We present a recommendation system for social media that draws upon monitoring and prediction methods. We use historical posts on some focal topic or historical links to a focal blog channel to recommend a set of authors to follow. Such a system would be useful for brand managers interested in monitoring conversations about their products. Our recommendations are based on a prediction system that trains a ranking Support Vector Machine (RSVM) using multiple features including the content of a post, similarity between posts, links between posts and/or blog channels, and links to external websites. We solve two problems, Future Author Prediction (FAP) and Future Link Prediction (FLP), and apply the prediction outcome to make recommendations. Using an extensive experimental evaluation on a blog dataset, we demonstrate the quality and value of our recommendations.


An efficient, and reproducible in vitro regeneration protocol was developed for three varieties of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) named Barichhola-9, Barichhola-10, and Barichhola-11 using embryos with decapitated root tips as explants. The best response towards callus induction was obtained on MS medium supplemented with a combination of 2.0 mg/l BAP and 0.3 mg/l NAA. MS medium containing 3.0 mg/l BAP alone provided the highest number of shoots from the induced callus. MS medium with 0.5 mg/l NAA was found to be the best for root induction from in vitro regenerated shoots in all three varieties of chickpea. In vitro regenerated well-rooted plantlets were transplanted into a small pot containing a mixture of soil and cocodust for acclimatization. Regeneration responses were found to be identical for the three varieties of chickpea used in this study. The results of the present investigation will facilitate the in vitro regeneration of chicpea varieties as well as further genetic improvement of this economically valuable crop species through genetic transformation.
Plant Tissue Cult. & Biotech. 32(2): 205-216, 2022 (December)


The summer range of belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas ) and narwhals ( Monodon monoceros ) in Prince Regent Inlet, Barrow Strait and Peel Sound in the Canadian High Arctic was surveyed from 31 July to 3 August 1996 with a visual aerial survey of offshore areas and photographic aerial surveys of concentration areas. The visual survey estimate based on the number of belugas visible to the observers using systematic line transect methods was 10,347 (cv = 0.28). This included corrections for whales that were missed by the observers, observations without distance measurements and an estimate of 1,949 (cv=0.22) belugas from a photographic survey in southern Peel Sound. Using data from belugas tagged with satellite-linked time-depth recorders, the estimate was adjusted for individuals that were diving during the survey which resulted in an estimate of 18,930 belugas (cv = 0.28). Finally, counts of belugas in estuaries, corrected for estuarine surface time, were added to provide a complete estimate of 21,213 belugas (95% CI 10,985 to 32,619). The estimated number of narwhals corrected for sightings that were missed by observers was 16,364 (cv = 0.24). Adjusting this for sightings without distance information and correcting for whales that were submerged produced an estimate of 45,358 narwhals (95% CI 23,397 to 87,932).


The competitiveness of peanuts has been threatened by losses in productivity and quality. The U.S. Peanut Genome Initiative (PGI) was launched in 2004, and expanded to global in 2006 to address these issues beginning with marker development and genetic map improvement. Ultimately, the peanut genome sequencing project was launched in 2012 by Peanut Genome Consortium, a coalition of international scientists and stakeholders that guide and implement research in Peanut Genome Project (PGP) as an integral program of International Peanut Genome Initiative (IPGI). IPGI has over 135 members in 20 countries at 79 institutions and is a committed step by the world-wide peanut research community to meet the needs of the peanut industry. PGP goals are: 1) a high quality tetraploid reference genome sequence, 2) high throughput genome and transcriptome characterization of tetraploid and diploid, 3) phenotypic trait association with genetic haplotypes, 4) interactive bioinformatic resources. The outcome will enable molecular breeding for enhancing peanut genetic improvement. The large size (2.8 Gb) and allotetraploid nature of peanut genome are challenges for peanut assembly. Therefore an integrated approach has been deployed that complements whole genome sequencing with BAC x BAC, GWAS with Recombinant Inbred Lines, and emerging sequencing technologies to bring the assembly together. SNP discovery also will contribute to a high-density genetic map for chromosome level assembly.


Luс Boltanski visited Russia in September, 2019, to support the publication of the Russian translation of his book Mysteries and Conspiracies: Detective Stories, Spy Novels and the Making of Modern Societies. It was his second visit to Russia, where he delivered three lectures. The first lecture was dedicated to Mysteries and Conspiracies. The second lecture was dedicated to his last book Enrichment: A Critique of Commodities, which he wrote with Arnaud Esquerre. The third lecture focused on the relationship between the critical sociology of the Pierre Bourdieu school, and the pragmatic sociology of critical capacity promoted by Luc Boltanski together with his long-time collaborator, Laurent Thevenot, within their Group of Political and Moral Sociology. In this review of the two different approaches, he revisited the theme of his 2009 book On Critique: A Sociology of Emancipation which proclaimed the then-new theoretical synthesis. Mysteries and Conspiracies, published three years later, became the first demonstration of the practical implementation of this new model. On September 14, 2019, Luс Boltanski had an extensive talk with Oleg Kharkhordin wherein he clarified some issues of these lectures. The first part of this interview which was devoted to Mysteries and Conspiracies was published by the Russian on-line edition of gorky.media. Here, we publish the second part of this long interview covering the late writings of the famous French sociologist, the issues explored by his book On Critique, and the beginnings of his academic career when he was an active participant of the Pierre Bourdieu school.


Issues in Teaching and Learning Science, ICT, and Mathematics in Rural and Regional Australia: A National Survey (Lyons et. al, 2006) highlights data from 2940 teachers, and 928 parents and caregivers in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia and provides the largest amount of quantitative and qualitative data ever collected on factors relating to teaching and learning mathematics, science and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in such schools. Data collected from focus groups of parents, students, and teachers in each of the states and territories enriched and expanded on this national data source. This paper presents the focus group data collected from Western Australia as part of The National Centre of Science, Information and Communication Technology and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR) project. Qualitative data were gathered from four case study schools (n= 23 teachers, 17 parents, and 20 students). A semi-structured interview protocol was used and the transcriptions were analysed and coded for recurring themes and emerging patterns. The four schools were selected to provide a range of sectors, types, and contexts to illustrate the diversity of schools within rural and remote classifications. The key issues and themes emerging covered a range of aspects concerning teaching in remote and regional Western Australia and indicated a number of direct and indirect influences including living environment, professional development and allocation of resources.


This paper presents a sensor network and operation for multiple autonomous navigation platform and transport service. Multiple platform navigate with inside sensors and outside sensors while acquiring and process some useful information. Each platform communicates each other by navigational information through central main server. Efficient sensor network systems are considered for the scenario which some passengers call the service and the vehicle accomplish its transport service by transporting each caller to the destination by autonomous manners. In the scenario, all vehicles perform a role of sensor system to the central server and the server handles each information and integrate with faster procedure in the wireless 3G network.


Salts of O-(benzimidoyl)benzamidoxime have been obtained by the action of N-chloro- or N-bromo-succinimide, or the halogens, on benzamidoxime. Acetylation of the free base gave the title compound, which underwent a thermal cyclisation, with loss of acetamide, to give 3,5-diphenyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole. The mechanism of this reaction, in diphenyl ether, closely paralleled the thermal cyclisation of O-acetylarylamidoximes and O-aroylacetamidoximes, and is thought to involve a polar cyclisation step followed by rate-determining proton transfer. 13C N.m.r. spectra for 32 oxime, amidoxime, and oxadiazole derivatives are recorded, and substituent chemical shifts for the oxime, amidoxime, O-acetylamidoxime, 5-methyl-1,2,4-oxadiazol-3-yl, and 3-methyl-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl groups on the phenyl ring are calculated.


Although isopod crustaceans frequently show sexual dimorphism in body size, sexual differences in other non-reproductive (secondary sexual) traits have been rarely studied. Furthermore, little is known about the physiological correlates of variation in the expression of sexually dimorphic traits in animals generally. Here, we show that the unusual dorsal horns of the South African horned isopod Deto echinata exhibit significantly different allometric scaling relationships with body size in males versus females. Not only are the horns of adult males substantially longer than those of adult females but also their log–log scaling slope with body length is significantly steeper than that of females and juveniles. Furthermore, in males relative horn length is positively correlated with body condition, as estimated by body mass relative to body length, and with resting metabolic (CO2 release) rate, also adjusted to body length. However, although showing a weak positive trend, the relative horn length of males is not significantly correlated with body length adjusted active metabolic rate. It is also not significantly correlated with the relative rates of whole body or cuticular water loss rates or with two measures of activity level. We hypothesize that the sexual dimorphism of horn length in D. echinata is the result of sexual selection and that horn length is a reliable indicator of the ability of a male to acquire and process resources, which in turn may be critical to female mate choice and (or) male–male competition for mates. However, this hypothesis requires further testing based on direct observations of female mate choice and male–male behavioral interactions, which have not yet been carried out.


1. Pure pituitary substance (M. S.) produces an increase in the tonus of longitudinal segments of rabbits duodenum and ileum. 2. Pure pituitary substance in some cases causes a temporary loss of tonus preceding the increased tonus. 3. All commercial preparations tested (12 different brands from 9 manufacturers) caused marked relaxation of the duodenum and usually also a loss in tonus of the ileum when added to the bathing solution. 4. All commercial pituitary extracts tested, which did not contain the preservative chlorbutanol, produced increased tonus of the intestinal segments when their pH by the addition of N/10 NaOH was made equal to that of the solution bathing the tissue. 5. Commercial pituitary extracts containing chlorbutanol, usually caused increased tonus, following their addition to the solution, when the pH of the product was raised to that of the bath. In those cases in which they did not cause this change, we believe the preservative chlorbutanol was responsible for the relaxation. 6. All commercial pituitary extracts tested were highly acid in reaction. It required from 1.5 to 1.56 cc. of N/10 NaOH to neutralize 1 cc. of "surgical pituitrin" and 1 cc. of "infundin." In the samples of "obstetrical pituitrin" tested only 1.05 cc. of N/10 NaOH was necessary to neutralize each cubic centimeter of the drug. 7. The relaxation observed in excised strips of intestine after the addition of commercial pituitary preparations to the bath we believe to be due to the changes in pH of the bath and not to the pituitary content. Chlorbutanol used as a preservative may itself cause loss of tonus.


The present invention in general formula (1) compound represented by the, or guinea extract obtained from ginger and / or an antiwrinkle agent, lipolysis promoter of the acylation treatment product of said extract as an active ingredient, the skin external composition, and beverages and food compositions It relates. [Wherein, R represents a hydrogen atom or an acyl group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms being; Antiwrinkle agent, fat decomposition promoter, skin composition, beverages and food compositions, guinea ginger extract


Little is known about the evolution and ecology of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in the genus Puya Molina. CAM is a photosynthetic pathway typified by nocturnal CO2 fixation and is regarded as a water-saving mechanism. Puya is one of the largest genera in the pineapple family (Bromeliaceae), with 226 species distributed across the Andes to Costa Rica and the Guiana Shield, and from sea level to 5000 m. About 21p of Puya species are CAM and at least 10 of these CAM species occur above 3000 m. The main aim of this thesis was to uncover new evidence to understand the ecophysiology and evolution of CAM in the montane genus Puya. The prevalence of CAM and C3 species in Puya was estimated from carbon isotope values of 161 species. The climatic niche of constitutive CAM species and C3 species of Puya was modelled using georeferenced herbarium records and climatic variables to evaluate the differences between their niches. The evolution of CAM in Puya was investigated by reconstructing the ancestral photosynthetic pathway on an AFLP phylogeny and by studying positive selection in the genes encoding the key enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC). The coldresistance and the thermal lability of PEPC was investigated for high- and low- elevation CAM species of Puya to explore the potential molecular adaptations of CAM plants in high-elevation environments. The present study concludes that the common ancestor of Puya was a cold-resistant plant. This is suggested to explain the prevalence of Puya at highelevations. The evolution of CAM was correlated with changes in the climatic niche, and occurred multiple times in Puya. These multiple origins were not independent because the common ancestor of Puya was likely to be a weak CAM plant (based on a diagnostic Arg679 residue in the PEPC sequence). It is likely that populations of P. chilensis gained CAM by introgression with P. alpestris ssp. zoellneri. Weak CAM photosynthesis and coldxv resistance allowed Puya to colonise the Andes from the south to the north; and, in the process, constitutive CAM and C3 evolved. The later-evolving species in the genus are suggested to have lost their capacity for CAM as they radiated into more mesic habitats during their colonisation of the northern Andes.


The magnetization of non-magnetic cells has great potential to aid various processes in medicine, but also in bioprocess engineering. Current approaches to magnetize cells with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) require cellular uptake or adsorption through in vitro manipulation of cells. A relatively new field of research is "magnetogenetics" which focuses on in vivo production and accumulation of magnetic material. Natural intrinsically magnetic cells (IMCs) produce intracellular, MNPs, and are called magnetotactic bacteria (MTB). In recent years, researchers have unraveled function and structure of numerous proteins from MTB. Furthermore, protein engineering studies on such MTB proteins and other potentially magnetic proteins, like ferritins, highlight that in vivo magnetization of non-magnetic hosts is a thriving field of research. This review summarizes current knowledge on recombinant IMC generation and highlights future steps that can be taken to succeed in transforming non-magnetic cells to IMCs.


Computer-automated design and discovery have led to high-performance nanophotonic devices with diverse functionalities. However, massively multi-channel systems such as metasurfaces controlling many incident angles and photonic-circuit components coupling many waveguide modes still present a challenge. Conventional methods require $M_{\rm in}$ forward simulations and $M_{\rm in}$ adjoint simulations -- $2M_{\rm in}$ simulations in total -- to compute the objective function and its gradient for a design involving the response to $M_{\rm in}$ input channels. By generalizing the adjoint method and the recently proposed augmented partial factorization method, here we show how to obtain both the objective function and its gradient for a massively multi-channel system in a single simulation, achieving over-two-orders-of-magnitude speedup and reduced memory usage. We use this method to inverse design a metasurface beam splitter that separates the incident light to the target diffraction orders for all incident angles of interest, a key component of the dot projector for 3D sensing. This formalism enables efficient inverse design for a wide range of multi-channel optical systems.


Measurement of the broadband (15-150 GHz) microwave dielectric properties of free-standing films is demonstrated using the technique of coherent microwave transient spectroscopy. The accuracy of the method is verified by experiments on a fused silica sheet whose dielectric properties are well known. Results of measurements on (∼200 μm thick) polymer films are presented


Autonomy requires robustness. The use of unmanned (autonomous) vehicles is appealing for tasks which are dangerous or dull. However, increased reliance on autonomous robots increases reliance on their robustness. Even with validated software, physical faults can cause the controlling software to perceive the environment incorrectly, and thus to make decisions that lead to task failure. We present an online anomaly detection method for robots, that is light-weight, and is able to take into account a large number of monitored sensors and internal measurements, with high precision. We demonstrate a specialization of the familiar Mahalanobis Distance for robot use, and also show how it can be used even with very large dimensions, by online selection of correlated measurements for its use. We empirically evaluate these contributions in different domains: commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), a vacuum-cleaning robot, and a high-fidelity flight simulator. We find that the online Mahalanobis distance technique, presented here, is superior to previous methods.


This study was conducted to estimate the carbon footprint and to establish the database of the LCI (Life Cycle Inventory) for barely cultivation system. Barley production system was separated into the naked barley, the hulled barley and the two-rowed barley according to type of barley species. Based on collecting the data for operating LCI, it was shown that input of fertilizer was the highest value of 9.52E-01 kg kg -1 for two-rowed braley. For LCI analysis focussed on the greenhouse gas (GHG), it was observed that carbon footprint were 1.25E+00 kg CO2-eq. kg -1 naked braley, 1.09E+00 kg CO2-eq. kg -1 hulled braley and 1.71E+00 CO2-eq. kg -1 two-rowed barley; especially two-rowed barley cultivation system had highest emission value as 1.09E+00 kg CO2 kg -1 barley. It might be due to emit from mainly fertilizer production for barley cultivation. Also N2O was emitted at 7.55E-04 kg N2O kg -1 barley as highest value from hulled barley cultivation system because of high N fertilizer input. The result of life cycle impcat assessment (LCIA), it was observed that most of carbon emission from barely cultivation system was mainly attributed to fertilizer production and cropping unit. Characterization value of GWP was 1.25E+00 (naked barley), 1.09E+00 (hulled barley) and 1.71E+00 (two-rowed barely) kg CO2-eq. kg -1 , respectively.


Abstract The digitalization process of the business activities has increased tremendously in the last fifty years, revolutionizing several fields of activity, such as communication, medicine, production, transport, as well as all aspects of the daily social, economic and political processes. Furthermore, the IT field has developed new ways of innovating, including new management models in the production field, that allow management of IT companies to become more customer-oriented in a dynamic competitive field. As technological progress is becoming present in every aspect of everyday life, the pressure for innovation and customer involvement represent the two main challenges of producing successful prototypes and final products for the IT market. The purpose of the present paper is to analyze two of the main product development business model trends in the IT field, namely Waterfall model and Agile model, the latest being an adapting strategy to increased customer requirements and the changing business environment. In order to ensure a practical approach the case study was based on the analysis of their implementation within the company Avira Soft S.R.L. The results of the study emphasized the benefits of using the Agile model at Avira Soft S.R.L starting with 2011 in comparison to the previous model of Waterfall product development. The relevance of the paper consists in the fact that the two models indicate how the IT product development business models are evolving depending on environmental factors and the need for continuous adaptation and innovation due to increased competition. The Agile model brought improvements of the Waterfall model, but also new challenges regarding the organizational culture, communication between members of the company and more pressure for continuous improvement. However these two models are an example of how the IT product development business models are evolving and they form a basis for future product development strategies.


The experiments of single
factor evaluation method, principal component analysis and voronoi area weighting
factor method on the sample data of Liangzi Lake in October 2012 combined with the
national surface water environment quality standards can get the map of comprehensive
water quality distribution by Kriging interpolation. The analysis shows, the grades
of comprehensive water quality gained by three methods are all only class III or
class IV, and the quality of water is different from east and west that the water
quality of east is better. However, the percent of IV class water is higher in the
result of single factor evaluation method means class IV is the main grade of water
quality. The result of principal component analysis shows the percent of class Ⅲ water is higher than other classes.
The result of voronoi area weighting factor method shows the percent of IV class
is higher than other classes. CODMn is the main factor that influences
the method of singal factor evaluation and reduces the grade of water quality overall.
The effect of single factor is reduced by principal component analysis, and the
analysis on water quality is more accurate. The voronoi area weighing factor method
reduces the effect of single factor and extends the content, can make a comprehensive
evaluation on water quality.


Abstract— The effects of ageing on α1‐adrenoceptor subtypes have been examined in heart ventricular muscle of young (2–3 months) and middle‐aged (18 months) Sprague‐Dawley rats. Radioligand binding studies with [3H]prazosin revealed an age‐related loss of binding sites (Bmax 56·7 ± 1·93 fmol (mg protein)−1 age 2 months vs 31·7 ± 2·45 fmol (mg protein)−l age 18 months) not followed by changes in the dissociation constant value (Kd 0·16 ± 0·03 nm age 2 months and 0·10 ± 0·03 nm age 18 months). Competition curves with WB 4101 showed two distinct sites with different affinities, the proportion of sites with high affinity being similar for both age groups (22·2 ± 1·89% vs 17·8 ± 1·96% for animals aged 2 and 18 months, respectively). Agonist displacement curves of [3H]prazosin indicate the existence of two different affinity sites for the agonist, that are maintained regardless of the ageing process (Rhigh= 16·2 ± 1·54% and Rlow = 83·8 ± 1·89% in rats aged 2 months and Rhigh= 16·3 ± 3·23% and Rlow = 83·7 ± 3·95% in rats aged 18 months). The fractional inactivation of α1‐adrenoceptors by chloroethylclonidine resulted in a loss of [3H]prazosin specific binding, and a percentage of 22·5 ± 0·95 and 22·6 ± 4·2 of remaining binding sites for the groups of 2 and 18 months of age, respectively. The percentage of chloroethylclonidine‐insensitive [3H]prazosin binding sites was similar to those with high affinity for WB 4101. The present study confirms a decline of α1‐adrenoceptors with increasing age and reveals that the equilibrium of the expression of the two existing subpopulations of the receptor is maintained during ageing.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: No study has so far compared Amulet with the new Watchman FLX in terms of residual left atrial appendage (LAA) patency or clinical outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous LAA closure. Methods: In the investigator-initiated SWISS APERO trial (Comparison of Amulet Versus Watchman/FLX Device in Patients Undergoing Left Atrial Appendage Closure), patients undergoing LAA closure were randomly assigned (1:1) open label to receive Amulet or Watchman 2.5 or FLX (Watchman) across 8 European centers. The primary end point was the composite of justified crossover to a nonrandomized device during LAA closure procedure or residual LAA patency detected by cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) at 45 days. The secondary end points included procedural complications, device-related thrombus, peridevice leak at transesophageal echocardiography, and clinical outcomes at 45 days. Results: Between June 2018 and May 2021, 221 patients were randomly assigned to Amulet (111 [50.2%]) or Watchman (110 [49.8%]), of whom 25 (22.7%) patients included before October 2019 received Watchman 2.5, and 85 (77.3%) patients received Watchman FLX. The primary end point was assessable in 205 (92.8%) patients and occurred in 71 (67.6%) patients receiving Amulet and 70 (70.0%) patients receiving Watchman, respectively (risk ratio, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.80–1.16]; P=0.713). A single justified crossover occurred in a patient with Amulet who fulfilled LAA patency criteria at 45-day CCTA. Major procedure-related complications occurred more frequently in the Amulet group (9.0% versus 2.7%; P=0.047) because of more frequent bleeding (7.2% versus 1.8%). At 45 days, the peridevice leak rate at transesophageal echocardiography was higher with Watchman than with Amulet (27.5% versus 13.7%, P=0.020), albeit none was major (ie, >5 mm), whereas device-related thrombus was detected in 1 (0.9%) patient with Amulet and 3 (3.0%) patients with Watchman at CCTA and in 2 (2.1%) and 5 (5.5%) patients at transesophageal echocardiography, respectively. Clinical outcomes at 45 days did not differ between the groups. Conclusions: Amulet was not associated with a lower rate of the composite of crossover or residual LAA patency compared with Watchman at 45-day CCTA. Amulet, however, was associated with lower peridevice leak rates at transesophageal echocardiography, higher procedural complications, and similar clinical outcomes at 45 days compared with Watchman. The clinical relevance of CCTA-detected LAA patency requires further investigation. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03399851.


A health behavior and attitudes questionnaire was administered to 246 fifth-grade and 265 sixth-grade students during class time. The questions included 20 children's health locus of control (CHLC) items reported by Parcel and Meyer (1978), 17 children's self-esteem (CSE) items modified from those reported by Coopersmith (1967), and questions concerning past and current behavior and future intentions with respect to cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and marijuana use. The results indicate that the relationships between dimensions of children's health locus of control and self-esteem and their behaviors and intentions are not large enough to suggest that intervention programs directed at the prevention of detrimental health behaviors focus on the enhancement of self-esteem or the internal locus of control. An appropriate test of the efficacy of such an approach requires a longitudinal rather than a cross-sectional study, monitoring changes in the levels of self-esteem and health locus of control and associated changes in health behavior.


We theoretically and experimentally studied the dispersion effects in an actively mode-locked inhomogeneously broadened laser. In the positive group velocity dispersion (GVD) region, the laser generates incoherent pulses. Self-phase modulation and resonant dispersion impede reduction of the pulse duration when the GVD is small or near zero. A single, stable, soliton-like pulse can be generated only when the GVD is within a certain range of negative values. When the negative GVD is too small, the laser generates only multiple soliton-like pulses because of excess gain filtering. When the negative GVD is too large, the soliton pulse-shaping process fails, and the laser generates only incoherent pulses due to insufficient gain filtering. In the experiment, we characterized an actively mode-locked inhomogeneously broadened Nd:silicate glass laser and confirmed this GVD dependence. The laser generated self-sustaining, soliton-like pulses as short as 77 fs.


As both distributed software development (DSD) and agile development practices become more popular, the problem of task coordination in an agile DSD environment becomes more pertinent. Even though task allocation has been a subject of study for many years, the team dynamics in an agile DSD environment makes the nature of task coordination distinctly different from that in other disciplines. This paper proposes a solution to the problem of remote task allocation and coordination in an agile DSD environment. It combines current practices in software project management, such as object-oriented process modeling and critical-path analysis, and methodologies from other fields, such as workflow management and management science. It also describes NextMove, a Java/Eclipse-based distributed tool that would assist project managers in making day-to-day task allocation decisions, increasing transparency throughout the project, as well as complementing other modes of communication in a DSD environment


The human dopaminergic system is vital for a broad range of neurological processes, including the control of voluntary movement. Here we report a proband presenting with clinical features of dopamine deficiency: severe infantile parkinsonism-dystonia, characterised by frequent oculogyric crises, dysautonomia and global neurodevelopmental impairment. CSF neurotransmitter analysis was unexpectedly normal. Triome whole-genome sequencing revealed a homozygous variant (c.110C>A, (p.T37K)) in DRD1, encoding the most abundant dopamine receptor (D1) in the central nervous system, most highly expressed in the striatum. This variant was absent from gnomAD, with a CADD score of 27.5. Using an in vitro heterologous expression system, we determined that DRD1-T37K results in loss of protein function. Structure-function modelling studies predicted reduced substrate binding, which was confirmed in vitro. Exposure of mutant protein to the selective D1 agonist Chloro APB resulted in significantly reduced cyclic AMP levels. Numerous D1 agonists failed to rescue the cellular defect, reflected clinically in the patient, who had no benefit from dopaminergic therapy. Our study identifies DRD1 as a new disease-associated gene, suggesting a crucial role for the D1 receptor in motor control.


In this paper we use local Holder exponents to capture local patterns in protein sequences. The numerical sequence of a protein based on a 6-letters model of amino acids is considered as a time series, then its local Holder exponents are estimated using the wavelet transform. The probability density of local Holder exponents is then calculated. The probability density values are then taken as features for a perceptron constructed by neural network toolbox in Matlab to classify proteins from the all-alpha, all-beta, alpha+beta and alpha/beta protein structure classes. Numerical results indicate that all selected large proteins can be classified with 100% accuracies.


Background The interpretation of data from 18F-FDG PET/CT studies on large vessel vasculitis (LVV) is difficult due to the scarcity of studies and to the heterogeneity of LVV populations examined. In the absence of gold standard parameters for the assessment of LVV arterial inflammation, there is a great need to develop analytical methodologies useful to properly exploit the information derived from such studies. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) have not yet been applied to explore the LVV distribution patterns, assessed by 18F-FDG PET/CT. Objectives The aim of our study was to investigate whether PCA and CA are useful methods in identifying distinct distribution patterns of LVV, according to the specific diagnostic entity examined (giant cell arteritis, GCA; Takayasu's arteritis, TAK). Methods A total of 130 18F-FDG PET/CT studies have been retrospectively examined by a nuclear physician blinded to clinical data. Maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) in 14 vascular districts including aortic segments (ascending aorta, thoracic aorta, aortic arch, discending thoracic aorta and abdominal aorta) and the main tributaries (carotid, subclavian, axillary, iliac and femoral arteries) have been measured and transformed into Z-scores. Identification of distribution patterns of vascular involvement has been performed using PCA and agglomerative hierarchical CA (SPSS Statistics, version 22nd). Results Three groups of vascular districts with similar trends in terms of standardized SUVmax have been identified: epiaortic arteries; aortic arch and ascending aorta; descending and abdominal aorta, with iliac and femoral arteries. A component including the entire aortic district was identified in TAK group, but not in GCA group. Conclusions PCA and CA approach revealed a subtle skewing in terms of distribution patterns of arterial involvement between TAK and GCA, assessed by 18F-FDG PET/CT SUVmax values. The influence of atherosclerosis and immunosenescence on the different trends in the aorta districts of TAK and GCA needs to be further elucidated. References Grayson PC, et al. Distribution of arterial lesions in Takayasu's arteritis and giant cell arteritis. Ann Rheum Dis 2012;71:1329–1334. Arnaud L, et al. Cluster analysis of arterial involvement in Takayasu arteritis reveals symmetric extension of the lesions in paired arterial beds. Arthritis Rheum 2011;63:1136–40. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Electronic health records (EHR) provide a rich source of temporal data that present a unique opportunity to characterize disease patterns and risk of imminent disease. While many data-mining tools have been adopted for EHR-based disease early detection, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is one of the most commonly used statistical methods. However, it is difficult to train an accurate LDA model for early disease diagnosis when too few patients are known to have the target disease. Furthermore, EHR data are heterogeneous with significant noise. In such cases, the covariance matrices used in LDA are usually singular and estimated with a large variance. This article presents Daehr, an extension of the LDA framework using electronic health record data to address these issues. Beyond existing LDA analyzers, we propose Daehr to (1) eliminate the data noise caused by the manual encoding of EHR data and (2) lower the variance of parameter (covariance matrices) estimation for LDA models when only a few patients' EHR are available for training. To achieve these two goals, we designed an iterative algorithm to improve the covariance matrix estimation with embedded data-noise/parameter-variance reduction for LDA. We evaluated Daehr extensively using the College Health Surveillance Network, a large, real-world EHR dataset. Specifically, our experiments compared the performance of LDA to three baselines (i.e., LDA and its derivatives) in identifying college students at high risk for mental health disorders from 23 U.S. universities. Experimental results demonstrate Daehr significantly outperforms the three baselines by achieving 1.4%--19.4% higher accuracy and a 7.5%--43.5% higher F1-score.


Upset rate predictions using heavy ion data are shown to overestimate the observed rates on CRRES (Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite) for the GaAs C-EJFET (complementary enhancement junctions FET) SRAM (static random-access memory) for both heavy ion and proton upset rates. The predicted heavy ion rates were an order of magnitude high, while the predicted proton upset rates were two orders of magnitude high. Predictions based on heavy ion data for the D-MESFET/resistor technology fell within an order of magnitude of the observed rate for both cosmic ray and proton upset rates. SPICE calculations underpredicted the upset rates for the C-EJFET SRAMs and overestimated the D-MESFET/resistor SRAM upset rates. The underestimate of comsic ray rates may be attributed to either a minimal assumption of collection depth or the possibility of enhanced charge collection. Incorrect use of the circuit-derived critical charge relative to the average measured critical charge would lead to the estimation of the heavy ion upset rate predictions for the D-MESFET/resistor SRAM. Observation of upset rates following onset of the solar flare event suggests that solar protons were responsible for high upset rates at the higher altitudes. >


The authors interviewed 10 therapists and supervisors who had clinical experience in working with deaf patients. The responses centered on issues related to the necessity of visual rather than auditory communication, problems of diagnosis and assessment, therapist and patient expectations, special strengths of deaf patients, involvement of third parties, and modification of therapeutic technique. The authors emphasize that additional resources and research are necessary for clinicians to meet the needs of this large but still underserved population.


This volume compiles the contributions to the International Conference on X-Ray Microscopy (XRM2008) held on 20–25 July 2008 in Zurich, Switzerland. The conference was the ninth in a series which started in Göttingen in 1984. Over the years the XRM conference series has served as a forum bringing together all relevant players working on the development of methods, building instrumentation, and applying x-ray microscopy to challenging issues in materials science, condensed matter research, environmental science and biology. XRM2008 was attended by about 300 participants who followed 44 oral presentations and presented 220 posters. Figure 1: Participants of the XRM2008 conference gathered in front of the main building of the ETH-Zurich. The conference showed that x-ray microscopy has become a mature field resting on three pillars. The first are workhorse instruments available even to non-specialist users. These exist at synchrotron sources world-wide as well as in laboratories. They allow the application of established microscopy methods to solve scientific projects in areas as diverse as soil science, the investigation of cometary dust particles, magnetic materials, and the analysis of ancient parchments. Examples of all of these projects can be found in this volume. These instruments have become so well understood that now they are also commercially available. The second pillar is the continued development of methods. Methods like stroboscopic imaging, wet cells or high and low temperature environments add versatility to the experiments. Methods like phase retrieval and ptychographic imaging allow the retrieval of information which hitero was thought to be inaccessible. The third pillar is the extension of such instruments and methods to new photon sources. With x-ray free electron lasers on the horizon the XRM community is working to transfer their know-how to these novel sources which will offer unprecedented brightness and time structure, but which at the same time require unprecedented effort to perform the experiment and to extract meaningful information from the data. Resting on these three pillars, the XRM community seems well prepared to solve the scientific questions of today and to help solve even more challenging scientific questions in the future. Many people contributed to the success of XRM2008, first and foremost were the participants with their excellent contributions and through their lively discussions. Organizing the event was made possible due to many helping hands and brains at the organizing institution, the Paul Scherrer Institut. It is our pleasure to thank all of these people. Financial support was given by the Gold Sponsor, XRADIA, by the European Round Table for Synchrotrons and Free Electron Lasers, the Center for Imaging Science and Technology at Zurich, and by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The conference was kindly hosted by ETH Zurich which provided a perfect setting for this venue. We thank all the participants of XRM2008, everybody who helped in the organization and all financial supporters and are looking forward to hearing about further progress during XRM2010 which will be organized by Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago. C Quitmann, C David, F Nolting, F Pfeiffer and M Stampanoni Proceedings Editors Figure 2 View over Zurich and into the alps from the terrace of the ETHZ main building during the XRM2008 reception. Figure 3 Flag tosser and Alphorn blowers in front of the ETH Zurich main building during the XRM2008 opening reception. Figure 4 Industry exhibition in the entrance hall of the ETHZ main building. Figure 5 Lively discussions amongst the conference participants took place during the two poster sessions. Figure 6 Lecture hall with the participants busily discussing between talks. Figure 7 Past and present winners of the Werner Meyer-Ilse Award are joined by Andrea Meyer-Ilse, the wife of the deceased x-ray microscopy pioneer Werner Meyer-Ilse. From left to right: Weilun Chao (winner 2005), Ann Sakdinawat (winner 2008), Piere Thibault (winner 2008), Andrea Meyer-Ilse and M Feser (winner 2002). Figure 8 Reception in the court of Schloss Rapperswil during the XRM2008 conference excursion. Figure 9 Conference participants walking towards the castle of Rapperswil during the conference excursion. Figure 10 Accompanying persons group gathered in the port of Lucerne.


Bicuspid aortic valve is the most common form of congenital valvular disease, and its presence may predispose the patients to development of true aortic or dissecting aortic aneurysms. An intrinsic aortic weakness may underlie a bicuspid aortic valve, aortic aneurysm or aortic dissection. We experienced a case of an ascending aortic aneurysm associated with a functionally normal bicuspid aortic valve. A screening echocardiograph was performed due to atypical chest pain, which detected a large ascending aortic aneurysm and a bicuspid aortic valve. The patient underwent an operation for an ascending aortic aneurysm and, is living one year later, and is asymptomatic. To the best of our knowledge, this may be the first case of an ascending aortic aneurysm associated with a bicuspid aortic valve in Korea. (Korean Circulation J 2002;32(6 :526-529


This article dives into the design of the next generation mobile transport networks to simultaneously support the needs of various vertical industries with diverse range of networking and computing requirements. Network slicing has emerged as the most promising approach to address this challenge by enabling per-slice management of virtualized resources. We aim to bring the network slicing paradigm into mobile transport networks by provisioning and managing slices tailored to the needs of different vertical industries. Our technical approach is twofold: (i) enabling vertical industries to meet their service requirements within customized slices; and (ii) aggregating and federating transport networking and computing fabric, from the edge up to the core and cloud, to create and manage slices throughout a federated virtualized infrastructure. The main focus of the article is on major technical highlights of vertical-oriented slicing mechanisms for 5G mobile networks.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 46, 2005

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Suppression of aromatase/estrogen biosynthesis is thought to have potential for chemoprevention of breast cancer. Aromatase is the enzyme that converts androgen to estrogen. An abnormal expression of aromatase in breast tissue is considered to be a risk factor for breast cancer. In our laboratory, we found that of seven fruit juices tested, grape juice was the most effective in inhibiting the activity of human placental aromatase activity. During the last several years, we have learned that (1) the methanol extract of grape juice and red wine suppresses aromatase in a dose-dependent manner; (2) the extract suppresses the proliferation of an aromatase over-expressing and estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cell line - MCF-7aro; (3) oral administration of the extract completely abrogates aromatase-induced hyperplasia and other changes in the mammary tissue of aromatase transgenic mice; (4) procyanidin B dimers, the major phytochemicals in the seeds and skins of grapes, are the chemicals responsible for the anti-aromatase activity; and (5) oral feeding of procyanidin B dimers reduces androgen-dependent MCF-7aro tumor growth in nude mice. The tumors of mice treated with the extract enriched with procyanidin B dimers showed a minimal increase in apoptotic cells compared with tumors of control mice, suggesting that the reduction in tumor growth in the treated mice was due to inhibition of aromatase and not due to a non-specific cytotoxic effect. Further, results from the feeding experiments indicate that these procyanidin B dimers are orally active and maintain their activity after ingestion. Recently, we have examined the content of procyanidin B dimers in commercially available grape seed extract formulations and determined that grape seed extract may be a useful chemopreventive agent against breast cancer. The mass spectral analysis has revealed that grape seed extract contains high levels of procyanidin B dimers, oligomers and gallate esters of procyanidins. Further testing in the nude mouse model revealed suppression of MCF-7aro tumor shrinkage when they were fed 700μg/day for 6 weeks. Based on this preclinical data, we hypothesize that postmenopausal women could reduce their breast cancer risk with a grape seed extract dietary supplement, containing phytochemicals that have been shown to be effective aromatase inhibitors. A Phase I chemoprevention trial to evaluate the in vivo anti-aromatase activity of grape seed extract in postmenopausal women has been initiated at the City of Hope. The design and progress of this clinical trial will be discussed.


Membrane-based acoustic metamaterials have been reported to achieve 100% absorption, the acoustic analogue of photonic black-hole. However, the bandwidth is usually very narrow around some local resonance frequency, which limits its practical use. To address this limitation and achieve a broadband absorption, this paper first establishes a theoretical framework for unit cells of air-backed diaphragms, modeled as an equivalent mass-spring-dashpot system. Based on the impedance match principle, three different approaches are numerically investigated by tuning the cavity length, the static pressure in the cavity, and the effective damping of perforated plates. A prototype with polyimide diaphragm and 3D printed substrate is then fabricated and characterized using an acoustic impedance tube. Preliminary experiments show the feasibility to achieve an absorption bandwidth of ∼200 Hz at center frequency of 1.45 kHz. This work pays the way for developing a sub-wavelength light weight broadband acoustic absorber for a variety of applications in noise control.


Purpose: Oncologist-patient communication clearly influences patients' decisions about participating in clinical trials (Albrecht 2008; Eggly 2008). Black-White differences in the quality of patient-physician communication exist in oncology interactions (Eggly 2011), but no prior study has used real-time data from actual clinical interactions to investigate whether there are also Black-White differences in communication about clinical trials. The purpose of this study was to compare communication during offers to participate in cancer clinical trials in oncology visits with Black and with White patients.

Patients and Methods: Data were taken from an archive of 47 transcribed, video recorded oncology interactions that included the explicit offer of a cancer clinical trial (Albrecht 2008). All visits with Black patients (n=11) were identified and matched with a sample of visits with White patients (n=11). We used linguistic discourse analysis to analyze the visits (n=22) with specific focus on discussions of clinical trials and the five basic elements of consent (purpose, risks and benefits of the trial, alternatives to participating, and the voluntary nature of trial participation). We used word count as an objective measure of the amount of actual face-to-face discussion that occurred during the visits. We assessed Black-White differences in word count of the entire visits; the number of times clinical trials or any of the elements of consent were mentioned by oncologists, patients, or patients' companions; and word count of discussions during mentions of each of these topics.

Results: Mean word count of the entire visit was less for Black than White patients (m=4877.73Blacks vs. 7247.18Whites, d=.8740). Clinical trials were mentioned less frequently during visits with Black than White patients (M=2.73Blacks vs. 4.27Whites, d=1.2099). Mean word count during mentions of clinical trials was also less for Black patients (1089.64Blacks vs. 1867.09Whites, d=1.0618). Regarding the elements of consent, mean word count was less for Black patients during discussions of purpose (M=90.91 Blacks vs. 181.22 Whites, d=.9272) and risks (M=211.900Blacks vs. 390.27Whites, d=.6477). Risks were also mentioned less frequently for Black patients (M=1.91Blacks vs. 3.18Whites, d=.5782). However, voluntary participation was mentioned more frequently (M=2.18Blacks vs. 1.55Whites, d=.4139) for White than Black patients.

Conclusion: Black patients, as compared to White patients, may make decisions about clinical trial participation based on less overall discussion with oncologists and less discussion of the purpose and risks of participation. One possible explanation is a less active communication style of Black patients in medical visits, which has been shown in other research (Gordon 2006; Eggly 2011). Other possibilities include oncologist concerns about patient mistrust and/or nonconscious racial bias (van Ryn 2011). Possible communicative strategies to overcome these disparities include more conscious attention to mentioning and developing the topic of clinical trials with Black patients, with particular attention to the purpose and risks of trial participation.

Citation Format: Susan Eggly, Ellen Barton, Andrew Winckles, Louis A. Penner, Terrance L. Albrecht. A disparity of words: A comparison of offers to participate in cancer clinical trials by patient race. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2012 Oct 27-30; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A11.


Our study is based on an epidemiological compartmental model, the SIRS model. In the SIRS model, each individual is in one of the states susceptible (S), infected (I) or recovered (R), depending on its state of health. In compartment R, an individual is assumed to stay immune within a finite time interval only and then transfers back to the S compartment. We extend the model and allow for a feedback control of the infection rate by mitigation measures which are related to the number of infections. A finite response time of the feedback mechanism is supposed that changes the low-dimensional SIRS model into an infinite-dimensional set of integro-differential (delay-differential) equations. It turns out that the retarded feedback renders the originally stable endemic equilibrium of SIRS (stable focus) to an unstable focus if the delay exceeds a certain critical value. Nonlinear solutions show persistent regular oscillations of the number of infected and susceptible individuals. In the last part we include noise effects from the environment and allow for a fluctuating infection rate. This results in multiplicative noise terms and our model turns into a set of stochastic nonlinear integro-differential equations. Numerical solutions reveal an irregular behavior of repeated disease outbreaks in the form of infection waves with a variety of frequencies and amplitudes.


A recent merger "wave" has occurred within the economy, including the agricultural sector. Some research has been conducted on publicly traded companies, but there is little information available on merger activity within agricultural cooperatives. This paper presents the results of a recent survey of agricultural cooperatives and attempts to identify major trends in merger activity within cooperatives.


Gorgonian octocorals are among the dominant deep-sea benthic taxa of many seamounts. Seamount fauna are threatened by destructive fisheries practices, yet little is known about the physical and biological processes that maintain species on seamounts. Few informative molecular markers have been found in deep-water corals or in gorgonian octocorals. Here we report the characterization of six highly polymorphic microsatellite loci for the deep-sea precious coral Corallium lauuense from Hawaii using enriched genomic DNA libraries. These loci are being used to examine gene flow and stock structure among seamount and island populations to better understand dispersal and connectivity of seamount species.


If we accept the concept of Kathleen Kenyou that... the Neolithic is a way of life in which man has discovered means of controlling his environment. Then we can say that now we have arrived at the post Neolithic where man bas succeeded in destroying his environment. Barry Commoner is at heart an ecologist, but he is better known as a scientist. In this book he has a series of chapters that gives us a cheering and frightening insight into what man is doing with science.


Objective: Transcriptome study of the desired crossbreed and comparing it with the pure parental population is a method for evaluating and selecting cross with appropriate products, yet disease resistance, high tolerance to environmental stresses, and compatibility with the climate of the breeding tract. RNA-Sequencing (RNA-seq) technology was employed to investigate the effect of crossbreeding by the Montbeliard cattle on the "Sistani cattle" transcriptome. Blood samples were collected from 90 cows (45 pure and 45 crossbreeds). Total RNA was extracted in the Media Teb Gene Laboratory of Iran. The mRNA selection, library preparation, and sequencing were performed at BGI Shenzhen, China on an Illumina HiSeq 2500 sequencer. After assembling the transcripts with the bovine reference genome, Cuffdiff was used to detect differential gene expression in purebred and its crossbred.Results: In total, 45 significantly differentially expressed genes were identified (false discovery rate q< 0.05) between purebred Sistani and "Sistani×Montbeliard" crossbreed. These genes are reported to have a role in immune response, calving, fertility, and resistance to mastitis. Besides, they may have a role in different levels of heat tolerance and disease resistance. Therefore, Sistani×Montbeliard crossbred might be suitable for the climatic conditions of the Sistan region in Iran.


ABSTRACT: Areas of immunocytochemically defined immunopathology are common in placentae from secondary recurrent spontaneous aborters. Endothelial cells of affected villi were found to be negative for the thrombomodulin natural anticoagulant pathway, and these cells were reactive with monoclonal antibodies to tissue factor and fibrin. Endothelial cells of normal villi adjacent to affected villi also were negative for thrombomodulin and positive for tissue factor and fibrin, but endothelium of normal villi distant to affected villi were thrombomodulin‐positive, tissue factor‐negative, and did not contain deposits of fibrin. These findings indicate that a loss of endothelial anticoagulant activity precedes the onset of immunopathology. This observation, coupled with the findings that fetal stem vessels normally lack the heparan sulfate proteoglycan‐antithrombin III natural anticoagulant pathway and that normal cord blood contains a heparin‐like anticoagulant, suggest that a failure of endothelial anticoagulation may be a primary event in the development of placental immunopathology.


A combination of neutron and photon activation techniques have been developed and applied for detecting traces of heavy metals from water pollution sources. Air-dried portions of sediments from several regions of the lower Great Lakes, organic cultivated soils, and selected edible vegetation from a heavily-irrigated and fertilized marsh crop-growing area were subjected either to neutron irradiation for 25 to 50 h or to 15 to 44 MeV bremsstrahlung from the University of Toronto electron linear accelerator for 1 to 4 h. Many of the neutron activation determinations at low concentrations required post-activation chemical separations, whereas an advantage of the photonuclear technique for use with such environmental samples was that multielement determinations could be done completely by an instrumental method. Elements of environmental interest determined in the activated samples included: arsenic, antimony, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, thallium, zinc, and several others. The concentration ranges involved were from 0.1 to 500 ppm, and the typical analytical accuracy achieved varied from 5 to 15 percent as verified by comparison with other techniques and with standard reference materials. These studies have helped to identify some heavy metal water pollution sources and to elucidate the fate of such metals in sediment, soil-water-vegetation ecosystems.


Isotope separation by laser deflecting an atomic beam is analyzed theoretically. Interacting with a tilted one-dimensional optical molasses, an ytterbium atomic beam is split into multi-beams with different isotopes like 172Yb,173Yb, and 174Yb. By using the numerical calculation, the dependences of the splitting angle on the molasses laser intensity and detuning are studied, and the optimal parameters for the isotope separation are also investigated. Furthermore, the isotope separation efficiency and purity are estimated. Finally a new scheme for the efficient isotope separation is proposed. These findings will give a guideline for simply obtaining pure isotopes of various elements.


Abstract In this article, a causal model on the basis of trajectory is introduced for description of quantum systems. This theory is structurally very similar to Bohme mechanics, and like Bohme theory reproduces all statistical consequences of standard quantum mechanics. Particle trajectories in this model are different from anticipated ones by Bohme model. Quantum potential (force) form, which is given, is different from Bohme theory. Actually, this model will convert to Bohme theory by annihilating the free parameter ( ) μ . Theoretical properties of this model are investigated in the same way as Galilean invariance. Also, a precise comparison between this theory and Bohme mechanics is made, and some suggestions are presented (through transit time distribution) for experimental distinction between these two models. Finally, extension of this theory is investigated


Digital algorithms for electric power measurements are represented as 2-D digital finite-impulse-response (FIR) filters applied on voltage and current samples. Based on this approach, a novel technique for algorithm design is developed. The technique provides a convenient way to design new algorithms for measuring the electric power components according to various definitions in both sinusoidal and nonsinusoidal conditions. Several new algorithms are derived by using the proposed design technique. The existing algorithms for power measurements are also derived by using the new approach. The algorithm performance was tested using actual signal recordings. >


Gastric cancer (GC) is a prevalent digestive system malignancy that is associated with a poor prognosis specifically for advanced‑stage patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non‑coding RNAs that have been reported to play roles as oncogenes or tumour suppressors in all types of cancer, including GC, by post‑transcriptionally regulating cancer‑related genes. Recently, miR‑34a and miR‑34b/c, members of the microRNA‑34 (miR‑34) family, were identified to be direct transcriptional targets of the onco‑suppressor p53. In this review, we report that miR‑34 is epigenetically downregulated or silenced in GC tissues and cell lines, changes which may result from mutations in p53 or DNA methylation and histone modifications of the miR‑34 promoter regions. Moreover, miR‑34 has been identified as a tumour‑suppressor in GC. p53‑induced miR‑34 regulates several different target genes and signalling pathways, inducing apoptosis, senescence, and cell cycle arrest and repressing GC cell proliferation, migration and metastasis, thus contributing to the suppression of carcinogenesis and GC cancer progression. Furthermore, miR‑34 is a novel prognostic and predictive biomarker in GC, and restoring miR‑34 expression by delivering miR‑34 mimics may be a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of GC.


Gate dielectric engineering is crucial to enable two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) for logic transistor applications. In this work, we demonstrate a uniform and pinhole-free bilayer high-κ fabricated on monolayer (1L) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) through thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) without surface pretreatment. A thin low- temperature (75 °C) AlOx film deposited directly on 1L-MoS2 mitigates 2D channel damage and serves as a nucleation and protection layer for high-temperature (250 °C) HfOx high-κ layer. The 1L-MoS2 back-gate (BG) devices with lowtemperature ALD capping show minor mobility degradation, less threshold voltage shift, smooth surface topography, and lower device variability compared to those with high-temperature ALD capping. These electrical differences are closely related to the coverage of the AlOx film at the initial ALD stage and the resultant quality of the AlOx-MoS2 interface after HfOx deposition. The underlying mechanism of ALD on the TMDs is proposed in terms of physical analysis and electrical findings. This work provides a practical and scalable ALD approach in gate dielectrics toward high performance 2D electronics.


Understanding the complexity of the elements that constitute organizational food environments and their operating dynamics is essential to improving their healthiness. This study developed a conceptual model of organizational food environments. For this purpose, a comprehensive literature review was conducted, a first version of the conceptual model was prepared, a panel of experts was consulted, the model was improved, a second panel of experts was consulted, and the model was finalized. The model consists of four components (the institutional level, internal level of eating spaces, surroundings, and the decisional level) and 10 dimensions related to the institutional level and internal level of eating spaces (the availability, accessibility, affordability, quality, food and nutrition information, and promotion of foods, beverages, and culinary preparations and the availability, acceptability, convenience, ambience, and infrastructure of the eating space), as expressed in a graphical scheme. The conceptual model presented here offers innovative elements which contribute to understanding of the organizational food environment. It can guide the development of both assessment studies of food environments and interventions for their improvement.


The advent of toric IOls has certainly reduced the place of relaxing incisions. On the other hand, the use of femtosecond has significantly improved the easiness, the predictability and safety of the incisional procedure. Moreover the recent innovation of the "femtocataract" offers on some platforms the opportunity to combined relaxing incisions at the time of the crystalline lens removal. We will remind the different modalities for performing these incisions and will focus on disparities concerning the popularity of this surgery from one country to the other. The review of literature will provide the demonstration of the efficacy of incisions for correction of astigmatism especially in case of large cylindrical component such secondary astigmatism after triple procedure graft and cataract removal. We will also underline the interest of femtosecond laser in the refinement of the final outcome and will compare transepithelial versus intrastromal incisions. Of course the debate will be opened with toric IOls and photablation, that in some cases can be more complementary rather than competitive.


Previous studies have demonstrated that combining individuals with different social skills affects performance in rhythmic interpersonal motor coordination, with individuals with lower social skills, such as individuals with autism spectrum disorder or schizophrenia, being found to follow the actions of partners with higher social skills. In this study, we investigated whether this finding could be generalized among pairs of individuals without disability. To perform this, we applied an interpersonal motor coordination task that required participants to perform rhythmic movements featuring an interpersonal relative phase pattern of 90°. We did not assign the two roles (i.e., the preceding and following roles) to the participants, meaning they were forced to determine which roles to adopt by observing each other's movements, without verbal communication. Individual social skills were measured using the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ). We found that pairs of participants with widely differing AQ scores performed better than did pairs with similar AQ scores. Most notably, the participants with higher AQ scores tended to precede their partners in the present task, which is the opposite result to that reported in previous studies. Our findings suggest that paring individuals without disability according to their social skills influences their interpersonal coordination performance in tasks wherein they must determine the preceding and following roles themselves.


Natural products serve as safe and effective therapeutic agents for the drug discovery. Plants produce bioactive secondary metabolites such as terpenoids, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, and others, which have profusely been studied for anti-infective, anticancer, anti-inflammatory potential, and metabolic disorders to name a few. Terpenoids constitute the largest class of natural compound. The study investigates the novel cytotoxic compound of the terpenoid family isolated from different natural sources. The anticancerous activities of the compounds discussed in this review are taken from the published articles showing activity against specific cancer cell lines. The compounds exclusively belong to terpenoid family. Considering the huge potential of plant-based natural products in drug discovery program and the contribution of terpenoid in the production of anticancer compounds, it can be exploited for more reliable economical and environmentally safe bioactive molecules.


Adolescence is characterized by significant brain development and marks a period of the life span with an increased incidence of mood disorders, especially in females. The risk of developing mood disorders is also higher in individuals scoring high on neuroticism, a personality trait characterized by a tendency to experience negative and anxious emotions. We previously found in a cross‐sectional study that neuroticism is associated with microstructural left–right asymmetry of the fronto‐limbic white matter involved in emotional processing, with opposite effects in female and male adolescents. We now have extended this work collecting longitudinal data in 76 typically developing children and adolescents aged 7–18 years, including repeated MRI sampling up to 11 times. This enabled us, for the first time, to address the critical question, whether the association between neuroticism and frontal‐limbic white matter asymmetry changes or remains stable across late childhood and adolescence. Neuroticism was assessed up to four times and showed good intraindividual stability and did not significantly change with age. Conforming our cross‐sectional results, females scoring high on neuroticism displayed increased left–right cingulum fractional anisotropy (FA), while males showed decreased left–right cingulum FA asymmetry. Despite ongoing age‐related increases in FA in cingulum, the association between neuroticism and cingulum FA asymmetry was already expressed in females in late childhood and remained stable across adolescence. In males, the association appeared to become more prominent during adolescence. Future longitudinal studies need to cover an earlier age span to elucidate the time point at which the relationship between neuroticism and cingulum FA asymmetry arises.


A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is dynamic in nature and is composed of wirelessly connected nodes that perform hop-by-hop routing without the help of any fixed infrastructure. One of the important requirements of a MANET is the efficiency of energy, which increases the lifetime of the network. Several techniques have been proposed by researchers to achieve this goal and one of them is clustering in MANETs that can help in providing an energy-efficient solution. Clustering involves the selection of cluster-heads (CHs) for each cluster and fewer CHs result in greater energy efficiency as these nodes drain more power than noncluster-heads. In the literature, several techniques are available for clustering by using optimization and evolutionary techniques that provide a single solution at a time. In this paper, we propose a multi-objective solution by using multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm to optimize the number of clusters in an ad hoc network as well as energy dissipation in nodes in order to provide an energy-efficient solution and reduce the network traffic. In the proposed solution, inter-cluster and intra-cluster traffic is managed by the cluster-heads. The proposed algorithm takes into consideration the degree of nodes, transmission power, and battery power consumption of the mobile nodes. The main advantage of this method is that it provides a set of solutions at a time. These solutions are achieved through optimal Pareto front. We compare the results of the proposed approach with two other well-known clustering techniques; WCA and CLPSO-based clustering by using different performance metrics. We perform extensive simulations to show that the proposed approach is an effective approach for clustering in mobile ad hoc networks environment and performs better than the other two approaches.


Potassium is the most important and abundant inorganic cation in plants and it can comprise up to 10% of a plant's dry weight. Plants possess complex systems of transporters and channels for the transport of K+ from soil to numerous parts of plants. Cajanus cajan is cultivated in different regions of the world as an economical source of carbohydrates, fiber, proteins, and fodder for animals. In the current study, 39 K+ transport genes were identified in C. cajan, including 25 K+ transporters (17 carrier-like K+ transporters (KUP/HAK/KTs), 2 high-affinity potassium transporters (HKTs), and 6 K+ efflux transporters (KEAs) and 14 K+ channels (9 shakers and 5 tandem-pore K+ channels (TPKs). Chromosomal mapping indicated that these genes were randomly distributed among 10 chromosomes. A comparative phylogenetic analysis including protein sequences from Glycine max, Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Medicago truncatula Cicer arietinum, and C. cajan suggested vital conservation of K+ transport genes. Gene structure analysis showed that the intron/exon organization of K+ transporter and channel genes is highly conserved in a family-specific manner. In the promoter region, many cis-regulatory elements were identified related to abiotic stress, suggesting their role in abiotic stress response. Abiotic stresses (salt, heat, and drought) adversely affect chlorophyll, carotenoids contents, and total soluble proteins. Furthermore, the activities of catalase, superoxide, and peroxidase were altered in C. cajan leaves under applied stresses. Expression analysis (RNA-seq data and quantitative real-time PCR) revealed that several K+ transport genes were expressed in abiotic stress-responsive manners. The present study provides an in-depth understanding of K+ transport system genes in C. cajan and serves as a basis for further characterization of these genes.


Thirty adults were interviewed about their experiences in a 6-week program for recovery from posttraumatic stress. The most valued aspects were their relationships with staff and the staff's expertise in treating the long-term effects of abuse. They valued the structured group treatment that allowed them to process emotions with the goal of healing. A few were upset by process groups, whereas others had difficulty with the sudden loss of support at discharge from the program.


In a finite population denoted U=1, 2, 3,....., N of N identifiable units, let X be the survey variable. The survey variables are observations from a super population. It is possible to get total information about these survey variables such as their total population, mean or their variance. In most cases auxiliary information about X is provided. A simple approach to using this auxiliary information is to assume a working model that describes the connection between the study variable of interest and the auxiliary variables. Estimators are then derived on the basis of this model. The best estimators are the ones that have good efficiency if the model is true, and are consistent if the model is inappropriate. In this study, we derive a nonparametric artificial neural network estimator of finite population total. The estimator is design unbiased, design consistent and asymptotic normal.


INTRODUCTION
Staphylococcus aureus produces a variety of diseases among children, ranging from skin and soft tissue infections to invasive life-threatening diseases. Since 1990, an increasing number of diseases produced by community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) isolates have been reported. The aim of this study was to describe the importance and the microbiological characteristics of S. aureus isolates recovered from children treated at the Hospital Pediátrico del Centro Hospitalario "Pereira Rossell" (HP-CHPR); focusing on invasive diseases caused by CA-MRSA isolates, as well as some clinical aspects of the diseases they have produced.

METHODOLOGY
One hundred and twenty-five S. aureus isolates recovered from the HP-CHPR between 2003 and 2006 from children with invasive (n=89) and superficial diseases (n=36) were included. Genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of S. aureus isolates and relevant clinical aspects of each child were studied.

RESULTS
CA-MRSA isolates accounted for 73% of all S. aureus recovered from invasive (mainly bone and joint) infections, pneumonia and bacteraemia. The most common CA-MRSA strain recovered from invasive (n=65) and superficial (n=36) diseases had the following features: pulsotype A (type USA1100), SCCmec cassette type IV, Panton-Valentine Leukocidin genes positive, susceptibility to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole without the inducible macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B (iMLSB) resistance phenotype. No association between genotypic characteristics of invasive CA-MRSA isolates and clinical outcomes was found.

CONCLUSIONS
CA-MRSA isolates produced a wide spectrum of invasive diseases in a public paediatric hospital between 2003 and 2006. Microbiologic characterization suggests the spread of an adapted CA-MRSA clone lacking erm genes.


Summary Stimulation of human platelets to release results in decreased buoyant density. This decreased density provides a tool to detect circulating platelets which have participated in a thrombotic process. Platelet density gradient centrifugation using Stractan was standardized and the effects of anticoagulation, temperature, and osmolarity were investigated. In 7 out of 32 patients with thrombotic disease less dense platelets were found. Platelet activation in the patient group was also indicated by spontaneous aggregation (10/32), decreased circulating platelet aggregate ratios (5/24) and elevated plasma β-thromboglobulin levels (2/11). Several of these tests were also abnormal in diabetes mellitus thrombocytosis, leukaemia and several systemic diseases with thrombotic complications. The platelet density test using Stractan is reproducible and independent of other tests for platelet activation and is therefore potentially a useful extension of platelet function testing in patients with thrombotic disease.


The first phytochemical investigation of the fruits of Angelica lucida has led to the isolation and characterization of five known coumarins (imperatorin, isoimperatorin, heraclenol, oxypeucedanin hydrate and heraclenin). All isolated compounds were identified by means of spectral and literature data. The extracts and the isolated constituents from A. lucida have been also evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against six Gram positive and negative bacteria, two oral pathogens and three human pathogenic fungi, exhibiting an interesting antimicrobial profile.


Although gun-shot wounds of the stomach are among the most serious which a physician or surgeon is called on to treat, modern surgery has done a great deal to place the treatment of these injuries of the stomach and of other abdominal viscera on a more scientific basis and to give more hope for recovery in a large class of these cases. The tendency to pneumonia after the treatment of these injuries has been suggested by W. J. Mayo and is markedly demonstrated in this case. History of Shooting. —On Feb. 3, 1905, at 5:30 p. m., a family fracas occurred in which the senior member of a family was used for a target by his stepdaughter, who used a 22-caliber revolver, shooting twice from in front. One shot took effect over the costal cartilages of the ribs about two inches to the left of the median line, taking a


Wikipedia is arguably the most important information source yet invented for natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence, in addition to its role as humanity's largest encyclopedia. Wikipedia is the principal information source for such prominent services as IBM's Watson [1], Freebase [2], the Google Knowledge Graph [3], Apple's Siri [4], YAGO [5], and DBpedia [6], the core reference structure for linked open data [7]. Wikipedia information has assumed a prominent role in NLP applications in word sense disambiguation, named entity recognition, co-reference resolution, and multi-lingual alignments; in information retrieval in query expansion, multi-lingual retrieval, question answering, entity ranking, text categorization, and topic indexing; and in semantic applications in topic extraction, relation extraction, entity extraction, entity typing, semantic relatedness, and ontology building [8].


This paper evaluates whether 1) protoplatyrrhines could have migrated to South America via Antarctica, and 2) the floating island model is a plausible transoceanic mode of dispersal for land vertebrates like protoplatyrrhines. Results show that Eocene Antarctica and Australia supported large and dense forests, and that the Antarctic fauna was comprised of many species of vertebrates, including placental and marsupial land mammals. However, no primate remains have ever been reported from these continents. Antarctica and South America were connected until the Middle Eocene (i.e., after the oldest Asian anthropoids), but two major water barriers existed between Antarctica and Asia since the Early Eocene. The Eocene and Oligocene water gap separating Africa and Antarctica was excessively large. Thus, all scenarios involving an Antarctic route have been rejected. The African scenario is difficult to falsify because only one water barrier existed, both paleowinds and paleocurrents were favorable, and Paleogene African anthropoids show phylogenetic affinities to platyrrhines. I tested whether a journey on a hypothetical floating island over the Paleogene Atlantic Ocean exceeds the survival limit of a genetically viable group of animals such as protoplatyrrhines. Studies of water deprivation suggest that they could have been able, with a body weight averaging 1 kg, to survive without water for at least 13 days. I have used the present Atlantic Ocean as a model for the velocity of Paleogene paleowinds and paleocurrents. Considering winds as the key accelerating force of floating islands, the Paleogene Atlantic water barrier could have been crossed, in the most conservative scenario, in 8 days at 50 Mya, 11 days at 40 Mya, and 15 days at 30 Mya. In order to survive a transoceanic journey, however, protoplatyrrhines had to be preadapted to strong seasonal variations in water availability in their original (African) environment. Once on the sea, their brains would have physiologically interpreted the rarity of water as the beginning of the dry season, and the group would have switched its diet to alternative foods, i.e., everything available on the floating island.


This Communication reports a low-cost solution fabrication of wafer-scale ZnO/Si branched nanowire heterostructures and their high photodetection sensitivity, with an ON/OFF ratio larger than 250 and a peak photoresponsivity of 12.8 mA/W at 900 nm. This reported unique 3D branched nanowire structure offers a generic approach for the integration of new functional materials for photodetection and photovoltaic applications.


This study is intended to understand the styles, colors and color arrangements of costumes expressed on Kisan Kim Jun-geun`s genre paintings of Joseon in the late 19th century. The paintings vary according to the status and gender of the person wearing the costume as well as the time period and different situations the person belongs to. Also, this study aims to examine the meaning and value of Kisan`s paintings in terms of the history of Korean costumes. The result of this study are as follows: The basic and common attire for people of all status and class is the jeogori (jacket), baji (pants) for men and Banhoijang jeogori, chima(skirt) for women. Men wear Po (coat) that represents their status and age, and they put on various hats according to different weather conditions or work-skill even when in the same status and class. However, women wear the Baeja (vest), Durumagi(coat) and head-dresses when they are cold. Overall, the costume patterns and shapes that appear on Kisan`s paintings show the same patterns and structures when compared to different data during the same time period. Thus, they provide useful information to help not only understand the changes of patterns and structures of costumes, but also the situations and emotions of the people of that time period. Moreover, it can be understood that various colors and color arrangements that reflect the situations and emotions of the late 19th century were used. This study that analyses the colors and color arrangements used in Kisan`s genre paintings can provide the very basic and systematically arranged data to help understand the unique colors in Korea. These data can also provide important information to understand the use of dyes and pigments during that time. Therefore, Kisan`s genre paintings are meaningful and valuable in terms of the history of Korean costumes for these are the data, from which we can review the costumes, colors and color arrangements in the years from 1890 to 1910.


In commercial Dura x Pisifera (DxP) seed production, white-coloured seeds are perceived as abnormal despite lack of scientific evidence to support this. This study evaluates different seed colour (black, semi-white and white) during germination and nursery evaluation. Four replications of 10 seeds were used for the evaluation of seed characteristic. Seed germination was conducted using four replications of 100 seeds by subjecting the seeds to 60 days of heat-treatment followed by germination at 30ºC. Thirty pre-germinated DxP seeds per replication were then transferred into the nursery for morphological, physiological and growth assessment at three months interval until 12 months after sowing. Germination test shows all seed types indicated similar germination percentage (more than 78%) and speed (13-15 days of mean germination time). Nursery assessment shows black seed indicated higher overall biomass within the first three months, however, no differences in growth were observed from six until 12 months after sowing. Physiological evaluation including net photosynthesis (5.3-18.13 µmol CO 2 m –2 s –1 ), stomatal conductance and transpiration rate were similar among the seedlings produced by seeds differing in colour. Hence, seed colour does not implicate abnormality and should not be discarded for the purpose of seed production.


Patients with prostate cancer are commonly treated medically or undergo radical prostatectomy and/or radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is usually selected for patients with local or regional disease and patients for whom traditional surgery has failed. The local recurrence of cancer in patients treated with radiation therapy presents a difficult challenge regarding the selection of further treatment options. A commonly applied treatment is salvage prostatectomy, but it can be difficult and complicated, with positive surgical margins occurring in as many as 50 percent of patients and with significant postoperative morbidity. Hormonal therapy, which is not curative, has served as an alternative to surgery in patients who have failed to respond to radiation therapy. Cryosurgery, the destruction of diseased tissue by freezing, is increasingly used both as a first-line therapy and as a second-line therapy (salvage therapy) in patients for whom radiation therapy has failed. Recent reports suggest that cryosurgery may be a useful alternative procedure for treating some of these patients with recurrent cancers. Outcomes of cryosurgery are improving through better instrumentation, surgical technique, and experience. The available data suggest that some patients with radioresistant cancer appear to benefit from the use of cryosurgery as a salvage therapy. Use of this technique has resulted in biochemical disease-free survival for varying periods of some patients who had recurrent prostate carcinoma following radiation therapy; however, morbidity remains high and relatively few patients have had adequate followup. Salvage cryosurgery prospective clinical trials are warranted and would help determine long-term survival benefits and make possible the comparison of cryotherapy patient survival rates with those of untreated biopsy-positive patients.


Abstract Ever since the 1920s, Rudolf Bultmann has been charged with confining theology to philosophy, owing to his naïve adoption of Martin Heidegger's existentialist ontology. Bultmann's personal friendship with Heidegger is well-known, and the presence of Heideggerian concepts throughout his work is impossible to miss. But there is a great deal of confusion over the details of this relationship, and scholars differ widely over what conclusions we ought to draw regarding the nature of Bultmann's work. This article reassesses the Bultmann–Heidegger relationship from three angles. First, I show that the essential elements of Bultmann's theology were already in place before he met or learnt from Heidegger. Second, I argue that Bultmann circumscribes Heidegger's philosophy within a theology of revelation. Third, I demonstrate that his theological programme is, in principle, open to other conceptualities. Since nothing material rests on the appropriation of Heidegger, one cannot accurately call Bultmann a Heideggerian theologian.


Much of what takes place in auditor‐client management negotiations occurs in unobservable settings and normally does not result in publicly available archival records. Recent research has increasingly attempted to probe issues relating to accounting negotiations in part due to recent events in the financial world. In this paper, we compare recalls from the two sides of such negotiations, audit partners, and chief financial officers (CFOs), collected in two field questionnaires. We examine the congruency of the auditors' and the CFOs' negotiation recalls for all negotiation elements and features that were common across the two questionnaires (detailed analyses of the questionnaires are reported elsewhere). The results show largely congruent recall: only limited divergences in recall of common elements and features. Specifically, we show a high level of congruency across CFOs and audit partners in the type of issues negotiated, parties involved in resolving the issue, and the elements making up the negotiat...


Immunoreactive (ir) lamprey (l), mammalian (m), chicken II (chII), and salmon (s) gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and ir-coho salmon beta-gonadotropins I and II (GTH I and GTH II) have been localized in the brain and pituitary gland of Xiphophorus maculatus, the platyfish, at various stages of development from birth to sexual maturity. Ir-GTH I was found in the pituitary gland at all stages examined; ir-GTH II was found only in animals in the pubertal and mature stages. Ir-sGnRH was seen only in the pituitary gland of neonatal and immature animals. In pubertal fish, it was found in the nucleus olfactoretinalis (NOR) of the brain as well as in the pituitary gland. In older animals it was found in the nucleus preopticus periventricularis (NPP) and the nucleus lateralis tuberis (NLT), as well as in the NOR and the pituitary gland. Ir-mGnRH was seen in the pituitary of neonatal and immature fish. It was restricted to the NOR and pituitary gland of pubertal animals. In mature animals, it had a similar, but not identical, distribution as that of ir-sGnRH. Antisera to mGnRH and sGnRH appeared to stain the same cells in the brain and pituitary gland. Ir-lGnRH was found only in the pituitary gland of animals of all ages where it stained the same cells as ir-mGnRH and ir-sGnRH. Ir-chIIGnRH was absent in all immature stages. In animals that were sexually mature it was seen in tracts in the NPP, nucleus preopticus (NPO), NLT, and pituitary gland. Ir-chIIGnRH seemed to colocalize with ir-sGnRH in the pituitary but there was no apparent colocalization with any other form of ir-GnRH in the brain. These results demonstrate that variant forms of GnRH and GTH are present at defined stages of development in specific regions of the brain and pituitary gland and suggest that different forms of GnRH and GTH regulate different aspects of reproductive system development and physiology.


Hirschprung disease is usually diagnosed in infancy. Occasionally patients reach adulthood without diagnosis or treatment. Four cases of adult Hirschprung disease are described. The principal radiographic findings are a markedly dilated, feces-filled colon above the zone of transition; a narrowed rectum; a cone- or funnel-shaped zone of transition; and a mosaic colonic pattern caused by collapsed redundant mucosa after colonic cleansing. In an adult, identification on a barium enema examination of an abrupt, smooth transition zone in the rectum with proximal colonic dilatation, in conjunction with an appropriate clinical history, should suggest the diagnosis of adult Hirschprung disease.


Prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) needs to deal with the large epistemological uncertainty about the future to support more robust future environmental impact assessments of technologies. This study proposes a novel approach that systematically changes the background processes in a prospective LCA based on scenarios of an integrated assessment model (IAM), the IMAGE model. Consistent worldwide scenarios from IMAGE are evaluated in the life cycle inventory using ecoinvent v3.3. To test the approach, only the electricity sector was changed in a prospective LCA of an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) and an electric vehicle (EV) using six baseline and mitigation climate scenarios until 2050. This case study shows that changes in the electricity background can be very important for the environmental impacts of EV. Also, the approach demonstrates that the relative environmental performance of EV and ICEV over time is more complex and multifaceted than previously assumed. Uncertainty due to future developments manifests in different impacts depending on the product (EV or ICEV), the impact category, and the scenario and year considered. More robust prospective LCAs can be achieved, particularly for emerging technologies, by expanding this approach to other economic sectors beyond electricity background changes and mobility applications as well as by including uncertainty and changes in foreground parameters. A more systematic and structured composition of future inventory databases driven by IAM scenarios helps to acknowledge epistemological uncertainty and to increase the temporal consistency of foreground and background systems in LCAs of emerging technologies.


The optimal calving interval for dairy buffaloes is found to be 12 to 13 months. The losses due to prolonged calving interval are amounted to one USA dollar per extra day of optimal calving interval. The calving season, weight loss after calving, nutritional status and management affect the reproductive performance. A number of measures can be taken to control the length of calving interval. Improvement, especially adequate estrus detection is a prerequisite in summer and spring seasons. Delayed cyclic activity can be restored by hormonal treatment. In winter the intensity of estrus detection should be increased. Nutrition should be optimal in the post partum period. Initiation of a fertility control program of the veterinary services of Pakistan is highly recommended.


This survey asked reporters who cover medical topics at U.S. newspapers about their opinion leaders. More than 75 percent said they are lone wolves, unaffected by the work of any other journalists. Of those who reported some influence, most named only one or two other reporters.


We propose a new method for chaos control and anti-control, which is referred to as the fuzzy-neural network inverse system method (FNNIS). The Sugeno-type fuzzy-neural network (FNN) is employed to learn the kinetics of the system to be controlled. Then the FNN model is used with the inverse system method to make the system to be controlled to track the reference input. If the system to be controlled is chaotic and the reference input is non-chaotic, chaos control can be implemented via the FNNIS method. If the system to be controlled is non-chaotic and the reference input is chaotic, chaos anti-control can be implemented. Theorems about the e(cid:11)ect of the FNN model error upon control are established. The simulation results show that this method is feasible and e(cid:11)ective for chaos control and anti-control.


Objectives: To compare open cholecystectomy with laparoscopic cholecystectomy using latest variables of pulmonary functions as parameters. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Surgery, CMH Rawalpindi from May 2010 to Nov 2010. Patients and Methods: Patients with symptomatic cholelithiasis subjected to elective cholecystectomy were studied. The patients were divided into two groups. Open Cholecystectomy was performed on patients in group I, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed in patients in group II. Respiratory function tests were performed preoperatively and on the morning of the 1st post-operative day. Results: Preoperative pulmonary function tests were normal and did not differ significantly between the two groups. After operation a significant reduction in the FEV1 (Forced Expiratory Volume in first second), FEV6 (Forced expiratory volume in first six seconds) and their ratio FEV1/FEV6 occurred after both open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy. However, mean reductions in FEV1, FEV6 and FEV1/FEV6 in the laparoscopic cholecystectomy group were significantly (p<0.05) less as compared with those after open cholecystectomy. Conclusion: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy causes less impairment of lung function than cholecystectomy performed through a subcostal incision.