Citrus is a salt-sensitive plant. In the present study, the salt stress ameliorating the effect of arbuscular mycor rhizal fungi through antioxidant defense systems was reported. Three-month-old trifoliate orange ( Poncirus trifoliata) seedlings colonized by Glomus mosseae or G. versiforme were irrigated with 0 and 100 mmol NaCl solutions. After 49 days of salinity, mycorrhizal structures were obviously restrained by salt stress. Mycorrhizal inoculation especially G. mosseae significantly alleviated the growth reduction of salinity. There were notably lower malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide contents in the leaves of mycorrhizal seedlings than in non-mycorrhizal ones. Mycorrhizal seedlings recorded notably greater activity of catalase and contents of ascorbate, soluble protein and glutathione under salinity or non-salinity conditions. The seedlings colonized by G. mosseae showed significantly higher antioxidant defense systems response to salinity than by G. versiforme. Our data demonstrate that mycorrhizal (especially G. mosseae) citrus seedlings exhibited greater efficient antioxidant defense systems, which provide better protection against salt damage.


With the progression of aging, the immune system and the tendency for abnormal immunological changes are common. Individuals over the age of 50 years are susceptible to infectious diseases as well as inflammation and immune-mediated tissue damage. Aging is the main cause of disease pathology and death, continuously enhancing the risk of cardiovascular disease, malignancy, and infectious diseases. One of the important causes is higher susceptibility to autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and other immunodeficiency syndromes. Inflammation is common in age-related pathologies. In immune cells, T lymphocytes have an extensive life cycle and show a robust copying force, constructing them sensitive to ageing-associated pathologies. In dysfunctional ageing of T-cells, protection of T-cell function and cells capable of promoting inflammation are abundant. Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-lasting autoimmune disease that mainly affects the joints. Though RA develops at an early age, the frequency of developing RA increases with the increase in age. It is also seen that RA may develop as a result of premature ageing (immunosenescence) of the immune system. In RA, T-cell ageing occurs prematurely, but the mechanism involved and their role in tissue damage is still uncertain. T-cell ageing and its effects on rheumatoid arthritis are discussed here, as well as how T-cells participate in tissue damage, acute and chronic inflammation, and the ageing process. Also review the DNA damage in response to T-cell aging, telomeric ends shortening during RA and immunosenescence, and Tcells in RA.


BACKGROUND
Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) includes fertility procedures where both egg and sperm are handled in the lab. ART use has increased considerably in recent years, accounting for 47,090 livebirths in the U.S. in 2010. ART increases the probability of multiple gestation births, which are at higher risks than singletons for adverse outcomes. Additionally, ART is associated with a greater risk of complications during pregnancy, labour, and delivery, and increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in singleton births.

METHODS
We merged Florida and Massachusetts birth records from 2004-06 with the National ART Surveillance System (NASS) and using NASS as the gold standard, calculated sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV) of ART reporting on the birth certificates by maternal, infant, and hospital characteristics. We fit random-effects logistic regression models to evaluate simultaneously the association of ART reporting with these predictors while accounting for correlation among births occurring in the same hospital.

RESULTS
Sensitivity of ART reporting on the birth certificate was 28.9% in Florida and 41.4% in Massachusetts. Specificity was >99% in both states. PPV was 45.5% in Florida and 54.6% in Massachusetts. The odds of ART reporting varied by state and by several maternal and delivery characteristics including age, parity, history of fetal loss, plurality, race/Hispanic ethnicity, delivery payment source, pre-existing conditions, and complications during pregnancy or labour and delivery.

CONCLUSIONS
There was significant under-reporting of ART procedures on the birth certificates. Using data on ART births identified only from birth certificates yields a biased sample of the population of ART births.


The main purpose of this study is to study the innovation of market traders mediating the effect of entrepreneurial behavior on the performance of traditional market traders in the City of Banyuwangi and the City of Solo in Indonesia. Furthermore, the sample used was traditional market traders in Banyuwangi and Solo City consisting of 186 traditional market traders. The analytical tool used is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results showed that entrepreneurial behavior and innovation were able to contribute to the business performance of traditional market traders and innovation of traditional market traders was able to form the entrepreneurial spirit of market traders, so as to improve the business performance of market traders independently and collectively.


The study assessed the eye movements of 60 adult German readers during silent reading of target words, consisting of 2 and 3 syllables, embedded in sentences. The first objective was to assess whether the inhibitory effect of first syllable frequency, which was up to now primarily shown for isolated words, generalizes to natural reading. The second objective was to assess the effect of orthographic similarity. First syllable frequency was defined phonologically and was based on the SUBTLEX norms for spoken language [Brysbaert et al. (2011). The word frequency effect: A review of recent developments and implications for the choice of frequency estimates in German. Experimental Psychology, 58, 412–424]. Orthographic similarity was indexed by orthographic Levenshtein distance neighborhood frequency [Yarkoni, T., Balota, D. & Yap, M. (2008). Moving beyond Coltheart's N: A new measure of orthographic similarity. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15, 971-979]. We found inhibitory effects for first syllable frequency and for orthographic neighborhood frequency. First syllable frequency affected first fixation duration which was considered as reflecting early effects in visual word recognition. Orthographic neighborhood frequency affected "late" measures. These findings show that, first, the effect of first syllable frequency does generalize to silent reading. Second, the effect of orthographic neighborhood frequency, up to now investigated only for short words in the context of English, does generalize to multisyllabic words in the German orthography. Relating the effects to the individual reading rate of the participants revealed that the effects were consistent in fast readers, but highly variable in slow readers.


insignificant); one individual was allergic to mice and one to guinea pigs and IgE antibodies to allergens from these species were not tested; two had skin reactions only (one very mild) and two had mild nasal symptoms only. We would also emphasise that this retrospective group was chosen from individuals who in a previous survey had reported allergic symptoms and our comments about increased antibody levels referred only to this group and should not be taken to indicate that the statement is necessarily true of a larger, controlled population. Even with this proviso our results do not support the statements made by Newman Talor et al in their abstract that "these findings suggest that the immunological mechanisms responsible for asthmatic reactions to laboratory animals are different from those involved in rhinitis and urticaria." ' We fail to see the point of the last paragraph of their letter. There was no intention to conceal anything. The prospective group is, as stated, a clearly defined population of individuals during their first year of employment. We agree that it is crucial to know if those with specific IgE are at particular risk of developing asthma, and this is one of the reasons for the continuing study referred to in our paper. Slovak and Newman Taylor seem to be reading more into our results than is justified from the defined nature of the study. We also agree that the development of specific IgE could become a valuable monitor and that skin prick test conversion may be a significant marker. We are seeking scientific evidence for these assertions. We should further point out that although our observations were "made on a volunteer sample" there was a 100% response; all individuals who began employment during the study period agreed to take part.


Medieval ring brooches from Denmark – Typology, dating and use Ring brooches are one of the most common types of jewellery from the Middle Ages. They consist of a closed frame with a fixed pin (fig. 1). The metal detector activity of recent years has increased the number of these brooches. They have not previously been dealt with separately in Denmark. This article is based on the collection and typological classification of 215 ring brooches from present-day Denmark. These brooches can be classified into seven types with 23 sub-types (fig. 2). Nine of the brooches have no Danish parallel. The frames are most often circular, but their form varies. The circular brooches (types 1-3) are the most common. They make up 83% of the Danish brooches, whereas other frame shapes are less common (fig. 3). The use of ring brooches arose simultaneously with the Byzantine fashion of dress from the 12th century. The fashion dictated long coats or kirtles for both sexes (fig. 4). The neck opening of the kirtles was equipped with a slit which was fastened with a ring brooch (fig. 5); the brooches were also used to fasten cloaks. The ring brooches can be dated to a period extending from the 12th century until some time in the 15th century. In the beginning, functionality had priority, but later ring brooches appeared which were solely for decoration or were used to attach other items to the clothing. Dating of the individual types is based on stylistic and archaeological criteria together with numismatic dates from hoards. The latter two dating methods in particular provide a narrower dating framework for some of the types; this applies to, for example, types 3 and 4.1 (fig. 8). The earliest example in Scandinavian art of the use of ring brooches is from around AD 1200 (fig. 15), whereas there are archaeological finds from Denmark from the second half of the 12th century. Fig. 8 provides an overview of Danish and foreign dates for the ring brooch types. Types 1 and 2 both occur in the 12th century, whereas the other types appear from the 13th century. Some of the types are seen across large parts of Europe. This applies, for example, to types 1.1, 1.3, 2.1 and 2.6. Others have a more limited geographical distribution, which reflects cultural and trade-related links. This applies to types 1.4, 2.5 and 3. Some brooches are unique to Denmark but all have parallels in other countries. This underlines the fact that there are, by and large, no unique brooches, but that they all have a greater or smaller distribution (figs. 12 and 13). The ring brooches are often made from various types of copper alloy, while precious metals are more rarely used (fig. 14). They occur in a series of social contexts and this underlines the applicability of this type of jewellery. Most of the types occur as precious metal as well as alloy, and the same decorative elements are seen on brooches of very different quality (figs. 7 and 10). Ring brooches were worn by both men and women and probably also by children. Their size can give an indication of who wore them and how. The visual arts are a good source in this respect (fig. 5). Other sources include wills and, in rare cases, inscriptions on the brooches themselves, revealing the sex of the person who wore them. The greatest diameter of the ring brooches lies typically between 20 and 29 mm. A group comprising 12 brooches differs in this respect, having a diameter of between 13 and 19 mm, and eight medium- sized brooches have a diameter of between 50 and 59 mm. A group comprising 10 brooches has diameters of between 60 and 96 mm. These large brooches were probably cloak-fasteners. Medieval jewellery was often associated with great symbolism. This could be through the material from which they were made, in the form of metal and precious or semi-precious stones which was ascribed special significance. The symbolic value becomes clearest through the many inscriptions of a religious or amorous nature (fig. 9). Ring brooches were, like finger rings, a symbol of fidelity and love, and their function as a fastener for a cloak became, in a figurative sense, a picture of chastity. Mette Højmark SøvsøSydvestjyske Museer


Liver function test (LFT) increase is an early sign of acetaminophen (APAP) toxicity. Typically, when an acute overdose patient is evaluated and has an initial undetectable APAP level and normal liver enzymes, the patient is not treated with N-acetylcysteine, and liver enzymes are not expected to increase later. We report a case of moderate LFT increase despite normal LFTs and an undetectable APAP level after delayed presentation of an APAP ingestion. A 22-year-old male with no medical history ingested 15–25 hydrocodone/APAP tablets (5 mg/500 mg). His suicide note and his bunkmate corroborated the overdose time. He arrived at the emergency department 16 hours after ingestion. At that time, his APAP level was <10 &mgr;g/mL, and his liver enzymes were normal [aspartate transaminase (AST) 31 U/L and alanine transaminase (ALT) 34 U/L]. Twenty-nine hours after ingestion, the psychiatry team obtained LFTs (AST 45, ALT 61). He had persistent nausea and diffuse abdominal pain. On repeat analysis, the APAP level at 36 hours was found to be <10 &mgr;g/mL, AST 150, and ALT 204. After 2 more days of increasing LFTs and persistent abdominal pain and nausea, the toxicology department was consulted, the patient was transferred to the medicine department, and intravenous N-acetylcysteine was started 66 hours after ingestion. He was treated for 16 hours and had a significant decline in LFTs and symptom resolution. His prothrombin time, bilirubin, lactate, creatinine, and mental status were normal throughout the admission. Other cases of LFT increase were excluded. Our case report illustrates that a moderate increase in liver transaminase may occur despite an initial undetectable APAP level and normal transaminases after a delayed presentation. In our case, no serious clinical effects were reported.


OBJECTIVE:Transcranial Doppler (TCD) criteria for basilar artery (BA) vasospasm are poorly defined, and grading criteria for vertebrobasilar vasospasm are unavailable. The purpose of the present study was to define TCD grading criteria for BA vasospasm on the basis of the absolute flow velocities and the intracranial to extracranial flow velocity ratios for the posterior circulation, and to improve the sensitivity and specificity of TCD for diagnosis of BA vasospasm. METHODS:One hundred twenty-three patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage underwent 144 cerebral arteriograms with views of the BA during the acute phase of vasospasm (Days 3–14 after hemorrhage). BA diameters were measured and compared with diameters obtained from baseline arteriograms. Both BA and extracranial vertebral artery flow velocities were measured by TCD within 4 hours before the arteriogram. RESULTS:The velocity ratio between the BA and the extracranial vertebral arteries (VA) strongly correlated with the degree of BA narrowing (r2 = 0.648; P < 0.0001). A ratio higher than 2.0 was associated with 73% sensitivity and 80% specificity for BA vasospasm. A ratio higher than 2.5 with BA velocity greater than 85 cm/s was associated with 86% sensitivity and 97% specificity for BA narrowing of more than 25%. A BA/VA ratio higher than 3.0 with BA velocities higher than 85 cm/s was associated with 92% sensitivity and 97% specificity for BA narrowing of more than 50%. CONCLUSION:The BA/VA ratio improves the sensitivity and specificity of TCD detection of BA vasospasm. On the basis of the BA/VA ratio and BA mean velocities, we suggest new TCD grading criteria for BA vasospasm.


In this paper, we propose and describe the six characteristics of trust. Based on the six proposed characteristics, we determine why trust is fuzzy. The term "fuzzy" in this paper not in the sense of the precise definitions given in the Fuzzy Systems literature but to indicate a certain vagueness, complexity or ill-definition and qualitative characterization rather than quantitative representation and dynamic. We then determine why due to the six characteristics of trust, trust is dynamic. We then propose a modelling language tool to model the fuzzy and dynamic nature of trust.


Purpose
Preserving the environment is fundamental to the planet's long-term sustainability, but attempts to promote pro-environmental behaviours often do not take into account the motivational determinants of such behaviours. This study aims to present and critically evaluate the theoretical and empirical basis of goal-framing theory, which asserts that pro-environmental behaviours might stem from conflicting goals. This study compares the theory to other approaches used to explain pro-environmental behaviour, reviews the empirical evidence for it and comes up with suggestions for future research.

Design/methodology/approach
This study compares the theory with other popular theories to explain pro-environmental behaviour and behaviour change and systematically review 25 empirical research studies that adopt the goal-framing theory.

Findings
Most studies rely on survey data, focus on Europe and gather self-reported behaviours or hypothetical responses. Furthermore, many studies of goal frames neglect key situational factors. Thus, the directions for further research outlined herein emphasise the need for more experimental studies of real behaviours, with consideration of situational factors, using methods that can explicate unconscious processes too. Overall, goal-framing theory provides a promising approach for analysing pro-environmental behaviours, in that it explicitly deals with goal conflicts, takes situational factors into account and encompasses conscious and unconscious processes. The authors conclude that the theory can form a useful basis for the design of social marketing behavioural interventions to promote pro-environmental behaviours.

Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, as the first systematic review of empirical applications of goal-framing theory, this study provides refinement and validation. By also offering propositions and a research agenda, the authors hope to inspire researchers in social marketing to address the remaining gaps and refine the theory even further.


Adequate dietary iodine intake in children is essential for optimal physical and neurological development. Whether lower dietary animal food and salt intake may adversely affect iodine status is under discussion. We examined the association between dietary animal:plant protein ratio with 24-h urinary iodine excretion (24-h UI, μg/d), and whether this is modified by salt intake. A 24-h UI was measured in 1959 24-h urine samples from 516 6- to 12-year-old participants of the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed Study. Parallel 3 d weighed food records were used to estimate dietary intakes. Protein sources were classified as dairy, animal and plant. A repeated-measures regression model (PROC MIXED) was used to analyse the effect of animal:plant protein ratios on 24-h UI. Animal:plant protein ratios ranged from 0·5 (95 % CI 0·4, 0·6) to 1·6 (95 % CI 1·4, 1·9) (lowest and highest quartile). After adjustment for total energy intake, main dietary iodine sources (dairy and salt intake), and further covariates, the inter-individual variation in animal:plant protein ratio was significantly associated with variation in 24-h UI. One unit higher animal:plant protein ratio predicted 6 μg/d higher 24-h UI (P= 0·002) in boys and 5 μg/d (P= 0·03) in girls. This relationship was partially mediated by a higher salt intake at higher animal:plant protein ratios. These results suggest that lower consumption of animal protein is associated with a small decline in iodine excretion, partially mediated by decreased salt intake. Because limited salt and increased intake of plant-based foods are part of a preferable healthy food pattern, effective nutrition political strategies will be required in the future to ensure appropriate iodine nutrition in adherent populations.


Much of the recent work in remote sensing image captioning is influenced by natural image captioning. These methods tend to fix the defects of the model architecture to improve the previous work, but pay little attention to the differences between remote sensing images and natural images. By considering these differences, we propose a multiscale multiinteraction remote sensing image captioning model. As in Fig. 1(a), the targets in remote sensing images have a wide range of scales; while the natural images are generally taken close-up, resulting in a similar scale for the foreground targets. Due to the difference in shooting methods, the model pretrained on close-up natural images cannot capture multiscale remote sensing targets well. To alleviate this problem, we propose a two-stage multiscale structure for feature representation, where we first finetune the CNN backbone on remote sensing images for domain adaption, then we collect features from different stages as the multiscale feature representation. Moreover, due to the shooting distance, the height information of the target in the remote sensing image is greatly weakened, thus some objects like low plants and grasses become difficult to identify, as in Fig. 1(b). Thus, we further propose a multiinteraction feature representation module, where information flow of the same and different layers could effectively interact. By calculating the similarity score among features, we fuse features with high similarity, and increase the distance between features of different categories, thereby enhancing the distinguishability. Results on RSICD, Sydney-Captions, and UCM-Captions show a clear improvement over the compared methods.


Homologous pairs of virulent and attenuated or avirulent Mycoplasma pneumoniae strains were derived and compared in an effort to elucidate the mechanisms of virulence. These related strains were found to vary in growth, glycolysis, protein electrophoretic patterns, peroxide formation, morphology, and cytadsorption. Variations in the last two characteristics closely correlated with avirulence. This enables understanding of one stage in the pathogenic sequence and provides a convenient marker for avirulence. The derivation of infectious avirulent strains may make possible their use as live vaccines against M. pneumoniae disease.


37 patients who were treated 6-21 years ago at the institute, were recalled. The examination revealed that these patients must continue regular dental check-ups and home-care to maintain oral health and retention of the dental apparatus. It is the responsibility of the dentist to put his patients on a regular "recall" system after treatment. Depending on the severity of the case, the control intervals should be from 4-12 months apart. Oral hygiene, pocket depth, function and the hard tissues must be inspected and corrective treatment done where necessary. One time periodontal treatment is of questionable value over a long-time span. Only with regular supervision the dental structures can be retained.


Visual servoing enables robotic systems to perform accurate closed-loop control, which is required in many applications. However, existing methods require either precise calibration of the robot kinematic model and cameras or use neural architectures that require large amounts of data to train. In this work, we present a method for unsupervised learning of visual servoing that does not require any prior calibration and is extremely data-efficient. Our key insight is that visual servoing does not depend on identifying the veridical kinematic and camera parameters, but instead only on an accurate generative model of image feature observations from the joint positions of the robot. We demonstrate that with our model architecture and learning algorithm, we can consistently learn accurate models from less than 50 training samples (which amounts to less than 1 min of unsupervised data collection), and that such data-efficient learning is not possible with standard neural architectures. Further, we show that by using the generative model in the loop and learning online, we can enable a robotic system to recover from calibration errors and to detect and quickly adapt to possibly unexpected changes in the robot-camera system (e.g. bumped camera, new objects).


The purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of exercise on the improvement of the physical functions of the elderly. Ten males and thirty-four females, 44 in total, living in or visiting health care facilities and special nursing homes for the elderly who were able to either walk independently or with walking aids were randomly divided into a treatment intervention group (TIG) and a control group (CG). The average age of the TIG was 84.4 ± 5.6 years old, and that of the CG was 85.6 ± 4.8 years old respectively. The training exercises of the TIG were standing up from a chair grasping parallel bars and raising arms with pet bottles 2 or 3 times a week for 6 months. In the TIG, increased mean values of each estimation parameter were recognized: muscle strength of upper and lower limbs, grip strength, thigh circumference, standing up, the movement of raising arms, walking time and number of steps for 10 m, Functional Reach Test and Timed up & Go Test. Moreover, significant differences between the TIG and the CG were found in each evaluation item (p<0.05). This study suggests that the continuation of light-load exercise is effective and imperative for the elderly to keep and improve their physical functions.


Two hundred and sixty-one neurologically asymptomatic patients were examined by computed tomography (CT) following a variable number of transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) experienced over different time intervals. Cerebral infarcts were discovered in 101 patients. Dominant hemisphere infarcts were usually small, of recent origin and most often associated with less than 5 TIAs and a short history; whereas non-dominant hemisphere infarcts were found twice as frequently and were larger and older and correlated with repeated TIAs over many months. All infarcts, independent of size, were confined to a single vascular territory, suggesting haemodynamic rather than embolic causes. By comparing the age and size of the infarcts with the number of TIAs and their chronicity, the hypothesis emerged, suggesting that infarcts may occur early on and progressively enlarge with repeated attacks.


It is conventional wine industry practice for winemakers and grapegrowers to taste winegrapes to determine their fitness for producing various wine styles of different quality. However, the ability to predict wine style from tasting grapes is unverified, and the relationship among the sensory characters of grapes and wine is poorly understood. The objective of the study was to investigate the sensory properties of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and the corresponding wines, and to determine the relationships between the two data sets. Grapes were harvested between 23 and 25 Brix from eight locations across the state of South Australia over two vintages and vinified using a standardized protocol. A total of 25 samples from across the eight locations were harvested for each vintage. The grapes and wines were evaluated by a sensory panel trained in descriptive analysis. Grapes were evaluated using the berry sensory assessment (BSA) methodology previously described in the literature, and the basic chemical parameters of the grapes and wines were measured. Samples were consistently discriminated by their chemical and sensory properties within the grape and by wine data sets across the vintages. Five sensory attributes of wine were consistently modeled with moderate to high regressions using BSA attributes and berry-chemical measures. Finding berry sensory attributes that consistently relate to wine style and profile remains challenging. The basic chemical measures, including Brix, anthocyanins, and chroma of grape homogenates, were reliable contributors to wine sensory attributes for both vintages.


Objectives: Adult spleens show extensive morphological variation, with a reported prevalence of 40–98% clefts (also called notches or fissures) on the splenic surface and 10–30% accessory spleens at autopsy. It is hypothesised that both anatomical variants result from a complete or partial failure of multiple splenic primordia to fuse to the main body. According to this hypothesis, fusion of the spleen primordia is completed after birth and spleen morphological variations are often explained as stagnation of spleen development at the foetal stage. We tested this hypothesis by studying early spleen development in embryos, and compared foetal and adult spleen morphology. Methods and materials: We assessed 22 embryonic, 17 foetal and 90 adult spleens on the presence of clefts using histology, micro-CT and conventional post-mortem CT-scans, respectively. Results: The spleen primordium was observed as a single mesenchymal condensation in all embryonic specimens. The number of clefts varied from 0 to 6 in foetuses, compared to 0–5 in adults. We found no correlation between foetal age and number of clefts (R2 = 0.004). The independent samples Kolmogorov–Smirnov test showed no significant difference in the total number of clefts between adult and foetal spleens (p = 0.068). Conclusion: We found no morphological evidence for a multifocal origin or a lobulated developmental stage of the human spleen. Advances in knowledge: Our findings show that splenic morphology is highly variable, independent of developmental stage and age. We suggest to abandon the term "persistent foetal lobulation" and to regard splenic clefts, regardless of their number or location, as normal variants.


Present study was undertaken to investigate fish potential from Karez Sarawan, Balochistan. In total 2694 specimen of different fish species were collected ranged between 5.5 to 13.08cm and 0.9- 22.06g respectively. It was observed that the fish potential of Karez Sarawan consists of 3 families, 4 genera and 7 species namely Cyprinion watsoni, Channa striata, Labeo buggut, Labeo bata, Schizothorax sp: Aphanius ginaonis, Aphanius dispar. Among the species Cyprinion watsoni was considered as the most abundant and constitutes about (70.68%) followed by Schizothorax sp and Labeo buggut (11%) of the total catch. The lengthweight relationship values of the above fish were calculated and observed from the equation that Labeo bata found to be in ideal condition, C. striata, C. watsoni and Labeo buggut found in satisfactory growth respectively and poor growth was noticed in case of Schizothorax sp. from Karez Sarawan. The Simpson's biodiversity index (1-D = 0.481) shows that the Karez has low ichthyic diversity. It is an intense need to monitor water quality parameters regularly and stock fish in the Karez to improve and enhance the diversity. Finally it was concluded that the environment of Karez Sarawan favors the potential of economically important carp L. bata.


Ombudsmen have a dual role: to redress grievances and to improve public administration. While the redress of grievances remains their main focus in the United Kingdom, ombudsmen are increasingly exploring their improvement function. Government policy now also places more emphasis on the idea that ombudsmen should help agencies to get decisions 'right first time'. Despite these developments, little research has been conducted into ombudsmen's effectiveness in this area. This article contributes to existing knowledge by reporting the findings of a study investigating the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman's impact on administrative decision-making in local authority housing departments.


Movement behaviour is a key component of species' vulnerability to extinction. African wild dogs' Lycaon pictus endangerment has been linked to their wide-ranging behaviour, which is hypothesized to expose them to anthropogenic threats in fragmented habitats. I therefore investigated wild dog movement patterns in an area of Kenya where livestock out-number wild ungulates. In the 9 years of the study, wild dog population density increased from 0.9 to 3.4 adults and yearlings per 100 km2. Home-range size remained unchanged over this time, but overlap between neighbouring home ranges increased. Nevertheless, packs avoided one another and showed evidence of territoriality. Home ranges were of similar size on commercial ranches and community lands, even though people and livestock were abundant, and competitors and large prey depleted, in the latter land use. Packs showed significant habitat preference; in particular, low human densities on commercial ranches, and zoning of settlement on community lands, facilitated wild dog avoidance of human activities and livestock. These findings suggest that, under the right circumstances, wild dogs may be able to avoid anthropogenic threats and thrive in human-dominated landscapes. However, elsewhere in Kenya traditional livestock husbandry is being abandoned and community land is being subdivided. Such changes would greatly reduce wild dogs' ability to survive in pastoral areas.


The pathophysiology of the dystonias has been associated with loss of inhibition in the sensory-motor cortex, brainstem and spinal cord, abnormal motor preparation in the pre-motor cortex, abnormal sensory processing in the sensory cortex, maladaptive plasticity and abnormal sensory-motor integration in the cerebral cortex. We present a case of focal hand dystonia with variance of spiral drawing in the horizontal and vertical planes, that is amelioration of spiral drawing in the vertical plane compared to the horizontal plane. We refer to this phenomenon as "anisotropy". We seize upon this unique finding and postulate a novel mechanism for the generation of the dystonias. The anisotropy referred to can only be explained by a breakdown of the tensorial transformation of a covariant vector to a contravariant vector in the frequency hyperspace of the brain. This novel hypothesis is based on the unequivocal invariance of tensorial transformation, a mathematical fact in differential geometry, the very geometry of the most celebrated and sublime General Theory of Relativity, and the model of dynamic brain function proposed by Pellionisz and Llinas.


The continuous generation of blood cells throughout life relies on the existence of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) generated during embryogenesis. Given the importance of HSC transplantation in cell‐based therapeutic approaches, considerable efforts have been made toward understanding the developmental origins of embryonic HSC. Adult‐type HSC are first generated in the aorta‐gonad‐mesonephros (AGM) region between days 27 and 40 of human embryonic development, but an elusive blood‐forming potential is present earlier in the underlying splanchnopleura. It is relatively well accepted that the HSC emerge in the AGM through a hemogenic endothelium, but the direct precursor of this cell type remains to be clearly identified. This review is intended to summarize the recent advances made to understand the origins of hematopoietic stem cells in the early human embryo. In addition, we discuss in detail the discovery of the angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) as a novel marker of human HSC and of prehematopoietic precursors inside the embryo.


Indirect fetal electrocardiography is a developing diagnostic method in perinatal medicine. Signals of electrical activity being recorded from maternal abdomen surface contain more information than in till now used method of mechanical heart activity measurement based on ultrasound signals. The main problem relies on separation of basic useful component from a signal containing also dominant maternal electrocardiogram and muscles activity artifacts. The algorithms of maternal electrocardiogram suppression via subtraction are commonly used. Although regarding their complexity, these algorithms have limited applicability in systems for long-term monitoring of fetal heart activity. Other solution relies on simple blanking of maternal QRS complexes. However, in case of coincidence of fetal and maternal QRS complexes, this leads to partial loss of information about fetal heart rate variability. For evaluation of how often such coincidence of both complexes takes place, the algorithm has been developed which is described in this paper.


C49H40O5, triclinic, PI (no. 2), a = 10.8865(2) Ä, b = 18.2743(3) Ä, c = 18.3545(3) Ä, a = 85.166(1)°, β = 86.233(1)°, γ = 84.268(1)°, V = 3614.3 Ä, Ζ = 4, R0(F) = 0.054, wRnffF) = 0.148, T= 120 Κ. Source of material The title compound was prepared according to the reported method [1]. Discussion The unit cell contains two pairs of structurally similar molecules. Each calixarene unit adopts a partial cone conformation in which the phenolic ring being anti-oriented with respect to the other * Correspondence authors (e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com) Table 2. Atomic coordinates and displacement parameters (in A).


The mTOR [mammalian (or mechanistic) target of rapamycin] protein kinase co-ordinates catabolic and anabolic processes in response to growth factors and nutrients and is a validated anticancer drug target. Rapamycin and related allosteric inhibitors of mTORC1 (mTOR complex 1) have had some success in specific tumour types, but have not exhibited broad anticancer activity, prompting the development of new ATP-competitive mTOR kinase inhibitors that inhibit both mTORC1 and mTORC2. In common with other targeted kinase inhibitors, tumours are likely to adapt and acquire resistance to mTOR inhibitors. In the present article, we review studies that describe how tumour cells adapt to become resistant to mTOR inhibitors. mTOR is a central signalling hub which responds to an array of signalling inputs and activates a range of downstream effector pathways. Understanding how this signalling network is remodelled and which pathways are invoked to sustain survival and proliferation in the presence of mTOR inhibitors can provide new insights into the importance of the various mTOR effector pathways and may suggest targets for intervention to combine with mTOR inhibitors. Finally, since chronic mTOR inhibition by rapamycin can increase lifespan and healthspan in nematodes, fruitflies and mice, we contrast these studies with tumour cell responses to mTOR inhibition.


A unified synthetic strategy leading to the total synthesis of (-)-nodulisporic acids D, C, and B is described. Key synthetic transformations include a nickel-chromium-mediated cyclization, an aromatic ring functionalization employing a novel copper-promoted alkylation, a palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling cascade/indole ring construction, and a palladium-mediated regio- and diastereoselective allylic substitution/cyclization reaction, the latter to construct ring D.


The ultrabasic rocks and norites of Manbhurn are not to be included in the charnockite series. They belong to the earlier sedimentary-igneous sequence that underwent intense deformation and recrystallization before the charnockites (sensu stricto) came into being. The basic charnockites (pyroxene granulites) are derived as a result of metamorphic convergence at granulite facies from cafemic sediments and norites. These are isofacial with diopside-calc-granulite, khondalite and leptynite. Influx of granitic material converted the pyroxene granulites to a series of rocks of intermediate composition and ultimately to a granite. A part of all these varieties are hypersthene bearing with the features characteristic of the group. The charnockite habit, including the index mineral, was impressed on the rocks by the pre-granite metamorphism, retained in the successive products of granitization, and obtained by the intrusive granite by crystallization under identical PT environment. All hypersthene granites in this typical milieu, and the granulite facies rocks are charnockitic, and have a dry mineral assemblage association together with other members of the charnockite series. In the term 'charnockite' is to stay, it should be used as a synonym of hypersthene granite in the typical set-up and association. The term 'charnockite series' should be dropped.


An assay based on stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (ID/LC-MS-MS) was developed for the quantification of 17-hydroxyprogesterone, the most important indicator of 21-hydroxylase deficiency in human plasma. Plasma was extracted using ethyl acetate and Extrelut® columns. LC was performed on a reversed-phase C18 column using a water/methanol gradient. A benchtop triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, operating in selected reaction monitoring mode, served as mass detector. The analytical run time was 9 min per sample. The sensitivity was high: 0.06 pmol of 17-hydroxyprogesterone yielded a signal-to-noise ratio of 13. Precision (CV) and accuracy (relative error) derived from the analyses of unspiked and spiked validation samples were 7.4–12.0% and 6.4%, respectively. When analyzing the same samples – median (range), in nanomoles per liter – from neonates and adults independently by ID/LC-MS-MS as well as by ID/gas chromatography (GC)-MS, corresponding results were obtained: neonates (n = 10), ID/LC-MS-MS 3.99 (0.48–16.05), ID/GC-MS 5.39 (1.57–13.02); adults (n = 10), ID/LC-MS-MS 2.66 (1.39–6.15), ID/GC-MS 2.54 (0.51–5.12). The technique permitted reliable detection of classical and nonclassical forms of 21- hydroxylase deficiency. The much simpler sample preparation, the faster analytical run time and the operational ease possible with ID/LC-MS-MS permit a considerable increase of sample testing per day without compromising on analytical sensitivity and specificity. We expect that benchtop tandem mass spectrometry will open new avenues in clinical steroid analysis.


The war in Ukraine was associated with large changes in the prices of key food and fuel commodities (wheat, maize, coal, gas, and oil) in 2022 which produced macroeconomic gains for exporters and losses as import costs increased. Across 49 countries benefitting, these gains averaged about 8 percent of GDP and reach up to 36 percent of GDP. In contrast, 125 countries suffered direct losses between 0 percent of GDP and 5 percent of GDP, and 10 countries losses between 5 percent of GDP and 10 percent of GDP. Economic performance was significantly worse among countries experiencing losses from the commodity price shock. An increase in the costs of imports of 1 percent of GDP was associated with lower GDP growth (minus 0.1 percent) and a weakening fiscal balance. Most significantly, GDP in countries experiencing losses in the form of higher import costs bought less when measured against the consumer price index (a loss of 0.75 percent for each percent of GDP in increased import costs). This price effect wiped out all gains from real GDP growth for high-income countries experiencing a negative commodity price shock and resulted in declining living standards for low-income countries relying on imports.


The authors' aim was to examine the prevalence of (daily) dietary-supplement (DS) use among elite adolescent athletes and to differentiate use by different types of DS according to their function. Data were analyzed for associations between users of these DS types, sociodemographic, sport-specific characteristics, and opinion on the need for DS. In addition, sources of supply and information were examined. In the framework of the GOAL Study, 1,138 German elite adolescent athletes (14-18 yr) answered questions about DS. The data were analyzed to identify groups at risk for using DS after a classification by supplemental function. Of the young athletes, 91.1% reported DS use during the previous month. (Daily) DS use was significantly associated with sex, kind of sport, and the weekly duration of sporting activity. Furthermore, some athletes were required to use DS by their sporting organization. DS use was more likely in these athletes than in those whose sporting organizations had no such requirement. Overall, DS with short- and long-term supplemental function were mostly associated with the use of magnesium. However, DS with medium-term muscle-building function played an important role among daily users. The main source of information about DS was coaches; main source of supply was parents. Professional education is urgently needed, as 9 out of 10 athletes used DS, and strong positive opinions toward the use of DS were present, particularly in the DS users.


Halobacterium saccharovorum synthesized ATP in response to a pH shift from 8 to 6.2. Synthesis was inhibited by carbonyl cyanide m-chloro-phenylhydrazone, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, and azide. Nitrate, an inhibitor of the membrane-bound ATPase previously isolated from this organism, did not inhibit ATP synthesis. N-Ethymaleimide, which also inhibited this ATPase, stimulated the production of ATP. These observations suggested that H. saccharovorum synthesized and hydrolysed ATP using different enzymes and that the vacuolar-like ATPase activity previously described in H. saccharovorum was an ATPase whose function is yet to be identified.


Abstract Pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii Cano, is the major arthropod pest of peppers, Capsicum spp. L., in tropical and subtropical America. Adult weevils feed and oviposit in buds, flowers, and, especially, fruit. Larvae develop and feed inside those plant structures, thus reducing crop yields. Management is difficult and requires precise knowledge of developmental times and thresholds for maximum efficiency. Therefore, the developmental biology and life history parameters of A. eugenii were characterized in the laboratory on Capsicum annuum 'Jalapeño' fruits at seven constant temperatures ranging from 15 to 33°C. A. eugenii developed through three instars at all temperatures. Linear regression analysis estimated a lower developmental threshold of 9.6°C and a degree-day requirement of 256.4 for development from egg to adult. Fecundity increased with increasing temperatures to a maximum at 30°C but declined at 33°C. Net reproductive rate (Ro), intrinsic rate of increase (rm), and finite rate of increase (λ) were greatest at 30°C, whereas development time and mortality were least at this temperature regimen. Thus, 30°C proved to be the optimal temperature for population increase because a maximum fecundity of 3.1 eggs/female/d, the shortest development time of 12.9 d, minimal mortality, and the highest life history parameters were obtained. This information should prove useful for predicting infestations, timing insecticide applications, and using other control strategies.


The aim of this article is to show that metaphorical and symbolic word in the symbolist poetics are the interdependent phenomena, and to reveal how a poem becomes symbolic through the realization of a certain metaphorical structure, based on the analysis of V. Ivanov's poems. The study of Ivanov's work "Dve stihii v russkom simvolisme" ("Two Elements in the Russian Symbolism") has led to the conclusion that the author's thinking is personalized and creates entities; in the numerous phenomena of existence, he sees a single personal entity. Thus arises the semantic perspective of defining a single essence through a series of comparisons. This is why a number of Ivanov's poems are based on multiple metaphor, a framework of definitions expressed in metaphors. In each of the analyzed works ("Ulov" – "The catch", "Alpiyskiy rog" – "Alpine horn", the cycle "Lira i os'" – "Lyre and axis"), the poet establishes several levels of metaphorization, where the real and the ideal planes are constantly exchanging places. The metaphorical comparison of different objects builds transitions from one level to another. Thus, a kind of synthesis emerges, things become transparent, flexible, and they are permeated by upward currents. It is this dynamic symbol of existence that makes it possible to accumulate and revive the past content, and interact with the world cultural context. It has a certain structure – a crystal, whose facets are separate and intrinsically valuable, but deep down they are united, and this unity lives in each of the facets. The detected structure also expresses the main tendency of Ivanov's creative work: the contemplation of an immediate feeling, an instinct, i.e. a heroic attempt to break through to a sense of the unity of everything with everything through rational comprehension and analysis.


The experiments reported here represent a study of the responses of semicircular canals in the isolated surviving labyrinth of elasmobranch fishes, with special reference to their sensitivity to linear acceleration, including positional stimuli, in comparison with their 'classical ' function as inertial angular accelerometers. Responses to angular velocity steps, to step changes in position (linear acceleration steps), and responses to sinusoidal stimuli were analysed in the time domain or in the frequency domain respectively. In this investigation the existence of peripheral adaptation and the associated time constants were taken into account. It was found that the time constants and phase aspects of the responses to angular and linear acceleration stimuli are consistently comparable. This is believed to point to similarities in the basic mechanism of both types of canal response. It is suggested, therefore, that the sensitivity of semicircular canals to linear acceleration, referred to in this paper as the 'Ledoux effect', originates within the cupula-endolymph system in a manner fundamentally similar to that governing the inertial responses to angular acceleration. Although a considerable proportion of the canal-controlled first-order neurons studied responded to positional stimuli, no predictable and directionally fixed relation was found to exist between head positions and response levels. This suggests that differences in density as between cupula and endolymph, considered to be the cause of the positional responses, must be assumed to be subject to fluctuation both in sign and magnitude. We conclude that it is, therefore, doubtful whether the Ledoux effect falls within the range of 'normal' canal function in the control of posture and movement. Nevertheless, its existence cannot be discounted in the qualitative and quantitative analysis of vestibular responses, and, especially, in the differential diagnosis of malfunction in the field of clinical otology. Work along similar lines on higher vertebrates is discussed in the context of the reported results.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

We have been developing tools to reproducibly correlate the expression of multidrug-resistance (MDR)-associated genes with response to chemotherapy in primary cancers. This study reports the results of a novel MDR gene expression analysis of primary serous carcinoma of the ovary utilizing a TaqMan Low Density Array (TLDA) chip which includes 380 previously characterized multidrug resistance (MDR)-associated genes that were initially identified in cultured cancer cells. Primary tumor samples from 133 patients from 4 sites were studied. All patients were subsequently treated with standard chemotherapy and had known clinical outcome. A 13 gene signature was identified whose expression added statistical power to the risk status of the patients based on standard clinical parameters (age, CA125, and success of surgical debulking) (log-rank statistic p=0.02). When subsets of patients with defined clinical risk were studied, we found that a subset of clinically high risk patients that had low expression of the 13 gene signature had a better outcome than would be predicted by purely clinical criteria. Similarly, clinically low risk patients with high expression of the 13 gene signature had a poorer prognosis. Since the mechanism of action of the 13 MDR genes involved in the signature are well-understood, it might be possible to devise therapeutic strategies to some of these targets with the goal of improving clinical outcome.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-51.


Ectopic prostatic tissue and seminal vesicle at pericolic fat is extremely rare. The nodules in the pericolic fat could raise a dilemma of metastatic deposits in cases of rectal adenocarcinoma. A 61 years old male underwent abdomino-perineal resection for rectal carcinoma. Nodules along with lymph nodes from pericolic fat were sampled to assess the spread. Histopathological and immunohistochemical staining of one nodule confirmed it to be the prostatic tissue while another nodule to be seminal vesicle. Seminal vesicle and prostatic heterotopia is significant in several respects, either symptomatic or asymptomatic, as the ectopic tissue can be endoscopically and histologically confused with malignancy of urinary or lower gastrointestinal system and may reflect divergent differentiation or a malformative process.


Objectives : To determine the frequency of source and total body surface area (TBSA) burn percentage with outcome in patients admitted in Pak Italian burn unit, Multan. Study design: retrospective study. Setting : Pak Italian burn unit, Multan. Study Duration: six months from January 2017 to June 2017. Material and Methods: Medical records of 260 patients admitted in Pak Italian burn unit, Multan from January 2017 June 2017 were collected and the required information was recorded on a pre designed questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: Mean age of patients presenting with burn was 32.18 with standard deviation of 8.57 years. Out of total 260 patients, the male victims were n= 151(58.1%) victims Flame burn (68.1%) being the most common cause followed by electric burn (16.2 %), scalds (10.4%) and acid burn. Most of the patients (35.4%) have TBSA burn 11-20%. A mortality rate of 16.2% was observed which has a significant relation with TBSA burn (p=0.00) but gender and source of burn was not significantly related with mortality. Conclusion: Flame burn  are the most common cause of burn injury followed by electric burn. Most of the victims are male. Keywords : Burn injury, total body surface area burn(TBSA), flame burn, scalds, acid burn.


Between 1970 and 1983, 149 patients with high grade anaplastic supratentorial gliomas received a postoperative irradiation during primary treatment. 118 out of these patients had an anaplastic astrocytoma, 18 an anaplastic oligodendroglioma, and 13 an anaplastic ependymoma. Most of these patients were treated by irradiation of a great volume with 50 Gy within five weeks, the others by irradiation of the total brain with 50 Gy within five weeks and saturation with 10 Gy within one week. The one-year survival of the total group was 35.5% and the two-year survival 10.6%. Patients at an age of less than 40 years show a significantly longer survival than older patients (one-year survival rates 40% and 30.7%, respectively). Patients suffering from anaplastic tumors with astrocytic and oligodendrocytic differentiation have a comparable prognosis. Patients suffering from anaplastic tumors with ependymal differentiation, however, have prolonged survival times. The therapy results of different treatment methods are discussed using the communications of literature.


Precise quantity of fever was determined in 191 cases of childhood bacterial meningitis by calculating the areas between the line indicating 37.8°C or 39.5°C temperature and the line connecting all individual temperature values. Temperature measurements were performed rectally one to four times a day throughout the hospitalization. The obtained areas under the curves (AUC), expressed as degree-hours, proved to be a sensitive index for delineating each individual fever pattern and reflected the magnitude of fever more precisely than the traditional fever curves. Children under five had significantly (p <0.05) greater AUC than those at five to 15 years; similarly, patients with Haemophilus influenzae meningitis showed greater AUC (i.e., had more fever) than those with meningococcal disease ( p <0.05). The overall rates of secondary (14%), persistent (16%), and prolonged fever (8%) were virtually identical to previous reports; no drug fever was reported in this study. In cases with prolonged fever, a significantly higher rate (40%) of neurological complications was found compared to those who became afebrile earlier. This method is potentially utilizable in other diseases and conditions where precise measurement of fever is of clinical or scientific relevance.


This article explores the complexity and nuance of borderlands and border relations focusing on Mercia. Identifying a host of border maintenance strategies negotiating control over people, places and resources, mitigation of risk and maximisation of opportunity, but also strategic escalation and de-escalation of tensions, the study re-evaluates how Mercian border traditions supported expanded hegemony between the seventh and ninth centuries. The significant departures of the approach presented here are (i) rethinking the traditional focus on military, religious and ethnic identities to integrate these among other activities and experiences defining early medieval frontiers and borderlands and (ii) considering the reimagining not only Mercia's frontiers and borderlands during its emergence and heyday as a kingdom but also reflecting on how Mercian territory itself became a borderland under the rule of Aethelred and Aethelflaed during the Viking Age, and as such how it was formative in the creation of the Danelaw and of England. The Alfred/Guthrum Treaty and Ordinance of the Dunsaete are here contextualised against other strategies and scales of negotiation and activity framing Mercian/Anglo-Welsh and Anglo-Danish borderlands. Different 'Mercian borderlands' are compared in this study and analysed as complex zones of interaction, responsive to geographical factors, but also criss-crossed by multi-stranded pathways of daily life. Mercian borderlands were understood and maintained militarily, physically, spiritually, and ideologically. The article considers how these zones were shaped by convenience but also need and were reinforced or permeable at locality, community and kingdom levels.


We discuss amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) generated in Raman amplifiers that are counter-pumped with trains of pulses. Our experimental and theoretical results show that if the peak power of the pump pulses is too high, the ASE output from the amplifier can be significantly higher than that from a continuous-wave pumped amplifier providing the same gain. This effect places a lower limit on the duty cycle of pump pulses one can use for a given level of Raman gain. Furthermore, we report an additional ASE enhancement if there is insufficient walkoff between the pump pulses and copropagating ASE to average the effects of higher frequency pump intensity noise. As a result, less pump intensity noise can be tolerated when pulse-pumping a fiber having a zero-dispersion wavelength located midway between the pump and signal wavelengths.


This is a case report of the occurrence of shingles (herpes zoster) in a multidermatomal distribution following therapeutic dry needling. The patient developed acute reactivation of varicella-zoster virus two days after the third session of dry needling for the relief of long-standing pain in the hip and sacroiliac joints. The lesions initially presented with severe pain along lumbar dermatomes with later rash development. The patient was treated with oral valacyclovir 1,000 mg three times daily for seven days, and the pain was controlled with ibuprofen. The lesions resolved two weeks later without any complications or sequelae.


The article reviews the activities of Secretaries of State for War of Great Britain, Alfred Duff Cooper and Leslie Hore-Belisha on specific issues of modernization of British land forces during the period of 1936–1939. The work is based mainly on archival material: memoranda and conclusions of the British Cabinet, which are available on the official site of the National Archives of Great Britain.


Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are enabling many advances in the area of music. Three computer music problems are described in which Machine Learning promises to solve problems and advance the state of the art. These are: computer accompaniment, music understanding in interactive compositions, and music synthesis. Machine Learning plays an important role in dealing with poorly defined problems where data is subject to noise and other variation, and where complexity rules out direct, handcrafted solutions. These characteristics are typical in sophisticated computer music systems. Machine learning promises to enable more natural communication between machines and musicians.


We study the fixed angle inverse scattering problem of determining a sound speed from scattering measurements corresponding to a single incident wave. The main result shows that a sound speed close to constant can be stably determined by just one measurement. Our method is based on studying the linearized problem, which turns out to be related to the acoustic problem in photoacoustic imaging. We adapt the modified time-reversal method from [P. Stefanov and G. Uhlmann, Thermoacoustic tomography with variable sound speed, Inverse Problems 25 (2009), 075011] to solve the linearized problem in a stable way, and we use this to give a local uniqueness result for the nonlinear inverse problem.


Maturation is a characteristic of sugarcane plant (Saccharum spp.) and even when grown under the same soil and climate conditions the varieties differ on the maturation curve. Thus, studies that allow establishing maturation curves of different sugarcane genotypes in the local soil and climate may indicate the proper harvesting period to ensure better quality of the raw material. This study aimed to analyze the levels of soluble sugars during the maturation phase and assess the technological and productivity indexes of four irrigated sugarcane genotypes in the region of Rio Largo, Alagoas. The experiment was conducted in randomized blocks in a 4 x 2 x 5 factorial: four genotypes (RB92579, RB98710, RB99395 and RB961003), two stem portions (internodes 1-4 and internodes 5-8) and five seasons (82, 49, 25, 13 and 3 days before harvesting), each treatment with three replications. Internodes 1-4 showed the highest levels of reducing sugars, while the largest accumulation of sucrose and total soluble solids occurred in internodes 5-8. RB99395 genotype showed more stability in the sugar levels during sugarcane maturation, which can indicate early maturation and high agricultural yield.


Consumer categorizations based on innovativeness were originally proposed by E.M. Rogers (2003) and remain of relevance for predicting purchasing behavior in high-tech domains such as consumer electronics. We extend such innovativeness-based categorizations in two directions: We first take into account the existence of technology clusters within product domains and then enrich the definition of consumer innovativeness by considering not only past adoption behavior but also future purchase intentions. We derive a novel consumer categorization based on data from a sample of 2,094 Dutch consumers for the case of consumer electronics. In so doing, we apply endogenous categorization techniques that represent a methodological improvement with respect to previously applied techniques. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Kuala Lumpur Knock-Out(henceforth to be known as "KL-KO") is the second project of Kuali Works. KL-KO is the most commercial performance staged by Kuali Works; this was the first time Kuali Works advertised its play in mainstream newspapers in the, as well as solid patronages from an impressive list of sponsors. Written and directed by Ann Lee, it was staged in Experimental Theatre, Kuala Lumpur in 1996. KL-KO revolves around the life of Tan Ai Leng (played by critically acclaimed dancer Mew Chang Tsing), a young Chinese woman from Penang who dreams of fighting Mike Tyson in an exhibition-boxing match in Kuala Lumpur. Simultaneously, her best friend Mazuri experience a rather unpleasant incid ent at her workplace. After 22 years, it is recompensing to look back at the relevance of the issues highlighted in this play. Simultaneously, one would realise that the elements of feminism discussed in this play are the real problems faced by women in this country, even after the new millennium.


Heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy provides a unique way to obtain site-specific information about protein-ligand interactions. Usually, such studies rely on the availability of isotopically labeled proteins, thereby allowing both editing of the spectra and ligand signals to be filtered out. Herein, we report that the use of the methyl SOFAST correlation experiment enables the determination of site-specific equilibrium binding constants by using unlabeled proteins. By using the binding of L- and D-tryptophan to serum albumin as a test case, we determined very accurate dissociation constants for both the high- and low-affinity sites present at the protein surface. The values of site-specific dissociation constants were closer to those obtained by isothermal titration calorimetry than those obtained from ligand-observed methods, such as saturation transfer difference. The possibility of measuring ligand binding to serum albumin at physiological concentrations with unlabeled proteins may open up new perspectives in the field of drug discovery.


Morbid obesity remains an extremely serious disorder resulting in significant impairment of health all over the World. This is particularly true especially now in the setting of lockdowns and people not exercising due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. In general, overweight and obese adults are at in increased risk of morbidity and mortality from many acute and chronic medical conditions, including hypertension, dyslipidemia, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, gallbladder disease, respiratory disease, some types of cancer, gout and arthritis. Although body weight that exceeds ideal standards as determined by age, sex and height may be accounted for by a greater muscle mass or bone mass, the majority of individuals who weigh more than 20% over their calculated ideal body weight (IBW) have excessive adipose mass. What is even more alarming is the fact that the incidence of obesity in the USA has increased progressively since 1960, when the first survey was conducted. More recent data has demonstrated that the prevalence of obesity is three times higher in the USA than France, and one-and-a-half times that of England. As obesity is such a pervasive disorder in our society, and because obesity is an important risk factor for many diseases, it is not surprising that many obese patients are treated in the intensive care unit (ICU).


Hypertriglyceridemia is a common disorder encountered in daily medical practice. Since the causes of hypertriglyceridemia are various, we need to totally assess clinical history, physical findings, and laboratory examinations. In this section, we aim to show procedures of examination and diagnosis of hypertriglyceridemia. First, it is necessary to confirm a detection opportunity and conditions of blood sampling. Next, we move on to differentiate secondary hyperlipidemia and assess other arteriosclerosis risks. Finally, we diagnose primary hyperlipidemia by examining apoproteins, lipoproteins, and some metabolic enzymes of lipoproteins. To diagnose hypertriglyceridemia correctly, proficient clinical skills, understandings of pathophysiology, and knowledge of methods for respective examinations are needed.


Fetal circulation is unlike adult circulation as it uses physiological shunts to carry oxygenated blood to tissues and bypass developing organs. The viability of the fetus heavily relies on these shunts to adequately perfuse developing tissues and organs, especially the brain and heart. The ductus venosus is a shunt that allows oxygenated blood in the umbilical vein to bypass the liver and is essential for normal fetal circulation.[1] Blood becomes oxygenated in the placenta and travels to the right atrium via umbilical veins through the ductus venosus, then to the inferior vena cava.[1] This oxygenated blood then passes through the foramen ovale, an opening between the atria, into the left atrium to be distributed systemically.[1] Therefore, the ductus venosus plays a key role in maintaining this unique circulation pattern. Fetal circulation studies are done via Doppler ultrasound or MRI to ensure proper blood flow through these shunts.[2] If there is impedance or absence of flow through these shunts, it may correlate with aneuploidies, cardiac defects, and/or other postpartum disease states.[3] Postpartum, the ductus venosus closes, secondary to increased cardiac pressures and decreased circulating prostaglandins.[4] The ductus venosus is critical for proper fetal circulation, but disruption of flow in utero or failure to close this shunt postpartum can lead to many adverse antenatal and perinatal outcomes.


We recently proposed quantum simulators of "twistronic-like" physics based on ultracold atoms and syntheticdimensions [Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 030504 (2020)]. Conceptually, the scheme is based on the idea that aphysical monolayer optical lattice of desired geometry is upgraded to a synthetic bilayer system by identifyingthe internal states of the trapped atoms with synthetic spatial dimensions. The couplings between the internalstates, i.e. between sites on the two layers, can be exquisitely controlled by laser induced Raman this http URL spatially modulating the interlayer coupling, Moire-like patterns can be directly imprinted on the latticewithout the need of a physical twist of the layers. This scheme leads practically to a uniform pattern across thelattice with the added advantage of widely tunable interlayer coupling strengths. The latter feature facilitates theengineering of flat bands at larger "magic" angles, or more directly, for smaller unit cells than in conventionaltwisted materials. In this paper we extend these ideas and demonstrate that our system exhibits topologicalband structures under appropriate conditions. To achieve non-trivial band topology we consider imanaginarynext-to-nearest neighbor tunnelings that drive the system into a quantum anomalous Hall phase. In particular,we focus on three groups of bands, whose their Chern numbers triplet can be associated to a trivial insulator(0,0,0), a standard non-trivial (-1,0,1) and a non-standard non-trivial (-1,1,0). We identify regimes of parameterswhere these three situations occur. We show the presence of an anomalous Hall phase and the appearance oftopological edge states. Our works open the path for experiments on topological effects in twistronics without atwist


Biogenic amines, ATP-related compounds, sensory attributes, total volatile basic nitrogen, microbial flora (total viable bacteria, Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, and H2S-producing bacteria), and free amino acids were determined in common carp (Cyprinus carpio var. Jian) stored at 20 and 0°C. Pseudomonas and H2S-producing bacteria became the dominant bacteria in carp stored at 20 and 0°C, whereas Aeromonas rapidly increased only in carp stored at 0°C. Inosine monophosphate, which is responsible for flavor and freshness, increased to a maximum of 2.37 l mol/g after 12 h at 20°C and to 4.72 l mol/g after 3 days at 0°C. Putrescine and cadaverine were the dominant amines in carp and their concentrations were significantly correlated (P < 0.05) with total volatile basic nitrogen and sensory scores in all samples during the storage. Significant correlations also were observed between histamine and total volatile basic nitrogen and sensory scores only in samples stored at 20°C. Arginine decreased while putrescine increased in all samples. A significant decrease (P < 0.05) in histidine was observed after 24 h of storage, which coincided with an increase in histamine after 36 h in samples stored at 20°C. Hypoxanthine concentrations were significantly correlated with the microbial species (P < 0.01) and sensory scores (P < 0.05) and seems to be a reliable marker for quality of carp fillets stored at 20 and 0°C.


The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 demands an emission reduction of climate-affecting gases in various industrial sectors. In this context CO2 is one of the relevant gases and waste management is one of the relevant sectors. Referring to the situation in Europe, waste incineration is one of the major sources of CO2 in the waste management sector. The Kyoto Protocol, however, only covers CO2-emissions originating from fossil fuels, whereas the incineration of renewable materials, e.g. wood, is considered to be climate-neutral since it does not make any net contribution to the CO2 inventory of the atmosphere. Unlike the situation with municipal waste, there is little if any information on the CO2-emissions caused by the incineration of hazardous waste in specialized plants, and the renewable fraction in these materials. The present paper focuses on this gap of knowledge. Taking the full-scale hazardous waste incineration plant in Biebesheim, Germany, as an example, a carbon balance was set up for the whole plant taking into account all other material flows. Afterwards the determination of the proportion of renewable materials in the hazardous waste incinerated by means of the radiocarbon method (14C) is reported. On the basis of the results, optimization potentials are discussed.


In this paper we analyze the controllability of quantum systems arising in molecular dynamics. We model these systems as systems with finite numbers of levels, and examine their controllability. To do this we pass to their unitary generators and use results on the controllability of invariant systems on Lie groups. Examples of molecular systems, modeled as finite-dimensional control systems, are provided. A simple algorithm to detect the controllability of a molecular system is provided. Finally, we apply this algorithm to a five-level system.


Ellenberg's indicator values have been suggested as useful method of estimating site conditions using plants. We examined whether Ellenberg's R values are suitable for indicating soil reaction and if calibration to physical pH measurements can improve bioindication in oligotrophic and mesotrophic submontane broad-leaved forests in Slovakia. Vegetation relevés and pH-H2O and pH-CaCl2 soil reaction were recorded for this purpose. Ellenberg's R values (Re) were compared to Jurko's indicator values (Rj) and a set of species R values and tolerances (T), which were calibrated with physical pH data using the weighted averaging (Rw, Tw) and Huisman-Olff-Fresco modelling (Rh, Th). Original Re values were then recalibrated with measured pH data to establish new, adjusted set of scores (Rc, Tc) at Ellenberg's scale. The Re values are significantly correlated with the other R values, and they demonstrate similar frequency distribution to Rj and Rw values for the studied species pool. The frequency distribution becomes similar across all the R values when indifferent species were excluded. The performance of all the indicator values in terms of bioindication was tested. Relevé means of the R values were regressed on the field pH measurements. The performance of bioindication varied from 36% to 49% of the explained variance for pH-CaCl2, with the Re and Rc values yielding 46% and 49% respectively. The bioindication slightly improved for all calibrated methods (Rw, Rh and Rc) when species were weighted inversely with their tolerances — the performance varied from 42% to 51%, and the Rc values performed most effectively. We concluded that Ellenberg's R values represent a powerful system for bioindicating soil acidity when compared to the other alternatives, with pH-CaCl2 showing better results than pH-H2O. Recalibration of Ellenberg's values to the measured data improved the indicator system.


Blood flow autoregulation results from the ability of resistance arteries to reduce or increase their diameters in response to changes in intravascular pressure. The mechanism by which arteries maintain a constant blood flow to organs over a range of pressures relies on this myogenic response, which defines the intrinsic property of the smooth muscle to contract in response to stretch. The resistance to flow created by myogenic tone (MT) prevents tissue damage and allows the maintenance of a constant perfusion, despite fluctuations in arterial pressure. Interventions targeting MT may provide a more rational therapeutic approach in vascular disorders, such as hypertension, vasospasm, chronic heart failure, or diabetes. Despite its early description by Bayliss in 1902, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying MT remain poorly understood. We now appreciate that MT requires a complex mechanotransduction converting a physical stimulus (pressure) into a biological response (change in vessel diameter). Although smooth muscle cell depolarization and a rise in intracellular calcium concentration are recognized as cornerstones of the myogenic response, the role of wall strain-induced formation of vasoactive mediators is less well established. The vascular system expresses a large variety of Class 1 G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) activated by an eclectic range of chemical entities, including peptides, lipids, nucleotides, and amines. These messengers can function in blood vessels as vasoconstrictors. This review focuses on locally generated GPCR agonists and their proposed contributions to MT. Their interplay with pivotal G(q-11) and G(12-13) protein signalling is also discussed.


An updated traffic projection for U.S. domestic satellite communications service covering a period of 15 years; mid-1980 to mid-1995 was prepared. This model takes into account expected technology advances and reductions in transmission costs, legislative and regulatory changes permitting increased competition, and rising energy costs which will encourage more extensive substitution of telecommunications for travel. The historical development and current status of satellite systems are discussed as well as the characteristics of follow-on systems. Orbital arc utilization, spacecraft configuration for single shuttle launch, Earth station configuration, and system costs are examined. Areas which require technology development include multiple beam frequency reuse antennas, on-board switching, intersatellite links, and ka-band operation. Packing and deployment schemes for enclosing the satellite within the shuttle orbiter bay must also be devised.


This paper is concerned with numerical solutions of time-fractional nonlinear parabolic problems by a class of $L1$-Galerkin finite element methods. The analysis of $L1$ methods for time-fractional nonlinear problems is limited mainly due to the lack of a fundamental Gronwall type inequality. In this paper, we establish such a fundamental inequality for the $L1$ approximation to the Caputo fractional derivative. In terms of the Gronwall type inequality, we provide optimal error estimates of several fully discrete linearized Galerkin finite element methods for nonlinear problems. The theoretical results are illustrated by applying our proposed methods to three examples: linear Fokker-Planck equation, nonlinear Huxley equation and Fisher equation.


Objective: This article reviews the available data on the chemistry, spectrum of activity, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, clinical efficacy, and potential place in therapy of cefiderocol. Data Sources: A literature search through PubMed, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted (2009 to March 2020) using the search terms cefiderocol and S-649266. Abstracts presented at recent conferences, prescribing information, and information from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the manufacturer's website were reviewed. Study Selection and Data Extraction: All relevant published articles, package inserts, and unpublished meeting abstracts on cefiderocol were reviewed. Data Synthesis: Cefiderocol is the first siderophore antibiotic to be approved by the FDA. It was shown to be active against a wide range of resistant Gram-negative pathogens, including multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Enterobacteriaceae, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Cefiderocol was studied in the treatment of adult patients with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs) and nosocomial pneumonia and was well tolerated. In a recently completed prospective study, higher mortality was observed with cefiderocol in the treatment of serious infections caused by carbapenem-resistant (CR) Gram-negative pathogens. Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice: The approval of cefiderocol provides a new option in the treatment of cUTIs and potentially treatment of nosocomial pneumonia caused by resistant Gram-negative pathogens. Given the higher mortality observed with cefiderocol, its use in the treatment of CR Gram-negative infections should be carefully considered. Conclusion: Cefiderocol shows promising activity against MDR Gram-negative pathogens. Its use in the treatment of serious infections caused by CR Gram-negative bacteria needs further evaluation in phase III clinical studies.


Adolescents are an at-risk group for circadian misalignment. The contribution of sleep–wake rhythm instability to the psychoemotional, cognitive, and weight disorders of adolescents has been studied in sufficient detail. At the same time, there is insufficient information about the association between chrononutrition indices and the well-being of adolescents. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between chrononutrition indices and academic achievement, psychoemotional state, and anthropometric indicators in adolescents. The study involved 12,759 students in grades 6–11 of secondary schools, aged 14.2 ± 1.7 years old; 57.2% of whom were girls. Participants provided personal data, frequency and time of meals during the day and at night, on weekdays and weekends, and completed the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale and the Yale Food Addiction Scale. There is a U-shaped association between eating mid-phase (EPFc), eating jetlag (EJL), and eating window (EW) with GPA, ZSDSI, and FA. At the same time, the frequency of night eating (NE) is linearly associated with the studied parameters. NE is the strongest predictor of ZSDSI (β = 0.24), FA (β = 0.04), and GPA (β = −0.22). EPFc, EJL, and EW practically do not differ in the strength of their association with the studied indicators. ZSDSI is most closely associated with the chrononutrition indices. There is a weak negative association between BMI and EW (β = −0.03) and NE (β = −0.04). Thus, circadian eating disorders are more often observed in adolescents with poor academic performance, high levels of depression, and food addiction.


Accurate estimation of CO2 saturation in a saline aquifer is essential for the monitoring of supercritical CO2 injected for geological sequestration. Because of strong contrasts in density and elastic properties between brine and CO2 at reservoir conditions, seismic methods are among the most commonly employed techniques for this purpose. However the relationship between seismic (P‐wave) velocity and CO2 saturation is not unique because the velocity depends on both wave frequency and the CO2 distribution in rock. In the laboratory, we conducted measurements of seismic properties of sandstones during supercritical CO2 injection. Seismic responses of small sandstone cores were measured at frequencies near 1 kHz, using a modified resonant bar technique (Split Hopkinson Resonant Bar method). Concurrently, saturation and distribution of supercritical CO2 in the rock cores were determined via x‐ray CT scans. Changes in the determined velocities generally agreed with the Gassmann model. However, both the velocity and attenuation of the extension wave (Young's modulus or 'bar' wave) for the same CO2 saturation exhibited differences between the CO2 injection test and the subsequent brine re‐injection test, which was consistent with the differences in the CO2 distribution within the cores. Also, a comparison to ultrasonic velocity measurements on a bedded reservoir rock sample revealed that both compressional and shear velocities (and moduli) were strongly dispersive when the rock was saturated with brine. Further, large decreases in the velocities of saturated samples indicated strong sensitivity of the rock's frame stiffness to pore fluid.


The vasomotor response to cold may compromise the capacity for microclimate cooling (MCC) to reduce thermoregulatory strain. This study examined the hypothesis that intermittent, regional MCC (IRC) would abate this response and improve heat loss when compared with constant MCC (CC) during exercise heat stress. In addition, the relative effectiveness of four different IRC regimens was compared. Five heat-acclimated men attempted six experimental trials of treadmill walking ( approximately 225 W/m(2)) in a warm climate (dry bulb temperature = 30 degrees C, dewpoint temperature = 11 degrees C) while wearing chemical protective clothing (insulation = 2.1; moisture permeability = 0.32) with a water-perfused (21 degrees C) cooling undergarment. The six trials conducted were CC (continuous perfusion) of 72% body surface area (BSA), two IRC regimens cooling 36% BSA by using 2:2 (IRC(1)) or 4:4 (IRC(2)) min on-off perfusion ratios, two IRC regimens cooling 18% BSA by using 1:3 (IRC(3)) or 2:6 (IRC(4)) min on-off perfusion ratios, and a no cooling (NC) control. Compared with NC, CC significantly reduced changes in rectal temperature ( approximately 1.2 degrees C) and heart rate ( approximately 60 beats/min) (P < 0.05). The four IRC regimens all provided a similar reduction in exercise heat strain and were 164-215% more efficient than CC because of greater heat flux over a smaller BSA. These findings indicate that the IRC approach to MCC is a more efficient means of cooling when compared with CC paradigms and can improve MCC capacity by reducing power requirements.


Although salicylaldehyde azine (3) was reported in 1985 as the single product of the reaction of ethyl 2-oxo-2H-chromene-3-carboxylate (1) with hydrazine hydrate, we identified another main reaction product, besides 3, which was identified as malono-hydrazide (4). In the last two decades, however, some articles have claimed that this reaction afforded exclusively hydrazide 2 and they have reported the use of this hydrazide 2 as a precursor in the syntheses of several heterocyclic compounds and hydrazones 6. We reported herein a study of the formation of 2 and a facile route for the synthesis of the target compounds N'-arylidene-2-oxo-2H-chromene-3-carbohydrazides 6a–f.


Temporal niche partitioning may result from interference competition if animals shift their activity patterns to avoid aggressive competitors. If doing so also shifts food sources, it is difficult to distinguish the effects of interference and consumptive competition in selecting for temporal niche shift. Bees compete for pollen and nectar from flowers through both interference and consumptive competition, and some species of bees have evolved nocturnality. Here, we use tropical forest canopy towers to observe bees (the night-flying sweat bees Megalopta genalis and M. centralis [Halictidae], honey bees, and stingless bees [Apidae]) visiting flowers of the balsa tree (Ochroma pyramalidae, Malvaceae). Because Ochroma flowers are open in the late afternoon through the night we can test the relative influence of each competition type on temporal nice. Niche shift due to consumptive competition predicts that Megalopta forage when resources are available: from afternoon into the night. Niche shift due to interference competition predicts that Megalopta forage only in the absence of diurnal bees. We found no overlap between diurnal bees and Megalopta in the evening, and only one instance of overlap in the morning, despite the abundance of pollen and nectar in the late afternoon and evening. This supports the hypothesis that Megalopta are avoiding interference competition, but not the hypothesis that they are limited by consumptive competition. We propose that the release from interference competition enables Megalopta to provision cells quickly, and spend most of their time investing in nest defense. Thus, increases in foraging efficiency directly resulting from temporal shifts to escape interference competition may indirectly lead to reduced predation and parasitism.


Background: Tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy (TCM) is a reversible form of myocardial dysfunction because of tachyarrhythmias. Therefore, it is essential to identify arrhythmias in patients presenting with myocardial dysfunction without apparent aetiology. Case: Herein, we present a thirty-seven-year-old male with bouts of prolonged sinus tachycardia and severe mental stress, averaging >130 beats per minute, before abdominal operations more than once in a few months. A notably dynamic ventricular stunning was noted that partially normalized in a few days, once relieving relieving tension and reduced heart rate. Complete normalization of ventricular function was observed after five months of maintaining the average heart rate. Initially, the present case was missed due to its paroxysmal nature. Later, the patient was cured with a maximum tolerated dose of beta-blockers, anti-failure, and small doses of anxiolytic agents. Our case is a rare case report of recurrent TCM the same patient due to episodes of marked sinus tachycardia. Conclusion: Sinus tachycardia is often considered a physiological response to mental stress that may cause cardiac injury related to a prolonged stress response. Treatment of stress sinus tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy (sinus tachycardia-ICM) leads to recovery of myocardial function. The literature does not recommend controlling heart rates in patients with persistent sinus tachycardia preoperatively, but it is a therapeutic option for preparing patients for operation. Successfully, beta-blockers were used in our patient and should be considered in similar case scenarios.


AIM
The aim of this randomized controlled clinical study was to evaluate the outcomes of acellular dermal matrix (ADM) graft in combination with tunnel technique (TUN) on root coverage, aesthetics, and patient satisfaction and to compare with coronally advanced flap (CAF)+ADM in the treatment of multiple gingival recessions.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
A total of 20 patients with 58 Miller Class I multiple recessions ≥3 mm were included and divided into TUN+ADM and CAF+ADM groups. At baseline and 12 months, probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), recession height (RH) and width (RW), keratinized tissue height (KT), gingival thickness, and complete and mean root coverage (CRC, MRC) were evaluated. Patient satisfaction and root coverage aesthetic scores (RES) were also assessed.

RESULTS
Mean root coverage was 75.72% in TUN+ADM and 93.81% in CAF+ADM. Intragroup comparisons revealed significant differences at 12 months for all parameters in both groups (p < 0.05). Intergroup differences were found to be statistically significant for RH and RW reduction, KT increase, CAL gain, MRC, CRC, and RES in favour of CAF+ADM group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Both techniques were effective in root coverage of multiple recessions; however, better clinical results were achieved with CAF and ADM combination.


This study examined the relationships between father and son through son's developmental stages focusing on the father-son communication. The researcher conducted the survey among 600 male students including the 5th grade elementary students, the 2nd grade middle school students and the 2nd grade high school students residing new areas of town Pusan. The results of this study are as follows. It showed that there are some differences in function and content of father-son communication. Also it develomental stages was revealed that there is the quality differences in father-son communication through son's develomental stages. Elementary students was higher levels of father-son communication quality than those of middle and high schools. In conclusion, the results of this study showed that the relationship between father and son is changing through son's developmental stages. If father can recognize the characteristics of the developmental stages of their son's, they would be more effectively cope their sons'development demand.


This issue marks the first issue of our 65 year, and I hope continues our long tradition of providing varied and informative research and analysis of the modern Middle East. Our first article, by Katherine Blue Carroll of Vanderbilt University, is based on field research conducted in Iraq under the US Army's Human Terrain program, and looks at the role of traditional tribal law in dispute resolution since the invasion. Most Middle East specialists, like most governments, have long felt that a twostate solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is inevitable, although it has proved difficult to achieve. There have always been dissenting voices, however, and as the peace process has stagnated, both some Palestinians and increasingly some Israelis have suggested that a one-state solution might become inevitable, given demographic (and democratic) realities. Two of our articles explore the possible alternatives to a twostate solution. Leila Farsakh of the University of Massachusetts in Boston examines the challenges and options of a one-state solution for Palestinians. Attorney Nathan Witkin offers a different approach: an "interspersed nation-state system" in which the two states would share the same land. We publish these two rather different approaches without intending to endorse either, but rather to raise the question of what the implications are if a two-state solution remains out of reach. When Islam conquered the Sassanian Empire, the ancient Persian faith of Zoroastrianism gradually began to give way through conversion to Islam, though like Middle Eastern Christianity and Judaism, the old faith lived on as as minority faith in its homeland of Iran, in India, and in a diaspora. Most studies of Zoroastrianism in modern Iran predate the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Professor Richard Foltz of Concordia University in Montreal brings us up to date with a survey of Iran's Zoroastrian community today. Finally, Prof. Martin Hvidt of the University of Southern Denmark looks at what he calls the "Dubai model"of economic reform in the Gulf States, which he sees as an emerging alternative to the traditional rentier state model. Our book review article for this issue, by Professor Bruce Lawrence of Duke, covers no fewer than ten recent books on Islam today, emphasizing the complexity of the many faces of Islam in both the Islamic world and the West. Let me remind you that, in between the quarterly issues of The Middle East Journal, the MEI website (http://mei.edu) offers regular online publications, as well as podcasts and videos of MEI events. In addition, I continue to comment on the region daily on the MEI Editor's Blog at http://mideasti.blogspot.com.


Li-CO2 batteries with dual efficacy for greenhouse gas CO2 sequestration and high energy output have been regarded as a promising electrochemical energy storage technology. However, battery feasibility has been hampered by inferior electrochemical performance due to large overpotentials and low cyclability primarily caused by the difficult decomposition of ultra-stable Li2 CO3 during charge. The use of cathode catalysts has been highlighted as a promising solution and catalyst properties, as well as the nature of discharge products, are closely correlated with electrochemical performance. Here, the catalyst design strategies that include active site enrichment, electrical transport enhancement, and mass transfer improvement are summarized. Catalyst effects on product decomposition are then subsequently introduced, while product geometry and chemical composition will be explored, with an emphasis on the formation/decomposition of Li2 C2 O4 instead of Li2 CO3 . Building on previous research, future directions that facilitate improvements in catalyst design are put forward to reinforce the fundamental development of Li-CO2 batteries.


The material relaxation effect on holographic properties of stilbene azobenzene derivatives in the form of glassy films has been experimentally studied. Holographic grating recording with the period of 2 μm was made by a He-Ne laser at 633 nm in the self-diffraction mode. The readout was made simultaneously in order to follow the fast self-diffraction efficiency changes. The existence of the optimal material storage time (6-51 day) is established enabling the most efficient recording. Material relaxation amplitude and the holographic recording efficiency increased when the chromophore concentration was increased, especially above the threshold of about 70 mass %. It is also found that 633 nm recording due to the modulation of refraction and absorption indices is accompanied by the formation of surface relief grating. The conclusion is made that holographic recording in stilbene azobenzene derivatives at 633 nm is due to the chromophore reorientation by linearly polarized light possibly including trans-cis-trans transformations.