In a wide perspective over the history of Portuguese film, both Belarmino and Alice play decisive roles. If the first is an inescapable reference for understanding what Portuguese Cinema Novo (New Cinema) was and what kind of artistic rupture was taking place in the 1960's in Portugal, the second also marks a breakup from former Portuguese film-making and a rapprochement to broader film audiences. The fact that both films have jazz music as soundtracks comes not just as chance, but as a relevant circumstance. Both films and their music form a wealth of information about Portuguese society and its jazz community at two different times: in the sixties under Salazar's dictatorial Estado Novo regime; and in the beginning of the 21st century as a full member of the European Union.


Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is characterized by subjective and objective memory impairment in the absence of dementia. MCI is a strong predictor for the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). A standard task used in the diagnosis of MCI is verbal fluency, where participants produce as many items from a specific category (e.g., animals) as possible. This task is typically analyzed by counting the number of items produced. However, analysis of the actual pattern of items produced can provide valuable additional information. Here we describe a computational model that uses multiple types of lexical information in conjunction with a standard memory search process. The model parameters were able to successfully differentiate changes in semantic memory processing for individuals who develop MCI, even when behavioral variables could not.


This study examined the effectiveness of a longitudinal 5C coaching intervention (Harwood, 2008), focused on promoting behavioral responses associated with commitment, communication, concentration, control, and confidence in youth soccer players. Five players, their parents and a youth academy soccer coach participated in a single-case multiple-baseline across individuals design with multiple treatments. Following baseline, the coach received sequential education in the principles of each 'C' subsequent to integrating relevant strategies in their coaching sessions. During the five intervention phases, players completed assessments of their behavior in training associated with each C, triangulated with observation-based assessments by the coach and the players' parents. Results indicated psychosocial improvements with cumulative increases in positive psychosocial responses across the intervention for selected players. Changes in player behavior were also corroborated by parent and coach data in conjunction with post-intervention social validation. Findings are discussed with respect to the processes engaged in the intervention, and the implications for practitioners and applied researchers.


This note summarises the work that Better Assistance in Crises (BASIC) Research is carrying out in Lebanon, as of July 2023. BASIC Research is working across over 11 countries, including Lebanon. There are three projects conducting research in Lebanon. The first explores the geographies of social assistance in urban informal settlements in Beirut, the second analyses the politics of social assistance and the role of "parallel non-state" systems, and the third investigates configurations of social assistance in situations of mass displacement. The research is conducted and supported by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), ACTED, World Vision Lebanon, The Policy Initiative and the University of Sussex.


The physiology of the mesenteric circulation is described emphasizing important aspects of microcirculatory function and the factors which regulate blood flow to the bowel. Next, the pathophysiology of intestinal ischemia is considered with special focus on the disturbed mechanisms involved in ischemic disorders, such as active oxidant formation and inhibition of intrinsic protective systems. The histopathology of small intestinal and colonic ischemia and infarction is described. Finally, clinical issues are addressed including the diagnostic challenge and the management of these life-threatening disorders.


The purpose of this study was 1) to understand the successors' attitude toward working in the insurance business with family members, and 2) to explore the factors that enhance work passion of successors in working collaboratively with their family members in the life insurance business. This study employed qualitative methodology with the use of the appreciative inquiry (4D-Dialogue) approach. Using triangulation of data sources, 36 key informants were recruited, 18 were successors that work with their parents, and 18 were parents of these successors. All of the participants worked together in one life insurance company in Thailand. Data were collected using focus group semi-structured interviews. Content analysis with analytic induction was used as the analytical tool. Trustworthiness was built through data triangulation, member checking, and peer debriefing. The results indicated that, for the first objective, the successors' attitude toward working in the insurance business with their family consisted of four attitudes: 1.1) against; 1.2) unwilling; 1.3) willing, but lost; and 1.4) willing and successful. Regarding the second objective, five factors were found: 2.1) Goals: support of personal goals, help with self-development, enhancing the family happiness, and showing gratitude for family kindness; 2.2) Content: work aligned with expertise or educational background, and work being meaningful; 2.3) Coaching: appropriate coaching strategy, systematic professional coaching strategy, fairness, sharing pride in success; 2.4) Family: encouragement without pressure and caring; and 2.5) Organization: organization's image, favorable work environment, and experience of positive outcomes from the life insurance business. Then, for the Design phrase, the action plan "FAMILY," which comprised of F-Finale with Family; A-Attitude and Ability through Activities; M-Motivating Appropriately; I-Ideal People/Team; L-Leading through Vision/Leading through Coaching; and Y-Yes Club of the future, was offered. To summarize, a 4D-Dialogue for the appreciative inquiry was proposed.


That 'taxes' are compulsory impositions and that there is no equity in taxation are propositions well acknowledged and beyond doubt. Once the taxable event occurs as a natural corollary, therefore, befalls the visitation of the levy. Under the constitutional precincts, in India taxes can be imposed only by the force of a law. Further, such taxing law is required to provide for a 'taxable event' upon the occurrence of which the 'subject-matter' of taxation is obliged to defray the tax imposed to the government coffers. In such event, the only legally available escape-route to avoid the scourge of taxation is to challenge the levy itself or to invoke the benefit of an 'exemption' in terms of which the otherwise taxable subject-matter is exonerated from the liability to pay the tax. The exemption may flow from the parent statute itself or may be in terms of a delegated legislation, the law-makers having taken a policy decision to such effect. One such instance of delegated legislation conferring the power upon the Government to exempt payment of tax is Section 11C of the Central Excise Act, 1944. Under this provision the Central Government is empowered to exempt levy of Central Excise duty to legitimize practices of non-payment or short-payment of the duty in the industry. Concomitant to this power is the stipulation that such exemption overrides all other provisions of the said Act of 1944. This provision, inserted in the 1944 Act in 1978, has been the source of relief to various industries and assessees who have been proceeded with under the 1944 Act but its rigours have been diluted in terms of the notifications issued under Section 11C. However the traditional understanding and interpretation attributed to Section 11C has turned turtle after the decision of the Supreme Court in Connaught Plaza case wherein the ambit of this provision has been significantly curtailed, in the view of the author, leading to oblivion. This article revisits the legal position under Section 11C of the Central Excise Act in the wake of this recent Supreme Court decision to conclude that this benevolent provision has been judicially murdered.


Large marine-terminating glaciers around the margins of the Greenland Ice Sheet have retreated, accelerated and thinned over the last two decades. Relatively little is known about the longer term behaviour of the Greenland Ice Sheet, yet this information is valuable for assessing the significance of modern changes. We address this by reporting 11 new beryllium-10 (10Be) exposure ages from previously uninvestigated coastal areas across southeast Greenland. The new ages are combined with existing data from the region to assess the timing of glacier retreat after the Last Glacial Maximum. The results show that deglaciation occurred first in the north of the region (~68°N) and progressed southwards. This north–south progression is attributed to the influence of the warm Irminger Current on the ice margin. Areas in the south of the region were isolated from the warm waters by the shallow bathymetry of the continental shelf. This demonstrates that oceanographic forcing paced the deglaciation of southeast Greenland through the Younger Dryas and early Holocene. In most areas of southeast Greenland bedrock ages are systematically older than their counterpart boulder samples; this offset is likely the result of inherited 10Be content in bedrock surfaces. This suggests that subglacial erosion during the last glacial cycle was insufficient to completely remove pre-existing 10Be content. Alternatively, this pattern may be the signature of a substantial retreat and advance cycle prior to final Holocene deglaciation.


Lymphomas, with an estimated 80,000 new cases, are the 5th most common cancer in the United States and the majority of lymphoma subtypes are incurable and in need of novel, mechanistically distinct therapies. Two approaches to potently increase the anti-tumor potential of T cells are: checkpoint blockade (e.g. anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 antibodies) and adoptive T-cell transfer into lympho-depleted recipients. We have developed a novel therapy combining these approaches into 'checkpoint-blockade-primed immunotransplant' comprised of: -treatment of tumor-bearing host with anti-CTLA-4 and/or anti-PD-1 antibodies -splenocyte harvest and transfer to lympho-depleted recipient Whereas checkpoint blockade alone has minimal anti-tumor effect in the pre-clinical model, our results show that the combined therapy results in superior anti-tumor immunity as seen by increased production of tumor-reactive IFN γ positive T-cells. Treatment of both tumor-bearing donor and recipient with checkpoint antibodies induces cure of the majority of recipients, in a CD8, NK, and IFNγ-dependent manner. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that CD8 T cells exposed to checkpoint blockade and transfer into the lymphopenic host demonstrate greater: -in vivo serum levels of IL-15 and IL-7 -surface expression levels of IL-15R and IL-7R -in vitro STAT5 phosphorylation in response to common γ-chain cytokines -in vivo proliferation in response to exposure to cognate tumor antigen Ongoing studies will seek to assess the dependence of the above observations (cytokine production, proliferation, anti-tumor effect) on specific common γ-chain cytokines, the role of lymphopenia in inducing T cell trafficking to tumor versus healthy tissue, and guide development of the immunotransplant model to optimize the amplification of anti-tumor immunity for near-term clinical translation. Citation Format: Netonia Marshall, Thomas Marron, Judith Agudo, Brian Brown, Joshua Brody. Immunotransplant: Merging checkpoint blockade and T-cell transfer into lymphodepleted recipients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Second CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; 2016 Sept 25-28; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B107.


In 29 healthy Doberman Pinschers, echocardiographic parameters evaluating systolic and diastolic function were examined prospectively at rest and during dobutamine constant rate infusion (5 micrograms/kg/minute) to determine if any parameters were associated with the development of occult dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). A resting echocardiogram was repeated 1 year later to determine which dogs had met our criteria for occult DCM. Six dogs developed occult DCM during the follow-up period. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that at rest, an increased left ventricular internal dimension in systole (LVID-S) (P = .02), preejection period (PEP) (P = .03), ratio of PEP to left ventricular ejection time (P = .02), and isovolumic relaxation time (P = .02) were significantly associated with the development of occult DCM. During dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE), high LVID-S (P = .02) and systolic wall stress index (P = .04) and reduced fractional shortening (P = .02) and ratio of peak early to late diastolic mitral filling velocity (E/A) (P = .05) were associated with the development of occult DCM. Multiple logistic regression showed that LVID-S (P = .002) and E/A (P = .002) measured during dobutamine infusion also were associated with the development of occult DCM. Reclassification based on the DSE data was not significantly different than reclassification based on the resting echocardiographic data. Resting echocardiography and DSE have the potential to be clinically applicable screening tests for very early systolic and diastolic dysfunction in Doberman Pinschers, heralding the onset of occult DCM as it is currently defined.


: Background & aim: Zoonotic intestinal parasites and intestinal nematodes of livestock are indirectly one of the human health challenges in developing countries. Considering the possible role of gastrointestinal parasites in domestic animals in the transmission of infection to humans, their economic significance in the production of protein products, and the lack of up-to-date information on the contamination status of ruminants in the region. As a result, the present study aimed at determining the frequency of Trichostrongylus species in ruminants slaughtered at Hamadan slaughterhouse in 2020. Methods: Abomasum and intestinal samples were taken from 338 livestock by referring to Hamadan slaughterhouse. The samples were placed separately in sealed containers and transferred to the parasitology research laboratory of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences to diagnose parasitic infection. After opening and washing the contents of the samples in a large tray, these contents were filtered through a wire sieve several times and the obtained transparent material was gradually poured into other trays. At that point, the worms were separated with the help of a hand-held magnifying glass and the light of the study lamp and were placed within bottles containing alcohol-glycerin. The worms were then identified at the genus and species levels using diagnostic keys. Information about livestock such as gender, type of livestock, anatomical position, and habitat were recorded in the information form. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and the results were presented as tables and graphs. Results: Out of 338 livestock, 70 (20.70%), 264 (78.10%), and 4 (1.18%) were Cattles, sheep, and goats, respectively. In addition, 240 (71%) and 98 (28.99%) livestock were male and female, respectively. 301 (89.05%) and 37 (10.94%) livestock were young and old, respectively. The highest percentage of infected specimens was related to Ostertagia Ostertagi (64 cases, 48.5%) and the lowest percentage of infected specimens was related to male Nematodirus filicollis (1 case. 1.6%). Most of the infestations were reported for the male livestock and from those raised in Qorveh area. In addition, no worm infestation was observed incattle and goats. Conclusion: Ostertagia infection was highly prevalent in the studied livestock. The zoonosis Trichostrongylus parasite was not observed in the present study. The prevalence of intestinal nematodes in sheep in the region is still significant and should be controlled by the relevant authorities.


In recent years, the Indian Supreme Court has begun deciding many important constitutional cases in small benches, as opposed to benches of five or more judges - as the Constitution requires. In the context of the large docket of the Indian Supreme Court, this has presented a problem for scholars: examining 'constitution benches' no longer provides an adequate account of salient constitutional cases. Drawing upon literature on the United States Supreme Court, this article develops an alternative, exogenous measure of case salience based on the citation of Indian Supreme Court cases in the Times of India. This measure is deployed on a sample set of 251 cases across four years. This measure, it is argued, can constitute a valuable heuristic tool for scholars studying the Indian Supreme Court.


Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the developing world. Invasive coronary angiography is considered the golden standard of diagnosis for CAD. As invasive procedures have an associated mortality (0.15%) and morbidity (1.5%), cardiologists desired to find accurate noninvasive diagnostic tests. More recently, cardiac MDCT has gained popularity for the detection and quantification of coronary artery disease. Cardiac MDCT is the fastest growing noninvasive diagnostic cardiac imaging modality in the China, with dedicated cardiovascular systems available now in most large hospital and outpatient cardiology practices. In addition to coronary angiography, MDCT is commonly utilized for 3-dimensional planning of electrophysiological and surgical procedures, such as radiofrequency ablation, redo-myocardial revascularization and aortic aneurysm and dissection repair. In our paper we will review the current and developing clinical applications in CAD of cardiac MDCT.


The superfamily of light-harvesting complex (LHC) proteins is comprised of proteins with diverse functions in light-harvesting and photoprotection. LHC proteins bind chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoids and include a family of LHCs that bind Chl a and c. Dinophytes (dinoflagellates) are predominantly Chl c binding algal taxa, bind peridinin or fucoxanthin as the primary carotenoid, and can possess a number of LHC subfamilies. Here we report 11 LHC sequences for the chlorophyll a-chlorophyll c 2-peridinin protein complex (acpPC) subfamily isolated from Symbiodinium sp. C3, an ecologically important peridinin binding dinoflagellate taxa. Phylogenetic analysis of these proteins suggests the acpPC subfamily forms at least three clades within the Chl a/c binding LHC family; Clade 1 clusters with rhodophyte, cryptophyte and peridinin binding dinoflagellate sequences, Clade 2 with peridinin binding dinoflagellate sequences only and Clades 3 with heterokontophytes, fucoxanthin and peridinin binding dinoflagellate sequences.


Highly purified preparations of radiolabeled lamprey immunoglobulin have been employed to study the structure of the immunoglobulin of this primitive vertebrate. The identity of the labeled material with that of the native immunoglobulin has been established. The lamprey immunoglobulin appears to be unique among vertebrate immunoglobulins since it has a unique molecular weight, electrophoretic mobility, and sedimentation velocity. It is also extremely labile and dissociates in solvents in a complex manner. The observations presented show that this molecule lacks counterparts of heavy and light chains and does not possess interchain disulfide linkages between its major subunits. A structural model based on its dissociation behavior is presented and the implications of such a structure in terms of molecular function and phylogenetic development are discussed.


Diode laser measurements of the vi0 + Y,~ (1 ,of = 22) perpendicular band of cyclopropane have led to the assignments of roughly 600 lines in the 1880-1920~cm-' region. Most of the spectra were recorded and stored in digital form using a rapid-scan mode of operating the laser. These spectra were calibrated, with the aid of a computer, by reference to the R lines of the V, + V, band of N20. The ground state constants we obtained are (in cm-') B = 0.670240 + 2.4 x lO-5, D, = (1.090 " 0.054) x lO-6, DJx = (- 1.29 k 0.19) x lO-6, DK = (0.2 f 1.1) x 10m6. The excited state levels are perturbed at 1argeJ values, presumably by Coriolis couplings between the active E'(I tot = k2) and the inactive A'(/,,, = 0) states. Effective values for the excited state constants were obtained by considering only the J < 15 levels. The AI-AZ splittings in the K' = 1 excited states were observed to vary as qertJ(J + 1), with qerr = (2.17 2 0.17) x lo-' cm-'.


Chitosan is very effective in removing metal ions through their adsorption. A preliminary investigation of the adsorption of chromium(III) by chitosan was carried out by means of batch tests as a function of contact time, pH, ion competition, and initial chromium(III) concentration. The rate of adsorption was rather rapid (t1/2 < 18 min) and influenced by the presence of other metal ions. The obtained data were tested using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models and, based on R2 values, the former appeared better applicable than the latter. Chitosan was found to have an excellent loading capacity for chromium(III), namely 138.0 mg Cr per g of chitosan at pH = 3.8, but metal ions adsorption was strongly influenced by the pH. About 76% of the recovered chromium was then removed simply by washing the used chitosan with 0.1 M EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) solution. This study demonstrates that chitosan has the potential to become an effective and low-cost agent for wastewater treatment (e.g., tannery waste) and in situ environmental remediation.


Hardware sensors embedded in a smartphone allow the device to become an excellent mobile navigator. A smartphone is ideal for this task because its great international popularity has led to increased phone power and since most of the necessary infrastructure is already in place. However, using a smartphone for indoor pedestrian navigation can be problematic due to the low accuracy of sensors, imprecise predictability of pedestrian motion, and inaccessibility of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) in some indoor environments. Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) is one of the most common technologies used for pedestrian navigation, but in its present form, various errors tend to accumulate. This study introduces a fuzzy decision tree (FDT) aided by map information to improve the accuracy and stability of PDR with less dependency on infrastructure. First, the map is quickly surveyed by the Indoor Mobile Mapping System (IMMS). Next, Bluetooth beacons are implemented to enable the initializing of any position. Finally, map-aided FDT can estimate navigation solutions in real time. The experiments were conducted in different fields using a variety of smartphones and users in order to verify stability. The contrast PDR system demonstrates low stability for each case without pre-calibration and post-processing, but the proposed low-complexity FDT algorithm shows good stability and accuracy under the same conditions.


Recent free instrument measurements have been used to form estimates of one contribution to the kinetic energy exchange between fluctuations and mean flow in the surface layer of the Florida Current. These results are compared with previous estimates based on G.E.K. data. The free instrument and G.E.K. observations were collected at about the same locations and on roughly the same time scale, but at different times. The agreement between the different estimates is essentially within relative observational error: confirming the existence of the somewhat surprising pattern previously found, involving substantial kinetic energy transfer from fluctuations to mean flow in a narrow zone of about 20 km width in the region of cyclonic lateral shear. Some differences in detail are noted. Also, it is suggested that the process giving rise to this pattern acts to redistribute kinetic energy between fluctuations and mean flow over a complete section across the Current, rather than leading to a net transfer of kinetic energy in either direction. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1969.tb00487.x


Galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase (GalT) catalyzes the reversible transformation of uridine 5'-diphosphate glucose (UDPGlc) and galactose-1-phosphate into uridine 5'-diphosphate galactose (UDPGal) and glucose-1-phosphate through a double displacement mechanism, with the intermediate formation of a covalent uridylyl-enzyme (UMP-enzyme). The covalent linkage is a phosphoramidate formed between the UMP moiety and the His 166 N(epsilon)(2) of GalT, with His 166 N(delta1) retaining a proton throughout the catalytic cycle. Cys 160 and Ser 161 in Escherichia coli GalT are engaged in hydrogen bonding with the peripheral phosphoryl oxygen atoms of the substrate in the crystalline UMP-enzyme and in the crystalline complex of H166G-GalT with UDPGlc [Wedekind, J. E., Frey, P. A., and Rayment, I. (1996) Biochemistry 35, 11560-11569; Thoden, J. B., Ruzicka, F. J., Frey, P. A., Rayment, I., and Holden, H. M. (1997) Biochemistry 36, 1212-1222]. Site-directed mutagenesis, thermodynamic, transient kinetic, and steady-state kinetic studies have been performed to investigate the roles of Cys 160 and Ser 161 in catalysis. The absence of the thiol group of Cys 160 in the variants C160S and C160A did not seriously alter the enzymatic activity. However, the variant S161A displayed 7000-fold less activity than wild-type GalT. The low activity of S161A was directly related to impaired uridylylation rate constant (3.7 x 10(-)(2) s(-)(1)) and de-uridylylation rate constant (0.5 x 10(-)(2) s(-)(1)) resulting from a higher kinetic barrier for uridylyl-group transfer by the variant S161A as compared with the wild-type GalT. Equilibrium uridylylation studies showed that neither Cys 160 nor Ser 161 was involved in stabilizing the uridylyl-enzyme intermediate. The results lead to the conclusion that the conserved Cys 160 does not play a critical role in catalysis. Ser 161 is most likely involved in donating a hydrogen bond to the beta-phosphoryl group of a substrate, thereby providing proper orientation for nucleophilic catalysis.


The diagnosis of adiaspiromycosis is usually based on lung sections stained by hematoxylin-eosin, periodic acid Schiff and methenamine silver. Authors describe the fungus aspect examined by mucicarmin, picro-sirius and Congo red methods, including polarized light microscopy. In doubtful cases, these methods could contribute to histopathological diagnosis of Emmonsia parva var crescens.


The biological tissue has been mimicked and replaced
by other materials, which have shown certain radiological similarity determined by attenuation coefficient (μ), density and atomic
number. Specifically, in molecular imaging and radiation therapy have been developed multifunctional radiopharmaceuticals which contain
beta/gamma and/or light emitters to chronic degenerative diseases treatment.
Therefore, it is necessary to develop phantoms that allow optical and radiometric characterization. Since the agar gel has shown to be a medium which allows to model biological tissue in
phototherapy studies, the aim of this study is to determine whether the agar gel may be used as biological tissue substitutes in 99mTc
dosimetry. Agar gel was
prepared to 1% and 2.3% (water:agar)
and its radiologicalproperties as: linear attenuation coefficient obtained by
narrow beam geometry and XCOM software, density and effective atomic number (Zeff) were determined.
Using the determined μ, photontransmission was calculated by Monte
Carlosimulation. The 99mTc source region was immersed in a water phantom, two source regions were used, one source region was filled with water and another with agar gel. For both cases; the cumulated activity () by
conjugate view method, the absorbed doseper unitcumulated
activity (S) and absorbed dose (D) were determined. The 2.3% concentration
gel consistency facilitated its handling during a bigger irradiation time. A was obtained
and also this value was corroborated with the XCOM software. The agar gel density was and . The calculated cumulated
activity presented 1%
difference in both phantoms. The absorbed doseper unitcumulated activity was the same in both media, therefore the D too.
Agar gel showed to be equivalent to water in terms of radiological
properties for 140 keV photons, thus it can substitute soft tissue in 99mTc dosimetry.


There is compelling evidence from inelastic-neutron-scattering and tunneling experiments that the heavy-fermion superconductor UPd$_2$Al$_3$ can be understood as a dual system consisting of magnetic excitons, arising from crystal-field-split U$^{4+}$ levels, coupled to delocalised f-electrons. We have computed the superconducting transition temperature and the mass renormalisation arising from a dual model with maximal spin anisotropy using a strong-coupling approach. We find an instability to two possible opposite-spin-pairing states with even- or odd-parity gap functions. Each has a line node perpendicular to the c-direction, in agreement with NMR relaxation-rate, specific-heat and thermal-conductivity measurements. In addition, both have total spin component $S_z$=0, compatible with the observation of a pronounced Knight shift and $H_{c2}$ Pauli limiting. For parameter values appropriate to UPd$_2$Al$_3$, we determine the dependence of the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ on a phenomenological coupling constant $g$ and we investigate the associated mass enhancement and its anisotropy.


The instrumental design of the saxophone has evolved dramatically from its original patent in 1846. Referencing instruments from the St. Cecilia's Hall Music Museum at the University of Edinburgh, this article explores the historical origins of the saxophone and traces the evolution of its design into the 20thcentury. Despite its intention to be used as a classical instrument, many factors such as politics, instrument structure, finances, and musician attitude at the time of the saxophone's invention resulted in limited classical saxophone performance in the modern day. This article addresses the importance of exploring the early history of instruments as an aspect of contemporary musical study.


The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether tourism encourages imports and subsequently leading to a trade deficit, as the nexus between trade and tourism has been controversial. Annual time-series data, running from 1970 to 2017, are employed for the empirical analysis. The Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) unit root analysis is used to test the stationary properties of the time series variables. The time series properties of the variables allowed employing the Johansen?s maximum likelihood estimator of the parameters of a cointegrating Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) analysis to inspect the long-run and the short-run dynamic relationship. The bilateral causality relationships between variables are tested by using the Granger Causality analysis. The results suggest the existence of a long-run relationship between tourism-related variables. Further, the results also confirm the causality running from inbound tourism to imports of goods and services, but not from import to tourism. However, there is no short-run dynamic relationship found to have between the variables.


AIM To explore the association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and obesity/weight gain in a Chinese population. METHODS Our primary outcome was the change in body mass index (BMI). The generalized linear models were used to explore the association between H. pylori infection and the change of BMI, and the logistic regression models were used to explore the association between H. pylori infection and obesity. RESULTS A total of 3039 subjects were recruited and analyzed, of which 12.8% were obese. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was 53.9% (1639/3039) overall and 54.6% (212/388) in the obese subjects. The change of BMI in the H. pylori (+) group was not significantly higher than that in the H. pylori (-) group after adjustment for potential confounding factors [RR = 0.988, 95%CI: 0.924-1.057, P = 0.729]. The prevalence of obesity decreased 1.1% in the H. pylori (+) group and 0.5% in the H. pylori (-) group. The RR of H. pylori infection for obesity was 0.831 (95%CI: 0.577-1.197, P = 0.321) after the adjustment. CONCLUSION H. pylori infection was not associated with overweight/obesity observed from the retrospective study in this Chinese population.


Abstract Objective. Explore the situations in which GPs associate drug use with falls among their elderly patients, and the factors influencing the prescribing and cessation of fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs). Design. A qualitative study with 13 GPs who participated in two semi-structured focus groups in Central Norway. Participants were encouraged to share overall thoughts on the use of FRIDs among elderly patients and stories related to prescribing and cessation of FRIDs in their own practice. Results. The main finding was that GPs did not immediately perceive the use of FRIDs to be a prominent factor regarding falls in elderly patients, exceptions being when the patient presented with dizziness, reported a fall, or when prescribing FRIDs for the first time. It was reported as common to renew prescriptions without performing a drug review. Factors influencing the prescribing and cessation of FRIDs were categorized into GPs' clinical work conditions, uncertainty about outcome of changing prescriptions, patients' prescribing demands, and lack of patient information. Conclusions. The results from this study indicate that GPs need to be reminded that there is a connection between FRID use and falls among elderly patients of enough clinical relevance to remember to assess the patient's drug list and perform regular drug reviews.


An LC–MS method is presented for the determination of aliphatic isocyanate [hexamethylene diisocyanate] (HDI), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), biuret and isocyanurate] adducts of HDI as their dibutylamine (DBA) derivatives. The method is based on sampling in midget impinger flasks containing 10 ml of 0.01 mol l–1 DBA in toluene (see parts 1–3 of this series†). The excess reagent and the solvent are removed by evaporation. The enriched samples are then analysed using LC–electrospray MS. Quantification of HDI–DBA and IPDI–DBA was effected by monitoring the molecular ion [MH]+. Linear calibration graphs were obtained in the range 50–500 nmol l–1 with correlation coefficients of 0.9965–0.9997. The RSD for samples spiked at a concentration of 1 nmol l–1 was 1.7 and 2.9% for the two IPDI–DBA isomers (n = 8) and 1.2% for HDI–DBA (n = 8). On injecting 4 µl of the 0.5 ml sample, the instrumental detection limit was about 20 nmol l–1, which corresponds to about 0.1 µg m–3 for HDI and 0.2 µg m–3 for IPDI for a 15 l air sample.No degradation was observed after storage of the derivatives for up to 4 months in acetonitrile or toluene. No losses were seen when the derivatization reaction took place in the presence of interferents such as morpholine, hexamethylenediamine, isophoronediamine and phenol corresponding to concentrations of 10 ppm in air for a 15 l air sample. The influence of water was studied by spiking with volumes corresponding to a relative humidity of 80% at 30 °C in 15 l of air. The reaction rates of HDI and IPDI with DBA were found to be 2–3 times faster than those for 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazine.


[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the moment arm length on the muscle activation of the upper limbs and the trunk. Subjects performed push-up exercises on a stable surface and on an unstable surface placing their feet at a higher level than the hands. [Subjects] The subjects of this study were 33 normal adults in their 20s who had normal range of motion and who were without disorders of the shoulder complex, musculoskeletal disease in the upper limbs or low back pain. [Methods] The experiment was performed using the following four positions: on an unstable surface created by placing a 65 cm diameter exercise ball under the ankle or knee joints of the subjects, and on a stable surface created by placing a bench with a height of a 65 cm under the ankle or knee joints of the subjects. To prevent the effect of muscle fatigue, all exercises were randomly performed. To measure muscle activation in the trunk, electrodes were attached to the erector spinae, rectus abdominis, and external oblique abdominal muscle. The serratus anterior, deltoid middle fiber, pectoralis major, and triceps brachii muscle were chosen as scapular stabilizers. [Results] The muscle activations of the four different positions were compared and the results show that there were significant difference among the erector spinae, rectus abdominis, external oblique abdominal, serratus anterior, deltoid middle fiber and pectoralis major. [Conclusion] The push-up exercise with the lower limbs on unstable ground increased trunk and shoulder muscle activation more than those on stable ground. We assume that muscle activation of the distal parts might have affected the muscle activation of the shoulder stabilizers that are proximal part muscles.


A high‐resolution palaeorecord (06SD) from Lake Shudu, Yunnan Province, southwestern China indicates a broad trend towards catchment stability, enhanced organic productivity and regional forest‐cover expansion during the early to mid Holocene. These changes are congruent with a shift to warm, wet climatic conditions, probably driven by orbitally forced Asian summer monsoon strengthening. Intriguingly, however, during the very early Holocene (c. 10.7 to 10.1 cal. ka BP), there is a prominent reversal in this trend, suggesting a weakening Asian summer monsoon. The precise cause and extent of this event remain unclear but demonstrate the urgent need for more comprehensive dating of records from across the region to test for synchroneity and examine climatic forcing mechanisms.


Community compositions of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are similar within the same host taxa. However, careful interpretation is required to determine whether the combination of ECM fungi and plants is explained by the host preference of ECM fungi or by the influence of neighboring conspecific and/or heterospecific hosts. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of host species on the ECM community compositions in a forest landscape (~ 10 km) where monodominant forest stands of six ECM host species belonging to three families were patchily distributed. The ECM communities were identified with DNA metabarcoding. A total of 180 ECM operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected. The ECM community compositions were primarily structured by host species and families, regardless of the soil environments and spatial arrangements of the sampling plots. In addition, 38 ECM OTUs were detected from particular host tree species. Furthermore, the neighboring plots harbored similar fungal compositions, although the host species were different. The relative effect of the spatial factors on the ECM compositions was weaker than that of host species. Our results suggest that the host preference of ECM fungi is a primary determinant of ECM fungal compositions in the forest landscape.


HDSDP is a numerical software solving the semidefinite programming problems. The main framework of HDSDP resembles the dual-scaling interior point solver DSDP[2] and several new features, especially a dual method based on the simplified homogeneous self-dual embedding, have been implemented. The embedding enhances stability of dual method and several new heuristics and computational techniques are designed to accelerate its convergence. HDSDP aims to show how dual-scaling algorithms benefit from the self-dual embedding and it is developed in parallel to DSDP5.8. Numerical experiments over several classical benchmark datasets exhibit its robustness and efficiency, and particularly its advantages on SDP instances featuring low-rank structure and sparsity. The pre-built binary of HDSDP is currently freely available at https://github.com/COPT-Public/HDSDP.


Haematological patients represent a vulnerable population to opportunistic infections, mainly due to the disease itself and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. The level of immune suppression strongly increases the importance of timely antibiotic treatment in order to prevent sepsis-related mortality. During the initial fever episode, serum biomarkers are usually used to estimate the probability of blood stream infection prior to the results of microbial diagnosis. A new serum biomarker combination study on a febrile haematological population, including C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL−6) and procalcitonin (PCT), is proposed in order to improve their predictive accuracy. In our prospective study, CRP, IL−6 and PCT were evaluated in 34 immunosuppressed haematological patients immediately after the onset of 51 fever episodes, either during the course of standard chemotherapy or high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant. The fever episodes were divided into documented infections and fever alone. Receiver operating characteristic analysis (ROC) was performed for each biomarker and a combination of all three biomarkers (multiROC) to define a new predictive index. Significant differences were evidenced between the two groups (documented infection and no infection) for both PCT and IL−6 (p = 0.03 and p = 0.035, respectively), but none for CRP (p = 0.1). The composite parameter is more reliable than any single biomarker alone, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 79% and with high sensitivity and specificity. IL−6 gave the closest response compared to the composite index. Composite parameters of serum biomarkers could be used for an early diagnosis of infection at fever onset in haematological patients.


—Green networking is an important concern that currently acquires the attention in research. This paper explains an Energy aware cross layer optimization technique for Delay Tolerant Mobile Ad hoc Networks. Information sharing between Network Layer and Medium Access Control Layer has been utilized as an element to achieve the goal. Appropriate node selection strategy for data forwarding in Network Layer and minimizing idle listening by scanning the vicinity and discovering the knowledge of number of neighboring nodes in MAC Layer are the major factors considered for energy minimization. Energy Sensitive Routing Protocol (ESRP) minimizes ineffective energy utilization and Neighbor Table Responsive Asynchronous (NTRA) Energy Management MAC Protocol minimizes number of wake up slots based on the network status without losing network connectivity. Performance of the suggested cross layer approach is studied using NS-3 Simulator and observed that it outperforms the existing energy efficient schemes.


For a robotic grasping task in which diverse unseen target objects exist in a cluttered environment, some deep learning-based methods have achieved state-of-the-art results using visual input directly. In contrast, actor-critic deep reinforcement learning (RL) methods typically perform very poorly when grasping diverse objects, especially when learning from raw images and sparse rewards. To make these RL techniques feasible for vision-based grasping tasks, we employ state representation learning (SRL), where we encode essential information first for subsequent use in RL. However, typical representation learning procedures are unsuitable for extracting pertinent information for learning the grasping skill, because the visual inputs for representation learning, where a robot attempts to grasp a target object in clutter, are extremely complex. We found that preprocessing based on the disentanglement of a raw input image is the key to effectively capturing a compact representation. This enables deep RL to learn robotic grasping skills from highly varied and diverse visual inputs. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach with varying levels of disentanglement in a realistic simulated environment.


Introduction. BRCA1, a tumor suppressor gene in breast or ovarian cancer, is a large multifunctional protein implicated in DNA double-strand break repair, centrosome duplication, transcription regulation, DNA damage response, and cell cycle control, all of which are important for maintaining genomic stability, BRCA1 contains 3 domains; a N-terminal RING domain, C-terminal BRCT domain and a central region (CR). RING and BRCT domains are well addressed, but the function of the CR remains unclear. The CR is reported to have DNA binding region (DBR). Our aim of this study is to identify DBR and to clarify the biological significance of BRCA1 binding to DNA. Materials and Methods. 1) Identification of DBR of BRCA1. First, electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) was performed to identify an essential region responsible for BRCA1 binding to DNA using purified tagged full length BRCA1 protein or the fragments and DNA oligos, and to investigate features of the DNA binding using various structures or lengths of DNA. Next, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was performed to see how BRCA1 binds to DNA. 2) Analysis of the biological significance of BRCA1 binding to DNA using mouse ES cells which are deficient in the DBR of BRCA1(ΔDBR) by TALEN-mediated Gene Targeting. 1. MTT survival assay under PARP1 inhibitor or Hydroxyurea (HU) to see the ability to homologous recombination (HR) repair or the sensitivity to replication stress, respectively. 2. HR assay in vitro. 3. EdU incorporation assay in the presence of HU to see cell cycle under replication stress. 4. Western blot to evaluate the phosphorylation status of CHK1 which regulates intra-S-phase checkpoint. 5. Karyotyping analysis to check for the genetic instability. Results. 1) We identified an essential DBR (421-701 amino acids) within the CR of human BRCA1 by EMSA or AFM, which preferably binds to splayed-arm DNA (mimic of replication fork) in a sequence-independent manner and brings DNA strands together. These in vitro data suggest that binding of BRCA1 to DNA may affect protection of the DNA replication fork. 2) 1. The ΔDBR cells exhibited decreased survival as compared to wild type (WT) cells treated with a PARP1 inhibitor or HU in MTT assay. 2. There was not statistical difference with a HR assay between WT cells and ΔDBR cells. 3. ΔDBR cells continued to incorporate more EdU in the presence of HU in EdU incorporation assay. 4. Phosphorylation of CHK1 was moderately decreased in ΔDBR cells in Western blot. 5. The ΔDBR cells exhibited an increase in abnormal chromosome structures in Karyotyping analysis. Conclusion. In this study, we demonstrate that the DBR of BRCA1 modulates genetic stability through the intra-S-phase checkpoint that is activated by replication stress. Thus, our finding refines a functional domain of BRCA1, DBR, deficiency of which results in moderately impaired DNA replication upon replicative stress, leading to accumulative DNA mutations and cancer development. Citation Format: Takaaki Masuda, Koshi Mimori, Chuxia Deng. "DNA binding region" of BRCA1 affects genetic stability through modulating the intra-S-phase checkpoint. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3669.


SUMMARY The Taiwan orogen has long been regarded as a case example for studying mountain building in association with subduction processes. In this paper, we present a fully coupled thermomechanical modelling of the Taiwan collision based on a realistic viscous-elastic–plastic rheology. It satisfactorily reproduces available thermochronometric data, long-/short-term deformation patterns, heat flux and erosion/sedimentation distribution across the Taiwan orogeny. We found that a deep seated flux of Asian crustal material into the orogenic wedge should be invoked to counter-balance observed exhumation and erosion in the Central Range. However, in contrast with recent thermokinematic models of exhumation and deformation suggesting that underplating plays a significant role, we show that most constraints on exhumation and deformation can be more straightforwardly interpreted by the frontal accretion of the rheologically layered Asian crust. We finally infer that such a model is in better agreement with the basic expectation that the hot/young and buoyant Chinese continental margin should hardly be subducted beneath the cold/old and dense oceanic plate of the Philippines Sea.


The present study was designed to clarify the effects of salinity and water intercross stresses on the growth and physiobiochemical characteristics of Tamarix chinensis seedlings by pots culture under the artificial simulated conditions. The growth, activities of SOD, POD, and contents of MDA and osmotic adjusting substances of three years old seedlings of T. chinensis were studied under different salt-drought intercross stress. Results showed that the influence of salt stress on growth was greater than drought stress, the oxidation resistance of SOD and POD weakened gradually with salt and drought stresses intensified, and the content of MDA was higher under severe drought and mild and moderate salt stresses. The proline contents increased with the stress intensified but only significantly higher than control under the intercross stresses of severe salt-severe drought. It implied that T. chinensis could improve its stress resistance by adjusted self-growth and physiobiochemical characteristics, and the intercross compatibility of T. chinensis to salt and drought stresses can enhance the salt resistance under appropriate drought stress, but the dominant factors influencing the physiological biochemical characteristics of T. chinensis were various with the changing of salt-drought intercross stresses gradients.


The emergence of more frequent and intense stresses and shocks challenge the functioning of stakeholders in food value chains. Shocks related to climate change (e.g. drought) and market changes are of growing concern to stakeholders in the tef value chain in Ethiopia. While tef farmers are directly suffering from a drought shock in form of yield losses, other activities before and after the production suffer from cascading impacts. A reduced yield means for them less trading and processing opportunities. Accordingly, it requires them to be flexible to respond to such a sudden change.
To display how stakeholders in food value chains deal with shocks, we adopt the concept of resilience and combine it with a transdisciplinary research approach. This means that the research team and the stakeholders jointly identified areas of concerns and actions to be taken to assess and enhance their resilience against drought risk.
This report summarises the key steps, results and lessons learned from this research project. In a first step after establishing a transdisciplinary process with a selected number of key stakeholders of the tef value chain, we conducted a survey-based resilience assessment among all stakeholders to understand their ability to deal with drought shocks. In a second step, through a design-thinking approach, stakeholders identified relevant action measures which would enhance their resilience against drought shocks. We identified the following key issues and findings:
• Stakeholders across the tef value chain are highly challenged by an occurrence of a drought. Their resilience to avoid, absorb, recover and learn from a drought event is low to moderate. The cascading effects of a drought cause tef prices to increase which means that droughts indirectly influence the functioning of all other stakeholders across the tef value chain.
• All stakeholders have hardly incorporated the possibility of a drought shock into their business activities. Although, stakeholders do have a certain robustness to avoid a drought, they rely almost exclusively on financial resources to absorb, recover and adapt to it. In particular, tef processors rely most on a continuous stable and safe (high quality) supply of tef grains. In contrast, the income of tef farmers, traders and millers relies not only on producing or processing tef, but also on other crops (grains).
• Stakeholders proposed various action measures that directly address deficits identified in the resilience assessments. However, most of these action measures require external help, such as the government, NGOs, research institutes and international development agencies.
• The way forward is to transform the tef value chain in Ethiopia and to establish a roundtable together with all stakeholders. A roundtable would allow to identify ways how to build resilience in a system which is currently protected by an export ban to keep stable domestic prices of tef.
• From a resilience perspective, it is crucial to equip stakeholders with greater flexibility and independence. Making the system more resilient will have positive implications on the well-being of all stakeholders and will reduce the impacts of future droughts and other types of shocks.


When an obliquely moving sine wave grating is presented inside a square aperture, observers are faced with a conflict of local motion signals resulting from the "aperture problem". Motion signals along the grating contours on average have a diagonal direction (D) while those near the horizontal (H) and vertical (V) edges lie along these cardinal directions. We explored the temporal evolution of this perception, which shifts regularly between the cardinal directions H and V as the dominant neural population serving conscious direction perception changes over time. We use visual psychophysics with eye movement recordings to extract and characterise the temporal signatures of this phenomenon and our companion theoretical work (II) builds a mathematical description of these dynamics. As with other motion stimuli exhibiting the aperture problem, ocular following trajectories are shown to reflect perceived direction. We look at how stimulus input parameters relating to the motion signal strength influence the frequency of reported transitions (H-V or V-H) and estimate a minimum period between switches of about 5s for slow moving stimuli (4-6deg/sec) with relatively low contrast. We design a task to capture the passive ocular following patterns over this extended presentation period of the order of 20s using frequent small amplitude saccades back to central fixation. The saccades avoid placing the fovea in close proximity of one of the edges and we find little evidence that they induce perceptual shifts. We describe ocular following patterns across observers, identifying alternative perceptual transition types which emerge in the companion theoretical treatment (II) and show varying extents of representation of D. The theoretical and experimental work converges to suggests an underlying dynamic adaptation of input strength dependent representations of the cardinal directions, H and V, which are mutually inhibitory and serve both eye movements and global direction perception.


The mechanical properties of the breast skin play an important role in explaining the changes associated with radiotherapy, tissue expansion, and breast reconstruction surgery. Quantitative measurement of mechanical properties of breast skin is essential for surgical preplanning and outcome prediction. We have measured the skin elasticity properties and skin thickness of the breast using noninvasive methods.


Purpose
This study aims to explore how the use of a performance measurement system (PMS) reflects the compatibility between institutional logics at different levels. It emphasises the centrality of institutional logics behind actors' expectations.

Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on pragmatic constructivism, the study assumes that a PMS is used coherently when it realises the values and beliefs of the actors involved. This requires that actors communicate and understand one another (communication coherence) and accept the PMS in use (value coherence). The study argues that a coherent use of a PMS reflects the compatibility between the institutional logics at the same (field levels) or different levels (field and societal levels). The empirical evidence comes from a large public hospital located in the south of Italy.

Findings
The empirical results describe episodes that highlight how the coherence in the use of PMS reflects the compatibility of institutional logics at different levels and episodes where the compatibility can be hindered by problems in the coherent use of the PMS related to value and communication coherence. A lack of communication and value coherence is highlighted in the use of PMS as "compromising accounts".

Originality/value
The study sheds light on how coherence in the use of PMS reflects the compatibility between the institutional logics involved at different levels, suggesting that a focus on one prevailing logic must be avoided. The study extends logics compatibility beyond the field level to the societal level.


Summary: Previous studies have suggested that susceptibility to Crohn's disease (CD) is associated with the histocompatibility complex (HLA) class II alleles DR1, DQ5, and DR13 in the Caucasian population, DR7 in the French and German populations, and DR4 and DQ4 in the Japanese population. However, little is known about the relationship between HLA class II alleles and CD in the Jewish population since these previous studies included few Jewish individuals. In order to determine whether the HLA associations observed with predominantly non‐Jewish populations were also present in the Jewish CD population and whether there were any HLA class II alleles uniquely associated with CD in the Jewish population, 132 CD patients, of which 82 were Ashkenazi Jewish, were HLA‐typed using serologic and DNA methods. Ethnically matched controls were similarly typed. No association with DR1 or DR13 was observed in the Jewish CD population although an association with DR13 (OR [odds ratio] = 5.3, p = 0.02) was observed in the non‐Jewish CD population. However, an association with DR15 (OR = 2.7, p = 0.03), which is normally associated with ulcerative colitis, was observed in the Jewish, but not non‐Jewish, CD group. In addition, a strong negative association was observed with DR3, which was especially striking in the Jewish population (OR = 0.35, p = 0.025); similar negative associations with DR3 have been observed by others using non‐Jewish populations. Furthermore, a significant negative association with DR7 (OR = 0.45, p = 0.04) was observed in the Jewish, but not non‐Jewish, population. Consistent with this was the negative association with DQ2 (OR = 0.38, p = 0.005), which is in strong linkage disequilibtium with both DR3 and DR7, in the Jewish, but not non‐Jewish, population. These studies support previous suggestions that susceptibility to CD in Jewish and non‐Jewish populations is determined by distinct genes and provide further support to the hypothesis that a gene on the DR3 haplotype may protect against CD. Furthermore, protection is conferred by the same or another gene found on Jewish, but not non‐Jewish, DR7 haplotypes.


We consider the time-correlated multiple-input single-output (MISO) wiretap channel where a multi-antenna transmitter wishes to convey a confidential message to its receiver in the presence of an eavesdropper. Assuming that the transmitter with delayed channel state information acquires some knowledge on current channel state due to the temporal correlation, the secrecy degrees of freedom (SDoF), capturing the behavior of the secrecy capacity in high signal-to-noise ratio regime, is studied. We characterize the optimal SDoF and provide the achievable scheme that takes advantage of both spatial precoding and digitalized artificial noise alignment.


BACKGROUND: In patients with COPD exacerbation, noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is strongly recommended. NIV is generally delivered by using patient triggered and flow-cycled pressure support through a face mask. A specific method to generate neurally-controlled pressure support has been shown to improve comfort and patient-ventilator interaction. In addition, the helmet interface was better tolerated by patients compared with a face mask. Herein, we compared neurally-controlled pressure support through a helmet with pressure support through a face mask with respect to subject comfort, breathing pattern, gas exchange, pressurization and triggering performance, and patient-ventilator synchrony. METHODS: Two 30-min trials of NIV were randomly delivered to 10 subjects with COPD exacerbation redundant: (1) pressure support through a face mask with inspiratory pressure support of ≥8 cm H2O to obtain a tidal volume of 6–8 mL/kg of ideal body weight; and (2) NAVA through a helmet, setting the neurally-adjusted ventilatory assist level at 15 cm H2O/μV, with an upper airway pressure limit to obtain the same overall airway pressure applied during pressure support through a face mask. We assessed subject comfort, breathing frequency, respiratory drive, arterial blood gases, pressure-time product (PTP) of the first 300 ms and 500ms after initiation of subject effort, inspiratory trigger delay, and rate of asynchrony determined as the asynchrony index. RESULTS: Median and interquartile range NAVA through a helmet improved comfort (7.0 [6.0–8.0]) compared with pressure support through a face mask (5.0 [4.7–5.2], P = .005). The breathing pattern was not different between the methods. Respiratory drive was slightly, although not significantly, reduced (P = .19) during NAVA through a helmet in comparison with pressure support through a face mask. Gas exchange was also not different between the trials. The PTP of the first 300 ms (P = .92) and PTP of the first 500 ms (P = .08) were not statistically different between trials, whereas triggering performance, patient-ventilator interaction, and synchrony were all improved by NAVA through a helmet compared with pressure support through a face mask. CONCLUSIONS: In the subjects with COPD with exacerbation, NAVA through a helmet improved comfort, triggering performance, and patient-ventilator synchrony compared with pressure support through a face mask.


This study adopts a narrow band model to investigate the cooling and radiation of a vectoring nozzle and to compute the gas spectral characteristic in infrared band. The radiative heat transfer between the hot gas and the wall is considered with an enclosure model. The calculation of film cooling is performed through a cooling effectiveness method. A coupled heat balance equation of heat flux and wall temperature is established on the multilayer structure of the nozzle, including the wall, heat shield, and outer shield, and a Newton-Raphson scheme is taken for solution. Temperature on the expansion part of an experimental nozzle in NASA TN D-1988 is investigated for verification. Another vectoring nozzle with a multirow of film cooling is also investigated. This study shows that the film in the heat shield remarkably cools the convergent part of the nozzle, thereby increasing the temperature on the expansion part of the nozzle. The deflection of the nozzle can change the distribution of the wall temperature and the radiation on the expansion part, which is lower on the deflection side than on the opposite side. The radiation from the nozzle outlet is high, particularly along the deflection direction in the rear hemisphere.


Introduction: The anatomical and physiological changes in the phonatory system due to aging have a
major impact on voice. Widely researched parameters of voice such as fundamental frequency and the
perturbation measures depend on the location of the exact pitch pulses, and it may yield unreliable results
in case of a severely aperiodic voice. Aim of the Study: The present study focused on determining the
cepstral characteristics of voice in healthy aging individuals. Methods: All the participants among the
young adults, middle‑aged adults, and old adults were required to sustain the vowel/a/. Voice samples were
analyzed using Hillenbrand's Z tool software to obtain the cepstral measures. Results: Results showed that
there was an increase in the cepstral measures with aging, thus suggesting that the harmonic structure of
voice is not affected in healthy aged individuals. Gender also influences the cepstral measures in healthy
aging population. Conclusion: The results of the present study could be used by the voice clinicians while
assessing adults with voice disorders. It will also help the clinicians in delineating the age and gender
differences in the vocal parameters.


Purpose: Our study aimed to investigate and compare the effectiveness of general and toric orthokeratology lenses in corneal toricity using the vector analysis.
Methods: A retrospective observational study was carried out. 19 patients, 37 eyes, (spherical group) were fitted with spherical ortho-k lenses and 15 patients, 30 eyes, (toric group) were fitted with toric ortho-k lenses. Data collection was performed at baseline and 1 d, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months after the commencement and included visual acuity, corneal topography, axial length and biomicroscopy examinations. Changes in corneal toricity were evaluated using vector analysis.
Results: Ortho-k significantly reduced the manifest myopia and improved UCVAs in both groups after 1 d, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months of lens wear. The median subjective myopia of spherical group and toric group at base line was -3.85 ± 1.29 D and -3.66 ± 1.69 D (P>0.05). After wearing ortho-k lenses for 1 d, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months, the UCVAs improved steadily in both groups, the differences between the two groups were insignificant in 1 d, 1 week, 1 month, but with significant difference only in 3 months (0.07 ± 0.05 vs. 0.00 ± 0.07, P 0.05) and the J45 vector values were 0.09 ± 0.20 and 0.09 ± 0.46 D (P>0.05), respectively. The differences of corneal J0 vector values between the two groups were significant for all the time points (t=-3.34, -1.94, -1.41, -1.82, P<0.05). The differences of corneal J45 vector values between the two groups were not significant. The percent of patients in spherical group and toric group who reported visual disturbance symptoms were 15% and 0%, respectively.
Conclusions: For low-moderate myopias with moderate-high astigmatism, despite the similar UCVAs achieved in two groups, Toric design lens were more effective in reducing corneal toricity.


SUMMARY The fundamental H= problem of control is that of finding the stable frequency response function that best fits worst case frequency domain specifications. This is a non-smooth optimization problem that underlies the frequency domain formulation of the H= problem of control; it is the main optimization problem in qualitative feedback theory for example. It is shown in this article how the fundamental H= optimization problem of control can be naturally treated with modern primal—dual interior point (PDIP) methods. The theory introduced here generalizes and unifies approaches to solving large classes of optimization problems involving matrix-valued functions, a subclass of which are commonly treated with linear matrix inequalities techniques. Also, in this article new optimality conditions for H= optimization problems over matrix-valued functions are proved, and numerical experience on natural (PDIP) algorithms for these problems is reported. In experiments we find the algorithms exhibit (local) quadratic convergence rate in many instances. Finally, H= optimization problems with an uncertainty parameter are considered. It is shown how to apply the theory developed here to obtain optimality conditions and derive algorithms. Numerical tests on simple examples are reported. ( 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Diabetes can be stressful as parents seek optimal outcomes for their adolescent with type 1 diabetes. This study examined parents' interest and perspectives related to online diabetes resources. Based on a qualitative description approach, 14 qualitative group interviews were conducted with (i) parents of adolescents with diabetes (n = 29), and (ii) pediatric health care providers (n = 31). Participants were recruited, through a purposive sampling approach, at pediatric centers in three Canadian cities. Qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis comprising data coding, categorization, and ultimate theme generation. Participants described parental care for adolescents with diabetes as complex and reflective of difficult and nuanced tasks. They recommended the development of a comprehensive parent-based information and support website, and identified crucial elements of the website. Overarching themes comprised the following: complex parenting processes in diabetes care, parents' need for information and support, challenges and benefits of online support, key elements of an online resource, and caution regarding online resources. Based on these findings, website information and support emerged as a viable and desired resource for augmenting pediatric care within clinical settings. Caution was also offered in addressing potential challenges inherent in online support. Findings offer guidance for online support to parents.


A state-of-the-art study was conducted to identify methods for analyzing weaving movements on arterial streets. Information on such methods was sought through a review of the transportation literature and through mail and phone surveys of traffic engineers. The authors' assessment of the literature and survey responses is that no adequate methods are currently available for analyzing arterial weaving. Although traffic engineers frequently face such problems, they use extremely crude improvisations or adaptations of the Highway Capacity Manual freeway weaving methods whose unrealistic assumptions and lack of demonstrated validity are fully recognized.


In order to evaluate the effects of organic, biological and chemical fertilizers on yield and yield components of milk thistle (Silybum marianum L.), an experiment was conducted at the Research Station of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad based on complete randomized block design with three replications and six treatments during year 2007. Treatments included inoculated seeds with Azotobacter, compost, vermicompost, combination of both Azotobacter and compost treatments, chemical NPK fertilizer and control (without any fertilizer). The traits such as number of branches per plant, plant height, number of inflorescences per plant, inflorescence diameter, number of seeds per capitol, 1000 seed weight, seed yield, biological yield, harvest index, oil percentage, silymarin percentage, silybin percentage, oil yield and silymarin yield were measured. The results showed that application of different types of organic fertilizers had no effect on yield components, but had significant effect on oil percentage of oil, silymarin and silybin of seed. Compost application resulted the highest oil percentage (20.1) compared to other treatments. There was no significant difference between control, chemical fertilizer, compost and Azotobacter treatments on silymarin percentage. In terms of silybin percentage, there was no significant difference between control, compost, Azotobacter and aztobacter+compost treatments. The chemical fertilizer treatment showed the lowest silybin percentage (16.4). There was a positive correlation between plant height and seed yield (r=0.68**). It seems that biofertilizers can consider as a replacement for chemical fertilizers in Milk thistle medicinal plant production.


Ten commercially available probiotic products were collected from the local market of Lahore, Pakistan; including dairy, freeze dried products and fruit drinks. These products were examined by using culture dependent methods, SDS-PAGE as well as by visualization of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) band profiles under UV light. Identical results of the DGGE and culture-dependent analysis of the 10 probiotic products were found. A DGGE analysis of five products (Nestle yogurt, Haleeb flavored yogurt, Haleeb yoghurt, Freeze-dried product and Nestle fruit yogurt) detectedBifidobacterium lactis, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp.bulgaricus, Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus,Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bacillus cereus and Streptococcus thermophilus that were the same as with conventional isolation procedures. For the remaining five products (Nestle nido, Haleeb Xtra energy milk, Haleeb Labban, Haleeb chadder cheese, and freeze-dried culture), DGGE analysis was able to detect more species (L. delbrueckii subsp.bulgaricus, L. rhamnosus, L. acidophilus, L. casei, and L. acidophilus) than were recovered by culture-dependent methods. The present study has proved that the PCR-DGGE and and phenotypic identification methods may result in a very powerful tool for both qualitative and quantitative analyses of all kinds of (bacterial) fermentation products.

 Key words: Probiotic products, polyerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) method, culture-dependent analysis.


A vulnerability/stress framework for schizophrenia is one means by which the strong evidence for genetic and other biological factors in schizophrenia can be combined in a useful way with persistent evidence that stressful environments may play a role in precipitating psychotic episodes (Gottesman & Shields, 1972; Zubin & Spring, 1977; Nuechterlein & Dawson, 1984; Nuechterlein, 1987; Ciompi, 1989). Within a large longitudinal study of the early course of schizophrenia, we have been attempting to examine several possible ways in which both psychobiological vulnerability factors in the patient (Dawson & Nuechterlein, 1987; Nuechterlein et al, 1991) and external environmental stressors (Ventura et al, 1989) individually and jointly influence the course of schizophrenia. At the Second International Symposium on Schizophrenia in Bern, we focused on two promising mediating factors in schizophrenia — those involving persistent information-processing abnormalities and stress-triggered autonomic arousal (Nuechterlein et al, 1989). We focus here on recent analyses that relate to current controversies in the literature on interpersonal attitudes that are typically called expressed emotion (EE) — socio-environmental attributes that have been statistically associated with psychotic relapse in schizophrenia.


The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Korean Version of the Machiavellianism Personality Scale (MPS). 339 participations (University students) were asked to complete the K-MPS, Psychopathy Personality Scale, Narcissism Personality Scale, Self-Monitoring Scale. The result of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of K-MPS suggested 4 factor structures (Distrust of Other, Amorality Manipulation, Desire for Status, Desire for Control). The result of Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of K-MPS show that Hierarchical Factor Structure fitted better than Four Factor Structure, indicating that both MPS and K-MPS were possessed of same factor structures. K-MPS showed a relatively strong positively correlation with Narcissism, Primary Psychopathy, but a relatively weak correlation with Secondary Psychopathy, Self-Monitoring. This result showed K-MPS had high convergence and discriminative validity. Finally, limitations of this study were discussed in relation with future studied. (Korean J Str Res 2011;19:21∼30)


This paper discusses a design approach for a high-Q low-sensitivity OTA-C biquad bandpass section. An optimal relationship is established between transconductances defining the difference /spl beta/ - /spl gamma/ in the Q-factor denominator, setting the Q-sensitivity to tuning voltages around unity. A 30-MHz filter was designed based on a 0.35/spl mu/m CMOS process and V/sub DD/=3.3V. A range of circuit simulation supports the theoretical analysis. Q-factor spans from 20.5 to 60, while ensuring filter stability along the tuning range. Although a triode-operating OTA is used, the procedure can be extended to other types on transconductor.


Segmentation and clustering are common pre-processing tasks in many image understanding and computer vision applications. In some of these applications, expert users can often provide knowledge about which pixels or regions in an image should be grouped together, guiding the clustering or segmentation process to yield more meaningful results than could be achieved by fully automatic algorithms. In this paper, we discuss a popular clustering algorithm, Normalized Cuts, and we show that with a simple modification, it can be generalized to incorporate expert knowledge in the form of soft must-link constraints that give partial information about how pixels or regions should be grouped. By illustrating how our proposed algorithm performs on the tasks of clustering synthetic data, segmenting real photographic images, and classifying regions in hyperspectral imagery, we show that incorporating expert knowledge can significantly improve results in many settings.


An adaptive handover algorithm for wireless communication systems is addressed in this paper. Moving from the Generalized Extended Least Square handover algorithm proposed in N. Benvenuto et al. (2002), we model the handover mechanism as a hybrid system, and we include it in a dynamic optimization problem which is solved through the use of a trellis diagram. The objective function takes into account the parameters that influence the handover mechanism. The optimal solution of the program allows to evaluate performance of the handover in terms of the probability of handover and probability of outage.


CuInSe2 thin films have been prepared by the pulse-plated electrodeposition from aqueous solutions containing CuCl2, InCl3 and SeO2. The influence of the square pulse cathode potential on the film compositions, crystallinity and surface morphology has been studied. Homogeneous single phase CuInSe2 films with smooth surfaces have been obtained at a pulse potential of -0.8V vs the saturated calomel electrode (SCE), a duty cycle θ of 33%, and annealing treatment.


Low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma (LGFMS) is a rare soft-tissue neoplasm with metastatic potential and needs to be recognized as such, because it can be mistaken for other types of sarcoma due to its unremarkable appearance. This 49-year-old man presented with an approximately 5-cm mass on the anteromedial aspect of his left thigh that slowly increased over 10 years. Clinical symptoms were limited to local discomfort and intermittent distal numbness. Due to the location, imaging findings, and lack of serious symptoms, the initial differential diagnosis favored a schwannoma. An initial biopsy revealed histopathological findings consistent with a perineurioma, although with atypical features. The patient elected to have the mass excised, and the tumor, which arose from a branch of the saphenous nerve, could be separated well from the surrounding soft tissue. Histopathological investigation of the mass displayed characteristic features of a fibromyxoid sarcoma, which was confirmed by subsequent fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis. Due to concerns about infiltration beyond the margins, radical reexcision was advocated and performed, resulting in definite clear surgical margins. At follow-up, the patient had regained full strength with no residual neurological symptoms or any new deficits. He has since been healthy and disease free for a total of 4 years in follow-up. This case documents, to the authors' knowledge, the first observation of an LGFMS associated with a peripheral nerve. It also supports the use of fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis as an essential diagnostic method in establishing the diagnosis of LGFMS.


Lower extremity ulcers are a common and challenging problem for people with diabetes and clinicians who provide their care. A qualitative study of seven patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who had leg and/or foot ulcers was conducted to enhance understanding of the patient's perspective of living with lower extremity ulcers and diabetes. Data were collected through in-depth interviews guided by the patients' descriptive priorities. Results indicated that patients experienced changes in their feet, pain and insomnia, fatigue and limited mobility, social isolation and loneliness, a restricted life, loss of control, and fear for the future. When treating a patient's leg or foot ulcer, clinicians need to consider patients' subjective feelings toward the various aspects of their life situations and the impact of their situation on their quality of life. Understanding the ramifications of lower extremity ulcers and diabetes on patients is important to the health professional's ability to provide support during the illness process.


The Government of the Republic of Lithuania is a state governance body that changes every four years. Good state governance is also essential for
politicians to gain the trust of the citizens living in the country. The importance of state governance is critical because it depends on the wellfunctioning functions of government. Since the beginning of the restoration of independence, seventeen governments have completed their terms, and
the eighteenth government is currently in power. The paper analyses the composition of the last ten governments in Lithuania (1999-2022) and the
appointment of individuals to ministerial positions, categorising them as either politicians or specialists in their respective fields. Out of the ten
governments analysed, it was discovered that eight consisted of politicians serving as ministers, while the other two had specialised ministers. The
17th government of Saulius Skvernelis had the highest number of specialist ministers. The majority of ministers in the 9th to 15th governments had
backgrounds in law or economics. Political ministers are the dominant type in Lithuania and can be considered more stable and successful. These
ministers are capable of withstanding political pressure, engaging with the public, and handling a variety of diplomatic situations. Specialist ministers,
on the other hand, excel in their specific fields but are better suited for lower levels of government to support political ministers. These ministers tend
to be less stable, experiencing more frequent changes during their tenure. Professional specialists face challenges in political work, as effectively
identifying societal and workplace issues becomes more difficult due to factors such as communication, public interaction, reform drafting, and
decision-making. The 15th government led by Andrius Kubilius was the most successful in terms of stability and duration in office.


OBJECTIVE
Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is stimulated by blood restoration after ischemic stroke. Inflammatory response and inflammasome activation exerted vital functions in the development of cerebral I/R injury. miR-155-5p regulates inflammatory response in some diseases, while its role in inflammatory response and inflammasome activation of cerebral I/R injury development is unclear. Hence, the research focuses on investigating if miR-155-5p attenuate cerebral I/R injury via regulating inflammatory response and inflammasome activation and exploring the potential mechanism.

METHODS
The oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) model and the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model were constructed. Cell viability and cytotoxicity were reflected by CCK-8 assay and LDH activity. The inflammatory cytokines secretion was determined using ELISA assay. Brain tissue infarction was evaluated using TTC staining.

RESULTS
miR-155-5p, Thioredoxin Interacting Protein (TXNIP) and NLR Family Pyrin Domain Containing 3 (NLRP3) were highly expressed in OGD/R model and MCAO rats. Knockdown of miR-155-5p alleviated cell injury, cell inflammation, and cell pyroptosis stimulated by OGD/R. Besides, miR-155-5p regulated TXNIP/NLRP3 pathway through modulating Dual-Specificity Phosphatase 14 (DUSP14) expression. Furthermore, knockdown of miR-155-5p improved brain tissue infarction and inhibited inflammation response and cell pyroptosis of MCAO rats.

CONCLUSION
Knockdown of miR-155-5p attenuated I/R inflammation and cell pyroptosis of cerebral via modulating DUSP14/TXNIP/NLRP3 pathway. These findings may provide a promising strategy to attenuate cerebral I/R injury.


1. A consistent in vitro effect of anti-insulin serum on glucose metabolism in isolated rat adipose tissue has been demonstrated. 2. Anti-insulin serum added in vitro to epididymal fat pads caused an average decrease in the C-14-O2 formation from glucose-1-C-14 of over 50 per cent, whereas it reduced the incorporation of glucose-U-C-14 into lipids by about 20 per cent. 3. Epididymal fat pads pretreated in vitro with antiinsulin serum oxidized glucose-1-C-14 at a reduced rate compared to control fat pads preincubated in buffer; in the presence of added insulin, however, glucose oxidation was the same in the control and anti-insulin treated fat pads.


The comments by J. L. Pierce, the Vice President and Controller, A. B. Dick Company, are certainly representative of the activities of the "controller" function as it applies to GE's Research Laboratory. These comments are as follows: Properly speaking, a controller neither plans nor exercises control authority, except, of course, in the confines of his own department, where he is functioning as an administrator rather than as a controller. He does not plan for the company nor for any of its operating parts; his job is to see that the responsible executives do their own planning, and that they do it properly... Yet, in a very special sense, we may say that the controller controls. By that expression, we mean that he provides the planning and control machinery and co-ordinates the efforts of the organization in using it. His work is a pure example of staff-type activity. It is for others to do the planning, make the decisions, determine policy, issue and execute operating instructions, and, in the long run, exercise control. But if any of these essentials are omitted or badly handled, the omnipresent controller is obligated to report the facts-diligently, decisively, diplomatically-to all levels of management concerned. For the specific areas which are under consideration, the specific activities of the Manager-Finance at the GE Research Laboratory can be summarized as follows. Planning 1. Prepare annually a plan for the formulation of a 5-year forecast of research programs. 2.


This jury simulation study explored the effects of liability-related descriptive information, severity of injury, and attitudes toward vengeance on damage awards. 311 individual mock jurors read a trial summary describing a plaintiff injured in a motor vehicle accident. Half of the participants read liability-related descriptive information, theoretically unrelated to judgments concerning damages, and the other half did not. Half read about a mildly injured plaintiff, and the other half read about a severely injured plaintiff. In Phase 1 participants decided compensatory awards and in Phase 2 participants read punitive damages evidence and decided, if appropriate, punitive damages. The presence of liability-related description influenced neither compensatory nor punitive damages. Severity of the plaintiff's injuries affected compensatory awards and punitive awards. Although revenge has historically played an integral role in punitive damages, participants' attitudes toward vengeance were not associated with punitive damage awards.


Sustained high levels of circulating catecholamines can lead to cardiotoxicity. There is increasing evidence that this process may result from metal-catalyzed catecholamine oxidation into semiquinones, quinones, and aminochromes. We have previously shown that Cu2+-induced oxidation of isoproterenol into isoprenochrome induces toxic effects in isolated cardiomyocytes. The aim of this study was to characterize the isoproterenol oxidation process and to locate the formation of semiquinone radicals in cardiomyocyte suspensions. Freshly isolated rat cardiomyocytes were incubated with 1 or 10 mM isoproterenol and 20 microM Cu2+ for 4 h. The formation of an isoproterenol oxidation radical was detected in the extracellular medium, cells, membranes, and heavy organelles by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. An electron spin resonance signal assigned to leucoisoprenochrome-o-semiquinone increased in a time-dependent manner in the extracellular medium. A second electron spin resonance signal, characteristic of an immobilized radical, was also found in the cardiomyocytes. The latter was attributed to leucoisoprenochrome-o-semiquinone immobilized on cellular components such as membranes, cytoskeleton, nucleus, and heavy organelles. In addition, the levels of leucoisoprenochrome-o-semiquinone decreased in the presence of glutathione. Computer simulations of the experimental spectra indicate the formation of two distinct isomeric leucoisoprenochrome-o-semiquinone radicals during isoproterenol oxidation. The present study shows that the isoproterenol oxidation in isolated rat cardiomyocytes correlates with the formation of leucoisoprenochrome-o-semiquinone in the cells and in the extracellular medium, suggesting that it might be involved in cardiotoxicity induced by the oxidation of catecholamines.


The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of time of gestation on fatty acid transporter mRNA expression in maternal and fetal bovine placenta. Placentas from twelve cows at different thirds of gestation (n=4 per third) were sampled at slaughter to measure FATP-1, FATP-4, FABP-1 mRNA concentration in maternal (caruncles) and fetal (cotyledons) side. Once the placenta was removed, 1cm was dissected and, divided into caruncles and cotyledons, stored in sterile tubes, dropped into liquid nitrogen and kept at -80° C until rtPCR analysis. Data were analyzed as a complete randomized design with a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement, using the mixed procedure (SAS 9.3) with repeated measurements on space. Time of gestation, side of the placenta and their interaction were fixed factors, whereas animal was a random factor. There was a time by treatment interaction (P < 0.01) on FATP-1 mRNA expression due to a greater mRNA expression in cotyledons on the first third of gestation as compared with the concentration in caruncles. On the second and third stages of gestation, the mRNA concentration in cotyledons decreased, reaching a similar concentration to that observed in caruncles. Fatty acid transport protein -4 and FABP-1 mRNA concentration were not different (P >0.1). We conclude that FATP-1 might play an important role in fatty acid transport during early fetal development.


The aim of the study is to recognize management opinions on the issue of measuring economic efficiency in industrial enterprises.The article uses information from an interview conducted with the use of a questionnaire. The research objects were industrial enterprises represented by joint stock companies from the macro-sector of industry according to the classification of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). In order to assess the economic effectiveness of enterprises, profitability ratios are most often used by managers. The assessment of economic efficiency in over half of the companies is carried out quarterly, by special departments, as well as by accounting departments, which are responsible for this. Managers in each economic unit, individually and with regard to information or decision-making needs, should specify the scope as well as the criteria for measuring economic efficiency. Both financial and non-financial measures should be used to measure economic efficiency in enterprises.


Changes in tissue histopathology, cell morphology and kinetics and the number of mucus secreting cells were evaluated in the duodenum and colon of normal and vitamin-A-deficient rats. A lower number of goblet cells was detected both in the colon and in the duodenum of vitamin-A-deficient rats in comparison with control rats (p<0.05). vitamin-A deficiency was found to increase the proliferate rate of mucous cells in the duodenum significantly. No significant difference was noted in the proliferate index in the colon specimens in either control group of experimental rats. We suggest that the higher number of proliferating cells in the duodenal crypt and villi in the vitamin-A-deficient animals indicates that vitamin-A deficiency affects the cell proliferation and therefore could be of some importance in understanding the potency of retinoids in differentiation and their association with formation of epithelial metaplasia.


Despite recent attempts in the field of explainable AI to go beyond black box prediction models, typically already the training data for supervised machine learning is collected in a manner that treats the annotator as a "black box", the internal workings of which remains unobserved. We present an annotation method where a task is given to a pair of annotators who collaborate on finding the best response. With this we want to shed light on the questions if the collaboration increases the quality of the responses and if this "thinking together" provides useful information in itself, as it at least partially reveals their reasoning steps. Furthermore, we expect that this setting puts the focus on explanation as a linguistic act, vs. explainability as a property of models. In a crowd-sourcing experiment, we investigated three different annotation tasks, each in a collaborative dialogical (two annotators) and monological (one annotator) setting. Our results indicate that our experiment elicits collaboration and that this collaboration increases the response accuracy. We see large differences in the annotators' behavior depending on the task. Similarly, we also observe that the dialog patterns emerging from the collaboration vary significantly with the task.


Little is known about the development of posttraumatic growth among parents of children with serious advanced disease. The purpose of this study is to describe parental posttraumatic growth 100 days after pediatric stem cell transplant. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study of 24 parents, approximately 100 days after their children received stem cell transplant. Participants reported environmental, personal, and disease characteristics and completed measures of distress, coping, rumination, and posttraumatic growth. Evidence of parental posttraumatic growth was described in each of 5 dimensions (relating to others, new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual change, and appreciation of life). Posttraumatic growth was positively associated with parental distress, disengagement coping, and rumination measures (r = 0.44-0.47, P < .05). Appreciation of life demonstrated the strongest associations with distress and rumination (r = 0.53-0.61, P < .01). Curvilinear relationships were observed for the association of distress, disengagement coping, and involuntary engagement with posttraumatic growth (P < .05). Study results highlight opportunities for palliative care nurses and clinicians to facilitate opportunities to support parent posttraumatic growth during treatment for children's advanced disease.


Tumors strongly depend on their surrounding tumor microenvironment (TME) for growth and progression, since stromal elements are required to generate the optimal conditions for cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and possibly metastasis. Prostate cancer (PCa), though easily curable during primary stages, represents a clinical challenge in advanced stages because of the acquisition of resistance to anti-cancer treatments, especially androgen-deprivation therapies (ADT), which possibly lead to uncurable metastases such as those affecting the bone. An increasing number of studies is giving evidence that prostate TME components, especially cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which are the most abundant cell type, play a causal role in PCa since the very early disease stages, influencing therapy resistance and metastatic progression. This is highlighted by the prognostic value of the analysis of stromal markers, which may predict disease recurrence and metastasis. However, further investigations on the molecular mechanisms of tumor–stroma interactions are still needed to develop novel therapeutic approaches targeting stromal components. In this review, we report the current knowledge of the characteristics and functions of the stroma in prostate tumorigenesis, including relevant discussion of normal prostate homeostasis, chronic inflammatory conditions, pre-neoplastic lesions, and primary and metastatic tumors. Specifically, we focus on the role of CAFs, to point out their prognostic and therapeutic potential in PCa.