This study traces the development of community recreation in Edmonton from the time of the initiation of the community leagues to the present, and concludes with an evaluation of their present and possible future status. It is particularly pertinent because of the long history of community recreation in Edmonton and because the Edmonton Recreation Commission is probably the strongest public recreation agency in western Canada.
The growth of the community league movement and of the Federation of Community Leagues are traced. The establishment of the Edmonton Recreation Commission, the resulting conflict with the Federation, and emerging relationship are discussed. Prom the study of Edmonton and its agencies serving the recreation needs of the people, the next logical step in organization for recreation in the city is indicated. The suggestions made for the future are based on accepted principles of professional community organization but the application of these principles is predicated on a clear interpretation of past and existing relationships between community agencies.
One principle peculiarly applicable in Edmonton is that whenever possible the public recreation programme should be operated through only one organization in each community. Because of the varied nature of recreation an organization with a broad objective is best suited to this function but at the same time the functions of other agencies must be clearly defined to avoid duplication of effort. The suggested community reorganization for recreation in Edmonton is an example of co-ordinating recreation agencies within a city and redefining their areas of concern. The problem is not peculiar to Edmonton, and the suggested reorganization is not necessarily applicable elsewhere. There are, however, methods and principles indicated that should be generally applicable to similar situations.
Primary source material has been used wherever possible including newspaper articles, minutes of community league meetings, the constitution of the- Federation of Community Leagues, personal interviews and personal experiences. In addition reference has been made to leading professional authorities in the field of community organization for recreation, and to pamphlets and booklets issued by national and international agencies in the field.


An approach to formulating programmes for the profoundly retarded child is described. It is suggested that the basis for programming should be an analysis of the child's ability to operate on, and find out about, his environment. This analysis can be approached by asking questions about blocks to development, needs and preferences, socialization and communication and play and sensori-motor coordination.


The radar relationship was estimated for the selected rainfall event at Yeongchun station within Chungjudam basin where the discharge record was the range of from 1,000 CMS to 9,000 CMS. By calibrating the rainfall coefficient parameter estimated by radar relationship in small hydrology basin, rainfall with the topography properties was calculated. Three different rainfall estimation methods were compared:(1) radar relationship method (2) Thiessen method (3) Isohyetal method (4) Inverse distance method. Basin model was built by applying HEC-GeoHMS which uses digital elevation model to extract hydrological characteristic and generate river network. The proposed basin model was used as an input to HEC-HMS to build a runoff model. The runoff estimation model applying radar data showed the good result. It is proposed that the radar data would produce more rapid and accurate runoff forecasting especially in the case of the partially concentrated rainfall due to the atmospheric change. The proposed radar relationship could efficiently estimate the rainfall on the study area(Chungjudam basin).


Osteocalcin is a bone-derived hormone that plays an important role in the crosstalk between bone and energy metabolism. Previous studies have found that treatment with uncarboxylated osteocalcin can protect mice from high-fat diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the potential mechanisms remain unclear. Although the G protein-coupled receptor family C group 6 subtype A (GPRC6A) is the putative receptor of osteocalcin, there is no direct evidence showing that GPRC6A mediates the effects of uncarboxylated osteocalcin in alleviating NAFLD in mice. We aimed to figure out this using liver-specific GPRC6A knockout (GPRC6ALKO) mice. Consistent with previous studies, uncarboxylated osteocalcin significantly protected high-fat diet-fed wild-type mice from obesity and NAFLD, while it did not protect high-fat diet-fed GPRC6ALKO mice from NAFLD. Differential mRNA expression of lipogenesis and lipolysis between GPRC6ALKO mice and control mice revealed that GPRC6A mediated the effects of osteocalcin in alleviating NAFLD through inhibiting lipid synthesis and promoting lipolysis. In conclusion, this study found that uncarboxylated osteocalcin alleviates NAFLD in mice through the GPRC6A signaling pathway. Our study suggests that liver GPRC6A may be a potential target for treating NAFLD.


A simple chiral bisthiourea has been used as a highly effective and practical chemical solvating agent (CSA) for diverse α-carboxylic acids in the presence of DMAP. Excellent enantiodiscrimination based on well-resolved α-H NMR signals of the enantiomers of carboxylic acids can be obtained without interference from the chiral bisthiourea and DMAP. To check the practicality of the chiral bisthiourea/DMAP for enantiomeric determination, the ee values of mandelic acid (MA) samples over a wide ee range were determined by integration of the α-H signal of MA in (1)H NMR. A discrimination mechanism is proposed, that the formation of two diasteromeric ternary complexes between the chiral bisthiourea and two in situ formed enantiomeric carboxylate-DMAPH(+) ion pairs discriminates the enantiomers of carboxylic acids. Computational modeling studies show that the chemical shift value of α-H of (S)-MA is greater than that of (R)-MA in ternary complexes, which is consistent with experimental observation. 1D and 2D NOESY spectra demonstrate the intermolecular noncovalent interactions between the protons on the aromatic rings of chiral bisthiourea and α-H of the enantiomers of racemic α-methoxy phenylacetic acids in the complexes.


A novel nanopore fabrication method is reported by thermally pulling a glass tube in a two step process. The principle is based on the physical footprint of the phase change of the paraffin sealed inside the glass tube to form a nanocavity in the broken terminal during the second step of the pulling process. A nanopore with minimum diameter of 40 nm is fabricated after rubbing the terminal to make the channel through it. IgG molecules are used to test whether the nanopore can discriminate biomolecules. A transient current change from increasing to decreasing was observed when IgG molecules passed through the nanopore in pure water, suggesting that the IgG has a Y-shaped structure. This is in agreement with the known IgG structure. Experiments also uncovered that the train pulse signals due to the translocation of the biomolecules are sensitive to salt solutions. It was found that the negative amplitude of the pulse signal can be screened while the IgG molecules are mixed with a low KCL concentration solution. When changing from low to high salt concentrations we observed an inversion of the peak orientation. This is attributed to the competing conductance contribution to the ionic currents from the charges carried by the IgG molecules themselves and the exclusive ions blocked by the IgG molecules, suggesting that the salt ions in the solution may hide the true biomolecule structure.


Let $X$ be a space equipped with $n$ topologies $\tau_1,\ldots,\tau_n$ which are pairwise comparable and saturated, and for each $1\leq i\leq n$ let $k_i$ and $f_i$ be the associated topological closure and frontier operators, respectively. Inspired by the closure-complement theorem of Kuratowski, we prove that the monoid of set operators $\mathcal{KF}_n$ generated by $\{k_i,f_i:1\leq i\leq n\}\cup\{c\}$ (where $c$ denotes the set complement operator) has cardinality no more than $2p(n)$ where $p(n)=\frac{5}{24}n^4+\frac{37}{12}n^3+\frac{79}{24}n^2+\frac{101}{12}n+2$. The bound is sharp in the following sense: for each $n$ there exists a saturated polytopological space $(X,\tau_1,...,\tau_n)$ and a subset $A\subseteq X$ such that repeated application of the operators $k_i, f_i, c$ to $A$ will yield exactly $2p(n)$ distinct sets. In particular, following the tradition for Kuratowski-type problems, we exhibit an explicit initial set in $\mathbb{R}$, equipped with the usual and Sorgenfrey topologies, which yields $2p(2)=120$ distinct sets under the action of the monoid $\mathcal{KF}_2$.


Intraspinal angiomatous meningiomas (AMs) are rare lesions, and no case series have been reported. We retrospectively reviewed the data of 12 patients with intraspinal AMs. All patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine. Computed tomography angiography was performed for three cases with cervical lesion. The series included six females and six males with a mean age of 49.6 years. Five tumors were located in the cervical, one in the cervicothoracic, five in the thoracic, and one in the thoracolumbar spine. The most common symptom was motor deficits and the mean duration of symptoms was 18 months. All patients were treated surgically with gross total resection (GTR) (Simpson grade I and II resection). No patients underwent embolization. After surgery immediately, the neurological function was improved in five patients, remained stable in six patients, and was deteriorated in one patient. During an average follow up of 78.6 months, 11 patients experienced an improvement in the neurological function and one patient maintained preoperative status. No tumor recurrence was observed on MRI. Compared to conventional meningiomas, AMs have no special clinical and radiological features. The accurate diagnosis depends on pathology. Timely GTR (en bloc resection) is the best treatment and embolization is not necessary for most patients. Radiotherapy is not recommended after GTR (Simpson grade I and II resection), and the risk of tumor recurrence is low.


In vitro susceptibilities of anaerobic bacteria (Bacteroides spp., Fusobacterium spp., Clostridium spp., and Peptococcus sp.) and of Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli to niridazole and metronidazole were determined. The minimum inhibitory concentrations for niridazole ranged from 0.0037 to 1.0 microgram/ml and, for metronidazole, from 0.25 to 128 micrograms/ml.


The external selection problem is to select the record with the K-th smallest key from the given N records that are distributed and stored evenly on the D disks for the parallel machine with D processors. Each processor has its own primary memory of size M records and one disk, where N/D>M. The processors are connected with a /spl radic/D /spl times/ /spl radic/D mesh architecture. Based on a two-stage approach, this paper presents an efficient parallel external selection algorithm for the distributed-memory parallel systems. First, all the processors execute local external sorting in parallel, each processor sorts the N/D records on its own disk. Next, they execute parallel external selection from the D sorted sub-files on the D disks. This algorithm is asymptotically optimal and has a small constant factor of time complexity.


Surrounding the brain but contained within the skull is a dynamic organ that functions to physically and chemically maintain the typical functioning of the brain. This organ is usually appreciated only as a series of layered supportive tissues, and a substantial collection of fluid suspended within them. In understanding it as such, the potential insights that its distinctive morphology has on our understanding of human anatomy have gone essentially unexamined. From here on out this organ or the collection of tissues that separate the brain from the skull will be referred to as the cranial extra-axial space (cEAS). In the research that follows, the normal morphology of the cEAS is examined with respect to variation with age, sex, body size, and marijuana use in an attempt to better characterize its normal morphology. Size, shape, and distribution of the cEAS were found to be highly variable in response to a number of individualistic characteristics. More absolute space was seen in taller, older, and male individuals than those that were shorter, younger, and/or female. Overall morphologic interactions of the cEAS are however complex, and cannot be explained by these characteristics alone.


A series of eighteen esters of bicyclic amino alcohols have been assayed for spasmolytic activity. The quinuclidinol esters and azabicyclo-octanol esters have anticholinergic activity of the order of atrophic while the azabicyclononanol esters are considerably weaker. The quaternary salt, Ro 2-3773 (1-methyl-3-benziloyloxy-quinuclidinium bromide), has an anticholinergic activity similar to atropine. Ro 2-3773 is equal to atropine in antiacetylcholine activity on isolated intestine and in antiacetylcholine and antivagal activity as measured on arterial pressure; it is slightly stronger in antisalivary and antilacrimating properties; and it is less active in protecting against methacholine-induced bronchospasm. Ganglionic blocking action is about equal to that of TEA and occurs at doses thirty times higher than the vagal blocking dose.


The annealing effect on the magnetic phase diagram of the Y-Fe amorphous alloy system has been investigated by means of differential magnetic susceptibility. Y-Fe amorphous alloys annealed at 250 degrees C for 30 min exhibit a re-entrant spin-glass behaviour in a similar manner to the as-prepared samples in an applied magnetic field. The Curie temperature is enhanced but the spin-freezing temperature Tf is depressed by annealing. These facts suggest that the Fe-Fe interatomic distance, which significantly influences the magnetic properties, increases on annealing. The magnetic phase diagram of the Y-Fe amorphous alloy system in an applied magnetic field is similar to that of various re-entrant spin-glass-type Fe-based amorphous alloy systems in zero magnetic field.


suggest a diagnosis of colitis. However, there are limitations to the utility of imaging when diagnosing colitis. This study aims to identify if radiographic diagnosis of colitis corresponds to actual diagnosis of colitis when colonoscopy is done. Methods: Thisstudy examined theresultsof CT imagingand colonoscopyof 50patients who presentedtothe emergencydepartment ata large, level-1traumacenterwithchief complaintincludingabdominal pain and hematochezia. 30 women with an average age of 55 and 20 men with an average age of 59 were identi fi ed. Their CT abdomen suggested colitis per the radiologist ' s interpretation. Upon that diagnosis, they had colonoscopy for de fi nitive diagnosis. At the completion of their workup, data was analyzed. Results: Of the 50 patients examined, 47 patients with CT fi ndings of colitis underwent colonoscopy. 22 (47%) had colitis on colonoscopy, 23 (49%) had no colitis on colonoscopy, 2 (4%) had colonic mass. Of the 22 patients with colitis on colonoscopy, 4 (8.5%) had Crohn ' s disease, 2(4%) had Ulcerative colitis, 1 (2%) with radiation colitis, 11(23.4%) had ischemic colitis, 3 (6%) had infectious colitis, 1 (2%) had fi edin8 (17%),7 (15%)hadbenignpolyps, 2 had 2


Donor-site wound healing was tested with a nonadherent petrolatum- and hydrocolloid-impregnated polyester, a lipid-colloid dressing, and a nonadherent polyester dressing, supplemented with petrolatum manually by a physician onsite. Ten patients, 1 woman and 9 men (22 to 79 years old; average 58.4 ± 17.54 years), were enrolled in this prospective comparison study. The split-thickness skin graft was 14.5 ± 7.49 cm long × 8.2 ± 4.07 cm wide (5.5-27 cm long and 4.0-14.0 wide) and 14/1000 inches (0.356 mm) deep. The degree of reepithelialization in lipid-colloid dressing was significantly better than that in polyester mesh dressing, with 1.7 ± 1.00 and 2.8 ± 0.83 for the lipid-colloid dressing and polyester mesh dressing, respectively (P < .05), and degree of pain was significantly lower in lipid-colloid dressing than that in polyester dressing, 1.7 ± 1.11 and 2.9 ± 1.12 for the lipid-colloid dressing and polyester mesh dressing, respectively (P < .01). In moisture meter analyses, the values of effective contact coefficient and corneal thickness in lipid-colloid at wound healing was significantly smaller than those in polyester mesh (effective contact coefficient: 11.7 ± 1.87% and 15.6 ± 3.09% for lipid-colloid and polyester mesh, respectively, P < .05; corneal thickness: 31.1 ± 6.65 µm and 40.7 ± 8.69 µm for lipid-colloid and polyester mesh, respectively, P < .05). No significant difference was observed at 1 month after healing. The nonadherent lipid-colloid polyester dressing has superior wound healing and pain relief and demonstrates better corneal barrier function delineated by effective contact coefficient and corneal thickness at healing in split-thickness donors.


Tube-building sabellariid polychaetes have major impacts on the geology and ecology of shorelines worldwide. Sandcastle worms, Phragmatopoma californica (Fewkes), live along the western coast of North America. Individual sabellariid worms build tubular shells by gluing together mineral particles with a multipart polyelectrolytic adhesive. Distinct sets of oppositely charged components are packaged and stored in concentrated granules in separate cell types. Homogeneous granules contain sulfated macromolecules as counter-polyanion to polycationic Pc2 and Pc5 proteins, which become major components of the fully cured glue. Heterogeneous granules contain polyphosphoproteins, Pc3A/B, paired with divalent cations and polycationic Pc1 and Pc4 proteins. Both types of granules contain catechol oxidase that catalyzes oxidative cross-linking of L-DOPA. Co-secretion of catechol oxidase guarantees rapid and spatially homogeneous curing with limited mixing of the preassembled adhesive packets. Catechol oxidase remains active long after the glue is fully cured, perhaps providing an active cue for conspecific larval settlement.


Invasive cribriform carcinoma (ICC) is a rare type of invasive breast cancer. We aim to investigate the clinicopathological features, immunophenotypes, diagnosis and differential diagnosis of ICC. Thus, clinicopathological data of 12 ICC patients were collected. All 12 cases were female, aged 38 to 75 years, with a median age of 53 years old. The maximum diameter of the tumor was 2 cm to 10 cm, in which the median tumor size was 2.54 cm in pure ICC and classical ICC. Microscopically, the cancer nests of ICC assumed an invasive, irregular island-shaped distribution, with an irregular mesh structure internally and fibrous reactions around most cancer nests. 67% (8/12) of cases were grade 1 and 33% (4/12) of cases were grade 2 tumors. Immunohistochemically, ER and PR were moderately to strongly positive with the positive tumor cell number accounting for 30% to 95% in all cases. HER-2 was negative in all cases except in one case which was positive (2+). Myoepithelial markers such as Calponin, p63, CK5/6 and CD10 were all negative in the cancer nests. 58% (7/12) of cases had a ki67 index of ≤ 14%. All follow-up patients were followed for 12 to 70 months (with a mean of 42 months), and were disease-free after treatment except for one patient whom we lost during the follow up. In conclusion, ICC, as a special type of breast cancer, has its unique clinicopathological and immunophenotypic characteristics, leading to a good prognosis.


Piezoelectrically actuated fans are relatively simple structures consisting of a piezoelectric material affixed to a thin cantilever beam. It is then subjected to a current that causes the beam to oscillate by the constriction and expansion of the piezoelectric material. A common application is that of electronics cooling where the induced flows can greatly augment natural or forced convection. Previous studies have sought to explore the flow field of piezoelectric fans in relation to its heat transfer application. This research seeks to expand upon that knowledge with a focus on measuring the flow parallel to the fan blade. A fan with length and width of 36.5 mm and 12.7 mm, respectively, is excited with an oscillating voltage input of 62.5 Hz and varying amplitudes. A Particle Image Velocimetry system, able to chart particle movement in the x and y directions, is employed to aid in understanding the flow field created by the fan with an emphasis on studying the vortex shed by a single half period of oscillation. This information has the potential to be a starting point for further exploration into a dual fan application and how their interactions alter vortex shedding in both two and three dimensions.Copyright © 2009 by ASME


The crude glycinin fraction (11S) of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] protein has desirable quality characteristics. The objectives of this soybean study were the following : (1) to develop a near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (near-IRS) equation for screening of the 11S fraction ; (2) to determine relationships between the 11S fraction, crude protein, and oil concentration ; and (3) to study the effect of growing temperature and genotype on this fraction. Three near-IRS 11S equations were developed, with the best equation having a moderate standard error of calibration (7.7 g/kg) and coefficient of determination (R 2 = 0.84). A positive correlation was observed between the 11S protein subunit and crude protein concentration (r = 0.69, P < 0.01), and a negative correlation was found between the 11S protein subunit and oil concentration (r = -0.67, P < 0.01), based on 319 genotypes. Higher crude protein and 11S protein subunit concentrations were associated with higher growing temperatures, and higher oil concentration was associated with lower growing temperatures, based on 12 genotypes.


Association rule mining (ARM) has been studied in the areas of content-based multimedia retrieval and semantic concept detection due to its high efficiency and accuracy. Two important processes in mining the association rules for classification are rule generation and rule selection. In this paper, a novel high-level feature detection framework using the ARM technique together with the correlations among the feature-value pairs is proposed. A new association rule mining (ARM) algorithm has been developed, where the N-feature-value pairs are generated using a combined measure based on (1) the existence of the (N-1)-feature-value pairs (where N is larger than 1), (2) the correlation between different N-feature-value pairs and the concept classes through Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), and (3) the similarity representing the harmonic mean of the inter-similarity and intra-similarity. The final association classification rules are selected by using the calculated harmonic mean of the similarity values. The proposed framework enables the automatic discovery and generation of the N-feature-value pair association rules from the $1$-feature-value pairs for classification. Experimenting with 15 high-level features (concepts) and benchmark data sets from TRECVID, our proposed framework achieves promising performance and outperforms three other well-known classifiers (Decision Trees, Support Vector Machine, and Neural Networks) which are commonly used for performance comparison in the TRECVID community.


Nicotine, a major chemical component of cigarettes, plays a pivotal role in the development of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) has been demonstrated to participate in elastase-induced AAA. This study aimed to elucidate whether the JNK inhibitor SP600125 can attenuate nicotine plus angiotensin II- (AngII-) induced AAA formation and to assess the underlying molecular mechanisms. SP600125 significantly attenuated nicotine plus AngII-induced AAA formation. The expression of matrix metalloproteinase- (MMP-) 2, MMP-9, monocyte chemoattractant protein- (MCP-) 1, and regulated-on-activation, normal T-cells expressed and secreted (RANTES) was significantly upregulated in aortic aneurysm lesions but inhibited by SP600125. In vitro, nicotine induced the expression of MCP-1 and RANTES in both RAW264.7 (mouse macrophage) and MOVAS (mouse vascular smooth muscle) cells in a dose-dependent manner; expression was upregulated by 0.5 ng/mL nicotine but strongly downregulated by 500 ng/mL nicotine. SP600125 attenuated the upregulation of MCP-1 and RANTES expression and subsequent macrophage migration. In conclusion, SP600125 attenuates nicotine plus AngII-induced AAA formation likely by inhibiting MMP-2, MMP-9, MCP-1, and RANTES. The expression of chemokines in MOVAS cells induced by nicotine has an effect on RAW264.7 migration, which is likely to contribute to the development of nicotine-related AAA.


We studied the effects of a nutrient supplemented diet on the function of alveolar macrophages of silicosis rats and on the blastogenic response of lymphocytes, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activity, and lipid peroxidase (LPO) activity in the blood of silicosis patients. The results showed that a nutrient supplemented diet increased the phagocytosis rate (p < 0.01) and index (p < 0.05) of alveolar macrophages of silicosis rats. A nutrient supplemented diet also enhanced significantly the GSH-PX activity (p < 0.001) and the blastogenic response of lymphocytes (p < 0.01), and decreased substantially the LPO content (p < 0.05) in the blood of silicosis patients. We conclude that a nutrient supplemented diet may play an important role in antilipid peroxidation, decreased free radical reaction, stabilizing cell membrane, delaying lung fibrosis, and enhancing immune functions of the body.


INTRODUCTION
Scientometric analysis of academic institutions provides useful information for policy makers, international and national organizations to invest in the research fields of the institutions to gain more outputs with less cost. The objectives of this work were to report a scientometric analysis of Islamic states considering a number of indicators.

METHODS
The number of articles and patents published by members of organization of Islamic conference were extracted from Scopus(TM) along with the top journals, authors, document type, universities, language of the publications and subjects.

RESULTS
The analyses of data revealed that Turkey is the leading country followed by Iran, Egypt, Malaysia and Nigeria when total numbers of indexed articles in Scopus(TM) are considered. When the articles of 2006-2010 are considered the ranks are Turkey, Iran, Malaysia, Egypt and Pakistan.

CONCLUSION
the increased pattern was observed for scientific performances of OIC members however, more investments are required to fill the gap between OIC members and the leading countries.


Metal foam has found its way in many engineering industries due to its ability to improve the heat transfer rate in thermal applications. Thermal energy storage based on phase change materials (PCMs) have significant importance as a part of renewable energy sources, and thermal management applications, However, low thermal conductivity is the essential drawback associated with the PCMs, especially the organic type of it, such as paraffin. Various experimental and numerical studies performed to test the effect of using metal foam with PCMs, in order to improve PCMs thermal conductivity. Many models suggested for evaluating the effective thermal conductivity of high porosity open cells metal foam, which immersed in base fluids of low thermal conductivity such as air, water, and PCMs. This work achieved numerically by using different models for calculating the effective thermal properties of metal foam with various range of porosities impregnate in paraffin. The study discussed the temperature distribution, which control the heat transfer rate, the behavior of temperatures versus time, and improvements in the melting front phase of the paraffin, under the effect of copper metal foam of various porosities and by applying different models, for estimating the effective thermal conductivity. The results exhibit an augmentation in the effective thermal conductivity with porosity decreasing. The outputs showed paradoxical results using the presented models and the differences between them have been discussed.


In this paper, cow manure fluid was used as inoculums to investigate biogas production rate from anaerobic digestion of cassava peel at mesophilic temperature (280C). The anaerobic experiment was conducted using six batch digesters (D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 and D6) each of 20L capacity for 40-day hydraulic retention. Each digester, was loaded with 5kg of cassava peel (CP) and 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% of inoculum to CP. Hashimoto model was used to obtain the digestion kinetic parameters. The results of the study showed that inoculums influenced the rate of biogas production, showing variations in biogas production, correlation coefficient (R2) and in first-order decay constant (k). The average cumulative biogas production was in the range of ~2358 to 4010ml/kgVS for 10% to 50% inoculum. The R2 and k for D1 was 0.959 and 0.359 D1 (without inoculum), 0.990 and 0.371 for D2 (10% inoculum) and 0.991 and 0.371 for D3 (20% inoculum), 0.951 and 0.356 for D4 (30% inoculum), 0.992 and 0.372 for D5 (40% inoculum), and 0.990 and 0.371 was obtained for D6 loaded with 50% inoculum. Despite variation in biogas yields from different inoculums, biogas production obtained from anaerobic digesters loaded with inoculums were still lower compared with that without inoculum.


Modern enterprises are dynamically developing due to the fourth industrial revolution, contributing to the introduction of innovative infocommunication technologies in most business processes, thereby shaping and developing the digital economy. The aim of the article is to substantiate the concept of sustainable development of enterprises in the context of digital transformations. The theoretical and methodological foundations of sustainable development at different levels of the hierarchy have been determined. The concept of sustainable development of enterprises has been developed, the implementation of which is aimed at harmonizing the economic, environmental and social activities of the enterprise. The stages of the process of implementing the concept of sustainable development of enterprises are highlighted, providing for the justification of an inert, neutral, progressive or forced vector. Ensuring the implementation of the concept of sustainable development is expected through the use of applied models, in particular, the implementation of a parametric model of joint deployment of enterprise infrastructure with other infrastructure facilities in economic activity, taking into account technical, geographical, organizational and socio-economic factors to strengthen financial stability; building a model for ensuring a balanced balance between economic efficiency and environmental and social responsibility of an enterprise using a mechanism for managing transformation processes in the process of transition to sustainable development in the context of digitalization.


To improve our understanding in large scale ground failure phenomenon induced by old underground mining works, a field experiment was undertaken by the partners of GISOS1in collaboration with the SOLVAY mining company: a solution mine was instrumented in 2004 previously to its collapse which was triggered in February 2009, as part of the mining scheme. This solution mine is located in the Lorraine salt basin, at Cerville-Buissoncourt southwards from Nancy, France. To monitor the cavern collapse, a permanent monitoring system was set up. This comprises a SYTGEM multi-parameter system featuring high resolution microseismic (5 1D geophones, 4 3D geophones, 40-1000 Hz) linked to ground surface monitoring (tacheometer and GPS high resolution measurements). The important amount of data transmitted for on-line processing offered daily insight of the evolution of the geological system. The early signs of unstable evolution were detected by high resolution microseismic monitoring during spring 2008 : a shift in microseismic background regime as well as recurrent microseismic episodes were associated to a general process of rock failure due to the cavern growing upwards. This was accompanied by a few episodes of massive roof falls, with no ground surface movement detected. During a second and last stage of evolution that lasted three days, the cavern collapse was triggered by brine pumping. Three main microseismic regimes were then observed, each being well correlated with changes in both the surface subsidence rate and the brine level in the cavern. The first peak of activity, due again to massive roof falls below the Beaumont dolomite bed, also initiated the brittle rupture of this bed. The second and major peak of activity marked its rapid and energetic failure; it also corresponded to an acceleration in the subsidence rate. The last peak of activity, a few hours later, weaker in terms of number of events and energy released, signed the final collapse. The complete dataset confirms the major role of the Beaumont dolomite bed in the site stability. Besides, if the preliminary analysis of the microseismicity patterns right before the general collapse, confirms that the acceleration in the microseismic activity follows a power law, it also shows that the b-value is a complex marker in such context. Even though local falls of b-value well correlate, as expected, to local increases in microseismic energy release, it seems inappropriate to use it for forecasting purposes: over a short period of time, several b-value decreases are observed while a continuous pumping regime is applied to the system. So, apparent b-value variations don't show clear precursory pattern, as observed in other case-study. Nevertheless, further investigations over the different stages of evolution of the cavern, including the collapse period, are needed to confirm this preliminary result.


Cyclobutenones, four-membered ketones bearing an unsaturated carbon-carbon double bond, and their structural sibling benzocyclobutenones, possess unique reactivity. Owing to their inherent high ring strain, such structures readily undergo ring opening under a variety of conditions, including thermolysis, photolysis, and transition metal catalysis, to afford reactive intermediates that can be trapped with nucleophiles, dienophiles, and unsaturated bonds. Their electron-deficient enone moieties are good electrophiles for facile nucleophilic addition. Such properties render cyclobutenones versatile synthons, serving as excellent coupling partners in a vast array of synthetically valuable transformations.


This paper reports on the use of the autocorrelation function of the magnetization decay of a ferrofluid to investigate the effects which the moment of inertia of single domain ferromagnetic particles have on the frequency dependent complex susceptibility, xi ( omega )= xi '( omega )-i chi ( omega ), of ferrofluids. The contribution of particle inertial effects, arising from rotational Brownian motion, to an apparent resonance, indicated by the real component, chi '( omega ), going negative at a frequency lower than that predicted by theory, is investigated. The Langevin treatment of Brownian motion is used to incorporate thermal agitation into the analysis.


The evolution of star-forming core analogues undergoing inside-out collapse is studied with a multipoint chemodynamical model which self-consistently computes the abundance distribution of chemical species in the core. For several collapse periods the output chemistry of infalling tracer species such as HCO+, CS and N2H+ is then coupled to an accelerated Λ-iteration radiative transfer code, which predicts the emerging molecular line profiles using two different input gas/dust temperature distributions. We investigate the sensitivity of the predicted spectral line profiles and line asymmetry ratios to the core temperature distribution, the time-dependent model chemistry, as well as to ad hoc abundance distributions. The line asymmetry is found to be strongly dependent on the adopted chemical abundance distribution. In general, models with a warm central region show higher values of blue asymmetry in optically thick HCO+ and CS lines than models with a starless core temperature profile. We find that in the formal context of Shu-type inside-out infall, and in the absence of rotation or outflows, the relative blue asymmetry of certain HCO+ and CS transitions is a function of time and, subject to the foregoing caveats, can act as a collapse chronometer. The sensitivity of simulated HCO+ line profiles to linear radial variations, subsonic or supersonic, of the internal turbulence field is investigated in the separate case of static cores.


BACKGROUND
Antibodies to the red cell Rhesus D (RhD) antigen can be produced during pregnancy in a RhD-negative mother carrying a RhD-positive fetus, in particular following feto-maternal haemorrhage at birth or following any procedure that may cause feto-maternal haemorrhage. While the first baby is usually not harmed, these antibodies may cause haemolytic disease of the fetus/newborn (HDFN) in subsequent RhD-positive babies. RhD incompatibility is a major cause of HDFN.To reduce the risk of HDFN, anti-D is given to RhD-negative mothers at 28 or 30 weeks of pregnancy and within 72 hours of potential maternal exposure to fetal red cells. Anit-D is currently available in both intramuscular (IM) and intravenous (IV) preparations.

OBJECTIVES
To compare the efficacy and effectiveness of IM versus IV anti-D IgG in preventing RhD alloimmunization in RhD-negative pregnant women.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (30 September 2012).

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomized controlled trials, quasi-randomized trials and cluster-randomized trials comparing IM and IV anti-D for preventing RhD alloimmunization in RhD-negative pregnant women.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently assessed trials for inclusion and assessed trial quality. Two review authors extracted data. Data were checked for consistency by both authors.

MAIN RESULTS
Two studies involving 447 (with sample sizes 14 and 432) RhD negative women were included. The studies compared IM and IV administration of anti-D prophylaxis. In both studies the women received a 1500 IU (300 microgram) dose of Rhophylac during week 28 of gestation. There was no incidence of RhD alloimmunization in either of the studies, as the sample size was insufficient for meaningful comparison of this uncommon outcome. One of the studies found that the mean anti-D IgG concentrations after IV and IM administration differed up to seven days (36.1 (2.6) ng/mL IV; 19.8 (8.7) ng/mL IM on day seven). However, from two to three weeks post-administration, the concentrations were similar for both routes of administration. None of the women involved in the studies developed antibodies against the RhD antigen.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
It appears that IM and IV administration of anti-D are equally effective. The number of included studies and the number of participants are not enough to assess whether there are any differences. Anti-D can be administered by IM or IV injection. The choice of IM or IV route of administration will depend on the available preparations, the dose to be administered and also on the patients' preferences. This review found insufficient information upon which to guide practice due to the limited number of included studies, small sample sizes and methodological limitations.


AIM
To show the effectiveness of sliding mechanics used with microscrew implants in managing a dentoalveolar protrusion. There are several advantages, including reduced treatment time, simplified treatment mechanics, early profile changes, and elimination of interarch mechanics.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
A step-by-step procedure for microscrew implant anchorage sliding mechanics is shown, with records of treated patients, which demonstrate the aforementioned advantages of this technique. The associated biomechanics and theoretical explanation follow.

RESULTS
The authors show how the microscrew implant can provide anchorage for en masse retraction of six anterior teeth and the efficiency and ease of the mechanics in managing a dentoalveolar protrusion.

CONCLUSION
The microscrew implant offers orthodontic clinicians a minimally intrusive method of intra-arch anchorage that can retract the anterior teeth without the anchorage loss that is expected in conventional techniques. Sliding mechanics used with microscrew implants is shown to be simple and efficient.


The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate the effect of two non-alcoholic chlorhexidine mouthwashes on fibroblasts of human oral mucosa as a function of time of exposure, CHX concentration and the measured time point. The content of the CHX is 0.12 (Curasept ADS 212) and 0.2% (Curasept ADS 220) as offered by the manufacturer. As a control treatment, a non-cytotoxic and proven pH neutral solution (PBS) was used. How recommended by the manufacturer, the cells used in the study were cultured at 37 ° C, 5% CO2 and medium specifically for the particular cell line (Fibroblast growth medium, provitro GmbH) was utilized. In the conversion of the cells in the next culture flasks, the finished solutions were used, and the cells seeded in 12-well plates before the experiments. Whether the mouthwash acts toxic to the oral mucosa cells was investigated by measuring their collagen production by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and cell counting using a Cellometer™ Auto T4. To determine the optimal contact time of the oral antiseptics CHX to the oral mucosa, the cells were treated with each solution for 1 minute and 5 minutes. Furthermore, the timing of the collagen production and the timing of the cell count was studied. The question of setting was whether and after which time the cells can recover from a presumably cytotoxic agent. Therefore, the number of cells was determined (by optical counting in Cellometer™ Auto T4) 1 day, 3 and 5 days after the use of mouthwashes. At the same time the cell supernatants were frozen. Later the commercial ELISA (Procollagen type IC-peptide EIA kit from Takara) was arranged to determine the collagen I produced by the oral mucosa cells. Cell count and ELISA were carried out in each case as double-determination and for each parameter, the experiment was conducted 12 times. Using ANOVA with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons, the values calculated were analyzed. The results are equivalent to previous studies. Both concentrations of CHX decrease time- and concentration-independent the amount of collagen and cell number compared to those treated with the control solution of PBS cells. However, it shows the tendency that the solution containing 0.12% CHX has less impact than that with 0.2% CHX. Furthermore it becomes clear that a contact time of 5 minutes has more impact than in case of rinsing cells 1 minute only. Especially apparent in this study is the significant reduction of produced collagen, which is reduced in the treated group by 50% compared to the control group. This could be the reason why the OSFMD method in periodontal therapy introduced by Quirynen et al. (1995), shows no significantly better results than the conventional approach (Apatzidou 2006). In any case, this results in the recommendation to choose one if possible shortened time of exposure. Of the tested mouthrinse solutions Curasept ADS 212 should be used, as this lower concentration is also clinically effective (Ramberg et al. 1996). Concerning the possibility that after the treatment the cells recover and resume metabolism, it was found that 1 day after the treatment the values had fallen compared to the initial measurement. On the third day, the cell number had risen significantly again and on the fifth day, the cell number again decreased significantly and the amount of collagen produced was the same. The values of the control have not been reached. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that human gingival fibroblasts can recover to a certain degree three days after the rinsing with CHX in vitro. However, this result does not suggest that regeneration of these cells in vivo is possible and similarly working. Therefore, more specific studies need to follow. Overall, it can be seen that CHX in oral rinses is initially toxic not only to bacteria, but also to the important cells of the oral mucosa. But their unlimited function is required, for example, for wound healing. Currently CHX cannot be omitted as an antiseptic, however, the risk-benefit ratio must be asessed and it should not be used safely at any time and in any concentration.


Background: Considering the increase in drug resistance over time to Helicobacter pylori treatment relying on the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects of atorvastatin to increase the success rate of H. pylori eradication, we examined the effect of adding atorvastatin to standard treatment of H. pylori eradication. Materials and Methods: A total of 186 symptomatic patients who had been diagnosed with Helicobacter pylori infection and tested for H. pylori eradication were examined by a pathological response or positive urea breath test. Patients who received atorvastatin in addition to standard treatment were also identified based on a table of random numbers. Standard treatment included a 240mg bismuth subcitrate tablet, a 40mg pantoprazole tablet, a 500mg metronidazole tablet, and 2 capsules of 500mg amoxicillin, all taken BID for 14 days. After 4 weeks of treatment, all patients underwent stool testing for H. pylori fecal antigen. If the test was positive, the request was considered a failure of treatment, and if the test was negative, it was considered a successful eradication of H. pylori. The clinical trial registration code for this study is IRCT20190823044589N1. Results: The eradication rate of H. pylori was 80% in the control group and 80.9% in the intervention group, which did not show a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P-value=0.971). Conclusion: Adding atorvastatin to 4-drug regimen of PPI, bismuth subcitrate, amoxicillin, and metronidazole as the first line of treatment for H. pylori eradication is ineffective.


Lean premixed combustors are used for significant NOx reduction which one of issues in current gas turbine combustor. This study was investigated to estimate the effects of the unmixedness of fuel-air, equivalence ratio on the instability mechanism, NOx emission and combustion oscillation in a lean premixed combustor. The experiments were conducted in a dump combustor at atmospheric pressure conditions using methane as fuel. The swirler angle was 45°, the degrees of fuel-air mixing were 0, 50 and 100 and inlet temperature was 650K. The equivalence ratio was ranging from 0.5 to 0.8. This paper shows that NOx emission was increased when the degree of fuel-air mixing is increased in same equivalence ratio and when equivalence ratio is increased. And the range of the combustion instability was enlarged as a function of increasing of the degree of fuel-air mixing.


Polluted water contaminated by heavy metals has received increasing attention due to their high toxicity, persistence in sediment, and biological accumulation of the heavy metals, which lead to a potential threat to animals and human beings even at low concentration. Traditional techniques to remove heavy metal are high cost or making the second pollution that limited large-area applications. Most importantly, traditional techniques cannot apply to such low concentration in water. Therefore, it is emergency to find a low-cost, efficiency and eco-friendly method to deal with this kind of problem. Biosorption can be a promising option in this case due to its high efficiency and eco-friendly, especially the abundant materials in the world such as biomass.
On the other hand, a huge amount of biomass waste in the world will cause an environmental problem if not handled properly. Furthermore, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin are abundant in biomass wastes that can be employed as cheap adsorbents due to their special physical and chemical properties. The presence of well-known functional groups in these natural components turn them as potential materials for heavy metal interaction and subsequent removal.
Therefore, biomass from agricultural wastes and wood industry have been checked as natural adsorbents to solve two serious environmental problems: firstly the disposal of agriculture wastes, and secondly its use as adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals from wastewaters.
With this purpose, many different types of biomass feedstocks and some of their biochars are used to remove Cr(III), Cd(II), Cu(II) and Pb(II) ions from a mixture of multiple heavy metals. Furthermore, TiO2 nanoparticles are also a good adsorbent for removing heavy metals. Pine and pyrolyzed pine loaded with TiO2 (Pine/TiO2) have been used as sorbent for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solution. Single and multi-element systems are used for the heavy metals removal. In addition, Cr(III) and Cr(VI) speciation has been checked for pine biomass/biochar systems.
In all cases, different parameters of the biosorption processe are optimized in batch systems (pH of the solution, the initial concentration and the contact time), and kinetics and isotherm modelling have been performed to elucidate the possible biosorption mechanisms. Surface morphology of the adsorbents are analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Moreover, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is performed to study the biosorption mechanism at the molecular level.
The adsorption capacity of biomass is ranked as follows: FO (from industry sludge waste) > ZO (from agriculture corn biomass waste) >> CO (from wood poplar biomass waste). Complexation and cation exchange have been found to be the two main adsorption mechanisms in systems containing multiple heavy metals, with cation exchange being the most significant. As a summary of the chromium speciation study by pine biomass/biochar systems, the adsorption of Cr(III) is mainly through ion exchange with the mineral components present on the biomaterials surfaces. Pyrolysis process can increase the concentration of such minerals to increase the adsorption capacity. For Pine/TiO2, together with the ion exchange also complexation with catechol can help Cr(VI) adsorption. From XAS measurements it can be concluded that the ion exchange process with carboxylic site groups is the main biosorption step, followed by the chromium reduction.
Finally, utilization of biosorbent loaded with heavy metal as brick materials is a promising way to solve disposal problem. These biosorbents are promising materials that can be applied in large scale to deal with the polluted water in the world.


Four kinds of styrene/maleic–anhydride (SMA) copolymer-derived dispersants with different charged forms were synthesized and characterized with 1H-NMR. These four different dispersants contained carboxylic acid groups and exhibited characteristics indicative of anionic, cationic, zwitterionic, or nonionic surfactants as pH was changed. The charge properties of these copolymers changes with pH, and their ability to disperse clay particles under low and high pH were assessed by measuring viscosity or sedimentation, as well as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the dispersing abilities are functions of pH of the system. It was found that SMA-N [Poly(styrene-co-β-N,N-dimethylpropylamino) maleic acid, sodium salt)] exhibits the best dispersing ability, the fastest rate of sedimentation, and the smallest sedimentation volume at pH = 2, and SMA-Na [poly(styrene-co-maleic acid, disodium salt)] exhibits the better dispersing ability at pH = 7 and 12. In addition, the aggregation behavior of the dispersants characterized by fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that the degree of aggregation for all dispersants at high concentration increases in the order: SMA-Na < SMA-B [poly(styrene-co-B-imino-propyl-N-trimethylammonium acetate) maleic acid, disodium salt)] < SMA-N < SMA-Q [poly(styrene-co-β-imino-propyl-N-trimethylammonium sulfate) maleic acid, sodium salt)]. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 78: 592–602, 2000


The aetiopathogenesis of Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is considered to be multifactorial, including genetic and environmental factors. Toxic neuronal damage by free radicals is thought to be an important factor in the pathogenesis of these neurodegenerative disorders. The cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase enzymes detoxify toxic environmental compounds and we have previously reported that there is a highly-significant excess of cytochrome P-450 debrisoquine hydroxylase (CYP2D6) gene mutation in patients with Parkinson's disease compared with controls.' The mutation leads to loss of the normal enzyme and the phenotype known as the poor metaboliser status and confers susceptibility to Parkinson's disease. To see whether the association between the poor metaboliser genotype and Parkinson's disease is selective for this type of neurodegeneration, we have now compared the frequency of poor metaboliser mutations in patients with Parkinson's disease, patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and controls. We have also studied the frequency of polymorphism of another gene, N-acetyl transferase, which is responsible for metabolising dapsone, a diphenylsulphone via CYP3A4, an isoenzyme of the 2 3 cytochrome P-450 enzymes. Blood samples were obtained from 272 cases with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (diagnosed by a neurologist and fulfilling the UPDRS criteria) and 96--cases of clini--cally definite or probable cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.4 Samples from 720 healthy controls were also studied. Identification of mutant CYP2D6 were carried out on genomic DNA amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by restriction fragment analysis as described previously.' N-Acetyl transferase polymorphism was studied using PCR for identification of slow acetylators in the patients with Parkinson's disease, patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and 96 controls. The table summarises the results. Of 272 cases of Parkinson's disease, 11 8% were poor metabolisers by CYP2D6 genotype (mutant allele frequency = 0 259) whereas only 5-1% and 5% of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and controls (each p < 0-05) respectively were poor metabolisers. Changes in N-acetyl transferase polymorphism were, however, not significant between patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and those with Parkinson's disease. We conclude that CYP2D6 polymorphism leading to poor metaboliser status is significantly more common in Parkinson's disease compared with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This finding further strengthens the initial observation that CYP2D6 polymorphism confers increased susceptibility to Parkinson's disease. Further studies on the functions of CYP2D6 are required to identify those at risk for developing Parkinson's disease as well as the various factors leading to development of Parkinson's disease. K RAY-CHAUDHURI CAD SMITH AC GOUGH N NOVAK V CHAMOUN CRWOLF PN LEIGH Department ofNeurology, Institute ofPsychiatry, King's Colege School ofMedicine and Dentisty, London, Biomedical Research Centre, Ninewels Hospital and Medical School, University ofDundee, Dundee, and Department ofPathology, University ofEdinburgh, Edinburgh, UK


Celiac disease is an immunologically mediated enteropathy of the small intestine, characterized by lifelong intolerance to the gliadin and related prolamines from wheat and other cereals, that occurs in genetically predisposed individuals. Symptoms result from structural damage to the mucosa of the small intestine, which may cause malabsorption with positive autoantibodies in the sera. Normal mucosal architecture is restored after the use of a gluten-free diet and the normalization of the autoantibodies. Villous atrophy and high levels of autoantibodies reappear when gluten is reintroduced into the diet (gluten challenge).


In most sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries there is a strong connection between tradables recovery and the alleviation of rural poverty through higher farm incomes, agricultural wages, rural multiplier effects and inter-sectoral linkages. Liberalisation policies, as elaborated in the Berg report (1991) and subsequent World Bank documents, stressed the importance of reversing stagnation in agricultural tradables by 'getting prices right' and removing state monopolies on marketing. Increasing producer prices and devaluing overvalued exchange rates was seen as the means of increasing export revenues and reducing current account deficits. This paper examines the performance of agricultural tradables through the reform phase for a selection of sub-Saharan African countries to see how far recovery has taken place. The descriptive statistics show that agricultural tradables recovery has not been sustained and that in real terms, prices have fallen rather than risen, while the relative prices of non-tradables have increased. A simple model of the determinants of tradables output is tested using data for 14 SSA countries and six major tradables. The results show that, contrary to conventional theory, none of the price variables underlying liberalisation are significantly associated with tradables output, indicating the importance of non-price factors such as the reform of institutions. The final part of the paper examines variations in the relevant institutional arrangements and evidence for 'export pessimism' attitudes which may have hindered sustained tradables recovery and the alleviation of rural poverty.


Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most common hospital-acquired infection in the intensive care unit (ICU), accounting for relevant morbidity and mortality among critically ill patients, especially when caused by multidrug resistant (MDR) organisms. The rising problem of MDR etiologies, which has led to a reduction in treatment options, have increased clinician's attention to the employment of effective prevention strategies. In this narrative review we summarized the evidence resulting from 27 original articles that were identified through a systematic database search of the last 15 years, focusing on several pathogenesis-targeted strategies which could help preventing MDR-VAP. Oral hygiene with Chlorhexidine (CHX), CHX body washing, selective oral decontamination (SOD) and/or digestive decontamination (SDD), multiple decontamination regimens, probiotics, subglottic secretions drainage (SSD), special cuff material and shape, silver-coated endotracheal tubes (ETTs), universal use of gloves and contact isolation, alcohol-based hand gel, vaporized hydrogen peroxide, and bundles of care have been addressed. The most convincing evidence came from interventions directly addressed against the key factors of MDR-VAP pathogenesis, especially when they are jointly implemented into bundles. Further research, however, is warranted to identify the most effective combination.


We assessed efficacy, safety, and reversal of renal impairment (RI) in untreated patients with multiple myeloma given bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone-thalidomide followed by bortezomib-thalidomide (VMPT-VT) maintenance or bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone (VMP). Exclusion criteria included serum creatinine ≥ 2.5 mg/dL. In the VMPT-VT/VMP arms, severe RI (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] ≤ 30 mL/min), moderate RI (eGFR 31-50 mL/min), and normal renal function (eGFR > 50 mL/min), were 6%/7.9%, 24.1%/24.9%, and 69.8%/67.2%, respectively. Statistically significant improvements in overall response rates and progression-free survival were observed in VMPT-VT versus VMP arms across renal cohorts, except in severe RI patients. In the VMPT group, severe RI reduced overall survival (OS). RI was reversed in 16/63 (25.4%) patients receiving VMPT-VT versus 31/77 (40.3%) receiving VMP. Multivariate analysis showed male sex (P = .022) and moderate RI (P = .003) significantly predicted RI recovery. VMP patients achieving renal response showed longer OS. In both arms, greater rates of severe hematologic adverse events were associated with RI (eGFR < 50 mL/min), however, therapy discontinuation rates were unaffected. VMPT-VT was superior to VMP for cases with normal renal function and moderate RI, whereas VMPT-VT failed to outperform VMP in patients with severe RI, although the relatively low number of cases analyzed preclude drawing definitive conclusions. VMPT-VT had no advantage in terms of RI reversal over VMP.


The cellular prion protein (PrPc) is a membrane glycoprotein expressed on many human cells including blood platelets. We have previously shown that human platelets rapidly up-regulate PrPc on their plasma membranes after activation (Holada et al., Br J Haematol.1998;103(1):276–82.). Our preliminary results also showed that platelet PrPc is resistant to cleavage by phosphatidylinositol specific phospholipase C (PIPLC). In this study we investigated intracellular localization of platelet PrPc and its resistance to PIPLC of different origin and under different experimental conditions. To determine the intracellular localization of platelet PrPc, we used flow cytometry and PrPc directed monoclonal antibodies (MAb) 1562 and 6H4, which recognize residues 109–112, and 144–152, in human PrPc sequence, respectively. The specificity of MAb binding was confirmed by its inhibition with competing peptides. We compared the increase in PrPc expression after platelet activation with increase in expression of P-selectin (CD62) - an α-granular protein, and LIMP (CD63) - a lysosomal and δ-granular protein. Gel filtered platelets were activated by ADP (1–100 μM) or TRAP (0.5–50 μM). Increasing concentrations of agonists induced coexpression of P-selectin and PrPc on the platelet surface at lower concentrations than were required for expression of LIMP (e.g. 5 μM ADP vs. 50 μM ADP to reach 40% of maximal expression), suggesting that PrPc did not associate with lysosomes. To further address the question of the origin of intraplatelet PrPc, we evaluated the expression of platelet PrPc in two patients with Hermansky-Pudlak (H/P) syndrome and two patients with Grey platelet syndrome (GPS). H/P platelets have a low number of δ-granules, but normal numbers of α-granules and lysosomes. When compared to controls, the H/P platelets had decreased mepacrine staining, demonstrating a defect of δ-granules. The expression of LIMP was equivalent on resting control (15.2 geometric mean of FL1 (GMF)) and H/P platelets (14.4 GMF), but was substantially decreased on H/P platelets after full platelet activation (38.2 vs. 168.8 GMF). In comparison, similar levels of PrPc and α-granular P-selectin were expressed on normal (35.7 and 726 GMF) and H/P patient (33.9 and 689 GMF) activated platelets. Platelets of GPS patients are deficient in α-granules. Resting GPS platelets demonstrated higher expression of P-selectin (9.9 GMF) and PrPc (25.8 GMF) than normal platelets (4.9 and 14.3 GMF, respectively). In contrast to normal platelets, GPS platelets failed to up-regulate P-selectin (76 vs. 653 GMF) and PrPc (30.1 vs. 59.9 GMF) after activation. In order to confirm a resistance of PrPc to PIPLC in normal platelets, the presence of glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor was verified by the treatment of platelet PrPc with hydrofluoric acid, which resulted in a 2–4 kDa decrease of its molecular weight corresponding to the removal of GPI anchor. Interestingly, PIPLC enzymes of three different origins ( B. thuringiensis, B. cereus, B. subtilis ) did not cleave GPI anchor even after the solubilization of platelet membranes by Triton X-100, which should make anchor more accessible to the enzyme. In conclusion, our results suggest that platelet intracellular PrPc is associated with α-granules, but not with lysosomes, and δ-granules. Platelet membrane PrPc is resistant to PIPLC, likely due to GPI-modification rather than GPI accessibility.


The dithiolethione oltipraz (OPZ) has activity as a chemopreventive agent in animal models and is in early clinical trials. OPZ undergoes metabolism by molecular rearrangement to yield a pyrrolopyrazine derivative, M3, which we have previously shown to be inactive in the induction of detoxication genes. M3 is metabolized further: at least 10 possible conjugates have been described in three species. We developed a new high-performance liquid chromatography method to simultaneously measure plasma concentrations of OPZ and of M3. This method was applied to serial plasma samples in a Phase I clinical trial, in which OPZ was administered at single doses varying from 125 to 1000 mg/m2. OPZ and M3 concentration-time profiles were highly variable among individuals, and the occurrence of secondary concentration peaks suggested substantial enterohepatic cycling. Absorption was rapid, and the mean time to peak was 2.2 h. Maximum plasma concentration values were proportional to the dose. Harmonic mean half-lives at these doses ranged from 9.3-22.7 h. There were indications of dose-dependent pharmacokinetic properties because apparent clearance and volume of distribution at steady state increased with dose, although these changes were not statistically significant as a result of high interpatient variability. Accordingly, there were less than proportional increases in the OPZ and M3 area under the curve and maximum plasma values. Interpretation of OPZ and M3 disposition is confounded by the unknown bioavailability factor; however, the most likely inferences are that bioavailability of OPZ decreases with increasing dose and that metabolism to M3 is saturable.


The Mid-resolution InfRAreD Astronomical Spectrograph (MIRADAS, a near-infrared multi-object echelle spectrograph operating at spectral resolution R=20,000 over the 1-2.5μm bandpass) was selected in 2010 by the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) partnership as the next-generation near-infrared spectrograph for the world's largest optical/infrared telescope, and is being developed by an international consortium. The MIRADAS consortium includes the University of Florida, Universidad de Barcelona, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Institut de Física d'Altes Energies, Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. This paper shows an overview of the MIRADAS control software, which follows the standards defined by the telescope to permit the integration of this software on the GTC Control System (GCS). The MIRADAS Control System is based on a distributed architecture according to a component model where every subsystem is selfcontained. The GCS is a distributed environment written in object oriented C++, which runs components in different computers, using CORBA middleware for communications. Each MIRADAS observing mode, including engineering, monitoring and calibration modes, will have its own predefined sequence, which are executed in the GCS Sequencer. These sequences will have the ability of communicating with other telescope subsystems.


We consider three possible manifestations of physics beyond the Standard Model, and the relations among them. These are Lorentz non-invariance (LNI), violations of the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP), and indications of time-varying nuclear decay constants. We present preliminary results from a new experiment indicating the presence of annual and subannual periodicities in decay data, and discuss their implications for physics beyond the Standard Model.


Thirteen varieties of pigeonpea ( Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) were planted to determine pod borer oviposition preferences and infestation percentages. Etiella zinckenella and Heliothis virescens were the predominant species. Oviposition of Heliothis began on flower buds but pods were preferred where available except for varieties Florido, Trinidad 5690 and Trinidad 6222 where a similar preference for bud and pods was recorded. Variety Guama particularly was less attractive for oviposition. Varieties Saragateado, Florido and Totiempo showed highest infestation rates throughout the season.


This study presents the design modification for SCR muffler of a commercial vehicle. Its main objective is the reduction of radiated noise at SCR muffler. For this study, the research of five steps were achieved by experimental and CAE analysis. First step is the measurement of radiated noise using impact-acoustic test. Second step is the source identification using experimental modal analysis. The cause of radiated noise source is confirmed by the resonance of end plates at SCR muffler. Third step confirms the possibility of resonance avoidance using SDM analysis applied the mass control. Fourth step is the suggestion of design modification which is the change of mode shape by CAE analysis. Last step is the verification of design modification using SYSNOISE analysis. Finally, the prototype product applied the countermeasure of resonance evasion was manufactured and the reduction of radiated noise at SCR muffler was confirmed by pass-by noise test.


PURPOSE
To introduce human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTRT) into normal human oral keratinocytes(OKC) to expand their life-span.

METHODS
The pEGFP-hTRT was transferred into OKCs by lipofecAMINE2000 and transferring(TF). Expression of hTERT in transfectants was examined by fluorescence microscopy, laser confocal microscopy. Transfection efficiency was examined by flow cytometer. Exogenous hTERT gene was detected by RT-PCR. The transfeced cells were selected by G418 for stable expression.

RESULTS
OKCs were transferred with pEGFP-hTRT by lipofecAMINE2000 and TF. The transfection efficiency was 15.34%. Exogenous hTERT gene could be detected by RT-PCR. The transfeced cells exhibited transient expression of exogenous hTERT gene.

CONCLUSIONS
The recombinant vector pEGFP-hTRT can be transfected into OKC by liposome. TF can improve transfection efficiency. Transient expression of exogenous hTERT is possible in oral keratinocytes.


Male reproductive effects induced by in utero and lactational exposure to TCDD were analyzed in three rat lines that are differently sensitive to TCDD. Rats from lines A, B, and C were selectively bred from TCDD-resistant Han/Wistar (Kuopio, H/W) and TCDD-sensitive Long-Evans (Turku/AB, L-E) rats and exhibited very different LD50 values for TCDD: >10,000, 830, and 40 microg/kg in males, respectively. The resistance in line A rats was linked to a mutated H/W-type aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr(hw)) and in line B rats to a H/W-type unknown allele B (B(hw)). Line C rats had no resistance alleles. Influence of the resistance alleles on developmentally induced male reproductive effects of TCDD was studied by exposing pregnant females to TCDD (0.03, 0.1, 0.3, or 1 microg/kg) on gestation day (GD) 15. Male progeny were sacrificed on postnatal day (PND) 70. Next, the dams were given 1 microg/kg TCDD on GD 15 and male progeny were sacrificed on PND 14, 21, 28, 35, or 49. Serum testosterone concentration, male sex organ weights, and testicular and cauda epididymal sperm numbers were analyzed; the most sensitive end point was decreased sperm numbers. The dose of 1 microg/kg TCDD reduced daily sperm production by 9.3, 25, and 36%, and cauda epididymal sperm reserves by 18, 42, and 49% in rat lines A, B, and C when measured on PND 70, respectively. The most consistent and significant effect was decreased weight of prostate lobes. The growth of the male reproductive organs was not markedly affected by the resistance alleles Ahr(hw) and B(hw). In contrast, the effects on sperm parameters appeared to be slightly modified by the resistance alleles. Thus, the intraspecies genetic differences in C-terminal transactivation domain of AHR appear to modify the sensitivity to only certain dioxin-induced male reproductive effects.


The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is essential for both memory and navigation, but the neural codes underlying these functions remain largely unknown. Here, we show that the most prominent cell type in layers 2/3 (L2/3) of the granular RSC is a uniquely excitable, small pyramidal cell. These cells have a low rheobase (LR), high input resistance, lack of spike-frequency adaptation, and spike widths intermediate to those of neighboring fast-spiking (FS) inhibitory neurons and regular-spiking (RS) excitatory neurons. LR cells are excitatory but rarely synapse onto neighboring neurons. Instead, L2/3 of RSC is an inhibition-dominated network with dense connectivity between FS cells and from FS to LR neurons. Biophysical models of LR but not RS cells precisely and continuously encode sustained input from afferent postsubicular head-direction cells. Thus, the unique intrinsic properties of LR neurons can support both the precision and persistence necessary to encode information over multiple timescales in the RSC.


Best Fit Least-Squares (BFLS) is a required technique for many STEM subjects. It is a method to compute a linear model for a set of data points. Due to its utility, BFSL is frequently taught to STEM students before they have sufficient mathematical experience to follow the mechanics of a derivation. Not only does this fail to produce procedural and conceptual understandings, but also it encourages students to view formulae and algorithms as things to be looked up, rather than derived. This is discourages students from developing productive dispositions. In this paper, we describe the "Close Fit Rod-Spring" (CFRS) approach to the problem. This approach computes the resting position of a rigid rod, which is connected by vertically oriented springs to a set of data points. This method of derivation results in two linear equations that may be solved for the slope and intercept of the best fit line. The result is equivalent to BFSL. However, it is achieved in an intuitively understandable and mathematically accessible way for high school students.


We consider a multi-species generalization of the Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Process on an open chain, in which particles hop with their characteristic hopping rates and fast particles can overtake slow ones. The number of species is arbitrary and the hopping rates can be selected from a discrete or continuous distribution. We determine exactly the phase structure of this model and show how the phase diagram of the 1-species ASEP is modified. Depending on the distribution of hopping rates, the system can exist in a three-phase regime or a two-phase regime. In the three- phase regime the phase structure is almost the same as in the one species case, that is, there are the low density, the high density and the maximal current phases, while in the two-phase regime there is no high-density phase.


Objectives The burden of multiple diagnoses is well documented in older people, but less is known about chronic symptoms, many of which are even not brought to medical attention. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of chronic symptoms, their relationships with disability in basic activities of daily living (BADL) and quality of life (QoL), and their public health impact. Design A large cross-sectional population-based study. Setting Community in 2 regions of French-speaking Switzerland. Participants Community-dwelling older adults aged 68 years and older in 2011 (N=5300). Outcomes Disability in BADL defined as difficulty or help needed with any of dressing, bathing, eating, getting in/out of bed or an arm chair, and using the toilet. Overall QoL dichotomised as favourable (ie, excellent or very good) or unfavourable (ie, good, fair or poor). Disturbance by any of the following 14 chronic symptoms for at least 6 months: joint pain, back pain, chest pain, dyspnoea, persistent cough, swollen legs, memory gaps, difficulty concentrating, difficulty making decisions, dizziness/vertigo, skin problems, stomach/intestine problems, urinary incontinence and impaired sexual life. Results Only 17.1% of participants did not report being disturbed by any of these chronic symptoms. Weighted prevalence ranged from 3.1% (chest pain) to 47.7% (joint pain). Most chronic symptoms were significantly associated with disability in BADL or unfavourable QoL, with substantial gender differences. The number of chronic symptoms was significantly associated with disability in BADL and unfavourable QoL, with gradients suggesting dose–response relationships. Joint pain and back pain had the highest population attributable fractions. Conclusions Chronic symptoms are highly prevalent in older people, and are associated with disability in BADL and unfavourable QoL, particularly when multiple chronic symptoms co-occur. Owing to their high public health impact, musculoskeletal chronic symptoms represent good targets for preventive interventions.


Abstract Background The relationship between community-acquired respiratory viruses (CARVs) and chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) in lung transplant recipients is still controversial. Methods We performed a prospective cohort study (2009–2014) in all consecutive adult patients (≥18 years) undergoing lung transplantation in the Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron (Barcelona, Spain). We systematically collected nasopharyngeal swabs from asymptomatic patients during seasonal changes, from patients with upper respiratory tract infectious disease, lower respiratory tract infectious disease (LRTID), or acute rejection. Nasopharyngeal swabs were analyzed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. Primary outcome was to evaluate the potential association of CARVs and development of CLAD. Time-dependent Cox regression models were performed to identify the independent risk factors for CLAD. Results Overall, 98 patients (67 bilateral lung transplant recipients; 63.3% male; mean age, 49.9 years) were included. Mean postoperative follow-up was 3.4 years (interquartile range [IQR], 2.5–4.0 years). Thirty-eight lung transplant recipients (38.8%) developed CLAD, in a median time of 20.4 months (IQR, 12–30.4 months). In time-controlled multivariate analysis, CARV-LRTID (hazard ratio [HR], 3.00 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.52–5.91]; P = .002), acute rejection (HR, 2.97 [95% CI, 1.51–5.83]; P = .002), and cytomegalovirus pneumonitis (HR, 3.76 [95% CI, 1.23–11.49]; P = .02) were independent risk factors associated with developing CLAD. Conclusions Lung transplant recipients with CARVs in the lower respiratory tract are at increased risk to develop CLAD.


Technological advancement has tremendously accelerated the promotion of microplastics in our environment. In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the production and use of plastics in the form of facemasks, face shields and PPE kits across the globe has intensified and becomes a new environmental challenge. As scientific knowledge is limited concerning the source, exposure, toxicity, and bioavailability of microplastics in the surroundings, this review has been aimed to provide comprehensive information about microplastics present in the environment with special emphasis on their deposition and related increasing menace in India, during and after the COVID 19 period. We have focussed on the 5 key research needs, involving (1) the occurrence and abundance of microplastics (2) sources, fate, and occurence of microplastics in different media (water, air and soil), (3) toxicological implications of microplastics on human beings, (4) scenario of microplastics disposal during COVID-19 pandemic and (5) major challenges and future directions to curtail them. We suggest that addressing these knowledge gaps will lay the groundwork to counteract such environmental issues which are important to prevent them from exacerbating. Combating microplastic contamination can be achieved through an intensive and combined effort of all, including the stakeholders, researchers, educators, media and policymakers. We can join the effort to manage plastic in the environment by refusing, reducing, reusing and recycling the plastic products, to prolong every item's life cycle as far as possible. A start would be a focus on limiting the use of single-use plastic products, especially if alternatives are readily available.


The widely used technique for determining optical gain and absorption from single-pass, amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) is analyzed with particular attention given to active-volume saturation and three-dimensional effects. The results for homogeneously broadened media show that the population inversion and hence the gain in the active region is diminished by high levels of spontaneous and ASE. The externally measured gain is further reduced for large output collection apertures that admit incompletely amplified off-axis rays. Criteria are given for the excitation and detection geometries required to ensure accurate (∼10-percent) gain measurement. The simultaneous measurement of the equilibrium absorption coefficient can be made under less restrictive conditions.


Using various techniques, natural polymers can be successfully used as a matrix to immobilize a residual microbial biomass in a form that is easy to handle, namely biosorbents, and which is capable of retaining chemical species from polluted aqueous media. The biosorption process of reactive Brilliant Red HE-3B dye on a new type of biosorbent, based on a residual microbial biomass of Saccharomyces pastorianus immobilized in sodium alginate, was studied using mathematical modeling of experimental data obtained under certain conditions. Different methods, such as computer-assisted statistical analysis, were applied, considering all independent and dependent variables involved in the reactive dye biosorption process. The optimal values achieved were compared, and the experimental data supported the possibility of using the immobilized residual biomass as a biosorbent for the studied reference dye. The results were sufficient to perform dye removals higher than 70–85% in an aqueous solution containing around 45–50 mg/L of reactive dye, and working with more than 20–22 g/L of prepared immobilized microbial biosorbent for more than 9.5–10 h. Furthermore, the proposed models agreed with the experimental data and permitted the prediction of the dye biosorption behavior in the experimental variation field of each independent variable.


OBJECTIVE
To discuss the midface aging mechanism through anatomic study of malar fat pad.

METHODS
10 fresh adult cadaveric heads (20 sides) fixed by vascular perfusion of formalin were used for anatomic study with microsurgery technique under microscope. The midfacial ligament and connective tissue between skin and subcutaneous fat were observed carefully in different parts of midface. The location, shape and extent of malar fat pad was also recorded and photographed.

RESULTS
The malar fat pad has a triangle shape. The bottom is a curve along the orbicularis retaining ligament at the lower eyelid. The fat pad is extended internally to the nasolabial fold and labiomandibular fold, externally from the major zygomatic muscle end point at the malar surface to the angulus oris and submandibular edge. (2) The malar fat pad is composed of meshed fibrous tissue, with big fat particles in it. It becomes tight when being stretched in horizontal direction along nasolabial fold and loosen when being stretched in vertical direction. (3) There is tight connection between skin and fat pad, which is divided into four areas as I, II, III, IV. The areas I, II, III are strip-shaped parelled to the nasolabial fold. The area IV is a irregular quadrilateral. (4) There are six fixation ligaments between malar fat pad and deep tissue: orbicularis retaining ligament upper layer of lower eyelid, orbicularis retaining ligament substratum of lower eyelid, zygomaticus ligament, zygomatic cutaneous ligament, zygomatic cutaneous ligament substratum, platysma There are four closely connected areas cutaneous forward ligament, cheek maxilla ligament.

CONCLUSIONS
between the facial skin and malar fat pad which makes malar fat pad and skin keep relatively consistent. The malar fat pad moving down mainly resulted from slack of ligaments support which is one of the reasons for aging face.


The effects of observed number of inclusions on the diameter distribution at two-dimensional inspection were evaluated in this work. Microscopic observations were reproduced by numerical calculations. Numerically calculated diameters of circles at cross-sectional planes were aggregated as size and density histograms and those were compared with theoretically calculated histograms. Deviations between the calculated and true density in each class were evaluated quantitatively with the error evaluation index.The reliability of two-dimensional particle size and density histogram was affected by the observed number of particles rather than the observed number of fields and independent of the input three-dimensional particle distribution. Misunderstandings in reading the histograms could be prevented by setting small number of classes when the observed number of particles is small. It is better to decide the goal of reliability level before inspection to optimize the observation time and cost.


Storage area networks (SANs) based on fibre channel have been used extensively in the last decade while iSCSI is fast becoming a serious contender due to its reduced costs and unified infrastructure. This work examines the performance of iSCSI with multiple TCP connections. Multiple TCP connections are often used to realize higher bandwidth but there may be no fairness in how bandwidth is distributed. We propose a mechanism to share congestion information across multiple flows in "Fair-TCP" for improved performance. Our results show that Fair-TCP significantly improves the performance for I/O intensive workloads.


A conduction cooled 8 T superconducting magnetic system with variable temperature insert is developed and tested. The cryomagnetic system is based on a commercial two-stage pulse tube cryocooler with cooling power of 1W at 4.2 K. The compact superconducting magnet is manufactured from NbTi wire and impregnated with epoxy resin by "wet" technology. The clear diameter of variable temperature space is 20 mm. The system provides temperature range of 5.5-300 K. The variable temperature space is filled by low pressure helium gas. To eliminate the overheating of the magnet at high temperatures the heat switch is used in thermal coupling between variable temperature space and the 4K stage. The system design, manufacturing and test results are presented.


Cyanobacterial toxins as microcystins (MCs), nodularins (NODs), Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins, anatoxins (ANAs), and cylindrospermopsins (CYNs) with over 100 known varieties, occur worldwide associated with human and animal lethal poisoning.In contrast to all analytical methods for toxin determination are based on LC/MS-MS measurements with Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) the application of Precursor Ion mode allows the coverage of all these structural variants. Although in MRM mode enables a higher sensitivity, a lot of information regarding structural changes is missed. The new generation of Q-TRAPs combines the advantages of quadrupoles having a high selectivity with the high sensitivity of ion-trap systems. Here we published results, showing the suitability of Precursor Ion mode for detection of cyanobacterial toxins extracted from phytoplankton.


There continues to be an erroneous belief that allergens (especially food allergens) are more resistant to gastrointestinal digestion than non-allergens. Government regulations based on this erroneous belief may result in technology developers altering the amino acid sequences of digestively stable native proteins to create digestively unstable modified versions for expression in genetically engineered crops. However, an investigation where a known stable allergen was modified to make it more digestible eliminated the protein's ability to tolerize against allergy in a mouse model, which is consistent with the dual allergen exposure hypothesis. Thus, the false belief that digestive stability increases the allergenic risk of novel food proteins (e.g., such as expressed in genetically engineered crops) could, in some cases, lead to introduction of digestively unstable modified protein versions with greater sensitization risk. However, it is noteworthy that developers have historically been very effective at preventing allergens from being introduced into crops based on the other components of the weight-of-evidence assessment of allergenic risk such that no newly expressed protein in any commercialized genetically engineered crop has ever been documented to cause allergy in anyone.


Purpose: To investigate the visual and anatomical effects of intravitreal bevacizumab treatment of macular edema due to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). Methods: Data were collected by medical chart review for 35 consecutive patients (35 eyes) with CRVO-induced macular edema treated with intravitreal bevacizumab in 2007–2010 and followed for at least 6 months. All patients received 3–4 loading doses (1.25 mg) with follow-up every 6–8 weeks and repeated injections as necessary. Results: Mean patient age was 65.5 years (SD 13.5); mean follow-up time, 17.7 months (SD 10.8); mean number of injections, 9.3 (SD 5). Mean logMAR visual acuity (VA) improved from 0.9 (SD 0.49) at baseline to 0.7 (SD 0.5) at the last visit; corresponding Snellen values were 6/98 and 6/15 (p = 0.009). Four patients (11%) lost ≥3 lines, and 13 patients (37%) gained ≥3 lines. There was a positive correlation between initial and final VA (p < 0.0005). Central macular thickness (CMT) measured 489.5 microns (SD 175) at baseline and 395 microns (SD 223) at the last visit (p = 0.24). VA gain was positively correlated with CMT reduction (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Intravitreal bevacizumab treatment of CRVO-induced macular edema improves vision, especially in patients with good initial VA.


We have discovered hundreds of planar, nearly vertical sand- and gravel-filled dikes that we interpret to have been caused by earthquake-induced liquefaction in the Wabash Valley of Indiana- Illinois. These dikes range in width from a few cm to as much as 2.5 m. The largest dikes are centered about the general area of Vincennes, Indiana; they decrease in size and abundance to the north and south of this area. Preliminary studies indicate the high possibility that many, if not all, of the dikes were formed by a single large earthquake that took place in the Vincennes area sometime between 2,500 and 7,500 years ago. The severity of ground shaking required to have formed the dikes far exceeds the strongest level of shaking of any earthquake in the central United States since the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes.


USA100 health care-associated MRSA isolates are highly antibiotic resistant and can cause invasive disease across all patient populations. Even though USA100 strains are some of the most frequently identified causes of infections, little is known about virulence regulation in these isolates. Our study demonstrates that the USA100 agr quorum-sensing system is important for the control of toxin and exoenzyme production and that the agr system has a key role in skin infection. In some USA100 isolates, the agr system is important for growth in the presence of low levels of antibiotics. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that the USA100 agr system is a critical regulator of virulence and that it may make a contribution to the optimal survival of these MRSA strains in the presence of antibiotics. ABSTRACT Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections impact all patient populations both in the community and in health care settings. Despite advances in our knowledge of MRSA virulence, little is known about the regulatory mechanisms of USA100 health care-associated MRSA isolates, which are the second most frequently identified MRSA isolates found in all infections. This work focused on the contribution of the USA100 agr type II quorum-sensing system to virulence and antibiotic resistance. From a MRSA strain collection, we selected 16 representative USA100 isolates, constructed mutants with Δagr mutations, and characterized selected strain pairs for virulence factor expression, murine skin infection, and antibiotic resistance. For each strain pair, hemolysis and extracellular protease expression were significantly greater in the wild-type (WT) strains than in the Δagr mutants. Similarly, mice challenged with the WT strains had larger areas of dermonecrosis and greater weight loss than those challenged with the Δagr mutants, demonstrating that the USA100 agr system regulates virulence. Although USA100 isolates exhibit a high level of antibiotic resistance, the WT and Δagr strain pairs showed no difference in MICs by MIC testing. However, in the presence of a sub-MIC of vancomycin, most of the USA100 Δagr mutants exhibited slower growth than the WT isolates, and a couple of the Δagr mutants also grew more slowly in the presence of a sub-MIC of cefoxitin. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that the USA100 agr system is a critical regulator of virulence, and it may have a contribution to the optimal survival of these MRSA strains in the presence of antibiotics. IMPORTANCE USA100 health care-associated MRSA isolates are highly antibiotic resistant and can cause invasive disease across all patient populations. Even though USA100 strains are some of the most frequently identified causes of infections, little is known about virulence regulation in these isolates. Our study demonstrates that the USA100 agr quorum-sensing system is important for the control of toxin and exoenzyme production and that the agr system has a key role in skin infection. In some USA100 isolates, the agr system is important for growth in the presence of low levels of antibiotics. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that the USA100 agr system is a critical regulator of virulence and that it may make a contribution to the optimal survival of these MRSA strains in the presence of antibiotics.


Electron localization in the integer quantum Hall regime is studied within the n-th Landau band. Localization is weak for n large and quantum-interference corrections to diffusive motion are calculated perturbatively using n-1 as a small parameter. It is argued that diffusive behaviour breaks down much more rapidly with increasing length scale, than previously expected.


This study aims to design a brand identity of batik with vernacular typography. Vernacular typographyis typography with daily life character that is familiar with the activities of local community.Vernacular typography is used in this study because the types that are created by the previous researchdo not meet the needs of the product owners at batik center in Bayat, Klaten District. Themethod used is descriptive qualitative research to find qualitative data that is used as the base of thevernacular typography creating through the design process which is divided into four stages. Thestages covers assimilation, such as the collection and arrangement of information problem that isbeing studied; general studies, such as investigating the characteristics of the problem and possiblesolutions as well as tools and support materials; developing, creating and modifying; communicationconcerning the creative presentation of one or more solutions to the people inside and outside of theresearch team. Small scale industries such as batik center Bayat have disadvantages in accessingcreative sources because of the limited capital and opportunity. Therefore, this study becomes a helpfulthing in designing the brand identity for small industries. The results obtained include vernaculartypography design that is traced from the surrounding environment so that they produce specialtypefaces for example typographic style of batik motif, street-style typography, typographic styleengraving, handwriting-style typography, and free-style typography. Typographies that are generatedsubsequently applied in developing batik brand identity. Keywords: Typography, vernacular, brand, batik


This study aims to determine the types of motivation can boost the performance of employees in the banking sector in the city of Makassar ( Studies in Bank BNI and Bank BRI ) , so that the manager can find a good strategy for motivating employees , in order to excel in competition .
Research conducted by distributing questionnaires to employees of BNI and Bank BRI Makassar . The research sample of 30 people , comprising 15 employees of the bank BNI and 15 of BRI .
The analytical method used to determine the types of motivation that can improve the performance of banking sector employees , namely by using quantative descriptive analysis method by grouping the results of questionnaire answers and then calculate the frequency of each answer .
The analysis showed that the most dominant motivation to encourage employee performance is the motive need for affiliation


Sustained growth in primary culture of vaginal epithelial cells from ovariectomized adult BALB/cCrgl mice embedded within or seeded on collagen gel matrix was achieved in a serum-free medium composed of Ham's F-12 medium/Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium, 1:1 (vol/vol), supplemented with insulin, bovine serum albumin fraction V, epidermal growth factor, cholera toxin, and transferrin. Three-dimensional growth of vaginal epithelial cells occurred inside the collagen gel matrix. Cell numbers increased 4- to 8-fold in collagen gel and about 4-fold on collagen gel after 9-10 days in culture. The effect of 17 beta-estradiol (0.00018-180 nM in gel or 0.018-180 nM on gel) and diethylstilbestrol (DES; 0.0186-186 nM in gel) on the growth of vaginal epithelial cells was examined. The addition of estrogen did not enhance the growth of vaginal epithelial cells during this time period either in the complete medium or in a suboptimal medium. Cultures on floating collagen gels in the serum-free medium are composed of 1-3 cell layers with superficial cornification. Estrogen does not appear to be a direct mitogen for vaginal epithelial cells, at least in this system.


A case of colonoscopic polypectomy complicated by perforation, pneumoperitoneum, bilateral pneumothoraces, pneumopericardium, pneumomediastinum, and subcutaneous emphysema is presented. The anatomic basis for the various clinical presentations of extraluminal air following colonoscopy as well as the option of conservative therapy of select cases of perforation is discussed.