In this paper we propose an algorithm for estimating vocal tract para sagittal slices in order to have a better overview of the behaviour of the articulators during speech production. The first step is to align the consonant-vowel (CV) data of the sagittal plains between them for the train speaker. Sets of transformations that connect the midsagittal frames with the neighbouring ones is acquired for the train speaker. Another set of transformations is calculated which transforms the midsagittal frames of the train speaker to the corresponding midsagittal frames of the test speaker and is used to adapt to the test speaker domain the previously computed sets of transformations. The newly adapted transformations are applied to the midsagittal frames of the test speaker in order to estimate the neighbouring sagittal frames. Several mono speaker models are combined to produce the final frame estimation. To evaluate the results, image cross-correlation between the original and the estimated frames was used. Results show good agreement between the original and the estimated frames.


Abstract Neoadjuvant immunotherapy involves administering immune checkpoint inhibitors before surgical resection in high-risk resectable disease. This strategy was shown to have a high pathological response rate and prolonged relapse-free survival in randomized trials in melanoma, glioblastoma, and colon cancer with small numbers of patients. In resectable cancers, immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD1) and anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein-4 (CTLA-4) can enhance antitumor immunity by activating antigen-specific T cells found in the primary tumor. These tumor-reactive T cells continue to exert antitumor effects on remaining neoplastic cells after the resection of the primary tumor, potentially preventing relapses from occurring. Based on the scientific rationale and early clinical observations with surrogate survival endpoints, neoadjuvant immunotherapy may provide an effective alternative to other therapeutic strategies such as adjuvant treatment. However, this can be determined only by conducting randomized controlled trials comparing neoadjuvant immunotherapy with the current standard of care for each tumor site. This review discusses the cellular mechanisms that occur during successful neoadjuvant immunotherapy and highlights the clinical data from the available human studies that support the preclinical mechanistic data. Here we also discuss strategies required for successful neoadjuvant immunotherapy, including combination treatment strategies and resistance mechanisms to neoadjuvant treatment.


While the severity of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been defined in a valid and relevant prognostic manner, parameters that describe the course of COPD exacerbations are not yet established. Physical performance and dyspnoea are of prognostic relevance in stable COPD. The issue investigated was to assess the course of COPD exacerbations to find parameters that describe this situation better.


Abstract We analyze the temporal distribution of sunspot groups for even and odd cycles in the range SC12-SC24. It seems that cycle 24 is a characteristic even cycle, although with low amplitude. The number of large sunspot groups for cycle 24 is relatively smaller than for the average of both even and odd cycles SC12-SC23, and there is a deep decline of the large groups in the middle of the cycle. Temporal evolution of the sunspot groups of the even cycles is non-synchronous such that the northern hemisphere distribution of groups maximizes earlier that the southern hemisphere groups. This leads to a double-peak structure for the average even cycle. On the other hand, the distributions of the sunspot groups of odd cycles maximize simultaneously. We show that this double-peak structure intensifies the Gnevyshev gap (GG) for the even cycles, but is not its primary cause. On the contrary, we show that the GG exists for even and odd cycles, and separately on both hemispheres. We resample all cycles to have equal number of 3945 days and study the difference in the evolution of average total group area and average group area of the even and odd cycles separately. The analysis shows that there is a decline in both total area and average area in the even cycles 1445 days (about four years) after the beginning of the cycle, which is at least 99 % significant for both total and average area. The odd cycles do not have such a clear decline.


An ulcerative sublingual inflammation was found to be present in a Siberian Husky dog. Histological examination revealed an eosinophilic granuloma. Treatment with corticosteroids was successful.


This investigation aimed to identify a significant relationship between teachers' metacognition and learners' higher-order thinking skills (HOTs). The correlational research method was employed to satisfy the investigation's primary objective. Two respondents were involved, including a total enumeration of Grade VI teachers and randomly selected Grade VI learners in Can-avid District. Through the administration of adapted sets of questionnaires and analysis of data using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical tools, the study revealed the following salient findings: (1) majority of the teacher respondents indicated a very high level of conceptual knowledge of cognition and planning skills of cognition regulation rather than procedural knowledge and evaluating and monitoring skills; (2) learners have exhibited very poor higher-order thinking skills in terms of scientific inquiry skills of analyzing, evaluating, and creating; and that (3) teachers' metacognition only manifested a weak negative correlation with learners creating skills. The study recommends the advancement of teachers' metacognition and learners' HOTs through active integration of said skills in the curriculum and providing opportunities for teachers' professional advancement. Finally, future researchers should conduct a larger-scale inquiry to fully comprehend the relationship between the variables studied in this study and to fully realize the impact of metacognition on learners' skills, which was not demonstrated in this paper.


It is well known that violin plate tuning parameters are controlled by adjustments of mass and stiffness but the link between plate tuning and violin sound quality lags behind in violin research. If violin making is to be improved two important objectives have to be achieved. First, violin sound quality has to be related to objective measurement and second, this measurement has to be brought within the control of the maker during the plate tuning process. This paper will show that violin sound quality is constructed within the harmonic spectrum, that it can be objectified in measurement taken from within the harmonic spectrum, and that specific harmonic relationships can contribute either positively or negatively to sound quality. Then evidence is presented to show how the maker can control plate tuning in ways that accentuate positive and avoid negative harmonics and so improve violin sound quality.


Background: Most common ADRs associated with radiocontrast media are rash, fever, nausea, vomiting and shivering. Rarely life threatening anaphylaxis and acute hypersensitivity reaction may also occur. Very few studies are carried out in India focusing on this aspect.

Aims & Objective: To study and report the Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR) caused by radio contrast media in a tertiary care teaching rural hospital.

Material and Methods: Two hundred and fifty seven patients from Radiology department were observed for occurrence of adverse drug events (ADEs) from 01 Jul 2012 to 31 Jul 2012. ADEs were either spontaneously reported or elucidated from personal interviews were analysed.

Results: Total 8 (3.11%) out of 257 patients who had undergone for ionic radio contrast dye investigation had a single event of ADR. Total occurrence rate of ADR is 3.11%. Most common ADR was rash followed by shivering, nausea, vomiting and fever with use of ionic contrast media. All Adverse Drug Reactions, according to WHO-UMC and Naranjo's scale were of "probable" category. All the ADRs were at level-3 according to Modified Hartwig and Siegel severity scale. All the ADRs according to Modified Schumock and Thornton criteria for Preventability of an ADR are of "not preventable" category. All the ADRs were of "Bizarre" type. All the patients were treated with antihistaminic and steroids.

Conclusion: It is recommended to use non-ionic contrast media instead of ionic media by all the health care professionals. Treatment with steroids and antihistaminic in patients who develop ADRs due to radiocontrast media can be effective.


Abstract Detection of vehicles is a critical skill for students learning to cross streets. Some people with visual impairments who can see approaching vehicles well while attending for them may have difficulty doing so when looking from side to side to check for sufficient clearance to cross. People with severely restricted visual fields may miss seeing vehicles that are very close to them unless they scan sufficiently slowly, and people with severe visual acuity loss may miss seeing vehicles that are approaching from a distance unless they hold their gaze long enough to detect movement. This article describes in an orderly presentation a training procedure previously presented only in workshops and on websites, and expounds on the possible vision science to describe the problems. The authors put forward a method for horizontal lateral scanning for vehicles at uncontrolled crossings that will increase accessibility of the method to instructors worldwide. The training involves having students face a street and practice turning to look for approaching vehicles, then employing an instructor-led feedback loop, correcting themselves and improving performance. The instructional goal is for students to consistently successfully scan for vehicles that are most challenging for them to detect.


Recent egocentric video summarization approaches have dealt with motion analysis and social interaction without considering that user can be interested in preserving only part of the video related to his interests. In this paper we propose a new method for personalized video summarization of cultural experiences with the goal of extracting from the streams only the scenes corresponding to a user's specific topics request, chosen among the shots in which it's possible to deduce that the visitor was focusing on a point of interest. Preliminary experiments show that our approach is promising and allows visitor to better customize the summary of his experience.


The Offence Analogue and Offence Reduction Behaviour Rating Guide provides a structure for monitoring behaviors linked to a violent offenders' criminogenic needs within the prison environment. It has the potential to assist reappraisals of dynamic risk factors, measure treatment progress, and enhance release decision making. The present study investigates the utility of this guide by (1) exploring whether Offence Analogue Behaviours (OABs) and Offence Reduction Behaviours (ORBs) manifest within the prison environment, and (2) investigating the relationship between these behaviors and violent recidivism. This study was conducted via a retrospective review of case files for 94 violent offenders imprisoned and then released into the community in Victoria, Australia. The results indicate that these risk-related behaviors can be identified, and some OABs and ORBs are associated with time to the commission of a violent offense post-release. Most of the significant predictors were pro-social behaviors (ORBs), demonstrating a negative relationship with violent recidivism. This illustrates the importance of attending to the development of pro-social behavior in addition to a reduction in antisocial behavior when assessing risk for future violence in incarcerated offenders. These results suggest the OAB and ORB rating guide may provide a useful framework for structuring observations of risk-related behaviors in custody.


The purpose of this article is to take an in-depth look at how certain non-academic factors affect standardized test results in the middle school setting.  As standardized testing and student growth impact school and teacher evaluation, it is important to consider the influence of factors both inside and outside of the classroom. This study analyzed the impact on student performance on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam of the following variables: property taxes received by schools; instructional spending per pupil; percentage of low-income students; percentage of student mobility; percentage of English Language Learners (ELL); teacher salary, retention rates, and education; and class size. This analysis was based on data gathered from the Illinois State Report Card published by the Illinois State Board of Education on 374 of the 376 grade 6--8 middle schools located in Illinois. The three strongest predictors of the success rate for middle school age students on the PARCC exam were the student mobility rate, the amount of property tax received by the school, and the percentage of low-income students. Instructional spending per pupil, percentage of English Language Learners, teacher retention rate, salary and education, and class size had a less significant impact on students meeting or exceeding standards on the PARCC exam. This suggests that the socioeconomic demographics of the surrounding community are a contributing factor to student success.


The growth and development of six litters (21 pups) of captive Gerbillurus paeba exilis are described. Growth is slow with mean adult mass (32,4 g) being reached after 102 days, although the youngest sexually mature male and female were 63 days and 84 days old respectively. Physical development is also comparatively slow and weaning is completed after 30 days. Mass, tail length and hindfoot measurements were subject to much less error than head/body length data. Mass values of wild and captive gerbils are compared where possible. Two 'critical periods' in development were pin-pointed, i.e., (i) Day 12, when all the motor abilities developed rapidly, and (ii) Day 17, when the eyes opened and social behaviour followed. Behavioural development was divided into four periods: neonatal, transitional, socializing and juvenile.


Venous malformation (VM) is the most common type among vascular malformations classified by the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies. Most VMs are sporadic (94%), caused in 40% of cases by somatic mutation of TEK gene. VMs can be cutaneous, visceral, or combined. Visceral involvement is rare, and gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the most common localization. Visceral VMs, usually asymptomatic, may manifest with bleeding, anemia, and consumptive coagulopathy, which sometimes require an emergency treatment. Our aim is to study the possible GI involvement in patients with only one cutaneous VM. We analyzed a series of six patients who presented with a single cutaneous VM and have subsequently manifested intestinal involvement at our reference center for vascular anomalies since 2010. In our patients, cutaneous VMs were located on lower or upper limbs, and GI involvement manifested from 3 to 10 years after skin diagnosis. Our experience urges to early diagnose a GI involvement also in patients with only one skin VM and to prevent severe complications. A multidisciplinary approach is mandatory for the diagnosis and treatment of these patients.


The mobile phone is one of the main sources of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation. A lot of small setups are proposed to reduce this exposure: the limiting exposure patch (LEP). This study concerns one of these devices, for which the manufacturer indicates the value of the reduction factor on the electromagnetic exposure for several models of mobile phones, and on which a study confirms, at least partially, this reduction.


In this present study aimed to formulate and evaluate metformin loaded chitosan (CSM) nanoparticles (NPs) with sustained action for NIDDM (Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus), These nanoparticles have been developed by ionic gelation technique and were subjected to various studies including PCS (Photon correlation spectroscopy), SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and surface charge analysis. The in vitro haemolysis assay, SDS-PAGE test of stability and glucose uptake studies were performed with nanoparticles. The particle size of the nano-formulations 541.2 nm and exert spherical morphology with high stability. Moreover, formulated nanoparticles point up that, there was no interaction between drug and polymer. The CSM4 formulation showed better in vitro prolonged release characteristics. In addition, the CSM nanoparticles were reasonably stable in the presence of excess bovine serum albumin. The percentage of hemolysis induced by metformin and placebo CSNPs were less than 5% and CSMNPs are highly hemocompatible. The glucose uptake significantly augmented in skeletal muscle cell line. Above results recommended nanoparticle had prolonged release, reduced dose frequency, better patient compliance and targeted action on skeletal muscles.


There has been a debate over the years on which category of salary determinants best predicts an employee salary, that is, whether it is organizational characteristics or individual attributes. This study adopts a hybrid approach and seeks to examine the relationship between work experiences, level of education, job category, and employee's salary. The findings of the study have shown that there is a strong relationship. In addition, we have constructed a salary determinant model for employees of higher institutions of learning in Kenya. The study has great significance to human resource practitioners, who would find the salary determination model very useful in their practice. The hybrid approach to salary determination will also provide a different academic and scholarly perspective to the study of salary determinants.


Abstract The relationship between the severity of cirrhosis and systemic and hepatic haemodynamic values was evaluated in 193 patients with cirrhosis, most of whom were diagnosed with post‐necrotic cirrhosis. It was found that the hepatic venous pressure gradient and cardiac output in Pugh's A patients (13.6 ± 4.8 mmHg and 6.2 ± 1.6 L/min, mean ± s.d.) were significantly lower than in both Pugh's B (16.8 ± 4.3 mmHg and 7.3 ± 2.1 L/min) and Pugh's C (18.8 ± 5.5 mmHg and 7.4 ± 2.3 L/min) patients (P < 0.01), respectively. In contrast, the systemic vascular resistance in Pugh's A patients (1232 ± 369 dyn/s per cm5) was significantly higher than in both Pugh's B (1016 ± 345 dyn/s per cm5) and Pugh's C (935 ± 234 dyn/s per cm5) patients (P < 0.01), respectively. Additionally, not only was there a positive correlation found between Pugh's score and cardiac output and hepatic venous pressure gradient, but a negative correlation was found between Pugh's score and systemic vascular resistance. It was also confirmed that the degree of portal hypertension and the hyperdynamic circulation were more severe in patients with ascites than in those without ascites. However, there were no statistically significant differences in hepatic venous pressure gradient among patients with F1, F2 and F3 esophageal varices (15.7 ± 4.0, 17.0 ± 4.8 and 18.0 ± 4.8 mmHg, respectively). It is concluded that in those patients with cirrhosis, the severity of cirrhosis is closely related to the degree of the hyperkinetic circulatory state and portal hypertension.


Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) shows malignant behavior through the ability of immature cells to circulate in blood and to invade peripheral tissues. Whereas binding of human AML cells to endothelial cells (ECs) through E-selectin has been shown to occur using classical adhesion assays, little is known about the ability of endothelial P-selectin to support this process. We therefore characterized the ability of AML blasts and KG-1 cells to bind to endothelial selectin type ligands. Flow cytometry revealed that, in addition to various integrin adhesion receptors, AML cells regularly express the P-selectin glycoprotein ligand (PSGL)-1, a ligand for P- and E-selectin on ECs. In parallel flow chambers, AML cells both rolled and adhered to TNF-alpha pretreated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Pretreatment of HUVECs with anti-P- or anti-E-selectin function blocking antibodies significantly reduced both, rolling and subsequent arrest of primary AML cells. Intravital microscopy of i.v. injected fluorescence-labeled KG-1 cells into P-selectin deficient or wild type mice confirmed a significant role of endothelial P-selectin in the binding of human primary AML cells to ECs also in vivo. Thus, the currently available data suggest a role of P- and E-selectin in coordinated circulation of AML cells. Thus, P- or E-selectin mediated adhesion of AML cells may provide a target for the development anti-leukemic therapies.


It is a crucial challenge to address both magnetic anisotropy and stability for single-molecule magnets (SMMs) used in next-generation nanodevices. Highly axial lanthanide SMMs with neutral charge and moderate coordination numbers represent promising magnetic materials. Here, using iodide ions with large volume and low surface charge density as weak donors, we report a six-coordinate neutral dysprosium SMM [Dy(Cy3PO)2I3(CH3CN)] with a certain degree of stability exhibiting a huge thermal barrier of 1062 K and hysteresis loops open up to 9 K. Through the elaborate reduction of ligand field strength, an apparent strongly axial crystal field is provided which elicits prominent crystal-field splitting and high axiality with the thermally activated relaxation via the third-excited Kramers' doublet. Moreover, the profound influence of strong equatorial ligand substitution on the electronic structure and relaxation pathway is clearly explored in DyIII analogues. The result suggests the great potential of the reducing the transverse ligand field in the improvement of SMMs performance.


AIMS
Communication is the main method used by dietitians to conduct their practice. Yet, few evidence-based tools are available to assess dietitians' communication skills to guide skill development. Further, workplace peer review programs for assessment of communication skills are not standard practice. DIET-COMMS is a validated tool to assess dietitians' communication skills in patient consultations. The aims of this study were to implement a workplace peer review program using the DIET-COMMS tool, assess dietitians' communication skills, evaluate inter-rater reliability and dietitian satisfaction.

METHODS
Single site study within Australian hospital dietetics department. Training for DIET-COMMS usage was undertaken with assessors (senior dietitians) and dietitians being assessed using an online training package and face-to-face group sessions. The peer review process consisted of two rounds, occurring four to six months apart. The first round was undertaken with two assessors to evaluate inter-rater reliability. An online survey was conducted to evaluate dietitian satisfaction.

RESULTS
Seventeen dietitians completed the program. In the first round, 13 of 17 dietitians scored 76% to 100% on the DIET-COMMS tool (median = 85%, interquartile range [IQR] = 77-93). All dietitians scored 76-100% (median = 98%, IQR = 94-100) in the second round, with significantly higher scores compared to the first (98% vs 85%; P-value <.001). The intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.86 (95% confidence interval = 0.64-0.95), indicating good-excellent inter-rater reliability. All dietitians reported the tool measured the nutrition care process adequately and was applicable to practice.

CONCLUSIONS
The peer review program using DIET-COMMS was successfully implemented within a workplace environment. Widespread implementation of peer review programs using DIET-COMMS is recommended as a standard practice for the profession.


Novel erythrocyte pyruvate kinase gene defects were found in a patient without a family history of consanguinity. The polymerase chain reaction products of the R-type pyruvate kinase cDNA from the propositus contained two point mutations of Ser80 (TCC)-->Pro (CCC) and Arg490 (CGG)-->Trp (TGG). Allele-specific polymerase chain reaction of the genomic DNA revealed that this patient was a compound heterozygote. The mobilities of the patient's L- and R-type pyruvate kinase by thin-layer polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were abnormal. The results are consistent with the fact that these mutations are within exons common to the hepatic and erythrocyte isozymes.


There are several problems in optics that involve the reconstruction of surfaces such as wavefronts, reflectors, and lenses. The reconstruction problem often leads to a system of first-order differential equations for the unknown surface. We compare several numerical methods for integrating differential equations of this kind. One class of methods involves a direct integration. It is shown that such a technique often fails in practice. We thus consider one method that provides an approximate direct integration; we show that it is always converging and that it provides a stable, accurate solution even in the presence of measurement noise. In addition, we consider a number of methods that are based on converting the original equation into a minimization problem.


The doctors' tale: professionalism and public trust Donald Irvine Abingdon, UK: Radcliffe Medical Press; 2003 pp 247 £21.95 ISBN 1 85775 977 X

Sir Donald Irvine was at the centre of a series of events that had a profound effect on the relationship between the medical profession and British society. The so-called "Bristol cases," the murder of countless patients by general practitioner Harold Shipman, the demonstrated incompetence of two gynecologists (one of whom had previously had his licence revoked in Ontario) and the retention of organs without consent by a pathologist at Alder Hey Hospital demonstrated to the public that medicine had failed spectacularly in its duty to guarantee reasonable standards of practice among its members.

Donald Irvine was the President of the General Medical Council (GMC) from 1995 until 2002 — seven key years. His fascinating and instructive book includes a brief autobiography, describes the state of medicine's self-regulation through the past 50 years, documents the cases referred to above in great detail, outlines the public outrage and government response that followed their media exposure and, finally, documents the profession's response.

The autobiographical section is limited but of some importance. Sir Donald describes his own background as a general practitioner who very early became involved in the activities of the Royal College of General Practitioners, including those designed to establish modern training programs, and, more importantly, to impose quality control on the practice of medicine. He was appointed to the GMC in 1990, becoming the first general practitioner to serve as its president in 1995. It is probable that no training could have prepared him for the largely self-inflicted catastrophes that descended on medicine and the GMC. However, it is clear that his training and experience were fortunate for the medical profession and, one might say, for society.

The book outlines failures of medical self-regulation that were apparent to many even before they were brought to light by notorious events. Richard Smith, editor of BMJ, is quoted as writing in 1993 that

time may be running out for the GMC … [T]he risk to the Council is that it fails to produce a system that satisfies both doctors and the public or that its painfully slow procedures are overtaken by speedier events — like a scandalous case or a political campaign to substitute self-regulation with regulation by the State.

In spite of studies and reports, little progress was made in improving regulatory procedures until the storm broke. Attempts had been made to make standards more explicit, and membership in the GMC had expanded to include representation from the general public, but it was obvious that the commitment of the profession to guaranteeing the competence of all its members was lukewarm at best. Irvine refers to the performance of the profession as "tribal" and its organizations as rarely acting in concert. The BMA in particular proved to be a consistent and successful stumbling-block.

All of this changed when the Bristol cases served as the major catalyst. The British government, which had its own problems with quality control (well documented by Irvine), threatened to greatly diminish the GMC's (and hence medicine's) role in regulation.

Sir Donald lived through an extremely difficult time but managed to steer the GMC and the medical profession to a point where the principle of self-regulation was maintained, structures were established for setting and maintaining effective standards, and the principle of re-certification was established. These intrusions into medicine's self-regulation may well improve the system; the NHS has, in parallel, instituted quality-control measures in the hospital sector. Only time will tell whether the new structures will function better than the old, or whether the necessary attitudinal shifts will occur, but the progress made against considerable resistance is impressive.

The book is beautifully written. The story lines are laid out cleanly, and Sir Donald exhibits considerable humility and humour as he indicates where he himself could have acted differently.

There are lessons to be learned from this lucid account. First and foremost, of course, is that if medicine fails to regulate itself, the privilege of doing so will be altered or withdrawn. Second, the consequences of divisions within the medical profession — Irvine's "tribalism" — are serious. The BMA's union function dominated its actions and frequently led to an imperfect response on the part of the profession as a whole. Finally, the importance of trust in the relationship between medicine and the society it serves becomes apparent once more.

This book is a wonderful addition to the story of medicine's evolution in modern times. It should be a must for all those interested in the status of the profession.

Richard L. Cruess Sylvia R. Cruess Faculty of Medicine McGill University Montreal, Que.


This paper presents a method for contactless measuring of heart and respiratory rates by Photoplethysmography image technique through wavelets. This method is imperceptible to the humans, with the additional advantages of a low computational cost and high tolerance to artifacts. The approach uses the analysis of the plethysmographic signal collected by a standard color camera to estimate the heart and breathing rates. This system uses a pre-filter to reduce the offset of the averaged signal through numerical analysis techniques and the signal is processed by wavelets. Additionally, the measurement of respiration rate is decoupled from the sinus arrhythmia. A good estimate of the vital signs on ten individuals was obtained. The Bland-Altman analysis shows a strong correlation between measurements by standard systems and our approach.


Menoreh mountainous region, especially the Samigaluh district, has been long known as a coffee producer in Yogyakarta Special Region. The coffee trees were planted with other kinds of trees, known locally as "Kebun Campur". The advantages of "Kebun Campur" in those regions were its capability to provide food resilience and sustainability. Meanwhile, "Kebun Campur" usually has low productivity due to poor maintenance and tight competition with other plants in a small area. We introduced high-yield and aroma coffee clones from National Coffee and Cocoa Research Center (Puslitkoka), supervising the local farmer in making good coffee-tree framing to support good harvest and easy picking of coffee beans. To support environmentally good farming practices, we also introduce how to produce Liquid Organic Fertilizers based on local resources. In the Off-farm aspects, we are introducing knowledge on how to process fresh coffee beans and how to operate a mini gas-powered roasting machine so that the farmer could get more value-added on their coffee beans.


Wires of different forms have been an integral part of human society for centuries. Electricity is being delivered through powerlines to every household; information is routinely transmitted through optical fibers, and bridge-building requires the use of mechanically robust cables. In the past 25 years, scientists have discovered a fundamentally new process for making nanoscopic wires, 1000 times thinner than human hairs, enabling a new generation of computing, integrated photonics, energy and biomedical technologies.


The extinct Thylacine Thylacinus cynocephalus, also known as the marsupial wolf or Tasmanian Tiger, is an iconic part of Australia's natural history. The latest surviving member of the diverse family Thylacinidae, the thylacine was widespread across mainland Australia during the Pleistocene but by 3200 ybp it was restricted to Tasmania. Persecuted by farmers, thylacines are thought to have gone extinct in the wild by the 1930s, and the last surviving captive animal died in 1936. Despite much public interest and numerous popular accounts, the ecology of this iconic Australian species is not well known. Though huge numbers of animals were killed during the extermination of thylacines from Tasmania, very few useful specimens exist in collections. For palaeontologists, access to comparative material is important but not always practicable. The purpose of this atlas is to provide a comprehensive record of the skeletal anatomy of the Thylacine to provide researchers a useful reference for comparative studies.


With limited resources to improve the provision of multiple ecosystem services, conservation programs often rely on spatial tools to identify the best locations for restoration or protection. However, most programs still base prioritization on biophysical metrics that do not fully predict where interventions will deliver the greatest benefits to people. We argue that prioritization metrics need to consider not only biophysical data on the supply of ecosystem services but also socioeconomic data that highlight the value of those services. We use the example of prioritizing best management practices (BMPs) in an agricultural watershed in the US state of Iowa to evaluate how considering the location and preferences of beneficiaries affects the spatial prioritization of investments. We show that adopting metrics that incorporate endpoints of interest and value to people changes the spatial prioritization of BMPs, especially for air quality, lake recreation, and drinking water. Our work demonstrates how publicly available biophysical and social data can be integrated into spatial ecosystem services metrics to enhance the delivered benefits of conservation activities.


The antifungal activities of the known antimicrobial peptide, P-113, as well as a new type of Trp-rich peptide, Ac-KWRRWVRWI-NH(2), Pac-525, and its modified peptide, D-Nal-Pac-525, were determined using the broth microdilution method in three different media. All peptides had similar activities against yeast pathogens in low-salt LYM media. However, only D-Nal-Pac-525 retained its antifungal activity in the media containing high concentrations of salt. Hence, D-Nal-Pac-525 has the potential of becoming a promising antifungal agent, especially for fungal pathogens with intrinsic resistance to fluconazole.


The ancient Greek world-picture was adopted by 13th century and other theologians who, however, added a sphere for angels and spirits. The entire cosmos was seen to be anthropocentric and arranged in a perfect hierarchical order that was immutable. Man, consequently, should realise in himself that perfect order seen around him. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, new social and political structures were set up to fulfil the universal desire for order. States and the church too showed not only order but also hierarchy. Christ exemplified perfect order and restored order to sinful earth, so that world-picture and religious outlook were synthesised. In the 17th century especially, the medieval world-picture was demolished, science and religion becoming separated. Later the adoption of evolutionary ideas extended the separation, and various views resulted: deism, pantheism and atheism all gained adherents. Hierarchical structures persist today in—for example—the Roman Catholic Church, but they have been replaced in many states and some other churches. Teilhard de Chardin endeavoured to synthesise an evolutionary world-picture and theology. Wildiers, his editor and friend, gives an account of Teilhard's views.


Ceramide, a product of sphingolipid metabolism, is generated in response to various stress stimuli, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha, CD95/Fas, chemotherapeutic agents, and irradiation. Ceramide may modulate the biochemical and cellular processes that lead to apoptosis. However, the mechanisms by which ceramide regulates apoptotic events are not fully defined. It is believed that the biological effect of ceramide depends on its concentration, the activation or differentiation status of the cell, and the time frame of action. Here, we discuss the metabolism and cell apoptotic signaling of ceramide. The involvement of protein kinases (i.e. PI3K/Akt and GSK-3beta) and protein phosphatases (i.e. PP1 and PP2A), Bcl-2 family proteins, mitochondrial damage, and caspase cascade activation are demonstrated. Further, ceramide and its derivatives have recently been incorporated into strategies for anticancer therapies. An understanding of the apoptotic signaling pathways mediated by ceramide may shed light on its potential for therapeutic intervention.


There is an increasing awareness of the negative environmental impact produced by human activity worldwide. The scope of this paper is to analyze the possibilities of the further use of wood waste as a composite building material with magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC), and to identify the environmental benefits offered by this solution. The environmental impact of improper wood waste disposal affects both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Moreover, burning wood waste releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, causing various health problems. The interest in studying the possibilities of reusing wood waste increased significantly in recent years. The focus of the researcher shifts from considering wood waste as a burning fuel to generate heat or energy, to considering it as a component of new building materials. Combining MOC cement with wood opens the possibility of creating new composite building materials that can incorporate the environmental benefits offered by the two materials.


Purpose: To correlate the performance of the oral motor tasks of diadochokinesis in children with repaired cleft lip and palate to the type of cleft and to the presence of lisp. Methods: We studied 30 children, aged 9 to 12 years, with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate and 30 with isolated cleft palate. Two speech language pathologists analyzed repetition phrases with the phones [s] and [z] to identify the presence of lisp. The analysis of diadochokinesis was performed by registering the repetition of the syllables "ta" and "ka" and the sequence "pataka". The Kappa test was used to verify agreement between the evaluators, the Chi-square test was used to compare the lisp frequency between the groups, and the t-test was used to compare the diadochokinesis values between the same groups as well as between individuals with and without lisp. Results: The mean number of emissions per second and the mean time between emissions were not significantly different between groups. Good agreement was observed between the examiners for the presence of lisp in [s] and [z], with the most evident agreement in the complete unilateral cleft lip and palate group. The comparison between the diadochokinesis values and the presence of lisp revealed no significant difference. Conclusion: The performance of diadochokinesis tasks did not change according to the type of cleft. Further, the presence of lisp speech was higher in patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate, but this did not affect performance of diadochokinesis tasks.


The majority of pond-reared Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) grow and fatten in freshwater. Previous studies illustrated that E. sinensis cultured in saline-alkaline water in outdoor environments showed a higher quality than that cultured in freshwater. However, it is still unclear whether salinity or alkalinity has an important positive effect on the quality of E. sinensis. This study aimed to investigate the gonadal development, edible yield, coloration, and nutritional and flavor quality of E. sinensis fattening in saline and alkaline water indoors. Results showed that there were no significant changes observed in gonadosomatic index (GSI) and other edible parameters among freshwater (FW), saline water (SW), and alkaline water (AW) during the 55-day fattening period (p > 0.05). Significantly higher a* and b* values of freeze-dried female carapace were observed fattening in SW and AW compared with that of FW (p < 0.05). The crude protein in gonad and male muscle, moisture in female muscle, and crude lipid in male muscle increased significantly from FW to SW and AW (p < 0.05). Better nutritional and flavor values were also detected in male hepatopancreas and muscles. In conclusion, numerous advantages of fattening in SW and AW were observed, including the improvement of carotenoid accumulation in freeze-dried carapace, DHA, EPA, total essential free amino acids (∑EFAA), total free amino acids (∑FAA), and total umami values (∑TUV) contents in male hepatopancreas and muscle.


As life style of youth is getting changed, hemorrhoids, now a days is appearing as a vast public health problem. Life style and hemorrhoids are simultaneously affecting each other. In this study we have our concern with numerous studies that have its influence with prevalence of hemorrhoids. A discussion is also made for further future research prospectus. Discussion: Studies considered reflected that adult general population is targeted by hemorrhoids. The disease is also found common during pregnancy as well as in high body mass index. Research should be done in the direction to achieve immediate and stable results.


The objective of this work is the application of the bubble method in the analysis of tolerances when assembling a Ca(OH)2 mixer (Design Stage), which belongs to Empresa de Investigaciones y Proyectos Hidraulicos (Raudal). Several research methods were used to achieve this goal. The result of this research allows to improve the dimensioning and tolerances for the assembly modeling and the formulation of dimensioning chains, as well as to contribute with new rules for the method.


Human T-cell Immunoglobulin and Mucin-domain containing proteins (TIM1, 3, and 4) specifically bind phosphatidylserine (PS). TIM1 has been proposed to serve as a cellular receptor for hepatitis A virus and Ebola virus and as an entry factor for dengue virus. Here we show that TIM1 promotes infection of retroviruses and virus-like particles (VLPs) pseudotyped with a range of viral entry proteins, in particular those from the filovirus, flavivirus, New World arenavirus and alphavirus families. TIM1 also robustly enhanced the infection of replication-competent viruses from the same families, including dengue, Tacaribe, Sindbis and Ross River viruses. All interactions between TIM1 and pseudoviruses or VLPs were PS-mediated, as demonstrated with liposome blocking and TIM1 mutagenesis experiments. In addition, other PS-binding proteins, such as Axl and TIM4, promoted infection similarly to TIM1. Finally, the blocking of PS receptors on macrophages inhibited the entry of Ebola VLPs, suggesting that PS receptors can contribute to infection in physiologically relevant cells. Notably, infection mediated by the entry proteins of Lassa fever virus, influenza A virus and SARS coronavirus was largely unaffected by TIM1 expression. Taken together our data show that TIM1 and related PS-binding proteins promote infection of diverse families of enveloped viruses, and may therefore be useful targets for broad-spectrum antiviral therapies.


Malignant granular cell tumor is relatively uncommon, constituting 1%-2% of all granular cell tumors.We describe a case of a 53-year-old woman who presented with a 4.5 X 5.5-cm nodule on her left lower abdomen. An initial punch biopsy revealed a pandermal infiltrate of epithelioid cells with finely granular cytoplasm and vesicular nuclei-histologic features consistent with a granular cell tumor. Given the large size of the neoplasm, an excisional biopsy was recommended that revealed in addition to the above, focal ulceration, epithelioid cells with vesicular nuclei and prominent nucleoli, increased mitotic activity, pleomorphism, and epidermotropism with pagetoid spread-features that were histologically concerning for malignant transformation. We present this case to increase awareness of an uncommon entity and to emphasize the pitfalls associated with incomplete removal and an inadequate biopsy.


Abstract

The poor lateral conductance of amorphous silicon necessitates the use of a contact covering the entire surface of thin film silicon solar cells to minimise the resistance. This contact must be highly conductive, as well as transparent to allow absorption of light in the inner layers. In recent years this has paved way for transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) to be used in solar technology. However, the absence of a p-type TCO complicates the fabrication of an Ohmic contact to a-Si:H(p). Moreover, the difference in bandgap between the two materials results in a Schottky interface which has not been investigated comprehensively in terms of on-state/optical performance and stability before.

This thesis describes the physics of thin film silicon solar cells and their Schottky interface with zinc oxide (ZnO). Here, current-voltage-temperature (I-V-T) measurements and computer simulations are used in order to evaluate the Schottky barrier height of ZnO/a-Si:H(p) and ZnO/μc-Si:H(p) heterojunctions. It is observed that a high doping concentration of the p-layer can reduce the effective Schottky barrier height by increasing the tunnelling transport mechanism at the interface. The same heterojunctions are also tested in ZnO/p-layer/a-Si:H(i)/a-Si:H(n)/ZnO/Ag solar cells. It is found that despite the superior electrical properties of the ZnO/μc-Si:H(p) contact compared to the ZnO/a-Si:H contact, an improved performance is observed in cells using the latter. This contradictory result is explained by a misalignment of the energy bands at the μc-Si:H(p)/a-Si:H(i) interface. This reduces the open
circuit voltage (VOC) of the cell in comparison to the a-Si:H(p)/a-Si:H(i) structure. These results lead to the theory behind optimization of a mixed μc-Si:H(p)/a-Si:H(p) window layer that can overcome the Schottky interface without compromising the p-layer/a-Si:H(i) interface.

Further, the conventional equivalent electronic circuit of a solar cell is expanded with a Schottky diode in series that represents the non-ideal contact. The analysis of this equivalent circuit shows that non-ideal metal/semiconductor contacts for solar cells can be approximated as Ohmic when they show a Schottky barrier lower than 0.5 eV. Also, the same model allows to distinguish the sections of the cell that degrade during light exposure and current injection. It is observed that all of the solar cells analysed here show a reduction of their VOC, short circuit current (JSC) and fill factor (FF) as a function of time when soaked with 1 Sun light, whereas the fully a-Si:H solar cells show a simultaneous increase of VOC, a decrease of FF, and a minimal decrease of JSC as a function of time when injected with a constant current of 10 mA in the dark. Increase in recombination in the absorption layer of the cell during light exposure can be detected by an increase of the ideality factor (m) of the main junction. On the other hand, the ideality factor (n) of the Schottky junction decreases after current injection. This indicates a detrimental effect on the tunnelling transport mechanism at the contact. Computer simulations reveal that the decrease of n is the result of a change in the a-Si:H(p) hole concentration and doping profile due to the excess of electrons injected during stress. This degradation of the Schottky interface is not observed when μc-Si:H(p) is used as the p-layer.

This thesis demonstrates that a complete understanding of degradation of the I-V characteristics of an a-Si:H solar cell can only be achieved when all transport mechanisms of a Schottky contact are considered.


In this paper, renewable energies have been re‐addressed with respect to the potentials and feasibility of being incorporated in process industries. Within a process, utility system is considered to be the most appropriate place for using sustainable energies. For integrating the renewable energies, the pinch analysis is applied as the main tool to provide opportunity for energy conservation. The results demonstrated that the power generation by the wind is the most cost effective and environmentally friendly option for energy conservation in comparison to the other sustainable resources. However the tidal energy stands the least due to the long payback period. Also, a computer program has been developed, using MATLAB 7.3, to screen out different scenarios and perform economic study. The outcome data showed that, there are several different opportunities for the integration of alternative energies. Finally, this method has been applied to a case study and various retrofit projects have been identified, ea...


The European law of civil procedure is a steady process of evolution and improvement. Marked by growing cooperation between  the civil courts of EU Member States, this area of law is now increasingly dominated by judicial competition and by constitutional influences: on the one hand, the judicial systems of the Member States aspire to attract litigation of high value (often by plaintiff-oriented rules), and on the other hand, the European Court of Justice elaborates its case law on the principles of access to justice, free movement of judgments and fair trial in cross-border litigation. At present, the reform of the Brussels I Regulation (Reg. 44/2001) is on the legislative agenda. The main task of the European law-makers is to update the Regulation in order to maintain the sound administration of justice within the European Judicial Area by limiting competition between national judicial systems which does not necessarily correspond to the interests of private litigants. This article describes the ECJ's case law and takes stock of the present state of affairs for the Brussels I Regulation which is the cornerstone of the European law of civil procedure.


Background Cervical cancer is a public health problem in Latin America. Radiotherapy plays a fundamental role both as definitive or adjuvant treatment. There are important intra and inter-country differences regarding access and availability of radiotherapy facilities in this region. The aim of a study was to standardize the basic clinical and technical criteria for the radiation treatment of patients with CC in Chile and provide a guide for Latin American Radiation Oncologists. Materials and methods Forty-one expert radiation oncologists from the Chilean Radiation Oncology Society made a consensus using the Delphi methodology. Results There was a high degree of agreement for each of the recommendations. Those with the lowest percentage were related to the definition of the conformal 3D technique as the standard for definitive external radiotherapy (81%) and the criteria for extended nodal irradiation (85%). Conclusions These recommendations present an updated guide for radiotherapy treatment of patients with cervical cancer for Latin America. Those should be implemented according to local resources of each institution.


The paper focuses on furniture production industry in the Czech Republic and evaluates the influence of competition forces within this industry. These forces have a direct impact on success of competitive strategies of the firms. Furniture production industry is a typical branch occupied by numerous small and medium-sized firms. Small firms aim on satisfying domestic (or rather local) demand, medium-sized and big firms are much more aiming on exports. The methodical sources for evaluation of rivalry represent particular influences defined by Porter in his model of five competitive forces. Main influences identified by Porter, which are increasing the intensity of competition in the furniture production industry in the Czech Republic include low industry concentration, relatively low diversity of competitors, decline in sales, low (or none) switching costs, and existing excessive capacity within the industry. Further development will be most significantly influenced by a growing concentration of the bigger Czech producers on domestic market and overall economic development.


The misuse of dietary supplements and doping substances is commonly associated with toxicity, nutritional imbalances, and health and psychological consequences. This is alarming especially in light of the increasing prevalence of the use of dietary supplements and doping, particularly among young adults including athletes. There is evidence that education interventions can lead to improved knowledge, intentions, and practices. However, no review has summarized and evaluated the effectiveness of such interventions. The aim of this article is to review the characteristics, contents and effects of education interventions that were designed and implemented to improve knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and intentions with respect to the use of dietary supplements and doping agents in different populations. PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, PsycInfo and Google Scholar were searched for English-language education interventions targeting dietary supplements and doping substances. A total of 20 articles were identified and have generally provided consistent findings. Most interventions reported a significant improvement in knowledge on dietary supplements and doping agents. Unfortunately, the heavy reliance on self-reported assessment tools limits the validity of these interventions, with almost all articles targeting athletes and adolescents.


Tinnitus represents one of the most common and distressing otologic problems, and it causes various somatic and psychological disorders that interfere with the quality of life. Treatments for tinnitus include pharmacotherapy, cognitive and behavioral therapy, sound therapy, music therapy, tinnitus retraining therapy, massage and stretching, and electrical suppression. In this case report we present a potential treatment, namely pulsed radiofrequency to the ganglion C2.


There is a prolific number of research articles postulating the origins of stress experienced by nurses employed on kidney dialysis units; yet there is little consensus as to these etiologies. Alternatively, there are very few research articles focusing on the origins of stress experienced by dialysis technicians, despite their role in the team approach to patient care. Both of these situations are exacerbated by the apparent absence of an evaluative instrument suitable for such studies. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument appropriate for stress related research involving dialysis nurses and technicians. In addition, the study attempted to develop a clearer understanding as to which stressors impact on nurses and technicians, and in particular, to determine whether these stressors were different for the two groups. Specifically, the study examined whether there was any significant group interaction, and whether there were any group differences in the performance of the nurses and technicians on the Sources of Stress Inventory (the measure developed for this study). The sample consisted of 20 registered nurses and 12 technicians who were employed on kidney dialysis units in two different medical centers/hospitals in Los Angeles. These participants were administered the Sources of Stress Inventory. Statistical procedures used to analyze the data iii included Profile Analysis and Hotelling's test (T 2 ). Profile analysis indicated that overall, there was no significant group interaction and there were no significant group differences between the performance of the nurses and technicians on the Sources of Stress Inventory. The major stressors were identified and found to be similar for both groups. Psychometric analysis on the Sources of Stress Inventory indicated that with internal consistency based on Hoyt's estimate of reliability of .93, the measure may become a viable tool for those researchers studying the origins of stress experienced by kidney dialysis nurses and technicians. iv Table of


Beyond potassium iodide, whose utility is limited to warding off thyroid cancer, the pharmaceutical industry has no proven drugs to ward off the devastating health effects of a large radiation exposure. Over the past 5 years, however, a few promising candidates have begun to undergo animal, and even human, testing. Still, only a few companies and academic groups are addressing this unmet need. The obvious lack of a commercial market may explain why. But some also blame the U.S. government's relative indifference toward the development of radiological countermeasures compared with biodefense.


Previous studies of conodonts suggested that the upper member of the Xiushan Formation (late Llandovery) corresponds to the Pterospathodus eopennatus Superbiozone, but no data were obtained from the lower member in the Xiushan area. In this study, the entire Xiushan Formation was resampled from the Datianba section in the Xiushan area of Chongqing City on the Yangtze Platform in South China. In total, 40 samples were collected and processed. Fifteen of these samples contained identifiable conodont specimens. The present study indicates that the lower member and main part of the upper member of the Xiushan Formation correspond to the Pterospathodus eopennatus Superbiozone, while the top of the upper member probably correlates with the Pterospathodus celloni Superbiozone.


Medical treatment is appropriate for patients with an unruptured tubal pregnancy who wish to preserve fertility or have medical problems associated with increased risk of anesthesia. Patients with persistent trophoblast after conservative surgery should be treated with methotrexate rather than undergo a repeat surgery. All nine of our patients with ectopic pregnancies who were treated with MTX were cured with one course of therapy. Little toxicity was observed and subsequent reproductive performance after medical treatment was comparable to that reported in the literature. Direct injection of MTX into an ectopic pregnancy under sonographic control provided an option for treatment which required little anesthesia, reduced the amount of drug and allowed the treatment of a gestation which would otherwise not be considered a candidate for the 3 dose intramuscular injection protocol (see Table 3).


Objectives: To compare 1-year all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events in cardiac arrest survivors with and without posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology at hospital discharge. Design: Prospective, observational cohort. Setting: ICUs at a tertiary-care center. Patients: Adults with return of spontaneous circulation after in-hospital or out-of-hospital cardiac arrest between September 2015 and September 2017. A consecutive sample of survivors with sufficient mental status to self-report cardiac arrest and subsequent hospitalization–induced posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (cardiac arrest–induced posttraumatic stress symptomatology) at hospital discharge were included. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: The combined primary endpoint was all-cause mortality or major adverse cardiovascular event—hospitalization for nonfatal myocardial infarction, unstable angina, congestive heart failure, emergency coronary revascularization, or urgent implantable cardio-defibrillators/permanent pacemaker placements within 12 months of discharge. An in-person posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology was assessed at hospital discharge via the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Specific scale; a suggested diagnostic cutoff of 36 for specialized medical settings was adopted. Outcomes for patients meeting (vs not meeting) this cutoff were compared using Cox-hazard regression models. Of 114 included patients, 36 (31.6%) screened positive for cardiac arrest–induced posttraumatic stress symptomatology at discharge (median 21 d post cardiac arrest; interquartile range, 11–36). During the follow-up period (median = 12.4 mo; interquartile range, 10.2–13.5 mo), 10 (8.8%) died and 29 (25.4%) experienced a recurrent major adverse cardiovascular event: rehospitalizations due to myocardial infarction (n = 4; 13.8%), unstable angina (n = 8; 27.6%), congestive heart failure exacerbations (n = 4; 13.8%), emergency revascularizations (n = 5, 17.2%), and urgent implantable cardio-defibrillator/permanent pacemaker placements (n = 8; 27.6%). Cardiac arrest–induced posttraumatic stress symptomatology was associated with all-cause mortality/major adverse cardiovascular event in univariate (hazard ratio, 3.19; 95% CI, 1.7–6.0) and in models adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, preexisting psychiatric condition, and nonshockable initial rhythm (hazard ratio, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.6–6.0). Conclusions: Posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology is common after cardiac arrest, and cardiac arrest–induced posttraumatic stress symptomatology was associated with significantly higher risk of death and cardiovascular events. Further studies are needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms.


Background Globally, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounts for approximately 90% of diabetes cases. Resistance training (RT) is frequently employed to diminish Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) and Fast Blood Glucose (FBG) levels in T2DM patients. Yet, the specific dose-response relationships between RT variables such as training duration, frequency, and intensity for T2DM remain under-researched. Objectives This meta-analysis aimed to elucidate the overarching effects of RT on HbA1c and FBG metrics and to provide dose-response relationships of RT variables. This was achieved by examining randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported reductions in HbA1c and FBG among T2DM patients. Methods Comprehensive literature searches were conducted up to 25th February 2023 across databases including EMBASE, Pubmed, Cochrane, CENTRAL, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, and the Chinese Biomedical Database. The Physical Therapy Evidence Database (PEDro) was leveraged to appraise the quality of selected studies based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The meta-analysis was conducted using Stata 16. Results 26 studies that include 1336 participants met the criteria for inclusion. RT significantly reduced HbA1c and FBG levels in comparison to control groups (P<0.05). Meta-regression analyses revealed that the number of repetitions per set (p=0.034) was a significant predictor of RT's efficacy on HbA1c. Subgroup analyses indicated that the most pronounced reductions in HbA1c and FBG occurred with a training duration of 12-16 weeks, intensities of 70-80% of 1 RM, training frequencies of 2-3 times per week, 3 sets per session, 8-10 repetitions per set, and less than a 60-second rest interval. Conclusion The beneficial impact of RT on HbA1c and FBG in T2DM patients is affirmed by this systematic review and meta-analysis. Moreover, the critical training parameters identified in this study are pivotal in enhancing HbA1c and FBG reductions, providing a reference for clinical staff to formulate RT exercise regiments for T2DM patients. Systematic review registration https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero, identifier CRD42023414616.


This paper explores the narratives of older women engaged in learning at an Age UK Community Centre, in England in 2014. The participants of this small pilot study were primarily learning ICT (Information and Communications Technology) skills. This study contextualises lifelong learning by acknowledging that learning is a need of older adults in the context of the personalisation agenda, the Care Act 2014, and human rights. We analyse the data by drawing on two broad understandings of the different motives for learning: instrumental and expressive (Londoner, 1978). This provides a useful framework to explore the social and cultural influences behind motivations to learn. The study suggests that the two categories of learning motives overlap, yet the rationales given by older adults depicted how learning was not conceived solely as the acquisition of formal knowledge; instead, it was essentially driven by a socially enacted process. We conclude by emphasising how learning is an indispensable aspect of social care. We suggest that a re-conceptualisation of 'care' and 'need' may be required during assessment practices when working with older adults', as motives for learning here were grounded in social participation and the search for a sense of meaning and purpose towards their identity in older age. Keywords: Older adults, Identity, Narrative, Lifelong Learning, Personalisation.


Background: The study aimed to evaluate outcomes of epiretinal membrane (ERM) peeling in patients with asteroid hyalosis (AH) and to compare them with those from controls without AH. Methods: This is a retrospective matched cohort study of 1,104 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for ERM between January 2004 and February 2014. Patients with AH were included in the study group and were matched for preoperative visual acuity, age, gender, date of surgery, and axial length with control patients without AH selected from the same cohort. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central macular thickness (CMT) on optical coherence tomography were measured at baseline and postoperatively with a minimum follow-up period of 12 months. Results: A total of 44 patients were included in the AH group and 44 in the control group. The mean initial BCVA was 0.53 ± 0.21 LogMAR for the AH group vs. 0.49 ± 0.20 LogMAR for the control group, and the mean initial CMT was 419 ± 74 vs. 423 ± 75 µm, respectively. During the follow-up, no significant difference was found regarding the final BCVA at 6 months (0.23 ± 0.14 vs. 0.24 ± 0.17) LogMAR (p = 0.87) and 12 months (0.16 ± 0.09 vs. 0.17 ± 0.12) LogMAR (p = 0.92), despite a tendency toward slower visual recovery for the AH group at 1 month, with a mean BCVA of 0.36 ± 0.12 vs. 0.28 ± 0.18 LogMAR (p = 0.08). No difference was found regarding the progression of CMT at 1.6 and 12 months with a mean CMT of 396 ± 47 vs. 378 ± 55 µm (p = 0.39), 356 ± 39 vs. 365 ± 41 µm (p = 0.48), and 349 ± 68 vs. 352 ± 53 µm (p = 0.87), respectively. Conclusion: Vitrectomy with ERM peeling in patients with AH was beneficial and showed similar functional and anatomical outcomes in both groups. AH does not seem to affect visual improvement or the complication rate after ERM peeling. Therefore, the indications for vitrectomy in case of ERM should not be prompted by the presence of AH.


The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for academic libraries to advance open access (OA) to scholarly articles. Awareness among faculty on the importance of OA has increased significantly during the pandemic, as colleges and universities struggle financially and seek sustainable access to high-quality scholarly journals. Consortia have played an important role in establishing negotiation principles on OA journal agreements. While the number of OA agreements is increasing, case studies involving individual libraries are still limited. This paper reviews existing literature on publisher negotiation principles related to OA journal negotiations and reflects on recent cases at an academic library in Pennsylvania, in order to identify best practices in OA journal negotiations. It provides recommendations on roles, relationships, and processes, as well as essential terms of OA journal agreements. This study's findings are most relevant to large academic libraries that are interested in negotiating with scholarly journal publishers independently or through consortia.


Purpose: To report the occurrence of macular telangiectasia (Mac Tel) Type 2 in a 28-year-old lady. Methods: Retrospective case report. Results: A 28-year-old obese diabetic lady presented with mild blurring of vision and reading difficulty for 2 months. Clinical examination revealed the presence of myopic refraction and features suggestive of macular telangiectasia Type 2 on fundus evaluation. Fundus fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography confirmed the diagnosis of Mac Tel Type 2, Stage 3. As there was no evidence of subretinal neovascular membrane, she was advised to follow-up regularly. Conclusion: Mac Tel Type 2 or idiopathic juxtafoveal telangiectasia is a condition commonly reported in middle age or elderly people. Presentation in a young individual alerts us to the possibility of this condition occurring at an early age and also stresses on the need for meticulous examination to detect subtle signs of the condition in the young.


A combined finite-element (FE) ballooning method is described for electromagnetic field problems in 2-D cases with open boundaries, in which eddy currents may exist everywhere, including the exterior ballooning region. Solutions using this combined 2-D-FE ballooning model are shown to be in close agreement with analytical solutions for a simple eddy current example with an open boundary. The method is applied to the computation of fields surrounding two-wire parallel-pair transmission lines, one with a magnetic shielding and one with a conductive shielding. Quantification of such leakage fields surrounding aerospace power transmission system components is of importance in space station electromagnetic compatibility considerations. >


Purpose
According to the crusade of the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs-6, 7,8,12 and 13) that addressed pertinent issues around, clean access to water, access to energy, responsible consumption and climate change mitigation alongside, respectively, Paris Kyoto Protocol agreement of mitigation of climate changes issues of vision 2030.

Design/methodology/approach
This purpose of this study aimed to assess the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis following the ecological footprint perspective with a data set covering the period 1995–2018. It is well-established that anthropogenic human activities are the root cause of environmental deterioration. To this end, the current study is fitted in a multivariate framework to ameliorate for omitted variable bias for the data set from 1995–2018 on a quarterly frequency using autoregressive distributive lag methodology. Subsequently, the stationarity status of the study underlines series were examined with a conventional unit root test and the Pesaran's bounds test for cointegration analysis.

Findings
Empirical evidence from the bounds test to cointegration traces the co-integration relationship between ecological footprint, conventional energy use, foreign direct investment, international tourism arrival and water resources over the sampled period. The study, in the long run, affirms the N-shaped relationship between ecological footprint and foreign direct investment in Vietnam. Additionally, the present study validates the hypothesis of energy consumption-induced pollution emissions. The relationship between international tourism arrival and quality of the environment is statistically positive in both the short-run and long-run, as 1% in international tourism arrival worsens the quality of the environment by 0.45% and 0.4% in the short-run and long-run, respectively. Interestingly, water resource's major environmental issues that have plagued the Vietnam economy are inversely related to ecological footprint. Based on findings, Vietnamese policymakers may need to consider drafting appropriate environmental policies to tackle global warming while concurrently boosting economic development.

Originality/value
The present study focuses on Vietnam on the determinant of environmental quality measured by a broader indicator (ecological footprint). It is well-established that anthropogenic human activities are the root cause of environmental deterioration. The present study claims to distinct from previous literature in two-folds, namely, in terms of scope. Vietnam holds a very interesting energy mix and environmental dynamics, which has been ignored in the literature. Second, we argue to be the first based on our survey to explore the theme by incorporation of water resources and foreign direct investment intensification in the conventional pollution determinant model. This is in a bid to highlights the policy blueprint for the country (Vietnam), which is currently plagued with high pollution issues and the region at large.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
Emerging evidence suggests a role for sleep in contributing to the progression of Alzheimer disease (AD). Slow wave sleep (SWS) is the stage during which synaptic activity is minimal and clearance of neuronal metabolites is high, making it an ideal state to regulate levels of amyloid beta (Aβ). We thus aimed to examine relationships between concentrations of Aβ42 in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and measures of SWS in cognitively normal elderly subjects.

METHODS
Thirty-six subjects underwent a clinical and cognitive assessment, a structural MRI, a morning to early afternoon lumbar puncture, and nocturnal polysomnography. Correlations and linear regression analyses were used to assess for associations between CSF Aβ42 levels and measures of SWS controlling for potential confounders. Resulting models were compared to each other using ordinary least squared linear regression analysis. Additionally, the participant sample was dichotomized into "high" and "low" Aβ42 groups to compare SWS bout length using survival analyses.

RESULTS
A significant inverse correlation was found between CSF Aβ42 levels, SWS duration and other SWS characteristics. Collectively, total SWA in the frontal lead was the best predictor of reduced CSF Aβ42 levels when controlling for age and ApoE status. Total sleep time, time spent in NREM1, NREM2, or REM sleep were not correlated with CSF Aβ42.

CONCLUSIONS
In cognitively normal elderly, reduced and fragmented SWS is associated with increases in CSF Aβ42, suggesting that disturbed sleep might drive an increase in soluble brain Aβ levels prior to amyloid deposition.


The purpose of the research is developing tools for forecasting changes in the service system when expanding the fleet of gas-engine vehicles. Research objectives: consideration methods for reducing emissions of harmful substances in exhaust gases of motor vehicles, consideration the features of the organization of technological processes in the service system when launching vehicles with alternative fuel to the market, developing a simulation model of a service center specializing in the repair and maintenance of diesel and gas vehicles. The following research methods were used: methods of system analysis and mathematical statistics, simulation. Three groups of measures aimed at reducing harmful substances in vehicle exhaust gases are described. It is shown that the usage of gas as an alternative fuel has good prospects for reducing the load on the environment. Achieved results: the developed simulation model can be used to conduct a computer experiment to select the optimal parameters for the operation of an auto service enterprise serving vehicles on both conventional diesel and compressed natural gas.


The cultivated Gossypium spp. represents the most important, natural fibre crop in the world. India is the only country cultivating all the four cultivated species of cotton. Among the Gossypium spp., Gossypium hirsutum is the most cultivated species in many countries. Breeding for high cotton yield is still the primary goal of cotton breeding programs, but improving fibre quality has become increasingly important. The enhancement of fibre quality traits like fibre length, strength, and fibre fineness is an essential requirement for the modern textile industry. G. hirsutum is characterized by its high lint yield while Gossypium barbadense has good fibre quality. Through a conventional breeding strategy, introgression of useful alleles for fibre quality from wild species and G. barbadense to G. hirsutum will be the effective way to improve the fibre quality traits. The identification of the stable quantitative trailt loci (QTLs) affecting fiber traits across different generations will be very helpful in molecular marker-assisted selection to improve fiber quality of cotton cultivars. In this review, we present an overview of the genetics and conventional and molecular breeding techniques that have been used to increase the favorable fibre quality traits in cotton. Keywords: Cotton, fibre quality traits, simple sequence repeat (SSR), restricted fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), quantitative trait loci (QTLs) African Journal of Biotechnology , Vol. 13(10), pp. 1097-1108, 5 March, 2014


The system code ATHLET (Analysis of THermal-hydraulics of Leaks and Transients) is being developed by the Gesellschaft für Anlagen-und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) mbH in Garching, Germany. In the paper, an overview of activities performed at Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER), University of Zagreb, in application of system code ATHLET in transient analyses for NPP Krško (NEK) is presented. Newly, the NEK input deck for the released ATHLET version (Mod 2.2 Cycle A) has been developed. For that purpose, the NEK data base that has been developed and maintained at FER for the last two decades primarily for development of standard input deck for RELAP5 code was used. The ATHLET model has been validated by analyzing the Rod Withdrawal At Power (RWAP) accident at nominal power. The results for steady state calculation as well as RWAP transient were assessed against the analysis performed by RELAP5/mod 3.3 code. In both ATHLET and RELAP5 calculation, the RWAP accident was simulated by constant reactivity insertion rate equal to 2.4 pcm/sec. For ATHLET analysis, two fluid dynamic options were tested for the primary side: a) base case analysis with 5 conservation equations and mixture level model and b) two-fluid model with separate conservation equations for liquid and vapour phases for all the volumes except for the pressurizer where 5 equations+mixture level model was retained. The Steam Generators (SGs) were built using basic ATHLET elements together with the dedicated separator model. For RELAP5/mod 3.3 analysis, a standard option with thermal and mechanical non-equilibrium (6 equations) was used. The results of the steady state calculation for the ATHLET model have shown a very good agreement with RELAP5 calculation. In the transient analysis very small differences for the main physical parameters between ATHLET and RELAP5 as well as between the two ATHLET models were obtained.


Spontaneous apoptosis in germinal‐centre (G.C) B cells can be prevented by treatment with anti‐immunoglobulin (Ig). By contrast, susceptible group‐l Burkitt lymphoma (BL) cells can be driven to apoptosis by anti‐lg. The second‐messenger pathways involved in the regulation of apoptosis in GC B lymphocytes and in BL cell lines were studied using pharmacological agonists or inhibitors of intracellular calcium ([Ca2+],) and protein kinase C (PKC). Anti‐lg was found to mobilize Ca2+ in group‐l cells. Pre‐incubation with the Ca2‐ chelator EGTA partially reduced apoptosis induced by anti‐lg or by Ca2+ionophore in group‐l BL cells. Activation of PKC with phorbol ester reduced such Ca2+‐driven programmed cell death (PCD) to control levels of apoptosis. Apoptosis in group‐l BL cell lines could also be triggered by the kinase inhibitors staurosporine and Ro‐31 ‐8220 at concentrations selective for PKC activity. Expression of the bcl‐2 protein in BL group‐l cells following gene transfer affords protection from apoptosis induced by ionomy‐cin or anti‐lg. In the present study, bcl‐2 was additionally found to protect from apoptosis driven by staurosporine. The high levels of spontaneous apoptosis exhibited fay normal GC 6 cells were reduced, but not abrogated, by co‐culture with phorbol ester. These results indicate that, in group‐l BL cells, imbalance in the phosphoinositide pathway of signalling, in favour of [Ca2+], and away from PKC, results in apoptosis: constitutive phosphorylation of key proteins by PKC may therefore suppress apoptosis in BL as well as in GC B cells. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Background and Objective Although upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) shares the histological appearance of urinary bladder cancer (UBC), molecular studies suggest that UTUC and UBC represent two distinct disease entities. However, treatment approaches for UTUC are virtually extrapolated from the evidence on UBC. As targeted drugs—immune-checkpoint inhibitors, fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitors, and antibody-drug conjugates—target specific molecules, gaining more knowledge about the target-molecular profiles of each drug can help formulate optimal treatment strategies for UTUC. Methods This narrative review summarized the subgroup analyses of clinical trials of FDA-approved targeted drugs to explore the differential effects of each targeted drug when administered for UTUC compared to UBC. We focused on the differences in mutation frequency, RNA expression subtype, and therapeutic target protein expressions (specifically PD-L1, Nectin-4, and Trop-2) between UTUC and UBC and discussed their relationship with the efficacy of each targeted drug. Key Content and Findings A clinical trial of nivolumab in an adjuvant setting (CheckMate 274) implied that immune-checkpoint inhibitors might be less efficacious in UTUC than in UBC. Genomic and transcriptomic studies suggest that UTUC has a high frequency of FGFR3 mutations and predominantly shows the luminal papillary subtype, which is immunologically cold with low T-cell infiltration. These findings are consistent with a possible lower response rate to immunotherapy in UTUC than that in UBC. Clinical trials of enfortumab vedotin in a third-line setting (EV201 and EV301) implied that enfortumab vedotin might be less efficacious in UTUC than in UBC. Previous immunohistochemical analyses suggest that UTUC might have a slightly lower rate of Nectin-4 positivity than UBC, indicating that enfortumab vedotin was less efficacious in UTUC than in UBC. Conclusions Clinical differences in the effects of targeted drugs for UTUC and UBC may highlight the molecular differences between these diseases. The treatment strategy should be optimized based on further investigation of the molecular characteristics of UTUC.


We present the results of detailed spectral studies of the ultra-compact low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1915-05 carried out with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) during 1996. 4U 1915-05 is an X-ray burster (XRB) known to exhibit a ∼ 199-day modulation in its 2–12 keV flux. Observations were performed with the PCA and HEXTE instruments on RXTE at roughly one-month intervals to sample this long-term period and study accretion rate-related spectral changes. We obtain good fits with a model consisting of a blackbody and an exponentially cutoff power law. The spectral parameters are strongly correlated with both the broad-band (2–50 keV) luminosity and the position in the color-color diagram, with the source moving from a low hard state to a high soft state as the accretion rate increases. The blackbody component appears to drive the spectral evolution. Our results are consistent with a geometry in which the soft component arises from an optically thick boundary layer and the hard component from an extended Comptonizing corona. Comparing our results with those of a similar study of the brighter source 4U 1820-30 (Bloser et al. 2000), we find that the two ultra-compact LMXBs occupy similar spectral states even though the transitions occur at very different total luminosities.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Approximately 30% of prostatic adenocarcinoma (PCa) cases are attributed to hereditary causes. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has published guidelines on genetic testing. The prevalence of the NCCN criteria for genetic testing in patients treated with surgery for high and intermediate risk PCa in not well characterized. METHODS: Patients with history of PCa treated with robotic surgery between January of 2016 and December of 2017 were identified from our well maintained intuitional database through an intuitional review board approved protocol. Only patients with available phone numbers and PCa Gleason score > 6 were included. A scripted phone call that operationalized NCCN criteria for testing into seven questions was used to contact patients. Prevalence of NCCN criteria in our patients′ cohort was then quantified. Patient′s attitude towards tissue banking for study of genetic disease determinants was also examined. RESULTS: Of the 450 patients identified as candidates for the study, 227 (50.4%) patients responded to the study team's phone calls. Average age of respondents was 64.6 years, 29.5% were African Americans, 21.3% had PCa > 7, 32.3% had positive family history for PCa, and 97.3% were health-insured. In individuals with family history of PCa, 28.8% had two family members affected, and 2.7% had three family members affected. Fathers were the most affected family members (55.7%), followed by brothers (22.7%). After scripted discussion with the patients, the prevalence of NCCN criteria for genetic testing was quantified and illustrated in table 1. During the same phone call, 31.5% of patients expressed agreement to have their samples acquired in the future into a tissue bank for research purposes into the genetic determinants of prostate cancer. CONCLUSIONS: A recognizable percentage of post prostatectomy men with intermediate and high risk PCa fit the NCCN criteria for genetic testing, and genetic testing in this population is justified. Based on our data, there is a good interest among post prostatectomy men to contribute samples to research into inherited causes of prostate cancer. Table. No title available. Source of Funding: none


Previous studies have suggested that artistic (synchronized) swimming athletes might showeating disorders symptoms. However, systematic research on eating disorders in artistic swimming is limited and the nature and antecedents of the development of eating disorders in this specific population of athletes is still scarce. Hence, the aim of our research was to investigate the eating disorder symptoms in artistic swimming athletes using the EAT-26 instrument, and to examine the relation of the incidence and severity of these symptoms to body mass index and body image dissatisfaction. Furthermore, we wanted to compare artistic swimmers with athletes of a non-leanness (but also an aquatic) sport, therefore we also included a group of female water-polo athletes of the same age. The sample consisted of 36 artistic swimmers and 34 female waterpolo players (both aged 13-16). To test the presence of the eating disorder symptoms the EAT-26 was used. The Mann-Whitney U Test (MWU) was used to test for the differences in EAT-26 scores. The EAT-26 total score and the Dieting subscale (one of the three subscale) showed significant differences between the two groups. The median value for EAT-26 total score was higher in the artistic swimmers' group (C = 11) than in the waterpolo players' group (C = 8). A decision tree classifier was used to discriminate the artistic swimmers and female water polo players based on the features from the EAT26 and calculated features. The most discriminative features were the BMI, the dieting subscale and the habit of post-meal vomiting.Our results suggest that artistic swimmers, at their typical competing age, show higher risk of developing eating disorders than female waterpoloplayers and that they are also prone to dieting weight-control behaviors to achieve a desired weight. Furthermore, results indicate that purgative behaviors, such as binge eating or self-induced vomiting, might not be a common weight-control behavior among these athletes. The results corroborate the findings that sport environment in leanness sports might contribute to the development of eating disorders. The results are also in line with evidence that leanness sports athletes are more at risk for developing restrictive than purgative eating behaviors, as the latter usually do not contribute to body weight reduction. As sport environment factors in artistic swimming include judging criteria that emphasize a specific body shape and performance, it is important to raise the awareness of mental health risks that such environment might encourage.


Cyclins play a vital role in controlling progress through the eukaryotic cell cycle. Specific cyclins are required at each cell cycle transition to activate their partner cyclin- dependent kinase. The focus of this study were the B1-type cyclins that are expressed in G2/M phase and control entry into mitosis. B1-type cyclins are represented by four members in Arabidopsis thaliana and in this study mutant lines for all family members, CYCB1;1, CYCB1;2, CYCB1;3 and CYCB1;4, were analyzed. Morphological analyses revealed only minor growth alterations of the single mutant plants. While the number of rosette leaves decreased in the cycb1;2 mutant, cycb1;4 increased the number of rosette leaf. Side and auxiliary shoots numbers did not affected by mutation in B1-type cyclins. cycb1;1 and cycb1;2 mutants increased the rosette leaf growth while knock out of CYCB1;4 reduced the growth of rosette leaf. Root growth analysis revealed that CYCB1;4 is the main B1-type cyclins in root growth and root growth significantly decreased in cycb1;4 mutant. All B1-type cyclin mutants prolonged the vegetative phase and flowering was delayed. The minor effects seen in the single mutants suggested a high level of redundancy among the B1-type cyclins. Consequently, a cycb1;1-/- cycb1;2-/- was lethal and embryos died in the middle of heart and torpedo stage. While the expression of CYCB1;4 under the CYCB1;1 promotor could not rescue cycb1;1-/- cycb1;2-/- mutants, the expression of CYCB1;1, CYCB1;2 and CYCB1;3 could restore wild type morphology in the double mutant. The cycb1;1-/- cycb1;4-/- or cycb1;2-/- cycb1;4-/- double mutant did not induce any severe phenotype. Double mutants of cycb1;3 with other b1-type cyclins were not analyzed. Analysis of B1-type cyclins shows that there is high level of redundancy between CYCB1;1, CYCB1;2 and CYCB1;3 but theCYCB1;4 developed independent from other B1-type cyclins. In dividing cells of all organisms, the destruction box dependent degradation of B-type cyclins is mediated by the APC/C complex. While the degradation of CYCB1;1 and CYCB1;2 in the stomata lineage of Arabidopsis thaliana is required a destruction box, it is interestingly not required in endoreplicating trichomes. In this study, a new motif was identified that mediates cyclin degradation in trichomes, the motif was designated Barbie box. The Barbie box is a plant specific degradation motif which was found only in some plant B-type cyclins. The Destruction box appeared to be not of primary importance for degradation of cyclins in trichomes. Evidence for this hypothesis came from the analysis of GUS marker lines that were fused to a destruction box. Moreover, an RNAi construct directed trichome-specifically against ACP11, a central component of the APC/C, resulted in no deviation from wild-type trichome phenotype.


The rapid, inexpensive, and on-site detection of bacterial contaminants using highly sensitive and specific microfluidic sensors is attracting substantial attention in water quality monitoring applications. Cell-imprinted polymers (CIPs) have emerged as robust, cost-effective, and versatile recognition materials with selective binding sites for capturing whole bacteria. However, electrochemical transduction of the binding event to a measurable signal within a microfluidic device to develop easy-to-use, compact, portable, durable, and affordable sensors remains a challenge. For this paper, we employed CIP-functionalized microwires (CIP-MWs) with an affinity towards E. coli and integrated them into a low-cost microfluidic sensor to measure the conductometric transduction of CIP–bacteria binding events. The sensor comprised two CIP-MWs suspended perpendicularly to a PDMS microchannel. The inter-wire electrical resistance of the microchannel was measured before, during, and after exposure of CIP-MWs to bacteria. A decline in the inter-wire resistance of the sensor after 30 min of incubation with bacteria was detected. Resistance change normalization and the subsequent analysis of the sensor's dose-response curve between 0 to 109 CFU/mL bacteria revealed the limits of detection and quantification of 2.1 × 105 CFU/mL and 7.3 × 105 CFU/mL, respectively. The dynamic range of the sensor was 104 to 107 CFU/mL where the bacteria counts were statistically distinguishable from each other. A linear fit in this range resulted in a sensitivity of 7.35 μS per CFU/mL. Experiments using competing Sarcina or Listeria cells showed specificity of the sensor towards the imprinted E. coli cells. The reported CIP-MW-based conductometric microfluidic sensor can provide a cost-effective, durable, portable, and real-time solution for the detection of pathogens in water.


Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of ibuprofen (IBP) in rabbits following administration of the drug-loaded interpenetrating network (IPN) beads and to compare the bioavailability of the drug from IPN beads with that from pure IBP and IBP Suspension. Materials and Methods: IPN beads, sodium carboxymethyl xanthan and sodium alginate was prepared by inotropic gelation process using AlCl3 as a cross linking agent. The plasma drug concentration was determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatographic method according to validation guidelines 2001. The chromatographic separation was carried out in WATERX BDS, C18 column with UV detection at 223 nm. Result: Though the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax (32.11 ± 2.03)) obtained from pure IBP (control) was higher than that of IBP suspension (reference (Cmax 30.05 ± 1.93)) and the time required to reach Cmax (Tmax) was less in the control (1.41 ± 0.37) than that of the reference product, the Cmax was significantly less and Tmax (2.91 ± 0.5) was higher from the drug loaded IPN beads than those from the both control and reference. Conclusions: Moreover, the relative bioavailability of the drug from the IPN beads was higher from the both control and reference products. This study revealed that IPN beads could be a suitable dosage form for IBP to achieve a sustained drug release.


Although the antiseptic treatment of purulent inflammation of the middle ear has been introduced but some three years, it has now been adopted by almost all, if not all, specialists. Scarcely any number of an otological journal can be examined without finding some testimony as to its efficacy. But by the general practitioner, the method has not yet been practiced to any extent; at least, I must infer this from my own experience with the patients referred to me, and I can find a reason for it in the scant allusions to it in medical journals. Moreover, all but the most recent text-books scarcely mention it. However, this article is not merely intended to corroborate the experience of other specialists, but to describe the use of some new substances for this purpose, and an improved method of applying them, both of which have considerably shortened the time of treatment of


Anatomical and physiological ocular surface barriers are responsible for low bioavailability of topical ophthalmic drugs. The unique structure of the cornea, epithelial cells and hydrophilic stroma in particular, impedes permeation of hydro- and lipophilic drugs via common routs of administration. The tear film with its proteins and enzymes also acts as a barrier. Despite several corneal transporters that take part in permeation of some drugs, increasing bioavailability of ophthalmic drugs in general remains a question of current importance. Liposomes are an option. These vesicular structures consist of the outer lipid bilayer and the inner aqueous compartment, which can be filled with a medication solution. This peculiarity of liposomes ensures their penetration through both hydro- and lipophilic mediums of the eye, including the barriers of the anterior and posterior segments. Liposomes are effective means of vectored drug delivery into the anterior chamber. This paper presents a review of the current knowledge on the interaction of drugs and ocular surface barriers as well as the prospects for the use of liposomes for transcorneal drug delivery.


Thyroid neoplasias have been largely ignored as an active field of investigation due to the overall favorable prognosis of differentiated nonmedullary thyroid cancers. However, differentiated thyroid cancers have the highest estimated annual percentage increase in incidence amongst all cancer sites. Furthermore, no significant progress has been made to improve survival, especially for advanced disease. Compounding the problem, there remains a lack of highly accurate preoperative markers or molecular-based predictive models to differentiate benign from malignant follicular neoplasias, thus we continue to rely upon surgery for diagnostic purposes in this subset of patients. Therefore, new approaches are necessary to identify potential novel diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic algorithms, which would not only allow accurate early diagnosis but also personalized patient management, with clinical management and surveillance tailored according to the genetic signature of the patient. The advent of modern genomic technologies, such as global gene-expression profiling, may begin to provide the data required for the evidence-based practice of genomic medicine as it relates to thyroid neoplasia. However, it is already clear that genomic technology alone is insufficient to fully achieve this vision.