Atom‐probe tomography analysis of complex multilayer structures is a promising avenue for studying interfacial properties. However, significant artefacts in the three‐dimensional reconstructed data arise due to the field evaporation process. To clarify the origin and impact of these artefacts for a FeCoB/FeCo/MgO/FeCo/IrMn multilayer, tip shapes were observed by transmission electron microscopy and compared to those obtained by finite difference modelling of electric fields and evaporation processes. It was found that the emitter shape is not spherical and its surface morphology evolves during successive evaporation of the different layers. This evolving morphology contributes to the artefacts generally observed in the reconstructed atom‐probe data for multilayer structures because algorithms for three‐dimensional reconstruction are based on the assumption that the shape of the emitter during field evaporation is spherical. Some proposed improvements to data reconstruction are proposed.


The impact of process induced variation on the response of SOI FinFET to heavy ion irradiation is studied through 3-D TCAD simulation for the first time. When FinFET biased at OFF state configuration ( V gs =0, V ds = V dd ) is struck by a heavy ion, the drain collects ionizing charges under the electric field and a current pulse (single event transient, SET) is consequently formed. The results reveal that with the presence of line-edge roughness (LER), which is one of the major variation sources in nano-scale FinFETs, the device-to-device variation in terms of SET is observed. In this study, three types of LER are considered: type A has symmetric fin edges, type B has irrelevant fin edges and type C has parallel fin edges. The results show that type A devices have the largest SET variation while type C devices have the smallest variation. Further, the impact of the two main LER parameters, correlation length and root mean square amplitude, on SET variation is discussed as well. The results indicate that variation may be a concern in radiation effects with the down scaling of feature size.


Background: Liver cirrhosis is the largest risk factor for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and surveillance is therefore recommended among this population. Current guidance recommends surveillance with ultrasound, with or without alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). This review aims to synthesise the evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of imaging or biomarker tests, alone or in combination, to identify HCC in adults with liver cirrhosis in a surveillance programme. Methods: We will identify studies through a 2021 Cochrane review with similar eligibility criteria, and a database search of MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. We will include diagnostic test accuracy studies with adult cirrhosis patients of any aetiology. Studies must assess at least one of the following index tests: ultrasound (US), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerised tomography (CT), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin (DCP), lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of AFP (AFP-L3), a genomic biomarker, or a diagnostic prediction model incorporating at least one of the above-mentioned tests. We will assess studies for risk of bias using QUADAS-2 and QUADAS-C. We will combine data using bivariate random effects meta-analyses. For tests evaluated across varying diagnostic thresholds, we will produce pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity across the full range of numerical thresholds, where possible. Where sufficient studies compare two or more index tests, we will perform additional analyses to compare the accuracy of different tests. Where feasible, we will stratify all meta-analyses by tumour size and patient characteristics, including cirrhosis aetiology and liver disease severity. Discussion: This review will synthesise evidence across the full range of possible surveillance tests, using advanced statistical methods to summarise accuracy across all thresholds and to compare the accuracy of different tests. PROSPERO registration: CRD42022357163


Rajagopalan and Sabir [Phys. Rev. E 63, 057201 (2001)] recently discussed deterministic diffusion in a piecewise linear map using an approach developed by Fujisaka et al. We first show that they rederived the random walk formula for the diffusion coefficient, which is known to be the exact result for maps of Bernoulli-type since the work of Fujisaka and Grossmann [Z. Phys. B: Condens. Matter 48, 261 (1982)]. However, this correct solution is at variance to the diffusion coefficient curve presented in their paper. Referring to another existing approach based on Markov partitions, we answer the question posed by the authors regarding solutions for more general parameter values by recalling the finding of a fractal diffusion coefficient. We finally argue that their model is not suitable for studying intermittent behavior, in contrast to what was suggested in their paper.


Introduction: Lymphangioleiomiomatosis (LAM) is a rare, progressive cystic lung disease, mainly affecting women. Sirolimus (SR) is effective in stabilizing lung function and in reducing the size of chylous effusions, lymphangioleiomyomas, and angiomyolipomas Objectives: Aim of this study is to analyze data of patients (pts) referred to our LAM clinic and treated with SR Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data of pts evaluated after at least one year of treatment with pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and six minute walking test (6MWT) Results: 63 LAM pts, 16 associated to tuberous sclerosis (TSC), were treated with SR since 2009. 13 discontinued: 5 for disease progression, 2 for adverse events (SE), 1 died and 5 lost at follow-up. 39 and 31 were respectively evaluated at 12 and 24 months. No significant changes were observed in FVC, FEV1, DLCO and 6MWT at 12 and 24 months compared to baseline. However 5 pts (non responders) showed a decrease of ≥10% in FEV1 after 12 month treatments, confirmed at the evaluation at 24 m. These pts did not show any significant difference in PFTs and 6MWD at baseline compared to the latters. Among responders, a significant correlation was found between FEV1 at baseline and FEV 1 at 12 (rho 0.9, p In 26 pts also PFTs before treatment were available. In this subgroup post treatment-changes in FEV1 at 12 months and for 21 patients at 24 months were significantly different from yearly change before treatment (-0.1 vs 0.04 p=0.03 and -0.1 vs 0.02 L/year p =0.05 respectively). Conclusions: Our data confirm the important role played by SR in slowing down LAM progression. However around 20% of pts experienced diseases progression or AE.


This article presents an analytic approach to study admissibility conditions related to classical full wavelet systems over finite fields using tools from computational harmonic analysis and theoretical linear algebra. It is shown that for a large class of non-zero window signals (wavelets), the generated classical full wavelet systems constitute a frame whose canonical dual are classical full wavelet frames as well, and hence each vector defined over a finite field can be represented as a finite coherent sum of classical wavelet coefficients as well.


In current clinical practice, electroencephalograms (EEG) are reviewed and analyzed by well-trained neurologists to provide supports for therapeutic decisions. The way of manual reviewing is labor-intensive and error prone. Automatic and accurate seizure/nonseizure classification methods are needed. One major problem is that the EEG signals for seizure state and nonseizure state exhibit considerable variations. In order to capture essential seizure features, this paper integrates an emerging deep learning model, the independently recurrent neural network (IndRNN), with a dense structure and an attention mechanism to exploit temporal and spatial discriminating features and overcome seizure variabilities. The dense structure is to ensure maximum information flow between layers. The attention mechanism is to capture spatial features. Evaluations are performed in cross-validation experiments over the noisy CHB-MIT data set. The obtained average sensitivity, specificity and precision of 88.80%, 88.60% and 88.69% are better than using the current state-of-the-art methods. In addition, we explore how the segment length affects the classification performance. Thirteen different segment lengths are assessed, showing that the classification performance varies over the segment lengths, and the maximal fluctuating margin is more than 4%. Thus, the segment length is an important factor influencing the classification performance.


Diseases and epidemics caused by pathogens in drinking water supplies not only cause deaths but also lead to an important economic and labor loss. Rapid and easy detection of these pathogens on water sources will help us to prevent the diseases associated with them. In this study, the aim is to achieve the detection of low amount of toxins by amplification of the signal by surface plasmon fluorescence spectroscopy (SPFS) and to minimize the need for sample preparation. Cholera toxin B (ChB), a truncated form of cholera toxin, was chosen as the model toxin. Capture antibody that will assure specific binding of the toxin was immobilized to the sensor surface by different methods and measurement conditions were optimized.


This article presents a physically-based load model and formulation for continuous process industries to use in implementing industrial load management. The formulation utilizes an integer programming technique for minimizing electricity costs by scheduling the loads and satisfying the process, production, and maximum demand constraints. The case study of a typical steel rolling mill, with the proposed model, shows that savings of about 5.21% in electricity costs are possible with optimal load scheduling under TOU tariff. After scheduling the loads, real time implementation of load management action is investigated using a programmable logic controller.


Pituitary hormone-producing cells differentiate sequentially from a common epithelial primordium, Rathke's pouch, under the combinatorial action of a subset of tissue- and cell-restricted transcription factors. Some factors have been implicated in early events of pituitary induction and morphogenesis while other factors like Pit-1 and SF-1 have been associated with differentiation of particular lineages. In POMC-expressing cells, Pitx1, NeuroD1 and Tpit were shown to be important for cell specific transcription of the POMC gene. Since Tpit is exclusively expressed in pituitary POMC-expressing lineages, the corticotrophs and melanotrophs, we investigated the TPIT gene coding sequences in 17 patients presenting with congenital isolated ACTH deficiency (IAD). We demonstrated that human TPIT gene mutations cause a neonatal onset form of IAD (8/11), but not juvenile forms of this deficiency (0/6). In the absence of glucocorticoid replacement, IAD can lead to neonatal death by acute adrenal insufficiency. To assess the importance of Tpit in pituitary differentiation and function, we produced Tpit-null mice. Concordant with the human phenotype, Tpit-null mice have IAD : plasma ACTH is greatly reduced in these mice, their plasma corticosterone is undetectable and the adrenals are hypoplastic. Analysis of the pituitary in Tpit-null mice revealed multiple roles of this factor in cell differentiation. First, Tpit is a positive regulator for POMC cell differentiation. Tpit is also a negative regulator of the pituitary gonadotroph fate. Thus, Tpit operates as a molecular switch to orient differentiation of a common precursor towards either POMC or gonadotroph fate. A binary choice model of pituitary cell differentiation is presented.


In this work, we focus on multiple waypoints planning that take into account the stealthiness of autonomous UAVs; generating stealthy waypoints through a region laden with enemy radars. The important goal of waypoint planning for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is to generate an optimal path for UAVs to visit all of the specified waypoints. We use the Traveling Salesman Problems (TSP) optimization to solve the visitation sequence planning problem for UAVs. The aim is to find the optimal solution that minimizes the distance travelled by the UAVs with low radar risk; under the strict constraints that each waypoint is visited exactly once by the UAVs, and the flying altitude does not exceed the specified threshold so as to minimize the radar exposure. The generated solution is then refined using a series of cubic splines in lieu of the straight line segments, resulting in a cost-effective path traceable by the UAVs. The shape of the trajectory is approximated using cubic B-splines. Simulated results are presented, illustrating the potential benefits of such approach.


Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is an emerging health concern in developing and developed countries, such as Japan. Five cases have recently been diagnosed as hepatitis E. Of interest, 3 of them had rheumatoid arthritis (RA), although a previous study demonstrated a lack of association between HEV and RA. One of the other patients developed autoimmune hepatitis and was successfully treated with corticosteroids approximately 150 days after the diagnosis of hepatitis E. In RA patients with liver dysfunction, the presence of HEV infection should be evaluated immediately because these patients are often relatively old. Further investigation of the association between HEV and autoimmune hepatitis is needed.


Bacteria were aggregated in a paddle mixer, producing highly amorphous aggregates of 3-300 μm diameter with an average fractal dimension of D ) 2.52. To determine the rate that these types of biological flocs could coagulate with other particles, collision frequencies of these aggregates with small (0.49 μm diameter) fluorescent yellow green (YG) latex microspheres were measured in a paddle mixer at a mean shear rate of 17 s-1. As the aggregate sizes (<5 μm) approached that of the small YG microspheres, measured collision rates converged to values similar to those predicted by two conventional coagulation models (rectilinear and curvilinear) developed for collisions between spherical particles. Collision frequencies between larger bacterial aggregates (La ∼100 μm) and YG microspheres were found to be as much as 2 orders of magnitude smaller than values predicted using a rectilinear coagulation model but 5 orders of magnitude higher than predicted using the curvilinear model. Similar but slightly larger collision frequencies were obtained for aggregates (D ) 2.31) made from red-stained microspheres (2.93 μm diameter). These data when combined with other data for larger inorganic aggregates indicate that the collision function increases from 10-10 to 10-6 cm3 s-1 for fractal aggregates 3-1000 μm in size with small particles. These results demonstrate that fractal aggregates of particles collide much more frequently than expected based on spherical-particle coagulation models and suggest that coagulation rates in natural systems are much more rapid than predicted by coagulation models based on impermeable spheres.


This study integrates LiDAR data and topographic map information for reconstruction of 3D building models. The procedure includes feature extraction, registration and reconstruction. In this study, the tensor voting algorithm and a region-growing method with principal features are adopted to extract building roof planes and structural lines from LiDAR data. A robust least squares method is applied to register boundary points of LiDAR data with building outlines obtained from topographic maps. The registration accuracy is about 11 cm in both x- and y- coordinates. The results of the registration method developed here are satisfactory for the subsequent application. Finally, an actual LiDAR dataset and its corresponding topographic map information demonstrate the procedure for data fusion of automatic 3D building model construction.


This study analyzes the issues of traditional patriarchy and the reconstruction of gender roles of three books; The Breadwinner (Deborah Ellis) , Parvana's Journey (Deborah Ellis), and Wanting Mor (Rukhsana Khan) . All these three books are considered as multicultural literature because of the theme of war and violence in Afghanistan culture. The findings confirm gender roles are unstable and inconstant. These three books show evidences of how gender roles are adaptable and changeable depends on what gender is favored in the social interactions. What is more, the institutional perspectives provide ways of reasoning gender roles are altered and changed. By observing Afghan social practices and policies in their culture, these books also confirm that most social institutions in this culture are gendered to favor patriarchy dominations. Therefore, the main characters of these books portray the shifts and changes of their gender roles to save them from 'disparate treatment' in the society. Key word: patriarchal dominations, gender roles, Afghanistan culture


Aim. Evaluation of the prevalence of obesity and association with the risk factors of chronic non-communicable diseases of the inhabitants of selected regions of Russia, by the data from ESSE-RF study. Material and methods. Representative selections investigated, of the inhabitants of 13 regions of Russia, totally 21768 participants, males n=8 304, females n=13 464, age 25-64 y. o., under the circumstances of the study "Epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases (ESSE-RF)", with response ~80%. Standard questionnaire, consisting 12 modules, was developed based upon adapted international methods. For the risk factors prevalence assessment, the standard epidemiological methods were applied. Body mass (BM) was evaluated in the categories of body mass index (BMI) (Ketle index: BMI — Body mass, kg / height, m 2 ). BM as BMI was evaluated as insufficient (BMI <18,5), normal (18,5≤ BMI ≤24,9), overweight (25,0≤ BMI ≤29,9), obesity grade I (30,0 ≤BMI ≤34,9), obesity grade II (35,0 ≤BMI ≤39,9) and obesity grade III (BMI ≥40,0). Abdominal obesity (AO) was assessed with the criteria: for males waist circumference (WC) ≥102 cm and for females ≥88 cm. Results. Mean BMI value among the participants was 27,6 kg/m 2 , with no gender difference. BMI increases with the age only in women. WC — 87,8 cm ±0,1, among males it was significantly higher than in females (92,9 cm vs 84,1 cm, p<0,001), increasing with age. The prevalence of obesity was higher among females comparing to males: by BMI — 30,8% vs 26,9%, p<0,001; by AO — 38,4% vs 24,3%, p<0,001. The prevalence of obesity in female inhabitants of rural regions was significantly higher comparing to citizens (p<0,001), and in the group of higher education, there was no difference among males wither by BMI (p<0,005), or by AO (p<0,001). There was no clear geographic gradient of the risk factors. The prevalence of obesity increases linearly with the age, in males from 14,3% to 36,3%, p<0,001, and in females from 10,7% to 52,3%, p<0,001. AO was more prevalent in women comparing to men in every of analyzed age group, and with the age this difference gets more profound. In the multifactorial model the associations of risk factors were analyzed, with any type of obesity. Close relation was found for obesity and raised levels of glucose and triglycerides, with alcohol overconsumption. Most significant associations were found for obesity and AH in both genders — OR: 2,71 and 2,52 in men and women, respectively. There was linear increase of AH prevalence with mean SBP and DBP, together with BM. Conclusion . In Russian population, obesity is associated most closely with alcohol overconsumption, increased glucose level, lipid disorders and especially strongly — with systemic hypertension, the factors that increase prevalence with age. Burden of this closely interrelated factors on healthcare system will increase with the portion of elderly inhabitants of the country. State of affairs demand for a complex approach based on the governmental politics on the control of populational levels of bodyweight, beginning at elementary school, with mass-media involvement, as the groceries manufacturers, regional governments.


The process of conversion or dissipation of energy in nearly collisionless turbulent space plasma is yet to be fully understood. The existing models offer different energy dissipation mechanisms which are based on wave-particle interactions or nonresonant stochastic heating. There are other mechanisms of irreversible processes in space. For example, turbulence generated coherent structures, e.g. current sheets are ubiquitous in the solar wind and quasi-parallel magnetosheath. Reconnecting current sheets in plasma turbulence are converting magnetic energy to kinetic and thermal energy. It is important to understand how the multiple (reconnecting) current sheets contribute to the spatial distribution of turbulent dissipation. However, detailed studies of such complex structures have been possible mainly via event studies in proper coordinate systems, in which the local inflow/outflow, electric and magnetic field directions and gradients could be studied. Here we statistically investigate different energy exchange/dissipation (EED) measures defined in local magnetic field-aligned coordinates, as well as frame-independent scalars. The presented statistical comparisons based on the unique high-resolution MMS data contribute to a better understanding of the plasma heating problem in turbulent space plasmas.


The Tertiary dolerite plug at Carneal cuts basalt lavas and incorporates blocks of chalk and flint from underlying Cretaceous rocks. Assimilation by the dolerite of the pure limestone and flint took place under the very rare highest-temperature, low-pressure conditions. Only about twenty-five examples of the resulting metamorphosed and metasomatized rocks are known in the world, few fully described. The rock suite enables the conditions and mechanisms of assimilation to be deduced. The pressure, about 200 x 105Pa (200 bar), and the temperature, estimated as 1050-1100 °C, produced an exomorphic suite of larnite, spinel, merwinite, spurrite, scawtite and related assemblages, with wollastonite, quartz, plagioclase, hydrogrossular, xonotlite and related minerals representing flint. Complementary desilication of the igneous rocks gives the endomorphic suite of pyroxene-rich dolerite, pyroxenite, titanaugitemelilite-rock and aegirine- and nepheline-bearing types. Chemical analyses o titanaugite, sahlite, melilite, wollastonite and the main rock types are provided and optical and other properties of the minerals. Two related mechanisms of limestone assimilation occurred. Most of the rocks resulted from the incorporation of the chalk in the olivine-dolerite magma, paradoxically, the addition of 18-26 % CaO to the dolerite magma so lowers the silica ratio that 17-18% additional S i02 is required to produce the endomorphic hybrids, with the complementary exomorphic suite. The second mechanism, a metasomatic replacement, preserves existing mineral (and fossil) textures. Mineral textures and the preservation of a cyclostome bryozoan now composed of wollastonite (by silicification of calcite) show the metasomatism to have been a tranquil process despite the high temperature. To produce the vein assemblage of merwinite, hydrogrossular and melilite, this mechanism required 63 % CaO and 23 % H20 , an addition which is only slightly more hydrous than calcium hydroxide. These mechanisms are evidence for the production of peralkaline rocks by limestone assimilation but only on a very small scale. The retrograde phase of metamorphism produced minerals in order of approximately increasing water content, including xonotlite, bicchulite (a new mineral), thomsonite, tobermorite, tacharanite and plombierite.


The coupled system of the Ohm-Maxwell and transport equations is solved applying a 1-D code to the case of a one-fluid plasma in a cylindrical Tokamak. A situation is considered such that the current channel is surrounded by a large and cold boundary region with high thermal conductivity simulating the effect of strong cooling processes in the boundary zone. Introducing suitable boundary conditions on the interface a resistive instability exists (in addition to the thermal instability related to local overheating) which is related to marginal modes of the equation for the perturbed poloidal flux (plasma-circuit instability). The current shrinks and collapses on the axis on the time scale depending on the resistivity of the cold zone and on its width. If tau E approximately na2R the nonlinear evolution of the profiles is controlled by the parameter nqRU/B (U is the loop voltage) and a very steep gradient is developed at high density.


We evaluated the properties and real existence of an electrolyzed-reduced water, which we prepared, and three commercially purchased water goods, that are advertised to have antioxidant activities by the action of "active hydrogen," on the basis of the results of examinations for inhibitory effects on the oxidative reactions of biomolecules, quantitative analyses of the minerals, and the ESR spectral data in measurement of the scavenging ability for reactive oxygen species. The results suggested that all of the examined aqueous solution systems undoubtedly have antioxidant activities in vitro and that such effects are derived from ordinary molecular hydrogen (hydrogen gas) and/or (a) reductive vanadium ion(s). "Active hydrogen" seems to be absent as an effective component of the antioxidant activities of these aqueous solution systems.


This book has been written as a guide for the family doctor who wishes to give genetic advice to his patients. The authors are careful to point out that some genetic problems are very complex and here the help of a specialist is advocated. There are chapters setting out clearly the principles of single gene and polygenic inheritance. The application of these principles in genetic counselling is illustrated by case examples. The problems associated with incomplete penetrance, phenocopies, and genetic heterogeneity are discussed with reference to specific conditions. There is a useful table giving the empiric recurrence risk for common malformations not showing Mendelian inheritance, citing references. The chapter on chromosome aberrations discusses counselling in mongolism in some detail. Both in the text and in the subtitle of a figure the theoretical onethird risk that the child of a mother carrying a D/G translocation will be a mongol is given. Experience indicates that the actual risk may be less than this, though, from the new amniocentesis experience, not much less. Throughout the book the authors give their opinion on whether or not the inquiring parents should be advised to procreate, and they state categorically that women carrying a D/G translocation should not have children. Since the book was written the possibility of antenatal diagnosis by amniocentesis has encouraged many such women to plan a pregnancy on the understanding that they will be offered a termination if the fetus is shown to be abnormal. This book could be useful to the practitioner wishing to acquaint himself with the basic genetic principles necessary for genetic counselling. It draws attention to some of the complexities which may be encountered and also to the need for such counsel in affected families. In such a small volume there must be many omissions, and for the mode of inheritance and empiric recurrence risks for many specific abnormalities the practitioner would have to look elsewhere. E. M. WILLIAMSON


This study characterized some immuno-pathological aspects of intestinal trichinellosis where, the influence of this nematode infection on levels of IL-10 mRNA expression, nitric oxide (NO) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in intestinal mucosa is going to be studied. Four groups of albino mice were infected orally by Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis) larvae and sacrificed on days 3, 6, 14, & 30 post infections (d.p.i.). Levels of the previously mentioned parameters were measured in the infected intestinal tissue samples and compared to non-infected normal controls. The results showed gradual increase of IL-10 mRNA expression at 3 d.p.i., to reach its peak levels at 14 d.p.i. The mucosal levels of NO and MPO showed sharp increased by 3rd d.p.i., with a peak on 6 d.p.i. These biochemical changes were in accordance with the pathological changes observed by histopathological examination of stained small intestinal sections. The data reinforce the concept of the central role played by IL-10, as a Th2 cytokine in controlling severe inflammatory process initiated by NO under the influence of this invading parasite.


LONGITUDINAL OUTCOMES OF DISTORTION PRODUCT OTOACOUSTIC EMISSIONS AND WIDEBAND REFLECTANCE IN INFANTS by VIRGINIA RAMACHANDRAN December 2012 Co-Advisors: Dr. Jean E. Andruski and Dr. Kenneth R. Bouchard Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Clinical practice has shown that some infants are born with, or develop a temporary conductive hearing loss characterized by the absence of measurable otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) but normal sensorineural hearing. This transient situation interferes with the process of universal newborn hearing screening and identification. The purpose of this prospective, longitudinal study was to describe outcomes of distortion product OAE (DPOAE) screening in infants at birth, and one, four, eight, and twelve weeks of age. In addition, wideband reflectance (WBR) measures, which have the potential to help characterize outer-ear canal and middle-ear function, were examined to determine their potential utility in identifying DPOAE screening outcomes. Beginning with a sample of 50% of ears that passed the initial DPOAE screening at birth, results showed that passing outcomes rose over the course of time, at rates of 72.1%, 84.6%, 86.0%, and 96.0% at weeks one, four, eight, and twelve, respectively. Rates of new fails – ears that had passed the screening at a previous time point – also increased over time, with the exception of the last time point, at which no new failing outcomes were seen. These data suggest that twelve weeks would be the most efficient


Thyroid hormone (TH) regulates fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) levels in the liver and in the adipose tissue. In contrast, peripheral FGF21 administration leads to decreased circulating levels of TH. These data suggest that FGF21 and TH could interact to regulate metabolism. In the present study, we confirmed that TH regulates adipose and hepatic FGF21 expression and serum levels in mice. We next investigated the influence of TH administration on key serum metabolites, gene expression in the liver and brown adipose tissue, and energy expenditure in FGF21 knockout mice. Surprisingly, we did not observe any significant differences in the effects of TH on FGF21 knockout mice compared with those in wild-type animals, indicating that TH acts independently of FGF21 for the specific outcomes studied. Furthermore, exogenous FGF21 administration to hypothyroid mice led to similar changes in serum and liver lipid metabolites and gene expression in both hypothyroid and euthyroid mice. Thus, it appears that FGF21 and TH have similar actions to decrease serum and liver lipids despite having some divergent regulatory effects. Whereas TH leads to up-regulation in the liver and down-regulation in brown adipose tissue of genes involved in the lipid synthesis pathway (eg, fatty acid synthase (FASN) and SPOT14), FGF21 leads to the opposite changes in expression of these genes. In conclusion, TH and FGF21 act independently on the outcomes studied, despite their ability to regulate each other's circulating levels. Thus, TH and FGF21 may modulate the availability of each other in critical metabolic states.


Aim: The overall aim; was to develop and evaluate a manual-based art-therapy programme for patients with depression, to clarify treatment effects and to describe participants' experiences of the treatment. Specific aims: (I) To explore and describe how art therapy works in relation to therapeutic factors, clinical application, and circumstances in the experimental situation, for patients with depression; (II) To explore what experts in the field of art therapy consider to be the main aspects of treatment for patients with depression in clinical practice; (III) To investigate the effects of manual-based Phenomenological Art Therapy in addition to treatment as usual (PATd/TAU) compared with only treatment as usual (TAU) for patients diagnosed with moderate to severe depression; and (IV) To describe and explore the significance of manual-based Phenomenological Art Therapy as experienced by patients diagnosed with moderate to severe depression. Methods: (I) Systematic literature review according to Realist review; (II) Expert survey according to the Delphi technique (Studies I and II were used as a foundation for developing the manual-based Phenomenological Art Therapy for patients with depression (PATd)); (III) A randomized controlled trial with intention-to-treat design; and, an interview study (IV) Phenomenological approach, according to Reflective Lifeworld Research. Results: (I) Eight therapeutic factors were identified: self-exploration, selfexpression, communication, understanding and explanation, integration, symbolic thinking, creativity, and sensory stimulation. (II) Resulting in four main aspects of art therapy for patients with depression; expression through art-making and verbal communication concerning: depressive thoughts, feelings, life experiences, and physical symptoms. (III) PATd in addition to Treatment As Usual (TAU) showed a significant reduction of depression and an improved return to work compared to only TAU. Self-esteem significantly improved, and suicide ideation did not change. (IV) PATd facilitates meeting oneself in an inner dialogue between the evident and the unaware. The art-making and describing that experience makes oneself and the situation visible, opening up and altering understanding through the inner dialogue. Conclusions: Manual-based PATd seems to work as intended, being an effective treatment, and contributes to recovery for patients with moderate to severe depression.


Relevance. The aim of the work was to study the influence of predecessors cultivated in three crop rotations with a short rotation on the weedness of fiber flax crops and the yield of flax products. The study was carried out in field experiments in 2016–2019, on medium and weakly acidic soddy-podzolic light and medium loamy soils of the Tver region with a high phosphorus content. Methods . As the precursors of fiber flax, vetch-oat mixture and white mustard were cultivated with post-cut cultivation of white mustard for green fertilization, and also repeated sowing of fiber flax was carried out in the same field for three years in a row after the predecessor of barley. Results . As a result of the studies, it was found that the greatest lowering the weediness of fiber flax crops and an increase in the yield of flax products was observed in the crop rotation with the cultivation of white mustard for green fertilization after the precursor of the vetch-oat mixture for green fodder and the introduction of the biofungicide Sternifag after the precursor of barley with the addition of 12 kg/ha of ammonium nitrate. There was a decrease in the number of stems of couch grass ( Agroperon repens ) by 2.8 times, a significant increase in the yield of fiber flax — by 5 dt/ha a compared with repeated cultivation of fiber flax in the same field and by 1.4 dt/ha compared with cultivation after barley without the use of biofungicide. At the same time, the yield of flax straw was 29.1 dt/ha, of flax stock 22.4 dt/ha, of flax fiber — 6 dt/ha. In the crop rotation with the sowing of fiber flax after barley in the same field for three years in a row, there was a decrease in the yield of flax fiber by 0.3 and 0.8 dt/ha, including fiber scutched flax — by 1.6 and 1.7 dt/ha in comparison with cultivation in crop rotations with post-harvest use of white mustard for green fertilization.


Purpose To investigate whether AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is required for the reduction of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) by exchange proteins activated by cAMP 1 (Epac1) in the retinal vasculature. Methods We measured AMPK phosphorylation in normal and diabetic Epac1 floxed and cdh5/Epac1 Cre mice. We also treated primary human retinal endothelial cells (RECs) in normal (5-mM) or high (25-mM) glucose with an Epac1 agonist and AMPK or insulin-like growth factor receptor binding protein 3 siRNA. We measured protein levels of AMPK, sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), and HMGB1. Results AMPK phosphorylation was reduced in cdh5/Epac1 Cre mice, suggesting that Epac1 regulated AMPK actions. High-glucose culturing conditions reduced AMPK levels in RECs, but the levels were increased by the Epac1 agonist, supporting the idea that Epac1 regulates AMPK. The Epac1 agonist was not able to reduce HMGB1 levels or increase SIRT1 when AMPK was blocked by AMPK siRNA, thus demonstrating that Epac1 requires AMPK to regulate SIRT1 and HMGB1. Conclusions Epac1 requires AMPK to increase SIRT1 and reduce HMGB1 in the diabetic retinal vasculature. This finding provides another pathway by which Epac1 may protect the retina during diabetes.


The Government of the Republic of Indonesia has established the legal policy of labor supervision and it has been stated in the regulations. If we look closely, the legal policy of labor supervision in Indonesia has experienced movements. This legal policy is the direction set in the field of labor supervision. To implement legal policy, policies at the central and regional levels are needed. This research article discusses provincial government policies in implementing labor supervision of legal policy in Indonesia. This research is normative legal research. The approach method used is the statutory approach. The objects research were the policies of the West Java Provincial Government, the Central Java Provincial Government, and the East Java Provincial Government. The legal materials used include primary and secondary legal materials. The two legal materials were collected through literature study and then analyzed using qualitative analysis methods. The results show that in implementing the legal policy of labour supervision, local government policies in the three provinces refer to the labor supervision system established by the central government. The Regional Governments did not issue specific policies related to the labor supervision system, but the three provinces issued policies related to the structuring of institutions that carry out labor supervision activities. There is no uniformity in an institutional arrangement. This non-uniformity is based on the sociological conditions in each province which still adheres to the principles and norms of the applicable law.


Two studies were conducted to investigate the influence of motor disability of the child on cognitive development. In Study I, elementary school teachers and undergraduate students were requested to rank the school subjects according to how much the teaching of each subject would facilitate scene concepts development of children. The results visually represented by the rank graphs indicated that "physical training" and "arts" which require body actions and movements were judged to be most important for scene concepts development. In Study II, both normal and physically handicapped children were asked to perform free recalls to each of the three stimuli: "my house," "my school," and "my town." The results showed the influence of the size of space implied by the stimuli on the number of the items recalled by healthy children but this influence was not the same with physically handicapped children. These results, which indicate the importance of body actions and movements for scene concepts development, were discussed in terms of education for physically handicapped children.


AIM
The aim of the present study was to investigate the fibre-type specific abundance of autophagy-related proteins after an overnight fast and following ingestion of a mixed meal in human skeletal muscle.

METHODS
Twelve overweight, healthy young male volunteers underwent a 3h mixed meal tolerance test following an overnight fast. Blood samples were collected at baseline and throughout the 180 min post meal period and skeletal muscle biopsies were collected at baseline, 30- and 90-min post meal ingestion. Protein content of key autophagy markers and upstream signalling responses were measured in whole muscle and pooled single fibres using immunoblotting.

RESULTS
In the fasted state, type I fibres displayed lower LC3B-I but higher LC3B-II abundance and higher LC3B-II/LC3B-I ratio compared to type II fibres (P < 0.05). However, there were no fibre type differences in p62/SQSTM1, ULK1, ATG5 or ATG12 (P > 0.05). Compared to the fasted state, there was a reduction in LC3B-II abundance, indicative of lower autophagosome content, in whole muscle and in both type I and type II fibres following meal ingestion (P < 0.05). This reduction in autophagosome content occurred alongside similar increases in p-AktS473 and p-mTORS2448 in both type I and type II muscle fibres (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
In human skeletal muscle, type I fibres have a greater autophagosome content than type II fibres in the overnight fasted state despite comparable abundance of other key upstream autophagy proteins. Autophagy is rapidly inhibited in both fibre types following the ingestion of a mixed meal.


The long-term therapeutic and toxic effects of 9-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)propyl]adenine (PMPA) were evaluated in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected newborn rhesus macaques. Four untreated SIV-infected newborn macaques developed persistently high levels of viremia, and three of the four animals had rapidly fatal disease within 3 months. In contrast, long-term PMPA treatment of four newborn macaques starting 3 weeks after virus inoculation resulted in a rapid, pronounced, and persistent reduction of viremia in three of the four animals. Emergence of virus with fivefold-decreased susceptibility to PMPA occurred in all four PMPA-treated animals and was associated with the development of a lysine-to-arginine substitution at amino acid 65 (K65R mutation) and additional mutations in the reverse transcriptase; however, the clinical implications of this low-level drug resistance are nuclear. No toxic side effects have been seen, and all PMPA-treated animals have remained disease-free for more than 13 months. Our data suggest that PMPA holds much promise for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus-infected human infants and adults.


We present a genome assembly from an individual male Abrostola triplasia (the Dark Spectacle; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Noctuidae). The genome sequence is 362.7 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 31 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 15.34 kilobases in length. Gene annotation of this assembly on Ensembl identified 11,532 protein coding genes.


In recent times, academic findings showcased different phases of new product development (NPD) and explained that during this time, different factors influenced supply chain, in which cost plays the most important role as NPD phases used time and cost together. Moreover different findings in research suggested that if the supplier gets involved at initial stages of developing product it actually adds value in a complete extended enterprise. So basically this is a necessity for an enterprise to explore any opportunity that can arise after implementing the framework, which in literature is scarce. The secondary advantage which they can achieve by implementing this framework that industry can check the viability of concurrent engineering in integrated supply chain. Therefore this paper will help industries to explore the initial framework which integrate new product development and supply chain within their domain of either manufacturing or within the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.


This paper presents a survivable optical broadcast-and-select network architecture with centralized multi-carrier light source for regional or metro-core network applications. A large number of optical carriers generated by the single multi-carrier light source are shared and utilized by all edge nodes of the regional network through dynamic wavelength/waveband broadcast and select. The design of this network architecture aims to reduce network cost and increase network survivability. Combined with optical couplers and 1 times 2 optical switches based protection architecture, the proposed network enables a fast failure-recovery scheme design. It recovers the network from different fiber cut failures in a fast and cost-effective way. The recovery time analysis and calculations under different situations are carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed failure-recovery scheme. Results show that the recovery time is largely impacted by the switching time of 1 times 2 optical switches and it is small enough to meet the standard 50 ms requirements with 1 ms switches.


This article discusses the institutional and charismatic aspects of the Church. The existence of the institutional and charismatic aspects of the Church, based on the principle of the unity of Christology and Pneumatology. This is some kind of theological unity, which is necessary for their coexistence. An institution is always born in time and space and therefore is a subject of these dimensions. On the contrary, charism does not depend on time or space. There is a tight interconnection between these two aspects; In the Eastern Church there was never any kind of sharp disagreement between them. Therefore, both institution and charism coexist in the Church and there is a balance between them. The representatives of the institution are clerics who have institutionalized charism, but at the same time, there are charismatic people with their own, non-institutionalized charism. Both aspects have ecclesiological significance, which directly affects the life of believers. The purpose of both institutional and charismatic manifestations (mysteries, Church services, dogmas or definitions) is one – the protection the unity of the Church.


Influence maximization (IM) is the problem of finding for a given $s\geq 1$ a set $S$ of $|S|=s$ nodes in a network with maximum influence. With stochastic diffusion models, the influence of a set $S$ of seed nodes is defined as the expectation of its reachability over simulations, where each simulation specifies a deterministic reachability function. Two well-studied special cases are the Independent Cascade (IC) and the Linear Threshold (LT) models of Kempe, Kleinberg, and Tardos. The influence function in stochastic diffusion is unbiasedly estimated by averaging reachability values over i.i.d. simulations. We study the IM sample complexity: the number of simulations needed to determine a $(1-\epsilon)$-approximate maximizer with confidence $1-\delta$. Our main result is a surprising upper bound of $O( s \tau \epsilon^{-2} \ln \frac{n}{\delta})$ for a broad class of models that includes IC and LT models and their mixtures, where $n$ is the number of nodes and $\tau$ is the number of diffusion steps. Generally $\tau \ll n$, so this significantly improves over the generic upper bound of $O(s n \epsilon^{-2} \ln \frac{n}{\delta})$. Our sample complexity bounds are derived from novel upper bounds on the variance of the reachability that allow for small relative error for influential sets and additive error when influence is small. Moreover, we provide a data-adaptive method that can detect and utilize fewer simulations on models where it suffices. Finally, we provide an efficient greedy design that computes an $(1-1/e-\epsilon)$-approximate maximizer from simulations and applies to any submodular stochastic diffusion model that satisfies the variance bounds.


Community rainwater harvesting systems are seen as instrumental in increasing resilience in recurring droughts and enhancing food security in dry lands of Kenya. The study explores and analyses the implementation process, community's perceptions on the rainwater harvesting project/ technology and its influence on the adoption process by the community. By using a case study of two sub-locations-'Uvati and Kawala' in Mwingi District, the study targeted both the participants and non-participants of the In situ rainwater harvesting project. The study used both empirical data and theoretical studies to address the research questions: why and how the rainwater harvesting project was implemented? Does the implementation process affect the community's perception on the project? How is the rainwater harvesting technology perceived by the community? And, does the perception influence its adoption of the rainwater harvesting project? The methods used to generate data included literature materials, interviews, focus group discussions and direct observations.
The results revealed that the rainwater harvesting technology is seen by the community members to be a good initiative in improving agricultural practices in periods of water scarcity. However, the technology's sustainability and wide spread adoption seems unlikely, as its success is mainly directed and depended on the social factors. Majority of the factors that influence the adoption process based on the community perceptions were found to be: labour intensity of constructing the structures, lack of technical know-how and extensive training, dissemination of information and its future plans were not properly conducted. The implementation approaches used by the project initiators affected the perception of the community, which influenced the adoption of the project. The outcome of the study shows that the decision to adopt rainwater harvesting systems is dependent and influenced by the community's perception, and better understanding of their choices in making decisions.


Autophagy degrades the cellular proteome to promote survival, but the underlying mechanism and substrates of consequence are poorly understood. We found that autophagy selectively remodels the proteome in cancer cells by eliminating proinflammatory signaling proteins. Autophagy ablation causes aberrant accumulation of these proteins that primes cancer cells for interferon-dependent cell death, explaining how autophagy suppresses inflammation and promotes tumor maintenance.


Introduction: Exercise training in patients who have suffered an acute coronary syndrome is associated with a significant reduction in mortality and cardiovascular events. Moderate intensity continuous exercise training (MICET) is currently recommended. Recently, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), that utilizes short bursts of very intense efforts interspersed with periods of recovery, has been explored as an alternative to MICET. The safety aspects of HIIT in patients post acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have been poorly described. Methods: Thirty-seven low-risk patients post ACS (65% STEMI, fully revascularized, EF > 40%, age 61±9 years, 8 women) were randomized 4 weeks to 6 months post ACS; to 12 to 18 weeks of 2-3 sessions/week (total: 36 sessions) of isocaloric MICET or HIIT on cycle ergometer. VO2peak and maximal aerobic power (MAP) were determined using maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) on cycle ergometer and continuous ECG and BP were monitored every 2 min. Cardiometabolic profile (...


A study on the dissociative electron attachment to amines and thiols is presented. The previous observations made for oxygen containing compounds, namely the use of methyl as a protective group, the dependence of the energy for the observed DEA band on which alkyl group is lost and the non-dissociative nature of the (2n, 3s2) Feshbach resonances with respect to the Y–C bond (Y=N or O), are extended to amines. Amendments to these trends are provided by the study of primary and secondary amines. For thiols the selectivity in bond cleavage is reflected in the fact that S–H bonds are broken in the 0-3 eV range by shape resonances, while Feshbach resonances lead to the preferential breaking of the S–C bonds in the 7–15 eV range.


Abstract Objective: In high-risk pregnancies combining the cerebro–placental ratio (CPR) with the estimated fetal weight (EFW) improves the identification of vulnerable fetuses. The purpose of this study was to assess the CPR and EFW's ability to predict adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes in a low-risk pregnancy, when measured late in gestation. Methods: This was a retrospective study of women who birthed at Mater Mothers Hospitals, Brisbane, Australia between 2010 and 2015. We included all nonanomalous singleton pregnancies that had an ultrasound scan performed between 36 and 38 weeks gestation. Excluded was any major congenital abnormality, aneuploidy, multiple pregnancy, preterm birth, maternal hypertension, or diabetes. The primary outcome was a severe composite neonatal outcome (SCNO) defined as severe acidosis (umbilical cord artery pH <7.0, cord lactate ≥6 mmol/L, cord base excess ≤-12 mmol/L) Apgar score ≤3 at 5 minutes, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and death. A low CPR was defined as <10th centile for gestation and small for gestational age (SGA) was defined as an EFW <10th centile and appropriate for gestational age (AGA) was defined as EFW ≥10th centile. Results: Of 2425 pregnancies, 13.2% (321/2425) had a fetus with a CPR <10th centile and 13.7% (332/2425) with an EFW <10th centile. Both a low CPR and SGA predicted the SCNO. Individually a low CPR and SGA had sensitivity for detection of SCNO of 23.3% and 24.7%, respectively which increased to 36.7% when combined. Both were associated with emergency caesarean for nonreassuring fetal status (NRFS), as well as early-term birth and admission to NICU. Stratifying the population into EFW <10th centile and EFW ≥10th centile, a low CPR maintained its association with the SCNO, early-term birth and emergency caesarean for NRFS in the cohort with an EFW <10th centile but SCNO lost its association with a low CPR in the EFW >10th cohort. Stratifying the population into CPR <10th centile and CPR >10th centile, a low EFW was associated with early-term birth, induction of labor, admission to NICU, and the SCNO. Conclusions: In a low-risk cohort both the CPR and EFW individually and in combination predicts adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes when measured late in pregnancy. However, the predictive value was enhanced when both were used in combination.


Himalaya: Mountains of Life is a new coffee-table book published by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Asia's leading environmental nongovernmental organization. Just as a kaleidoscope never ceases to amaze with its grandeur of color and pattern, this 300-page, large-format book, packed with stunning images of landscape, wildlife, and people of the Himalaya, captivates the reader's attention. Accompanied by a website (http://www.himalayabook.com) that captures some of that imagery, the book nicely complements the same authors' book on the Western Ghats (Kadur and Bawa 2005). The focus of the present book is on the Eastern Himalaya, which covers parts of Nepal, Bhutan, and the northeast Indian states of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh. This region, often referred to as the ''Third Pole,'' has some of the highest mountain peaks and largest glaciers in the world. There is, however, enormous variation in altitude. The 7096 km of the tiny state of Sikkim (approximately one-sixth of the area of Switzerland) has an altitudinal gradient from 280 to 8585 masl and hosts many types of vegetation from semi-evergreen forests to alpine meadows. This variety of vegetation types is also home to a disproportionately large number of species, making the Himalaya one of the world's biodiversity hotspots (Conservation International 2013). This biodiversity, however, also faces a variety of anthropogenic threats. Himalaya: Mountains of Life has a clear message. By showcasing the rich variety of life in the Himalayan mountains, the authors also make the reader aware of threats to a unique natural and cultural heritage that the Himalaya embody. The book entices the reader into the Himalayan landscape by illustrating people's farming practices, the regional network of nature reserves, the rich variety of wildlife, and unique cultural traditions that have evolved over millennia. Each political unit in the Eastern Himalaya—the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Sikkim alongside Bhutan and Nepal—is described, with the authors' gaze shifting in turn from the land to the people, then to the regional history, and finally to the prospects for the region's biodiversity. The photographs help to bring many stories alive: vast snow-capped mountains evoke admiration, indigenous people performing their religious rituals evoke fascination, and the portrayal of some of the world's longest and widest rivers evokes a sense of veneration. Together the images and the information that accompanies them give a feeling of vastness and splendor of this stunningly beautiful part of the world. The portrayal of people in subsequent pages of the book is equally captivating. The images of graceful traditional dances of the Bodo people, fishing by the Apatani, hunting by the Naga, and portraits of the Lepcha and the Nyishi people all give an insight into the way of life in the Himalaya, the harsh environmental conditions that people put up with, and the creative ways they practice for living with nature. One cannot but admire the heritage of nature-culture captured in these photographs. The book goes on to seduce the reader further with spectacular plant and animal life in the Eastern Himalaya. Both sections are written around impressive images of plants and animals. Plant life includes ferns, conifers, lilies, orchids, balsams, primulas and, of course, rhododendrons. Many of these are popular garden plants in Europe and North America, and to see them in their native habitat leaves no doubt why they were brought back by 18thand 19th-century explorers and introduced as ornamental plants. The animals of the Eastern Himalaya are as spectacular as the plants but do not have the benefit of being introduced elsewhere in the world as ornamental species, which means that many are threatened in their native habitat. A disproportionately large number of these animal species are endemic, found nowhere else in the world. The list includes a stunning array of invertebrates and vertebrates. The Eastern Himalaya are a heaven for nature enthusiasts, particularly lepidopterists and ornithologists. Fishes, amphibians, and reptiles are not far behind in competing for color with butterflies and birds. Many full-page plates in the book display the splendor of their shape and form. Wild mammals are also depicted in a series of high-quality images. Many of the mammals are endemic and rare and have started to bear the brunt of anthropogenic modification of the Himalayan landscape, which is encroaching upon their habitat and pushing them farther and farther into remote corners of this mountain range. Primates such as golden langur, western hoolock gibbon, and Arunachal macaque are endangered; the Royal Bengal tiger is highly threatened because of the trade in its skin and body parts. The biodiversity of the Himalaya faces a number of threats that this book highlights. The construction of large dams for hydroelectricity and the consequent construction of roads and buildings make hitherto remote areas habitable, further attracting land clearance, logging, poaching, tourism, and a variety of other activities that transform the natural surroundings. Such infrastructure projects have an indirect effect on biodiversity. Climate change is also troubling the so-called ''roof of the world'' by increasing its temperature, melting its glaciers, and forcing many species to migrate beyond their current home ranges. Added to this, MountainMedia Mountain Research and Development (MRD) An international, peer-reviewed open access journal published by the International Mountain Society (IMS) www.mrd-journal.org


BACKGROUND
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory neurological disease of the central nervous system. It is the most common immune-mediated disorder, affecting >2 million people worldwide. Cyclophosphamide is an alkylating agent commonly used to treat both malignancies and immune-mediated inflammatory nonmalignant processes. At present, there are no data available on its use in breastfeeding mothers.

CASE REPORT
In this study we report a 33-year-old mother who was suffering from MS. To treat her MS, stem cell transplantation protocol required preparation with multiple doses of cyclophosphamide. She had been exclusively breastfeeding for 6 months before undertaking this regimen. She voluntarily collected her milk samples at critical time points after the intravenous doses of 2.8 g cyclophosphamide for each of 4 days. Quantification of cyclophosphamide was determined using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry.

DISCUSSION
Low levels in milk were determined for cyclophosphamide as the area under the curve was 364.1 μg.hour/mL on day 1 and 113.9 μg.hour/mL on day 4. Maximum concentration of cyclophosphamide was observed on day 1 at 40.82 μg/mL, which peaked at 4 hours. For 24 hours, the levels gradually receded to minimum concentrations. The average relative infant dose (RID) for a period of 4 days varied from 4.7% at day 1 to 0.9% at day 4.

CONCLUSIONS
Cyclophosphamide is transferred into breast milk in measurable quantities. This case report found RID of cyclophosphamide to be relatively low. However, great caution should be taken in counseling mothers regarding breastfeeding with this toxic drug.


The effect of the inoculation of three Lactobacillus plantarum strains upon lactic, acetic, acetoacetic and propionic acid levels in the mucosal film (F) and the jejunal and ileal contents (O) has been investigated in gnotobiotic pigs. In the jejunum of the inoculated animals, the mucosal film revealed significantly increased levels of lactic, propionic and acetoacetic acids when compared to the contents (25.3 vs. 10.8 mmol.l-1, 18.5 vs. 5 mmol.l-1 and 29.7 vs. 11.2 mmol.l-1, respectively) as well as insignificantly increased acetic acid levels (11.0 vs. 5.8 mmol.l-1). In the ileum of gnotobiotic pigs, propionic acid levels of the mucosal film were significantly higher than those of the contents (21.2 vs. 9.5 mmol.l-1, p < 0.05). In comparison to the contents, the increased lactic, acetic and acetoacetic acid levels in the film proved to be insignificant. The above results suggest that the significantly increased levels of the Lactobacilli-produced organic acids may present an efficient barrier inhibiting the adherence of digestive tract pathogens to the intestinal mucosa.


Taking into account the interaction between the engine oil and the crankshaft to model crankshaft thermomechanical behavior under dynamic loading is very important. In particular, when the crankshaft is working in severe conditions. This paper deal with an air cooled direct injection-type engine crankshaft thermomechanical FEM modelling account for engine oil-cranks half interaction in severe working conditions. As case of application we consider the diesel engine Deutz F8L413. The model takes into account 2 forced convectives heat flux: engine oil and crankcase air. The severe mechanical and thermal characteristics of engine are experimentally measured on a bench test equipped with a hydraulic brake. The temperature distribution inside the crankshaft was computed using the measured temperature as boundary conditions. The most thermo-mechanical stressed zones of the crankshaft have been determined. The fatigue resistance of the crankshaft under thermo-mechanical conditions was examined using Dang-Van multi-axial fatigue criteria. To prove our model efficiency, we have compared crankshaft damage in service to the numerical simulation results. It was found the breakage occurred in an area where the numerical simulations give the highest stresses.


This study investigates the digital divide in Canada related to access to online government services. Since digital equity can have welfare implications, it is an important area to explore. We use a bivariate logit model to estimate the determinants of access to e-government services. The results show significant disadvantages for females, those who cannot speak official languages, those living in rural areas and those in the lower quantiles of household income. Public policy measures such as infrastructure development in rural areas, improvement in digital equity and streamlining of e-government access can help address this issue.


Stanisław Przybyszewski's contacts with Polish publishersIn the article the author discusses the presence of the oeuvre of Stanisław Przybyszewski 1868–1927 on the Polish publishing market. Stanisław Przybyszewski is a representative of Polish modernism. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries as well the readers as the literary critics were very interested in his prose, poetic and dramatic creation. This article characterizes the publishing history of Przybyszewski's literary works in Poland from his debut in 1892 to the end of his life in the light of the cooperating with Przybyszewski's publishing companies such as Księgarnia Polska, Gebethner and Wolff and Lektor, and Polish publishers, e.g. Stefan Demby.


In contrast to the previous contribution, this paper tackles the issue of transparency and social media with a more national perspective. By looking at French deputies posts on Facebook and Twitter, but also by directly inquiring how French citizens assess the issue of political transparency on social media, this analysis aims at providing new insights into the issue as to whether the presence of politicians on social media can affect power relations between citizens and politicians. The underlying rationale is to find out whether this form of transparency ultimately enhances representative democracy. Over the last decades transparency has often been depicted as the ultimate remedy for various political, economic and societal problems. Stiglitz (1999; 2000; 2002) outlines the significance of transparency for averting market failures and enhancing public financing. Similarly, Lindstedt and Naurin (2010) investigate the capacity of transparency to reduce corruption and achieve fairer and more efficient governance, while Schultz and Kenneth (1998) analyse how better means of communication and transparency can diminish risks of war and international conflicts. Recent cases and scandals have added fuel to debates about transparency. The Luxleaks affair revealed the need for more transparency with regard to existing tax schemes for multinational companies (Gotev, 2015). The opacity of the TTIP negotiations has made experts and citizens suspicious regarding the content of this trading agreement and signal the risk of lowering safety standards and endangering customers' safety. If we turn to the realm of politics, we quickly notice that the relationship between transparency and democracy has provoked intense and convoluted debates. Is transparency of governments a necessary feature of democratic regimes? Or, is transparency a political key for better governance? In his succinct definition of democracy, Schumpeter (1942) did not yet consider transparency as an inherent and essential characteristic of democratic regimes. Democracy, he argues, is only determined by the electoral competition and free elections. By contrast, Dahl (1971) - with his famous concept of Poliarchy – places transparency at the core of the democratic framework. As he claims, a democratic regime is not only a regime in which electors have the right to freely vote for their future representatives and governments, it is also a system that allows its citizens to be fully informed - by different and independent sources of information - before they cast their ballot. This implies a free and transparent flow of information.


This chapter looks at the many different ways in which patents may be exploited and some limits to exploitation. It first explains how patentees themselves can exploit the patent and considers two of the more common forms of voluntary uses: assignment and licence. It then describes situations in which compulsory licences are available and the compensation payable where the patent is used via a compulsory licence or by an employer or the Crown. Mortgages, testamentary dispositions, and registration of interests and transactions are also discussed, along with patent law in the UK and British and European competition law. The chapter concludes by assessing compulsory licences under section 48 of the Patents Act 1977, the licensing and cross-licensing of biotechnological inventions, and compulsory licences for public health.


Mammals are born with an immature gastrointestinal (GI) tract that allows the uptake of the specific nutrients and bioactive macromolecules in the milk, especially the protecting maternal antibodies. Eventually during weaning, the intake of milk decreases while that of solid food increases, and the GI system undergoes prominent structural and functional changes adapting the young this dietary change. This ontogenetic development is genetically programmed but the temporal progress might be modified by dietary, gut microfloral and hormonal factors. The aim of present thesis was to investigate if a dietary component, i.e., the red kidney bean lectin phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), previously observed to be a potent inducer of GI growth in adult rats, could affect the growth and development of the immature GI tract, and to elucidate the possible mechanisms involved. The suckling rat was chosen as a model, since it is born highly immature in comparison to other mammals, and manipulation of its GI system will provide an opportunity to study the regulation of GI postnatal development in mammals. Thus, suckling rat pups at different ages, were intragastrically fed (or subcutaneously injected) with different doses of PHA either once or repeatedly during a 3-day period. The acute effects on GI structure and function were studied during the first day of PHA exposure, while the maturational effects on the GI tract were studied after 3 days. The results showed that enteral, but not parental, exposure and binding of PHA to the GI epithelium resulted in an initial transient intestinal insult, that later resulted in accelerated intestinal growth and provoked the precocious maturation of the GI system. Moreover, the effect of PHA was found to be age-related, since the GI maturational changes could only be induced after starting PHA provocation in the suckling rat from 14 days of age. The effect of PHA was also found to be dose-dependent, where low doses increased the intestinal epithelial proliferation, while high doses also induced precocious GI maturation. Taken together the results suggested that the PHA action is mediated via two pathways; one early where the lectin affects the GI mucosa by direct stimulation and there is a release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and a later indirect pathway via transmitted signals and activation of the immune system, presumably T-cells mediated, inducing precocious GI maturation in the suckling rats. This experimental model with the dietary provocation of the suckling rat can help to increase the understanding of the postnatal developmental regulation of the GI tract, and help to design an adequate strategy for the treatment of immature neonates to improve their digestive function. (Less)


The small arboreal frog Guibemantis liber (Anura: Mantellidae) has served as an example for the existence of deep conspecific lineages that differ by a substantial amount in mitochondrial DNA but are similar in morphology and bioacoustics and thus are assigned to the same nominal species. During fieldwork in northern Madagascar, we identified additional such lineages and surprisingly, observed close syntopy of two of these at various sites. In-depth study based on DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene from 338 specimens of G. liber sensu lato from across its range, sequences of four nuclear-encoded markers for 154‒257 of these specimens, a phylogenomic dataset obtained by the FrogCap target capture approach, and additional mitochondrial genes for representatives of most mitochondrial lineages, as well as bioacoustic and morphological comparisons, revealed concordant differentiation among several lineages of the G. liber complex. We identify nine lineages differing by 5.3‒15.5% in cytochrome b and 2.4‒10.1% in the 16S rRNA gene, and find that several of these lack or have only limited allele sharing in the nuclear-encoded genes. Based on sympatric or parapatric occurrence without genetic admixture, combined with differences in bioacoustic and morphological characters, we scientifically name three lineages from northern Madagascar as new species: G. razokysp. nov., G. razandrysp. nov., and G. fotsitendasp. nov. Of these new species, G. razokysp. nov. and G. razandrysp. nov. show widespread syntopy across northern Madagascar and differ in body size and advertisement calls. Guibemantis fotsitendasp. nov. is sister to G. razandrysp. nov., but appears to occur at lower elevations, including in close geographic proximity on the Marojejy Massif. We also detected subtle differences in advertisement calls among various other mitochondrial lineages distributed in the Northern Central East and Southern Central East of Madagascar, but the status and nomenclatural identity of these lineages require further morphological and bioacoustic study of reliably genotyped individuals, and assignment of the three available names in the complex: Rhacophorus liber Peracca, 1893, Gephyromantis albogularis Guibé, 1947, and Gephyromantis variabilis Millot and Guibé, 1951. We discuss the identity and type material of these three nomina, designate a lectotype for Gephyromantis variabilis from Itremo, and flag the collection of new material from their type localities, Andrangoloaka and Itremo, as paramount for a comprehensive revision of the G. liber complex.


[3H]ryanodine binding to and Ca2+ release from microsomal fractions derived from canine cerebrum (CBR) and cerebellum (CBL) were investigated. High-affinity ryanodine binding sites were detected in both cerebrum and cerebellum microsomes [CBR: maximal binding capacity (Bmax) = 446 fmol/mg protein, dissociation constant (Kd) = 9 nM, Hill coefficient (n) = 0.95; CBL: Bmax = 650, Kd = 12, n = 1.8]. Ryanodine binding in both fractions was increased by millimolar concentrations of ATP [or its nonhydrolyzable analogue beta, gamma-methyleneadenosine 5'-triphosphate (AMP-PCP)] and micromolar concentrations of Ca2+ but was decreased by micromolar concentrations of ruthenium red, similar to that found in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of striated muscle. The addition of caffeine or the sudden elevation of extravesicular Ca2+ induced a rapid La(3+)-sensitive Ca2+ release from both CBR and CBL microsomal fractions with rate constants of approximately 100 s-1, as determined by stopped-flow photometry of the Ca2+ indicator arsenazo III. The release of Ca2+ was activated by either millimolar ATP or AMP-PCP, blocked by micromolar concentrations of La3+, and significantly inhibited by 50 microM ryanodine. Mg2+ and ruthenium red in millimolar and micromolar concentrations, respectively, caused only a slight inhibition of Ca2+ release. These results indicate that rapid Ca2+ release occurs from caffeine-, Ca2+- and ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ stores in both CBR and CBL microsomal fractions.


The article presents the results of investigations into cast ings made of four aluminum alloys produced with the use of squeeze casting technology. The investigations used the following alloys: EN AW 7022 (AlZn5Mg3Cu) and its modification with a titanium addition, A201.0, EN AC-4800 (AlSi13Mg1CuNi), Al-Si-Zn according to the patent PL 158900. The alloys were used to make castings with the use of squeeze casting technology and – for comparison – die castings. Investigations were per formed on the basic mechanical properties of the obtained castings. In order to improve their mechanical properties, thermal treatment according to individually selected process param eters (depending on the alloy) was performed. The thermal treatment parameters were selected based on e.g. an analy sis of the DSC diagrams. The tests proved the effectiveness of squeeze casting technology in obtaining high-strength casts made from the examined alloys.


A robot operating in a real-world environment needs to perform reasoning over a variety of sensor modalities such as vision, language and motion trajectories. However, it is extremely challenging to manually design features relating such disparate modalities. In this work, we introduce an algorithm that learns to embed point-cloud, natural language, and manipulation trajectory data into a shared embedding space with a deep neural network. To learn semantically meaningful spaces throughout our network, we use a loss-based margin to bring embeddings of relevant pairs closer together while driving less-relevant cases from different modalities further apart. We use this both to pre-train its lower layers and fine-tune our final embedding space, leading to a more robust representation. We test our algorithm on the task of manipulating novel objects and appliances based on prior experience with other objects. On a large dataset, we achieve significant improvements in both accuracy and inference time over the previous state of the art. We also perform end-to-end experiments on a PR2 robot utilizing our learned embedding space.


Cyclin E, a member of the G1 cyclin family, is an integral component of the complex machinery of the cell cycle. This protein is synthesized late in the G1 phase of the cycle and its transient association with p33cdk2 is essential for cell entrance to S phase. Using bivariate DNA content - cyclin E expression flow cytometric analysis, we have compared the point of action in G1 of several agents with diverse mechanisms of action in terms of its relationship to the cyclin E restriction point: cell arrest prior to the onset of cyclin E synthesis was expected to result in accumulation of cyclin E negative cells (G1cyE-) whereas arrest past this point was expected to result in accumulation of G1 cells with an increased cyclin E content (G1cyE+). Incubation of MOLT-4 cells with n-butyrate (which induces hyperacetylation of histones and hypophosphorylation of histone H1) and the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide arrested them in G1cyE. Likewise. incubation of c-ras transformed bladder carcinoma T24 cells with lovastatin (presumed to interfere with isoprenylation of p21ras and thus affecting the signal transduction pathway), or normal mitogen stimulated human lymphocytes with staurosporine (a protein kinase inhibitor) led to cell arrest in G1cyE. In contrast, growth of MOLT-4 cells in the presence of the bioflavonoid quercetin or plant amino acid mimosine, resulted in their arrest at the G, point past the onset of cyclin E synthesis (G1cyE+). Mapping the point(s) of action of drugs that perturb progression in the cycle with respect to the onset of synthesis of cyclin proteins offers some advantages compared to temporal mapping; the latter may vary due to intrinsic differences between cell types in the duration of G1, the induction of unbalanced growth, etc.


In CRYPTO 2018, Russell et al introduced the notion of crooked indifferentiability to analyze the security of a hash function when the underlying primitive is subverted. They showed that the $n$-bit to $n$-bit function implemented using enveloped XOR construction (\textsf{EXor}) with $3n+1$ many $n$-bit functions and $3n^2$-bit random initial vectors (iv) can be proven secure asymptotically in the crooked indifferentiability setting. -We identify several major issues and gaps in the proof by Russel et al, We show that their proof can achieve security only when the adversary is restricted to make queries related to a single message. - We formalize new technique to prove crooked indifferentiability without such restrictions. Our technique can handle function dependent subversion. We apply our technique to provide a revised proof for the \textsf{EXor} construction. - We analyze crooked indifferentiability of the classical sponge construction. We show, using a simple proof idea, the sponge construction is a crooked-indifferentiable hash function using only $n$-bit random iv. This is a quadratic improvement over the {\sf EXor} construction and solves the main open problem of Russel et al.


Two contrasting varieties of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.) fruits i.e. 'Pusa Gaurav' (slow ripening type) and 'Pusa Ruby' (fast ripening type) were examined for Ca, P, K, Zn, Cu and Mn contents in the fruit's pericarp portion. Fruits were examined either at different ripening stages during their maturation on the plant itself or at different intervals during storage when harvested at green mature stage. Ca was found to be higher in 'Pusa Ruby'. 'Pusa Gaurav', on the other hand, showed higher content of P, Zn, Cu, Mn but low K in comparison to 'Pusa Ruby'. The roles of these minerals were explained towards their stabilizing effect on plasma membrane and cell wall along with their involvement in the antioxidative system and thereby determining the rate of ripening.


We consider a family of non-autonomous second-order differential equations, which generalizes the Liénard equation. We explicitly find the necessary and sufficient conditions for members of this family of equations to admit quadratic, with the respect to the first derivative, first integrals. We show that these conditions are equivalent to the conditions for equations in the family under consideration to possess Lax representations. This provides a connection between the existence of a quadratic first integral and a Lax representation for the studied dissipative differential equations, which may be considered as an analogue to the theorem that connects Lax integrability and Arnold–Liouville integrability of Hamiltonian systems. We illustrate our results by several examples of dissipative equations, including generalizations of the Van der Pol and Duffing equations, each of which have both a quadratic first integral and a Lax representation.


The authors make a review of the physical methods available to obstetricians at the present time, i.e.: uterine contents, radiopelvimetry and more recently echography. They lay stress on echography, the contribution of which is of special interest for obstetrics, and they suggest directions adequate to the monitoring of pregnancy whether an echograph is available or not.


Three-dimensional visual maps of the seafloor provide objective information to reliably characterise these scenes. These maps are of great study value for archaeological sites or geologically interesting areas. Often, spatial scales over 8 orders of magnitude are needed, from the millimetre resolution to the > 100 km2, to recognise key features of interest to areas over which they are distributed. Delivering precise resolution at scale has been an issue for the last decade. Nowadays, new vision based sensors such as lasers and structured light provide a higher resolution than known acoustic sensors. Using these innovative sensors poses new challenges in underwater localization as most of the mapping error comes now from the self-localization rather than from the measurement sensor. This thesis presents two different solutions to the visual mapping problem. The first part of the PhD presents a novel laser-based structured light system to increase 3D perception resolution, accuracy and frame rate when compared to acoustic counterparts and cameras. The system consists of a laser Diffractive Optical Element (DOE) that diffracts the beam in 25 parallel planes and a camera to recover the intersected lines to the seafloor. We propose a calibration procedure and solve the correspondence problem using a Maximum Spanning Tree algorithm. The experimental results show that the system draws a better representation of the objects in front and outperforms plain stereoscopy in featureless scenarios. The second part of the thesis uses a standard laser stripe instead, to cast a single line on the seafloor, in a bathymetric SLAM solution to correct both the navigation and overall shape of the sensed environment. Two different algorithms are presented, one is sub-map bathymetric SLAM, which saves small map portions to be registered at a later stage using ICP and BPSLAM, a 2.5D grid that treats every scan as a particle in a Particle Filter to find the position that better suits the known map. The developed bathymetric SLAM algorithms are tested in a close-to-shore small rocky area in Valldemossa using the AUV SparusII and in a large survey in the Hydrate Ridge using the AUV AE2000f.


OBJECTIVE
The role of psychological need satisfaction in terms of understanding the mechanisms through which leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is associated with psychological health in breast cancer survivors who have recently completed treatment was examined.

METHODS
Adopting a longitudinal two-wave design, female breast cancer survivors (N = 144) completed self-report instruments of LTPA, psychological need satisfaction, and psychological health at two points separated by 3 months. The first test administration period was 6 months following the completion of primary treatment.

RESULTS
Change score analyses demonstrated that greater LTPA across the 3-month period was associated with greater perceptions of well-being (rs ranged from .17 to .20) and lower ill-being (rs ranged from -.06 to -.21). Results of multiple mediation analyses demonstrated that psychological need fulfillment underpinned the LTPA-well-being relationship only.

CONCLUSIONS
Collectively these findings indicate that increased engagement in LTPA represents one factor associated with greater psychological health in breast cancer survivors, with fulfilling the psychological need for relatedness most salient in understanding this relationship. Continued investigation into the mechanisms associated with reductions in ill-being in breast cancer survivors appear justified.


The influence of excited atoms on the characteristics of a surface wave produced argon discharge is investigated. A self-consistent model is used to determine simultaneously the electron energy distribution function, the population densities of the 4s states of argon and the maintaining electric field strength. The theoretical results are compared with spectroscopic measurements of the population densities and with Langmuir probe results for the electron distribution function.


With increasing quality and life expectancy grows nowadays concern to recover the functions that the natural teeth offered before its loss. Dental implants are gaining space for their safety and predictability in rehabilitations. Based on the above this paper aims to conduct a review of the literature about the complications that can occur for patients submitted to installa-tion of dental implants. As a result it was observed that most of the complications arising is technical and scientific deficiency professional, general state of health of the patient, besides fail-ure in surgical planning.


Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) catalyzes the reduction of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, the methyl donor for the synthesis of methionine from homocysteine. A common C677T mutation in the MTHFR gene renders the enzyme approximately 50% less active than the wild-type enzyme as shown in in vitro studies using cell extracts. We developed an immortalized cell culture model to determine whether the lower in vitro activity imparted by the homozygous (T/T) genotype is demonstrated in situ when exposed to adequate and marginal physiologic concentrations of folate and riboflavin. T/T MTHFR activity was compared with that of C/C genotype cell extracts by an in vitro assay and in intact cells by measuring the distribution of folate forms, the accumulation of homocysteine in the medium and the synthesis of methionine from formate and homocysteine. Under adequate nutrient conditions, the in vitro activity of the T/T MTHFR enzyme was approximately half that of the C/C genotype. Similarly, the proportion of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate in cells with the T/T genotype was approximately half that of the cells with wild-type MTHFR. In contrast, homocysteine accumulation in the culture medium was low and not different between genotypes, nor was there a difference in methionine synthetic capacity. Significant differences were observed between genotypes only when the supply of both folate and riboflavin was limited in the medium, which resulted in increased homocysteine accumulation and decreased methionine production in the T/T genotype. These data are consistent with the current understanding of the molecular interaction of the MTHFR mutant with folate substrates and the FAD prosthetic group.


Wireless sensor network technology is considered as one of the modern technologies
that are used in a lot of areas to measure physical, chemical or environmental variables
because of their low of cost and high efficiency in data transmission. This project aims
to design a wireless sensor network that will be used to measure pressure or level of
Oxygen gas inside the Oxygen tanks that are found in different places in hospitals in
order to overcome the problem of the manual checking of tanks level, which may cause
a lot of problems because of the lack of accuracy measurement and the absence of a
continuous monitoring from the control room. The designing of this project will be
based on the concept of multi-hop wireless sensor network using XBee modules.
XCTU software will be used to update and configure XBee modules and
PROCESSING software will be used to develop a program that reads data from XBee
and show it in interactive way on the screen.


Modern communication networks use MIMO to achieve high transmission data rates. A special case of MIMO is a technic called Beamforming [1], which allows formatting a radiation pattern of an antenna in order to improve the gain at a given direction. Beamforming uses adaptive filters to steer the beams in a desired direction. The Least-Mean Square (LMS) [1] is an algorithm that performs this function of the adaptive filter. To perform the convergence of the algorithm, simulations will be performed in a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) mobile network.


In this paper, an integrated multifunctional biochip detection system, which we call "OBMorph", are presented. This unique system integrates several optoelectronic-based biological diagnostic tools such as an ellipsometer, a laser Doppler vibrometer/interferometer, a SPR (surface plasmon resonance) analyzer, an interference microscope, a photon tunneling microscope, an optical coherence tomography unit and a confocal scanning microscope. This OBMorph system, useful as a powerful optical metrology diagnostic tool, can be used at the beginning of sensor chip fabrication, on to signal detecting and monitoring, and to the final biological analysis. The principles and experimental results of this multifunctional biochip detection OBMorph system are presented. In addition, an innovative SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus denaturing chemical compound that was derived using the OBMorph system to study biolinker fabrication in biochips, are discussed. Several testing strategies are presented herein which proves the effectiveness of the new chemical compound, biochip technology in denaturing the SARS virus. Analysis under an atomic force microscope confirms the actual breaking down of the virus treated by the chemical compound. The fundamentals of how the chemical compound denatures the virus and renders it toxicity useless, is based on principles of nanotechnology and bio-mechanics. Results from preliminary studies show that this denaturing principle can be also effective against other deadly viruses and even bacteria. Some design strategies and innovative working mechanisms derived from study of this chemical compound which can denature the SARS-CoV, are also discussed.


ObjectiveHot flashes are a common symptom in breast cancer survivors that can negatively impact quality of life. Preliminary data suggested that magnesium might be used as an effective low-cost treatment of hot flashes with minimal adverse effects. MethodsA four-arm, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial was conducted. Postmenopausal women with a history of breast cancer and bothersome hot flashes were randomized into treatment groups of magnesium oxide 800 or 1,200 mg daily or corresponding placebo groups at a 2:2:(1:1) ratio. Hot flash frequency and hot flash score (number × mean severity) were measured using a validated hot flash diary. A 1-week baseline period preceded initiation of study medication. The primary endpoint was intrapatient difference in mean hot flash score between baseline and treatment periods, comparing each magnesium group with the combined placebo groups using a gatekeeping procedure. Results were analyzed using repeated-measures and growth curve models on weekly hot flash scores based on a modified intent-to-treat principle. ResultsTwo hundred eighty-nine women enrolled between December 2011 and March 2013. Study groups were well balanced for baseline characteristics. Mean hot flash scores, mean hot flash frequencies, and associated changes during the treatment period were similar for each group. An increased incidence of diarrhea and a corresponding lower incidence of constipation were reported in magnesium arms compared with placebo. No statistically significant difference in other toxicities or quality-of-life measures was observed. ConclusionsThe results of this trial do not support the use of magnesium oxide for hot flashes.


This paper proposes a novel energy-efficient approach dedicated to high-density implantable stimulators such as visual prostheses. Energy efficiency of the approach proposed in this work is achieved through two ideas: the `tracking supply ribbon' technique, and `reverse charge pumping'. The proposed approach is implemented, in the multichannel case, in such a way that power efficiency of each stimulation channel is enhanced according to its specific voltage/current condition and independently from other channels. Based on the proposed approach, a 16-channel stimulation backend for a visual prosthesis was designed and simulated in the transistor level in a low-voltage 0.18μm triple-well CMOS technology, occupying 1 mm2 of silicon area. According to post-layout simulation results, power savings of up to 74.9% are achieved compared to the conventional output stage with a constant supply voltage.


Completes the author's trilogy of photographic tributes to the horse in sport. The images in this book capture the elegance and precision, as well as the beauty and atmosphere, of the world of dressage. Commentaries by riders, trainers and judges give the work added dimension.


Study on the prevalence of brown dog tick ( Rhipicephalus sanguineus ) infestation  of  dogs  in Lokoja   metropolis ,Kogi  State, North-Central  Nigeria , was undertaken  between March and August,2011.The dogs were screened for the ticks and collection was done by using blunt forceps, fine-toothed comb and hand-picking.  Stereomicroscopic was  used  for  the identification of  the ticks collected.  Out of  a total of 200 Local and Exotic breeds of dogs that were examined ,160(80.00%) dogs were found to be infested. With  regard to breed, local dogs  were more infested (55.00%) than the exotic  breed (25.00%).The predilection sites  that were  more preferred are ears,496(50.6%), back 302(30.8%), interdigital spaces 96 (9.8%), neck 49 (5.00%), and abdomen 37 (3.8%) in  a  total of 980 ticks collected. The infestation   rate   was higher in adolescent dogs (86.3%) than the adult hosts (79.69%) and young dogs (73.02%) were the least infested animals. The relatively high  prevalence of  Rhipicephalus sanguineus in the present  study  suggested  that dogs  in  Lokoja  metropolis  were  of  veterinary  and public  health  significance  , because they were potential source of   vectors  of zoonotic  diseases. The  ticks  could  be eliminated  by  altering their ecological or microhabitats with the adoption of burning of pasture, regular deticking, fumigation of kernel, and administration  appropriate  prophylactic and therapeutic  measures. Keywords : Prevalence, Rhipicephalus sanguineus , Dogs,  Lokoja, Nigeria.


Aims: To evaluate the functional outcome and patient satisfaction following the modified Weaver -Dunn procedure for the treatment of chronic acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) disruption.

Methods: A cohort of 16 patients treated surgically for chronic, symptomatic ACJ disruption (Rockwood type 3 to 5) between 1992 and 2001 is reviewed. The constant – Murley functional shoulder scoring system and patients satisfaction was assessed at the latest follow-up evaluation.

Results: All patients undergone modified Weaver – Dunn procedure which consists of excision of lateral end of clavicle, bone block transfer of corocoacromial ligament stabilized with 2 mm K-wires and Nylon tape or Ethibond suture to maintain acromioclavicular alignment. There were 13 males and 2 females with a mean age of 36 years (range: 17 to 58). 30% patients had sporting related injury. Mean delay from onset of symptoms to surgery was 30 months. 4 patients had failed primary operation to the ACJ. 2 patients had concomitant fibrous non-union of lateral 1/3 of clavicle. All the patients were re-examined at 2–11 years after surgery (mean 5.8 years). The mean Constant Murley scores were 86 (range: 70 to 100). Results were good to excellent in 75 % of cases. Complications consisted of 1 K-wire migration, 2 superficial wound infections, 1 deep infection and 3 failure of reconstruction. The latter were related to salvage procedure in previous failed primary operations.

Conclusions Acromioclavicular realignment can be achieved using Nylon tape or Ethibond sutures and 2 stout K-wires. The latter appears to enhance the pull- out strength of bone block transfers and allows bone – to bone union. We recommend this modification of technique to ensure acromioclavicular alignment. This technique is not intended for salvage procedure, as failure rate is high.