Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), as one of the most common urological malignancies, has many histologic and molecular subtypes, among which clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is one of the most common causes of tumor-related deaths. However, the molecular mechanism of ccRCC remains unclear. In order to identify the candidate genes that may exist in the occurrence and development of ccRCC, microarray datasets GSE6344, GSE16441, GSE36895, GSE53757 and GSE76351 had been downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Apart from that, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened through Bioinformatics & Evolutionary Genomics. In addition, the protein-protein interaction network (PPI) was constructed, and the module analysis was performed using STRING and Cytoscape. By virtue of DAVID online database, GO/KEGG enrichment analysis of DEGs was performed. Consequently, a total of 118 DEGs were screened, including 24 up-regulated genes and 94 down-regulated genes. The plug-in MCODE of Cytoscape was adopted to analyze the most significant modules of DEGs. What's more, the genes with degree greater than 10 in DEGs were selected as the hub genes. The overall survival (OS) and disease progression free survival (DFS) of 9 hub genes were analyzed through GEPIA2 online platform. As shown by the survival analysis, SLC34A1, SLC12A3, SLC12A1, PLG, and ENO2 were closely related to the OS of ccRCC, whereas SLC34A1 and LOX were closely related to DFS. Among 11 SLC members, 6 SLC members were highly expressed in non-cancerous tissues (SLC5A2, SLC12A1, SLC12A3, SLC34A1, SLC34A2, SLC34A3). Besides, SLC12A5 and SLC12A7 were highly expressed in ccRCC. Furthermore, SLC12A1-A7, SLC34A1 and SLC34A3 were closely related to OS, whereas SLC12A2/A4/A6/A7 and SLC34A1/A3 were closely related to DFS. In addition, 5 algorithms were used to analyze hub genes, the overlapping genes were AQP2 and KCNJ1. To sum up, hub gene can help us understand the molecular mechanism of the occurrence and development of ccRCC, thereby providing a theoretical basis for the diagnosis and targeted therapy of ccRCC.


Introduction: Old age homes have taken up the traditional role of family for the security of elderly people. Studies have proved that prevalence rate of depression were high among institutionalized elderly. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the depression status among the inmates, evaluate the effectiveness of aerobic exercises on depression among elderly and to find association between depression score among elderly with selected demographic variables. Methodology: Quantitative evaluative approach with quasi-experimental one group pre-test post-test design was used. Convenience-sampling technique was used to select 50 people above the age of 60 years, residing at a selected old age home in Mangalore. The information of 50 elderly collected, was by using a customized geriatric depression scale followed by administration of aerobic exercise. The post-test was conducted on the eighth day, with the same modified geriatric depression scale. Results: Assessment of the level of depression of elderly shows that, majority of the respondents 28 (56%) had moderate level of depression, 14 (28%) respondents had severe depression followed by 8 (16%) respondents who had mild levels of depression. The total mean percentage of the elderly on depression was 48.29%, with mean and standard deviation of 29.94 and 13.79, respectively. The overall mean post-test depression score (16.68±13.86)) was significantly lower than the overall mean pre-test score ((29.94±13.79). It was also found that the obtained t' value was 8.71, which was higher than the table value. The study findings also revealed that there was a significant relationship between age (χ2=9.43), gender (χ2=12.97), family history of depression (χ2=17.80) with the depression score, as the computed chi square value was greater than the table value at the of .05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that the depression level among the institutionalized elderly was high. Conclusion: The study concluded that some effective adjuvant intervention for depression among elderly residing at old age homes was necessary.


The Multi-Chassis Link Aggregation Group (MC-LAG) technology enables
the establishment of a logical port-channel connection with a
redundant group of independent nodes. The purpose of multi-chassis LAG
is to provide a solution to achieve higher network availability, while
providing different modes of sharing/balancing of traffic. EVPN
standard defines EVPN based MC-LAG with single-active and all-active
multi-homing load-balancing mode. The current draft expands on
existing redundancy mechanisms supported by EVPN and introduces
support of port-active load-balancing mode. In the current draft,
port-active load-balancing mode is also referred to as per interface
active/standby.


Automated reviewer recommendation for scientific conferences currently relies on the assumption that the program committee has the necessary expertise to handle all submissions. However, topical discrepancies between received submissions and reviewer candidates might lead to unreliable reviews or overburdening of reviewers, and may result in the rejection of high-quality papers. In this work, we present DiveRS, an explainable flow-based reviewer assignment approach, which automatically generates reviewer assignments as well as suggestions for extending the current program committee with new reviewer candidates. Our algorithm focuses on the diversity of the set of reviewers assigned to papers, which has been mostly disregarded in prior work. Specifically, we consider diversity in terms of professional background, location and seniority. Using two real world conference datasets for evaluation, we show that DiveRS improves diversity compared to both real assignments and a state-of-the-art flow-based reviewer assignment approach. Further, based on human assessments by former PC chairs, we find that DiveRS can effectively trade off some of the topical suitability in order to construct more diverse reviewer assignments.


Inhalation of suspended particulates originating from contaminated soil is an important exposure pathway that may result from disposal of long-lived solid radioactive waste. A hypothetical scenario was evaluated involving long-term irrigation of agricultural land with contaminated water and ensuing accumulation of radionuclides in surface soil. One of the factors affecting the dose from inhalation of suspended soil particulates is the radionuclide enhancement (enrichment) in airborne soil particles relative to that of the underlying soil. The enhancement factor (enrichment factor) is defined as a ratio of airborne particle activity concentration (Bqkg −1 ) to surface soil activity concentration (Bqkg −1 ). The values of this parameter and its effect on inhalation dose were evaluated for different soil types and inhalation exposure conditions.


The synthesis and characterization of molybdenum(II) porphyrin dimers containing unbridged metal-metal quadruple bonds are presented. Variable temperature 300 MHz (1)H NMR studies of meso-substituted derivatives provide novel solution evidence for both the existence of quadruple bonds and for a barrier to rotation about the metal-metal bonds in these complexes. The activation energy for this rotational process is 10.1 +/- 0.5 kcal.mol(-1).


The evaluation of option premium is a very delicate issue arising from the assumptions made under a financial market model, and pricing of a wide range of options is generally feasible only when numerical methods are involved. This paper is based on our recent research on numerical pricing of path-dependent multi-asset options and extends these results also to the case of Asian options with fixed strike. First, we recall the three-dimensional backward parabolic PDE describing the evolution of European-style Asian option contracts on two assets, whose payoff depends on the difference of the strike price and the average value of the basket of two underlying assets during the life of the option. Further, a suitable transformation of variables respecting this complex form of a payoff function reduces the problem to a two-dimensional equation belonging to the class of convection-diffusion problems and the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method is applied to it in order to utilize its solving potentials. The whole procedure is accompanied with theoretical results and differences to the floating strike case are discussed. Finally, reference numerical experiments on real market data illustrate comprehensive empirical findings on Asian options.


This study examined the relationship of multiple domains of the child's environment and attachment security within a socioeconomically at-risk sample of 101 families. Mothers-65% percent of whom were Latinaand their children who were in a home visitor program or on the waiting list for the program were visited at home. Measures included observer assessments of maternal sensitivity, mother sorts of the Attachment Q-Set, the Parenting Stress Index, a questionnaire on beliefs about parental involvement in children's learning and parental efficacy, and a measure of children's learning environments. Findings indicated that maternal, child, and contextual variables were significantly associated with attachment security. Lower levels of maternal sensitivity, difficult child temperament, parental stress, and an inadequate supply of play materials in the home were related to lower levels of attachment security. The provision of play materials in the home mediated the relationship between maternal sensitivity and attachment security. (Author/HTH) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE
The inhibitory effects of four series of aryl butene derivatives, active against breast cancer, on the monophenolase activity of tyrosinase, in melanin-free ink from Sepia officinalis, have been studied. Hydroxytamoxifen 1, ferrociphenol 17 and several aryl butene analogs have shown strong antiproliferative activity on hormone-dependent and hormone-independent breast cancer cells and were evaluated in leukemia K562 cell proliferation. Their potential to induce skin depigmentation by evaluating their anti-tyrosinase activity was also estimated. In order to better rationalize the tyrosinase inhibitory action and the binding mode of the compounds, docking studies were carried out.

CONCLUSION
Hydroxytamoxifen and some aryl butenes showed strong antiproliferative effects against K562 cells at 1 µM without showing tyrosinase inhibition. If phenolic compounds 16 and 17 showed the best antiproliferative activity on K562, Hydroxytamoxifen and compounds 5, 10, 20 and 21 have been identified as candidates for further development against chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and are predicted to not induce depigmentation of the skin, a side effect encountered with imatinib, conventionally used for the treatment of CML.


This article argues that the stark post‐Second World War understanding in which 'straight is to gay' came to be seen as 'family is to non family' has tended to obscure the historical complexity of family life and the ways in which queer men have interacted with and created their families in the past, and used the language of family to conceptualise emotional bonds 'beyond blood'. Using the well‐heeled early campaigner for homosexual law reform, George Ives (1867–1950), as a case study, I show how different rhetorics, ideas and experiences of family allowed for the assertion of gender and sexual identity, gave a framework for campaigning work and provided a means of conceptualising intimacy and companionship. Though family was the cause of considerable angst for Ives, it was, I suggest, something he valued not in spite of his homosexuality but at least partly because of it. It was fundamental to the ways in which he understood and articulated who he was, and how he related to others.


The ASTM Standard Test Method for Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness of metallic Materials (E399-90) restricts test specimen dimensions to insure the measurement of highly constrained fracture toughness values (K{sub Ic}). These requirements insure small-scale yielding (SSY) conditions at fracture, and thereby the validity of linear elastic fracture mechanics. Recently, Dodds and Anderson have proposed a less restrictive size requirement for cleavage fracture toughness measured in terms of the J-integral (J{sub c}), as given by a, b, B {ge} 200 J{sub c}/{sigma}{sub 0}. The size requirement proposed by Dodds and Anderson increases the applicability of fracture toughness experiments by expanding the range of conditions over which fracture toughness data meeting SSY conditions can be reliably measured. This investigation compares the proposed size requirement with that of ASTM Standard Test Method E399 and, by comparison with published experimental data for various alloys, provides validation of the new requirements.


This study estimates the neutral real interest rate and output gap jointly under two different multivariate unobserved components models. In the analyses, Kalman filter is applied to a small-scale macroeconomic model of the Turkish economy to estimate the unobserved variables for the period 1989 to 2005. In addition, two alternative specifications for neutral real interest rate are exploited in the analyses. The first model uses a simple random walk model for the neutral rate, whereas the second one employs more structural specification, which specifically links the neutral rate with the trend growth rate and the long-term course of the risk premium by adapting the model proposed by Laubach and Williams (2003) to allow for small open economy consideration. Model evaluations clearly indicate the use of more structural specification against random walk specification. Results point out that the variation in the long-term course of the risk premium could be an important determinant of the neutral real interest rate in Turkey. Though there is relatively high uncertainty surrounding the neutral rate estimates to use them directly in the policy-making process, estimates appear to be very useful for ex post monetary policy evaluations.


The possible solutions for transmitting power from wind farms are HVAC, Line commutated HVDC and voltage source based HVDC (VSC-HVDC). In this paper Low Frequency AC (LFAC) transmission system is used for interconnecting the offshore wind farms for improving the transmission capability and also the dc collecting system with series connected wind turbines are used at the offshore to reduce the cabling requirement. A method to design the systems components and control is set forth. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the systems performance.


Sewage treatment facility is the fundamental social infrastructure for the development of the city and citizen's healthy life. It tends to be constructed in a big city mainly, but small villages don't have enough facilities because of insufficient investment. The operational management of sewage treatment facility is more difficult. Sludge Volume Index(SVI) is widely used as a main parameter in sewage treatment facility for operation and management. But, the time required of SVI is long and there is less technical manpower in this filed. To solve this problem, sedimentation test of various sludge having different properties from sewage treatment facility was performed to create algorithm to miniaturize SVI measuring time. MLSS concentration, implementing modification factor to take miniaturization of the device into account. Finally, predicted and measured SVI were compared with RMSE to increase the reliability of the algorithm. By using the SV10, estimating SV30 became possible. Also, RMSE algorithm value was 0 to 4.95 with accuracy.


OBJECTIVE
To study the relationship between HLA allele frequencies in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and the susceptibility to tuberculosis in southern Chinese population.

METHODS
The polymorphisms of HLA-A and HLA-DRB1 loci in the PBMCs were analyzed in 294 patients with active tuberculosis using polymerase chain reaction-sequence based typing (PCT-SBT). The allele frequencies in the patients were compared with the data from 644 control southern Chinese subjects obtained from the online database Allele Frequencies in Worldwide Population.

RESULTS
The frequencies of HLA-A* 0101 and HLA-DRB1*1454 alleles in the patient cohort with pulmonary tuberculosis were significantly higher than those in the control group (2.4% vs 0.6%, χ2=10.788, P=0.001, Pc=0.016; 7.5% vs 0%, χ2=69.850, P < 0.0001); the frequencies of HLA-DRB1*1202 and HLA-DRB1*1401 alleles were significantly lower in this patient cohort than in the control group (10.4% vs 16.1%, χ2=9.845, P=0.002, Pc=0.044; 0% vs 3.1%, χ2=18.520, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
The frequencies of HLA-A and HLA-DRB1 alleles are correlated with the susceptibility to active tuberculosis in this southern Chinese population. HLA-A*0101, HLA-DRB1*1454 and the other 3 alleles are likely susceptible genes to tuberculosis, while HLA-DRB1*1202, HLA-DRB1*1401 and the other 4 alleles can be protective genes in this population.


Ternary sulfide Cu3SnS4 (CTS) receives growing interest in photocatalytic and gas sensing applications; however, limited attention has been paid to the application in thermoelectrics in virtue of its intrinsic high carrier concentration. In this work, a high figure of merit of Ga (ZT) and Te cointroduced CTS with the composition of (Cu3SnS4)1-x(Ga2Te3)x (x = 0.105) has been realized via synergistic optimization of the electronic and thermal transport properties. The incorporation of Ga into CTS results in a downshift of both the conduction and valence bands, which effectively promotes the active hybridization of Sn 5s and S 3p orbitals near the Fermi level (EF) and optimizes the carrier concentration. In the meantime, the lattice thermal conductivity (κL) generally decreases on account of the local internal distortion induced by Ga(Te) substitution at the Cu(S) site. Moreover, the phonon transport is greatly suppressed above ∼725 K attributed to the melting of the second-phase Te on the grain boundaries. Consequently, the highest ZT value of ∼0.96 is obtained at 798 K. This value is ∼3.6 times that of the pristine CTS and ranks the highest in the CTS system to date.


To clarify the mechanism of long-term repetitive UVA irradiation in photoaging of the skin, we evaluated albino hairless (SKH: HR1) mice by the irradiation with UVA (300-420nm) for 12months. The output of irradiated UVA was 30J/cm2/day. Skin samples were taken from each group and examined at 0, 4, 8 and 12months. Morphologically, the structural changes of elastic fibers were observed in the dermis of irradiated group. In immunohistochemistry, tropoelastin, matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP9) were expressed in the fibroblasts in the dermis of photoaged skin. The expressions of tropoelastin, MMP2 and MMP9 mRNA in cultured fibroblasts were analyzed by RT-PCR. The expression of MMP9 mRNA was increased cultured fibroblast derived from irradiated mice. These results suggest that MMP9 is an important mediator in the development of photoaged skin for one-year repetitive exposure to UVA.


A low power multi-port SRAM design method based on banks switchable between active and standby mode is described. Speed decrease is prevented by use of an access method with hidden precharge-time. More than 56% power reduction can be achieved when 64 banks are used to implement a 4-port SRAM. A 4 kB SRAM with 4 ports and 16 banks has been designed and fabricated for verification.


ABSTRACT An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using two recombinant antigens of Toxoplasma gondii (GRA1 and GRA6 Nt) was developed in order to differentiate between pregnant women with a serological profile of recently acquired infection and those with chronic infection. Both proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli as glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins. Thirty-two serum samples from subjects who presented seroconversion within 3 months before sampling (group 1; acute profile), 46 serum samples from women who had a positive serology at least 1 year before sampling (group 2; chronic profile), and 100 serum samples from pregnant women who were not infected by T. gondii (group 3) were examined for immunoglobulin G (IgG) reactivity. For both antigens, the specificity reached 98%. In both groups of infected patients, the overall sensitivity scored was 60% for GRA1 and 83% for GRA6 Nt. In group 1, 34% of sera reacted with GRA1 whereas 84% of sera reacted with GRA6 Nt; in group 2, however, sensitivities were 78.2 and 82.6%, respectively. Combination of the readings obtained with both antigens yielded a sensitivity of 91%. A serological follow-up of 10 women who seroconverted during pregnancy displayed three different serological patterns: (i) a GRA profile paralleling the IgG curve, as detected by the commercial kit, (ii) a GRA1 profile, or (iii) GRA1 and GRA6 Nt profiles remaining negative for at least 8 weeks after the reference test gave positive results. Taken together, these results suggest that neither GRA1 nor GRA6 Nt is sensitive enough to be used routinely to differentiate between acute and chronic toxoplasmic infections.


Market demand is an important driver for inducing innovation, with many empirical studies supporting the demand-induced innovation hypothesis. Critiques of such studies, however, emphasize that new empirical evidence that can address existing empirical challenges is needed. Furthermore, existing literature disagrees about whether the locus of demand-pull policy matters. In this paper, we use empirical evidence from the distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) market in China to address the following questions: (1) Is there evidence of demand-induced innovation? (2) Does the effect of local demand-pull policy differ from the effect of non-local demand-pull policy on demand-induced innovation? To address these questions, we develop and analyze an original database of PV balance-of-system (BOS) patents in the distributed PV market filed between 2005 and 2014 in China. Our results support the demand-induced innovation hypothesis and suggest that only local demand significantly induces PV BOS innovations in the distributed PV market in China. The different effects of local demand and non-local demand emphasize the importance of local markets and local policies, lending some support to bottom-up approaches to clean energy governance.


Presented in this article are some of the more common high-risk factors in the prenatal, perinatal, and neonatal period of the infant which may result in an adverse neurological outcome. The role of the physical therapist in the care of the high-risk infant is also discussed.


Teleseismic waveforms contain information on fault slip evolution during an earthquake, as well as on the fault geometry. A linear finite-fault inversion method is a tool for solving the slip-rate function distribution under an assumption of fault geometry as a single or multiple-fault-plane model. An inappropriate assumption of fault geometry would tend to distort the solution due to Green's function modelling errors. We developed a new inversion method to extract information on fault geometry along with the slip-rate function from observed teleseismic waveforms. In this method, as in most previous studies, we assumed a flat fault plane, but we allowed arbitrary directions of slip not necessarily parallel to the assumed fault plane. More precisely, the method represents fault slip on the assumed fault by the superposition of five basis components of potency-density tensor, which can express arbitrary fault slip that occurs underground. We tested the developed method by applying it to real teleseismic P waveforms of the MW 7.7 2013 Balochistan, Pakistan, earthquake, which is thought to have occurred along a curved fault system. The obtained spatiotemporal distribution of potency-density tensors showed that the focal mechanism at each source knot was dominated by a strike-slip component with successive strike angle rotation from 205° to 240° as the rupture propagated unilaterally towards the south-west from the epicentre. This result is consistent with Earth's surface deformation observed in optical satellite images. The success of the developed method is attributable to the fact that teleseismic body waves are not very sensitive to the spatial location of fault slip, whereas they are very sensitive to the direction of fault slip. The method may be a powerful tool to extract information on fault geometry along with the slip-rate function without requiring detailed assumptions about fault geometry.


Purpose Results of a study of prescribers' responses to a pharmacogenomics‐based clinical decision support (CDS) alert designed to prompt thiopurine S‐methyltransferase (TPMT) status testing are reported. Methods A single‐center, retrospective, chart review–based study was conducted to evaluate prescriber compliance with a pretest CDS alert that warned of potential thiopurine drug toxicity resulting from deficient TPMT activity due to TPMT gene polymorphism. The CDS alert was triggered when prescribers ordered thiopurine drugs for patients whose records did not indicate TPMT status or when historical thiopurine use was documented in the electronic health record. The alert pop‐up also provided a link to online educational resources to guide thiopurine dosing calculations. Results During the 9‐month study period, 500 CDS alerts were generated: in 101 cases (20%), TPMT phenotyping or TPMT genotyping was ordered; in 399 cases (80%), testing was not ordered. Multivariable regression analysis indicated that documentation of historical thiopurine use was the only independent predictor of test ordering. Among the 99 patients tested subsequent to CDS alerts, 70 (71%) had normal TPMT activity, 29 (29%) had intermediate activity, and none had deficient activity. The online resources provided thiopurine dosing recommendations applicable to 24 patients, but only 3 were prescribed guideline‐supported doses after CDS alerts. Conclusion The pretest CDS rule resulted in a large proportion of neglected alerts due to poor alerting accuracy and consequent alert fatigue. Prescriber usage of online thiopurine dosing resources was low.


Foreign language learning is an unavoidable concept of life in the 21st century. In our daily lives, we are constantly in touch with people with different languages and cultures, and we are living in a multilingual and multicultural world. Competence in one or more foreign languages is not only essential, but also rewarding for the careers of working people. As there is so much demand and need to learn foreign languages, there are many courses and institutions offering language courses. However, finding the right course and support for language learners is not so easy. It is very important to make these courses effective and enjoyable as education in this century is less concerned with the facts or rules of a language, but it is more concerned with learning practical skills that make use of these facts or rules. EAQUALS, the European Association for Quality Language Services, aims to assure the quality of teaching and learning in language schools and departments. The main task of EAQUALS is to ensure that the language teaching and other services provided in the institutions it accredits are of high quality. This qualitative study tries to find an answer to the question of to what extent the secondary education institutions in Turkey are able to apply the quality criteria of EAQUALS in English language teaching. The present study is going to broaden the research on improving and maintaining the quality of foreign language learning and teaching in Turkish secondary education institutions. (245 words)


Good agricultural practices (GAPs) are an indispensable tool for risk management due to the close relationship between agriculture and climate, as well as the climate variability currently being experienced. The implementation of these tools, however, involves fostering innovation, increasing knowledge and giving stakeholders, small producers in particular, a holistic view, so that they may improve their production systems, increase their resilience, and ensure their sustainability.


PURPOSE
Hyaluronan concentration in the iris tissue after iridectomy was studied in order to establish the influence of trauma on the production of hyaluronan in the anterior chamber of the eye and whether the iris participates in this process or not.

METHOD
Hyaluronan was measured with a radiometric assay at different time points after surgery and identified with specific histochemical staining.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
The concentration of hyaluronan in iris tissue peaked two days after surgery, reaching an average of 115.3 (S.E.M.:+/-12.2) microg/g. It then decreased slowly to almost normal values after 3 to 5 weeks. Histochemistry demonstrated the most intense hyaluronan staining in the iris stroma and in iridial processes around the iridectomy two days after the operation. Our findings indicate in situ synthesis of hyaluronan in the iris tissue.


Females do not unanimously choose the single 'best' male, even when female choice is strong, such as in leks, or in polygynous mating situations. A possible explanation is that females base their choices on limited information, perhaps because gathering information is costly. We tested this hypothesis by continuously observing individual female marine iguanas throughout the mating period in order to document the information they gathered about each potential mate. Females actively visited approximately five additional males during the 3 d prior to copulation, compared to the males seen on their normal foraging routes. Females were more likely to visit large-bodied males, but preferentially copulated with the male that had the highest display rate of all males they visited. Females that mated on a dense territory cluster mated with more active males than did those that mated on dispersed territories. However, females on a dense cluster also lost more body mass, potentially as a consequence of high rates of interaction with males. This mass loss may represent an important cost and result from postural changes in response to male attention. Such costs may explain why females only gather a certain amount of information and why females on dispersed territories choose less active mates. Lack of complete information introduces subjectivity into female choice: what is perceived as best by one female may not be perceived as best by another. Thus, lack of complete information may prevent unanimity of female choice.


Chemotherapy is currently the most universal therapeutics to tumor treatment; however, limited curative effect and undesirable drug resistance effect are the two major clinical bottlenecks. Herein, we develop a two-in-one cross-linking strategy to prepare a stimuli-responsive prodrug nanogel by virtue of delivering a combination of chemotherapeutic drugs of 10-hydroxy camptothecin and doxorubicin for ameliorating the deficiencies of chemotherapy and amplifying the cancer therapeutic efficiency. The obtained prodrug nanogel has both high drug loading capacity and suitable nanoscale size, which are beneficial to the cell uptake and tumor penetration. Moreover, the chemotherapeutic drugs are released from the prodrug nanogel in response to the reductive tumor microenvironment, enhancing tumor growth inhibition in vitro and in vivo by the synergistic DNA damage. Based on these results, the unique prodrug nanogel would be a promising candidate for satisfactory tumor treatment-based chemotherapy by a simple but efficient strategy.


This study was designed to examine the effect of two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the reduced folate carrier 1 (RFC1 80G>A) and the glutamate carboxypeptidase 2 (GCP2 1561C>T) gene on total homocysteine (tHcy) plasma level and folate status in 120 chronic dialysis patients. Red blood cell folate concentration was higher in patients with the GCP2 CT or TT genotype (ANOVA, P = 0.04). Among patient groups with different RFC1 genotypes, red blood cell folate level was not significantly different. A multivariate analysis confirmed that the GCP2 1561C>T genotype (P = 0.011) had a significant influence on the red blood cell folate concentration. Overall, serum folate, creatinine, and the GCP2 polymorphism explained nearly 50% of the variance of red blood cell folate. A linear multivariate regression analysis showed that red blood cell folate (P < 0.001), creatinine (P < 0.001), and the 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677T allele (P = 0.013) are independent predictors of tHcy plasma level explaining 49% of the variance of tHcy plasma concentration. GCP2 1561C>T and RFC1 80G>A showed no effect on tHcy and folate plasma level. In conclusion, GCP2 1561C>T, but not RFC1 80G>A, is a predictor of red blood cell folate level in chronic dialysis patients. Both polymorphisms have no major effect on tHcy plasma concentration in end-stage renal disease patients.


This article examines structural breaks in the effect of the unemployment duration for the population of Mexico on the probability of migrating, both internal and internationally. Data from the National Survey of Occupation and Employment for 2007, 2008, and 2010 is used, and estimations are made from both binary and multinomial response models. Furthermore, a Chow-type test is used to estimate structural breaks in the unemployment duration effect after the financial crisis, and sensitivity tests are carried out using different specifications of the migration and unemployment duration variables. The results show that after the crisis the unemployment duration effects on the probability of migrating have been reduced, leading to restrictions on the free mobility of the labor factor.


Horizontal Directional Drill (HDD) installation of high-voltage (HV) transmission has proven practical, and in some cases, less costly than traditional overhead options. Petrochemical facilities located on waterways provide excellent opportunities for underwater HDD-installed transmission lines. These designs can provide significant safety advantages as well as improve system reliability. They eliminate the height restrictions associated with overhead lines, reduce air traffic obstructions, and reduce the weather-related concerns typically associated with traditional overhead transmission lines, especially highly elevated transmission line crossings over waterways. They also offer significant opportunities when expanding existing facilities and designing for Prevention through Design by eliminating the overhead transmission and their associated contact risks throughout the life of the installation. Each HDD-installed transmission line is different and can create significant challenges; however, the benefits associated with this technology can significantly outweigh the effort. This article reviews some of the challenges associated with long, high-capacity transmission line installations, along with their associated solutions as incorporated in previous projects. This article does not cover the smaller and shorter HDD installations typically associated with electrical distribution commonly used to cross streets, highways, or feed commercial facilities.


Thymus capitatus is a Mediterranean endemic plant commonly known as "Zaïtra" in northern Morocco. As T. capitatus is widely used in traditional medicine and food, this present work aims to investigate the chemical compositions and biological activities of the T. capitatus leaves essential oil (TcLEO), acetonic (TcLAE), and methanolic extract (TcLME). The spectrophotometric determination demonstrated that T. capitatus is a natural source rich in phenolic contents (TPC) and flavonoid contents (TFC) and that TcLME revealed the highest TPC and TFC than TcLAE and TcLEO. The LC-MS analysis of phenolic compounds showed that paraben acid was predominant in both TcLME and TcLAE, followed by cinnamic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid. GC-MS analysis of the TcLEO revealed the presence of a total of 10 compounds, which were predominated by carvacrol. The antioxidant activity by ORAC was observed to be significantly higher in TcLEO and TcLAE than in TcLME. All samples used to assess DNA degradation effectively prevented DNA oxidation and, at the same time, had a prooxidant effect. The genotoxicity test showed that the T. capitatus were devoid of any mutagenic activity. Concerning antifungal activity, all samples were able to inhibit the growth of all microorganisms tested at low concentrations. TcLAE showed higher activity than TcLME, and in general, dermatophytes were more susceptible, being Microsporum canis the most sensitive one. Overall, the results obtained from this study confirm the wide uses of T. capitatus. Furthermore, the finding results suggest that the T. capitatus essential oil and extracts can be highly useful for pharmaceutical industries.


A study of multidisciplinary record-keeping at King George Hospital, Essex, resulted in an improvement in the quality of documentation and interdisciplinary communication. The system has now been implemented in all clinical areas.


A unique case of small bowel obstruction in an 83-year-old man is reported. The obstruction was produced by a carcinoma of the caecum. The caecum was lying in the scrotal sac of a large indirect inguinal hernia.


In this paper, we shall focus on the design and asymptotic performance analysis of joint source channel coding (JSCC) for MIMO channels with limited Channel State Information (CSI) feedback. We consider rate adaptation, spatial power adaptation as well as precoder adaptation. We find that the optimal distortion exponent (achieved with perfect CSIT) can be realized using only spatial power adaptation and precoder adaptation with sufficiently large feedback rate. We also compare the average distortion of the limited feedback JSCC system using fixed bandwidth expansion scheme and dynamic bandwidth expansion scheme. We show that dynamic bandwidth expansion is more effective to reduce the limited feedback JSCC performance especially at large average bandwidth expansion.


Background and Goal of Study: Patient position af fects cardiac function and hemodynamic parameters (1). The goal was to compare hemodynamic changes assessed by impedance cardiography during anorectal surgery under low-dose spinal anaesthesia in lithotomy and jack knife position. Materials and methods: Approved by local Ethics Commit tee, the randomized controlled study included 104, ASA I-II adult patients admit ted for elective anorectal surgery, randomly assigned to be performed in lithotomy (group L, n=51) or jack-knife position (group J, n=53) using the envelope method. Af ter arrival to OR and standard monitoring, impedance cardiography device niccomoTM was connected to the patient, and the following variables were recorded: cardiac output (CO), systemic vascular resistance (SVR), systolic index (SI), cardiac index (CI), acceleration index (ACI) measured at times of arrival to OR, placement for, start and end of surgery, placement to bed. Spinal block was made in the sit ting position with 4 mg of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine+10 mkg of fentanyl injected over 2 min. Af ter sit ting for 10 min level of blockade was assessed, patient was placed to one of the two positions and surgery was started. Comparison was based on hemodynamic changes between and inside groups over time. Results and discussion: Data are presented as mean±SD, *p< 0.05 considered as statistically significant group J vs group L:


This study was performed in order to classify different hereditary enamel defects and to estimate their prevalence in a Swedish population. 425,000 children 3-19 years of age were screened in the Public Dental Service for suspected hereditary enamel defects in a well-defined region of Sweden. 182 of the 193 affected children were available for a thorough examination performed by one of the authors. 105 (58%) of these children could be diagnosed as Hereditary Amelogenesis Imperfecta (H.A.I.). 62 (34%) children exhibited enamel defects not related to H.A.I. and in 15 (8%) children no definite diagnosis could be made concerning H.A.I. The group of children diagnosed as H.A.I. could be classified into 12 different clinical subgroups based on two basic types, the hypoplastic and the hypomineralized. 63 of the 105 children showed the hypoplastic type of H.A.I. and 42 the hypomineralized type of H.A.I. Hypomineralized areas of the teeth were a common secondary finding in the hypoplastic type of H.A.I. Usually clinical signs of hereditary enamel defects could be identified both in the primary and in the permanent dentition. The prevalence of H.A.I. in the population studied was estimated to be 1 in 4,000.


In October 2014, I was assigned a partner through a service-learning course at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee called Writing in the Community. This class was centered on the idea that writing is a powerful tool for healing, and that in sharing one's story, everyone is less alone. The class was supplemented with writings by authors who were confronting aspects of their identity such as age, ability, economic status, and race. We discussed in class how knowing and studying these memoirs guide us in conversation for understanding of and awareness for the authors' circumstances, and for our place in the midst of these stories. The service-learning aspect meant that we would in someway interact with a community outside of our course, which is a required form of study for students at Belmont, a private, Christian university.


In recent years, the rate of decrease of the number of new patients with tuberculosis has slowed down. The aging of the Japanese population partially accounts for the increase in the number of patients with tuberculosis. The disease is often transmitted from these aged patients to those who were uninfected. Since it is well-known that a poor nutritional condition lowers the immunological resistance to tuberculosis, we used Onodera's PNI (Prognostic Nutritional Index; 10 x serum albumin concentration + 0.005 x peripheral lymphocyte count) as a parameter to check the nutritional condition and immunological deficiency in patients suffering from tuberculosis. We examined a total of 451 patients with tuberculosis who were admitted to our hospital from 1987 to 1991. The PNI value decreased with age and was low in patients with extensive lesions on chest X-ray as well as in those with complications, PNI was also low in patients showing negative tuberculin skin reaction, and increased with the intensification of the positive reaction. In patients showing negative conversion of bacilli during treatment, PNI value on admission increased significantly immediately before discharge. Patients with percent ideal body weight (IBW, calculated by the Broca's method modified by Katsura) on admission less than 90% accounted for 48.6% of all patients. There was a positive correlation between PNI and an obesity index (P < 0.01, r = 0.24). After admission, in patients showing negative conversion of bacilli, there was a positive correlation between the increase in PNI and the gain of body weight (P < 0.01, r = 0.30).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Organic thin films usually feature vertical phase segregation, and film-depth-dependent light absorption spectroscopy is an emerging characterization method to study the vertical phase separation of active layer films in organic electronics field. However, the interference effects on thin films can lead to optical errors in their characterization results. In this work, the interference effects on fluctuations of peak intensity and peak position of film-depth-dependent light absorption spectroscopy are investigated. Subsequently, a numerical method based on inverse transfer matrix is proposed to obtain the optical constants of the active layer through the film-depth-dependent light absorption spectroscopy. The extinction coefficient error in the non-absorbing wavelength range caused by interference effect is reduced by ∼95% compared with the traditional film-depth-dependent light absorption spectroscopy measurement. Thus, the optical properties of the thin film and quantitative spectrographic analysis based on these optical constants largely avoid the effects of interference including fluctuations of peak intensity and peak position. It is concluded that for many morphologically homogenously films, the spatial (film-depth) resolution of this film-depth-dependent light absorption spectroscopy can be optimized to be <1 nm. Subsequently, this modified film-depth-dependent light absorption spectroscopy approach is employed to simulate the local optical properties within devices with a multilayer architecture.


Sengon (Paraserianthes falcataria (L) Nielsen), is a fast-growing tree species that widely planted in Indonesia. However, some of the wood properties such as low-density, low-hardness, and low-strength limits its utilization. A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of thermal compregnation on the physical as well as mechanical properties of Sengon boards. The tangential board (36 cm x12 cm x3 cm) were impregnated by chitosan solution 0,5% under different temperature levels (100°C, 120°C, and 140°C), then thermally compressed to be 1,5 cm thickness under different temperature levels (150°C, 170°C, and 190°C). Moisture content, density, hardness, springback, Modulus of Elasticity, and Modulus of Rupture of the experimental boards were evaluated. Microscopic feature of the boards were also evaluated using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).The results showed that thermal compregnation positively affected the density, hardness, MOE as well as MOR of the boards. Density of compregnated boards had increased 80.70% compared with uncompregnated boards.In addition, hardness of compregnated boards (286,91 kg/cm²) were increased 54.61% compared with uncompregnated board (159,20 kg/cm²). Thermal compregnation was also increase MOE and MOR of Sengon boards as much as 53.20% and 52.77%, respectively. Meanwhile springback of compregnated boards were significant decrease by chitosan impregnation.The optimum temperature for impregnation as well as compression process of the boards were 100°C and 150°C respectively. Keywords: chitosan, compregnation, density, mechanical strength, sengon


OBJECTIVE
To test whether urges to smoke and perceived addiction to smoking, have independent predictive value for quit attempts and short-term quit success over and above the Heaviness of Smoking Index (HSI).

METHODS
Data were from the International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Wave 1 (2016) and Wave 2 (2018) surveys. 3661 daily smokers (daily vapers excluded) provided data in both waves. A series of multivariable logistic regression models assessed the association of each dependence measure on odds of making a quit attempt and ≥1 month smoking abstinence.

RESULTS
Of the 3661 participants, 1594 (43.5%) reported a quit attempt. Of those who reported a quit attempt, 546 (34.9%) reported short-term quit success. Fully adjusted models showed that making quit attempts was associated with lower HSI [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.73-0.90, P < 0.001), stronger urges to smoke (aOR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04-1.20, P = 0.002), and higher perceived addiction to smoking (aOR =0.52, 95% CI 0.32-0.84, P =0.008). Lower HSI (aOR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.40-0.87, P < 0.001) weaker urges to smoke (aOR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.76-0.95, P = 0.006), and lower perceived addiction to smoking (aOR = 0.55, 95% CI =0.32-0.91, P = 0.021) were associated with greater odds of short-term quit success. In both cases overall R2 was around 0.5.

CONCLUSIONS
The two additional dependence measures were complementary to HSI adding explanatory power to smoking cessation models, but variance explained remains small.

IMPLICATIONS
Strength of urges to smoke and perceived addiction to smoking may significantly improve prediction of cessation attempts and short-term quit success over and above routinely assessed demographic variables and the HSI. Stratification of analyses by age group is recommended since the relationship between dependence measures and outcomes differ significantly for younger (age 18-39) compared to older (age over 40) participants. Even with the addition of these extra measures of dependence, the overall variance explained in predicting smoking cessation outcomes remains very low. These measures can only be thought of as assessing some aspects of dependence. Current understanding of the factors that ultimately determine quit success remains limited.


Presentation of Case A sixty-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of swelling of the thigh. He had been well until two months previously, when he fell, striking the left hip. There was no evidence of fracture, and he was confined to bed for a few days. Four days before admission swelling and tenderness of the left thigh developed, accompanied by fever. Two days later he became confused. On the following day the temperature rose to 103°F., and he vomited once. For an unknown period he had had diabetes, which was controlled by oral medication. There was no history . . .


Abstract This pilot qualitative study explored experiences and effects of spirituality and religion among lesbians diagnosed with cancer. A convenience sample of eight self-identified lesbians diagnosed with cancer responded to advertisements for the study. Each woman was interviewed, and interview transcripts were analyzed thematically. The results indicated that all participants found support in spirituality, though definitions of this term varied. Five women found religion supportive, but not one participant still worshipped in the tradition in which she was raised. The participants' identification as lesbian affected their relationships with all sources of support, including spirituality and religion. This finding suggests that clinicians working with cancer survivors should include spiritual and religious beliefs in their assessments and treatment planning, and further research on the experiences of lesbians with cancer is needed.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the occupational status and entrepreneurship research in developing countries by proposing that there are implications for household consumption depending on the occupational status proportion of households. When the occupational proportion of the household changes, household consumption is affected. This effect also changes depending on what quantile level the household is in terms of household consumption.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper makes use of OLS and quantile regressions to examine 6,919 households comprising 40,294 individuals from the 2009 Nigerian Living standards measurement survey.

Findings
The paper finds that there are implications for household consumption based on the proportion of individuals in each occupational category. The contributions of each employment proportion changes at different quantiles with self-employed individuals increasing household consumption at the lower quantiles but reducing household consumption at the upper quantiles. Crucially, having a higher proportion of unemployed individuals in the household is oftentimes better than having a higher proportion of own account self-employed individuals.

Research limitations/implications
This paper offers new insights into how occupation proportion influences household consumption in developing countries. As a result, the household could seek to organise its members in such a way as to maximise combined household consumption, as diverse occupational statuses contribute differently to the household consumption at different quantile levels. The nature of the data used in this study however does not allow for causality tests.

Practical implications
The proportion of employment statuses in the household has implications for household consumption and so the mix of employment in the household is important. The self-employed could also be involved in activities to enhance household consumption that are not captured by labour income. However, self-employment does not seem to always have a positive effect on household consumption and sometimes unemployment might be better.

Originality/value
The paper provides a new way to view the household as an organising entity in terms of how it can allocate employment proportions to maximise household consumption.


This article discusses implications of Basque modal constructions for representational models of Final-Over-Final Constraint (FOFC) effects. We argue that FOFCviolating structures at an intermediate derivational level can be repaired by subsequent movement steps. The analysis entails that FOFC-violating structures are buildable by the syntax, contra narrow syntactic approaches to FOFC, and that FOFC evaluation instead applies in the phonology after copy deletion. Such a view of FOFC helps explain several recalcitrant word order restrictions on Basquemodal constructions as well as variation in the effect of focus and negation on modal placement across Basque dialects.


Multiple studies have investigated the relationship between androgenetic alopecia and cardiovascular disease, including studies that have identifi ed elevated rates of cardiovascular disease in patients with vertex hair loss, vertex and frontal hair loss, early onset hair loss and rapidly progressive hair loss. In addition, increased risks for hypertension, excess weight, abnormal lipids, insulin resistance, carotid atheromatosis and death from diabetes or heart disease have been reported in this population. Studies investigating an association between androgenetic alopecia and metabolic syndrome have yielded confl icting fi ndings. Distinct guidelines for the detection and prevention of cardiovascular disease in individuals with androgenetic alopecia have not been established. In addition to the traditional risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease, included in the defi nition of the metabolic syndrome, several skin diseases have recently been shown to be markers of conditions relating to the patient's overall health. Physicians should be aware of the possible connection between relatively frequent skin diseases, such as psoriasis and hair growth disruptions, including androgenetic alopecia and female pattern hair loss and cardiovascular disease. This review is concentrated on the association between insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, abdominal fat, cardiovascular disease and hair growth disruptions as an early indicator of these underlying conditions. We have investigated the importance of robust primary clinical treatment measures to address the manifestation of hair loss due to a disruption caused by metabolic syndrome as an eff ective means to alleviate further stress induced hair loss, which can exacerbate the underlying cause


Purpose To determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of trigeminal–cervical (TC) ocular referred pain. Methods A retrospective study of 1,680 patients seen during 2002–2010 was performed in an ocular surface specialty center to identify patients with or without TC pain defined as ocular pain with ipsilateral trigger points located at the occipital region. Patients with refractory TC pain despite topical anesthetics and conventional treatments received interventional injection to each trigger point. Results A total of 81 (4.8%) patients (study group) with TC pain and 241 patients (control group) without TC pain were identified out of the 1,680 patients over an 8 year period. There was no difference in age, gender, prior surgeries, medications, non-pain symptoms, pain laterality, and concomitant ocular diseases between the 2 groups. Multivariate regression analysis showed that patients with TC pain had a significant correlation with persistent deep ocular pain, ipsilateral trigger points (f2=99, p<0.001) but not headaches (f2=0.09, p=0.5). Injection at the trigger points achieved complete or partial pain resolution with a low recurrence rate in 43 of 45 (96%) patients with TC pain. Conclusion TC pain defined herein may be a different entity of ocular pain and can indeed be differentiated from other ocular pain by the referral character so that one may avoid mislabeling it as undetermined or as a reason to unnecessarily overtreat concomitant ocular diseases.


We claim that the types of interactions that occur at a communal artifact may take the form of informal conversation, information transfer or knowledge exploration depending on the structure of the water cooler and the activity which prompted the Interaction. If this same water cooler effect can be fined tuned to provoke more instances of knowledge exploration, then learning can be achieved more naturally—which is especially important in informal leaning. This paper highlights the water cooler effect of Kitchen Science Investigators, an afterschool informal learning environment, to suggest Characteristics of the water cooler effect that encourage knowledge exploration.


Records of 24 pregnancies with fetal polydactyly were reviewed for the type of polydactyly, family history, associated sonographic findings, genetic testing, and postnatal/postmortem examination findings. The importance of fetal polydactyly can be mainly elucidated by the family history and absent or associated anomalies on a specialized malformation scan. Fetal karyotyping diagnoses frequent chromosomal anomalies in about half of cases with additional malformations, and array comparative genomic hybridization may be a future means of detecting cryptic chromosomal aberrations. Syndromic disorders of monogenic origin demand a careful interdisciplinary clinical assessment for establishing a clinical diagnosis and prognosis for the outcome of the child.


The relation between thyroid homeostasis and the biochemical parameters of subclinical protein malnutrition has been analyzed in schoolchildren in a rural area in the south of Italy, known to be moderately iodine-deficient. The sera of 32 children (15 males and 17 females aged 6 to 11 years) have been analyzed. These children were divided into two groups, according to thyroid function: (1) 16 euthyroid children (mean thyrotropin [TSH] 2.38 +/- .35 mU/L; 6 with goiter) and (2) 16 subclinical hypothyroid children (mean TSH 7.32 +/- 1.68 mU/L; 6 with goiter). Retinol circulating complex (RCC) components were determined in serum by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and radial immunodiffusion and the essential and nonessential amino acid levels by ion exchange chromatography. Reduced retinol binding protein (RBP) and transthyretin (TTR) levels were recorded in the sera of 11 of 32 (34%) and in 5 of 32 (16%) patients, respectively. The linear regression analysis revealed that RBP and TSH levels were inversely correlated (r = -0.514; p < 0.0026). The RBP levels were subnormal in 2 of 16 euthyroid and in 9 of 16 hypothyroid patients (Fisher test p < 0.023), and the mean RBP levels were significantly reduced in the hypothyroid patients when compared with those of the euthyroid group (p < 0.0026). The retinol/RBP ratio was also significantly different between euthyroid and hypothyroid children (0.75 vs. 0.95; p < 0.0002). The mean essential amino acid levels, with the exception of methionine, were all in the normal range. The selected amino acid ratios confirmed that the patients were exposed to mild protein malnutrition. These results provide evidence that even mild protein-energy malnutrition may have detrimental effects on thyroid homeostasis in iodine-deficient areas.


The discovery of new molecular organic materials for electroluminescent devices has allowed a wide variety of applications in displays, communications, sensors, and the like. The demonstration of organic magnetic materials has offered the challenge of finding polymer (organic) materials in which there is sufficient electronic exchange as well as stability both thermally and chemically. The intrinsically conductive and semiconductive polymers have offered flexibility and conductivity to meet needs from batteries to solar cells. This paper gives an update/overview of promising new complex polymer building blocks which can yield conductive, semiconductive, luminescent, ferro-, ferri-, and super-paramagnetic materials for devices of the future in power, storage, displays, and communications devices. The use of these materials to produce electrically active polymeric materials has given us freedom to fabricate devices with novel and useful properties.


The ethnological research on the everyday life of big Polish cities has only commenced. The author describes a series of customary behaviours connected with the dress of the students of Cracow in the years 1945-1956. Basing on the newspapers of those times and on his own memories, the author discusses the fashion of that period, the ways of obtaining the clothing and its alteration necessary since a considerable part of it came from the military stores of the Western armies. A proper haircut and a special way of bearing propagated by the Communist youth organization, a manifestation of the philosophy of life. According to the author that fashion was a conscious form of protest expressed by the academic youth against the cultural unification introduced by the totalitarian system forms in Poland in the period following World War II.


Current knowledge about the interaction between GH and its receptor suggests that the molecular heterogeneity of circulating GH may have important implications for growth. The aim of this study was to investigate the proportion of circulating non-22-kDa GH isoforms in prepubertal children with short stature (height less than -2 SD score) of different etiologies. We have also evaluated the relationships among the ratio of non-22-kDa GH isoforms, auxology, and spontaneous GH secretion. The study groups consisted of 17 girls with Turner's syndrome (TS), aged 3-13 yr, 25 children born small for gestational age (SGA) without postnatal catch-up growth, aged 3-13 yr; and 24 children with idiopathic short stature (ISS), aged 4-15 yr. The results were compared with those from 23 prepubertal healthy children of normal stature (height +/- 2 SD score), aged 4-13 yr. Serum non-22-kDa GH levels, expressed as a percentage of the total GH concentration, were determined by the 22-kDa GH exclusion assay, which is based on immunomagnetic extraction of monomeric and dimeric 22-kDa GH from serum and quantitation of non-22-kDa GH using a polyclonal antibody-based GH assay. All samples were selected from spontaneous GH peaks in 24-h GH profiles. The median proportion of non-22-kDa GH isoforms was increased in children born SGA (9.8%; P = 0.05) and girls with TS (9.9%; P = 0.01), but not in the group of children with ISS (8.9%), compared with that in normal children (8.1%). Individually, increased proportions of non-22-kDa GH isoforms, with values more than 2 SD above the mean for the normal group, were observed in 5 girls with TS, 5 children born SGA, and 4 children with ISS. In children born SGA, the proportion of non-22-kDa GH isoforms was directly correlated with different estimates of spontaneous GH secretion [mean 24-h GH concentration (r = 0.41; P = 0.04), area under the curve over baseline (r = 0.41; P = 0.04), and GH peak area (r = 0.61; P = 0.003)], whereas it was inversely correlated with height SD score (r = -0.42; P = 0.04). In conclusion, an increased proportion of circulating non-22-kDa GH isoforms was observed at spontaneous GH peaks in some non-GH-deficient short children. Our results suggest that the ratio of non-22-kDa GH isoforms in the circulation may have important implications for normal and abnormal growth.


In 2003, the Council of Europe, the highest political organ of the European Union, resolved to adopt the European Security Strategy. This document outlined three fundamental objectives for the EU: stability and good governance in the area of the EU's closest neighbors; creating an international order that would be based not only on bilateral relations, but primarily on efficient multilateral relations; and preventing threats, whether new or traditional. The Strategy assumed that the EU would take the responsibility for international security both in the realm of 'peace keeping' (peace and defensive missions) and 'peace-making' (peace and offensive missions). Defining the threats that the European Union needs to defy, the Strategy enumerates local conflicts, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their potential use against the territory of the EU and its member states, collapsing states, and conflicts breaking out in such states and their neighborhood, as well as organized crime. The assessment of numerous threats to internal and external security, presented in the European Security Strategy, remains up-to-date. There have also emerged new threats for Europe that result from the need to ensure energy security, primarily with respect to the diversification of energy sources. The significance of climate change to international security has increased. The same applies to IT security or piracy. The EU has been rather anxious about the intensification of frozen conflicts, in particular the outbreak of war between Russia and Georgia. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has indicated that the enlargement process is a significant stabilizing factor in the EU neighborhood. Fundamental importance is also attached to the review of cooperation principles with the USA, the crucial role of the UN in the international system, and cooperation with regional organizations, such as the African Union. There is also the need to develop a strategic partnership with NATO, in particular in terms of operational cooperation. Another key factor in the strengthening of the EU's global position is the development of a civil and military crisis response system.


enteric artery and the proximal end of the previously deployed uni-iliac graft made the patient unsuitable for conven-tional endovascular repair, thus the distal 3 cm was cut from a standard thoracic stent graft and the device was reloaded. The modified graft was positioned below the superior mesenteric artery, while renal perfusion was secured by a chimney graft. Technical success was obtained in all three cases. Conclusion: The available toolkit of endovascular aortic surgery is generally suitable for the treatment of patients with typical anatomy. In elective cases of patients with unusual anatomy, or in urgent cases with complex aortic patholo-gies, physician-modified endovascular graft implantation can be used effectively.


oompare statements of the radical theologians and to see how they represent options to the movements of liberalism and nee-orthodoxy. "The Significance of Radical Christianity," Part III, written by Professor Kliever, is a summary and analysis of the eontributions of the six radical theologians. While recognizing the unfinished nature of their contributions, Kliever maintains that they have tackled issues which remain front and center in eontemporary theology.


This paper addresses the void fraction of polydisperse particles with a Weibull (or Rosin-Rammler) size distribution. It is demonstrated that the governing parameters of this distribution can be uniquely related to those of the lognormal distribution. Hence, an existing closed-form expression that predicts the void fraction of particles with a lognormal size distribution can be transformed into an expression for Weibull distributions. Both expressions contain the contraction coefficient β. Likewise the monosized void fraction φ_{1}, it is a physical parameter which depends on the particles' shape and their state of compaction only. Based on a consideration of the scaled binary void contraction, a linear relation for (1-φ_{1})β as function of φ_{1} is proposed, with proportionality constant B, depending on the state of compaction only. This is validated using computational and experimental packing data concerning random close and random loose packing arrangements. Finally, using this β, the closed-form analytical expression governing the void fraction of Weibull distributions is thoroughly compared with empirical data reported in the literature, and good agreement is found. Furthermore, the present analysis yields an algebraic equation relating the void fraction of monosized particles at different compaction states. This expression appears to be in good agreement with a broad collection of random close and random loose packing data.


Patients undergoing clearing colonoscopy with resection of adenomas should generally have their next examination at three years. Exceptions include large sessile adenomas removed piecemeal (re-examine at two to six months until no evidence of recurrent polyp, then at one year), average risk patients with a single tubular adenoma (next examination at five years) and patients with 'numerous' adenomas (next examination at one or two years). Patients with surgically resected colorectal cancer should have a clearing colonoscopy preoperatively or within two to three months of surgery in obstructed patients, even if the preoperative barium enema is negative for proximal lesions. After the clearing colonoscopy, subsequent examinations can be performed based on the associated adenoma findings.


This study examined the existing level of primary school teachers" perceived intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and their performance assessed through respective head-teachers. Data was collected through adapted teachers" and head-teachers" questionnaires having both Likert-scale items and open-ended questions. Teachers" questionnaire involved 28 (11=intrinsic motivation, 14 =extrinsic motivation) and three open ended questions within the same questionnaire used for obtaining qualitative data. They asked for teachers" insights into existing problems and the measures to improving teachers" motivation and performance; whereas, head-teachers" questionnaire implicated 13 Likert-scale items asking for respective performance of the teachers. Overall internal consistency of the tool was measured through Cronbach"s alpha which stood good (.822). The alpha values stood at .892, .745 and .851 for intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation; and teachers" performance respectively. The multi-stage random sampling involved 348 teacher-respondents and 40 head-teachers of District Hyderabad, Sindh. Data was analyzed through SPSS package version 16.00 for descriptive statistical analyses at 0.05 level of confidence. Descriptive statistics revealed that teachers ranked their intrinsic motivation better (mean ranged1.62 to 2.18 for 11items) against extrinsic motivation (mean ranged from 2.50 to 3.97 for 14 items).Teachers" 13 performance items did not catch supporting evidence i.e. means ranged from 1.93 to 3.97 (with 2.82 mean of means).


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a trapezoidal wave form for ventricular difibrillation. Overall efficacy showed the trapezoidal waveform to be effective for defibrillation, including patients weighing over 100 kg (220 lb). We concluded that (1) the trapezoidal waveform is an effective defibrillatory pulse and (2) the trapezoidal waveform offers pulse characteristics less deleterious than other established waveforms.


This paper presents a new synthetic method for 9,10-di-(3,5-diphenyl)phenyl anthracene as the emitter in organic light emitting diode,especially in synthesis of 3,5-(diphenyl)bromobenzene. The intermediate product 3,5-(diphenyl)bromobenzene was synthesized by one-pot reaction of 2,4,6-tribromoiodobenzene with aryl-grignard reagent. The electroluminescence (EL) spectra and current density-voltage-luminance characteristics of 9,10-di-(3,5-diphenyl)phenyl anthracene-based organic light emitting diodes were also investigated.The results showed that 9,10-di-(3,5-diphenyl)phenyl anthracene was one of the useful products as the emitting materials in organic light emitting diodes.


Conducting training on the topic of counteracting the legalization of proceeds of crime is not an optional element for organizations conducting operations with cash and (or) other property. This type of training is compulsory and is carried out on an ongoing basis for all employees of such organizations, moreover, the fact of its passage is controlled by supervisory authorities.


Background In the context of ageing populations worldwide, increasing numbers of older people are lonely, isolated and excluded, with serious implications for their health, cognitive and physical functioning. Access to good public transport can improve mobility, access to services and social participation among older adults. Policies that improve access and encourage the use of public transport are therefore potentially important in promoting healthy and successful ageing. Concessionary travel schemes for older people are in place in many countries but are under threat following the global financial crisis. Evidence regarding the success of these schemes in increasing activity and social participation is generally positive but based largely on qualitative or observational associations. In particular, robust evaluations of the schemes are limited by the lack of appropriate comparison groups as they generally represent a universal benefit. Methods We use changes to the English statutory concessionary travel scheme over time, in particular the rising eligibility age from 2010 onwards, as a natural experiment to explore its impact on older people's travel. A difference-in-difference-in-difference analysis of the annual National Travel Surveys (2002–2016) compares three age groups differentially affected by the eligibility criteria: (i) those aged 50–59 years who were never eligible for the scheme (N~2,500 per year); (ii) those aged 60–64 years who were decreasingly eligible for the scheme from 2010 onwards (N~1,000 per year); and (iii) those aged 65–74 years who were consistently eligible for the scheme throughout the period of interest (N~2,000 per year). Results Compared with 50–59 year-olds, bus travel among 60–74 year-olds increased year-on-year from 2002 to 2010, particularly from 2006 when the scheme offered free travel. The frequency of bus travel in both the older groups then fell following rises in eligibility age (annual change in the proportion traveling by bus at least weekly: -2.9% (-4.1%, -1.7%) in 60–64 and 65–74 compared with 50–59 year-olds). Results were consistent across gender, occupation and urban/rurality. Conclusion Our results indicate that access to, specifically, free travel increases bus use and access to services among older people, potentially improving mobility, social participation and health. However, the rising eligibility age in England has led to a reduction in bus travel in older people, including those not directly affected by the change, demonstrating that the positive impact of the concession goes beyond those who are eligible. Future work should explore the cost/benefit trade-off of this and similar schemes worldwide.


This paper investigates summer precipitation change in East Asia according to switching surface boundary condition over South Korea and Shantung. Simulations are carried out by ECHO-G/S for 20 years (1980-1999). Surface condition over both areas in ECHO-G/S is represented by ocean (OCN experiment). In OCN experiment, the summer precipitation is considerably underestimated around the Korean peninsula (the dry region) and overestimated over the eastern Tibetan Plateau (the wet region). It may be related that the lack of the heat sources from the unrealistically prescribed land-sea mask weakens northward expansion of rainband and the development of convective precipitation. Moreover the simulated rainband retreats before June in connection with the early genesis of summer monsoon circulation. The systematic bias of the summer precipitation over the dry and wet regions are reduced comparing with the OCN experiment when the land-sea masks over South Korea and Shantung are realistically considered as land (LND experiment). These improvements can be explained by the thermodynamical dissimilarity between land and ocean. Enhanced warming by switching the areas from sea to land has led to develop the thermal low over Yellow Sea with the cyclonic circulation. Thus, this cyclonic circulation supports moistures from the south to the dry region and blocks to the wet region. The heat transport from the land surface to atmosphere plays a key role in the developing convective precipitation in local scale and maintaining the precipitation and the rainband. Therefore, this results indicate that the design of the realistic land-sea distribution is required for the accurate simulation of the regional precipitation.


Two strains representing Wickerhamiella allomyrinae f.a., sp. nov. were isolated from the gut of Allomyrina dichotoma (Coleoptera: Scarabeidae) collected from the Baotianman National Nature Reserve, Nanyan, Henan Province, China. Sequence analyses of the D1/D2 domains of the LSU rRNA gene revealed that this novel species was located in the Wickerhamiella clade (Saccharomycetes, Saccharomycetales), with three described species of the genus Candida, namely Candida musiphila, Candida spandovensis and Candida sergipensis, as the most closely related species. The novel species differed from these three species by 9.3-9.8% sequence divergence (35-45 nt substitutions) in the D1/D2 sequences. The species could also be distinguished from the closely related species, C. musiphila, C. spandovensis and C. sergipensis, by growth on vitamin-free medium and at 37 °C. The type strain is Wickerhamiella allomyrinae sp. nov. NYNU 13920(T) ( =CICC 33031(T) =CBS 13167(T)).


PURPOSE
To explain the hypointensity in the basal ganglia on T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images of brains of toluene abusers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Eight patients with histories of toluene abuse underwent MR imaging. A bilayered model of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC; 100 mmol/L concentration) and varying concentrations of toluene was formed. The DPPC control and toluene-mixed bilayers underwent MR imaging. T1 and T2 were measured as a function of toluene and lipid concentrations.

RESULTS
T2-weighted images of patients who had abused toluene showed marked hypointensity in the thalami and moderate hypointensity in the basal ganglia. Measurements of the DPPC-toluene phantom indicated that toluene-tainted lipid bilayers dramatically shortened T2 and had little effect on T1. By comparison, DPPC itself had little discernible effect on either T1 or T2.

CONCLUSION
This model suggests that partitioning of toluene into the lipid membranes of cells in cerebral tissue may be responsible for the hypointensity of basal ganglia noted on T2-weighted MR images of brains of toluene abusers.


UNLABELLED
The objectives were to measure the pressure--cross-sectional area relations and intrinsic stiffness of the porcine aorta in vivo.

METHODS
Measurements were made in 12 pigs, weight 30, 50 or 75 kg, proximal and distal to the bifurcation of the renal arteries, using an electrical impedance system which was located inside a balloon mounted on a catheter. Vessel cross-sectional area (CSA) was assessed by measuring impedance of the fluid inside the balloon during distension.

RESULTS
In vitro testing demonstrated the accuracy and reproducibility of impedance planimetry. In vivo steady-state CSA values showed non-linear relationship with rising distension pressures. Mean CSA values rose with increasing weight of the pigs. the suprarenal aorta was larger than the infrarenal only in 75 kg pigs (p < 0.05). At three measurements the within-subject variation was 0.89% and the between-subject variation 99.11%. Nitroglycerine infusion produced only minor, insignificant CSA increase, indicating negligible tone in the abdominal aorta. All segments showed circumferential wall strain-tension relations with exponential behaviour uninfluenced by weight class or site in the aorta.

CONCLUSION
Information of vascular mechanics in vivo is obtainable by catheterization of the abdominal aorta.


Interactive segmentation has recently attracted at-tention for specialized segmentation tasks where expert input is required to further enhance the segmentation performance. In this work, we propose a novel interactive segmentation framework, where user clicks are dynamically adapted in size based on the current segmentation mask. The clicked regions form a weight map and are fed to a deep neural network together with the image, where the network learns to discriminate important regions through a novel weighted loss function. To evaluate our loss function, a state-of-the-art interactive V-Net (IV-Net) model which utilizes both foreground and background user clicks as the main method of interaction is employed. To further improve on the IV-Net, we propose the use of a two-stream fusion interactive If-Net (TSFIV-Net) which applies multimodal fusion to allow for the propagation of image feature information throughout the architecture. We train and validate both the models on the BCV dataset, while testing on both seen and unseen structures from the MSD dataset to determine the models generalization and segmentation abilities in comparison to the standard IV-Net. Applying adaptive user click sizes increases the overall dice score by 4.86 % and 8.59 % for seen and unseen structures respectively by utilizing only a single user interaction on the IV-Net compared to the original version, and 9.88% and 10.35% on the TSFIV-Net.


Abstract Objectives: Successful endodontic treatment depends on effective measures to eliminate and prevent infection of root canals. Initially treatment should start with isolation and disinfection of the operating field. This review makes an inventory of the available knowledge regarding its establishment and maintenance. Materials and methods: A literature search was conducted in the PubMed database in order to identify clinical trials examining disinfection or unintentional contamination of the endodontic operative field. A list of 115 articles was obtained and screened. Five relevant articles were identified. These articles were read in full text. The reference lists from these articles were checked manually for additional studies and three studies were obtained. A total of eight articles met the inclusion criteria. Results: There was a great variety in terms of aim, method, and material of the included studies. None could prove a totally reliable aseptic operative field and not one chemical, or combination of chemicals, were found in more than one study. Conclusions: No study documented complete asepsis following initial disinfection, and no study could document predictable maintenance of an established bacteria-free surface. Critical appraisal and standardization of the disinfection and aseptic procedures in endodontics are needed.


In this paper, we propose a feedback scheme for transmitting secret messages between two legitimate parties, over an eavesdropped communication link. Relative to Wyner's traditional encoding scheme, our feedback-based encoding often yields larger rate-equivocation regions and achievable secrecy rates. More importantly, by exploiting the channel randomness inherent in the feedback channels, our scheme achieves a strictly positive secrecy rate even when the eavesdropper's channel is less noisy than the legitimate receiver's channel. All channels are modeled as binary and symmetric. We demonstrate the versatility of our feedback-based encoding method by using it in three different configurations: the stand-alone configuration, the mixed configuration (when it combines with Wyner's scheme), and the reversed configuration. Depending on the channel conditions, significant improvements over Wyner's secrecy capacity can be observed in all configurations.


The purpose of the present study was to formulate valsartan nanosuspension to increase the aqueous solubility and to improve its oral bioavailability. Valsartan is a poorly water‐soluble drug which results in its insufficient bioavailability. Low oral bioavailability of poorly water‐soluble drugs poses a great challenge during drug development. Poorly water‐soluble drugs are difficult to develop as drug products, using conventional formulation techniques. Valsartan nanosuspension was prepared by pearl milling technique using zirconium oxide beads as a milling media and poloxamer 407 (Lutrol F 127) as a stabilizer. Effects of various process parameters like, stirring time and the ratio of the beads were optimized by keeping drug: Surfactant as a constant initially and then optimized process parameters were used to optimize the formulation. The optimized formulation of nanosuspension was used as granulating fluid as well as spray dried onto the mannitol (Pearlitol SD 200) and formulated into tablets. The nanosuspension was characterized by particle size, size distribution analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The nanosuspension was evaluated for drug content, drug release by in vitro dissolution studies and stability.The nanosuspension with 0.3% poloxamer showed improved solubility and dissolution rate.The in vitro dissolution profile of valsartan nanosuspension performed in 6.8 pH phosphate buffer as medium showed complete release. Key words: Nanosusupension, pearl milling, poloxamer, valsartan


Sand dunes of the Mediterranean region constitute drought-stressed, low-fertility ecosystems. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are regarded as key components of their biota, that contribute to plant host adaptation and fitness. However, AMF community assembly rules in the roots of the psammophilous plants of coastal sand dunes have not been investigated. We studied the root colonizing AMF communities of four characteristic native plants of eastern Mediterranean coastal foredunes, in nine locations in Greece. Host specificity (plant identity) was the major driver of AMF community assembly in the plant roots, while geographical distance between locations was not related to differences in the AMF communities. Additionally, colonizer AMF communities were characterized by overdominance of a single OTU which was remarkably host-specific among locations. Wider dissimilarity in AMF communities was observed in small and disturbed (SD) sites compared to large and undisturbed (LU) sites, a trait that may be attributed to relaxed environmental filtering and facilitated AMF dispersal/immigration in SD sites from surrounding habitats. Overall, our results indicate that the assembly of root-colonizing AMF communities in the eastern Mediterranean sand dunes is characterized by strong biotic filtering (host identity), suggesting that co-adaptation processes may be more pronounced than previously proposed, under extreme environmental conditions.


This paper presents an investigation into the development of an adaptive control mechanism for vibration suppression of flexible beam structures using genetic algorithms (GAs). The global search technique of GA is used to estimate the controller transfer function, based on one-step-ahead prediction. An active vibration control (AVC) system is designed utilizing a single-input single-output (SISO) control structure to yield optimum cancellation of broadband vibration at an observation point along the beam. The mean-squared error of observed deflection is adopted as the fitness function and randomly selected controller parameters are optimised for different, arbitrarily chosen order to fit to the system by applying the working mechanism of GA. The global search technique of the GA is utilised to obtain the best parameters among all attempted orders for the controller. The GA-AVC algorithm thus developed is implemented within the simulation environment of a flexible beam structure and simulation results are presented to assess the performance of the system, with different types of excitation namely pseudo-random binary sequence, uniform random and finite duration step signals. It is noted that, the system performance is satisfactory and significant amount of vibration reduction over a broad range of frequencies of the input signal is achieved.


We study Rabi oscillations in a two-level system within the semiclassical approximation as an archetype test field of the Averaging Method (AM). The population transfer between the two levels is approached within the first and the second order AM. We systematically compare AM predictions with the rotating wave approximation (RWA) and with the complete numerical solution utilizing standard algorithms (NRWA). We study both the resonance (∆ = 0) and out-of-resonance (∆ 6= 0) cases, where ∆ = ω − Ω, and ~Ω = E2 − E1 is the two-level energetic separation, while ω is the (cyclic) frequency of the electromagnetic field. We introduce three types of dimensionless factors ǫ, i.e., ΩR/∆, ΩR/Σ, and ΩR/ω, where ΩR is the Rabi (cyclic) frequency and Σ = ω + Ω and explore the range of ǫ where the AM results are equivalent to NRWA. Finally, by allowing for a phase difference in the initial electron wave functions, we explore the prospects coherence can offer. We illustrate that even with equal initial probabilities at the two levels, but with phase difference, strong oscillations can be generated and manipulated.


Horticultural practices may impact invertebrates in agroecosystems, particularly natural enemies. Impacts can be better understood by grouping organisms functionally or using morphological traits in addition to taxonomic determinations. We compared the effects of mulch type (compost, pine needles, unmulched) and weeding strategy (weeded, unweeded) on beetle (Coleoptera) communities in highbush blueberries, focusing on early‐season captures that reflected overwintering habitat. Beetle diversity was similar between plot types, although functional grouping revealed differences as a result of mulching but not weeding. Predatory and granivorous Carabidae were most abundant in unmulched plots, mycetophages were most abundant in pine needles, and saprophages were most abundant in compost. Predatory Staphylinidae were most diverse in compost plots, and the diversity of granivores was greatest in unmulched plots. Carabid biomass was greater in unmulched than compost mulched plots partly as a result of larger beetle size. Beetle communities in unmulched and pine needles mulched plots were more similar than those in compost mulched plots. A combination of compost mulched and unmulched areas should benefit all predatory taxa, although mulch use for pest control will need to be evaluated within the context of other production goals.


The proximate and phytochemical composition of Melanthera biflora was investigated, using standard methods. From the obtained results the leaves had high moisture contents (71.1± 0.2%) and crude fiber (3.91 ± 0.5) while containing moderate protein (7.0 ± 0.03%), while containing lipid (1.10 ± 4%), ash (2.8 ± 0.2%), total carbohydrate (6.09 ± 0.2%) and caloric value (62.26±0.14 kcal/100g). Eleven Phytochemical families were detected with tannin as the most abundant (27.82%) consisting 100% tannic acid. Thirteen alkaloids (13.65%) were detected consisting mainly of morphine (28.05%), methylmorphine (16.22%), dephnoline (12.02%) biflorin, (20.63%), aromoline (12.61%) homoaromaline (7.79%). Twenty-three flavonoid (5.71%) chief among which were quercetin (44.21%), kaemferol (28.94%), dandzein (7.20%), letuolin (10.17%), salvagenin (6.76%), sinensetin 8.20% were detected. The most prominent of the ten carotenoids (2.48%), is lutein (40.76%), followed by carotene (17.90%), malvidin 5.63%, zeaxanthin (16.5%), viola-xanthin (9.5%). Sixty one terpenoid including linalool (40.98%), germacrene (12.74%), Alpha-terpineal 6.40%, terpinen – 4-01 (5.62%), and Gamma terpine were found in the leaves Of the six phenolic acids (16.26%) the highest was ferulic acid (53.94%), followed closely by vanilic acid (45.8%). Seven phytosterol (2.25%), consisting of sitosterol (65.3%), savenasterol (14.19%) stigmasterol (12.70%), and others were detected. The leaves had very a low hydroxycinnamic acid content (8.93x10-4%) content, consisting of eight known compounds of which caffeic acid (71.93%) and p-coumaric acid (27.91%) were the most abundant. They also had very a low allicins (1.94x10-4%) content, consisting of daillylthiosulphunate (97.05%), and methyl thiosulphinate (2.6%) and allylthiosulphin and allylthiosulphinate (0.3%). The leaves had a very low content of glycosides consisting of eight known compounds of which quabain (78.54%) were detected and they include gitogenin (22.04%), diosgenin (20.02), neohegen (20.79%). Their rich contents of nutrients and many bioactive molecules suggest strong nutraceutical potential of these leaves, further suggesting their likely use as functional a food and therapeutic uses in the management and prevention of diseases.


ABSTRACT This study assesses the role of frequency of input in the acquisition of the present perfect by Scottish and American children. Two questions were addressed: (1) Do adults speaking Scottish English use the present perfect more frequently in speech to children than those speaking American English? (2) If there is a difference in the frequency of input, how does this affect the course of development of this structure in the language of Scottish vs. American children? Cross-sectional data were collected from 12 Scottish and 12 American children aged 3; 0 to 6; 4 and from adults interacting with them in naturalistic settings. The data led to the conclusions that (1) Scottish adults use the present perfect construction in their speech to children much more frequently than American adults do; (2) Scottish children use the present perfect construction in their speech long before their American counterparts; and (3) frequency of input does play a major role in the timing and order of acquisition of the present perfect. However, its role appears to be an interactive one, in which it conspires with factors such as semantic, syntactic, and cognitive simplicity to make some forms easier to learn than others.


Extensive vaccination against Newcastle disease virus (NDV) induced more selective immune pressure from hosts that enhanced the evolutionary process of NDV. Herein, we characterized 13 recently isolated NDV isolates from vaccinated chicken flocks during 2014-2017. Sequence analysis of F gene showed the presence of 112 RRQKRF117 velogenic cleavage motif in 11 isolates, whereas the other two isolates (Ck/ME3/Eg/16 and Ck/ME5/Eg/16) showed the monobasic motif 112 GGRQGRL117 . Interestingly, isolate Ck/ME5/Eg/16 showed 100% and 99.82% nucleotide identity with the LaSota F gene hypervariable region and full-length gene, respectively. On the other hand, isolate Ck/ME3/Eg/16 revealed natural recombination with strains NDV/Ck/Egypt/3/2006 and NDV/Teal/VRLCU/Egypt/2015 that indicates re-emergence of that old strain. Interestingly, all 13 isolates showed high intracerebral pathogenicity (ICPI) and mean death time (MDT) despite the presence of lentogenic motif in both Ck/ME5/Eg/16 and Ck/ME3/Eg/16 isolates. Comparative analysis of F antigenic epitopes in our isolates with other published sequences from Egypt revealed high sequence conservation; recent isolates had one fixed amino acid substitution (K78R) and a novel V168I substitution, whereas a D170N substitution was detected in older strains (NDV-EG-35-2014 and NDV-KFR-B7-2012). Taken together, our results support the first isolation of virulent NDV isolates with a lentogenic motif; isolate Ck/ME5/Eg/16 might be generated in nature from LaSota live vaccine, whereas isolate Ck/ME3/Eg/16 is emergent from NDV/Ck/Egypt/3/2006. We conclude that the current diagnostic evaluation of the virulence of NDV isolates by characteristic amino acid residues at the F protein cleavage site is insufficient. There is a need to link virologic and epidemiologic data together, and routine and emergency LaSota vaccination protocols should be carefully and optimally applied, with regards to the timing and presence of co-infecting agents in the field.


Our purpose in this paper is to consider the materials that may be used as the foundation on which to reconstruct deformed faces. A brief presentation is made of the experiences encountered by us with 100 consecutive cases in which grafts of preserved homocartilage were employed. It is felt that this subject is of importance at this time because the conclusions reached are applicable in war injuries as well as in industrial and domestic accidents. HISTORY Medical literature for the past century is dotted with reports of various materials that have been used as the supportive structure on which to rebuild facial contour. Among the materials mentioned may be found such items as ivory, bronze, steel, paraffin, silver, celluloid, fat,1cartilage,2dermis,3fascia, bone and practically anything that may be formed into a shape to fill out the defect in question. By a process of elimination, based


The early phase of calcification of the endocuticle newly formed after molting in the shore crab, Gaetice depressus, was studied by electron microscopy. In endocuticle matrix near the outer surface of the epidermal cell in which the calcification has begun, a number of small or large granular crystallites, 2-150 mμ in diameter, were found to be deposited in the fibrils. The fibrils, about 30-80mμ thick, are dispersed randomly in the ground substance. In each elliptical border of the pore canals situated between the fibrils, the small granular crystallites, 2-26 mμ in diameter, are often deposited in minute spaces. With the advancement of calcification, small or large granular crystallites deposited in the fibrils begin to join with one another and gradually form the band-shaped clusters of crystallites. On the other hand, the small granular crystallites deposited in each border of the pore canals do not form any crystallite clusters even with the advancement of calcification.


Many dental fees have been determined illogically since the beginning of dentistry. Setting fees, however, can be relatively easy and quite equitable for all concerned if they are based on clinical time involved, procedure difficulty and quality of service. Our goal should be to provide the highest quality oral care possible at the lowest fees. It can be done. But changes need to be made, individually and as a profession, in fee structures and the manner in which we deliver treatment.