalleé lesion), which needs special attention.


We investigated the effects of ketoconazole (KCZ) and fluconazole (FCZ) on rat liver microsomal nevirapine (NVP) metabolism in vitro and on NVP plasma profiles in vivo in order to determine whether the in vivo drug interactions could be predicted quantitatively from the in vitro data. The Ki values of KCZ and FCZ for NVP 12-hydroxylation were 1.59 microm and 11.5 microM, respectively, indicating that KCZ inhibited this activity more strongly than FCZ in vitro. In contrast, FCZ orally pre-administered at 20 mg/kg to rats increased the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) of NVP 7.4-fold, whereas KCZ increased it 2.1-fold, compared to the vehicle. We next investigated the inhibitory potency and unbound concentrations of KCZ and FCZ in microsomal mixtures with or without rat albumin. In the presence of albumin, the inhibition by KCZ was greatly decreased. Further, the unbound fraction of KCZ was decreased dramatically to around 3%, whereas more than 90% of FCZ remained in unbound form. When the increase in the AUC for NVP was calculated based on the concentrations of unbound inhibitors in the portal vein, good agreement with the observed in vivo values was obtained.


Objective: Pathological worry is considered to be a defining feature for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) is an instrument for assessing pathological worry. Two earlier studies demonstrated the suitability of the PSWQ as screening instrument for GAD in outpatient and non-clinical samples. This study examined the suitability of the PSWQ as a screening instrument for GAD in a German inpatient sample (N=237). Furthermore, a comparison of patients with GAD and patients with depression and other anxiety disorders regarding pathological worry and depression was carried out in a sub-sample of N=118 patients. Method: Cut-off scores optimizing sensitivity, optimizing specificity and simultaneously optimizing both sensitivity and specificity were calculated for the PSWQ score by receiver operating characteristic analysis (ROC). Differences regarding pathological worry and depression measured by the PSWQ and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) across five diagnostic subgroups were examined by conducting one-way ANOVAs. The influence of depression on pathological worry was controlled by conducting an ANCOVA with BDI score as a covariate. Results: The ROC analysis showed an area under the curve of AUC=.67 (p=0.02) with only 54.4% of the patients correctly classified. Comparison of diagnostic subgroups showed that after controlling the influence of depression, differences referring to pathological worry between diagnostic subgroups no longer existed. Conclusions: Contrary to the earlier results we found that the use of the PSWQ as a screening instrument for GAD at least in a sample of psychotherapy inpatients is not meaningful. Instead of that, the PSWQ can be used to discriminate high from low worriers in clinical samples. Thus, the instrument can be useful in establishing e.g. symptom-oriented group interventions as they are established in behavioural-medicine inpatient settings. Furthermore, our findings stress the influence of (comorbid) depressive symptoms on the process of worrying.


"Infinitival clauses" are constructions with a clausal status whose predicate is an infinitive. Romance infinitive clauses are mostly dependent clauses and can be divided into the following types: argumental infinitival clauses (such as subject and object clauses, the latter also including indirect interrogatives), predicative infinitival clauses, infinitival adjunct clauses, infinitival relative clauses, and nominalized infinitive clauses (with a determiner). More rarely, they appear as independent (main) clauses (root infinitival clauses) of different types, which usually have a marked character.
 Whereas infinitival adjunct clauses are generally preceded by prepositions, which can be argued to be outside the infinitival clause proper (i.e., the clause is part of a prepositional phrase), Romance argumental infinitive clauses are often introduced by complementizers that are diachronically derived from prepositions, mostly de/di and a/à. In most Romance languages, the infinitive itself is morphologically marked by an ending containing the morpheme {r} but lacks tense and agreement morphemes. However, some Romance languages have developed an infinitive that can be inflected for subject agreement (which is found in Portuguese, Galician, and Sardinian and also attested in Old Neapolitan).
 Romance languages share the property of English and other languages to leave the subject of infinitive clauses unexpressed (subject/object control, arbitrary control, and optional control) and also have raising and accusative-and-infinitive constructions. A special property of many Romance languages is the possibility of overtly expressing a nominative subject in infinitival clauses, mostly in postverbal position. The tense of the infinitive clause is usually interpreted as simultaneous or anterior to that of the matrix clause, but some matrix predicates and infinitive constructions trigger a posteriority/future reading. In addition, some Romance infinitive clauses are susceptible to constraints concerning aspect and modality.


Abstract Virtual reality (VR) is gaining mainstream attention, but little is known about the effects of VR advertising (VR ad). This study examined 360-degree video-based advertising, which presented an entire view of the scene and allowed users to pan around the view interactively. In particular, the study sought to answer the following questions: (a) does the effect of VR ad vary when it is viewed with different media devices?; (b) what is the effect of virtual representation of the self (VRS) in VR ad?; and (c) does self-presence mediate the association between VRS and the user's experience with an advertised brand? An experiment (N = 203) was conducted using a 2 (VRS: present vs. absent) × 3 (media devices: smartphone vs. computer vs. head-mounted display) between-subjects design. Primary findings indicate that absence of VRS in VR ad had positive effects on users' liking the ad and favorable attitude toward the advertised brand. Self-presence was found to be a significant mediator that explains why absence of VRS led to favorable experiences. The study did not find any significant difference on VR ad experiences across media devices. Theoretical and practical implications of VR ad were discussed.


Mesenteric cysts are rare benign abdominal lesions that possess the risk of malignant transformation in 3% of reported cases. Most cysts are asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally or during the management of their complications. In the majority of cases, they arise from the mesentery of the small bowel, followed by the mesocolon. We present a case report of a 20-year-old female with an abdominal mesenteric cyst.


Constipation is a gastrointestinal motility disorder that represents a major health problem in Japan. Approximately 26% of young Japanese adult women are reported to have this complaint. We report on the health effects of daily intake of Sujiaonori algal biomaterial (SBM) on constipation on 12 Japanese adult women. Data are from a four-week dietary intervention study on the health effects of daily Sujiaonori supplementation on cardiovascular, skin, and gastrointestinal health in which 32 adult Japanese volunteers (age range: 20–54 years) participated. They underwent clinical and laboratory investigations, and completed two study questionnaires (the brief diet history questionnaire (BDHQ) and the current health questionnaire) before and after dietary intervention. Of the 12 women volunteers with functional constipation, there were six SBM-supplemented subjects who received 3 g of Sujiaonori powder twice daily during meal, whereas the six others (controls) were from the group of those who took 3 g of a power made of 70% corn starch and 30% Japanese spinach mixture. The analysis of data on daily nutrient intake showed no significant dietary changes for nutrients (minerals, proteins, fiber, fat) and calorie intake (except alcohol intake that was reduced) in both groups. In SBM group, a significant reduction of the proportion of women with constipation was observed (p < 0.001), whereas no significant change was noted within the control group (p > 0.05). When both groups were compared, SBM was more effective than the control product; 66.7% (4/6) of SBM-supplemented women had their constipation relieved, whereas only one control (16.7%) controls benefited from dietary intervention (p < 0.001). In addition, no adverse effect was reported in the SBM group, whereas two controls reported nausea at post-survey. These results suggest that Sujiaonori contains compounds that can improve gastrointestinal function and relieve constipation.


Therapeutic means to lower Lp(a) are limited. The most effective method to reduce plasma Lp(a) concentration significantly is therapeutic apheresis, namely, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) apheresis. A novel technique based on reusable LDL adsorber called Lipocollect 200 (Medicollect, Rimbach, Germany) allows the removal of both LDL and Lp(a) from plasma. Two male patients with hyperLp(a)lipoproteinemia and angiographically established progressive coronary heart disease, without rough elevation of LDL-cholesterol, who did not respond to diet and medication were submitted to 50 LDL Lp(a) aphereses with Lipocollect 200 LDL Lp(a)-adsorber at weekly and biweekly intervals. Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol plasma levels fell significantly by 48.3% (+/-6.7) to 61.6% (+/-12.7) (first patient), and 42.5% (+/-6.3) to 60.6% (+/-14.3) (second patient), respectively (all differences: P < or = 0.001). High-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol concentration in plasma did not show statistically significant change. Plasma triglycerides were also significantly reduced by 43.6% (+/-24.4) (first patient) and 42.3% (+/-13) (second patient) (both differences: P < or = 0.001). Plasma Lp(a) showed a statistically significant percent reduction in plasma as expected: 64.7 +/- 9.5 (first patient), and 59.1 +/- 6.7 (second patient) (both differences: P < or = 0.001). Plasma fibrinogen concentration was decreased by 35.9% (+/-18.7) (P < or = 0.05) (first patient) and 41.8% (+/-11.5) (second patient) (P < or = 0.005). Considering the reduction rate between the first and the last procedures, we have compared the mean percent reduction of the first five treatments (from session #1 to #5) with the last five treatments (from session #21 to #25). We have observed an increasing reduction of all activity parameters on both patients apart from HDL-cholesterol (first patient) and triglyceride (second patient) that showed a decreasing reduction rate. Both patients followed the prescribed schedule and completed the study. Clinically, all sessions were well tolerated and undesired reactions were not reported. The Lipocollect 200 adsorber proved to have a good biocompatibility. In this study, the adsorber reusability for several sessions was confirmed.


In 5 picture-word interference experiments the activation of word class information was investigated. The first experiment, in which subjects used bare nouns to describe the pictures, failed to reveal any interference effect of noun distractor words as opposed to closed-class distractor words. In the next 4 experiments the pictures were named by using a definite determiner and the noun completing a sentence fragment. The data demonstrate that noun distractors interfere more strongly with picture naming than do non-noun distractors. This held for both visual and auditory presentation of the distractor words. The interference effect showed up in a time window where semantic interference can usually be observed, supporting the assumption that at an early stage of lexical access semantic and syntactic activation processes overlap.


The uniaxial compressive strength of intact rock is widely used as the sole factor to estimate the side resistance of drilled shafts socketed in rock. However, the side resistance should also depend on in situ rock mass characteristics such as rock type, strength, joint frequency, and weathering conditions. In this study, a new approach is proposed to estimate the side resistance of rock socketed drilled shafts. The approach is based on the GSI rock mass classification, and the Hoek and Brown failure criterion. Inclusion of all these factors into the proposed method explains, to some extent, the differences that are obtained when various empirical methods are used. Comparisons between observed side resistances from field case studies and estimated side resistances with the proposed method show a good correlation. The method appears to be robust since the results are relatively insensitive to estimation from the different rock mass classification and properties and are comparable with predictions from previous empirical correlations.


Antiferromagnetic Co3O4 nanowires with an average diameter of about 8 nm have been synthesized by using the nanocasting route. The nanowires were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. The magnetic measurements show a unidirectional exchange anisotropy accompanied by an enhancement of the field-cooled coercivity at low temperature. These effects suggest the presence of an exchange interaction between the antiferromagnetic core and the surface spins. A strong dependence of the exchange field on the magnitude of the cooling field and a training effect have been observed. The dependence of exchange bias field on temperature reveals the important role played by the antiferromagnetic core in the exchange coupling.


Abstract Little is known about quality of life (QOL) of patients with pancreatic cancer and their caregivers compared with adults with other cancers. This systematic review summarizes the available evidence base, identifies its limitations, and recommends directions for research and clinical application. A systematic review was conducted of research on QOL in adults with pancreatic cancer and their caregivers. Quality of life was examined in the following specific domains: psychological, physical, social, sexual, spiritual, and general. Of the 7130 articles reviewed, 36 studies met criteria for inclusion. Compared with healthy adults or population norms, adults with pancreatic cancer had worse QOL across all domains. Compared with patients with other cancer types, patients with pancreatic cancer evidenced worse psychological QOL. Physical and social QOL were either similar or more compromised than in patients with other cancers. Limited data preclude conclusions about sexual, spiritual, and caregiver QOL. Patients with pancreatic cancer evidence decrements in multiple QOL domains, with particular strain on psychological well-being. Methodological limitations of available studies restrict definitive conclusions. Future research with well-defined samples, appropriate statistical analyses, and longitudinal designs is needed. Findings from this review support the merits of distress screening, integration of mental health professionals into medical teams, and attention to caregiver burden.


The use of online discussion forums has be come popular among people with health prob lems. Online forums' users exchange and share personal experiences and feelings with strangers. The computer-mediated communication has spe cial features which attract a wide variety of indi viduals suffering from health conditions and/or their caregivers. In addition to the 24 hour avail ability and the absence of barriers imposed by geographic location, research suggests special characteristics of online discussion groups such as: a better way for people to express themselves than in face to face encounters, access to a wide variety of health information, a possibility to re veal personal and private information anony mously or the therapeutic effects of writing about health problems. Although there is some scientific evidence which suggests the positive effects of internet discussion groups participa tion on users' well-being, more controlled studies are needed.


During the production and assessment of transgenic plants resistant to quarantine viruses, the need to contain genetically modified plants (GMPs) and pathogens severely limits working options. Moreover, in the case of fruit trees, acclimatisation and viral inoculation are very time-consuming, thus a quick and safe method to assess the resistance to quarantine viruses, such as Plum pox virus (PPV), is desirable. This article focuses on the production of transgenic plums together with a contained and rapid evaluation in vitro for PPV resistance. The plum 'Stanley' was transformed by Rhizobium radiobacter (syn. Agrobacterium tumefaciens) using a PPV-M derived hairpin construct (h-UTR/P1) that had previously been shown to confer high and broad-spectrum PPV resistance in model plant. Two transgenic clones, St24 and St28, were obtained. To assess their ability to resist PPV infection, micropropagated shoots of the transgenic clones were micrografted in vitro onto PPV-D infected 'GF305' rootstock. Following successful grafting, the transgenic scions were analysed by immunocapture-reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (IC-RT-PCR) for PPV detection. A total of 97% (47/48) of St24 and 73% (17/23) of St28 tested plants were resistant to the heterologous strain of PPV. In line with an RNA silencing mediated resistance mechanism, the St24 clone was shown to accumulate higher concentration of PPV UTR/P1-specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) than St28 one. The results are of practical interest not only developing plum clones that are highly resistant to PPV, but also for setting up quick and contained inoculation test procedure.


A fistula is defined as an abnormal communication between two organs, an organ and the skin, or an organ and a wound. Up to 70% of patients with fistulae present with malnutrition. Enteral nutrition (EN) has considerable advantages over parenteral nutrition (PN) support, including improved gut barrier function, a reduction in infectious morbidity and improved immune function. EN support remains the preferred route of nutrition support in patients with fistulae, unless it causes a significant increase in fistula output, abdominal pain or exacerbates diarrhoea. Fistuloclysis, i.e. enteral feeding via an intestinal fistula, is an effective means of providing nutritional support to these patients and can replace the need for PN support.


Abstract This work shows how the problem of modelling fluids motion can be addressed in Modelica. This innovative approach makes possible to face such a problem in a multi-physic modelling language as Modelica is. In this way it is possible to simulate together the fluid and the system that interact with it, without any additional effort and taking advantage of the Modelica libraries representing buildings, power plants, water treatment systems, HVAC and so forth.


Heteroatom-doped carbon materials have attracted significant attention because of their applications in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and supercapacitors. Here we demonstrate a facile poly(o-methylaniline)-derived fabrication of bifunctional microporous nitrogen-doped carbon microspheres (NCMSs) with high electrocatalytic activity and stability for ORR and energy storage in supercapacitors. At a pyrolysis temperature of 900 °C, the highly dispersed NCMSs present a high surface area (727.1 m(2) g(-1)), proper total content of doping N, and high concentration of quaternary N, which exhibit superior electrocatalytic activities for ORR to the commercial Pt/C catalysts, high specific capacitance (414 F g(-1)), and excellent durability, making them very promising for advanced energy conversion and storage. The presented conducting polymer-derived strategy may provide a new way for the fabrication of heteroatom-doped carbon materials for energy device applications.


African mountain bamboos are something of a mystery, as nearly all bamboos are found in Asia or South America. Hidden away up mountains in the tropics where they provide food for gorillas, just as China's bamboos provide food for the Giant Panda, there are apparently only 2 species, and they had not been examined in very great detail, except by the gorillas. It had been thought that they were very closely related to the hundreds of similar bamboos in Asia, but their respective ranges are separated by thousands of miles. As flowering in bamboos is such a rare event, spreading by seed takes a very long time, and the suspicion arose that they might be old enough to represent new genera, and possibly could even be remnants of the earliest temperate bamboos, which spread to Asia on drifting tectonic plates. A new study published in the open access journal PhytoKeys, studies the diversity and evolution of African bamboo.


The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of organizational culture on the dimensions of the learning organization of staff and managers of free universities in Guilan province. This research was a descriptive-survey type. The statistical population of this study included all staff and administrators of free universities in Guilan province. Cochran's formula was used to determine the sample size and a sample of 270 people was selected by simple random sampling method. Data collection tools were standard questionnaires of Robbins (1996) and Marsik and Watkins (2003). Data analysis was performed by means of structural equation model test. The findings of this study showed that the research model is appropriate and the organizational culture is effective on the dimensions of the learning organization. Based on the results of this study, it is better that the effective role of organizational culture be seriously reviewed and emphasized by the management of educational organizations.


Housing value and family risk financial asset investment have received more and more attention from academia in recent years. This article uses the empirical findings of the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) in 2015 to find that housing assets will not only significantly increase household participation in risky financial assets, but also increase household investment in risky financial assets. Furthermore, using the value-added of housing wealth as an instrumental variable to conduct research, it is found that the effect of housing wealth still exists significantly. The above research has important theoretical and practical significance for optimizing the allocation of household assets, improving the quality of people's lives, and improving the level of capital market in the context of rising housing prices.


The advancements in manufacturing organisations are focused towards the direction of reducing the cycle times, lead times and different manufacturing costs for timely delivery of the product. This trend has led companies to exploit lean manufacturing principles which concentrate deeply on the reduction of the cycle times. This paper proposes a framework and develops a methodology for improving the performance in each stage of the considered manufacturing unit by maximising the value of the product through minimisation of waste. As a first step, the time required for all the processes in the manufacturing of the links and rollers had been identified using time and work study. Thereafter, in the second part, value stream mapping method (VSM) is used to determine the value added (VA) and non-value added (NVA) activities in the process. Moreover, the proposed approach and the framework is demonstrated and some managerial insights are derived from the numerical results.


In modern conditions of implementation Islamic model of banking, the issues of increasing efficiency of its activities and ensuring the long-term stability of Islamic banks come to the fore. Article analyzes the activities of Islamic banks in the post-crisis period, both in the global Islamic banking sector as a whole, and in the context of individual countries in which Islamic banks are predominantly or significantly represented, as well as financial risks that pose a threat of losses for Islamic banks. It has been concluded that the Islamic financial system is becoming one of the most important components of the international financial system, and Islamic banks within the global financial system are becoming more recognized and competitive, as they demonstrate a sufficiently high efficiency and stability of activity, a positive trend of development. Analysis found that Islamic banking has demonstrated its reliability and stability in the post-crisis period and continues to be a viable and effective mechanism of financial intermediation in the conditions of global financial system instability. The differences in the functioning and performance of Islamic banks in different countries within a single consolidated Islamic banking system have been revealed, a comparative analysis effectiveness of banking sectors a number of Muslim countries has been given, the directions of development of Islamic banking in them have been shown. Conclusions have been drawn on the need for Islamic banks to introduce effective mechanisms for monitoring and managing financial and investment risks in order to increase their ability to withstand adverse external factors, since in the future, despite the positive trends in the activities of Islamic banks, there are potential financial risks due to the growth of their current costs associated with the possibility of potential deterioration in the quality of assets and reduction in the level of profit.


ABSTRACT Rhodococcus rhodochrous PY11 (DSM 101666) is able to use 2-hydroxypyridine as a sole source of carbon and energy. By investigating a gene cluster (hpo) from this bacterium, we were able to reconstruct the catabolic pathway of 2-hydroxypyridine degradation. Here, we report that in Rhodococcus rhodochrous PY11, the initial hydroxylation of 2-hydroxypyridine is catalyzed by a four-component dioxygenase (HpoBCDF). A product of the dioxygenase reaction (3,6-dihydroxy-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin-2-one) is further oxidized by HpoE to 2,3,6-trihydroxypyridine, which spontaneously forms a blue pigment. In addition, we show that the subsequent 2,3,6-trihydroxypyridine ring opening is catalyzed by the hypothetical cyclase HpoH. The final products of 2-hydroxypyridine degradation in Rhodococcus rhodochrous PY11 are ammonium ion and α-ketoglutarate.


The present study was conducted in Seloo Panchayat Samiti, District Wardha of Maharashtra State. In total 150 respondents were selected and interviewed for the study. The findings indicated that 74.66 per cent respondents did not chop the farm waste before putting into compost p:t, followed by higher technological gap in adoption of improved compost making method like use of compost culture for better quality compost (71.33%). On an average 14.66 per cent respondents had no technological gap whereas in case of 45.33 per cent respondents the technological gap was higher.


SEPT. 8, 1950, one hundred years will have passed since Paul Gerson Unna, one of the great dermatologic masters, was born. This date is most appropriate for the honoring of the memory of a great genius who, through his fundamental and elaborate work, helped to build a safe and lasting foundation for the recognition of dermatology within medical science and who, through his painstaking studies, made many important contributions to the specialty. It will be to Unna's everlasting credit to have been the first dermatologist who, from the beginning of his career, tried to link together clinical aspects, etiology, histology and therapy of skin diseases. He was the founder of dermatology as a branch of the exact natural sciences and the creator of modern dermatopathology and dermatotherapy. He early recognized that only a biologic conception of skin diseases could lead to real dermatologic science. Although many of the discoveries


Using data collected by the Birth‐to‐Twenty child cohort study in urban South Africa, this paper describes the patterns of schooling of a population of children born in the Greater Johannesburg area in April to June 1990. This paper examines the patterns of initial enrolment in Grade 1, transitions through grades, and trends in primary school completion. The vast majority of children in the Birth‐to‐Twenty cohort entered school in the year they turned 6 or 7, and almost all were still enrolled at the age of 15, the end of compulsory schooling in South Africa. While only a very small number of children in the study are excluded from formal schooling, the study reveals relatively high rates of repetition, specifically for boys living in working‐class and poor neighbourhoods.


Cortical neurodegeneration-induced non-fluent/agrammatic variant of primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA) is a clinical syndrome characterized by non-fluent speech, such as apraxia of speech or agrammatism. We describe the case of an 80-year-old right-handed woman who exhibited nfvPPA. Atypically, our patient also presented with generalized auditory agnosia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed left-sided predominant atrophy of the bilateral perisylvian area, including the inferior frontal and superior temporal lobes. In a series of auditory tasks assessing generalized auditory agnosia, our patient was unable to accurately identify verbal sounds, environmental sounds, or familiar Japanese songs that she could sing. In the context of recent studies, our study indicates the existence of a clinical syndrome characterized by progressive speech disorder with auditory agnosia. This case report thus provides novel insights into the spectrum of language impairment induced by neurodegenerative disease.


BACKGROUND
We have previously reported that 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1alpha,25(OH)2D3] accumulates in the dialysis fluid of uremic patients treated by continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). It has been reported that this metabolite regulates the production of cytokines by monocytes/macrophages. Since tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) initiates an inflammatory cascade during peritonitis, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of 1alpha, 25(OH)2D3 on the production of TNF-alpha by human peritoneal macrophages (HPMs).

METHODS
HPMs were obtained from patients on CAPD. Cells were incubated with various concentrations of 1alpha, 25(OH)2D3, 1alpha,24(S) dihydroxyvitamin D2 [1alpha,24(S)(OH)2D2] or 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-OH-D3) for 16 hours. This was followed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 microg/mL) incubation for 2.5 to 6 hours. TNF-alpha protein production was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. TNF-alpha mRNA was assayed by the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction procedure, using internal synthetic mRNA standards for quantitative results.

RESULTS
Incubation of HPMs with 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 prior to stimulation with LPS dose dependently inhibited the expression of TNF-alpha on both mRNA and protein levels. Similar results were obtained with the less calcemic vitamin D2 analogue 1alpha,24(S)(OH)2D2. Incubation of HPMs with 25-OH-D3 also revealed a down-regulation of TNF-alpha expression. Since this down-regulatory effect was blocked by ketoconazole, it is likely that this effect was caused by the conversion of 25-OH-D3 into 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 by HPMs.

CONCLUSIONS
1alpha,25(OH)2D3 has a potent inhibitory effect on the production of TNF-alpha by LPS-activated HPMs. We hypothesize that 1alpha, 25(OH)2D3 may constitute a regulatory mechanism that, by controlling the intensity of the inflammatory response of the peritoneum, will moderate tissue damage during peritonitis.


Abstract Background The effectiveness of the quadrivalent live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV4) and inactivated influenza vaccines (IIV) has been evaluated in recent seasons using a number of different study designs (e.g., randomized controlled studies [RCT], cohort studies and test-negative case–control [TNCC] studies). Effectiveness estimates from these studies have, in general, had very broad confidence intervals reflecting the small numbers of cases reported. We conducted a meta-analysis to more precisely estimate the effectiveness of both vaccine types for the 2016–2017 season. Methods LAIV4 and IIV efficacy and effectiveness studies conducted over the 2016–2017 influenza season were identified from the published literature and through personal communication with the study investigators. Effectiveness estimates from all available study designs were included in the meta-analysis to maximize use of all available data and because all studies included methods to minimize bias. The analysis provided average estimates of the LAIV4 and IIV efficacy across countries. A sensitivity analysis limited to TNCC studies was also conducted. Only effectiveness results for A/H3N2 strains were combined as circulation of other strains was minimal. The meta-analyses used a random effects model. Heterogeneity testing was performed. Results Seven studies conducted in children in the United States, Japan, Finland, Germany, thr UK, and Canada were identified including four TNCC studies, one cohort study and one RCT (Figure 1). Individual effectiveness estimates ranged from 29% to 74% for LAIV4 and from 31% to 56% for IIV. Heterogeneity testing for H3N2 strains was not statistically significant. The consolidated effectiveness estimate across studies for LAIV4 was 44% (95% CI: 24, 58) and for IIV was 45% (95% CI: 29, 58). Estimates for the sensitivity analysis limited to TNCC studies were 61% (95% CI: 40, 74) and 43% (95% CI: 32, 52) for LAIV4 and IIV, respectively. Conclusion Despite variability in estimates across studies, both LAIV4 and IIV showed moderate and comparable effectiveness in children for circulating H3N2 strains during the 2016–2017 influenza season. Disclosures R. Mallory, MedImmune: Employee, Salary. A. Bandell, AstraZeneca: Employee, Salary. C. S. Ambrose, AstraZeneca: Employee, Salary. J. Yu, GSK: Employee, Salary and Stockholder.


Introduction: To study the ocular changes in patients on long term treatment with Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ); and detect means for early detection of toxicity. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study at a tertiary care hospital, in which 100 patients, male and female, aged 35 years or more, taking HCQ for 5 years or more were included. Patients with any known ocular or systemic diseases were not included. Indication, dosage, duration and cumulative dose of HCQ intake were recorded. History of ocular symptoms, visual acuity, colour vision, complete ophthalmic examination, visual field using Amsler grid and 10-2 Humphrey's automated fields (HVF), Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT), colour fundus photography, fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and fundus autofluorescence (FAF) were recorded. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential analysis. Result: 15% of the study population showed signs of HCQ related ocular toxicity. 17%, 21% and 10% patients had abnormal SD-OCT, HVF and FAF findings respectively. Conclusion: HCQ related ocular toxicity has been found in patients in the absence of symptoms. Objective tests like HVF, SDOCT and FAF were more useful in early detection of toxicity than subjective tests such as Amsler grid, colour vision and FFA.


Lipid transfer proteins mediate the exchange of lipids between closely apposed membranes at organelle contact sites and play key roles in lipid metabolism, membrane homeostasis, and cellular signaling. A recently discovered novel family of lipid transfer proteins, which includes the VPS13 proteins (VPS13A-D), adopt a rod-like bridge conformation with an extended hydrophobic groove that enables the bulk transfer of membrane lipids for membrane growth. Loss of function mutations in VPS13A and VPS13C cause chorea acanthocytosis and Parkinson's disease, respectively. VPS13A and VPS13C localize to multiple organelle contact sites, including endoplasmic reticulum (ER) – lipid droplet (LD) contact sites, but the functional roles of these proteins in LD regulation remains mostly unexplored. Here we employ CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing to generate VPS13A and VPS13C knockout cell lines in U-2 OS cells via deletion of exon 2 and introduction of an early frameshift. Analysis of LD content in these cell lines revealed that loss of either VPS13A or VPS13C results in reduced LD abundance under oleate-stimulated conditions. These data implicate two lipid transfer proteins, VPS13A and VPS13C, in LD regulation.


A new method for the determination of trace Sb in plastic pipes for drinking water was found. Cu is used as a matrix modifier in the transverse-orientation Zeeman background dedution GFAAS to determine trace Sb in plastic pipes for drinking water rapidly. The ashing temperature and atomization temperature were obtained by optimization process. The influences of medium acidity were studied. The best measurement conditions were selected. The sensitivity and precision of the method were improved. Sb was detected directly with a linear range of 0.27-20.0 microg x L(-1). The equation of working curve is Y = 0.0068X - 0.0002, r = 0.9996. The characteristic mass of the method is 6.7 pg. The detection limit is 5.4 pg. The recovery is 92.2%-102.5%. The RSDs were obtained from the data of 6 determinations at the concentration level of 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0 microg x L(-1) is 6.47%, 4.97% and 2.45% respectively. The method is simple, rapid, accurate and of highly sensitive and precise. Satisfactory results are obtained.


Abstract The regulation of the energy sector in the EU adresses different challenges in pursuance of ensuring the functioning of the energy system. One of the most pressing current energy issues in the EU is household access to energy services, which is acknowledged as social justice concern. Provided that access to universal service in the EU is recognised as a right of households, the article aims to introduce the advanced concept of energy justice desiged for the investigation of households' ability to access sufficient energy service in the EU. The article is organized in three parts. The first part specifies the roots of energy justice. The second part assesses whether the constituent elements of energy justice comply with EU fuonding values. Lastly, the more comprehensive concept of energy justice is presented with underlying rationale.


Secretion is an essential duty for prokaryotes to better interact with their surroundings or host. In particular, the production of extracellular proteins and peptides is important in many aspects of survival and organism adaptation to its ecological niche. Secretion systems in bacteria are multi component protein structures used to transport molecules across bacterial membranes. Secretion systems are usually classified into 7 groups: Type I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VI and chaperons navigating the pathways are also a part of the system. Since this systems can transport a variety of different pathogenic factors outside of the bacterial cell and establish the ability to communicate with the environment in which the bacteria live. This is important about the human pathogenic bacteria because by understanding the components and functions of these protein transport systems, we can find the right solution to deal with them. Furthermore, these systems can be used for biological fights.


This investigation is the second in a series to examine a potential source of reduced intelligibility in dysarthric speech, namely the mismatch between listeners' perceptual strategies and the acoustic information available in the dysarthric speech signal. Lexical boundary error (LBE) analysis was conducted on listener transcripts from phrases produced by speakers with hypokinetic dysarthria, ataxic dysarthria, and normal controls. By design, the hypokinetic and ataxic dysarthric tapes elicited similar intelligibility (words-correct) scores. However, they elicited different numbers and patterns of lexical boundary errors. The nature of the error pattern differences can be traced to the listeners' use of available syllabic strength information to segment the acoustic stream. Specifically, although both dysarthric speech samples elicited numerous lexical boundary errors, those for the hypokinetic speech generally conformed to predictions offered from studies of degraded normal speech. Those for the ataxic speech did not conform strongly to such predictions. It appears that the prosodic deficits of the ataxic speech (tendency toward syllabic isochrony, excessive loudness variation, and reduced vowel working space consequent to reductions in vowel strength) posed more of a problem for listeners than did the prosodic deficits of the hypokinetic speech (rapid rate, monotony, reduced vowel working space).


We derive a general optimal income tax formula when individuals respond along both the intensive and extensive margins and when income effects can prevail. Individuals are heterogeneous across two dimensions: their skill and their disutility of participation. Prefer-ences over consumption and work effort can differ with respect to the level of skill, with only the Spence-Mirrlees condition being imposed. Employing a new tax perturbation approach that integrates the nonlinearity of the tax function into the behavioral elasticities, we derive a fairly mild condition for optimal marginal tax rates to be nonnegative everywhere. Numerical simulations using U.S. data confirm the mildness of our conditions. The extensive margin strongly reduces the level of optimal marginal tax rates.


Despite six empirical studies published since 2000 designed to assess fund managers' REIT selection ability, their skill remains in question. Unlike previous studies, we examine fund holdings and trades of REITs to answer this question. This allows us to account for portfolio rebalancing that alters REIT-characteristic weights of fund portfolios. All REITs held by funds at each report date are matched to benchmark portfolios of REITs that share similar characteristics. Results show that real estate mutual fund managers, after controlling for size, property type shifting, and momentum, generated significant positive alpha with their securities selection ability as predicted by Grossman and Stiglitz (1980). To understand the sources of such ability, we examine whether fund managers that follow certain trading strategies outperform relative to other managers. The potential investment strategies we examine are related to geographic concentration, public and private real estate valuation, income and appreciation styles, and leverage of the underlying REITs. Exploring these investment strategies, we find that fund managers that focus on geographically concentrated REITs generate higher returns to investors, especially in the later years, consistent with the findings of Capozza and Seguin (1999).


In recent years, global warming leads rainfall intensity stronger than before. Therefore, bridge management requires a reliable monitoring platform in current, to monitoring of bridge piers based on the variations of safety and river erosion, can be timely warming of the bridge damage, achieving the maintenance of bridges safety in the flood. In view of bridge design and construction technology, the bridge engineering technology has matured, however monitoring and maintenance are important factors in the safety of the bridge. And increased with time, no matter how good engineering, high safety factor and then the bridge has aged, the incidence of deterioration, plus traffic overload, the role of erosion and earthquakes, needs more strengthen its safety monitoring and maintenance to ensure safety. Having this in mind, maintaining the safety of the bridge, this research focus on Chung Sha Bridge on Zhuo-shui River. This research installed accelerometer and inclinometer with the correction of the GPS function around substructure and superstructure of bridge, figured out the bridge scour monitoring technologies associated with natural frequency. And used wireless sensor network to monitor bridge disaster, in the end show whole monitor information on web-based system which developed by this research. This research also through long-term monitoring of scour erosion depth and model parameters such as vibration frequency to derive a similar formula. In addition, by way of remote monitoring management platform also improve the accuracy of the bridge monitor, it provide engineers, bridge maintenance unit a more efficient tool.


This study presents single-input double-output unidirectional and bidirectional dc-dc buck converters, for applications that demand two dc-controlled output voltages. The proposed converters present a component count reduction and it is considered as a monolithic device with two output voltages generated by the same power converter. The main advantages of the proposed converters are reduction of costs and better power losses distribution among the semiconductor devices. Besides the proposal of suitable power converters, this study presents their models, control strategies, modulation approaches and design specification. The selected simulated and experimental results are presented as well.


Bridged organosilicates have recently emerged as potential ultra-low-k (ULK) candidates for the 32 nm technology node and beyond due to their superior mechanical properties [1]. While the organic bridge provides enhanced network connectivity, the presence of terminal Si-Me groups has the opposite effect. Predicting the influence of the precursor structure and network connectivity on resulting material mechanical properties would be of tremendous interest to the semiconductor industry. Toward that goal, we have developed computational tools to generate highly accurate molecular models of a broad range of ULK organosilicates and make quantitative predictions about both their elastic and fracture properties (Fig 1) [2]. Here we demonstrate the enormous potential of these models for guiding the molecular design of new ULK materials to enable reliable integration in the future technology nodes.


A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is composed of autonomous devices called sensor nodes that generally have low computational power, limited data transmission and power constraints. AWSN consists of sensor nodes that capturing information from an environment, processing data and transmitting them via radio signals. WSNs are increasingly present in our days and can be found in environmental area (climatic measurements, presence of smoke), in health area (measurement of vital signs, temperature), home automation (motion sensor and image sensor) and other areas. Generally, WSNs have no fixed structure, and in many cases there is no monitoring station of sensor nodes during the operational life of the network, so a WSNmust have mechanisms for self-configuration and adaptation in case of failure, inclusion or exclusion of a sensor node.


Bilateral pneumothoraces is a rare presentation. Here we discuss a case with Bilateral spontaneous pneumothoraces secondary to Tuberous sclerosis. Tuberous sclerosis is a rare autosomal dominant disease characterized by numerous benign tumors in different parts of the body caused by mutations in either of two different genes ,TSC1 and TSC2. We had a 16 years old girl presented with bilateral spontaneous pneumothoraces. She had a history of left nephrectomy for angiomyolipoma (AML) of left kidney at the age 13 and an episode of fits at the age of 1 month. On examination she had multiple papules on face and neck (adenomasebaceum).High resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) chest showed bilateral multiple small cysts and pneumothoraces both sides. She was managed with prompt chest intubation bilaterally for lungs re-expansion, oxygen therapy, intravenous antibiotics and chest physiotherapy with resolution of the pneumothoraces. nical presentation, in particular IgG4- Related disease (IgG4-D) is not clear.


The article described the Unified National Marketplace will be the only mechanism for the sale of domestically produced goods throughout the world through online access, and organizing online receipt of multicurrency payments, thus facilitating the costs associated with organizing trade in goods locally and abroad. One of the main points is the organization of receiving multi-currency payment and simplifying the difficulties associated with the export of products manufactured in the Republic of Uzbekistan, will also allow businesses and individuals to provide their goods to personal stores.There are several types of electronic trading platforms - for commercial customers, for placing government orders. The sites on which electronic transactions are performed by commercial customers are divided into specialized and multi-profile. Users, participants of the sites, held auctions and trades themselves can decide on which of the sites it is more convenient and profitable to work with. In addition, on a multiprofile resource the customer can act as a supplier, the seller - this is dependent on the scope of his activities, on the possibilities.
 Keywords: multi-functional electronic trading platform, information flow, data flow, information flow objects, users, customers, suppliers.


A study of the relationship between positive inotropic effects of convallatoxin and changes in the myocardial intracellular concentrations of Camp was performed. 1. Positive inotropic effects of convallatoxin in 6 anesthetized dogs: the preejection period(PEP), isometric contraction time(ICT) and maximum rate of rise of intraventricular pressure(dp/dtmax) were measured from simultaneous recordings of the electrocardiogram, phonocardiogram, aortic pressure and a chest pneumograph employing a multichannel polygram system. The maximal effects of convallatoxin on the elevation of myocardial contractility occurred in 45 min after an iv of 0.03 mg/kg. At this time, the PEP was significantly reduced from 91±5 ms to 78±4 ms, the IVCT was reduced from 49±4 ms to 37±3 ms, while the dp/dtmax was reapidly increased to a maximum of 124% of the control level. 2. Effects of convallatoxin on myocardial intracellular cAMP concentrations in guinea pig and rat hearts: the hearts of 80 guinea pigs were excised and Camp was measured in 30 min following the injections of covallatoxin at therapeutic doses (0.05, 0.1 and 0.15 mg/kg) or a toxic dose (0.3 mg/kg). The mean values of myocardial Camp concentrations showed no significant deviations from those of control guinea pigs. Similar results were obtained on 18 rats. 3. Effects of convallatoxin on plasma cAMP of anesthetized dogs: forty-five min after the iv of convallatoxin 0.03 mg/kg, a significant increase of Camp concentration in peripheral blood from 31±5 to 41±4 pmol/mL (n=6) was revealed. When the dose of convallatoxin reached 0.06 mg/kg, the blood plasma cAMP concentration was elevated from 38±3 to 73±11 pmol/mL(n=8) in 30 min following the injection. From the above results, it may be concluded that the augmentation of myocardial contractility induced by convallatoxin was not mediated via myocardial intracellular cAMP.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between service evaluation, corporate image, switching barriers, and customers' intentional loyalty. The proposed model was tested and valuated in the mobile services context. A field survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire about the investigated concepts. To test the proposed hypotheses, a model was constructed and estimated using the method of partial least squares. Findings indicate that service evaluation constructs have both direct and indirect effects, through customer satisfaction and corporate image, on customers' intentional loyalty. The outcomes suggest that marketers, in their effort to develop more customer-oriented marketing plans, should consider both the pool-in factors, reflecting the value of the provided services, customer satisfaction, and corporate image, and the interactions among them, as well as the push-back factors, as they all impact on customers' behavioral intentions. The research was limited to one service setting and the proposed model should be cross-validated in other service settings before the relationships among its components are fully clarified. Also, the use of cross-section design reduces inference ability regarding temporal changes in research constructs. This article contributes in adding to the body of the existing knowledge by considering both corporate image and switching barriers, along with service evaluation constructs, as antecedents of consumer's intentions determination, resulting in a model that has not been investigated thus far.


Understanding social interactions from first-person views is crucial for many applications, ranging from assistive robotics to AR/VR. A first step for reasoning about interactions is to understand human pose and shape. However, research in this area is currently hindered by the lack of data. Existing datasets are limited in terms of either size, annotations, ground-truth capture modalities or the diversity of interactions. We address this shortcoming by proposing EgoBody, a novel large-scale dataset for social interactions in complex 3D scenes. We employ Microsoft HoloLens2 headsets to record rich egocentric data streams (including RGB, depth, eye gaze, head and hand tracking). To obtain accurate 3D ground-truth, we calibrate the headset with a multi-Kinect rig and fit expressive SMPL-X body meshes to multi-view RGB-D frames, reconstructing 3D human poses and shapes relative to the scene. We collect 68 sequences, spanning diverse sociological interaction categories, and propose the first benchmark for 3D full-body pose and shape estimation from egocentric views. Our dataset and code will be available for


The extended rotation-vibration model, which consists of an asymmetric rotor and breathing mode deformation vibrations, was applied to several even-A samarium and gadolinium isotopes. The comparison between the theoretical and experimental energy levels and the comparison with other model calculations are presented. Also shown are the comparison between the experimental and theoretical B(E2) ratios for the isotopes studied. 1 figure, 2 tables.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the effectiveness and long-term results of percutaneous treatment for hydatid liver cysts in pediatric patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty-four pediatric patients (15 male, 19 female; ages 4-17 years; mean age, 9.4 years) with 51 hydatid liver cysts underwent ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous treatment with albendazole prophylaxis. There were 15 type II lesions with membrane detachment and 36 type I lesions resembling simple hepatic cysts with pure anechogenic content or small echogenic reflections and a regular well-delineated wall. The method of US-guided puncture, aspiration, injection of hypertonic saline solution, and reaspiration was preferred for 21 lesions. For the remaining 30 larger cysts, the intervention was performed with the same percutaneous technique but followed by catheterization, drainage, control cystography, and sclerotherapy with ethanol. During follow-up, US examinations were performed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months for the first year and yearly thereafter.

RESULTS
Percutaneous treatment of hepatic hydatid disease was successful in 33 patients (97.1%). During follow-up, US findings in the lesions changed significantly; at year 1, the inner content of the lesions became heterogeneous with a semisolid appearance, and the mean reduction in volume was 81.4%. At 2-year follow-up, most hydatid cysts had become solid in nature and the reduction in volume reached 65%-99% (mean, 85.1%). There were no recurrences or additional lesions after the follow-up of 1-6 years (mean, 3.1 years). Average hospital stay for the whole group in this study was 3.5 days.

CONCLUSIONS
The long-term results of percutaneous liver hydatid cyst treatment in children are in accordance with the results in adults. Percutaneous treatment of uncomplicated type I and type II liver hydatid cysts in pediatric patients is an efficient and safe treatment with short hospitalization.


Previous studies have suggested that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), contained in fish oil, prevents brain disease. In the current study, the effect of fish oil feeding on gene expression in the brain was investigated by suppression subtractive hybridization. We found that pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha (PDHE1α) mRNA expression is down-regulated by fish oil feeding. We examined whether the expression of PDHE1α mRNA is altered by DHA treatment in differentiated PC12 cells. PDHE1α mRNA was reduced by supplementation of DHA with a significant decrease in cellular ATP level. These results indicate that fish oil feeding might modulate energy metabolism in the brain.


The self-assembly of calf brain tubulin, purified by the modified Weisenberg procedure, was examined in an adiabatic differential heat capacity microcalorimeter. Tubulin solutions at concentrations between 6 and 17 mg/mL were heated from 8 to 40 degrees C at heating rates between 0.1 and 1.0 deg/min in a pH 7.0 phosphate buffer containing 1 X 10(-3) M GTP, 1.6 X 10(-2) M MgCl2, and 3.4 M glycerol. The heat capacity change, deltaCp of the microtubule growth reaction was found to be -1600 +/- 500 cal/(deg mol) per 110 000 molecular weight tubulin dimer incorporated into microtubules, in agreement with the reported van't Hoff deltaCp value of -1500 cal/(deg mol) [Lee, J.C., & Timasheff, S.N. (1977) Biochemistry 16, 1754-1765]. The assembly reaction is characterized by a complex heat uptake pattern comprising both endothermic and exothermic processes.


A short overview is given of the evidence supporting the existence of subtypes of 5-HT1 receptors. As 5-HT1 receptors were first described using radioligand binding studies, a brief description of 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT1C and 5-HT1D receptor binding is given. Then, recent data obtained in biochemical, electrophysiological, behavioural and other functional studies is compared to results obtained in radioligand binding studies. The paper shows that functional correlates do indeed exist for subtypes of 5-HT1 recognition sites; moreover, these are markedly different from the effects mediated by 5-HT2 (5-HT D) or 5-HT3 (5-HT M) receptors.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the correlation of expressions of STAT3 and p-STAT3 with epithelial mesenchymal transition(EMT)-associated protein E-cadherin in colorectal cancer, and to examine the association of above expressions with tumor invasion and metastasis of colorectal cancer.

METHODS
Immunohistochemistry assay ElivisionTM plus was used to detect the expressions of STAT3, p-STAT3 and E-cadherin protein in colorectal cancer tissue samples of 50 cases and their corresponding adjacent non-tumor tissues. Association of these protein expressions with tumor invasion and metastasis was analyzed with χ(2) test. Correlation of STAT3 and p-STAT3 with E-cadherin was analyzed with Spearman method.

RESULTS
Positive expression rates of STAT3, p-STAT3 and E-cadherin protein in colorectal cancer tissues were 72%(36/50), 76%(38/50) and 26%(13/50), which were significantly higher compared to adjacent normal intestinal mucosa tissues [24%(12/50), 26%(13/50) and 68%(34/50), all P<0.05]. STAT3, p-STAT3 and E-cadherin expressions were associated with tumor differentiation, tumor invasion depth, tumor size, lymph node metastasis, TNM staging (all P<0.05). In colorectal cancer tissues, STAT3 protein expression was positively correlated with p-STAT3 expression. STAT3 and p-STAT3 expressions in colorectal cancer tissues were negatively correlated with E-cadherin expression(P<0.05).

CONCLUSION
STAT3 and p-STAT3 may be involved in tumor EMT through inhibition of E-cadherin expression, leading to the development of colorectal cancer.


Clean label is an important trend in the food industry. It aims at washing foods of chemicals perceived as unhealthy by consumers. Microorganisms are present in many foods (usually fermented), they exhibit a diversity of metabolism and some can bring probiotic properties. They are usually well considered by consumers and, with progresses in the knowledge of their physiology and behavior, they can become very precise tools to produce or degrade specific compounds. They are thus an interesting means to obtain clean label foods. In this review, we propose to discuss some current research to use microorganisms to produce clean label foods with examples improving sensorial, textural, health and nutritional properties.


Abstract Chlorophenols are compounds with high toxicity, poor biodegradability, and carcinogenic and recalcitrant properties. This work studies, for the first time, the destruction and detoxification of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) in water using 60Co gamma radiation under different conditions including varied radiation doses, addition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and varied pH values. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ion chromatography (IC) confirmed a successful degradation of 2-CP to primarily yield phenol molecules and chloride anions. A radiation dose as low as 25 kGy achieved approximately 90% removal of 50–150 ppm of 2-CP in neutral water. However, the addition of a strong oxidizer such as H2O2 to 2-CP solutions reduced the required dose to achieve 90% removal to at least 1.3-fold. The reduction in radiation doses was also observed in acidic and alkaline media, reducing the required doses of 90% removal to at least 0.4-fold. It was imperative to study the toxicity levels of the oxidation by-products to provide directions for the potential applicability of this technology in water treatment. Toxicology Microtox® bioassay indicated a significant reduction in the toxicity of the degradation by-products and the detoxification was further enhanced by the addition of H2O2 and changing the pH to more acidic or alkaline conditions. These findings will contribute to the knowledge of the removal and detoxification of such challenging environmental contaminant and could be potentially applied to other biologically resistant compounds.