Macrophage inhibitory cytokine 1 (MIC-1), a divergent member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily, is linked to the pathogenesis of cancer. To delineate possible roles for MIC-1 in prostate cancer, a number of prostate epithelial cell lines have been studied, including PZ-HPV-7, DU-145, PC-3, and LNCaP cells. Factors regulating the production of MIC-1 protein by these cells and some of the effects of MIC-1 on them were investigated. Although PZ-HPV-7 and DU-145 produced no MIC-1 protein, PC-3 and LNCaP cells secreted MIC-1 protein at high levels. The secretion of MIC-1 in LNCaP cells was modulated by both androgen and estrogen. Although neither MIC-1 nor anti-MIC-1 antibody had any effect on the proliferation of epithelial cells, MIC-1 induced changes in DU-145 cells. These cells became flattened and more spread out, and this was accompanied by reduced intercellular actin filaments and intercellular junctions. The DU-145 cells then detached from their substrate and underwent caspase-dependent apoptosis. To define some of the genes responsible for these changes, cDNA microarrays, followed by confirmatory reverse transcription-PCR, was used to analyze differential gene expression induced by MIC-1. The antiapoptotic gene metallothionein 1E and cell adhesion genes RhoE and catenin delta 1 were down-regulated by more than 2-fold by MIC-1, suggesting that they were, at least in part, responsible for the observed changes in the behavior of DU-145 cells. These findings suggest that although MIC-1 has no effect on cell proliferation, it reduces cell adhesion and consequently induces cell detachment. It is likely that caspase-dependent apoptosis is secondary to loss of cell adhesion and may suggest a role for MIC-1 in tumor dissemination in vivo.


Should students who are learning English spend the school day in classes where only English is spoken? Or should they be taught reading and other academic skills and content in their native language? Or should their classes be primarily in English, but include some explanations or materials in their native language? If their native language is to be used, how much native language instruction should they receive and for what purposes? And aren't there other issues we need to consider, aside from language of instruction? These are important questions, and anyone who can provide a quick answer is surely oversimplifying the issues. Some English language learners (ELLs) do not speak a word of English and are not literate in their native language. Others have some conversational English, but are not yet fluent, and in their native language they are not only literate, but have mastered a great deal of academic content. There will probably never be a formula for educating ELLs, just as there is no formula for educating students who already know English. What we can do is provide guidelines based on our strongest research about effective practices for teaching ELLs. It's time to move beyond charged debates and all-too-certain answers. What students need is for educators and policymakers to take a more in-depth look, starting with what existing research does—and does not—say. In this article, Claude Goldenberg walks us through the major findings of two recent reviews of the research on educating ELLs. Given all the strong opinions one sees in newspaper op-eds, readers may be surprised to discover how little is actually known. What's certain is that if we conducted more research with ELLs, and paid more attention to the research that exists, we would be in a much better position. And so, we bring you this article with four goals in mind. First, we hope that everyone who engages in debates about educating ELLs will become a little more knowledgeable and, therefore, will start taking a little more nuanced positions. Second, we wish to spur more research (and more funding for more research). Third, to keep the snake-oil salesmen at bay, we think it's best for educators to know what existing research cannot support. And fourth, we believe that what has been reasonably well established is worth knowing. –Editors


The cost of the systematic radiological examination of 100 hypertensive patients in the search of renovascular hypertension reaches 118 330 F, for the classical approach based on selecting the indications of the Seldinger arteriography on the urographic signs and even 164 950 F when these indications are broadened. The systematic examination of 100 hypertensives by the combined intravenous arteriography and pyelography costs 108 240 F when only one film is taken and 120 910 F when 6 films are taken. The effectiveness for the diagnosis of the 11 renovascular diseases present in 100 hypertensive patients, is measured by the recognition of 8.6-9.1 of them by the classical approach and 10.4-10.9 by the combined intravenous arteriography and pyelography. The effectiveness for the diagnosis of the 2,3 cases of renovascular hypertension present in 100 hypertensive patients is measured by the recognition of 1.8 -1.9 of them by the classical approach and 2.1-2.27 by the combined IV arteriography and pyelography. The cost of finding a patient with curable renovascular hypertension is respectively 51 543 F and 53 264 F with the routine intravenous arteriography according to the number of films and 65 738 and 86 815 F for the classical approach according to wether the indications of the Seldinger arteriography have purely urographic or also clinical basis. In conclusion, the combined intravenous renal arteriography and urography is a method more reliable and less expensive to diagnose renovascular disease and hypertension than the classical approach selecting the seldinger arteriography on the urographic and clinical data. Furthermore, this technic prevents arterial catheterism complications and allows a non traumatic follow-up of the non operated stenosis which may threaten the life of the kidney, as well as the operated or dilated ones.


The needs and motives for a therapeutically oriented muscle training programme are quite varied. The attainment of the maximum possible muscle strength is not the decisive goal, but instead the achievement of motoric function permitting optimal performance during daily physical activities, supporting active participation in sports during leisure time, compensating for deficits in the musculo-skeletal system and counteracting a series of disturbances and limitations in general health. The following goals fall into the realm of a therapeutic muscle training programme: maintenance as well as improvement of muscle function--stabilization of the joints--increase in joint mobility--maintenance of the function of the total skeletal system--support of kinesthetics and body consciousness--promotion of emotional stability--prophylaxis of injury--improvement of the preconditions for total body training. From the above goals the following indications for a therapeutic muscle training programme can be deduced: maintenance of muscle strength and joint function during lack of physical activity and in advanced age--muscle building subsequent to periods of immobilization after injuries and surgery affecting the musculo-skeletal system--stabilization of the joint-muscle system in degenerative joint and spinal diseases, joint instability and hypermobility--treatment of muscular dysbalance, muscular insufficiency, postural abnormalities and weaknesses--mobilization of joints--prophylaxis and therapy of osteoporosis--calesthenics during pregnancy--therapy of urinary incontinence--adjuvant therapy for psychiatric disorders--part of a total body training regimen aimed at physical fitness and general health care.


The study was conducted to investigate the effects of graded dietary inclusion levels
of betaine on ileal and total tract nutrient digestibilities and intestinal bacterial fermentation
characteristics in piglets. A total of 8 barrows (BW 7.9 kg) was fitted with simple T-cannulas at the
distal ileum. The animals were randomly allocated to 1 of the 4 assay diets with 2 pigs per treatment in
4 repeated measurement periods. The assay diets included a basal diet based on wheat, barley and
soybean meal alone, or supplemented with a liquid betaine product at dietary levels of 1.5, 3.0, or 6.0
g betaine kg–1
 diet (as–fed). Ileal digestibilities of dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF)
increased both quadratically and linearly (P<0.05), and ileal digestibility of glycine increased linearly
as dietary betaine level increased (P<0.05). Moreover, there were linear increases in the concentrations
of ileal D–lactic acid (P<0.05), indicating intensified intestinal bacterial activities as dietary betaine
level increased. At the fecal level, total tract crude protein (CP) digestibility increased quadratically
(P<0.05), and digestibility of amino acids (AA) tended to increase quadratically (P=0.06 to P=0.11),
except for proline (P>0.05), as dietary betaine level increased. The increased bacterial degradation of
CP and AA in the large intestine coincides with the linear increase (P<0.05) in fecal diaminopimelic
acid concentrations, indicating enhanced intestinal bacterial growth with increasing dietary betaine
levels. In most cases, there was a response in the variables that were measured up to 3.0 g betaine per
kg diet, whereas increasing the betaine level from 3.0 to 6.0 g betaine per kg diet had no additional
effect. It can be concluded that dietary betaine stimulates microbial fermentation of fiber in the small
intestine, leaving less fermentable fiber to reach the large intestine and therefore, increased microbial
degradation of protein in the large intestine may occur. Keywords: piglets, betaine, digestibility, bacterial fermentation, microflora


Objective To assess the frequency of multidisciplinary rounds during ICU days, to evaluate the participation of diverse healthcare professionals, to identify the reasons why rounds were not performed on specific days, and whether bed occupancy rate and nurse workload were associated with the conduction of multidisciplinary rounds. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study to assess the frequency of multidisciplinary rounds in four intensive care units in a cancer center. We also collected data on rates of professional participation, reasons for not performing rounds when they did not occur, and daily bed occupancy rates and assessed nurse workload by measuring the Nursing Activity Score. Results Rounds were conducted on 595 (65.8%) of 889 surveyed intensive care unit days. Nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, and infection control practitioners participated most often. Rounds did not occur due to admission of new patients at the scheduled time (136; 44.7%) and involvement of nurses in activities unrelated to patients' care (97; 31.9%). In multivariate analysis, higher Nursing Activity Scores were associated with greater odds of conducting multidisciplinary rounds (OR = 1.06; 95%CI 1.04 - 1.10; p < 0.01), whereas bed occupancy rates were not (OR = 0.99; 95%CI 0.97 - 1.00; p = 0.18). Conclusion Multidisciplinary rounds were conducted on less than two-thirds of surveyed intensive care unit days. Many rounds were cancelled due to activities unrelated to patient care. Unexpectedly, increased workload was associated with higher odds of conducting rounds. Workload is a possible trigger to discuss daily goals to improve patient outcomes and to enhance the effectiveness of multidisciplinary teams.


The aim of the present paper is to investigate the properties of the Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) film condensation from the carbon plasma generated by Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) method. The carbon film is bombarded during its deposition by energetic carbon ions with established value of directed energy. Because this system can heat at elevated temperature any material, it is one of the most adequate technologies for the deposition of refractory metals with high melting points (over 3000 K), Raman spectra were analysed to identify the C phase of the deposited films and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) used after the nanoindentation print of different loads. Mechanical tests were carried on deposited carbon film using a Fischerscope depth sensing indentation tester. The hardness of the deposited films was found in the range of 10 to 14 GPa, typical values for DLC films and the elastic modulus was found in the range from 100 to 125 GPa.


BACKGROUND: This study assessed the possible effect of hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) on soothing recurrent abdominal pain (RAP). METHODS: A hundred girls with RAP and IH were randomly assigned into two groups of experiment (treated with hydrochlorothiazide 1mg/kg/day) and control and all patients were followed for 3 months. RESULTS: In the experiment group, the mean of painful attacks in the first, second and third month were 0.38, 0.4 and 0.26, respectively which were far less than their counterparts in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Single daily dose of HCT is a safe and effective therapeutic option in the treatment of RAP in children with IH.


In view of the problem of bandwidth constraints In networked control systems (NCSs). This work focuses on reducing the network usage using knowledge of the plant dynamics. A new kind of stochastic communication logic(SCL) based on states of systems Is proposed, the model of NCSs with communication logic is built up. Using the theory of stochastic stability and Poisson Process with time varying density, the mean square asymptotically stability of systems is proved. Finally an example is given to validate the conclusion.


Clinically it is important to detect slight changes in the size and contour of the heart and to try to differentiate between normal and slightly enlarged hearts. Enlargement of the left ventricle occurs frequently with rheumatic heart disease. The present study was undertaken to evaluate one of the quantitative roentgenologic methods used to indicate the size of the left ventricle in children. Wilson, 1 by determining the degree of rotation necessary to separate the left lower border of the heart (left ventricle) from the vertebral column in fluoroscopic examination in the left anterior oblique position, introduced an index of cardiac size and termed it the angle of clearance. For 97 per cent of 119 normal children ranging in age from 5 to 15 years the angle of clearance was less than 55 degrees; it was between 40 and 45 degrees for 49 per cent, between 45 and 55 degrees for


A multiframe technique that uses Fresnel holography is described. Splitting of the initial pulse by means of 50/50 beam splitters provides two sets of eight consecutive pulses with approximately the same energy but with different angles. Each interferogram is recorded separately. The technique has been used to obtain time-resolved Fresnel holographic interferograms of transient electrical discharges, such as Z pinch. A frequency-doubled, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (6-ns FWHM) is used. A delay between consecutive pulses of 10 ns is achieved, and it is mainly limited by the physical size of the laboratory. Interferograms obtained on a gas-embedded Z pinch are shown.


Abstract. In the mountains, snowmelt often provides most of the runoff. Operational estimates use imagery from optical and passive microwave sensors, but each has its limitations. An accurate approach, which we validate in Afghanistan and the Sierra Nevada USA, reconstructs spatially distributed snow water equivalent (SWE) by calculating snowmelt backward from a remotely sensed date of disappearance. However, reconstructed SWE estimates are available only retrospectively; they do not provide a forecast. To estimate SWE throughout the snowmelt season, we consider physiographic and remotely sensed information as predictors and reconstructed SWE as the target. The period of analysis matches the AMSR-E radiometer's lifetime from 2003 to 2011, for the months of April through June. The spatial resolution of the predictions is 3.125 km, to match the resolution of a microwave brightness temperature product. Two machine learning techniques – bagged regression trees and feed-forward neural networks – produced similar mean results, with 0–14 % bias and 46–48 mm RMSE on average. Nash–Sutcliffe efficiencies averaged 0.68 for all years. Daily SWE climatology and fractional snow-covered area are the most important predictors. We conclude that these methods can accurately estimate SWE during the snow season in remote mountains, and thereby provide an independent estimate to forecast runoff and validate other methods to assess the snow resource.


Bulimia nervosa is among the most common health problems in contemporary society. It is a self-induced weight loss syndrome associated with distinct dental manifestations involving physical and psychologic symptoms. It is characterized by recurrent binge-purge episodes that occur at least once a day. This article describes the complete-mouth rehabilitation of a bulimic patient with a generalized enamel erosion of her dentition and a poor esthetic appearance. Porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations were used as the definitive treatment. Good esthetics and high self-esteem were the final results. Comprehensive restorative therapy was applied in this clinical case report to achieve both function and esthetics in a demanding situation.


This paper discusses a list of information and issues that causes of structural failure of buildings. Structural failure begins to occur when the material is stressed to its upper strength limit causing to rupture or extreme deformations. The ultimate strength of the material or the system is the limit of the load bearing capacity. On reaching this limit, the construction materials could already been damaged, and their load carrying capacity is suddenly decreased permanently. If the system is properly designed, a local collapse should normally not be a cause of instant or gradual failure of the complete building. The ultimate failure strength of the construction elements should be carefully considered in the design of structures to prevent failure.


Empirical applications of the spatial theory of elections typically rely on the discrete choice framework to arrive at probabilistic voting models. Whereas in the classic model voter choice is solely a function of spatial proximity, neo-Downsian models also incorporate voter-specific nonpolicy attributes, which are represented by sociodemographic characteristics. One prominent line of such probabilistic models, Schofield's Valence Model, additionally includes party valences into voter utility functions. The model rests on the estimated party intercepts to measure the valence advantages empirically. The party intercepts are ordered based on their values, and then this valence ranking is used further to predict equilibrium locations. The paper demonstrates that this measurement strategy does not provide unique results in fully specified models due to central properties of discrete choice models and the specific nature of party intercepts in these models. Drawing on a simple example based on mass election surveys from Germany, it is shown that the valence ranking, the crucial factor to investigate how valence differences affect the nature of spatial competition, is highly sensitive to arbitrary coding decisions. As a consequence, it is impossible to represent valence with the constants and to infer something substantial from the resulting valence ranking.


OBJECTIVE
Immediately after the outbreak of nCoV, many clinical trials are registered for COVID-19. The numbers of registrations are now raising inordinately. It is challenging to understand which research areas are explored in this massive pool of clinical studies. If such information can be compiled, then it is easy to explore new research studies for possible contributions in COVID-19 research.

METHODS
In the present work, a text-mining technique of artificial intelligence is utilized to map the research domains explored through the clinical trials of COVID-19. With the help of open-source and graphical user interface-based tool, 3007 clinical trials are analyzed here. The dataset is acquired from the international clinical trial registry platform of WHO. With the help of hierarchical cluster analysis, the clinical trials were grouped according to their common research studies. These clusters are analyzed manually using their word clouds for understanding the scientific area of a particular cluster. The scientific fields of clinical studies are comprehensively reviewed and discussed based on this analysis.

RESULTS
More than three-thousand clinical trial are grouped in 212 clusters by hierarchical cluster analysis. Manual intervention of these clusters using their individual word-cloud, helped to identify various scientific areas which are explored in COVID19 related clinical studies.

CONCLUSION
The text-mining is an easy and fastest way to explore many registered clinical trials. In our study, thirteen major clusters or research areas were identified in which the majority of clinical trials were registered. Many other uncategorized clinical studies were also identified as 'miscellaneousstudies'. The clinical trials within the individual cluster were studied, and their research purposes are compiled comprehensively in the present work.


How, why and under what circumstances, firm respond to supply chain disruptions? These are the questions, which firms all over the world are rapidly exposed to interruptions that delay their supply chain relationships and related operations. This study applies information processing and resource dependence perspectives and to develop and test a model that express the conduct of the different responses. We use questioner and observation in data collection .Samples are selected from two firms. Data is collected from 50 respondents. Hypotheses 2,4 and 5 are accepted in research. Descriptive statistics is applied in data analysis. Strong coordination in relationship of supply chain increase the profitability and market share, decrease inventory handling costs and make competitively strong. Poor coordination could affect performance of partners in chain of supplies. Supply chain disruption orientation leads towards motivation to act in order to attain stability motive.


We propose that leukocyte-derived cytokines induce the expression of adhesion molecules on the surface of neural cells that facilitates the subsequent attachment of leukocytes. Leukocyte adherence may contribute to some of the neural cell injury seen with various inflammatory diseases of the nervous system. With an in vitro model system, we have shown that mononuclear leukocytes bind to human neuroblastoma and cortical neuron cells only after the neural cells are stimulated with TNF-alpha. TNF-alpha stimulates expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in both of these neural cell lines. VCAM-1 mRNA is increased and VCAM-1 protein can be identified on the neural cell membranes with a new VCAM-1-specific mAb, CL40/2 F8. TNF-alpha also induces ICAM-1 in both of these neural cell lines. Leukocyte beta 1 (CD29) and beta 2 (CD18) integrins and their respective ligands, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, on neural cells appear to be the dominant ligands mediating MNL:neural cell adhesive interactions. mAb to CD18 block 32 to 57% of the MNL binding to neural cells; similar inhibition is seen with mAb to ICAM-1. mAb to CD29 block 16 to 17% of the MNL binding to the neural cells suggesting that leukocyte beta 1 integrins and neural VCAM-1 may be a second route for MNL:neural cell interactions. Addition of both anti-CD18 and anti-CD29 mAb have an additive blocking effect; both ligand pairs may participate in MNL adhesion to neural cells, reminiscent of the multiplicity of ligands used by MNL when binding to endothelium.


Abstract On 10-11th March in Warsaw, in the Conference Center Muranow, there was held a scientific conference "Schizophrenia-Forum", organized for the nineteenth time. In this edition, particular attention was paid to educational aspects, by virtue of the fact that among the participants of the Conference there was a large number of young physicians specializing in psychiatry. The formula of the two-day Conference based on the experts' debates in a particular way affected the participants, so the conference was very interesting, it enabled the exchange of experiences and reflections on the problems of schizophrenia. The conference was attended by leading scientists and clinicians, for example: Marek Jarema, Janusz Rybakowski, Andrzej Czernikiewicz, Jerzy Samochowiec, Dominika Dudek and others, which is why it allowed to enrich the knowledge of the diagnosis and treatment of psychotic disorders and good presentation of mature clinical thinking. The organizer of the Conference was the Foundation III Department of Psychiatry, "Syntonia" and the guest of honor was Dr. Peter Falkai - Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. The lecture by Professor Falkaia entitled Schizophrenia treatment guidelines, at a plenary lecture, was presented in English, translated simultaneously, and was divided into parts: the characteristics of schizophrenia, guidelines for pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia, pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia - states of acute pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia - long-term treatment, side effects of long-term pharmacotherapy and conclusions. After a two-day Conference the hugely popular workshop sessions took place. They were addressed to physicians during specialization. All workshop sessions were very popular, as well as the entire conference, which became a forum for the exchange of information, ideas and experiences, sometimes intriguing, inspiring and innovative but never blank. At the end of the Conference the certificates were distributed and there was the opportunity for guests - visiting the permanent exhibition "1000 years of history of Polish Jews," Polin, located at the Conference Centre Muranow. XIX Conference on Schizophrenia Forum 2016 was an interesting event cognitively and it maintained a high level of scientific and substantive jurisdiction important events in Polish psychiatry.


Past research on citizenship behavior has pointed primarily to its voluntary side—organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)—but some scholars have suggested that there is a nonvoluntary version of citizenship behavior—compulsory citizenship behavior (CCB). Drawing
 on conservation of resources theory and social identity theory, in this research we firstly examined the psychological mechanism underlying the relationship between CCB and the critical workplace deviant behavior of employee silence by developing a moderated mediation model wherein CCB predicted
 subordinates' silence behavior through emotional exhaustion, with organizational identification acting as the boundary condition. Results from 2-wave lagged data (N = 242) collected in the manufacturing sector in China support our hypothesized model. We found that CCB was positively
 related to employee silence, and emotional exhaustion fully mediated this relationship; organizational identification weakened the relationship between CCB and emotional exhaustion, and organizational identification weakened the indirect effect of CCB on employee silence via emotional exhaustion.
 Contributions, practical implications, and several promising avenues for future research are discussed.


Several international policy processes with sustainable forest management (SFM) as a common goal have emerged during the past two decades. Based on an empirical study from Norway, this paper analyses the role of subjective judgments in assessing national compliance with three international forest policy processes, and the implications for determination of the effects of these processes. The Expanded Programme of Work on Forest Biological Diversity, the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe and the United Nations Forum on Forests, including its predecessors, collectively provide more than 600 recommendations for SFM. While it is nothing new that SFM encompasses value questions, this paper is a systematic review of where in a process of assessing national compliance the role of judgments is most profound. The paper shows that the multiple objectives of the forest recommendations, references to national circumstances and provisions for stakeholder involvement lead to differing opinions about the degree of conformity between international recommendations and national situation, i.e. compliance. These differing opinions mean different prospects for the international processes to have effects, because only implementation, or active responses to international recommendations, constitutes effects. The roles of judgments and values are recommended topics for further investigation. Factors influencing how compliance is assessed, and consequently the degree to which implementation is deemed necessary, require specific attention. Due consideration to substantive and methodological choices in determining national changes and in separation of other sources of influence will provide a better basis for informed discussion of compliance with and effects of international forest-related policy processes.


I was in a taxi recently and after sitting down, the driver generously offered me a bottle of water. After a few questions, he admitted that he always provides water for his passengers because it increases the potential tip an average of 15-20%. It also encourages a future call.


Studying the biological processes of wildlife and how they react and prevail with human population growth and development has become very important to sustain species and prevent extinction. Wildlife tracking has become a very important tool in this matter by giving researchers an idea of animal territory and habitat. However, the process of finding the animal after it has been tagged can be very tedious and costly. To make this tracking process more efficient, researchers at Utah State University (USU) are developing a low cost RF telemetry system for wildlife tracking using an autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for triangulation and geo-location of the target. The use of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for wildlife tracking offer many advantages such as cost reduction, human effort reduction and data acquisition efficiency due to the usage flexibility offered by the system in comparison to conventional methods. This paper presents the design of this tracking system, and shows some experimental data.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


The HAVAB radioimmunoassay for the detection of antibody to hepatitis A is assessed. Its modification to detect virus in faecal samples is described and in this it was found to be more sensitive and specific than electron microscopy.


Our attention was turned to this subject by the reported occurrence of beri-beri among our forces in the Dardanelles and Mesopotamia during the autumn and winter of 1915 (see Wilcox, 1916, I and II). Owing to the exigencies of the military situation, many individuals in these regions subsisted for considerable periods mainly on tinned meat, jam and white bread (or biscuit baked principally from white flour). Beri-beri has in recent years been included among the deficiency diseases, and there was therefore good presumptive evidence that the diet had been at fault. We examined two samples of tinned meat-and-vegetable ration by the methods described below, and found, as was to be expected, that the substances preventing beri-beri in the fresh materials had not survived the heat-sterilisation undergone in the process of canning. The case of bread and biscuit demanded a more extended investigation, and the present work is concerned with the nutritive properties of cereals generally, especially wheat. One member of this group, viz., rice, has been exhaustively studied in recent years, and the work, among others, of Eijkman, Grijns, and Braddon has established the etiology of tropical beri-beri in a deficiency in the diet of rice-eating people, caused by the removal of certain materials from the grain during milling. The presence in the rice-bran or rice polishings of a substance essential for nutrition has been demonstrated by many observers, including those named above, and also by Schaumann (1910), to whom and to Funk (1913) the reader is referred for a complete bibliography upon the subject. Funk (1912) adopted the term "vitamine" for this essential material, and for the sake of brevity we shall use the expression "anti-neuritic vitamine" to express the substance whose absence in a diet causes beri-beri. The vitamine in the rice grain was supposed to be contained in the layer of cells rich in protein (aleurone-layer) situated immediately underneath the pericarp of the husked grain. These cells form the outer layer of the endosperm, but are removed with the bran during milling.


There are two main forms of esophagus cancer with different malignant behaviors: epidermal or squamous carcinoma (ESCC) and esophagus adenocarcinoma (EA). ESCC is associated with ethanol and tobacco consumption (tobacco-specific-Nnitroso compounds). ESCC is among the more aggressive cancers known. The high mortality rate associated with this type of cancer is directly related to a late diagnosis. Thus there is an important challenge to identify biomarkers for early diagnosis (Shimada et al., 2003; Sobin & Fleming, 1997).


Background. Activators of the peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor γ (PPARγ), originally found to be implicated in lipid metabolism and glucose homeostasis, have been shown to modulate inflammatory responses through interference with cytokine and chemokine production. Given the central role of mesangial cell-derived chemokines in glomerular leukocyte recruitment in human and experimental glomerulonephritis, we studied the influence of natural and synthetic PPARγ activators on INF-γinduced expression of the T cell-attracting chemokines IP10/CXCL10, Mig/CXCL9 and I-TAC/CXCL11 in mouse mesangial cells. Methods. INF-γ-treated mesangial cells were cultured in the presence or absence of either the naturally occurring PPARγ ligand 15-deoxy-� 12,14 -prostaglandin J2 (15dPGJ2) or synthetic PPARγ activators of the glitazone group. Chemokine mRNA and protein expression and activation of the JAK/STAT signalling pathway were analysed. Results. The 15d-PGJ2, but not synthetic PPARγ ligands, dose-dependently inhibited INF-γ-induced chemokine gene (mRNA and protein) expression. Combined results from EMSA and western blot analysis revealed the inhibitory ability of 15d-PGJ2, but not of synthetic PPARγ ligands, on IFN-γ-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK1, JAK2, STAT1 and nuclear STAT1 translocation and DNA binding. Conclusions. Our results demonstrate that 15d-PGJ2 inhibits INF-γ-induced chemokine expression in mesangial cells by targeting the JAK/STAT signalling pathway. This effect is independent of an interference with PPARγ.


The palynological record from the Colle Curti and Cesi continental deposits has been examined in order to identify the main palaeofloristic and vegetational changes between 0.99 and 0.6–0.7 Ma. These data show a progressive increase in aridity, as well as a progressive decrease in temperature, which are associated with the transition in dominance from the 41 to 100 ka cyclicity in the Milankovitch orbital record during the Middle Pleistocene. The disappearance of Tsuga, recorded during the lower part of the Brunhes Chron, also has been related to a shift in global aridity. During the successive open vegetational phases (glacials), Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia progressively increase, whereas Cyperaceae decrease. Forest phases (interglacials) are successively dominated by Tsuga, Abies with Picea and, finally, Pinus; but all lack significant expansion of broad-leaved deciduous taxa. Palynological and sedimentological data, in addition to taphonomic interpretations, demonstrate the occurrence of several hiatuses in the lower parts of the interglacials. These hiatuses are considered to represent the palaeoenvironmental response to climatic changes affecting local sedimentological and geomorphological conditions. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The ascomycetes of Australia are generally poorly known. Some major contributions to their study last century are those of G. Beaton and G. Weste, C. G. Hansford, K. D. Hyde and co-workers, J. Kohlmeyer and H. J. Swart. A preliminary list of more than 1657 Australian ascomycete species was located in an extensive search of the literature. The Australian Meliolaceae, Mycosphaerellaceae and Xylariaceae are relatively well known. Most ascomycete records are in the genera Meliola, Hypoxylonand Xylaria. Comprehensive treatments of Australian ascomycetes can be found in the monographs of the genera Anthostomella, Didymosphaeria, Hypoxylonand Massarina and Orders Heliotales and Pezizales. Freshwater and marine ascomycetes and ascomycetes associated with plant diseases have been relatively well studied. There is also a relatively large amount of literature on the ascomycetes occurring on palms. Ascomyceteous pathogens may be host specific (e.g. Mycosphaerella, Phyllachoraspp.) or probable generalists (e.g. Diaporthe, Glomerellaspp.). Saprobes are less likely to be host-specific, but examples from palms indicate that several species may exhibit a host genus preference. Biogeographical distributions of ascomycetes on Archontophoenix alexandrae indicate that when a plant is removed from its native surroundings (e.g. a rainforest) and planted elsewhere (e.g. in botanical gardens) it looses its endemic fungal population and ubiquituous fungi move in and fill the niche of these lost fungi. Most ascomycetes are inconspicuous and poorly collected. Studies on most of the larger families are already in progress. Therefore, a habitat approach is recommended for future Australian ascomycete studies. This can provide data on biodiversity, ecology and the roles of the fungi and specimens can be lodged in herbaria for future taxonomic studies.


Adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) is a method in which automatic change in the modulation and forward error correction of a link to compensate for changes in link conditions due to the channel fading or interference. When compared with links using fixed coding, AMC can increase the throughput of a robust link by allowing it to dynamically adjust to a less robust modulation/coding resulting in higher throughput. In this project work, AMC is being considered for video transmission over wireless networks using NS2. Evalvid tool is used on NS2 for video transmission. 16-QAM, 64-QAM, BPSK and QPSK modulations are used and adapted in this simulation and analysis. Simulations are conducted for single-hop networks by considering sink node movement. In this project, the fixed modulation and AMC is being compared. From the simulation, it is observed that AMC yields better throughput, packet delivery ratio and PSNR compared to the fixed modulation. Keywords– 16-QAM; 64-QAM; AMC; BPSK; Evalvid; QPSK; ---------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------


Medulloblastoma is the most common primary brain tumour in children and accounts for 25% of newly diagnosed cases. Recent advances in treatment have extended 5-year survival rates from 3 - > 70% during the past 50 years. These improvements in survival have resulted from a multi-modality approach that includes surgical resection, posterior fossa and craniospinal irradiation and chemotherapy for selected, high-risk patients. The literature regarding chemotherapy of adult and paediatric patients is reviewed in-depth. The most active agents include cisplatin, CCNU, cyclophosphamide, vincristine and carboplatin. Although patients are living longer with their disease, neurocognitive function and quality of life are often impaired following radiation therapy (RT) to the developing brain. To safely allow reductions in the dose of RT, the specificity and efficacy of chemotherapy must be improved. Recent advances in the molecular genetics of medulloblastoma transformation (e.g., myc, PTCH) are reviewed and discussed. A thorough understanding of these pathways will be critical for the development of more specific, novel drugs. Further clinical trials will be needed to evaluate the activity of these new drugs and determine their role in the treatment plan of patients with medulloblastoma.


Introduction: Point mutations in the human cytosolic isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) gene, or its mitochondrial homolog IDH2 gene, are frequent in patients with AML, particularly at residues R132 in IDH1 and, R140 or R172 in IDH2. These mutations cause loss of the enzymeOs ability to catalyze the conversion of isocitrate to α-ketoglutarate and result in neomorphic production of R(-)-2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG). It has been reported that 2HG functions as an OoncometaboliteO. Interestingly, serum levels of 2HG are highly variable among patients with the same mutations, and occasionally are elevated even in patients without detectable mutations. Previously Chaturvedi et al (ASH 2011, Abstract) showed that an IDH1 splice variant promotes leukemogenesis in vivo in the absence of IDH1/IDH2 mutations. In this study, we examined the frequency of this splice variant and two other IDH1 novel splice variants in patients with AML, and looked for any relationships between splice variants, mutations, and 2HG levels. Methods: Cloning and sequencing analysis were used to identify IDH1 and IDH2 splice variants. DNA fragment analysis and capillary electrophoresis was used to evaluate expression of splice variants in 242 patients, of which 166 patients had 2HG blood levels measured. As controls we used two CD34+ bone marrow (BM) cells, three un-fractionated BM cells, and purified neutrophil and monocytes from three peripheral blood samples (PB) of normal donors. To detect point mutations, DNA fragments spanning exon 4 of IDH1 and IDH2 were amplified by nested polymerase chain reaction, and then PCR products were directly sequenced by Sanger sequencing. Results: We studied three splice variants of IDH1: IDH1Va (reported previously), and two variants discovered in the course of this study, IDH1Vb and IDH1Vc. Alignment analyses of these splice variants indicated that the IDH1Vb variant transcripts do not cause a frame shift, and retain native start and stop codons, while IDH1Va and IDH1Vc transcripts have frame shifts that create premature stop codons in the last exon. No splice variants of IDH2 were identified in these patient samples. Of the 242 AML samples (PB-166, BM-76) 51% expressed IDH1Va, 49% expressed IDH1Vb and 23% expressed IDHVc, almost always in combination with full length of IDH1 transcripts (IDH1FL). These IDH1 splice variants were not detected in the normal cells analyzed. We compared expression of IDH1 splice variants, presence of common point mutations, and levels of 2-HG in the 166 patients (Table 1). As expected, patients with point mutations in IDH1 or IDH2 generally had high levels of 2HG in their blood (> average 6104 ng/ml). Seven patients had detectable IDH1/IDH2 point mutations but low 2-HG ( average 4430 ng/ml) 2-HG blood levels, twelve of these overexpressed the IDH1Vb splice variant transcripts (Table 1). Six of these 12 patients expressed only IDH1Vb transcripts together with IDH1FL; the average 2HG blood levels in these patients was 2875ng/ml. Conclusion: Though high 2-HG blood levels are correlated with the presence of IDH1/IDH2 mutations, the degree of 2-HG elevation may be altered by other events such as alternative splicing. The expression of IDH1 splice variants was commonly detected in AML samples. Studies to examine the effects of splice variants of IDH1 on 2HG production and transformation are underway. Disclosures Fathi: Millennium: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Advisory Board, Advisory Board Other; Agios: Advisory Board, Advisory Board Other. Yen: Agios: Employment. Kim: Agios: Employment. Zhu: Agios Pharmaceuticals: Employment, Stockholder Other. Kim: Yes, same as for being Author of Abstract #70656 Hide Full Conflict-of-Interest Disclosure I have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose. Yes Name of Organization Type of relationship Agios Pharmaceuticals: Employment. Steensma: Novartis: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Ariad: Equity Ownership; Amgen: Consultancy. Stone: Agios: Consultancy.


Conflicts within continental Africa have been a recurring decimal in the socio-political, economic, and cultural history of the people of Africa from time immemorial. In the last few decades, especially from the mid-twentieth century, African societies have been undergoing difficult times vis-à-vis interstate and intrastate conflagrations. This study attempts to provide a critical glimpse into the nature of the concept of conflict, its inherent characteristic features and the various types of conflicts applicable to the African continent. It relied on the qualitative content analysis of secondary sources of data, and the psychocultural conflict approach was adopted as the tools of analysis for the study. The paper argues that conflicts in the different African regions are both interstate and intrastate; the latter remaining the dominant form of conflict in Africa with an increasing amount of actors. Also, the essay holds that conflicts have undermined Africa's development by causing the loss of human lives and economic resources, dislocation of people, and increased poverty rate. The paper, therefore, recommends the need for a context-specific and multi-layer conflict resolution, management and prevention initiative(s) encapsulating a broad based local, regional and international collaboration between all concerned stakeholders; the unfettered adherence to the rule of law; and the governments' need to place as their basic attention the welfare of the citizens through well guided policies so as to increase citizens' living standards and support human capital development.


Background: Cervical cancer remains a serious threat to women worldwide. Thus, effective strategies to treat cervical cancer are urgently needed. Bcl-2-associated athanogene 3 (Bag3) has been shown to be increased in several malignant neoplasms. However, little is known about the function of Bag3 in cervical cancer. We aimed to evaluate the function of Bag3 in cervical cancer progression.Method: qRT-PCR was carried out to test mRNA expression of Bag3, SLC7A11 and SLC3A2. Western blot analysis was conducted to detect protein expression of Bag3, SLC7A11 and SLC3A2. Cell proliferation was assessed using CCK-8, EdU and Colony formation assay. Flow cytometry assay was used to determine the frequency of IFN-γ- or TNF-α-producing CD8+ T cells. Transwell migration and invasion assay were carried out to detect cell migration and invasion capacity. Immunohistochemical staining was carried out to assess Bag3 and CD3 expressionResults: Bag3 was obviously elevated in cervical cancer tissues than in the adjacent normal tissues. Bag3 mRNA was upregulated in different cervical cancer cells (SiHa, C-33A, HT-3, and HeLa cells). SiHa cell proliferation, colony formation, and migration/invasion capacity were enhanced by Bag3 overexpression. Bag3 inhibited the immune response in cervical cancer. After C57BL6 mice were injected with Bag3-overexpressing SiHa cells, infiltrating CD3+ T cells around tumors were reduced. IFN-γ- and TNF-α-producing CD8+ T cells in tumor sections were remarkably inhibited by Bag3. Moreover, Ki-67+‑ and CD107a-producing CD8+ T cells were also suppressed. Bag3 repressed SiHa cell ferroptosis. Bag3 deletion inhibited cervical cancer development by improving the immune response and inducing ferroptosis. Conclusions: Taken together, these results indicated that Bag3 contributes to cervical cancer progression by impairing immune response and repressing cell ferroptosis.


To increase the photosynthesis of crop and improve plant quality, we evaluated the effect of elevated CO2 on vegetative growth and flowering in Phalaenopsis 'Fuller's Pink Swallow'. Plants were exposed to 450 (control), 800, 1600, and 2400 μmol·mol−1 CO2 for 31 weeks. The number of leaves, leaf length, and leaf width displayed greater increases in plants grown under 1600 and 2400 μmol·mol−1 CO2 than in plants grown under 450 and 800 μmol·mol−1 CO2. The times to leaf initiation were reduced to 90.7 and 85.8 days in plants grown under 1600 and 2400 μmol·mol−1 CO2, respectively, compared with that of the control, 177.1 days. The leaf elongation rate was significantly increased in plants grown under 1600 and 2400 μmol·mol−1 CO2 compared to plants grown under 450 and 800 μmol·mol−1 CO2. Plants grown under 1600 μmol·mol−1 CO2 had the highest total number of flower buds among all plants grown under the four tested CO2 concentrations. Leaf injuries were not observed in any plants regardless of CO2 concentration, but flower bud abortion and bud withering were observed in CO2-enriched plants, especially in plants grown under 1600 and 2400 μmol·mol−1 CO2. Plants subjected to long-term CO2 elevation of over 800 μmol·mol−1 displayed increased biomass production despite a concomitant reduction in the number of buds. These results showed that 1600 and 2400 μmol·mol−1 CO2 significantly enhanced the vegetative growth of Phalaenopsis. However, long-term exposure to high CO2 concentrations can adversely affect the flowering of Phalaenopsis, and result in reduced flower production and increased flower bud abortion.


Loss and fragmentation of natural ecosystems are widely recognized as the most important threats to biodiversity conservation, with Neotropical dry forests among the most endangered ecosystems. Area and edge effects are major factors in fragmented landscapes. Here, we examine area and edge effects and their interaction, on ensembles of arthropods associated to native vegetation in a fragmented Chaco Serrano forest. We analyzed family richness and community composition of herbivores, predators, and parasitoids on three native plant species in 12 fragments of varying size and at edge/interior positions. We also looked for indicator families by using Indicator Species Analysis. Loss of family richness with the reduction of forest fragment area was observed for the three functional groups, with similar magnitude. Herbivores were richer at the edges without interaction between edge and area effects, whereas predators were not affected by edge/interior position and parasitoid richness showed an interaction between area and position, with a steeper area slope at the edges. Family composition of herbivore, predator, and parasitoid assemblages was also affected by forest area and/or edge/interior situation. We found three indicator families for large remnants and five for edges. Our results support the key role of forest area for conservation of arthropods taxonomic and functional diversity in a highly threatened region, and emphasize the need to understand the interactions between area and edge effects on such diversity.


With advances in the lateral approaches to the skull base and the increasing success of the management of jugular foramen lesions, a thorough knowledge of the anatomy of this region is needed. The purpose of the present work is to study the detailed microsurgical anatomy of the lower skull base and the jugular foramen area as seen through the lateral approaches. Forty preserved skull base specimens and 5 fresh cadavers were dissected. The shape of the jugular bulb and its relationship to nearby structures were recorded. The different venous connections of the bulb were noted. The hypoglossal canal was identified and its contents were observed. The lower cranial nerves were studied at the level of the upper neck, at their exit from the inferior skull base, and in the jugular foramen. The results of the present study showed the complex and variable anatomy of this area. The classic compartments of the jugular foramen were not always present. Cranial nerves IX through XI followed different patterns while passing through the jugular foramen, being separated from the jugular bulb by bone, thick fibrous tissue, or thin connective tissue.


This practical book supplies a detailed review of the complicated legal issues and tax planning problems that occur when dissolving a family company. From the legal considerations, to the tax planning issues, to the cessation of trade, through to the distribution of assets amongst shareholders, it outlines exactly what you need to do when dissolving a family or owner-managed company. It is justifiably popular with both tax and legal professionals advising SMEs. Make sure you've a copy to hand when next dissolving a small company. New laws = new tax opportunities. The legal aspects of dissolving a business have seen huge change in the last 12 months - a NEW capital gains tax regime, entrepreneur's relief, and additional tax opportunities. Fully re-written and updated, Dissolving the Family Company 2/ed keeps your firm and clients bang up-to-date with ALL important developments. Including both company and tax laws. - Practical suggestions and tips for busy tax and legal professionals - Outlines the latest techniques and concepts that help save tax - Examines the pros and cons of appointing a liquidator - Examples and checklists help decide the most cost-effective solution for your clients - Covers the NEW capital gains tax regime - are your clients now compliant with the law? - Covers both tax and company law legislation Written by an experienced tax consultant Paul Seal is a sole practitioner tax consultant who provides taxation advice on both corporate and personal tax issues. Paul specialises in the difficulties smaller practices encounter when dissolving a family company. Contents 1 Setting the background, 2 Companies Act and Registrar of Companies formalities, 3 Taxation position of the company before and after cessation of trade, 4 Shareholder issues, 5 Extra Statutory Concession C16, 6 Capital gains tax - shareholder issues, 7 Continuing the trade under a new structure, 8 Stamp Duty and Stamp Duty Land Tax, 9 Value Added Tax, 10 Unincorporated associations, 11


Mycorrhizal infection of Abutilon theophrasti Medic, increased seed quality and resultant offspring performance, but the improvement varied significantly with the timing of seed production. In general, offspring from mycorrhizal plants were superior to offspring from non-mycorrhizal plants, but the difference was greatest for the early cohort of seeds. Because increased seed size and quality can affect subsequent offspring competitive ability, increased variability in seed size and quality due to mycorrhizal infection may have an important impact on population dynamics of A. theophrasti.


Background: Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) expression status in breast cancer are important factors in determining the use of adjuvant therapy. Plasma estradiol (E2) and progesterone vary markedly through the menstrual cycle. Recently, the levels of PgR expression were reported to be correlated with E2 at the time of surgery in Caucasian premenopausal breast cancer patients. Materials and methods: In this study, plasma E2 levels at surgery were examined for correlations with expressions of estrogen-regulated genes (ERGs), including PgR, and proliferation genes in 147 Japanese premenopausal ER-positive breast cancers. Plasma E2 and progesterone, FSH, and LH were measured on the day of surgery by ECLIA and mRNA expressions were analyzed for 4 ERGs (PgR, GREB1, TFF1, PDZK1), 2 progesterone-regulated (RANKL, cyclin D1) and 2 proliferation genes (MKI67, BIRC5) by RT-PCR using the TaqMan system. ER and PgR protein expression levels were estimated by immunohistochemistry. Results: Our results revealed that expressions of PgR mRNA and protein in breast cancer tissues were significantly correlated with plasma E2 levels at surgery (p = 0.005, p = 0.0165, respectively). Other ERGs were also significantly correlated with plasma E2 levels. However, there were no correlations between mRNA expressions of proliferation genes, MKI67 and BIRC5, and plasma E2 levels. Furthermore, mRNA expressions of the progesterone-regulated genes, RANKL and cyclin D1, were significantly correlated with PgR mRNA expression (p<0.0001, p<0.0001, respectively). Discussion: Significant correlations were seen in the expression of ERGs in Japanese ER-positive breast cancers according to the plasma E2 levels, which vary markedly through the menstrual cycle. Our results supported the previous report in Caucasian patients by other group. This variability may affect the interpretation of gene expression profiles incorporating ERGs such as the 21-gene recurrence score.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P5-05-04.


This article discusses the prospective reserve of term life insurance of the Canadian method. The method gives the extend of modified period over the entire premium payment period. Term life insurance reserve calculation is solved by determination of the single premium, annual premium, and annuity based on the assumption of constant force in advance.


Lagrange multiplier method based o modified Lagrangian functionals is one of the main methods for solving the finite dimensional convex optimization problem. Recently the Lagrange multiplier method is successfully applied to the solution of infinite- dimensional variational inequalities in mechanics. Convergence of Lagrange multiplier method is provided with the help of property of lower semicontinuity of sensitivity function. It is possible to prove the continuous differentiability of dual function. It allows for the solution of a dual problem to apply effective gradient methods of maximizing. In our paper we investigate the Lagrange multiplier method in finite-dimensional convex optimization problem and in infinite-dimensional semicoercive Signorini's problem of mechanics.


Background Metastasis is the major cause of cancer related death and targeting the process of metastasis has been proposed as a strategy to combat cancer. Therefore, to develop candidate drugs that target the process of metastasis is very important. In the preliminary studies, we found that schisandrin B (Sch B), a naturally-occurring dibenzocyclooctadiene lignan with very low toxicity, could suppress cancer metastasis. Methodology BALB/c mice were inoculated subcutaneously or injected via tail vein with murine breast cancer 4T1 cells. Mice were divided into Sch B-treated and control groups. The primary tumor growth, local invasion, lung and bone metastasis, and survival time were monitored. Tumor biopsies were examined immuno- and histo-pathologically. The inhibitory activity of Sch B on TGF-β induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of 4T1 and primary human breast cancer cells was assayed. Principal Findings Sch B significantly suppressed the spontaneous lung and bone metastasis of 4T1 cells inoculated s.c. without significant effect on primary tumor growth and significantly extended the survival time of these mice. Sch B did not inhibit lung metastasis of 4T1 cells that were injected via tail vein. Delayed start of treatment with Sch B in mice with pre-existing tumors did not reduce lung metastasis. These results suggested that Sch B acted at the step of local invasion. Histopathological evidences demonstrated that the primary tumors in Sch B group were significantly less locally invasive than control tumors. In vitro assays demonstrated that Sch B could inhibit TGF-β induced EMT of 4T1 cells and of primary human breast cancer cells. Conclusions Sch B significantly suppresses the lung and bone metastasis of 4T1 cells via inhibiting EMT, suggesting its potential application in targeting the process of cancer metastasis.


In Austria since 1997, 15 year old people instead of 16 year old are allowed to have a driving licence for mopeds. As the people of this age group are frequently involved in traffic accidents, the Austrian Ministry of Transport and Science financed this project in order to find ways to develop better target group oriented communication methods as a part of traffic education programs. This contribution gives an overview about this project. A discussion of the results ends with a catalogue of criteria for communication strategies, that should be taken into consideration whenever young people of an age of 15/16 are addressed in connection with traffic issues, be it directly or indirectly. This catalogue includes also requirements concerning the trainer or teacher, and it deals extensively with the contents and with the construction of messages. For the covering abstract see ITRD E122795.


We present a robust generalization of the synthetic control method for comparative case studies. Like the classical method, we present an algorithm to estimate the unobservable counterfactual of a treatment unit. A distinguishing feature of our algorithm is that of de-noising the data matrix via singular value thresholding, which renders our approach robust in multiple facets: it automatically identifies a good subset of donors, overcomes the challenges of missing data, and continues to work well in settings where covariate information may not be provided. To begin, we establish the condition under which the fundamental assumption in synthetic control-like approaches holds, i.e. when the linear relationship between the treatment unit and the donor pool prevails in both the pre- and post-intervention periods. We provide the first finite sample analysis for a broader class of models, the Latent Variable Model, in contrast to Factor Models previously considered in the literature. Further, we show that our de-noising procedure accurately imputes missing entries, producing a consistent estimator of the underlying signal matrix provided $p = \Omega( T^{-1 + \zeta})$ for some $\zeta > 0$; here, $p$ is the fraction of observed data and $T$ is the time interval of interest. Under the same setting, we prove that the mean-squared-error (MSE) in our prediction estimation scales as $O(\sigma^2/p + 1/\sqrt{T})$, where $\sigma^2$ is the noise variance. Using a data aggregation method, we show that the MSE can be made as small as $O(T^{-1/2+\gamma})$ for any $\gamma \in (0, 1/2)$, leading to a consistent estimator. We also introduce a Bayesian framework to quantify the model uncertainty through posterior probabilities. Our experiments, using both real-world and synthetic datasets, demonstrate that our robust generalization yields an improvement over the classical synthetic control method.


The architecture of a computer network has evolved with advances in technology. The design of secure computer network architecture to protect the integrity of information exchange is pursued by the commercial and financial sectors and at all levels of government agencies. Active networks represent a new approach to network architecture. It provides a much more flexible network infrastructure. The network security is mainly based on the network architecture. The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad survey on security in network system architecture. The first goal is to discuss various network architecture. The second goal is to highlight security issues in network architecture. Thus an inclusive presentation of network architecture, security issues is given.


This article describes the educational efforts invested at Wasit University (WU), in Wasit, Iraq, in order to make WU the first university in that country to implement campus-wide e-learning, which is essential for any country aiming for progress through the essential goal of "Education For All"; e-learning being economic, far-reaching, and relatively simple to implement. These efforts have materialized in an integral e-system that performs and manages a complete educational process that can be used by any educational organization (schools, colleges, or continuing education centers) in a highly flexible, reliable, and secure manner. The e-learning management system architecture consists of three layers: user's interface layer, middle layer, and server layer. The user interface layer is composed of four modules: user interface module, teacher module, student module, and administrator module. Each module has several sub-modules that are described in detail throughout the paper. Our proposed e-learning system has been successfully tested on some courses in the Electrical Engineering Department at WU. Our primary objective is to implement it department-wide, evaluate it, and refine it. Once satisfactory and efficient, the goal is to expand its use throughout WU, and eventually to all other institutions of learning in Iraq.


We present optical data on GaN thin film samples grown by pulsed laser ablation, two different pulsed laser ablation powers. The bandgap of specimens with recognizable crystallinity has been deduced from the optical spectrum data. Longtails were observed below the gap band. In specimens are entirely dependent on the powers of the laser ablation process. The specimens with the highest laser power, 2000 mJ, show that a smaller near band edge emission peaked at 3.32 eV is observed up to room temperature. The maximum energy bandgap 3.62 is possibly observed at 1500 mJ laser energy.


To mine a blockchain on IP Networks, one must do several tasks related to chain management, rule optimization, verification, and hash generation design. Various consensus model subsets may benefit from the various blockchain mining techniques proposed by researchers. Most of these techniques, however, are rather complicated, which slows down the mining process for large-scale blockchains. Overly simplistic models that include unnecessary redundancies are inefficient and have little practical use. To solve these issues and boost blockchain mining efficiency in large-scale deployments, the authors of this paper propose creating a novel hybrid bioinspired approach. The proposed IP Network model is adaptable to almost all consensus procedures and may be easily combined with dynamic consensus models with few alterations. After collecting performance and context-specific data from the underlying blockchains, the technique uses Genetic Algorithm (GA) that distributes these range sets among miner nodes that support trust, allowing for high-performance mining while maintaining a high degree of trust under actual application situations. The model was tested against Proof-of-Stake (PoS), Proof-of-Work (PoW), Proof-of-Trust (PoT), and Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) based consensus algorithms to ensure its effectiveness in real-world scenarios. Mining latency, energy consumption, and computational complexity were used as metrics against which this performance was measured. This analysis revealed that the proposed model has the potential to decrease mining latency by 4.5%, energy usage by 3.9%, and compute complexity by 4.1% across a variety of consensus mechanisms, making it suitable for a number of real-time applications.


This note assesses whether social protection programs are adequately financed in mainland Tanzania. We find that social protection programs are an important component of Government expenditures, and complements other Government social spending, including education and health spending. In recent years, the Government has strengthened social protection by: (i) increasing social protection expenditures; (ii) shifting social assistance from generally inefficient food and in-kind programs to more efficient cash-based programs; (iii) shifting social assistance from relatively untargeted programs to those which are targeted to poor people; and (iv) easing demand side constraints faced by households investing in human capital. Despite these positive developments, challenges to social protection remain: (i) social assistance and employment programs remain underfunded relative to the needs of the population; (ii) development partner financing remains crucial even though they are prone to external risks; (iii) little isknown about which social welfare services and employment programs work well; (iv) many pensionparameters are not in line with best-practice and therefore, sustainability can be improved; (v) generalized subsidies, which are notoriously bad instruments to target poor people, are absorbing Government resources in a tight fiscal environment.


Test development for analogue and mixed-signal circuits has become a bottleneck in the IC development trajectory. A defect-oriented test approach provides an objective test evaluation technique, which alleviates this bottleneck. This test approach, however, makes extensive use of analogue fault simulation, which is very CPU-intensive. It is shown how a standard (digital) VHDL simulation environment can be used to drastically reduce the fault simulation time for complex analogue circuits.


Although there are quite important geographical variations in the frequency of left–handers around the world, nothing is known about its temporal evolution. During the upper Palaeolithic (ca. 35 000–10 000 YBP), humans painted 'negative hands' by blowing pigments with a tube onto one hand applied on the rock in caves in Western Europe, by blowing pigments on their own hand through a tube held in the other hand. The frequency of left–handers prevailing during this period could thus be assessed. For comparison, the handedness of French university students has been observed for the same task. No difference was detected between the two proportions of left–handers, separated by more than 10 000 years. Implications for the evolution of the polymorphism of handedness are discussed.


Triton's tumor is a rare neoplasm, consisting of both neurogenic and rhabdomyoblastic components. Triton's tumor does not respond well to chemo- or radiotherapy, resulting in its poor therapy effects. This paper reports on two cases of this malignancy diagnosed in our department. The first one was treated with CWS chemotherapy followed by radical tumor resection, which resulted in 4.5 year complete remission. The other patient was treated with chemotherapy according to CWS protocol, achieving partial regression of the tumor. We suggest that this response may be connected with the sensitivity of the RMS embryonal component of the tumor to chemotherapy. This partial remission may create a possibility of radical tumor resection.


In this paper, we introduce the concept of strongly clean general ring (with or without unity) and extend some of the basic results to a wider class. We prove that every stronglyπ-regular general ring is strongly clean and the corner of the strongly clean general ring is strongly clean. It is also proved that upper triangular matrix rings of the commutative clean general ring with J(I) = Q(I) are strongly clean.


We give herein analytical formulas for the Hermite collocation solution of the steady-state convection-di usion equation with constant coeÆcients de ned on a uniform mesh in one spatial dimension. Both Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions are considered. Analysis is provided which compares the discrete collocation solution to the continuous solution. Unlike the solution obtained via the central di erence discretization, the collocation solution is proven to be oscillation free, irrespective of the value of the P eclet number. For modest P eclet numbers, the collocation solution is shown to provide an excellent approximation to the solution of the continuous problem.


The zonal winds on the surfaces of giant planets vary with latitude. Jupiter and Saturn, for example, have several bands of alternating eastward (prograde) and westward (retrograde) jets relative to the angular velocity of their global magnetic fields. These surface wind profiles are likely manifestations of the variations in depth and latitude of angular velocity deep within the liquid interiors of these planets. Two decades ago it was proposed that this differential rotation could be maintained by vortex stretching of convective fluid columns that span the interiors of these planets from the northern hemisphere surface to the southern hemisphere surface. This now classic mechanism explains the differential rotation seen in laboratory experiments and in computer simulations of, at best, weakly turbulent convection in rotating constant-density fluid spheres. However, these experiments and simulations are poor approximations for the density-stratified strongly-turbulent interiors of giant planets. The long thin global convective columns predicted by the classic geostrophic theory for these planets would likely not develop. Here we propose a much more robust mechanism for maintaining differential rotation in radius based on the local generation of vorticity as rising plumes expand and sinking plumes contract. Our high-resolution two-dimensional computer simulations demonstrate how this mechanism could maintain either prograde or retrograde surface winds in the equatorial region of a giant planet depending on how the density scale height varies with depth.


The results of structural and optical investigations of thin carbon films deposited from the mass-separated beam of accelerated C60 ions with energy of 5 keV are presented. The substrate temperature ranged from 100°C to 400°C. It was established that change of the TS from 100°C to 400°C leads to the consecutive formation of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films with amorphous state and superhard nanocomposites consisting nanographite structures (1-2 nm) surrounded by a diamond-like amorphous matrix. For amorphous films the band gap (Eg) was in the range of 1.2 - 1.4 eV. For nanocomposite films on optical absorption spectra, there are two energy components: one with a narrow Eg = 1 eV, which is associated with three-dimensional nanocrystals of graphite, and the other - with a wide optical gap (Eg =3,45-3,55 eV) that corresponds to the diamond-like amorphous matrix of nanocomposite. According to the results of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and tunnel spectroscopy (TS), the size of graphite nanocrystals is about 1-2 nm and an amorphous shell around the graphite nanocrystals had a thickness of about 1.5 nm. The graphite component had n-type conductivity and an amorphous component had p-type conductivity. The electrical conductivity of such semiconductor nanocomposite was 103 S/m that to 6 orders higher compared to the DLC film in the amorphous state.


Long time teacher of the Lithuanian high school Justinas Mikuckas have been born 30 January 1912 in Sakiai district Lekeciai settlement. After learning in Lekeciai elementary school, Vilkija secondary school and Kaunas polytechnical college he entered into the University Vytauti Magni (1933). In 20 of June 1940 defends diploma design work and become a certificated engineer. Alas his diploma had been unrecognized by soviet officials. He passes humiliated procedures for rehabilitation of professional qualification as well as other engineers who studied in Lithuania at a German occupation time. It was a gloomy historic reality. After those obstacles he defends his dissertation. In 1941 he was employed in University. From 1944 he was a chief of a department until 1965. So, a main part of his energy, knowledge, professional skill had been devoted to high school. Simultaneously J.Mikuckas accumulated a practical experience for a long time after completion of technical college. This experience had been very helpful for student's consultations in preparing theirs diploma works. The inheritance of J.Mikuckas that is useful for a high school activity printed in 35 editions. They are quite big volume. Some of it is more than 20 printer's sheets. They are usefully for students in practice, especially in repairs of houses erected on a past century. Also they are interesting for high school pedagogues in aspects of technical terminology etc.


In recent years the calcium antagonist verapamil has been used in the treatment of essential hypertension. Relatively little work has been done to elucidate its long-term haemodynamic effects at rest and during exercise. Ten males with previously untreated essential hypertension in WHO stage I, aged 35-55 years, were studied on an outpatient basis. Oxygen consumption, heart rate, cardiac output ( Cardiogreen ) and intra-arterial brachial pressure were recorded at rest in the supine and sitting position and during steady state work at 50, 100 and 150 W. As expected, the hypertension was associated with an increase in total peripheral resistance. The subjects were treated with verapamil 120-240 mg daily as the sole drug for one year. The haemodynamic study was then repeated. One subject demonstrated a slight increase in blood pressure at rest and during exercise, while there was a blood pressure reduction in the other 9. The nonresponding patient was excluded from the statistical evaluation. The main results were as follows: There was a statistically significant reduction in systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure at rest as well as during exercise. The reductions reached about 10% at rest, slightly less during exercise. The blood pressure reduction was associated with a statistically significant reduction in total peripheral resistance at rest only. During exercise, the reduction in resistance was modest (about 5%). The heart rate was practically unchanged during supine rest, but decreased about 8% at rest sitting and during exercise.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Main clause phenomena (MCPs) are syntactic constructions that occur predominantly or exclusively in main clauses. I propose a processing explanation for MCPs. Sentence processing is easiest at the beginning of the sentence (requiring less search); this follows naturally from widely held assumptions about sentence processing. Because of this, a wider variety of constructions can be allowed at the beginning of the sentence without overwhelming the sentence-processing mechanism. Unlike pragmatic and grammatical accounts of MCPs, the processing account predicts avoidance of MCPs in non-initial main clauses (non-initial coordinate clauses and premodified clauses). A corpus study supports these predictions, but it is somewhat inconclusive. A further corpus study examines another type of syntactic construction, premodifying adjunct phrases ("openers"); the prediction here is that less common types of opener will be especially avoided in non-initial contexts. The prediction is confirmed, supporting the processing view of rare constructions.


Hybrid films consisting of Sumecton SA smectite (SSA) and a diacetylenic two-photon absorptive dye; 1,4-bis(2,5-dimethoxy-4-{2-[4-(N-methyl)pyridinium]ethenyl}phenyl) butadiyne triflate (MPPBT) were fabricated. The MPPBT-clay composites were prepared by the cation exchange method in a dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)-water mixed solvent. A low-light-scattering film, suitable for use in optical devices, was obtained by filtration of the dispersion of the MPPBT-clay composites. Estimation of the two-photon absorption cross-section (σ(2)) by means of the open-aperture Z-scan technique was performed using the present film. The σ(2) value of MPPBT in the film fabricated at the MPPBT loading levels vs. 20% cation exchange capacity was 1030 GM (1 GM= 1 × 1050 cm4 s photon−1 molecule−1) at an excitation wavelength of 800 nm. The value was 1.3 times greater than the maximum value of the σ(2) of MPPBT diss lved in DMSO with ut clay.


ABSTRACT Production of multiply deleted adenoviral (Ad) vectors with increased cloning capacity and reduced immunogenicity to adenovirus gene products requires the concomitant generation of efficient packaging cell lines. High expression levels of the complementing genes must be achieved in a coordinated fashion with viral replication. This is a particularly difficult task in light of the significant cytotoxicity displayed by adenoviral proteins. To this end, we developed a novel adenovirus-based amplicon with an Epstein-Barr virus origin of replication, Ad type 5 (Ad5) inverted terminal repeats, all Ad5 early region 2 (E2) genes, and the early region 4 (E4) open reading frame 6 (ORF6) under the control of a tetracycline-dependent promoter. The amplicon (pE2) was stably maintained in multiple copies in the nuclei of 293 cells stably expressing the Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) and allowed replication as a linear DNA upon induction of E2 and ORF6 gene expression. A stable cell line (2E2) was generated by introducing pE2 into 293EBNATet cells expressing the tetracycline-dependent transcriptional silencer and the reverse Tet transactivator (rtTA2). Upon induction with doxicycline, 2E2 cells produced higher levels of polymerase, precursor terminal protein (pTP), and DNA binding protein than noninduced 2E2 cells infected with first-generation Ad5 vector and supported efficient amplification of a multiply deleted Ad5 vector lacking E1, E2, E3, and E4 genes (Ad5ΔE1-4). The high cloning capacity of Ad5ΔE1-4 (up to 12.6 kb) was exploited to construct a vector encoding the entire hepatitis C virus (HCV) polyprotein. Infection of HeLa cells by the resulting vector showed high levels of correctly processed HCV proteins.


As pulsed light sources, exploding wires can be used to provide intense narrow spectral lines as well as the characteristic continuum of very high temperature blackbodies. The surface brightness depends on the wire material and conditions under which the wire is exploded. Optimum conditions for 100–500‐μsec long light pulses from wires exploded in air have been found for tungsten, tantalum, and molybdenum wires 0.005 to 0.010 in. in diameter for energy inputs of 3000 J or more. Wires exploded in small diameter vacuum tubes (1–20 μ of Hg) radiate as blackbodies, but narrow line spectra are produced in enclosures of larger dimensions. In the visible and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum the spectral radiance of air‐exploded wires is one to three orders of magnitude greater than that of conventional flash lamps. Vacuum‐exploded wires have spectral radiance another factor of eight greater. Excitation of various optical masers with exploding wires is discussed.


To test whether in RINm5F rat insulinoma cells luminal acidity and the activity of a vacuolar-type proton pump are involved in calcium sequestration by intracellular calcium stores sensitive to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) we examined the effects of various proton-conducting ionophores and ammonium chloride, and of bafilomycin, a specific inhibitor of vacuolar proton pumps, on this parameter. Bafilomycin in concentrations up to 1 microM did not affect calcium sequestration by nonmitochondrial, InsP3-sensitive stores at all; 50 microM carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, 50 microM monensin and 30 mM NH4Cl, which are diverse ways to dissipate transmembrane pH gradients, did not inhibit calcium sequestration. This argues against signficant involvement of internal acidity and vacuolar proton pumps in calcium sequestration by InsP3-sensitive stores in RINm5F cells. The proton-potassium-exchanging ionophore nigericin (20-100 microM), however, inhibited calcium sequestration by nonmitochondrial and InsP3-sensitive stores. This effect was dependent on the presence of potassium and could be reversed by inclusion of carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone or acetate in the incubation medium. Thus, the inhibitory effect of nigericin appears to be based on proton extrusion coupled to potassium influx across the membrane of calcium stores in RINm5F cells, creating an internal alkalinization of these stores. The effect of nigericin implies the continuous maintenance of an outside-to-inside potassium concentration gradient by nonmitochondrial calcium stores in RINm5F cells. This feature will be of potential interest in the identification of InsP3-sensitive calcium-storing organelles.


Previous work showed that Enterococcus faecalis ID6017 and Chryseobacterium indologenes ID6016 were able to decolorize the orange II qualitatively. In that experiment, E. faecalis could decolorize orange II more rapidly than C. indologenes . The objective of this study was to examine the decolorization of orange II by mixed culture and the growth of both bacterial species on orange II containing medium. The experiment was done in 500 mL sterilized Erlenmeyer flasks containing 285 mL growth media with 80 mg L -1 orange II. Five different treatments were performed in this project, i.e. medium was inoculated with (i) 15 mL of sterile aquadest, (ii) 15 mL of C. indologenes, (iii) 15 mL of E. faecalis , (iv) 7.5 mL of C. indologenes and 7.5 mL of E. faecalis , and (v) 7.5 mL of E. faecalis until decolorization occured , followed by inoculation with 7.5 mL of C. indologenes . Bacterial growth (total cells number), orange II, glucose, and suphanilic acid, as intermediate product of orange II decolorization, concentrations were measured every 2 h.The maximum decolorization of orange II was observed in the medium inoculated with a mixed culture of E. faecalis and C. indologenes . Decolorization of orange II occurred of growth and gave final concentration of sulphanilic acid of 7.06 mg L -1 . During culture both species grow in equilibrium in terms of population.


In the present paper, a numerical simulation method based on mesoscopic composite structure of concrete, the truss network model, is developed to evaluate the diffusivity of concrete in order to account for the microstructure of concrete, the binding effect of chloride ions and the chloride concentration dependence. In the model, concrete is described as a three-phase composite, consisting of mortar, coarse aggregates and the interfacial transition zones (ITZs) between them. The advantage of the current model is that it can easily represent the movement of mass (e.g. water or chloride ions) through ITZs or the potential cracks within concrete. An analytical method to estimate the chloride diffusivity of mortar and ITZ, which are both treated as homogenious materials in the model, is introduced in terms of water-to-cement ratio (w/c) and sand volume fraction. Using the newly developed approaches, the effect of cracking of concrete on chloride diffusion is reflected by means of the similar process as that in the test. The results of calculation give close match with experimental observations. Furthermore, with consideration of the binding capacity of chloride ions to cement paste and the concentration dependence for diffusivity, the one-dimensional nonlinear diffusion equation is established, as well as its finite difference form in terms of the truss network model. A series of numerical analysises performed on the model find that the chloride diffusion is substantially influenced by the binding capacity and concentration dependence, which is same as that revealed in some experimental investigations. This indicates the necessity to take into account the binding capacity and chloride concentration dependence in the durability analysis and service life prediction of concrete structures.


Transcutaneous drug delivery has been the subject of intensive research. In certain situations, rapid transcutaneous delivery is very desirable. A mechanical (stress) pulse generated by a single laser pulse was shown to transiently increase the permeability of the stratum corneum in vivo. The barrier function of the stratum corneum recovers within minutes. The increased permeability during these few minutes allows macromolecules to diffuse through the stratum corneum into the viable epidermis and dermis. Macromolecules (40 kDa dextran and 20 nm latex particles) were deposited into the skin using a photomechanical pulse generated by a single 23 ns laser pulse. This treatment can potentially be utilized in therapies that currently require occlusive dressings for hours or day(s).


Abstract Objectives Patients with childhood hypophosphatasia (HPP) often have unspecific symptoms. It was our aim to identify patients with mild forms of HPP by laboratory data screening for decreased alkaline phosphatase (AP) within a pediatric population. Methods We conducted a retrospective hospital-based data screening for AP activity below the following limits: Girls: ≤12 years: <125 U/L; >12 years: <50 U/L Boys: ≤14 years: <125 U/L; >14 years: <70 U/L. Screening positive patients with otherwise unexplained hypophosphatasemia were invited for further diagnostics: Re-test of AP activity, pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) in hemolyzed whole blood, phosphoethanolamine (PEA) in serum and urine, and inorganic pyrophosphate in urine. Sequencing of the ALPL gene was performed in patients with clinical and/or laboratory abnormalities suspicious for HPP. Results We assessed a total of 14,913 samples of 6,731 patients and identified 393 screening-positive patients. The majority of patients were excluded due to known underlying diseases causing AP depression. Of the 30 patients who participated in the study, three had a decrease in AP activity in combination with an increase in PLP and PEA. A heterozygous ALPL mutation was detected in each of them: One patient with a short stature was diagnosed with childhood-HPP and started with enzyme replacement therapy. The remaining two are considered as mutation carriers without osseous manifestation of the disease. Conclusions A diagnostic algorithm based on decreased AP is able to identify patients with ALPL mutation after exclusion of the differential diagnoses of hypophosphatasemia and with additional evidence of increased AP substrates.


Cocaine is a widely abused drug. Recently, it has been shown to induce teratogenesis in both humans and animals. Cocaine-induced teratogenicity has been associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are generated by cytochrome P450 during cocaine biotransformation. Since ROS have been reported to induce genotoxicity, it is of interest to know whether cocaine and/or its metabolites are also genotoxic. In this study, Chinese hamster ovary K1 cells were employed as a model system to investigate the genetic toxicity of cocaine in the presence or absence of rat liver S9 fraction. Cocaine-induced cytotoxicity was potentiated when S9 was present, indicating the cytochrome P450 metabolism plays a role in cocaine-mediated cytotoxicity. Cocaine treatments per se induced a few chromosome aberrations while treatments of cocaine plus S9 caused a significant increase in chromosome aberrations. In contrast, cocaine induced micronuclei (MN) formation and hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase mutation only in the presence of S9. Therefore, cocaine itself is at best a weak clastogen, whereas metabolite(s) of cocaine is/are truly inducer(s) of clastogenesis and mutagenesis. Cocaine treatments alone also induced a significant increase in sister chromatid exchange frequency but the addition of S9 did not affect the results. Free radical scavengers, including superoxide dismutase and catalase, efficiently decreased the frequency of cocaine plus S9-induced MN, implying that ROS are indeed important components in cocaine-induced genotoxicity. The observation that non-toxic doses of cocaine can inhibit intercellular metabolic cooperation suggests that cocaine may also be a tumor promoter. Our data supports that cocaine could possess genotoxicity in addition to its well-known neurotoxicity and teratogenicity.


Sustainable agriculture is needing economic applications for disease control. One possibility is offered by local medical plants. Endophytes of medical plants, such as actinomycetes Streptomyces sp. have previously shown antagonistic activities against fungal phytopathogens. In the present field experiment, we aimed to verify the efficiency of endophytic Streptomyces against one of the common pathogens, Botrytis cinerea, causing chocolate spot disease for faba bean (Vicia fabae L.). We tested two strains of Streptomyces (MG788011, MG788012) and three techniques to apply the biocontrol agent: (1) coating the seeds with spores, (2) spraying mycelia and (3) spraying the crude metabolites over the plants. The technique using the crude metabolites was the most efficient to prevent the disease symptoms. Both of the endophytic strains diminished the disease symptoms and improved the plant growth. The study offers a potential biological control technique to prevent chocolate spot disease and, at the same time, increase the yields of faba bean in sustainable agriculture.


Tortuous blood vessels are often seen in humans in association with thrombosis, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and aging. Vessel tortuosity can cause high fluid shear stress, likely promoting thrombosis. However, the underlying physical mechanisms and microscale processes are poorly understood. Accordingly, the objectives of this study were to develop and use a new computational approach to determine the effects of venule tortuosity and fluid velocity on thrombus initiation. The transport, collision, shear-induced activation, and receptor-ligand adhesion of individual platelets in thrombus formation were simulated using discrete element method. The shear-induced activation model assumed that a platelet became activated if it experienced a shear stress above a relative critical shear stress or if it contacted an activated platelet. Venules of various levels of tortuosity were simulated for a mean flow velocity of 0.10 cm s(-1), and a tortuous arteriole was simulated for a mean velocity of 0.47 cm s(-1). Our results showed that thrombus was initiated at inner walls in curved regions due to platelet activation in agreement with experimental studies. Increased venule tortuosity modified fluid flow to hasten thrombus initiation. Compared to the same sized venule, flow in the arteriole generated a higher amount of mural thrombi and platelet activation rate. The results suggest that the extent of tortuosity is an important factor in thrombus initiation in microvessels.


Electron-concentrating systems are subject to certain limitations because of the thermal velocities of electrons leaving the cathode. A figure of merit is proposed for measuring the goodness of a device in this respect. This figure of merit is the ratio of the area of the aperture which, in an ideal system with the same important parameters as the actual system, would pass a given fraction of the cathode current to the area of the aperture which in the actual system does pass this fraction of the cathode current. Expressions are given for evaluating this figure of merit.


Herein we provide the first report of a new method for the preparation of porous functional poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) monoliths by use of reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The method, exemplified by styrene–divinylbenzene copolymerization in the presence of 2-cyano-2-propyl dodecyl trithiocarbonate, provides control over polymerization kinetics, monolith morphology and surface functionality. Kinetic studies of monolith formation show a period of slow copolymerization, with a rate similar to RAFT homopolymerization of styrene, followed by rapid copolymerization, with a rate similar to that observed in conventional styrene–divinylbenzene copolymerization. The time to onset of rapid polymerization (gelation) and the monolith morphology depend strongly on the RAFT agent concentration. The RAFT-synthesized monoliths show a modified morphology with smaller pores and polymer globules when compared to non-RAFT monoliths, but importantly retain good flow properties. Retention of the thiocarbonylthio group within the monolith structure in an active form for surface-functionalization of the polymeric monoliths is demonstrated by the successful RAFT "grafting from" polymerization of (4-vinylphenyl)boronic acid. These functional monoliths have potential applications in chromatography and flow chemistry.


To investigate the isotope effects on the photodesorption processes of X2O (X = H,D) ice, molecular dynamics calculations have been performed on the ultraviolet photodissociation of an H2O or a D2O molecule in an H2O or a D2O amorphous ice surface, and on HOD photodissociation in an H2O amorphous ice surface, where the photodissociated molecules were located in the top four or five monolayers at ice temperatures of 10, 20, 30, 60, and 90 K. Three photodesorption processes can occur upon X2O photodissociation: X atom photodesorption, OX radical photodesorption, and X2O (or HOD) molecule photodesorption. X2O (or HOD) photodesorption can occur after recombination of X and OX, or after an energetic X atom photofragment kicks a surrounding X2O molecule from the ice surface. Isotope effects are observed for the X atom and the OX radical photodesorption as well as for the kick-out photodesorption. However, no isotope effects were noticeable for the photodesorption of recombined X2O molecules. The average D atom photodesorption probabilities are about a factor 0.9 smaller than those for the H atom, regardless of the isotope of the surrounding ice system. Also, the kick-out mechanism is more likely to occur if a D photofragment is created upon dissociation than if an H atom is created. These observations can be explained by more efficient energy transfer from the D atom to water molecules than from the H atom. Reasoning based on the X2O phonon frequencies associated with the librational modes and energy transfer efficiencies explain why the OX radical photodesorption probabilities are noticeably larger if the OX radical desorbs from a D2O ice system than from an H2O ice system. Also, the OX radical photodesorption is more probable upon dissociation of DOX (X = H,D) than upon dissociation of HOX (X = H,D), because the initial kinetic energy of the OX radical is larger if the dissociation products are D + OX than H + OX. The branching ratio of OD/OH desorption following photodissociation of an HOD molecule in ice (about 1.0) is much lower than the OD/OH branching ratio in gas-phase HOD photodissociation. This may lead to differences in isotope fractionation in OH(g) formation in dense and diffuse clouds in the interstellar medium.


Basic information about the theory of mono- and multifractal sets is presented. Geometric and thermodynamic descriptions are developed. The geometric picture is presented on the basis of the simplest examples of the Koch and Cantor fractal sets. An ultrametric space, representing the metric of a fractal set, is introduced on the basis of Cayley's hierarchical tree. The spectral characteristics of a multifractal formation are described. Attention is focused mainly on the application of the fractal concept for a thermodynamic system with partial memory loss, turbulent fluid flow, hierarchically coordinated set of statistical ensembles, Anderson's transition, and incommensurable and quasicrystalline structures.