The efficacy of the combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine for the treatment of congenital Toxoplasma gondii infection in rhesus monkeys was studied. The dosage regimen for pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine was established by pharmacokinetic studies in two monkeys. Those studies showed that the distributions of both drugs followed a one-compartment model. The serum elimination half-lives were found to be 5.2 h for sulfadiazine and 44.4 h for pyrimethamine. Sulfadiazine reached a maximum concentration in serum of 58.7 micrograms/ml, whereas a maximum concentration in serum of 0.22 micrograms/ml was found for pyrimethamine. Ten monkeys were infected intravenously with T. gondii at day 90 of pregnancy, which is comparable to the second trimester of organogenetic development in humans. Treatment was administered to six monkeys, in whose fetuses infection was diagnosed antenatally. From the moment that fetal infection was proven, the monkeys were treated throughout pregnancy with 1 mg of pyrimethamine per kg of body weight per day and 50 mg of sulfadiazine per kg of body weight per day orally. The therapy was supplemented with 3.5 mg of folinic acid once a week. No toxic side effects were found with this drug regimen. The parasite was no longer detectable in the next consecutive amniotic fluid sample, taken 10 to 13 days after treatment was started. Furthermore, T. gondii was also not found in the neonate at birth. The parasite was still present at birth in three of four untreated fetuses that served as controls. Both drugs crossed the placenta very well. Concentrations in fetal serum varied from 0.05 to 0.14 micrograms/ml for pyrimethamine and from 1.0 to 5.4 micrograms/ml for sulfadiazine. In addition, pyrimethamine was found to accumulate in the brain tissue, with concentrations being three to four times higher than the corresponding concentrations in serum. Thirty percent of the sulfadiazine was found to reach the brain tissue when compared with the corresponding serum concentration. when administered early after the onset of infection, the combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine was clearly effective in reducing the number of parasites in the fetus to undetectable levels.


The growing number of mobile users, as well as the diversification in types of services have resulted in increasing demands for wireless network bandwidth in recent years. Although evolving transmission techniques are able to enlarge the network capacity to some degree, they still cannot satisfy the requirements of mobile users. Meanwhile, following Moore's Law, the data processing capabilities of mobile user terminals are continuously improving. In this paper, we explore possible methods of trading strong computational power at wireless terminals for transmission efficiency of communications. Taking the specific scenario of wireless video conversation, we propose a model-based video coding scheme by learning the structures in multimedia contents. Benefiting from both strong computing capability and pre-learned model priors, only low-dimensional parameters need to be transmitted; and the intact multimedia contents can also be reconstructed at the receivers in real-time. Experiment results indicate that, compared to conventional video codecs, the proposed scheme significantly reduces the data rate with the aid of computational capability at wireless terminals.


We study by means of density-functional calculations the role of lateral surface reconstructions in determining the electrical properties of silicon nanowires. The different lateral reconstructions are explored by relaxing all the nanowires with crystalline bulk silicon structure and all possible ideal facets that correspond to an average diameter of 1.5 nm. We show that the reconstruction induces the formation of ubiquitous surface states that make the wires semi-metallic or metallic.


Abstract Electronic and optical properties of calcium, strontium and barium chalcogenide compounds in NaCl structure are studied using the band structure results obtained through the full potential linearized augmented palne wave method. Different linear relationships are observed between theoretical band gap and 1/a (where a is lattice constant) for calcium, strontium and barium chalcogenide compounds with and without oxygen, respectively. An abnormal behavior of electronic and optical properties are found for compounds containing oxygen. These effects are ascribed to the special properties of Ca-O, Sr-O and Ba-O bonds, which are different from chemical bonds between Ca, Sr and Ba and other chalcogen atoms.


The structure of a CCHHC zinc-binding domain from neural zinc finger factor-1 (NZF-1) has been determined in solution though the use of NMR methods. This domain is a member of a family of domains that have the Cys-X(4)-Cys-X(4)-His-X(7)-His-X(5)-Cys consensus sequence. The structure determination reveals a novel fold based around a zinc(II) ion coordinated to three Cys residues and the second of the two conserved His residues. The other His residue is stacked between the metal-coordinated His residue and a relatively conserved aromatic residue. Analysis of His to Gln sequence variants reveals that both His residues are required for the formation of a well-defined structure, but neither is required for high-affinity metal binding at a tetrahedral site. The structure suggests that a two-domain protein fragment and a double-stranded DNA binding site may interact with a common two-fold axis relating the two domains and the two half-sites of the DNA-inverted repeat.


The relevance of the article is conditioned by the need to uncover the genesis of state-developing processes in Ukraine as part of the European socio-cultural space of New time. The purpose of the study is to find out the basic principles and ways of forming the idea of Cossack autonomy in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of XVI the first half of XVII c. The methodology is based on the application of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, retrospection) and specifically historical (problem-chronological, historical-comparative and critical-analytical) methods of scientific research. It clarifies the genesis of the self-government of the Zaporozhye community and the extension of its principles to the Dnieper region. Key focus is dedicated to the role of Orthodoxy in this process via the leaders of Zaporozhian Army and Ukrainian high clergy. The author proves that the principles of self-government as an important factor of autonomy were formulated in Zaporozhian Sich. This led to the appearance of various political projects, where the leading role was assigned to the Zaporozhian Army. The union of the Cossack elite with the Orthodox hierarchs promoted an awareness of the positions of both parties in the conditions of Polish expansion. It was fully manifested during the Cossack rebellions in Ukraine in the 20-30s of the XVII c., which led to the formation of the idea of Cossack autonomy within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The results of the research will contribute to the study of the evolution of the state idea in early modern Ukraine.


Objective To analyze the status and trend of the development of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in Chinese military hospitals from 2003 to 2004. Methods In April 2005, a registry form was dispatched to all army hospitals, and items in regard of PCI during 2003 to 2004 were asked to be filled for analysis. Results From 2003 to 2004, a total of 16842 cases of PCI performed in 61 PLA hospitals (7052 in 2003, 9790 in 2004) were registered and reported. The intervention procedures were performed in a total of 23706 target lesions, of which only 1632 target lesions (6.9%) were dilated by balloon, and 22074 target lesions (93.1%) were implanted with coronary stents, and 8086 stents among all were drug eluted (36.6% of all stents), including 1270 eluted with rapamycin (Cypher and Fire-bird, 52.8%), 2072 Paclitaxel eluted (25.6%) and 1744 eluted with other kinds of drug (21.6%). Total success rate of PCI was 97.7% (16119/16812), and success rate was 99.8% in patients with stented procedure. The incidence of major complications and major adverse cardiovascular events was 4.2% (708/16842), including acute occlusion of coronary artery (0.3%), subacute occlusion (0.4%), pericardial tamponade (0.1%), falling of stent (0.1%), emergency coronary artery bypass grafting (0.1%), an inhospital mortality of 1.2% (including death resulted in acute myocardial infarction), and slow-flow or no-flow (1.6%). During follow-up period, target vessel revascularization was done in 5.1% of the patients. Emergency PCI for acute myocardial infarction was performed in 2467 cases. PCI for left main coronary artery and grafted vessel was performed in 576 cases and 137 cases, respectively. Trans-radial PCI was done in 3051 cases. 2124 PCI were done for chronic total occlusion lesions, and the number increased tremendously compared with the last registry. In 57.3% of the hospitals enrolled in the registry, the annual PCI number was less than 100 cases, while in 13.2% of the hospitals the annual number of PCI was over 200 cases, and in only 2 hospitals the annual PCI number was over 1000 cases. Conclusions The annual case numbers of PCI in PEA hospitals within the recent two years increased by around 40% every year. The success rates for complicated lesions, the use of new technique, and the complication rate of PCI were comparable with that reported in domestic and foreign literature published in recent years. It is noted that, the development has been quite different among different hospitals, so that technical training and cooperation should be emphasized in the future.


Hybrid photonic integration allows to combine the complementary advantages of different material platforms while maintaining the processing and scalability advantages of monolithically integrated systems. Here we give an overview on our research in the field of hybrid integration, combining multi-chip approaches on a package level with hybrid on-chip integration using both back-end-of-line (BEOL) and front-end-of-line (FEOL) processes.


Genomics and high throughput phenomics have the potential to revolutionize the field of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding. Genomic selection (GS) has been used for predicting various quantitative traits in wheat, especially grain yield. However, there are few GS studies for grain protein content (GPC), which is a crucial quality determinant. Incorporation of secondary correlated traits in GS models has been demonstrated to improve accuracy. The objectives of this research were to compare performance of single and multi-trait GS models for predicting GPC and grain yield in wheat and to identify optimal growth stages for collecting secondary traits. We used 650 recombinant inbred lines from a spring wheat nested association mapping (NAM) population. The population was phenotyped over 3 years (2014–2016), and spectral information was collected at heading and grain filling stages. The ability to predict GPC and grain yield was assessed using secondary traits, univariate, covariate, and multivariate GS models for within and across cycle predictions. Our results indicate that GS accuracy increased by an average of 12% for GPC and 20% for grain yield by including secondary traits in the models. Spectral information collected at heading was superior for predicting GPC, whereas grain yield was more accurately predicted during the grain filling stage. Green normalized difference vegetation index had the largest effect on the prediction of GPC either used individually or with multiple indices in the GS models. An increased prediction ability for GPC and grain yield with the inclusion of secondary traits demonstrates the potential to improve the genetic gain per unit time and cost in wheat breeding.


ABSTRACTDue to the nutritional transition in the last decades, the risk factors linked to food nutrition are in the spotlight of public policy and reduction of their prevalence is a key goal in the public health promotion strategies involving food security and nutrition (FSN). Understanding the factors underlying poor nutrition status is a must in order to execute successful policy interventions in the general population. This paper analyses the impact that social and individual behavior variables have on the risk factors linked to poor nutrition (obesity, high levels of cholesterol, glycaemia and sodium) using data from the National Health Survey 2009-2010 using a Seemingly Unrelated Equations (SUR) approach in order to have a consistent estimation outcome. Findings suggest that variables linked to social environment and individual behavior have a signifi cant impact on the food-related health risk factors, taking account for social, demographic, genetic and economic controls. Unsurprisingly, when people underestimate their nutri-tional status, it conduces to a greater health risk, explaining up to 6 cms of abdominal girth and 3 points of the BMI index. Also, an insecure neighborhood and weak social networks explain part of the health risk. These results are a starting point to discuss the design of public policy regarding health and nutrition in order to promote the food security especially regarding information and education programs, where there is the possibility to strengthen the social support networks. Key words: health risk, nutritional status, food security and nu-trition, Chile, poor nutrition.


This paper reviews some aspects of the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in responding to innovation and technological change when undertaking new product development. Focusing on the management of technology, it will consider the role of interaction and collective learning in building firm competencies. Through the development of new or existing technologies, firms aim to improve quality and cost-efficiency and to out-innovate their rivals. This is far from straightforward. Innovation is a complex process shaped not only by the firm's internal environment, but also by the interactions that occur between the firm and the many different actors and institutions that make up its external environment. Many SMEs appreciate the value of these interactions in promoting innovation. However, for those involved in innovative new product development they also bring with them associated risks such as, for example, a lower proportion of return on their technologies brought about by imitation by their rivals.


Within the field of early modern literature, etexts are becoming increasingly important in the fields of both research and teaching. This article surveys the etexts available to students, taking Hamlet as a paradigmatic example, and concludes that, while some of those available are of very poor quality, there are other etexts of the play available which are very useful tools for teaching and research. Sources for etexts of more obscure early modern texts are also reviewed. However, it transpires that there is relatively little good quality commentary available for these etexts, and this article suggests that the time is right for a revival of the art of commentary, both as a scholarly activity in its own right and as a teaching and learning activity.


A company's excellent performance can be reflected by maximum contributions that are resulted in the employees' every activity. The excellent performance that is expected by a company one of which is on a company that operates in the field of telecommunication product distribution such as prepaid cards, pulse and hanset. Competition in the telecommunication industry forces the company to keep enhancing the quality of the performance in order to compete and be excellent in business competition that has got tougher. In order to ensure that the telecommunication products can be enjoyed by people, telecommunication operators entrust the distribution to cellular telecommunication distributors.
PT Sakalaguna is one of the cellular telecommunication distributors that focus on distributing products from the Indosat operator in Indonesia. The competition among distributors of Indosat operators currently places PT Sakalaguna Semesta's performance revenue and reload until the end of May 2016 in the top five from more than thirty Indosat distributors in Indonesia right now. The company's intention to enhance the performance revenue sales and reload growth where in 2017 it is expected that the company's performance can take over the third position in terms of performance reload among all the national Indosat distributors.
The result of the research that uses Soft System Methodology shows that the employees' competence level, the leadership quality of the branch heads that is reliable as well as implementing all the visions, missions and goals of the company precisely that is socialized to all the employees, can help enhancing the excellent performance of Sakalaguna. Through a research that uses the Analytical Hierarchy Process method, a strategy or alternative for the Sakalaguna Company is resulted to be implemented immediately which is doing investment in human capital, which means that the company places the Sakalaguna employees as the company's highly valuable asset which needs to be maintained and enhanced. Investment in human capital can be done from the initial process of selection, recruitment, planning and development of employees until the retention process of employees in enhancing the competence and welfare of the employees in the company. The President Director of PT Sakalaguna is the main actor in achieving the company's excellent performance. One of the goals of enhancing the company's excellent performance is developing the human capital division. The role and function of the human capital division as the company's business partner is very urgent in helping the organization enhance the company's performance. The human capital management division can have direct responsibility to the President Director of PT Sakalaguna in order to help the organization achieve the visions, missions and goals of the Sakalaguna company through investment in human capital.


Developments in the foundations of statistical mechanics during the past ten years or so. The author discusses how statistical concepts enter the treatment of deterministic mechanical systems, with particular reference to trajectory instabilities and to the KAM theorem. Then he deals with large systems: the thermodynamic limit and the theory of infinite systems. Non-equilibrium statistical mechanics is covered but LC relativistic statistical mechanics is not.


We discuss the expectation propagation (EP) algorithm for approximate Bayesian inference using a factorizing posterior approximation. For neural network models, we use a central limit theorem argument to make EP tractable when the number of parameters is large. For two types of models, we show that EP can achieve optimal generalization performance when data are drawn from a simple distribution.


Purpose. Each sport is characterized by athletes with particular physical and biomotor attributes favoring performance in their given sport. This study aimed to identify anthropometric and biomotor variables of Turkish female judokas in national young team and also to find potential relationship between the variables.
Methods. Twenty-nine female judokas (age 17.8±0.78 years, body height 163.3±6.25 cm, and body mass 67.6±14.21 kg) volunteered to participate in this study. The anthropometric variables included body mass index, body fat % and the sum of five adipose skinfolds. Somatotype was determined using the Heath-Carter method. The biomotor variables were maximal aerobic power, lower limbs maximal muscle power (30-second Wingate and vertical jump tests), hand grip strength and flexibility of the trunk.
Results. Turkish judokas showed meso-endomorphic characteristics and moderate to high body fatness, a low flexibility, a low to moderate aerobic power, a moderate anaerobic power and hand grip strength, and a high anaerobic capacity. Significant negative correlations were found between anthropometric features and biomotor abilities, except for ectomorphy.
Conclusion. The young female judokas, most of competing in the heavyweight division, required to develop essential skills for judo.
Key words: Judo, somatotype, aerobic power, anaerobic power, flexibility.


The aim of this paper is to examine the VET teacher students' expectations regarding the content of the entrepreneurship education in teacher training. It draws both on the literature relating to entrepreneurial mind-set and on competence model in order to frame entrepreneurial studies for future teachers. The qualitative research method was used. Data was collected with 16 in-depth interviews with the VET teacher students. Inductive content analysis is used as the method of data analysis. The results of the study showed that the VET teacher students identifying transferable competencies (e.g. creative thinking, teamwork and communication skills, self-management, etc.) as most relevant for them. When planning the content of entrepreneurial studies, knowledge and skills acquired during prior learning and work experience must be taken into account. The results of the study are valuable for designing entrepreneurial studies module and integration of entrepreneurial competence into other subjects.


Fatty acid synthase (FAS), a key lipogenic enzyme, is expressed in the two major sites of fatty acid production in the body, that is, the liver and the adipose tissue. Surprisingly, the relative contribution of these sites to lipogenesis is highly variable among species. For example, besides the situation in rodents, where liver and fat are equally active, lipogenesis in some mammals such as the pig occurs principally in adipose tissue, whereas in avian species, the liver is the main lipogenic site. We addressed the question concerning the factors determining the site of fatty acid synthesis. We show that the expression of adipocyte determination and differentiation-dependent factor 1/sterol regulatory element-binding protein (ADD-1/SREBP-1) mRNA, but not SREBP-2, is linked to FAS protein content or activity in adipose tissues and livers of pig, chicken, and rabbit. Tissue differences in ADD-1/SREBP-1 mRNA expression between species were paralleled by commensurate variations in the nuclear concentration of SREBP-1 protein. Moreover, overexpression of ADD-1/SREBP-1 by adenoviral gene transfer induces FAS in chicken adipocytes, where lipogenesis is normally low. Conversely, the expression of a dominant negative form of ADD-1/SREBP-1 in pig adipocytes downregulates FAS expression. These results reinforce the role of ADD-1/SREBP-1 as a key regulator of lipogenesis, by extending its importance to nonrodent mammals and birds. Furthermore, they establish that differential expression of ADD-1/SREBP-1 is a key determinant of the site of fatty acid synthesis in the body.-Gondret, F., P. Ferré, and I. Dugail. ADD-1/SREBP-1 is a major determinant of tissue differential lipogenic capacity in mammalian and avian species. J. Lipid Res. 2001. 42: 106;-113.


Image quality criteria (IQC) for cine-angiography were recently settled. The aim of this study was to test whether these criteria allow a measurement of the quality of cine-angiograms. A questionnaire was derived from IQC where a binary response was required regarding the degree of visibility of anatomic or pathologic structures. Scores were given on a ranking scale. Two quality scores were defined (total score and minimum score) and standard deviation (SD) was assumed to be an indicator of the method's reproducibility. Data of the total score are presented for the first nine angiograms. Six experts obtained thirty-nine readings. The total scores ranged between 83 and 99% (SD 0.8-18.7%); 89% of the readings were within 4% of SD. This preliminary experience indicates that quality criteria can be translated into a scoring system that yields reproducible data in most instances. The analysis of the remaining angiograms will help in understanding how to improve these results.


How do we make sense of East Asian STS studies? This article traces the debates on this theme in earlier issues of East Asian Science, Technology and Society and analyzes the different perspectives displayed. The author addresses the so-called East Asian distinction by proposing a theoretical approach based on Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's notion of assemblages, which differs significantly from Latourian actor network theory. The concept's analytic advantages are illustrated by a case study of Taiwan's campaign to stem HIV transmission among injection drug users. It is hoped that the assemblage approach may enrich the scholarly repertoire of theory and encourage more studies that address the intricate relations among science, politics, culture, and policies.


Maximum Mutual Information (MMI) is a popular discriminative criterion that has been used in supervised training of acoustic models for automatic speech recognition. However, standard discriminative training is very sensitive to the accuracy of the transcription and hence its implementation in a semisupervised setting requires extensive filtering of data. We will show that if the supervision transcripts are not known, the natural analogue of MMI is to minimize the conditional entropy of the lattice of possible transcripts of the data. This is equivalent to the weighted average of MMI criterion over different reference transcripts, taking those reference transcripts and their weighting from the lattice itself. In this paper we describe experiments where we applied this method to the semi-supervised training of Deep Neural Network acoustic models. In our experimental setup, the proposed method gives up to 0.5% absolute WER improvement over a DNN trained with sMBR only on the transcribed part of the data. This is 37% of the improvement that we would get from doing sMBR training if we had the transcripts for the untranscribed part of the data.


The Preservation Studies program was founded by architect and preservationist Eugene Cizek, Ph.D. in 1996, with guidance and support from the noted American preservation educator James Marston Fitch, who also attended Tulane's School of Architecture. Since July 2011, the Preservation Studies program has been directed by John H. Stubbs, international architectural conservation practitioner, former director of field projects for the World Monuments Fund, and teacher of preservation theory and practice at Columbia University for over two decades. The program is also supported by a strong Tulane Preservation Alumni Group, and a Preservation Studies Advisory Group. The program also hosts a biennial Preservation Matters symposium addressing new directions in the field.


Indoor localization is an emerging subject in the field of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and even more in wireless mesh networks (WMNs). Off the shelf solutions are still missing, even though the new IEEE 802.15.4a/ZigBee standard enhances the precision of ranging. This paper describes a hybrid localization approach combining time of arrival trilateration (TOA) as being proposed in the IEEE 802.15.4a and standard meshing aspects of the IEEE802.15/TG5. The evaluation is done in a multi-scalar simulation environment which models mobility, radio channel properties, protocol interaction and their cross effects simultaneously. This enables the use of realistic scenarios in which the performance of the localization method can be compared to existing approaches on a fair and reliable basis. The hybrid approach shows a significant precision and reliability gain while the installation effort and protocol overhead is kept at a very reasonable level.


This study is aimed at producing a learning tools to a lecturing program in form of: lectures unit (SAP), Lecturing Text Books (BTPM), and Demography lecturing attendant activity sheet (LKPDM), and the ability assessment of attendant program (PKHPM) it is all in order to ensure demography subject be more valid, practical, and effective with in a learning model aided with Think, Pair and Share (TPS) and data based. The teaching material matter to Demography Techniques subject to develop such as; Introduction, base source of statistics, collecting and data processing of demographic, size population, population distribution of geographic region, population distribution of geographic area, the age composition and gender, composition of race and ethnic, change of population, education and characteristics of economic, mortality, life table, demography of health, birth-rate bases to census and survey, population growth, international migration, internal migration and short-time mobility, and population forecast. The process how to implement perhaps prepare an attending tools component either: to plan an attendant unit (SAP), attendance book of demographic (BBKD), and attendance activity sheet (LKPM), and ability test of Demographic study (TKHPD), and ability assessment of attendant program (PKHPM) to be distributed over all Lecturers Team on Mathematics Department of FMIPA Unimed.


This paper investigates the patterns of transnational investments and alliances of Chinese state-owned oil companies since the mid-1990s and the social networks of their directors, taking the case of cnpc and its listed subsidiary PetroChina as the example. Using Social Network Analysis, I will map how the oil companies and their directors are embedded in corporate and political networks both inside and outside China. The preliminary findings presented in this study show that with their overseas expansion, cnpc and PetroChina increasingly collaborate with other oil companies. Significantly, also forming what I have called 'hybrid alliances' with Western private oil majors. However, they remain wedded to a different role at home, where they are expected to adhere to priorities and values tightly knit to the state, such as supply security and social responsibilities. This duality is mirrored by the Chinese oil company directors who must maintain a balancing act between their 'two faces' of corporate managers, on the one hand, and commitments to party-state interests, on the other.


This chapter is written in the form of an annotated letter containing anecdotes and conversations: a form of presentation used by writers varying in style from Kafka (1983) to Chayanov (1976).' This might seem an unusual way to reflect upon the work of Norman Long. There is indeed a difference between a scientific article and a letter. However, since the letter contains many elements that are dear to me and, which are at the same time difficult to integrate into scientific discourse 1 have decided to use its form as a way of presenting this paper. The letter discussed here is in several respects a confusing document, as I will explain later. I have nonetheless chosen for this slippery road simply because Norman Long, to a considerable degree, has formed me intellectually. I do not mean to imply with this honest statement that creating confusion is a thing I have learnt from him. Far from that. The point is that the letter seems to be, if I am not mistaken, a nice vehicle with which to highlight some of the less visible cornerstones and complexities of the approach developed by Norman. Thus, the presentation of the letter and the accompanying discussions might also be understood as an indirect expression of my admiration for him. The first issue hidden in the letter regards the relevance of context and hence the importance of local cultural repertoire. As the combination of letter and explanation that follows will make clear, any exposition is meaningless when isolated from its context. Even more so since context is to be found within the exposition itself, i.e. in the form of language, symbols and implied meanings. Such an observation is probably the most powerful argument against the often articulated criticism that Long's actor-oriented approach is identical to methodological individualism. Firstly, an actor-oriented approach not only implies an inquiry of context; it is one of the most powerful and precise tools for the analysis of relevant context and the implied 'structural settings'. Secondly, the letter underpins another important element of Long's work: the notion of interface. The letter is telling, especially where it highlights the confusion (and


Background Ultrasound examination (US) of the small joints of the hands and feet in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has the potential to become a rheumatological bedside procedure to assess early joint pathology. There is a growing number of studies and possible practical applications of US in this field. However, US has not been sufficiently validated with respect to common and early joint manifestations of RA. Objectives To evaluate the interobserver agreement of ultrasound examination in assessment of finger and toe joints in rheumatoid arthritis. Methods B-mode and power Doppler US was performed on 150 small joints of 30 patients with active RA (ACR 1987 criteria). Nineteen patients had a disease duration of 2 years or more and eleven patients had a disease duration of less than 2 years. Sixty-one of the joints were clinically active (tender and/or swollen), as evaluated by an experienced rheumatologist. US was performed with a LOGIQ GE 500 unit by means of a 7–13 MHz linear array transducer. In each patient, five preselected small joints were examined: 2nd and 3rd metacarpophalangeal joints, 2nd proximal interphalangeal joint, 1st and 2nd metatarsophalangeal joints. The number and location of bone erosions, synovial thickening, joint effusion and power Doppler signal in these joints were evaluated and classified on four-grade semi-quantitative scales. Both US examinations were performed independently on the same day by two observers – a radiologist with expertise in musculoskeletal US and a rheumatologist trained in US evaluation of small joints of the extremities. The observers reached consensus as to the evaluation scale prior to the beginning of the study. Results In the examined joints, exact agreement between the two observers was seen in 84% of the examinations with regard to bone erosions, in 78% as to synovitis, in 84% as to joint effusions and in 82% as to power Doppler signal assessments. A difference of more than one grade on the evaluation was found in 6, 11, 1 and 3%, respectively. Corresponding unweighted kappa values were 0.69, 0.63, 0.63 and 0.51. Conclusion The present study showed a good degree of interobserver agreement for the examined parameters. Our results suggest that ultrasound examination is a reproducible method for assessment of RA joint pathology of the finger and toe joints.


Abstract Pediatric laryngotracheal injuries from blunt force trauma are rare but can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. In pediatric patients with severe laryngotracheal disruption, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation has been used to improve oxygenation and ventilation until definitive repair can be performed. We describe the case of a 3-year-old girl with blunt neck trauma secondary to an all-terrain vehicle accident in which her neck was clotheslined against a fence, leading to a complete tracheal transection at the C7-T1 level. Emergent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation cannulation was initiated. We discuss the evaluation and management of tracheal injuries and the requisite multidisciplinary team approach. Pediatric patients with laryngotracheal trauma require definitive airway management, which should be performed by skilled personnel.


This paper addresses the problem of generating a super-resolution (SR) image from a single low-resolution input image. We approach this problem from the perspective of compressed sensing. The low-resolution image is viewed as downsampled version of a high-resolution image, whose patches are assumed to have a sparse representation with respect to an over-complete dictionary of prototype signal-atoms. The principle of compressed sensing ensures that under mild conditions, the sparse representation can be correctly recovered from the downsampled signal. We will demonstrate the effectiveness of sparsity as a prior for regularizing the otherwise ill-posed super-resolution problem. We further show that a small set of randomly chosen raw patches from training images of similar statistical nature to the input image generally serve as a good dictionary, in the sense that the computed representation is sparse and the recovered high-resolution image is competitive or even superior in quality to images produced by other SR methods.


A model for dendrite growth during rapid solidification was established on the basis of BCT model and marginal stability criterion through modified Peclet numbers. Taking into account the interaction of diffusion fields, including solute diffusion field and thermal diffusion field around the dendrite tip, the model obtain a satisfactory results to predict the dendrite velocity and the tip radius, which agrees well with the experimental data from references in Cu Ni alloy.


In this article we will try to elaborate a reflection around aesthetic experience, more specifically a phenomenology of artwork (Soutine/de Kooning), in dialogue with Emmanuel Falque's thought. Even if the French philosopher has not yet dedicated an autonomous work to the aesthetic question, such reflection appears abundantly dispersed and sparse in his various writings. Among others, Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud were Falque's artists of choice, their work most closely reflected his underlying philosophical thesis. The preference for the figurative, that which in us resists phenomenology, the incarnation as such, would thus bring the philosophical concept and the artistic intuition closer together. However, between figurative and non-figurative or abstract thought, is there not another possibility of thinking them together, without necessarily having to give primacy to one or the other or opposing them? The idea of an oblique incarnate thought (figuration-abstraction, resistance-deflagration, word-silence), or of the diagonal/oblique impastoed being (presence in absence, metamorphosed transcendental materiality, indirect ontology), might also be a third way of thinking about the great philosophical questions between realism and idealism, immanence and transcendence, visible and invisible, metaphysics and phenomenology. In this sense, the artistic work of Chaïm Soutine and de Kooning may be the aesthetic expression of incarnate thought, as a way of primordial access to being, to the world and to another, in the joining in act of the figurative and the abstract, as if multiple possibilities or dimensions of being inhabited in the same being (the articulation of the in-itself and the outside of the self, madness and normality, dream and reality...). Not by chance both were the subject of a recent joint exhibition, from which we propose this reflection, in dialogue with Emmanuel Falque's thought on finitude, which his most recent book radicalises. Our thesis, based on these two artists, aims to affirm that art, whether figurative or abstract, starts from an inalienable material dimension, that is to say, a sensitive dimension, the impasted (body) being, to the point that we may say that Hors phénomène maintains in itself this possibility of articulation between presence to the self and the outside of the self, distance and proximity, immanence and transcendence, even if here and there one can glimpse in its philosophical project an ontological preference for the figurative. However, in our view, what brings together Falque's philosophy and the work of both artists is the fact that they are the expression of an embodied thought, whether through conceptual experience (philosophy) or through perceptual experience (aesthetics).


The present study aims to evaluate the effects of different early weaning paradigms, which supplied with extra alfalfa hay, or starter feeding, or both alfalfa hay and starter feeding, along with the milk replacer, on the gastrointestinal microbial community, growth, and immune performance of yak calves. Twenty 30-day-old male yak calves were randomly assigned to four groups, including the control (CON), alfalfa hay (A), starter feeding (S), and starter plus alfalfa hay (SA) groups. The gastrointestinal microbial colonization, the gastrointestinal development and function, and the growth and immune performance of all the yak calves were separately measured. Supplementation with alfalfa and starter feeding during the pre-weaning period significantly increased body weight, body height, body length, and chest girth. The significantly improved rumen fermentation and promoted intestinal digestion-absorption function in alfalfa and starter feeding groups, including the identified significantly increased concentrations of ruminal total volatile fatty acid (VFA); the significantly increased concentrations and proportions of acetate, butyrate, and isovalerate; the increased α-amylase activities in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum; the increased papillae length and width of rumen epithelium and rumen wall thickness; and the increased villus height and crypt depth of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, could all contribute to promote the growth of calves. These significant improvements on rumen fermentation and intestinal digestion-absorption function could be further attributed to the increased proliferation of starch-decomposing, and cellulose- or hemicellulose-decomposing bacteria identified in the rumen, jejunum, and ileum. Furthermore, based on the expression of intestinal inflammatory cytokines and the rumen epithelial RNA sequencing results, alfalfa supplementation reduced the occurrence of ruminal and intestinal inflammation, whereas starter feeding supplementation was mainly beneficial to the differentiation of immune cells and the improved immune function. Meanwhile, the significantly altered relative abundances of genera in the SA group, including increased relative abundance of Limnobacter, Escherichia/Shigella, and Aquabacterium in the rumen and increased relative abundance of Coprococcus, Pseudobutyrivibrio, Flavonifractor, Synergistes, and Sutterella in jejunum, were able to reduce gastrointestinal inflammation and enhance the immune function, which enhanced the immune function of the yak calves fed with alfalfa and starter feeding. Overall, milk replacer supplemented with alfalfa and starter feeding during the pre-weaning period could alter gastrointestinal microbiota and then benefit the gastrointestinal development, digestion-absorption function, growth, and immune performance of the yak calves.


We present a detailed and comprehensive structural study of molecular models of liquid methanol, ethanol, and 1-propanol that originate from a series of reverse Monte Carlo (RMC), molecular dynamics (MD), and united-atom Monte Carlo (UA:MC) simulations. We compare several modeling approaches: RMC simulations that employ experimental neutron and X-ray diffraction data as sole constraints, RMC with diffraction data complemented with partial radial distribution functions (PRDFs) from MD or UA:MC, and conventional MD and UA:MC simulations. The assessment is done in view of the structural parameters of the hydrogen bond and resulting morphological characteristics of molecular aggregates. To achieve these tasks, a computer program for structural analysis of molecular configurations together with the appropriate aggregate classification scheme has been developed. We have analyzed the morphology of clusters, their probability, and size distributions. Any cyclic structures that appeared in the configurations were extracted and characterized in the same manner. We found that MD and UA:MC simulations resulted in configurations with bulkier, more threadlike aggregates that were not entirely consistent with the experimental evidence from diffraction experiments. A combination of neutron and X-ray diffraction data with PRDFs from MD simulations, simultaneously applied as constraints in the RMC procedure, proved to be a modeling approach with the most conclusive results.


Participation is not what it used to be, and the problem is not merely one of vocabulary. While Paulo Freire's discussion of the relationship between the world and the word remains crucial, the context in which such relationship exists has changed dramatically. Freire referred mostly, if not solely, to the written word. But what about the influence of the media on our understanding of the world? Take "Big brother", for example. Termed as a "reality show", the TV program was created in The Netherlands in 1997 and to date it has been broadcasted in more than 70 countries. You might be familiar with its format. A group of strangers agrees to live together in a specially designed house – mind you, also the set- fully wired with cameras and microphones that register everybody's moves 24 hours a day for a period of no less than three months. During their time in the house, members of the group are cut from all forms of communication with the external world. Every week, each member of the group 'votes' for the roommate that they would want to see expelled from the house, giving way to a list of "nominees" - candidates for expulsion. The audience, in turn, is "invited" to 'vote' a candidate from the list, and the subsequent losers in the 'election' process are thrown out of the house one by one. Viewers must pay to emit their vote via a phone call or sms. That's how they 'participate'. As I write this, the website of Argentina's fifth edition of the "reality show", now in progress, indicates that 25.000 people 'voted' online for the expulsion the three nominees in the past week. My point is: What kind of critical literacy capabilities are necessary today in order to be prepared to participate in the struggle for a better life? What understanding of participation is at work when audiences worldwide find entertainment in having the chance to expel somebody from a situation for more or less arbitrary reasons? What is the effect of exclusion being rendered banal by the media? … This ninth issue of Glocal Times looks into participatory communication research, presenting highlights of the last gathering of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR)'s Participatory Communication Research (PCR) Section, which took place in Paris in July 2007. Karin Wilkins and Young-Gil Chae make a case for considering participation as structural within the production of media strategies, presenting their ongoing research on social marketing projects, which assesses the structural conditions of campaigns in relation to their projected constructions of participation as well as identified themes and goals. Tom Jacobson makes a case for the quantitative assessment of participatory communications programs through focusing on communication in the form of dialogue as conceptualized by Jurgen Habermas in this theory of communicative action. Rico Lie discusses the role of the scientist in participatory communication research processes vis-a-vis the fact that somehow the concept of participation has been rendered void of meaning in its transition from alternative to mainstream. Paolo Mefalopulos discusses the difference between a communicationbased assessment and a communication needs assessment. Jan Servaes, Tom Jacobson and Ullamaija Kivikuru, all of them former Heads of IAMCR's PCR Section, share their views on the Section's history and future in the broader context of the field of communication for development and social change. … In reliving his pedagogy of the oppressed under the title of Pedagogy of hope (2003), Paulo Freire stated that "The reading and writing of the word would always imply a more critical rereading of the world as a 'route" to the "rewriting" –the transformation- of that world". A critical rereading of how we understand participation in/through communication and how we assess it are ever more necessary.


Samarium chalcogenides undergo isostructural phase transitions under pressure and samarium ions turn into an intermediate valency state (IVS). The thermo EMF S and electroresistance rho of SmS, SmSe and SmTe under pressure to 12 GPa and in the temperature range 30-400 degrees C have been measured to investigate properties of the IVS and its stability limits. Hydrostatic pressure to 8 GPa and quasi-hydrostatic pressure to 12 GPa on monocrystals have been realised in 'toroid' cells. It is found that the IVS is stabilised after phase transitions at pressures of 0.65 GPa in SmS, 3.4 GPa in SmSe and 5.2 GPa in SmTe. Transition to IVS is accompanied by sharp anomalies in rho and S. It is shown that IVS exists in a wide pressure range (at least to 12 GPa). The zone structure model for these compounds is suggested.


How did ordinary people in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) deal with the demands of the state? This book explores the myriad ways that families fulfilled their obligations to provide a soldier to the army. The complex strategies they developed to manage their responsibilities suggest a new interpretation of an important period in China's history as well as a broader theory of politics. The book examines how soldiers and their families living on China's southeast coast minimized the costs and maximized the benefits of meeting government demands for manpower. Families that had to provide a soldier for the army set up elaborate rules to ensure their obligation was fulfilled, and to provide incentives for the soldier not to desert his post. People in the system found ways to gain advantages for themselves and their families. For example, naval officers used the military's protection to engage in the very piracy and smuggling they were supposed to suppress. The book demonstrates how subjects of the Ming state operated in a space between defiance and compliance, and how paying attention to this middle ground can help us better understand not only Ming China but also other periods and places. The book illustrates the ways that arrangements between communities and the state hundreds of years ago have consequences and relevance for how we look at diverse cultures and societies, even today.


Visual impairment ranks among the top ten disabilities in the United States. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent permanent blindness in many cases. This article identifies the leading causes of visual impairment, target populations, and screening techniques for primary care. The author also provides key counseling information and valuable resources for clinicians and patients.


Skeletal muscle has a remarkable regenerative capability following mild physical or chemical insult. However, following a critical loss of muscle tissue, the regeneration process is impaired due to the inadequate myogenic activity of muscle resident stem cells (i.e., satellite cells). Laminin (LM) is a heterotrimeric structural protein in the satellite cell niche that is crucial for maintaining its function. In this study, we created hydrogels composed of poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) and LM-111 to provide an elastic substrate for satellite cell proliferation at the site of injury. The PEG-LM111 conjugates were mixed with 5% and 10% (w/v) pure PEG-diacrylate (PEGDA) and photopolymerized to form 5% and 10% PEGLM gels. Pure 5% and 10% PEGDA gels were used as controls. The modulus of both hydrogels containing 10% (w/v) PEGDA was significantly higher than the hydrogels containing 5% (w/v) PEGDA. The 5% PEGLM hydrogels showed significantly higher swelling in aqueous medium suggesting a more porous structure. C2C12 myoblasts cultured on the softer 5% PEGLM hydrogels showed a flat and spread-out morphology when compared to the rounded, multicell clusters formed on the 5% PEGDA, 10% PEGDA, and 10% PEGLM hydrogels. The 5% PEGLM hydrogels also promoted a significant increase in both vascular endothelial growth factor and interleukin-6 (IL-6) production from the myoblasts. Additionally, the expression of MyoD was significantly higher while that of myogenin and α-actinin trended higher on the 5% PEGLM hydrogels compared to 5% PEGDA on day 5. Our data suggests that the introduction of LM-111 into compliant PEG hydrogels promoted myoblast adhesion, survival, pro-regenerative growth factor production, and myogenic activity.


We all have in mind Einstein's famous thought experiment in the elevator where we observe the free fall of a body and then the trajectory of a light ray. Simply here, in addition to the qualitative aspect, we carry out the exact calculation. We consider a uniformly accelerated reference frame in rectilinear translation and we show that the trajectories of the particles are ellipses centered on the horizon of the events. The frame of reference is non-inertial, the space-time is flat, the metric is non-Minkowskian and the computations are performed within the framework of special relativity. The deviation, compared to the classical case, is important close to the horizon, but small in the box, and the interest is above all theoretical and pedagogical. The study helps the student to become familiar with the concepts of metric, coordinate velocity, horizon, and, to do the analogy with the black hole.


This paper presents TerraFirma, a multi-city dataset which captures street and sidewalk imagery from the pedestrians' perspective. Motivated by challenges in the realm of pedestrian safety, we present a diverse and extensive dataset that provides a foundation for the design and validation of pedestrian safety systems that rely on street-sidewalk imagery. The data was collected by 9 volunteers in 4 metropolitan cities across the world. Volunteers carried mobile cameras or smartphones in a texting position, such that the rear camera was directed to the ground in front of them. TerraFirma classifies images by the material used for street/sidewalk construction in each city. The detailed description of dataset accrual is accompanied by the public release of the dataset.


There have been many incidents of IP prefix hijacking by BGP protocol in the Internet. The AS that hijacks a prefix can blackhole and intercept all the hijacked traffic and thus, cause a denial-of-service attack or a man-in-the-middle attack against the prefix owner. The relation on prefix hijacking and the Internet structure is presented in this paper. Two impaction parameters, affected ASes set Nc and affected paths factor μ, are analyzed for typical prefix hijacking events in different layers.


In this paper, the optimum configuration of superfluous cables in redundant planar cable-suspended robots for minimum time trajectory is investigated. Both cable tensions and cable velocities are assumed to be limited. The bounds on the cable tensions and velocities are transformed into the bounds on the acceleration and velocity along the specified path. Assuming bang-bang control and using genetic algorithm, optimum configuration of superfluous cables and the corresponded switching points are obtained. Moreover, the effect of number of superfluous cables on the minimum time is investigated.


Climatologies of aerosol backscatter profiles, derived from airborne a nd ground-basedC 02 lidarr eturns,i ndicate a high frequency of occurrence for a narrow range of low backscatter values within the troposphere-a background mode.


AIM
To investigate the potential of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BM-MCs) in the regeneration of hepatic lesions induced by Schistosoma mansoni (S.mansoni) chronic infection.

METHODS
Female mice chronically infected with S.mansoni were treated with BM-MCs obtained from male green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic mice by intravenous or intralobular injections. Control mice received injections of saline in similar conditions. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assay for transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for GFP DNA, immunofluorescence and morphometric studies were performed.

RESULTS
Transplanted GFP(+) cells migrated to granuloma areas and reduced the percentage of liver fibrosis. The presence of donor-derived cells was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis for detection of cells bearing Y chromosome and by PCR analysis for detection of GFP DNA. The levels of TGF-beta, a cytokine associated with fibrosis deposition, in liver fragments of mice submitted to therapy were reduced. The number of oval cells in liver sections of S.mansoni-infected mice increased 3-4 fold after transplantation. A partial recovery in albumin expression, which is decreased upon infection with S.mansoni, was found in livers of infected mice after cellular therapy.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, transplanted BMCs migrate to and reduce the damage of chronic fibrotic liver lesions caused by S.mansoni.


During the last few decades, the transmission of images over secure networks has exponentially grown. Data security in certain applications such as secure storage, authentication or privacy protection on cloud platforms, require specific strategies for multimedia. Cryptography can be used for this purpose. Indeed, using a secret key, it is possible to make data unreadable in order to secure it. Although encryption approaches are effective to make the original data unreadable, they are also very sensitive to noise. Because of the introduction of noise into an encrypted image during its transmission or storage, the original data cannot be recovered. In this article, we first describe a new encryption mode called CFB-then-ECB and based on a combination of the CFB mode and the ECB mode for AES encryption. Using this new encryption mode, if one encrypted pixel block is noised, this will result in two incorrectly reconstructed pixel blocks during the decryption (the current and the following pixel blocks). This noise spreading is then exploited in a new proposed approach of noisy encrypted image correction. It contains two main steps involving a classifier to discriminate clear and encrypted pixel blocks. After a direct decryption of a noisy encrypted image, the first step is to identify and localize the pixel blocks that are probably incorrectly decrypted. The second step of our proposed approach is to analyze and correct these pixel blocks. Experimental results show that the proposed method can be used to blindly correct noisy encrypted images, while preserving the image structure without increasing the original data size with additional information.


The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of prospective teachers" first contact with the teaching profession during their practising school attachments. The participants of the study were 101 prospective secondary school teachers at Dicle University in Turkey. The data were collected by using both questionnaire and interview research tools. The frequency, percentage, average and factor analysis techniques have been used for the analysis of quantitative data. The findings revealed that the main problems faced by prospective teachers are students" unwanted behaviours, difficulties in class management, and being treated indifferently by the school administrators and mentors. This situation affects the approaches and motivations of the prospective teachers, and increases the tendency to prefer another occupation than teaching after such practicing period. The prospective teachers believed that university teacher education courses are too theoretical and disconnected from the real world of the classrooms. The findings also show that the tutors, mentors, coordinators and school administrators need training for a healthy cooperation and better teacher education.


This paper presents an algorithm for detecting the TV screen content and comparing it with the referent contents. The TV screen content is extracted in two steps. The first step is the TV screen edge detection, performed with Scharr edge detection, detection of long lines and TV screen rectangle detection. The second step is the extraction of the TV screen content between the detected edges and scaling it to the dimensions of the referent image. The paper presents two methods for comparison of the detected content with the referent images: least-absolute-error method and normalized cross-correlation method. The methods were tested under constant and variable illumination conditions. The least-absolute-error method was successful under both conditions, while the normalized cross-correlation showed vulnerability for small differences under variable illumination. The algorithm can be used in test systems for digital television systems. After performance improvements it can also be used in consumer electronic industry.


This article takes a sociolinguistic approach to the study of the co-variation of a set of frequently occurring markers in three corpora of spoken French, dated 1968, 1988 and 2002. A Factor Analysis yields three Factors, labelled "Normal/Deferent", "Modern/ Camaraderie" and "Tradition/Formality". The most recent corpus, and in particular its youngest speakers, have higher rates of "Modern/Camaraderie" and lower rates of "Tradition/Formality". The Factor "Modern/Camaraderie", interestingly, combines diachronic developments of two sorts, however ; the spread of the sociolinguistically stigmatised quoi and the more intralinguistically-motivated spread of bon. The gradual pragmaticalisation of the latter allows it to be used in a greater number of contexts and thus increase in frequency. Frequency rates of these Factors correlate to a greater extent with the generation of the speaker than with educational background, sex or age per se. This suggests not only that modes of politeness are shifting but that speakers identify more closely with their own generation than with those of a similar educational background.


Abstract. Plasmaspheric hiss was observed by Van Allen Probe B in association
with energetic electron injections in the outer plasmasphere. The energy of
injected electrons coincides with the minimum resonant energy calculated for
the observed hiss wave frequency. Interestingly, the variations in hiss wave
intensity, electron flux and ultra low frequency (ULF) wave intensity exhibit remarkable
correlations, while plasma density is not correlated with any of these
parameters. Our study provides direct evidence for the first time that the
injected anisotropic electron population, which is modulated by ULF waves,
modulates the hiss intensity in the outer plasmasphere. This also implies
that the plasmaspheric hiss observed by Van Allen Probe B in the outer
plasmasphere ( L > ∼  5.5) is locally amplified.
Meanwhile, Van Allen Probe A observed hiss emission at lower L shells
(  5), which was not associated with electron injections but
primarily modulated by the plasma density. The features observed by Van Allen
Probe A suggest that the observed hiss deep inside the plasmasphere may have
propagated from higher L shells.


In the rush of current publications concerning AIDS, it is difficult to distinguish between new, noteworthy articles and those of lesser significance. There is need for a compilation of up-to-date scientific information in this rapidly growing field. AIDS: Modern Concepts and Therapeutic Challenges fills that need. Edited by Samuel Broder, Associate Director of the National Cancer Institute's Clinical Oncology Program, this clothbound book is a comprehensive collection of articles concerned with all aspects of AIDS. Eminent researchers, including such experts as Max Essex, Chairman of the Department of Cancer Biology at the Harvard School of Public Health, Robert Gallo, Chief of the Laboratory ofTumor Cell Biology at NCI, and Luc Montaigner of the Pasteur Institute, have each contributed articles in their areas of expertise. The volume contains nineteen articles with extensive diagrams, photographs, and tables. Its initial presentations are concerned with introductory information about retroviruses and HTLV molecular biology. Animal models are considered next, followed by epidemiological data. Many of the remaining articles discuss clinical information pertinent to AIDS patients, including psychiatric aspects of AIDS, pathology of AIDS, infectious complications, Kaposi's sarcoma and other dermatological manifestations associated with HTLV/LAV infection, and neurological diseases related to AIDS. The two final articles present recent pharmacologic concerns and strategies for the future. The only complaint one might have about AIDS: Modern Concepts and Therapeutic Challenges is that some of the articles may be too general if one is searching for specific details. This shortcoming is understandable given the constraints on length involved in producing a book such as this; the thorough lists of references accompanying each article help to alleviate that problem. AIDS: Modern Concepts and Therapeutic Challenges is an excellent source for clinicians, researchers, and students interested in any aspect of current AIDS research. These well-written and up-to-date articles by distinguished authors provide a muchneeded reference work.


Targeting tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) is a promising strategy to modify the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment and improve cancer immunotherapy. Monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) is an enzyme best known for its function in the brain; small molecule MAO inhibitors (MAOIs) are clinically used for treating neurological disorders. Here we observed MAO-A induction in mouse and human TAMs. MAO-A-deficient mice exhibited decreased TAM immunosuppressive functions corresponding with enhanced antitumour immunity. MAOI treatment induced TAM reprogramming and suppressed tumour growth in preclinical mouse syngeneic and human xenograft tumour models. Combining MAOI and anti-PD-1 treatments resulted in synergistic tumour suppression. Clinical data correlation studies associated high intratumoural MAOA expression with poor patient survival in a broad range of cancers. We further demonstrated that MAO-A promotes TAM immunosuppressive polarization via upregulating oxidative stress. Together, these data identify MAO-A as a critical regulator of TAMs and support repurposing MAOIs for TAM reprogramming to improve cancer immunotherapy.


BACKGROUND
The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays an important role in atherosclerosis. Acting via the angiotensin II receptor, type 1, oxidative stress increases and contributes to endothelial dysfunction and vascular inflammation. Renin exerts effects through a renin receptor causing an increase in the efficiency of angiotensinogen cleavage and facilitates angiotensin II (Ang II) generation and action on cell surfaces. Ang II enhances proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells, indicating a direct involvement of the RAS in smooth muscle cell proliferation during neointimal formation. Aliskiren, a direct renin inhibitor, is a new oral antihypertensive drug. However, the role of the direct renin inhibitor in neointimal formation and vascular matrix metalloproteinases remains unclear.

METHODS
To investigate the effects of aliskiren on the expression of vascular matrix metalloproteinases, we evaluated the aortic neointimal formation of high-cholesterol-fed animals after vascular injury in vivo and the cellular function of the tumor necrosis factor-α stimulated human aortic smooth muscle cells in vitro. Thereafter, we evaluated vascular expression (by western blot), activity (by gelatin zymography) and molecular pathway.

RESULTS
In this study we demonstrated that aliskiren reduced neointimal hyperplasia in hypercholesterolemic rabbits after vascular injury and the expression of matrix metalloproteinases in the neointima. Aliskiren also inhibited the expression and activities of matrix metalloproteinases on tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-stimulated human aortic smooth muscle cells via the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway.

CONCLUSIONS
The present study showed that aliskiren inhibited the expression of vascular matrix metalloproteinases. With these results, we have better clarified the potential role of renin inhibitors in human atherosclerosis.


Parenting is a pattern of interaction between parents and children or can be said to be the attitude or behavior of parents when interacting with children, including how to apply the rules, teach values or norms, give attention and love and show good attitudes and behaviors so that they become role models for their children. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship of parenting parents with children interpersonal Intelligence in Wonokerto, Lumajang. The research design used Correlational analytical. The Samples are 44 kindergarten students with using total sampling. The data analysis with Spearman Rank. The results of the relationship analysis of parenting parents with kindergarten interpersonal intelligence obtained that the practice of the majority parenting is authoritarian parenting as much as 20 (45.5%). Interpersonal intelligence of kindergarten children is a good majority of 40 (90.9%). The conclusion of this study is that there is a relationship between parenting pattern with children interpersonal Intelligence in Wonokerto, Lumajang.


An organic heterojunction utilizing conducting polymer, poly(2-methoxy-5-dodecyloxy-1,4-phenylenevinylene) (MDDO-PPV), and diamond film with the structure of Al/MDDO-PPV/diamond/Si has been fabricated. The device exhibits current rectification characteristics. The electroluminescence (EL) from MDDO-PPV on the diamond film has been observed. The rectifying junction and EL characteristics have been revealed and explained by taking hole injection from diamond film into consideration.


This is a qualitative study that aimed to know and analyze the social representations of social workers regarding the assistance to the child and adolescent, victims of domestic violence. The data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The data analysis was based on the hermeneutic-dialectic perspective. The empirical categories that emerged from the subjects' representations were: "lack of policy", "do not support because have not received support", and "social assistance" whereas the political economic aspect was highlighted as determinant of violence; the cultural aspects, perpetuating a cycle of violence in the families. An important step must be taken is the formulation of public policies directed to all children and adolescents and not policies of exception, directed only to those who are in situation of "social and personal risk".


Marfan syndrome (MFS) is an autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder that primarily involves skeletal, ocular, and cardiovascular systems with large inter‐ and intra‐familial variability in terms of age of onset, severity, and aortic disease. The causal gene, FBN1, encodes for fibrillin 1, a multi‐domain glycoprotein essential for many biological functions, including deposition and formation of elastic fibers. Reports describing chromosomal alterations involving FBN1 are rare, but in the last years their number has increased after copy number state analyses, such as multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification and microarray‐based comparative genomic hybridization, were adopted as routine diagnostic tools. Herein we report a patient with MFS and an atypical facial appearance and neuropsychiatric involvement likely not attributable to MFS due to a 15q21.1 deletion that involves part of FBN1 and 13 additional contiguous genes listed in OMIM. We compare his phenotype with those of the few patients described in the literature who share similar 15q11.2 deletions. This report expands the phenotype of patients with 15q11.2 deletion involving FBN1 and its contiguous genes, and suggests a possible role for these other genes in the pathogenesis of the observed unusual clinical signs that are not explained by FBN1 haploinsufficiency. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Abstract In recent years, respiratory infectious diseases had continued to attack China, the recent outbreak of COVID-19 pneumonia had attracted worldwide attention. Through studying the literature, interpreting official documents, analyzing medical and social management data, we summarized and compared some powerful measures taken by the Chinese government, such as declaring emergency state, blocking down the epidemic center, prohibiting crowd gathering activities, forcing residents to wear masks, and mobilizing medical staff and products. We found that these unconventional measures, on the one hand, controlled the spread of the epidemic in China, and on the other hand, exposed some of China's shortcomings in biosafety, food safety, public health input, and emergency system construction. This paper also recommends that other countries should take strict isolation measures as early as possible when fighting COVID-19 epidemics, and also mobilize citizens to strengthen self-protection.


Status epilepticus (SE) remains a life‐threatening condition that afflicts both adults and children, and may occur at onset of epilepsy, especially in children. Febrile SE is the most common cause in children, while other symptomatic causes are less frequent compared to adults. The aetiological workup that must be undertaken in all cases includes neuroimaging and electroencephalography. The various electroencephalographic patterns seen in patients with SE along with the out‐of‐hospital treatment for SE in children and treatment strategies in cases that are refractory to first‐line medical treatments are discussed. Medically induced coma may be necessary in refractory cases, although the optimal agents to use and degree of electroencephalographic suppression in children remain unclear. Neurosurgery is not a well‐known treatment option that could be considered for refractory cases. Although the prognosis has probably improved over the years, it remains a potential life‐threatening emergency.


Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a disease that become the tenth on top ten global burden of disease, and also the tenth as the non-communicable disease's  cause of death on hospital inpatient. Muara Enim, is one of the districts in the South Sumatra Province which has the largest coal mine in Indonesia, located in the sub-district of Tanjung Enim. There are variety of adverse effects caused by the dredging of coal in the mining area in Muara Enim, including the occurrence of COPD. The study design was cross-sectional. The sample was 469 individual sample in household  in the designated area and 504 in the non-designated area. The aim of this study was to describe COPD in the district of Muara Enim, South Sumatra Province. The results shown that the symptoms based cases of COPD is higher in the designated area (1,07%) rather than non-designated area (0,20%), as well as symptoms/diagnosed is higher in the designated area (2,35%). Outdoor and indoor air quality based on the average value of S0 2 , NO 2 and PM 10 was higher on the designated area, and the habit of smoking more than 1 month is higher in designated area (35,8%). In conclusion, based on the symptoms and the symptoms/diagnosed, the COPD prevalence was higher in the designated area than non-designated area.


The evidence base for most educational initiatives, at least until very recently, is largely composed of low-level evidence. Four major barriers underlie this historical observation, namely: (1) perceived ethical and acceptability problems arising from the unequal treatment of learners in experimental designs; (2) limited choice of outcome measures and validated instruments; (3) time and resource constraints; and (4) methodological issues concerning contextual confounding and small sample sizes. We advocate the adoption of a 'balanced scorecard' approach in the evaluation of education interventions that brings together a comprehensive panel of outcomes under one framework. We require a diversity of rigorously applied methods to generate these outcomes, drawing from the quantitative and qualitative disciplines of epidemiology, psychology and economics. We further suggest that the research community discuss and agree on a standardized set of common metrics or benchmarks. We conclude with a case study examining whether a hand-held computer clinical decision support tool improves clerkship learning of evidence-based medicine. The era of Brownian motion in health education research is over. What we demand in terms of burden of proof for educational effectiveness should be no less rigorous than our call for an ever escalating threshold concerning evidence of clinical care.


Background The histopathological findings in IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) includes the presence of marked IgG4 +plasma cell infiltration seen by immunostaining and it has been used in clinical practice only as a diagnostic tool. Whether the number of IgG4 +plasma cells in tissue is associated with any clinical or serological feature of the disease has not been previously evaluated. Objectives To evaluate if the number of IgG4 +plasma cell infiltration is associated with any clinical or serological outcome. Methods We included 30 patients with biopsy proven IgG4-RD according to the Comprehensive Diagnostic Criteria for IgG4-RD who regularly attended a tertiary referral centre in Mexico City (2000–2017). We collected demographics, clinical (organ involvement, relapses and the disease activity assessed by the IgG4-RD Responder Index [IgG4-RD RI] at baseline) as well as baseline laboratory data (C3, C4, total eosinophil count, IgG4 levels). Patients were divided in three groups according to the number of IgG4 +plasma cells seen by immunostaining as follows: 100 IgG4 +plasma cells/HPF. Results We included 30 patients, 17 (56.6%) women, mean age 53±13.9 years and median disease duration 13 months. The biopsies were from the following tissues: lacrimal gland (n=6), pancreas (n=5), orbit (n=4), kidney (n=4), lymph node (n=3), mediastinum (n=2), salivary gland (n=2) and other tissues (n=4). Eleven patients (36.6%) had 100 IgG4 +plasma cells/HPF. We did not find any difference regarding age, gender, time of follow up, number of involved organs and relapses. The median basal IgG4-RD RI was 9, 6 and 15, for the 100 IgG4 +plasma cells/HPF groups respectively, however, they did not reach statistical significance. The group with >100 IgG4 +plasma cells/HPF had more frequently lymphadenopathy when compared with the other groups (36.4%, 66.7% and 80%, p=0.02; respectively) while the proportion of involvement of the other anatomic sites were similar. We found a statistical difference in serum C3 levels (99.5 mg/dl, 159 mg/dl, 78.5 mg/dl, p=0.04) and a tendency for serum C4 levels (20 mg/dl, 27 mg/dl, and 6 mg/dl, p=0.08) among the groups, whereas the levels of serum IgG4 (60.8 mg/dl, 196 mg/dl, 245 mg/dl, p=0.35) and the eosinophil count (284/mm3, 189/mm3, 283/mm3, p=0.46) were similar. The C3 and C4 serum levels negatively correlated with the basal IgG4-RD RI (τ=−0.48, p=0.005 and τ=−0.58, p=0.001). Conclusions Our results show that the number of IgG4 +plasma cells seen by immunostaining in IgG4-RD may be of value in identifying a subset of patients with hypocomplementemia, lymphadenopathy and probably higher basal disease activity. The finding of an association between hypocomplementemia and higher tissue infiltration by IgG4 +plasma cells expands the evidence that complement activation may contribute to the pathogenesis of IgG4-RD. Reference [1] Carruthers M, Stone J, Deshpande V, et al. Development of an IgG4-RD Responder Index. Int J Rheumatol2012;2012:259408. Acknowledgements No acknowledgements to report. Disclosure of Interest None declared


DiscFinder is a scalable approach for identifying large-scale astronomical structures, such as galaxy clusters, in massive observation and simulation astrophysics datasets. It is designed to operate on datasets with tens of billions of astronomical objects, even in the case when the dataset is much larger than the aggregate memory of compute cluster used for the processing.


Email usage is pervasive among people from different backgrounds, and email corpus can be an important data source to study intricate social structures. Social status and role analysis on a personal email network can help reveal hidden information. The availability of Sarah Palin's email corpus presents a great opportunity to study social statuses and social roles in an email network. However, the email corpus does not readily lend itself to social network analysis due to problems such as noisy email data, scale in size, and temporal constraints. In this paper, we report an initial investigation of social status and role analysis on Sarah Palin's email corpus. In particular, we conduct a preliminary study on Palin's social statuses and roles. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first exploration of Sarah Palin's email corpus recently released by the state of Alaska.


A gametocidal chromosome, chromosome 2C derived from Aegilops cylindrica, was introduced into six wheat-barley addition lines to establish chromosome-mutation- inducing lines. These lines, except the one for chromosome 4H, had a pair of respective barley chromosomes and one 2C chromosome (22"+1'); the line for 4H was doubly monosomic for chromosome 4H and chromosome 2C (21"+2'). In these lines, chromosome breaks were expected to occur in the gametes lacking chromosome 2C. The selfed and backcrossed progeny of these lines were cytologically investigated by in situ hybridization and N-banding. Various types of structural aberration like deletion and translocation were detected for all barley chromosomes with frequencies ranging from 10.8% to 27.9%. The highest frequency of aberrations occurred in chromosome 4H with most of the breakpoints localized in or near the centromeric region. A simplified procedure of in situ hybridization used in this study was suitable for the large-scale screening for barley chromosome aberrations in the background of wheat.


The performance of the conventional proportional navigation guidance (PNG) law for a randomly maneuvering target is considered. By means of the Lyapunov method, it is proved that an ideal missile guided by the conventional PNG law can always intercept a target which maneuvers with time-varying normal acceleration provided that the navigation constant is sufficiently large. The authors also propose a modified PNG (MPNG) law which seems to improve the performance of the conventional PNG law at the final phase of pursuit. Simulation results demonstrate that the MPNG law demands less missile acceleration at the final phase of pursuit than the conventional PNG law. >


The first part of this thesis consists of a detailed analysis of
more than sixty reconstructed architectural sections taken through
different parts of the city. The results of this analysis yielded
a sequence of archaeological periods KI to KIV, JI to JII covering
the whole of the third mill. BC. Period L which represents the
first occupational levels encountered in the sections, falls outside
the scope of this study because it antedates the third mill. which is
the subject of this dissertation. Periods KI to KIV form a series
of homogeneous cultures which develop along similar lines. At the
end of period KIV, a destruction befell the city and a new vigorous
culture represented by two architectural stages JI/JII appears.
The end of these periods coincided with a destruction which ushered in
the beginning of a new era represented by periods H which cover the
1st half of the 2nd mill. BC.
The second part of the thesis is a study of the cultural links of
Byblos during periods KI to KIV and JI/JII. Period KI is securely
tied to the reigns of Djet/Den of the 1st Egyptian Dyn. and to the
latter part of EBI Palestine. Egyptian influence is paramount
during periods KIII/KIV which are contemporary to the IIIrd,, IVth,
Vth and VIth Egyptian Dynasties and to EBIII Palestine.
Subsequent to the destruction of KIV, Byblos JI/JII representing
the last two centures of the 3rd mill. BC., was under the cultural
impact of the north. The main aspects of the new culture are the
megaron style temples and the painted pottery. Signs of destruction and great disturbances appear all over the site at the end of Byblos
JII. It is the beginning of periods H which introduced the worship
in hypaethral temples accompanied by rich votive gifts. These
periods fall outside the scope of this study because they post date
the 3rd mill. BC.


The Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC) possesses more than 40 years of experience in international arbitration and conciliation. Due to the new Vienna Mediation Rules it may now administer not only arbitrations but also mediations and other ADR-proceedings where a neutral third person supports the parties in finding a solution for their dispute as well as combinations like Arb-Med(-Arb). The new rules entered into force on 1 January 2016 and are applicable to all proceedings initiated after 31 December 2015. The rules have been drafted by national and international mediation experts thus ensuring an exceptional high standard and state of the art solutions. The overriding principle when drafting the rules was party autonomy. The aim was to provide a functioning framework for parties and mediators alike, but all provisions may be altered by agreement provided their compatibility with the overall idea of the Vienna Mediation Rules is still pertained. As a further incentive for parties to use the new rules, VIAC administrative costs may be off-set in the later proceedings in case of subsequent mediation and arbitration proceedings between the same parties and concerning the same subject-matter in dispute. With its new Mediation Rules, VIAC is convinced to foster its position as the leading international arbitration institution in Central and Eastern Europe.


In this paper, a partial duplication based scheduling algorithm is designed that focuses on reducing the schedule length and processor count of the schedule by reducing the idle time slots. The proposed algorithm clusters the tasks so that it reduces the total job completion time i.e reducing the schedule length of the tasks. Then the compaction process is used to yield reduced number of processors. Finally bidding process is carried out to select the optimal resources for the tasks. The bidding process is one way. i.e only the resources bid. After selecting the resources task files are dispatched to the appropriate resources where the task execution is done.


Going from the example of the urban traffic in Europe, where the car use in town areas generally do not exceed 50 km/day, a series hybrid vehicle with light and compact thermal engine as an auxiliary power unit (APU) is demonstrated to be a promising concept. The paper describes such a configuration in base of a developed two-stroke engine with electronically controlled gasoline direct injection. The injection system is characterized by a high-pressure modulation obtained in base of the water hammer effect, which can be accurately adapted for a wide load and speed range of the engine. In this assembly the engine has extremely small dimensions and a dry weight of 8 kg, requiring a place which do not disturb the functions of the basic electric vehicle. The performances are convicting, the CO2 emission being reduced 3 times in comparison with a series four-stroke engine for the same car type, with an autonomy of 340 km and with a maximum speed of 100 km/h. The paper presents the features of the engine and of the injection system, giving an overview of the electronic management as well. The vehicle was successfully tested during the challenge Michelin in October 1998 in France and was exposed at the 1998 International Car Exhibition of Paris as well. Complete paper available under: http://www.sae.org/servlets/productDetail?PROD_TYP =PAPER&PROD_CD=1999-01-2940


It has been reported that labial displacement of the upper permanent canine is most frequently associatedwith crowding and constriction of the dental arch, but palatally impacted canines have sufficient space to erupt and are associated with a reduction of teeth width.Aim. To compare the Bolton ratios, individual tooth and dental arch widths in patients with unilateral palatallyand labially impacted canines.Methods. The study sample consisted of 75 patients with unilaterally impacted maxillary canines (palatalimpaction group n=48 (64%), labial impaction group n=27 (36%)). Teeth width, upper dental arch width and form analysis was performed on the pre-treatment dental casts. Bolton's ratio was calculated.Results. There were no differences in tooth widths between palatal and labial impaction groups, (except central incisors that were significantly smaller on the impaction side in both groups). No statistical relationbetween impacted tooth position on labio–palataldirection and meaning of the Bolton's ratio was found. 54.66 % of patients had normal anterior Bolton's ratio and 53.33%- normal overall Bolton's ratio.The distance between upper first molars and first premolars does not differ in both impaction groups. No statistical correlation was found between the upperdental arch form and impacted canine position in labio-palatal direction.Conclusion. Central incisors were significantly smaller on the impaction side of the dental arch in both palatally and labially impaction groups. No differences in the Bolton ratios, dental arch form and transversal width in patients with unilateral palatallyand labially canine impaction were found.


Substituting an alanine for serine in the regulatory subunit of the motor protein myosin dramatically alters Drosophila's flight ability. Power output, at all levels of the flight system, is reduced. This example of deciphering a protein's function by producing malfunctions illustrates the broadening use of molecular genetics in integrative biology.


OBJECT
Care providers have put significant effort into optimizing patient safety and quality of care. Value, defined as meaningful outcomes achieved per dollar spent, is emerging as a promising framework to redesign health care. Scarce data exist regarding cost measurement and containment for episodes of neurosurgical care. The authors assessed how cost measurement and strategic containment could be used to optimize the value of delivered care after the implementation and maturation of quality improvement initiatives.

METHODS
A retrospective study of consecutive patients undergoing microvascular decompression was performed. Group 1 comprised patients treated prior to the implementation of quality improvement interventions, and Group 2 consisted of those treated after the implementation and maturation of quality improvement processes. A third group, Group 3, represented a contemporary group studied after the implementation of cost containment interventions targeting the three most expensive activities: pre-incision time in the operating room (OR) and total OR time, intraoperative neuromonitoring (IOM), and bed assignment (and overall length of stay [LOS]). The value of care was assessed for all three groups.

RESULTS
Forty-four patients were included in the study. Average preparation time pre-incision decreased from 73 to 65 to 45 minutes in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The average total OR time and OR cost were 434 minutes and $8513 in Group 1; 348 minutes and $7592 in Group 2; and 407 minutes and $8333 in Group 3. The average cost for IOM, excluding electrode needles, was $1557, $1585, and $1263, respectively, in Groups 1, 2, and 3. Average total cost for bed assignment was $5747, $5198, and $4535, respectively, in Groups 1, 2, and 3. The average total LOS decreased from 3.16 days in Group 1 to 2.14 days in Group 3. Complete relief of or a significant decrease in preoperative symptomatology was achieved in 42 of the 44 patients, respectively. Overall, the average cost of a surgical care episode (index hospitalization + readmission/reoperation) decreased 25% from Group 1 to 3.

CONCLUSIONS
Linking cost-containment and cost-reduction strategies to ongoing outcome improvement measures is an important step toward the optimization of value-based delivery of care.


Chagas' disease afflicts more than 18 million people throughout South and Central America. Some areas of North America have also seen an increased incidence in recent years. The Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) parasite, which causes the disease, is most often transmitted by Triatomid bugs living in close proximity to humans. The T. cruzi parasite depends heavily on a small molecule called trypanothione to protect itself against damage from free radicals produced during normal metabolism. The concentration of trypanothione in the cell is carefully maintained by an enzyme called trypanothione reductase (TR). Drugs that inhibit TR should cause the parasite to die. Human cells have a similar enzyme-substrate pair: glutathione and glutathione reductase (GR). Fortunately, the enzyme GR differs electrostatically from TR, so there is hope of developing a drug that will be safe for human cells. The molecular structures of both TR and GR are known from ongoing X-ray crystallography studies. Both enzymes are dimers, that is, they consist of two equivalent domains, each having its own active site (the place where glutathione or trypanothione binds). One surprising feature of this system is a long tunnel passing through the center of the dimer and connecting the active sites of the two domains. While this is a naturally interesting feature to explore in a VR environment, the goal of the research is to evaluate the binding ability of particular drugs. For purposes of early testing, we chose chlorpromazine, an antidepressant drug. Large doses of the drug are known to kill the parasite, but are also toxic to the human host. It is possible that minor structural changes to this molecule would improve the selectivity and potency of the drug. For purposes of testing our VR environment, we present only a token calculation on chlorpromazine.


Twenty-five patients with acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia undergoing 41 cycles of chemotherapy with daunorubicin/cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) or with etoposide/ara-C received metoclopramide (MCP; 0.5 mg/kg 6 hourly i.v.) or MCP (same dose) plus oral lorazepam (1 mg/d) during and 24 hours following the chemotherapy as antiemetic medication. Control of vomiting was achieved is 55% (complete 5%, partial 50%) of the patients receiving MCP alone and in 100 percent (complete 76.1%; partial 23.8%) of those receiving MCP plus lorazepam (p less than 0.001). Eighteen of the 21 patients (85.7%) receiving MCP plus lorazepam opted for the same antiemetic regimen as compared to six of the 20 (30%) receiving MCP alone (p less than 0.01). One patient in each group developed mild sedation during the treatment. It is concluded that oral lorazepam is an effective and safe adjuvant to MCP for the control of vomiting during cancer chemotherapy.


When polymeric materials like Polyallyl diglycol carbonate (PADC), Polycarbonate (PC), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polypropylene (PP) etc. are exposed to gamma radiation, they show pronounced changes in their physical and chemical properties. Interestingly, the changes due to irradiation are varied in nature, proving that all polymers do not undergo similar type of modifications under similar irradiation conditions. Thus, while polymers like PADC and PVC do not reveal any change in the IR spectral pattern, the IR spectrum of polypropylene polymer confirms the total destruction of isotactic arrangements of the polymer leading to the formation of alcoholic and ketonic groups. The etch-rates are drastically enhanced due to irradiation at the highest dose for all types of PADC detectors which is not the case for polycarbonates. For polyacetate polymer, elimination of carbon dioxide takes place due to destruction of the ester group. Interestingly, in polycarbonate polymer it was observed that at the dose of 106Gy, phenolic groups form due to cleavage of ester bonds. Thermal stability of PADC (American-Acrylics) is drastically reduced at the doss of 106 Gy, whereas for polypropylene polymer, the stability is greatly enhanced. It is also observed that due to etching, thermal stability of PADC detectors decreases. Dielectric studies reflect the fact that at a gamma dose of higher than 104 Gy, PADC detector may not behave as an ideal nuclear track detector. This paper accounts the modifications on different types of polymeric track detectors due to gamma irradiation. Variations in different properties such as track properties, structural modifications, thermal properties, electrical properties etc. through a dose range of 101 Gy to 106 Gy are discussed