In order to study activity in conducting brief alcohol intervention, a total of 83 consecutive consultations by eight general practitioners were videotaped. The categorization included the nature of the patient's health problems and whether alcohol consumption was elicited. The discussions were compared to previously given instructions. Alcohol consumption was elicited in 9/34 of the consultations where enquiry was indicated by the instructions, and rarely in any other situations. The activity among the individual physicians varied, but none of them elicited systematically in all situations with indication. No information was given to any of these patients concerning the relation between their symptoms and alcohol consumption. In conclusion, enquiring and advising on alcohol were seldom performed. More training is needed, especially on how to inform individual patients of the health risks of alcohol.


We consider an entire function of exponential type with all its zeros are simple and form a sequence with the index condensation zero. On the set of zeros a function of its derivative is growing quickly. Required to determine whether original function have complete regularity of growth. This problem, which arose in the theory of representation of analytic functions by exponential series was posed by A. F. Leontiev more than forty years ago and has not yet been solved. In this paper we show that the aforesaid problem a positive solution if the function is «not too small» on a straight line.


Leptospirosis is described as the most common and universal zoonotic bacterial disease around the world caused by Leptospira interrogans which affects different species of domestic and wild animals. The bacteria may occurs worldwide especially in subtropical, tropical, and wet environment with slightly alkaline soil. The current study was conducted between November 2016 and July 2017 in the selected areas in Morogoro aimed at estimating the prevalence and establishes the common serovars of Leptospira in free range ducks. A total of 30 ducks from 12 households were used. Before blood sample collection, the duck biodata was recorded and the owner was asked on the general management system including the scavenging areas and any veterinary intervention in place. The ducks were restrained and blood samples were collected from the branchial vein and left to clot before harvesting the serum. Multiple Agglutination Tests was performed using four serovars namely Kenya , Grippotyphosa , Pomona and Hebdomadis as reference serovars. The results indicated that all the ducks were local breeds ( Cairina moschata ) which scavenged for fed around homestead. The ducks accessed dumping areas; stagnant water, animal houses and the mud around. No veterinary intervention to ducks was reported by all 12 respondents interviewed. Laboratory results indicated that 5 samples (16.7%) were positive at 1:20, 1:40 for Hebdomadis and Kenya serovars which implies that the ducks had been exposed to the specific Leptospira serovars. This study reports for the first time the seroprevelence of leptosirosis in ducks in Tanzania. Because of the zoonotic nature of Leptospira and sharing of common environment between ducks and humans, the diseases can easily get access to human. Therefore, in the efforts of surveillance and control of leptosisis in humans and animals, ducks should also be involved. Key words : Leptospirosis, Leptospira interrogans , MAT, serovars, ducks


Intellectual disability (ID) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. While the causes of ID are still largely unknown, it is believed to result from a combination of environmental exposures and genetic abnormalities. Recent advancements in genomic studies and clinical genetic testing have identified numerous genes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including ID. One such gene is CHAMP1, which plays a role in chromosome alignment and has been linked to a specific type of NDD called CHAMP1 disease. This report presents the case of a 21-year-old Lebanese female patient with a de novo mutation in CHAMP1. In addition to ID and NDD, the patient exhibited various clinical features such as impaired language, dysmorphic features, macrocephaly, thoracic hyperkyphosis, decreased pain sensation, and metabolic syndrome. These findings expand the understanding of the clinical spectrum associated with CHAMP1 mutations and highlight the importance of comprehensive follow-up for improved prognosis. Overall, this case contributes to the knowledge of CHAMP1-related NDDs by describing additional clinical features associated with a CHAMP1 mutation. The findings underscore the need for accurate diagnosis, thorough follow-up, and personalized care for individuals with CHAMP1 mutations to optimize their prognosis.


ABSTRACT Kidder, G.W.; White, S.; Miller, M.F.; Norden, W.S.; Taylor, T., and Disney, J.E., 2015. Biodegradable grids: An effective method for eelgrass (Zostera marina) restoration in Maine. Restoration of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) beds is often done by tying vegetative plants to wire grids and transferring them to the ocean bottom. In our experience, rhizomes can grow over the grids, resulting in a significant loss of transplants when the grids are removed. We have tested two other methods that circumvent this problem that have proved successful in Maine. First, we "stapled" eelgrass plants into subtidal areas using bent bamboo skewers. This method is effective and avoids grid-removal losses but is slow, is laborious, and requires workers with equipment. More recently, we constructed a novel biodegradable grid (BDG) with spruce side rails, laced with sisal twine and weighted with small sandbags. We find that BDGs are even more successful than wire grids at establishing transplants and that the losses from grid removal are eliminated. BDGs are an effective way of involving citizens in eelgrass restoration projects while increasing the success rate of transplants and saving labor.


Most work on social interactions studies a single, composite effect of interactions within a group. Yet in the case of sexual initiation, there are two distinct social mechanisms - peer-group norms and partner availability with separate effects and different potential interventions. Here I develop an equilibrium search and matching model for first sexual partners that specifies distinct roles for these two mechanisms as part of demand and supply. I estimate the model using a national sample of high school students, with data over time on individual virginity status. The results indicate that peer-group norms have a large effect on the timing of sexual initiation for both boys and girls. Changes in opposite-gender search behavior (i.e., partner availability) also have a large impact on initiation rates for boys, but not for girls. The existence of a composite effect of social interactions is also confirmed using a standard method: instrumental variables estimation of linear regressions.


In recent years, the network concept has become a central component of administrative scholarship. One cannot ignore the increased use of networks as both an explicit policy choice and a condition of public funding. This trend suggests that the network concept now represents an approach to governance. Regardless, active participation in these multi-organizational, multi-governmental, and multi-sectoral relationships has outpaced empirical description and theoretical explanation. Making the important case that network management has become a critical activity in public administration, researchers have neglected the relationship between front-line participatory behavior and the use of the network approach. As a result, the vocabulary and the imagery needed to describe and theorize about the specific front-line participatory behaviors that accompany the use of the network approach does not exist. Due to the limitations of past research, there is little understanding of the front-line participatory behaviors that could help make this happen. This study refers to these types of behaviors as network behaviors. Relying on surveys and elite interviews with participants from thirteen social welfare networks throughout the state of Virginia, this study addresses two primary research questions: What are the front-line participatory behaviors that accompany the use of the network approach? And, how do these behaviors differ along with variations in the network approach? Through examining 14 hypotheses, the study relates a framework of four degrees (variations) of the network approach (cooperation, coordination, consolidation, and collaboration) to three categories of behavior (knowledge management, communicative behavior, and commitment/identity). The findings support the underlying rationale for this study that variations in the network approach may shape front-line participatory behavior differently, and vice versa. Ultimately, by exploring this relationship and integrating the literature on networks with the literature on front-line work, this study may serve as the foundation for future efforts to establish a theory or rationale for developing and choosing among variations in the network approach.


Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is a high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-associated protein that endows its carrier with (lipo-)lactonase-dependent antioxidative features. Low levels of PON1 activity have been observed in association with obesity, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Considering the well-recognized atheroprotective role of PON1, exogenous/endogenous factors that might modulate its levels/activity are raising great interest. Since adipokines represent a molecular link between obesity and CVD, we here explored the possible impact of these substances on PON1 activity/expression. The levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor alpha, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, hepatocyte growth factor, resistin, leptin, and adiponectin were measured along with arylesterase, paraoxonase, and lactonase activities of PON1 in 107 postmenopausal women. Moreover, the direct effect of resistin on PON1 expression was evaluated in vitro. Multivariate analysis revealed that only resistin was significantly and inversely correlated with PON1-lactonase activities (r = −0.346, p < 0.001) regardless of confounding factors such as age or HDL-cholesterol. It is worth noting that no statistical link was found between adipokine and arylesterase or paraoxonase, the two promiscuous activities of PON1. Notably, resistin down-regulated PON1 expression occurred in hepatocellular carcinoma cultures. Our study suggests that resistin might be a negative modulator of PON1 expression and anti-oxidative activity.


BACKGROUND AND AIM
Metabolic syndrome is associated with health conditions and neurological disorders. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a protective role on the nervous system. Decreased levels of BDNF have been shown in MetS and neurodegenerative diseases. There is promising evidence regarding the anti-inflammatory antioxidant, and neuroprotective properties of virgin coconut oil (VCO). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of VCO consumption on serum BDNF levels, oxidative stress status, and insulin resistance in adults with MetS.

METHODS
This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 48 adults with MetS aged 20-50 years. The intervention group received 30 ml of VCO daily to substitute the same amounts of oil in their usual diet. The control group continued their usual diet. Serum BDNF levels, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), malondialdehyde (MDA) as well as HOMA-IR and QUICKI index were measured after four weeks of intervention.

RESULTS
VCO consumption significantly reduced serum levels of MDA (p = .01), fasting insulin (p < .01) and HOMA-IR index (p < .01) and increased serum TAC (p < .01) and QUICKI index (p = .01) compared to the control group. Serum BDNF levels increased significantly in VCO group compared to the baseline (p = .02); however, this change was not significant when compared to the control group (p = .07).

CONCLUSION
VCO consumption improved oxidative stress status and insulin resistance and had a promising effect on BDNF levels in adults with MetS. Further studies are needed to understand the long-term effects of VCO consumption.


Purpose : The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effects of lumbar stabilization exercise on static and dynamic balance performance with unstable supporting surface and an even surface. Methods : The subjects of this experimental study were 30 patients among hospitalized stroke patients. They were randomly divided into two groups: unstable supporting surface group(USS; n=15) and an even surface group(ES; n=15). The lumbar stabilization exercise program for patients in two groups went through 40 minute exercise sessions three times a week for 8 weeks. To analyze the effects of a variety of supporting surface, Functional reaching test(FRT), Berg's balance scale(BBS), and Overall stability index(static balance) were measured before and after the exercise. The paired t-test was used to compare mean differences between before and after exercis and the independent t-test was used to compare mean differences between groups. Results : After 8 weeks exercise program, there were significant differences between before and after exercise in FRT, BBS, and static balance. But there were not significant differences in balance between two groups. Conclusion : This study suggest that lumbar stabilization exercise on unstable supporting surface and an even surface can improve FRT, BBS, and a static balance.


We define a strange agent as an agent with an ontology that is unknown, and possibly dissimilar, to another agent's. Proposed here are the foundations for a protocol, which will enable strange agents to, via a process of negotiation, discover something of each other's ontology's and represent these ontologies within their own. The purpose of this discovery being to enable the agents to decide if they may be of use to each other, and in the case where they can, enabling the agents to make use of each other.


Measurements of Brillouin scattering in ethyl ether and ethyl alcohol were made for scattering angles of 42-150°. The spectra were excited by 4416 A radiation from an He-Cd laser and analysed with a pressure-scanned Fabry-Perot spectrometer. The measured frequency shifts and linewidths of the Brillouin components were used to determine the velocities and the lifetimes of thermal waves. The frequency range of the hypersonic waves was 26-59 GHz for ethyl ether and 26-68 GHz for ethyl alcohol. The measurements do not indicate any dispersion of the sonic velocity within the investigated frequency range and good agreement is obtained with earlier ultrasonic measurements.


The 2009 flu pandemic was a global outbreak of a new strain of H1N1 influenza virus often referred colloquially as "swine flu". The objectives of the study were: (1) To know the sociodemographic and awareness profile of visitors attending swine flu screening booths. (2) To reveal sources of information. The present cross-sectional study was undertaken among the visitors (18 years and above) attending swine flu screening booths organised within the Belgaum city during Ganesh festival from 28-08-2009 to 03-09-2009 by interviewing them using predesigned, pretested structured questionnaire on swine flu. The data was collected and analysed using SPSS software programme for windows (version 16). Chi-square test was applied. Out of 206 visitors, 132 (64.1%) were males and 107 (51.9%) were in the age group of 30-49 years; 183 (88.8%) had heard about swine flu. More than a third of the visitors (38.3%) disclosed that there was a vaccine to prevent swine flu. Majority responded that it could be transmitted by being in close proximity to pigs (49.0%) and by eating pork (51.5%). Newspaper/magazine (64.6%), television (61.7%), and public posters/pamphlets (44.2%) were common sources of information. The present study revealed that doctors/public health workers have played little role in creating awareness in the community. The improved communication between doctors and the community would help to spread correct information about the disease and the role that the community can play in controlling the spread of the disease.


Various systems exist to classify roadway environments; however most do not consider driver-relevant perceptual components. A perceptually based roadway classification system has the potential to support the placement of signage (or removal of extraneous clutter) in the right-of-way as a means to enhance driver performance. The present study sought to determine which environmental factors are attended to by roadway users. Thirteen participants first rated the similarity of 14 roadway environments and then rated each environment on 5 different descriptors (built-up, clutter, openness, aesthetically pleasing, organized/predictable). The resultant data were analyzed using a methodology rarely taken advantage of in the field of transportation: Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). MDS revealed the participants relied on two primary dimensions when rating the similarity of the roadway environments. These two dimensions related closely with: 1) organization/predictability and 2) clutter and aesthetics. This methodology provides a simple way to gain access to drivers' perceptions of the roadway environment and appears to be a promising first step toward developing a user-focused roadway classification system.


How does novelty, a new, genetically based function, evolve? A compelling answer has been elusive because there are few model systems where both the genetic mechanisms generating novel functions and the ecological conditions that govern their origin and spread can be studied in detail. Here, I review what we have learned about the evolution of novelty from microbial selection experiments. This work reveals that the genetic routes to novelty can be more highly variable than standard models have led us to believe and underscores the importance of considering both genetics and ecology in this process.


A model has been suggested by Haller and others for the development of interconnected submicrostructures in glasses which involves the nucleation, growth and coalescence of discrete second-phase particles. A theoretical objection has been raised to this model—viz., that interparticle interference effects limit diffusion controlled growth and prevent coalescence. The present paper discusses three mechanisms whereby coalescence may occur despite interference effects. These include heterogeneous nucleation between two particles; capillarity-induced volume diffusion; and diffusion driven by the variation with separation of the interfacial energy of two interfaces. Two theories of the latter variation are presented, a diffuse interface theory based on the variational method of Cahn and Hilliard, and a pair interaction, sharp-interface model. Both models predict a monotonic decrease in the interfacial energy as the separation decreases. Other aspects of coalescence as well as the alternative model of spinodal decomposition are briefly discussed. The results of various experiments attempting to distinguish between spinodal decomposition and nucleation-growth-coalescence are reviewed. It is concluded that the operative mechanism for the formation of interconnected submicrostructures in nearly all glass systems remains to be established.


Scalar implicatures are based on a range of quantifiers ordered in terms of informational strength, for example in quantity: some, most, all; in frequency: sometimes, often, and always. This study measures the scalar implicatures among university students who learn English as a foreign language. The participants for this study are fourth semester English Department students at Binus University. Using the same instruments as in Slabakova (2009) and Noveck's study (2001) the present study aims to find out the general ability of the university students of computing scalar implicatures and to discover the level of pragmatic/logical competence of the university students with regards to their gender and grade point average. The results show that the students with GPA lower than three are more logical than those with GPA higher than three; while female students are more pragmatic than male students.


A mechanism of a photoinduced change in the refractive index of doped silica glass is proposed. It is based on a considerable modification of the glass structure, revealed by modelling, near oxygen vacancies when they are photoexcited.


A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed using a high-density infinium 90K SNP array. We identified a total markers traits associations (MTAs) (p ?0.000) for the following plant traits; days taken to 50% heading(DH), days to 50% maturity (DM), plant height (Ph) cm, flag leaf area cm2 (FLA), tillers number per plant, spike length (SL) cm and grain yield per plant (GP) g. Most of the SNPs were identified in the A and B genome as compared to the D genome. The significant associated SNPs were mainly distributed on the chromosome 2B, 3B, 5A, and 5B. Nine SNPs on chromosome 5A, 2B and 2D were identified having pleiotropic effects The correlation analysis showed a significant positive association among SL, NT, GP. Which depicted that these traits are promising for breeding high yielding wheat cultivars. This study provided useful information of the valuable genetic loci for marker-assisted breeding.


A sterically demanding molybdenum(VI) dioxo complex was found to catalytically activate molecular oxygen and to transfer its oxygen atoms to phosphines. Intermediate peroxo as well as reduced mono-oxo complexes were isolated and fully characterized. Monomeric Mo(IV) monooxo species proved to be of an unusual nature with the coordinated phosphine trans to the oxo group. The reduced molybdenum centers can activate O2 to form a stable Mo(VI) oxo-peroxo complex unambiguously characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. NMR experiments demonstrate that both oxygen atoms of the peroxo unit are transferred to an accepting substrate, generating the Mo(IV) intermediate and restarting the catalytic cycle.


In this paper, the performances of AlInAs/GaInAs heterostructure-emitter-confinement bipolar transistors including heterostructure-emitter bipolar transistors (HEBT) and superlattice-confinement bipolar transistors (SCBT) are demonstrated. Due to the elimination of the potential spike at the emitter - base junction, extremely low offset voltages of 40 and 80 mV are obtained for the studied HEBT and SCBT respectively. For the HEBT, due to the small hole diffusion length and the large neutral-emitter recombination current, a degraded current gain performance is observed. On the other hand, the SCBT exhibits a large differential current gain of 240 resulting from tunnelling injection which can reduce the spread of thermal distribution and the non-radiative recombination cross-section.


This paper presents survey findings exploring the claim that trade union militancy will deliver more advantages for unions than moderation (Kelly, 1996). Responses from representatives in two unions reveal militancy is associated with stronger union workplace activity and greater engagement with management in solving operational problems and long-term business strategies. However, there was no evidence that militancy significantly affects many terms and conditions. Moderate trade unionists in this sample were no more likely to hold a unitarist frame of reference. A further factor analysis of the militancy-moderation scale revealed two separate dimensions of militancy - a 'bargaining' and a 'mobilizing' approach. Although finding some expected benefits linked with militancy, different benefits appear to be associated with a bargaining approach and a mobilizing approach. It is suggested the approach taken in collective bargaining may be at least as important as mobilizing union members in securing gains from a militant union strategy.


Active sharing of information security advice among the employees has undeniable implications for developing a sustainable security environment. This research examines this topic from the network perspective, and focuses on the work relationships that promote sharing security advice. Exponential random graph modeling technique was employed to evaluate the relationship between team collaborative activities and sharing security advice. The findings revealed that those who share security advice also tend to give work- and IT-related knowledge. Moreover, employees who have similar tenure tend to exchange security advice with each other more. Furthermore, the network of sharing security advice is transitive and has a tendency to form separate clusters. Security managers are suggested to take into account the research findings to identify key employees who frequently share security advice in the workplace and devise appropriate strategies to manage them.


This study assessed the implications of empowerment status in agricultural production capabilities of rural women in selected states of Nigeria using five main indicators of empowerment; decision-making status, economic status, social status, political status and time-use status. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to randomly select four States (Oyo, Edo, Benue and Sokoto States) from the six agricultural zones in Nigeria. From each state, 10% of the rural Local Government Areas (LGAs) were purposively selected making a total of nine LGAs. Two communities were randomly selected from each LGA to give 18 rural communities. Rural women were systematically sampled proportionate to the size of each community to give 261 respondents. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, PPMC and ANOVA. Respondents had low decision-making status (x=32.4), high economic status (x=83.1), high social status (x =7.6), low political status (x =11.7) and high time-use (x =20.7) status and a low empowerment status (x= 155.5) across States. Result shows that there was a significant difference (F=47.615) in the empowerment status of respondents across selected states. Income (r=0.403), educational attainment (r=0.478), household size (r=0.084) and years of experience (r=0.235) had significant positive relationship with empowerment status. Rural women should be empowered by government agencies and NGOs through organising seminars on self-help projects and giving them voice which will enable them to have a sustainable farm enterprise. Keywords : Capabilities, economic empowerment, production, rural, status.


Customer loyalty is a concept gaining more and more attention in today's business when loyal customers are considered as essential components to organizational success. Loyal customers tend to purchase more often, spend more money and usually enhance a positive word-of-mouth. Consequently, corporations of today strive to identify and manage effective methods of actively enhancing loyalty, including customer loyalty programs. Automobile corporations operate in an industry characterized by few customer contacts with large monetary value. There are major profit potentials and each customer is worth more than only the sales price for a car. As a result the management of customer loyalty is an essential activity within this industry. The aim with this thesis is to gain a better understanding of how customer loyalty is managed within the automobile industry, more specifically by focusing on the design, implementation as well as the evaluation process. Two case studies of corporations are made based on interviews and documentation. The conclusions drawn from the findings indicate that during the design phase of customer loyalty programs the elements constituting the programs were similar between corporations, nevertheless the utilization of these programs differ. One of the most important tools for corporations is their database containing valuable customer information. When it concerns the implementation of customer loyalty programs, the organizational structures behind the programs differ. Either the organization for loyalty programs is incorporated with another unit or managed by a separate department. Regarding the evaluation, customer loyalty is only measured by customers' repurchase behavior. Furthermore this research shows that in order to accurately communicate with the customers, segmentation of customers becomes a crucial activity.


Abstract We study the monadic fragment of second order intuitionistic propositional logic in the language containing the standard propositional connectives and propositional quantifiers. It is proved that under the topological interpretation over any dense-in-itself metric space, the considered fragment collapses to Heyting calculus. Moreover, we prove that the topological interpretation over any dense-in-itself metric space of fragment in question coincides with the so-called Pitts' interpretation. We also prove that all the nonstandard propositional operators of the form q ↦ ∃p (q ↔ F(p)), where F is an arbitrary monadic formula of the variable p, are definable in the language of Heyting calculus under the topological interpretation of intuitionistic logic over sufficiently regular spaces.


: The purpose of this study is to investigate the dyeability of crabyon fiber contained cotton towels after dyeing with gallut. In this study, the colorants of gallnut were extracted with boiling water at 60 o C and 60min. Crabyon, composite fiber of Chitin/Chitosan and cellulose, is manufactured by uniformly blending Chitin/Chitosan and cellulose viscose and extruding the blended viscose into spin-bath. Cotton towels with crabyon fiber dyed with extracted solution from gallnut according to concentration, temperature and time. Crabyon fiber contained cotton towels dyed using gallnut were pre of post-mordanted using Al, Cu, and Fe. The dyeability(K/S) and color characteristics(L * , a * , b * , C, and h(color angle)) of dyed crabyon fiber contained cotton towels were measured by computer color matching machine and photographs. The crabyon fiber composition of cotton towels was conformed by amide peak(-CONH-) of chitin or chitosan of FT-IR spectroscopy. The results obtained were as follows; The amide peak of crabyon fiber contained cotton towels appeared at about 1652 cm -1 . The dyeability of crabyon fiber contained cotton towel was increased gradually with increasing concentration of gallnut dyeing solution and saturated at about 150%(o.w.f). The optimum dyeing temperature and dyeing time were 90~100 o C and 80minutes expectively. The crabyon fiber contained cotton towels were dyed reddish yellow by non, Al, and Cu mordanting, reddish blue by Fe mordanting, respectively. The fastness to washing according to concentration of gallnut in and mordanting method indicated good grade result as more than 3~4 degree in all conditions.


Practice-based research—research performed with the intent of improving the operation of a collaborating practitioner—is an important endeavor for our field: such work may reveal new problems, interesting phenomena, and may also generate data, educational material, and solutions to important practical problems. We argue that the practical relevance of any operations management (OM) research is driven by the two dimensions of generalizability and validity, which together offer a framework for contrasting the potential strengths and weaknesses of theory-based and practice-based research. We review challenges and strategies for successfully engaging in practice-based research, including: choosing a good problem; establishing and managing a relationship with a practitioner; validation; and impact estimation. Finally, we discuss possible ways to encourage more practice-based research in OM. In particular, we argue that our field should, in general, put more emphasis on research validity.


Plants have historically been used in agricultural practices in Cuba; nevertheless, the Cuban flora has not yet been fully studied as a potential source of pesticides, partly due to its great diversity. At the National Centre for Animal and Plant Health (CENSA), systematic research on more than 100 plant species belonging to several families has been conducted in recent years. The protocol involves the establishment of bioassay conditions, the isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds, assessment of compatibility with other biological control agents, mode of action studies and the semi-synthesis of analogues using biotechnological techniques. Among the secondary metabolites studied, essential oils obtained from plants belonging to the families Piperaceae, Lamiaceae, Apiaceae, Rutaceae, and Myrtaceae stood out as a promising group due to their efficacy and spectrum of action under laboratory and semi-controlled conditions. As botanical pesticides, the main areas of use may include protected crops, nurseries, seed treatments in protected and field-grown crops, and in stored product pest management. The use of known botanicals and the identification of local candidates for developing phytosanitary products offer alternatives that may combine efficiency and safety for pest management in Cuban agriculture.


Recently the occurrence probabilities of ground and metastable states of three-dimensional Yukawa clusters with 27 and 31 particles have been analyzed in dusty plasma experiments [D. Block, Phys. Plasmas 15, 040701 (2008)]. There it was found that, in many cases, the ground state appeared substantially less frequently than excited states. Here we analyze this question theoretically by means of molecular dynamics (MD) and Monte Carlo simulations and an analytical method based on the canonical partition function. We confirm that metastable states can occur with a significantly higher probability than the ground state. The results strongly depend on the screening parameter of the Yukawa interaction and the damping coefficient used in the MD simulations. The analytical method allows one to gain insight into the mechanisms being responsible for the occurrence probabilities of metastable states in strongly correlated finite systems.


Adding to a previous work of the authors for task completion for partially failed manipulator, other aspects of the effort are discussed. The paper aims to investigate on the strategies of maximum effort for maintaining the availability of partially failed manipulators. The failures are assumed as the joint lock failures of the manipulators. The main objective is to facilitate the existing manipulators to continue their tasks even if a non catastrophic fault occurs into their joints. The tasks includes motion tasks and force tasks. For each group of tasks a constrained optimality problem is introduced. Then in a case study a required force profile on a desired trajectory using a 3DOF planar manipulator is indicated. Through this study the joint angles and joint torques for a healthy manipulator and a faulty manipulator are shown. It is illustrated that a failure in the second joint is tolerated on the trajectory of end-effector.


The soft pomeron successfully correlates a wide variety of data. Its properties seem rather simple: it couples to single quarks and its coupling factorises.


Abstract Natural Cr-spinels previously characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction and electron microprobe have been analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. The results we report show that there is a strong correlation between the Cr/(Cr+Al) ratio (Cr#) and the A1g mode for the studied spinels. A strong correlation of this mode with Mg/(Mg+Fe2+) (Mg#) can be seen only for spinels with Mg# higher than 0.60. Other modes can increase, decrease or disappear depending on the Cr#. Among the spinels with low Cr# it is possible to define their order/disorder degree. In fact, spinels with an inversion degree lower than 0.14 show an Eg mode at about 400–410 cm−1, while spinels with Cr# higher than 0.20 register the appearance of a peak in the region 150–200 cm−1, while other peaks are substituted by smooth curves. The results show that the use of Raman applied to spinel in provenance studies cannot yield a 100% confidence because of the uncertainties in the relation between Mg# and the different modes.


Screened plasmon properties of graphene near a perfect electric conductor (PEC) are investigated taking into account the retardation effects. A detailed discussion of the dispersion relation of the mentioned screened plasmonic waves is presented and illustrated graphically using classical electrodynamics and a linearized hydrodynamic model that includes Fermi correction. The result indicates that for realistic wavenumbers, the dispersion relation of plasmonic waves of isolated graphene is almost unaffected by the Fermi correction, while this correction is an important factor for the screened plasmons of graphene near a PEC, where it increases the frequency of surface waves. The results show that near the graphene neutrality point, the surface wave has linear dispersion with a universal speed close to vF/2. Such linear dispersion for surface waves (also known as energy waves) appears to be a common occurrence when splitting of plasma frequencies occurs, e.g., in the electron–hole plasma of graphene [Zhao et al., Nature 614, 688 (2023)]. Furthermore, analytical expressions for the energy parameters (the power flow, energy density, and energy velocity) of screened plasmons of the system are derived. Also, the analytical expressions are derived and analyzed for the damping function and surface plasmon and electromagnetic field strength functions of surface waves of the system with small intrinsic damping.


Background We performed a work-up study of cancer patients with incidentally found uncharacterized prostatic fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake in 18F-FDG PET/CT results. Then, we evaluated the clinical significance of the incidental prostate 18F-FDG uptake (IPU) in nonmalignant prostate tissues. Patients and methods Overall, 51 men agreed to a physical prostate examination and an expressed prostatic secretion (EPS) test within 2 weeks after torso 18F-FDG PET/CT scans. We then reviewed the 18F-FDG PET/CT scans of the enrolled patients and evaluated the relationship between the 18F-FDG PET/CT, prostate-specific antigen, and prostatic laboratory findings. Results The pathological diagnosis of five men indicated the presence of prostate cancer, and of the remaining 46 men, 27 cases showed IPU in the 18F-FDG PET/CT whereas 19 did not. The characteristics of the enrolled patients were as follows: mean age of 61.15±13.79 years (range: 30–83 years), maximum standardized uptake value of 2.64±1.33 (range: 1.2–7.1), and prostate-specific antigen of 3.10±3.50 ng/ml (range: 0.16–13.55 ng/ml). Ten of the 27 (37%) patients with IPU in the PET/CT scan showed bacterial infections in their prostate. A multivariate analysis indicated that the bacterial presence in the EPS increased the risk of IPU (adjusted odds ratio: 9.167; P=0.019). Conclusion Bacterial presence in the prostate tends to increase the likelihood of IPU in 18F-FDG PET/CT scans. Therefore, men with incidental prostate 18F-FDG uptake should be considered for a possible prostate infection in addition to a concomitant malignancy.


This paper shows how a society of agents can self-organize a shared vocalization system that is discrete, combinatorial and has a form of primitive phonotactics, starting from holistic inarticulate vocalizations. The originality of the system is that: (1) it does not include any explicit pressure for communication; (2) agents do not possess capabilities of coordinated interactions, in particular they do not play language games; (3) agents possess no specific linguistic capacities; and (4) initially there exists no convention that agents can use. As a consequence, the system shows how a primitive speech code may bootstrap in the absence of a communication system between agents, i.e. before the appearance of language.


This  paper  discusses  the effect  of  Cellulose  (CEL)  concentration  on  mechanical,  diffusion  and  degradation properties  of  Recycled  Low  Density  Polyethylene  (RHDPE).  Injection  molded  blends  of  RLDPE  and  CEL  were prepared  in  percentage  ratios  of  100:0,  95:5,  90:10,  85:15  and  80:20.  Dynamic  mechanical  analysis,  creep, diffusion, thermal degradation and biodegradation measurements were carried out on the molded samples. Three relaxation processes  namely;  α,  β1 and β2 were observed. The  α process  is  assigned to large  scale  chain  motion where as β1 and β2 suggest lamellae shear of two different thicknesses. The intensities of the processes decreased with  increase  in  cellulose  loading  whereas  the  temperature  shifts  were  not  observed. Creep  strain  increased moderately  with  increasing  loading  intakes  while  recovery  decreased.  Deformation  behavior  follows  WLF  law suggesting that free volume plays a crucial role. Water uptake was found to increase with cellulose loading. Weight change  profiles  for  the  blends  at  room  temperature  indicated  that  the  diffusion  is  Fickian.  Diffusion  coefficient increased with CEL intake. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the decomposition trend shifted from one stage to two stage with increasing CEL intake. The models of analysis for DMA and Creep data were VFT and WLF  respectively.  Thermal  degradation  data  was  analyzed  using  Arrhenius  laws  while  Fick's  laws  were  used  in diffusion measurements. Energy is distributed through the three transitions on impact. Creep increases with CEL intake  whereas  recovery is  improved.  Diffusivity  increases  while  thermal  stability  as  well  as  toxic  byproducts decreased  with  CEL  intake.  Degradation  was  enhanced  with  CEL  intake  thus  the  composites  can  be  adopted  by policy makers to minimize environmental pollution.  Key  words:  Recycled  Low  Density  Polyethylene  (RLDPE),  cellulose  (CEL),  Thermo-gravimetric  analysis  (TGA), William Landel Ferry (WLF), Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA)


Although the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging system does not recommend radiation therapy (RT) as a locoregional modality in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), many prospective and retrospective studies have reported excellent local control with favorable survival rates after RT using modern techniques. Additionally, there have been several comparative or meta-analysis results reporting the superiority of RT in unresectable HCC. Therefore, it might be more reasonable to apply RT in unresectable HCC as an alternative locoregional modality to improve local control in HCC. However, several considerations for the application of RT in HCC exist. The considerations for RT in HCC are purpose, combination treatment and technique. The purpose of RT should be based on baseline liver status as well as tumor extent and location. There are several reasonable advantages in local, intrahepatic and extrahepatic control when combined with other modalities, but it could lead to overtreatment in some cases. The technical considerations according to the purpose and combination modality are the final step. For the application of RT in HCC, the purpose of RT, combination strategy and technical considerations should be taken into account.


ABSTRACT The innate immune system recognizes microbial pathogens via pattern recognition receptors. One such receptor, NOD2, via recognition of muramyl dipeptide (MDP), triggers a distinct network of innate immune responses, including the production of interleukin-32 (IL-32), which leads to the differentiation of monocytes into dendritic cells (DC). NOD2 has been implicated in the pathogenesis of human leprosy, yet it is not clear whether Mycobacterium leprae, which has a distinct MDP structure, can activate this pathway. We investigated the effect of MDP structure on the innate immune response, finding that infection of monocytes with M. leprae induces IL-32 and DC differentiation in a NOD2-dependent manner. The presence of the proximal l-Ala instead of Gly in the common configuration of the peptide side chain of M. leprae did not affect recognition by NOD2 or cytokine production. Furthermore, amidation of the d-Glu residue did not alter NOD2 activation. These data provide experimental evidence that NOD2 recognizes naturally occurring structural variants of MDP.


Results of questionaires given to 130 women requesting abortion at the Maternity clinic after failure of oral contraception were compared with those from 40 women attending a psychiatric clinic, who had used oral contraception, but were not requesting abortion. The women were comparable in age, reasons for choosing the pill, percentage of those getting it from physicians, and in their next choice of a contraceptive method. Some of the differences were: among the abortion requests, more foreigners, more Catholics, more single women, shorter duration of pill use, more frequent medical advice for quitting pills, and especially, a high percentage with loss of an important person or object (such as a family pet), 63%, and a high percentage with an emotional crisis, such as a separation, 42%. Surprisingly, the control group from the psychiatric clinic reported a loss in 90% and a crisis in 70%, a much higher proportion than control groups in 2 previous studies. The results are discussed in the light of the "Clayson syndrome" which assumes that unwanted pregnancy may be a substitute for loss of a desired loved one or object.


Saturated nucleate pool boiling experiments for binary mixtures, which are consisted of refrigerant Rl1 and R113, were performed with constant wall temperature condition. Results for binary mixtures were also compared with pure fluids. A microscale heater array and Wheatstone bridge circuits were used to maintain the constant temperature of the heating surface and to obtain heat flow rate measurements with high temporal and spatial resolutions. Bubble growth images were captured using a high speed CCD camera synchronized with the heat flow rate measurements. The departure time for binary mixtures was longer than that for pure fluids, and binary mixtures had a higher onset of nucleate boiling (ONB) temperature than pure fluids. In the asymptotic growth region, the bubble growth rate was proportional to a value between t^(1/6) and e^(1/4). The bubble growth behavior was analyzed to permit comparisons with binary mixtures and pure fluids at the same scale using dimensionless parameters. There was no discemable difference in the bubble growth behavior between binary mixtures and pure fluids for a given ONB temperature. And the departure radius and time were well predicted within a ±30% error. The minimum heat transfer coefficient of binary mixtures occurred near the maximum |y-x| value, and the average required heat flux during bubble growth did not depend on the mass fraction of Rl1 as more volatile component in binary mixtures. Finally, the results showed that for binary mixtures, a higher ONB temperature had the greatest effect on reducing the heat transfer coefficient.


Background The aim of this study is to describe the type and severity of paintball-related ocular trauma and to determine the necessary precautions to minimize the risk of ocular injury regardless of whether adequate eye protection was used. Material/Methods A retrospective chart review identified patients treated for paintball-related ocular trauma at the Ataturk University Medical Hospital from June 2010 through March 2013. A descriptive analysis of data was performed. Results Ten patients with paintball-related ocular trauma were identified. At the time of their first examination, 7 of these patients had visual acuity (VA) of 20/200 or worse. One patient had a final VA of no light perception and 4 patients had a final VA of 20/200 or worse. Hyphema was noted in 7 patients, traumatic cataract in 2, iridodialysis in 2, retinal detachment in 3, and secondary glaucoma in 1. Six patients required surgery. Although all victims have used eye protection during the game, all patients were injured after they thought the game was over and had taken off their helmets or eye-protective devices. Conclusions Paintball-related accidents result in serious ocular trauma and most of the patients require surgery. These injuries result in severe loss of VA in some patients. Uninterrupted use of proper eye protection whenever a player is in the game field, even after they believe the game has ended, may reduce the incidence of severe ocular trauma in paintball players.


ABSTRACT We cloned lbpB, encoding a predicted 80-kDa lipoprotein, upstream of lbpA. A nonpolar mutant (LbpB− LbpA+) had normal lactoferrin (LF) binding and grew normally with LF as an iron source, whereas LbpB− LbpA− and LbpB+LbpA− strains had reduced binding of LF and did not grow with LF as an iron source. LbpB bound LF directly in an affinity purification, suggesting that LbpB might play a still-uncharacterized role in the LF iron utilization.


This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to current theory, methodology, and practice in the area of psychological testing and measurement.


In this article, the dynamic behavior of C28 chemisorption on diamond ~001!-~231! surface was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. The many-body Brenner potential was employed to describe the interaction between carbon atoms. With the incident energy ranging from 25 to 40 eV, the single C28 was found to have more than 50% of the probability to be chemisorbed on a diamond surface and to form two C–C bonds with one dimer of the surface. Then the chemisorption of two C28 clusters was simulated at the above energy range. The cluster–cluster interaction was found to hinder the next incident cluster to be chemisorbed. Besides, the juxtaposition configuration of two C28 on the surface was observed when their impact points were along the same dimer row. For multicluster impacting, when two or three clusters formed a nucleation site, the forthcoming cluster was easily to be adsorbed close to it. The growth of the C28 cluster assembled film is typically a three dimensional island mode. Our study also showed that within the energy range the C28 clusters retained their cage structure after chemisorption. This is in agreement with experimental results. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. @S0021-8979~00!03223-0#


'The biological birth of the human infant and the psychological birth of the individual are not coincident in time. The former is a dramatic, observable, and well-circumscribed event; the latter a slowly unfolding intra psychic process.'Thus begins this highly acclaimed book in which Margaret S. Mahler and her collaborators break new ground in developmental psychology and present the first complete theoretical statement of Dr. Mahler's observations on the normal separation-individuation process.Separation and individuation are presented in this major work as two complementary developments. Separation is described as the child's emergence from a symbiotic fusion with the mother, while individuation consists of those achievements making the child's assumption of his own individual characteristics. Each of the sub-phases of separation-individuation is described in detail, supported by a wealth of clinical observations which trace the tasks confronting the infant and his mother as he progresses towards achieving his own individuality.A number of chapters are devoted to following five children epigenetically through their sub phase development. A separate section describes the authors' methodology, the importance of the research setting, and the effects of changes in the setting. The extensive appendices by Fred Pine discuss the uniqueness of the data-gathering techniques used by the author. In addition, a useful glossary of concepts defines the new terms that Dr. Mahler has introduced.This book represents an important breakthrough in understanding the human infant and makes a unique contribution to the science of human behavior.


In recent years we assisted to a marked trend toward the development of large Single Photon Avalanche Diode arrays for Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) measurements. Indeed, multichannel systems feature a higher counting capability compared to single-channel systems, thus permitting a speedup of TCSPC experiments. Above all, the exploitation of CMOS technology has paved the way to the integration of both detectors and electronics on the same chip, leading to systems with thousands of independent channels, but resulting in a trade-off with the performance. Even worse, the integration of a high number of channels has not led to a proportional increment of the measurement speed, thus limiting the advantages of a multichannel approach. In order to break the trade-off that currently affects TCSPC imagers, we propose a router-based architecture, which allows us to choose the best-suited technology for the design of different parts of the system, that is detectors, sensing electronics and time-measurement circuits. The system is based on a limited number of high-performance converters shared with a much larger detector array. During each excitation cycle, a smart routing logic selects a subset of the detectors carrying a valid signal and connects them to the external converters. Here we present a new routing algorithm exploiting digital gates distributed in a tree structure within a large 32x32 array. Our solution has a double advantage: it permits to maximize the measurement speed and to minimize the number of interconnections crossing the system, which is a major issue in dense multichannel arrays.


Reciprocal movement cannot be used for locomotion at low Reynolds number in an infinite fluid or near a rigid surface. Here we show that this limitation is relaxed for a body performing reciprocal motions near a deformable interface. Using physical arguments and scaling relationships, we show that the nonlinearities arising from reciprocal flow-induced interfacial deformation rectify the periodic motion of the swimmer, leading to locomotion. Such a strategy can be used to move toward, away from, and parallel to any deformable interface as long as the length scales involved are smaller than intrinsic scales, which we identify. A macroscale experiment of flapping motion near a free surface illustrates this new result.


Recent published concerns about the potential for visible light lasers to injure the inner ear have led to differing conclusions. While one has advised cautious application of a visible light laser, another eschewed visible light lasers in favor of the CO2 laser. Others have anguished over the efficacy of stapes surgeons as numbers of suitable candidates for otosclerosis surgery decline. In three years' experience with the KTP-532 laser, 80 primary and revision stapedotomies have been completed by this author. The author's experience with low morbidity and high air-bone gap closure rates are presented. The absence of apparent cochlear injury suggests that properly used KTP laser systems are safe. Competitive results were obtained with less than prolific numbers of stapes surgeries.


Temperature probe calibration can consume a significant amount of time and require a high level of manual intervention in calibration labs. ISO 9000, global quality programs and regulatory agencies have been primary factors in the increased volume of probe calibrations requested of calibration labs today. Finding efficient methods of performing multiple probe calibrations, from temperature profiling to certificate issuance, can save time and money for industrial calibration labs.


Cancer cells show a formidable capacity to survive under stringent conditions, to elude mechanisms of control, such as apoptosis, and to resist therapy. Cancer cells reprogram their metabolism to support uncontrolled proliferation and metastatic progression. Phenotypic and functional heterogeneity are hallmarks of cancer cells, which endow them with aggressiveness, metastatic capacity, and resistance to therapy. This heterogeneity is regulated by a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli including those from the tumor microenvironment. Increasing evidence points to a key role for the metabolism of non-essential amino acids in this complex scenario. Here we discuss the impact of proline metabolism in cancer development and progression, with particular emphasis on the enzymes involved in proline synthesis and catabolism, which are linked to pathways of energy, redox, and anaplerosis. In particular, we emphasize how proline availability influences collagen synthesis and maturation and the acquisition of cancer cell plasticity and heterogeneity. Specifically, we propose a model whereby proline availability generates a cycle based on collagen synthesis and degradation, which, in turn, influences the epigenetic landscape and tumor heterogeneity. Therapeutic strategies targeting this metabolic-epigenetic axis hold great promise for the treatment of metastatic cancers.


When soluble salts are used in the sol-gel processing of bioactive glasses, the resulting materials are not homogeneous. To produce homogeneous gel-glasses, a sol-gel method using all alkoxide precursors was developed. In this work the in vitro bioactivity of the new all-alkoxide gel-glasses is investigated. Three compositions in the system, CaO-P2O5-SiO2, were studied. Solid samples were soaked in Tris buffer and simulated body fluid (SBF), and the rate of formation of hydroxy carbonate apatite (HCA) on the surface of the glasses was measured by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The solutions were analyzed before and after reaction by inductively coupled plasma. All compositions studied formed a hydroxy carbonate apatite (HCA) layer within 8 h in both test solutions. The HCA layer grew rapidly when SBF was used.


The authors evaluated the Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) stimulating the formation of bone tissue, and interferon gamma (IFN gamma), inhibiting bone resorption, in the serum of women, 13 of fertile age, 34 of post-menopausal age, and 14 of senile age. Values for IGF-1 in the serum were considerably low in patients of post-menopausal and senile age, and presented highly significant differences with values for subjects of fertile age. The values for IFN gamma did not present significant differences between different age groups. It may be assumed that post-menopause and during senile age physiological osteopenia may be favored by a decrease in the secretion of IGF-1.


Today's management of osteoarthritis (OA) consists mainly of symptomatic treatment of pain although traditional analgesics such as NSAIDs may offer only weak pain relief and risk serious adverse reactions. New safe and more efficient treatment regimes are needed for OA, but such a development requires a solid fundamental understanding of the peripheral and central pain mechanisms involved in OA. OA is characterized by a progressive erosion of articular cartilage and bone remodelling which can be accompanied by pain, local inflammation, and joint degeneration. The main biological factors thought to be responsible for cartilage degradation are the matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and aggrecanases. Biochemical markers of OA pathophysiology have received increasing attention due to their superior sensitivity in comparison with conventional structural (e.g. radiological) endpoints. In the individual patient, little association is found between joint damage, local inflammation, and pain. Recently cytokine levels, degree of sensitization (local and spreading), descending pain control, comorbidities, and pain duration are some of the individual factors playing a role for pain severity. With the expected demographic and lifestyle changes, the incidence of joint pain will continue to increase. Better understanding of the individual fundamental pain mechanisms may improve patient profiling, help individualizing management, suggest new treatment options and thereby advance the development of new therapies. The sources pain in OA and mechanisms responsible are not well understood. Joint nociception can lead to peripheral and central sensitization. It has consistently been shown that pain intensity, pain durations, and the number of OA locations are important drivers for sensitization in OA. Various animal models of OA have been established to investigate the consequences of experimental OA on pain processing and various pain mechanisms, but they do not translate well into humans. As a consequence, data derived from these models for drug development programs are not always predictive of efficacy, and new strategies are needed for developing translational pain biomarkers. In clinical OA conditions, the poor relationship between joint pathology and pain is found, and better understanding and characterization of the underlying mechanisms of pain are important. Techniques for assessing pain mechanisms in OA patients provide biomarkers capable of quantifying pain mechanisms such as temporal summation, descending inhibition, spreading sensitisation, and primary and secondary hyperalgesia. Such pain biomarkers can help to phenotype OA patients based on the contribution of peripheral and central pain sensitization. Biomarkers are currently being explored as tools to facilitate better understanding of pain mechanisms and to predict pain outcomes after e.g. total knee replacement surgery. Preoperative pain intensity, acute postoperative pain, and pain sensitization have been shown to be predictors for the development of chronic postoperative pain after knee joint replacement. Relating clinical benefit of a given therapy with quantitative assessment of the pain mechanisms involved provides new opportunities for tailored and individualized management regimes. The use of biological biomarkers in combination with techniques such as comprehensive quantitative sensory testing that explore OA pain mechanisms has increased the understanding of dynamic pathological events that lead to patients' symptoms. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Recently, optical metasurfaces have attracted much attention due to their versatile features in manipulating phase, polarization, and amplitude of both reflected and transmitted light. Because it controls over four degrees of freedom: phase, polarization, amplitude, and wavelength of light wavefronts, optical cryptography is a promising technology in information security. So far, information encoding can be implemented by the metasurface in one-dimensional (1D) mode (either wavelength or polarization) and in a two-dimensional (2D) mode of both wavelength and polarization. Here, we demonstrate multiplexing multifoci optical metasurfaces for information encoding in the ultraviolet spectrum both in the 1D and 2D modes in the spatial zone, composed of high-aspect-ratio aluminum nitride nanorods, which introduce discontinuous phases through the Pancharatnam-Berry phase to realize multifoci in the spatial zone. Since the multiplexed multifocal optical metasurfaces are sensitive to the helicity of the incident light and the wavelength is within the ultraviolet spectrum, the security of the information encrypted by it would be guaranteed.


Achnanthes longipes is a marine, biofouling diatom that adheres to surfaces via adhesive polymers extruded during motility or organized into structures called stalks that contain three distinct regions: the pad, shaft, and collar. Four monoclonal antibodies (AL.C1-AL.C4) and antibodies from two uncloned hybridomas (AL.E1 and AL.E2) were raised against the extracellular adhesives of A. longipes. Antibodies were screened against a hot-water-insoluble/hot-bicarbonate-soluble-fraction. The hot-water-insoluble/hot-bicarbonate-soluble fraction was fractionated to yield polymers in three size ranges: F1, >/= 20,000, 000 Mr; F2, congruent with100,000 Mr; and F3, <10,000 Mr relative to dextran standards. The congruent with100,000-Mr fraction consisted of highly sulfated (approximately 11%) fucoglucuronogalactans (FGGs) and low-sulfate (approximately 2%) FGGs, whereas F1 was composed of O-linked FGG (F2)-polypeptide (F3) complexes. AL.C1, AL.C2, AL.C4, AL.E1, and AL.E2 recognized carbohydrate complementary regions on FGGs, with antigenicity dependent on fucosyl-containing side chains. AL.C3 was unique in that it had a lower affinity for FGGs and did not label any portion of the shaft. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunocytochemistry indicated that low-sulfate FGGs are expelled from pores surrounding the raphe terminus, creating the cylindrical outer layers of the shaft, and that highly sulfated FGGs are extruded from the raphe, forming the central core. Antibody-labeling patterns and other evidence indicated that the shaft central-core region is related to material exuded from the raphe during cell motility.


Cantilever type piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) is widely adopted in the design of vibration energy harvesters because of simple, effective and easy to fabricate. When the PEH is working under excitation of continuous vibration sources, like mounting on motors, reliability and durability is a major concern. The failure mode and fatigue issues will be important design considerations in field applications. Since the largest strain of a cantilever structure is located in the clamping position of fixed end, the location is therefore the weakest point of the structure and the hot zone of mechanical cracks. The failure mode due to fatigue under long time excitation of vibration sources is typically continuously developing small cracks on the piezoelectric PZT films till tearing the surface electrodes and caused open circuit to the output circuitry. Therefore, extending the lifetime with minimize the surface electrodes cracking becomes a key point for field applications. Previously, we focused on the output performance of PEH. At PowerMEMS 2014 [1], we presented a high performance PEH based on PZT thin films fabricated with a homemade PZT deposition equipment on stainless steel substrates. We confirmed that the stainless steel based PEH can generate better output power than silicon based devices under the same vibration excitation levels, and also the stainless based PEH can have longer lifetime when excited at higher vibration levels due to better mechanical strength. In this study, we tried to further reinforce the PEH with a conductive adhesive tape sticking on the surface electrode near the clamping position. We investigated the change of failure mode and mechanical behaviors, including the frequency bandwidth and non-linearity of the piezoelectric energy harvester. The PEH devices was mounted on a shaker for long time testing with vibration frequency set around 120Hz at 0.5g, 0.6g, and 0.7g acceleration vibration levels. The electrodes of the PEH device were cracked after 13 million cycles under 0.5g and 1 million cycles under 0.6g. The PEH has significant output power decreasing after the electrode is cracked and before being fully open circuit. The cracks of stainless steel substrate was also found after 1 million cycles under 0.7g vibration. For the device reinforced with conductive adhesive tape, we can see a steady output without degradation extended to more than 1.5 million cycles under 0.7g vibration. The other interesting finding in this study is with the added damping after adhering the conductive tape, the frequency bandwidth increased from 1.5Hz to 4Hz under 0.5g vibration level while the resonance frequency increased from 105Hz to 128Hz. Moreover, the reinforced devices have much better stability and linearity performance compared with the original devices. All the experimental details and discussion of the flexible conductive adhesive tape reinforced PEH will all be detailed in this paper.


The purpose of this high performance I/O study is to demonstrate that the IBM® pSeries® 690 has a very powerful I/O subsystem for handling sequential I/O workloads. The study shows that an appropriately configured pSeries 690 system is capable of sustaining 18.5 gigabytes per second (GB/s) sequential I/O. When performing disk I/O using a modified GPFS, the server can sustain 15.8 GB/s aggregate sequential read or 14.5 GB/s aggregate write performance. In this paper we discuss the capabilities of the newest IBM pSeries 690 processor and its I/O subsystem. We provide GPFS configuration details and discuss GPFS options for attaining the best performance. We also include details about the selection of the disk subsystem and disk adapters. Finally, we provide guidance on selecting the proper RAID configuration, as well as other performance and tuning tips.


The conventional fossil record is built of hard parts—bones, shells, and decay-resistant organic tissues buried in the sediments that accumulate on floodplains, in lakes, and on the seafloor. In the 1950s, geologists first began the routine application of radioactive decay to problems of geologic age. The geologic record of microbial life is preserved in four distinct ways. First, bacteria and protists leave what we can consider an extension of the conventional fossil record: cell walls and extracellular envelopes preserved directly in sedimentary rocks. Second, microorganisms also leave molecular fossils that complement the record of morphology. Sediments transported across the seafloor interact physically with microbial mat communities, providing a third and distinctly different biological signature in sedimentary rocks. Finally, microbial populations can actually influence the composition of seawater, providing a distinct chemical signature in minerals precipitated from ancient oceans. One can hazard only broad guesses about the biological properties of early microorganisms, but one can make one key statement with confidence: early cells lived without oxygen. The plants and animals so conspicuous in our own world are evolutionary latecomers, intercalated into ecosystems that were already 3 billion years old when sponges first gained a foothold on the seafloor. The author suspects that the correct explanation will not point to physical or biological processes acting alone but, rather, will emphasize the interactions between Earth and life.


In a previous paper four different methods of treatment for acute maxillary sinusitis with secretion were compared with the aid of radiological registration of the sinus state. In the present investigation five further methods are compared. The results of the treatment by irrigation only or by high doses of penicillin V + nasal decongestant combined with irrigation or oxyphenbutazone or by methacycline + nasal decongestant were mutually similar and better than the results of treatment with penicillin V + nasal decongestant. The bacteriological findings were in agreement with previous investigations demonstrating a high frequency of sterile secretions and of penicillin-resistant bacteria and a predominance of Haemophilus influenzae in young individuals.


A better understanding of the relationships between symptom recognition, nursing response, and preferred thinking style is needed to improve nursing education practices. Final semester nursing students (N = 29) completed a high fidelity patient simulation (HFPS) scenario; recognized symptoms (i.e., dyspnea) and responses (i.e., apply oxygen) were recorded, and compared with students' preferred thinking style using the Rational-Experiential Inventory–40. Relationships between concepts were explored. Significant relationships were noted between preference for Rational thinking styles and symptom recognition (p < .05). Preferred thinking style was not related to numbers of therapeutic responses. Thirty percent of students delayed application of oxygen until directed to do so by members of the health care team. Students having a stronger preference for rational thinking demonstrate greater accuracy in cue recognition. More nursing research is needed to explore the cognitive processing during simulation .


Studies on the construction of gender have largely focussed on adolescents and young adults in South Africa. This leaves a significant gap in understanding the ways in which gender is constructed and negotiated by younger children. This study, therefore, investigated how younger children narrate and experience their gendered lives, and whether these stories resisted or maintained dominant narratives of gender. Twelve participants between the ages of eight and fourteen participated. The research used participatory action research (PAR) methods. Specifically, Photovoice, journaling, collages and drawing were used to represent the stories and narratives that the participants chose to share. The Photovoice component culminated in a community exhibition which showcased the participants' photos. In addition, the participants took part in focus groups and individual interviews. The focus group transcripts, individual interview transcripts, collages, photographs, drawings and journal entries were analysed using thematic narrative analysis. The study showed that children construct gender based on contradictory messaging, and exercise defiance of normative gendered constructs within the limits of heteronormative gender identity. Four main narrative themes emerged: Negotiating gendered expression; Normalisation of gendered violence; Subjugating female bodies; Narratives of conformity and resistance. Based on the findings, the recommendation was made to use play as both a means of exploration and education in children's understanding of gender.


The Internet of Things (IoT) is about Internet-addressability and connectivity for everyday devices. The goal of this project was to create a framework to allow developers to more easily control IoT devices and turn their interactions into meaningful applications. We leveraged a tierless approach for Software Defined Networking (SDN) to build this framework. We expanded Flowlog, a tierless programming language for SDN controllers, to support IoT devices developed by Spark IO to build this framework.


Autophagy is a pathway for degradation of cytoplasmic components. In plants, autophagy plays an important role in nutrient recycling during nitrogen or carbon starvation, and in responses to abiotic stress. Autophagy also regulates age- and immunity-related programmed cell death, which is important in plant defense against biotrophic pathogens. Here we show that autophagy plays a critical role in plant resistance to necrotrophic pathogens. ATG18a, a critical autophagy protein in Arabidopsis, interacts with WRKY33, a transcription factor that is required for resistance to necrotrophic pathogens. Expression of autophagy genes and formation of autophagosomes are induced in Arabidopsis by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. Induction of ATG18a and autophagy by B. cinerea was compromised in the wrky33 mutant, which is highly susceptible to necrotrophic pathogens. Arabidopsis mutants defective in autophagy exhibit enhanced susceptibility to the necrotrophic fungal pathogens B. cinerea and Alternaria brassicicola based on increased pathogen growth in the mutants. The hypersusceptibility of the autophagy mutants was associated with reduced expression of the jasmonate-regulated PFD1.2 gene, accelerated development of senescence-like chlorotic symptoms, and increased protein degradation in infected plant tissues. These results strongly suggest that autophagy cooperates with jasmonate- and WRKY33-mediated signaling pathways in the regulation of plant defense responses to necrotrophic pathogens.


The presence of sarcopenia has been associated with the worst outcome of Crohn's disease (CD). At present, no studies have evaluated the impact of ustekinumab (UST) in terms of its effects on body composition. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate whether UST treatment could modify the parameters of body composition as assessed by bioelectrical impedance assay (BIA) in patients with CD. We prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with CD treated with UST, evaluating the therapeutic outcome at week 48 in terms of clinical remission and mucosal healing. BIA was performed at baseline and at week 48, assessing body cellular mass, total body water, phase angle, and body mass index. Out of 44 patients enrolled, 26 (59%) were in clinical remission and 22 (50%) achieved mucosal healing at the end of follow up. No significant differences were observed at baseline in all the BIA parameters between responders and non-responders. Phase angle increased over time in responders, while this was not observed in non-responders (test for the interaction between time and outcome, p-value = 0.009 and 0.007 for clinical remission and mucosal healing, respectively). The same differential increase was observed for body cellular mass (test for the interaction between time and outcome, p-value = 0.03 and 0.05 for clinical remission and mucosal healing, respectively). Total body water and BMI increased homogenously over time regardless of the outcomes (tests for the association with time, p-values of 0.01). To conclude, responsiveness to UST therapy seems to be associated with body composition modifications in patients with CD. In particular, the increase in phase angle in responders suggests that a significant improvement of nutritional status occurred in these patients.


More than thirty years after the first experiments in free jazz, this style of music is still little known outside of a small circle of admirers. In spite of its influence on the larger field of jazz and on the foundation of jazz studies programs in many institutions, free jazz does not yet enjoy a long tradition of serious attention in scholarly circles, due perhaps to the improvised nature of the music, the tendency of free jazz practitioners to defy categorization, and difficulties in separating the music from historical events, particularly the civil rights movement and the development of black nationalism.Analyzing Free Jazz is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the free jazz movement or of the work of any individual artist, but rather an examination of several stylistically diverse works within their respective cultural contexts, as well as a documentation of the process of examination. The first two chapters provide a background to the analyses and address a variety of topics, including the origin and influence of free jazz and its relationship to the blues and earlier jazz styles; early innovators and a general description of various musicians' methodologies; later and current free jazz practitioners, including some of the lesser-known figures; the black nationalist movement and other political factors surrounding the development and criticism of free jazz; the treatment of free jazz in scholarly literature and brief descriptions of important publications; the techniques of traditional jazz; and a discussion of analytical techniques appropriate to jazz. Chapters 3 through 5 provide analytical treatment of three works: Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman" (1959), John Coltrane's "India" (1961), and Cecil Taylor's Indent: "Second Layer" (1973). Each composition is examined in its entirety, utilizing transcriptions, diagrams, and some graphic representations. Emphasis is placed on rhythmic treatment, method of development, formal structure, and the use of contrast. Also discussed is Coleman's concept of harmolodic theory, Coltrane's adaptation of Indian aesthetic and technique, and the poem which accompanies Taylor's work. URI http://hdl.handle.net/1773/11355 Collections Music [199] DSpace software copyright © 2002-2015 DuraSpace Contact Us | Send Feedback Theme by Analyzing free jazz ResearchWorks Archive 


Detailed film cooling effectiveness distributions are measured on the leading edge of a rotating gas turbine blade with two rows (pressure-side row and suction-side row from the stagnation line) of holes aligned to the radial axis using the pressure sensitive paint (PSP) technique. Film cooling effectiveness distributions are obtained by comparing the difference of the measured oxygen concentration distributions with air and nitrogen as film cooling gas respectively and by applying the mass transfer analogy. Measurements are conducted on the first-stage rotor blade of a three-stage axial turbine at 2400 rpm (positive off-design), 2550 rpm (design), and 3000 rpm (negative off-design), respectively. The effect of three blowing ratios is also studied. The blade Reynolds number based on the axial chord length and the exit velocity is 200,000 and the total to exit pressure ratio was 1.12 for the first-stage rotor blade. The corresponding rotor blade inlet and outlet Mach numbers are 0.1 and 0.3, respectively. The film cooling effectiveness distributions are presented along with discussions on the influence of rotational speed (off design incidence angle), blowing ratio, and upstream nozzle wakes around the leading edge region. Results show that rotation has a significant impact on the leading edge film cooling distributions with the average film cooling effectiveness in the leading edge region decreasing with an increase in the rotational speed (negative incidence angle).


The effects of glutamate and N-methyl aspartate (NMDA) on carbachol-induced inositol phosphate (IP) accumulation were evaluated in slices of the cerebral cortex of rats treated with diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) for 2 weeks. This induced an about 75% inhibition of cholinesterases. The IP accumulation induced by carbachol (expressed as ratio stimulated/basal IP content) was lower in DFP rats than in controls when incorporation of [3H]-myoinositol into membrane phospholipids and their hydrolysis were measured (no washing step between labeling and hydrolytic incubation). There were no differences in carbachol induced IP accumulation between control and DFP rats when only phosphoinositide hydrolysis was determined (hydrolytic incubation of prelabeled washed slices). When both incorporation of [3H]-myoinositol and the hydrolysis were measured, 0.5 mM glutamate and 0.1 mM NMDA caused a significant, about 40%, decrease of carbachol-induced IP accumulation in control rats; the inhibitory effects of glutamate and NMDA were not significant in DFP rats. When only hydrolytic IP accumulation by carbachol was studied, the inhibitory effects of glutamate and NMDA were very similar in control and DFP rats. Additional experiments on inositol phospholipid synthesis showed a significantly lesser [3H]-myoinositol incorporation (by about 30%) in DFP rats. This may explain the differences between the results obtained by the two methods. The overall data suggest that the attenuation of glutamate and NMDA effects in DFP-rats depends on a decrease of carbachol-induced IP accumulation or phosphoinositide synthesis rather than on the EAA specific action.


Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive and deadliest cancers, with only about 5% of patients surviving 5 years past the initial diagnosis. In over 80% of patients the cancer has already spread to distant organs at the time of diagnosis, making it difficult to treat. Most alarmingly, pancreatic cancer is the only cancer for which deaths are predicted to increase over the next few years. Despite advances with new chemotherapy combinations, overall survival outcomes are still dismal and require novel therapeutic approaches. Necuparanib (formerly M402) is a heparan sulfate-like molecule that binds and inhibits multiple heparin-binding growth factors, chemokines, adhesion molecules and enzymes involved in cancer progression and metastasis and as such modulates multiple elements of the tumor microenvironment. In order to further explore the mechanism of action for epithelial-stromal interactions affected by necuparanib, a 3-dimensional culture system mimicking pancreatic cancer was developed containing a co-culture of pancreatic tumor cells and pancreatic stellate cells, the most abundant stromal cell in the pancreas. In this culture system, pancreatic cancer cells form a tumor spheroid embedded in a matrix that is a mixture of type I collagen and basement membrane extract and contains pancreatic stellate cells. Notably, pancreatic cancer cells required the co-culture with pancreatic stellate cells to become invasive in vitro. Conditioned medium derived from pancreatic stellate cells could not mimic this effect indicating that soluble factors are not sufficient to cause invasion into surrounding matrix. Necuparanib inhibited the invasive behavior in a dose-dependent manner. The effect of pancreatic stellate cells on tumor cell invasion and the effect of necuparanib on stromal cells were further explored in this culture system. We showed an effect of necuparanib on proliferation, migration and invasion of pancreatic tumor cells. These studies aid in our understanding of the key biological targets and pathways responsible for necuparanib9s anti-tumor effects and support biomarker discovery in the ongoing Phase 2 efficacy study in metastatic pancreatic cancer. Citation Format: Silva Krause, Amanda Weyers, Katie Loveluck, Birgit Schultes. Necuparanib affects tumor progression and invasion in a 3D co-culture system of pancreatic cancer cells and stellate cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 5499. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5499


To check for suspected opioid-receptor mediated hypnotic and antinociceptive effects of S(+)-ketamine, highly selective antagonists were used after the anaesthetic. METHODS. To determine the hypnotic effects of increasing doses of S(+)-ketamine (2-5-10-20 mg/kg given at 10-min intervals), EEG power spectra (delta, theta, alpha, beta) were derived (Lifescan), and antinociceptive potency was evaluated using the somatosensory evoked potential (SEP, Lifescan) in awake, trained dogs (n = 10). To check for an opioid-receptor-related interaction, an antagonist of the methoxymorphinane series (HS-275, 80 micrograms/kg i.v.) with higher selectivity than naloxone for the mu-receptor was given at the end. After washout the same animals were exposed to S(+)-ketamine. This time, however, the highly selective delta-antagonist naltrindole (160 micrograms/kg i.v.) was given. To show up any respiratory depression arterial blood gases were taken after each dose. RESULTS. S(+)-Ketamine induced a dose-related increase in power in the theta band (3-8 Hz), with a ceiling effect at 10 mg/kg. The changes were reversed by both antagonists. In the beta band (13-30 Hz) and in the delta domain, power decreased or increased, respectively, in a highly significant manner (P < 0.005) at 20 mg/kg. Both effects reversed after the antagonists with an overshoot in beta (+12% and +14%, respectively) and a decrease in delta (-45% and -62%, respectively) compared with control. S(+)-Ketamine induced a dose-dependent increase in peak latency and depression of the SEP amplitude by a maximum of over 50%. Latency changes were completely reversed only by HS-275. Amplitude height was only partly restored by both antagonists. A clinical relevant decrease in PaO2 and increase in PaCO2 increase were seen at 20 mg/kg. Hypoxia was reversed by both antagonists; hypercapnia was only partially reversed. CONCLUSION. The results confirm the suspicion that S(+)-ketamine induces an opioid theta- and delta-receptor-mediated deep hypnotic effect. Blockade of nociceptive impulses in afferent sensory nervous pathways suggests an efficient analgesic effect mediated partly by the opioid mu-receptor. Other mechanisms, such as an interaction with the NMDA receptor, have to be taken into consideration to account for the full antinociceptive effect. Respiratory depression may be of clinical importance when high dosages of S(+)-ketamine are given.


Objectives of the research were to study different long time mammae hand massage o n milk production dairy cattle. The hand massages pressure mammae 1 - 1.6 equivalent to volt to measure by piezoelectric sensor PVDF Film as a standard. The function of mammae massage should usual is stimulated pituitary posterior impact release oxytocin hormone.  Serves to contraction myoepithel cells lining the alveolus could result in milk ejection.  Materials research twelve dairy cows Fries Holland crossbreed; purposive sampling was used in taking samples. The research Method used was the experimentation with using Randomized Block Design.  Block by duration of lactation is the early lactation (1-3 months), mid lactation (4-6 months) and late lactation (7-9 months). The treatments were no massage, massage 20, 50 and 80 seconds. Before the implementation of milking, milking preparation done by means of mammae massage a pressure massage 1 - 1.6 equivalents to volt and have interval between the finish mammae massage with the implementation of milking 90 seconds.  The result of the research showed that on block: early lactation = 13,75±1,45 liter liter a , mid lactation = 12,83±1,52 liter a and late lactation = 7,60±1,21 liter b , and on Treatment no massage = 9,84±2,92 liter a ; massage for 20 seconds = 11,65±3,40 liter ab ; massage for 50 seconds = 13,08±3,38 liter bc and massage for 80 seconds = 11.01±3,60 liter a .  Based on the statistical analysis, the treatment had a significant effect on the amount of milk production (P < 0,1).   It is concluded to the best method is to massage for massage 50 seconds with a pressure massage 1 - 1.6 equivalent to one volt and an interval between the finish of the mammae massage with the implementation of milking to 90 seconds. Keywords: Piezoelectric sensor, lactation, milk letdown, milk production


The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) produced near global coverage of Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED ). Many products and mission areas would benefit considerably by the availability of substantially improved DEM. This paper describes an assessment of the driving characteristics of timely, simultaneous IFSAR collection of high quality DEM. Characteristics investigated include wavelength, baseline and baseline orientation, altitude, grazing angle, mode of collection, phase error budgets, number of collections used in DEM generation and terrain relief. The analysis begins with a description of IFSAR ambiguity height and ambiguity sensitivity to collection parameters. The relationship of IFSAR vertical sensitivity to the absolute and relative 90th percentile DEM requirement terminology is developed. Following a description of the impact of the IFSAR parameters, the paper postulates several IFSAR collection concepts with the potential to provide higher accuracy DEM. The concepts with the best potential accuracies (large baselines at shorter wavelengths) tend to stress metrology and the associated phase error budgets. The paper demonstrates an effective method of comparing the accuracies of a variety of IFSAR concepts, providing insight into sensitivity/metrology tradeoffs.


Information on potential yields of organic vegetables grown under tropical climatic conditions is important for researchers to evaluate the opportunities and constraints of developing organic vegetable production systems in the tropics. Decision makers in agriculture also benefit from knowing about the conditions under which organic production can be a viable alternative to conventional production systems. In 2006 and 2007, we conducted variety evaluation experiments to gain preliminary results on yield potential in several economically important vegetable crops under organic farming conditions in tropical Taiwan. In these on-station experiments, we achieved high yields and good quality under organic farming conditions in the open field. Results indicated that marketable yields of cucumber (up to 85.9 t ha-1 , 20–25 times hand picked dependent on variety), sweet pepper (up to 45.6 t ha-1), and tomato (up to 57.6 t ha-1) were similar to the marketable yields achieved in previous AVRDC field experiments using conventional farming techniques. However, the yield potential of the vegetables was dependent on variety, transplanting date and growing season. For example, the yields of sweet pepper transplanted in November (cool-dry season) compared to March (hot-wet season) are lower in our field experiments may be due to suboptimal temperatures, which can weaken the plants' growth and natural defense mechanism against pests. In contrast, the total (up to 70.9 %) and marketable (up to 59.9 %) yield of tomato was greatly reduced when transplanted in March (hot-wet season) compared to October (cool-dry season), a phenomenon usually also found in conventional production systems. Tomato entry PT4727 of determinate growth type bred at AVRDC reached also in the hot-wet season an acceptable total (65.3 t ha-1) and marketable (40.8 t ha-1) yield. PT4727 combines both virus resistance and presumably heat tolerance, two important traits necessary for successful tomato production during the hot-wet season. The relatively high yields achieved on-station with superior varieties under favourable growing conditions in tropical Taiwan may encourage farmers and agricultural stakeholders to consider organic farming approaches as a viable alternative to conventional farming systems, and may prompt more institutionalized research on organic farming in tropical countries.


BACKGROUND
The objective of this work was to observe and analyze the effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and the calcium channel antagonist nicardipine on the growth of U251MG, a human malignant glioma cell line, which have high-affinity EGF receptors.

METHODS
The growth effects of EGF and nicardipine on U251MG cultured in serum-free and serum-supplemented (10% fetal bovine serum, FBS) medium respectively were observed by MTT colorimeritric analysis.

RESULTS
EGF significantly enhanced the growth of U251MG cells in a dose-dependent manner in serum-free medium. The maximal effect was seen at 20 ng/ml. The effects of EGF approximated those obtained in 10% FBS. Nicardipine decreased U251MG cell proliferation, especially in serum-supplemented medium, and completely blocked the growth-stimulated effects of EGF. The combined effects of EGF (10 ng/ml) and nicardipine equaled those of nicardipine alone.

CONCLUSIONS
When serum was absent, the U251MG cells showed a pronounced mitogenic response to EGF in a dose-dependent manner, which approximated that achieved with 10% FBS. The addition of serum obscured this effect. Nicardipine suppressed the growth of U251MG cells and completely blocked the growth-stimulated effects of EGF may suggest a possible role of this drug as adjuvant therapy for human malignant gliomas.


Ab initio molecular-orbital computations with a split-valence 4-31G basis set have been carried out on syn- and antiperiplanar conformers of both HONO and H 3CONO, and on the transition structures in the unimolecular isomerization process. Calculated values of geometric structural and rotational parameters, dipole moments, wavenumbers of vibrational transitions, energies of vertical electronic transitions to both neutral and ionized excited states, and thermodynamic properties are compared with experimental data; generally good agreement is found. No explanation of the anomalous stability of antiperiplanar HONO has been discovered.


Improving the understanding of the politics of sustainable energy transitions has become a major focus for research. This paper builds on recent interest in institutionalist approaches to consider in some depth the agenda arising from a historical institutionalist perspective on such transitions. It is argued that historical institutionalism is a valuable complement to socio-technical systems approaches, offering tools for the explicit analysis of institutional dynamics that are present but implicit in the latter framework, opening up new questions and providing useful empirical material relevant for the study of the wider political contexts within which transitions are emerging. Deploying a number of core concepts including veto players, power, unintended consequences, and positive and negative feedback in a variety of ways, the paper explores research agendas in two broad areas: understanding diversity in transition outcomes in terms of the effects of different institutional arrangements, and the understanding of transitions in terms of institutional development and change. A range of issues are explored, including: the roles of electoral and political institutions, regulatory agencies, the creation of politically credible commitment to transition policies, power and incumbency, institutional systems and varieties of capitalism, sources of regime stability and instability, policy feedback effects, and types of gradual institutional change. The paper concludes with some observations on the potential and limitations of historical institutionalism, and briefly considers the question of whether there may be specific institutional configurations that would facilitate more rapid sustainable energy transitions.


This study provides insight into the intervention results of my dissertation. The main topic of the dissertation is the mental health care for older people, especially in coping and in maintaining their mental health. Right at the start, I briefly present the literature review of the topic: I write about the concept of mental hygiene, aspects of successful aging, coping strategies, tasks of the old age and the role of a mental health professional in their life. In the intervention section, I shortly summarize the conversations with three elderly people, in the end I describe the results, my own experiences, opinion and draw conclusions. Keywords: old age, coping, resources, life story work, mental health care


Page load time (PLT) is still the most common application Quality of Service (QoS) metric to estimate the Quality of Experience (QoE) of Web users. Yet, recent literature abounds with interesting proposals for alternative metrics (e.g., Above The Fold, SpeedIndex and variants) that aim at closely capturing how users perceive the Webpage rendering process. However, these novel metrics are typically computationally expensive, as they require to monitor and post-process videos of the rendering process, and have failed to be widely deployed. In this demo, we show our implementation of an opensource Chrome extension that implements a practical and lightweight method to measure the approximated Above-the-Fold (AATF) time, as well as others Web performance metrics. The idea is, instead of accurately monitoring the rendering output, to track the download time of the last visible object on screen (i.e., "above the fold"). Our plugin also has options to save detailed reports for later analysis, a functionality ideally suited for researchers wanting to gather data from Web experiments.