Background: Anatomical variants of brain ventricles are a known marker for abnormal central nervous system development. They seem to be more prevalent in several neuropsychiatric disorders, e.g. schizophrenia, personality disorders, and psychosis. However, knowledge about the risk factors and their overall prevalence in the general population, especially in developing countries is still limited. Methods: We evaluated the prevalence of prevalence of anatomical ventricular variants [Cavum septum pellucidum (CSP), Cavum vergae (CV), and Cavum velum interpositi (CVI)] in 1467 multislice head CTs from two large private hospitals in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará – Brazil. Results: Hospital one had a higher percentage of patients with low-cost health insurance, strokes, and neurocysticercosis (P<0.05). 15.1% of participants in hospital one versus 7.1% in hospital two had at least one type of cerebral cavum, including vestigial CSP. The rarest types of cava (CV and CVI) were twice more common in hospital one (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis confirmed that patients from hospital one, older patients, and men were more likely to have any type of cerebral cavum and CSP. Conclusions: Anatomical brain ventricular variants (including vestigial CSP) were present in about 12% of participants of this middle-class Brazilian sample while also being more prevalent in male elderly and participants from lower socioeconomic strata. Further studies are necessary to prospectively investigate the association between socioeconomic variables and how they relate to the prevalence of anatomical brain ventricular variants and other known risk factors for developmental disorders.Trial registration: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board from both participants institutions- Research Ethics Committee (CEP) - Unichristus (Protocols 099/11 and CAAE: 58763716.3.0000.5049).


Dense sintered technical ceramics demand special surface preparation in order to be coated by thermal spraying. Sandblasting results in the damage of the interface region and leads to bonding defects. On the contrary, by varying the laser conditions, different laser structured surfaces were generated, which at Rz roughness values in the range of 40 μm, allowed to achieve thick and well bonding coatings. Therefore, laser ablation is proved to be the best method for surface preparation of ceramic substrates. In the case of porous ceramics (including pre-sintered ceramics) substrate preparation can be omitted, depending on their porosity level. Ceramics with porosity content up to 60 % can be coated by APS, whereas HVOF can be used on ceramics with porosity up to 30 %. On ready-to-get-coated pre-sintered ceramic parts (without substrate preparation), followed by co-firing of the substrates and coatings, the development of new ceramic components is possible.


OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization in livestock and related workers in four Chinese provinces and the characteristics of these isolates.

METHODS
Nasal swabs were collected from animals and farm workers in four Chinese provinces. MRSA isolates were recovered and characterized by PFGE, Panton-Valentine leucocidin PCR, staphylococcal chromosomal cassette (SCC) mec typing, spa typing, multilocus sequence typing, antimicrobial susceptibility testing and testing for inducible clindamycin resistance.

RESULTS
A total of 60 MRSA isolates were recovered from swine and swine workers. Two predominant multidrug resistance profiles were identified: ciprofloxacin/clindamycin/erythromycin/cefoxitin/gentamicin/tetracycline/chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin/clindamycin/erythromycin/cefoxitin/gentamicin/tetracycline. All isolates were determined to be spa type t899, contained the group III SCCmec element and were Panton-Valentine leucocidin negative. Multilocus sequence type ST9 (n = 46) was identified as the dominant sequence type. One dominant PFGE cluster and a dominant strain type were identified.

CONCLUSIONS
MRSA from Chinese pigs and farm workers (ST9) differed from the European pig-associated clone (ST398) with regard to clonal type, SCCmec content and resistance profile.


A dynamic-reconfigurable memory chip is fabricated, by which on-chip memories of an SoC chip can be moved to the memory chip to increase the efficiency of memory usage, and stacked on a logic chip by using three dimensional packaging technology. In the memory chip, many RAM-macros are arrayed and they are connected through two dimensional mesh network interconnects. By using memory-specified network interconnects, area overhead of network interconnects for the memory chip is reduced by 63% and the latency overhead by 43%. Signal lines between the two chips are directly connected by 10-¿m-pitch inter-chip electrodes, resulting in fast and low-energy inter-chip transmission.


The magnetic and structural properties of (111)Pd/Co superlattices were studied. The samples were grown on reconstructed 7×7-(111) Si substrates with Ag seed layers by molecular-beam epitaxy. The dependence of the coercivity (H c) of the Pd/Co superlattices on the Co layer thickness (t) is presented in detail. The H c does not exhibit a t-5/2 dependence that was previously reported in an epitaxial Pd/Co/Pd wedge-shaped sandwich structure.


Objectives In 1979, approximately 2000 victims in central Taiwan accidentally ingested rice oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls/dibenzofurans (PCBs/PCDFs). In this study, we compared mortality between the exposed subjects and their neighbourhood referents 30 years after Yucheng accident. Methods We obtained age- and gender-matched referents from the 1979 neighbourhood of the exposed people. Cause-specific mortality (classified by ICD-9 codes) was compared between exposed subjects (N=1803) and their neighbourhood referents (N=5170). Age-modified indirect standardised mortality ratios (indirect-SMR) were calculated utilising the Yucheng subjects' neighbourhood referents as reference group. Total person-years of Yucheng subjects and neighbourhood referents were 48 751 and 141 774, respectively. Results All-cause mortality was significantly elevated in Yucheng subjects (SMR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.3). Among Yucheng males, SMRs for chronic liver disease and cirrhosis (2.5, 1.5 to 3.9), stomach cancer (3.5, 1.5 to 7.0) and lymphatic and haematopoietic cancer (3.0, 1.1 to 6.6) were increased. Among Yucheng females, SMRs for disease of the circulatory system (1.5, 1.0 to 2.1) and systemic lupus erythematosus were increased (5 in Yucheng females, 0 in neighbourhood referents). Conclusions This is a long-term follow-up study comparing the mortality experience in people highly exposed to PCBs and PCDFs 30 years ago to that in a socio-economically comparable referent group. We found an increase in overall mortality, as well as other organ systems and some malignancies.


In structuring corporate transactions, companies are increasingly utilizing joint ventures as a form of operating a business. It is necessary to understand the implications of joint ventures on employee compensation and benefit issues. This Article discusses the tax consequences to both the employer and employee which may differ if the entity is taxed as a partnership or a corporation. Also discussed are qualified plan considerations, plans sponsor liabilities under Title IV of ERISA, multiple employer plans, nondiscrimination requirements, the use of pre-participation and imputed service and compensation credits under qualified plans, and the issues relating to participation by joint venture employees in ESOPs and other individual account plans with investment in securities of one of the partners. The Article also discusses incentive compensation and executive compensation issues in joint ventures, including the availability of ISOs and nonqualified options and recent issues arising under the final section 1032 regulations, and welfare plans in joint ventures, including issues relating to MEWAs.


BackgroundExperimental data have shown that glucose utilization increases during acute myocardial ischaemia, and may persist for up to 24 h. Whether fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake can be imaged as a memory marker of ischaemia in humans is unknown. MethodsPatients with mild-to-moderate ischaemia on exercise single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) underwent repeat exercise testing within 1–2 weeks. Positron emission tomography (PET) was performed after injection of FDG 60 min post-exercise. SPECT and PET images were assessed visually, aided by circumferential profile-based analysis modified for 'hot-spot' imaging. ResultsTwelve men with stress SPECT ischaemia (mean age, 69 years; nine with known coronary artery disease) were studied. The mean rate–pressure products for the first (SPECT) and second (FDG PET) exercise tests were similar (22 841±7321 vs. 22 680±7393 mmHg×bpm, P=NS). Overall, six of 12 patients studied had evidence of FDG uptake. The extent of ischaemia on SPECT was similar in FDG positive and FDG negative patients (summed difference score 10.6±6.9 vs. 8.0±1.6, P=NS). All patients with a positive FDG scan had uptake in either an ischaemic SPECT region or in a territory with known CAD by angiography. ConclusionRegional myocardial uptake of FDG is enhanced even when injected 1 h post-exercise stress in a subset of patients with ischaemia on exercise SPECT MPI. The ability to image FDG uptake injected 1 h after an ischaemic episode suggests the potential utility of FDG as a memory marker of transient ischaemia.


UNLABELLED
To clarify the role of leukocytes in reperfusion injury of preserved lung for lung transplantation, leukocyte depletion was performed and lung tissue generation of oxygen metabolites and histological evaluation were investigated.

METHOD
12 mongrel dogs were utilized, divided into 2 groups. In group A, hilar-stripped left lung was submitted to 2 hour warm ischemia and 2 hour reperfusion. Blood filtration was performed three times using leukocyte filter. In group B, warm ischemia and reperfusion were performed without filtration. Lipid peroxidation products of lung tissue were measured by thiobarbituric acid assay. Tissue damage was estimated by wet/dry ratio and histological analysis. Results 1). Peripheral blood counts revealed that effective leukocyte depletion was obtained and leukocyte efflux from reperfused lung was observed in group A. 2) Significant increase of lung tissue oxygen metabolite generation after reperfusion was observed in group B, while no significant fluctuate of tissue MDA titers was noted in group A. Tissue damage estimated by histological analysis and wet/dry ratio were considered to be controlled in group A compared with group B. In conclusion, leukocyte depletion by in vivo use of leukocyte filter was effective for reperfusion injury of warm ischemic lung and oxygen metabolites may play a role in these process.


This paper sets out to develop a theoretical framework for examining implications of digital media uses for digital inequality in the domain of social interaction. First, by drawing on the social affordances perspective, this paper seeks to establish an additional dimension of digital skills, namely, online social networking skills. Furthermore, to explore the implications of interactional ICT use for digital inequality, this paper theorizes how people's online social networking skills may condition their uses of various digital media for communication (i.e. communication multiplexity) and proposes two propositions for future empirical examination.


Background Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a complex multi-factorial disease with life-threatening complications. AAA is typically asymptomatic and its rupture is associated with high mortality rate. Both environmental and genetic risk factors are involved in AAA pathogenesis. Aim of this study was to investigate telomere length (TL) and oxidative DNA damage in paired blood lymphocytes, aortic endothelial cells (EC), vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), and epidermal cells from patients with AAA in comparison with matched controls. Methods TL was assessed using a modification of quantitative (Q)-FISH in combination with immunofluorescence for CD31 or α-smooth muscle actin to detect EC and VSMC, respectively. Oxidative DNA damage was investigated by immunofluorescence staining for 7, 8-dihydro-8-oxo-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG). Results and Conclusions Telomeres were found to be significantly shortened in EC, VSMC, keratinocytes and blood lymphocytes from AAA patients compared to matched controls. 8-oxo-dG immunoreactivity, indicative of oxidative DNA damage, was detected at higher levels in all of the above cell types from AAA patients compared to matched controls. Increased DNA double strand breaks were detected in AAA patients vs controls by nuclear staining for γ-H2AX histone. There was statistically significant inverse correlation between TL and accumulation of oxidative DNA damage in blood lymphocytes from AAA patients. This study shows for the first time that EC and VSMC from AAA have shortened telomeres and oxidative DNA damage. Similar findings were obtained with circulating lymphocytes and keratinocytes, indicating the systemic nature of the disease. Potential translational implications of these findings are discussed.


This paper concerns the emergence and development of agreement marking in Arabic interlanguage. It investigates the effect of competing structures (pragmatics, semantics and morphosyntax) on the development of Arabic subject-verb agreement morphology. It is hypothesised that Arabic Interlanguage morphology is constrained by the availability of processing strategies (Clahsen, 1986) and competing information structures (Bates and McWhinney, 1981; 1987) especially when dealing with complex agreement patterns. The results show that linguistic complexity (a) influences the types of processing strategies employed and (b) determines the order of acquisition of different agreement patterns. It is also revealed that when the three information structures compete for interpretation of speech, morphosyntax emerges as the least influential eventhough it seems that S-V agreement in Arabic, at least on the surface, is essentially a transfer of morphosyntactic features (person, number and gender) from the subject onto the verb.


The appearance of antibody- and nonspecific immunoglobulin-forming cells (AFC and nIFC) in spleen cell suspensions from normal mice and from those immunized with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was studied. The cell suspensions were cultivated in the modified Mishell-Dutton system. The induction of the immune response in vitro resulted in a sharp increase of nIFC formation. Their amount reached 51 218 per 10(6) spleen cells, i. e exceeded the number fo AFC 25-172-fold. Much more was the increase in the absolute number of nIFC during cultivation in the presence of antigen of spleen cells from animals immunized with SRBC 3--4 days before experimentation. In this case, the maximum number of nIFC reached 165 000 per 10(6) spleen cells, i. e. 33% of the total number of B-cells. The kinetics of AFC and nIFC formation and regulatory mechanisms of the populations varied under different conditions. The nature and potential mechanisms of nIFC formation under the influence of the antigen are discussed.


The seismo-ionospheric interaction study with respect to earthquake events using Total Electron Content (TEC) data derived from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers can be used to detect pre-earthquake ionospheric anomalies. This is primarily because ionospheric anomaly variation has been emerged as one of the most promising precursors. In recent times, many studies have reported pre-seismic ionospheric anomalies of TEC prior to major earthquakes. However, the results are not uniform and therefore, considerable amount of data processing and validation is required before this can be used in operational mode.  To ensure the seismogenic cause of TEC variation, geomagnetic and solar-activities are also compared with TEC values prior to the earthquakes and our analysis has proved that TEC anomalies can be used as earthquake precursors. Several global events and Himalayan earthquakes have been studied and results are very encouraging for developing a methodology that can qualify for detection of early sign of earthquakes. It may be far from early warning system (EWS) with information on magnitude, location and time, but it is a significant achievement in the field of earthquake geology where no methodology exists on forewarning of seismic events.

 Seismic velocity changes computed by applying modern techniques in seismic interferometry reveals that considerably large earthquakes can trigger a decline in seismic velocity prior to the mainshock. Cross-correlation of diffuse wave fields, including ambient seismic noise can provide the Green’s function between pair of receivers recording seismic activity. Using the known properties of the seismic ambient noise, recorded over a large period of time, seismic velocity changes before the earthquake has been observed which can act as a potential precursor. Decrease in the seismic velocity few days before the main event suggest that co-seismic damage begins to occur even before the mainshock, which could be a result of foreshocks. The main shock records the lowest relative seismic velocity change. The potential use of the ambient noise as an earthquake precursor can be concluded after rigorous analysis.


The reinforcement of timber structures has seen considerable research and development in recent years. New materials and methods for reinforcement have been developed and are now used in practice. Eurocode 5 in its current edition, however, lacks approaches to design reinforcement for timber members. To close this gap, CEN/TC 250/SC 5, the standardization committee responsible for drafting Eurocode 5, has decided to establish a Working Group (WG) on this item. This Working Group is supported by a Project Team, mandated to draft the associated sections for Eurocode 5. This paper reports on the approach to this task, the work items of WG 7 "Reinforcement", the current status and the work
scheduled for the coming years. The proposed structure of the new section as well as examples of design approaches and
the related background information are presented.


Combined deficiency of coagulation factors V and VIII (F5F8D) is an autosomal recessive bleeding disorder resulting from mutations in Lman1 . This gene encodes a cargo receptor in the early secretory pathway that is responsible for the efficient secretion of factor V (FV) and factor VIII (FVIII) to the plasma. F5F8D is characterized by levels of both FV and FVIII reduced to ∼5-30% of normal. In contrast, Lman1 knockout mouse models of F5F8D exhibit FV and FVIII activities that are ∼50% of normal, relative to wildtype mice. Though FV and FVIII are synthesized at markedly different levels and potentially in different tissues, loss of the LMAN1 cargo receptor leads to parallel reductions in both FV and FVIII activity. FV is synthesized in hepatocytes (as well as megakaryocytes in the mouse). However, the primary cellular source of FVIII biosynthesis is controversial, with contradictory evidence supporting an endothelial or hepatocyte origin. We took advantage of the dependence of efficient FV and FVIII secretion on LMAN1 to examine the cellular source of each protein. FV and FVIII secretion profiles of conditional Lman1 knockout mice were characterized, relative to that of wildtype mice and ubiquitous Lman1 null mice ( Lman1 -/-). In order to generate mice with Lman1 expression specifically deleted in the endothelium or the hepatocytes, either a Tie2- Cre or Albumin- Cre transgene was crossed into Lman1 conditional mice ( Lman1 fl). FV and FVIII activity levels were measured by functional coagulation activity assays. Though Lman1 fl/fl/Tie2- Cre + mice (endothelial-specific knockout) exhibit normal plasma FV activity (99.9%) relative to wildtype mice (set to 100%), FVIII activity is reduced to 53.5% (p < 2.5 x 10-6). In contrast, Lman1 fl/fl/Alb- Cre + (hepatocyte-specific knockout) mice demonstrate normal FVIII activity (89.0%) and reduced FV activity (37.0%) (p < 1.4 x 10-10). To confirm endothelial cells as the biosynthetic source of FVIII, we took advantage of the previously reported RiboTag mouse (Sanz et al. , 2009. PNAS 106(33):13939-44) to isolate endothelial cell RNA for qPCR analysis from various murine tissues. RiboTag mice carry a hemaglutinin-tagged ribosomal protein that can be used for cell-type specific immunoprecipitation of polyribosomes and subsequent RNA analysis when crossed with a Cre -recombinase expressing animal. qPCR analyses of endothelial cell RNA isolated from total liver lysates of five RiboTag/Tie2- Cre + mice demonstrated 10-20 fold enrichment for gene transcripts that are known to be endothelial-specific, such as Cdhs (12.1 fold enrichment, p < 8.0 x 10-3), Vcam1 (13.4 fold enrichment, p <1.1 x 10-5), and Vwf (15.3 fold enrichment, p < 7.0 x 10-4), as well as for FVIII transcripts (11.4 fold enrichment, p < 4.0 x 10-5). In contrast, this analysis demonstrated a statistically significant depletion (5-10 fold) of transcripts from many known hepatocyte-specific genes, including multiple coagulation factor genes. Similar examination of kidney endothelial cell RNA also demonstrated enrichment for FVIII transcripts, thereby demonstrating that endothelial cells from multiple tissues and vascular beds contribute to the plasma FVIII pool in the mouse. These results explain the successful reversal of hemophilia A by both liver and kidney transplants. Taken together, these results definitively demonstrate that endothelial cells are the primary source of FVIII biosynthesis in the mouse, and that hepatocytes make no significant contribution to the plasma FVIII pool.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


A neutron reflection method is developed for measuring the concentration of the neutron absorbing gadolinium in the tanks of the liquid poison injection shutdown system of a CANDU reactor. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated experimentally, and Monte Carlo simulations are utilized to design and model the performance of a proposed device.


Building access path to the objects of a search generates the need for rules and central axis ordering in a systematic way how to test, observe, question and investigate the objects. Regarding practical method call. Have more than how to do it on a scientific, academic, or from instruments of disciplines, the way to discuss Michel Foucault proved elusive definitions and normalized trajectories, discursive practices to which institutions, groups and orders produced a consensus truths closed and socially ready to emerge. To do so, who denies having a methodology, systematic field or a pre-established, at times he offered some specific tools and care "methodological" key. The situation provided by the genealogy and archeology to examine the strands of knowledge, power and subjectivity pointed to an array of these three strategic foci of tension, the concept device.


A comparison of gene expression profiles in different types of human brain tumours and normal brain by Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) revealed exceptionally high content of CTTGGGTTTT tag in meningioma and ependimoma SAGE-libraries. A search of the most relevant gene for this tag on the website "SAGE Anatomic Viewer" showed that it belonged to the nucleotide sequence of insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) gene as well as to the open reading frame 43 on a chromosome 11 (C11orf43). This nucleotide sequence encodes putative insulin-like growth factor II associated protein (IGF-IIA). mRNA for this protein is produced as a result of the processing of IGF-II gene primary transcript. Northern analysis of glial tumours and meningiomas showed the exceptionally high level of mRNA of IGF-II-associated protein in meningiomas. Protein, encoded by this mRNA, can play the important role in meningioma formation and may be used as their specific molecular marker.


In 2017, the State Council of China published an action plan for the construction of a smart and healthy elderly care industry (2017–2020). The action plan designed and implemented by the State Council of China demonstrates the Central Government's determination to informationalise and digitalise the Chinese society. Therefore, the market of smart home care services should expectedly mushroom in the coming decades, as the demand for smart home care increase. However, there are a range of barriers to achieving the massification of smart home care services, which will be discussed in the following sections. In addition to the shortage of family care and nursing services, elders being physically and psychologically vulnerable also engenders the Central Government to accelerate the provision of smart home care services to the Chinese elderly population. Here, smart home investment and delivery are necessary when building a sustainable elderly care system. The investment in smart home elderly care can lessen the long-term burden on China's healthcare system as more elders would be able to self-manage their everyday life and minor physical and psychological problems. In this article, the author would critically analyses China's implementation of smart home elderly care services, particularly on the benefits and challenges of technological advancement in elderly care and the advantages and problems of relevant policy development. The author also highlights how the informationalisation and digitalisation in elderly care and policy development enhance the convenience of the elderly populations' everyday life when family care is limited or absent. Additionally, the author assesses what the gaps are in existing smart home elderly care technologies and policy development that need to be addressed by Chinese policymakers to further advance the safety and convenience of the elderly cohorts' living.


BACKGROUND
Ear cleaning is an important part of the successful therapy of otitis externa.

HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the in vitro activity of nine commercially available ear cleaners (Cerumaural(®), CleanAural Dog(®), Epi-Otic(®), MalAcetic Aural(®), Otoclean(®), Otodine(®), Sancerum(®), Surosolve(®) and TrizUltra™ + Keto) against 50 Malassezia pachydermatis isolates from clinical cases of canine otitis externa. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to analyse the in vitro susceptibility of a large number of M. pachydermatis isolates to a variety of ear cleaner products.

ANIMALS
Forty-nine hospital population dogs diagnosed with otitis externa with Malassezia spp. present on cytological examination of ear swabs and culture.

METHODS
The antimicrobial activity of nine ear cleaners was tested against 50 M. pachydermatis isolates from 49 clinical cases of canine otitis externa using an in vitro agar diffusion test.

RESULTS
There were statistically significant differences in activity between ear cleaners, with five showing excellent in vitro anti-Malassezia activity (CleanAural Dog(®), Epi-Otic(®), MalAcetic Aural(®), Sancerum(®) and TrizUltra™ + Keto), two moderate activity (Otodine(®) and Surosolve(®)), one variable activity (Otoclean(®)) and one no activity (Cerumaural(®)). There was a significant overall difference in susceptibility between M. pachydermatis isolates tested (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
Ear cleaners with activity against Malassezia may help to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotic-containing polypharmaceutical ear medications. This study shows that the use of a large number of isolates may provide a more accurate account of the in vitro activity of a product.


The striking association of specific autoantibodies with distinct disease phenotypes and trajectories in human autoimmune rheumatic diseases provides a powerful opportunity to interrogate disease mechanism. In scleroderma, a subgroup of patients with autoantibodies to POLR3 have coincident onset of cancer and scleroderma. The majority of these patients have genetic changes (somatic mutations and loss of heterozygosity) in the POLR3A gene in their matched cancers, coupled with immune responses directed against the mutated and wild type autoantigen. In some individuals with scleroderma or dermatomyositis where specific immune responses mark a high risk of emergent cancer, cancer does not emerge. Such patients have a broader immune response that targets additional autoantigens, suggesting that the breadth and magnitude of the immune response regulates cancer, and that the rheumatic diseases provide a unique window into natural immunoediting of cancer in humans. This has implications for prediction and therapy in both autoimmunity and cancer.


Introduction: Recurrent subluxation of the peroneal tendons over the lateral malleolus is an uncommon disabling condition in young people involved in sports. Injury to the superior peroneal retinaculum, sometimes in association with a shallow fibular groove, can lead to this condition. There are several surgical treatments for recurrent peroneal tendon subluxation, but no tendoscopy technique has been reported to date. The aim of this study was to describe a tendoscopic groove-deepening technique and its results for treating patients with recurrent subluxation of the peroneal tendons. Methods: Seven patients (3 women and 4 men; mean age 26.4 [21-32] years) with chronic subluxation of the peroneal tendons were treated with a tendoscopic procedure. All patients experienced pain at the lateral retromalleolar area and recurrent subluxation of the peroneal tendons. The right ankle was affected in 4 patients. Mean follow-up was 15.4 (8-25) months. Results: On tendoscopic examination, all patients had a flat fibular groove, and the superior peroneal retinaculum was found to be detached in 4 cases. Three patients had a superficial injury of the peroneus brevis tendon which was debrided. Tendoscopic deepening of the peroneal groove without superior peroneal retinaculum repair was performed in all cases. None of the patients experienced recurrent subluxation during follow-up. The AOFAS score increased from 75 preoperatively to 93 at final follow-up. No complications were reported in any case. Conclusion: Tendoscopic deepening of the fibular groove was a reproducible, minimally invasive technique that provided a favorable outcome for recurrent subluxation of the peroneal tendons in our limited number of patients. Level of Evidence: Level IV, retrospective case series.


The partial discharge (PD) site location capabilities of capacitive and inductive probes were compared, employing 25 kV XLPE insulated distribution cable specimens. The measurements were carried out primarily in a laboratory environment using a model distribution system, which consisted of different spliced cable lengths interconnected via circuit breakers and transformers; limited preliminary tests were also made under high ambient noise conditions in substations where the open-tray installations of cables provided free access to the surface of the cables to permit scanning with the probe sensors. All tests were performed on fully energized cables. The capacitive probes were found to perform adequately well, provided the probes could be inserted beneath the helically wound concentric neutral of the cable specimens; they functioned exceptionally well with unshielded splice joints. The inductive probes, which were applied in the form of a coil over the cable, had the decided advantage in that the detection procedure could be performed directly over the concentric neutral of the cable. However, their discharge site locating capabilities were rendered virtually ineffective in the presence of high ambient interference in substations.


A stacked water isotope record for Summit, central Greenland, has been established covering approximately the last 900 years. Measurements of δ18O and δD in the GRIP deep ice core and the 230-m core, S93, allow the reconstruction of a millennial record of the deuterium excess in a near-annual resolution. A short period of particularly high values of the Deuterium Excess at the beginning of the fourteenth century may be associated with the medieval warm period (MWP). The Little Ice Age (LIA) might be represented by a 100-year period of very low excess values in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Using a simple isotope model, δ18O and deuterium excess are interpreted in terms of surface temperature variations over central Greenland and over the subtropical North Atlantic, Greenland's principal vapor source region. An estimated cooling of −0.7°C of subtropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) during the Little Ice Age and a warming of 0.6°C during the short warm period in the medieval is in agreement with previous studies. Over periods of about 100 years, an antiphasing between gradually decreasing δ18O and increasing deuterium excess is observed. Interannual-to-decadal-scale variability associated to the North Atlantic Oscillation may be responsible for this anti-phase relationship. An alternative explication is a North-South oscillation in North Atlantic sea surface temperatures associated with short-term changes in the thermohaline circulation.


Abstract Background: To assess the viability and averageness of capecitabine joined together with thalidomide in patients with propelled pancreatic disease (APC) who have beforehand accepted gemcitabine-based treatment. Systems: what added up to 31 patients were enrolled prospectively in Shandong Tumor Hospital from May 2007 to April 2009. Capecitabine was offered to patients twice a day at a dosage of 1,250 mg/m2 for 14-days then emulated by 7-day rest. Thalidomide was controlled 100 mg/day without interference until sickness movement or event of inadmissible poisonous quality. Results: Two patients put forth fractional reaction (PR), eleven patients indicated stable ailment (SD) and eighteen patients exhibited continuous illness (PD). The average without movement survival (PFS) was 2.7 months (95% expectancy interim (CI), 2.4-3.3) and the average generally speaking survival (OS) was 6.1 months (95% CI, 5.3-6.9). In the subgroup examination, PFS had a huge distinction between the serum CA19-9 level diminishing >25% and diminishing <25%, with 3.0 months (95% CI, 2.5-3.6) and 2.5 months (95% CI, 1.8-3.2), (Log Rank=0.02), separately. Hematological poisonous quality incorporated leukocytopenia, frailty and neutropenia. Non-hematological toxicities incorporated loose bowels, skin rash, nausea/vomiting, hand-foot syndrome, weariness, discombobulation, languor and clogging. Conclusion: Capecitabine joined together with thalidomide is a generally tolerated second line regimen, in patients with APC obstinate to gemcitabine.


PURPOSE
The droplet size of commercial fish oil-containing injectable lipid emulsions, including conformance to United States Pharmacopeia (USP) standards on fat-globule size, was investigated.

METHODS
A total of 18 batches of three multichamber parenteral products containing the emulsion SMOFlipid as a component were analyzed. Samples from multiple lots of the products were evaluated to determine compliance with standards on the volume-weighted percentage of fat exceeding 0.05% (PFAT(5)) specified in USP chapter 729 to ensure the physical stability of i.v. lipid emulsions. The products were also analyzed to determine the effects of various storage times (3, 6, 9, and 12 months) and storage temperatures (25, 30, and 40 °C) on product stability. Larger-size lipid particles were quantified via single-particle optical sensing (SPOS). The emulsion's droplet-size distribution was determined via laser light scattering.

RESULTS
SPOS and light-scattering analysis demonstrated mean PFAT(5) values well below USP-specified globule-size limits for all the tested products under all study conditions. In addition, emulsion aging at any storage temperature in the range studied did not result in a significant increase of PFAT(5) values, and mean droplet-size values did not change significantly during storage of up to 12 months at temperatures of 25-40 °C.

CONCLUSION
PFAT(5) values were below the USP upper limits in SMOFlipid samples from multiple lots of three multichamber products after up to 12 months of storage at 25 or 30 °C or 6 months of storage at 40 °C.


This article describes the improvement of a manufacturing site's safety performance that can be attributed, in part, to the successful implementation of a mandated behavior‐based safety (BBS) program. As has been discussed in prior articles, improving operating discipline (improving the conduct of operations) will contribute to reducing process safety, health and environmental risks. The BBS program implementation, with its expectation that each employee complete and submit at least one safety observation a month, coincided with several other significant safety initiatives. These other initiatives required employee involvement from all levels of the organization, including implementing process safety management elements, implementing the site's "principles of operation," and performing daily job safety analyses. This article will describe how the site's BBS observation program has evolved over the last decade, how several human‐related issues were overcome, and provides specific examples of some of the changes implemented as a result of the observations. In conclusion, this article shows how direct management involvement and support and increased personnel involvement has improved safety awareness, knowledge, and commitment to help reduce manufacturing risks.


We develop a fully canonical quantization scheme for the electromagnetic field in linear dielectrics, including dispersion and losses. This scheme is based on the Hopfield model of a dielectric, where the medium is represented by a number of interacting matter fields. The relationship between dispersion and absorption, as expressed by the Kramers-Kronig relations, is explicitly derived. We obtain simple expressions for the electromagnetic field in the medium and show how a complex wave vector can be derived, even in the case of a quantized field.


The COVID-19 pandemic has presented young adults with novel challenges and disruptions to several life domains. The current study examined how COVID-19-related stressors (i.e., job-related, financial-related, social/relational, and illness-related stressors) relate to young adults' symptoms of depression and anxiety, and satisfaction with life (in the US). In Aim 1, we examined associations between COVID-19-related stressors and indices of mental health and well-being in the initial phase of the pandemic (April/May 2020) while accounting for participants' pre-pandemic levels of these outcomes in January of 2020 (N = 519; Mage  = 25.4; 62.8% women). Social/relational stressors were most strongly associated with increased symptoms of anxiety/depression, and financial stressors were most strongly associated with decreased satisfaction with life. Extending this research longitudinally (Aim 2), we sampled young adults bi-monthly across a year-long period (September 2020 to August 2021). Multilevel models revealed within-person associations between each stressor domain and mental health/well-being; young adults reported more symptoms of depression/anxiety and lower satisfaction with life in months that stressors were relatively more salient. Interactions between stressors and time revealed associations were generally stronger in earlier months and decreased linearly across the pandemic. Taken together, longitudinal evidence indicates that COVID-19-related stressors, especially social/relational stressors, have direct and time-varying associations with mental health and well-being.


GE Aviation is implementing and applying an open, modular and scalable Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) architecture to provide comprehensive solutions designed to meet end users needs. Through its Systems division, GE Aviation is a world leader in the development and deployment of IVHM Solutions, and has been a leading advocate of Open Standards, in particular through collaborative research programmes such as TATEM (Technologies and Techniques for New Maintenance concepts). Through its extensive Health and Usage Management Systems (HUMS) experience GE Aviation clearly understands the need for both industry standards, and a simple to use software development tool chain, supporting the development of complex IVHM systems with multiple partners. The Open System Architecture for Condition Based Maintenance (OSA-CBM) is a standard for building IVHM applications that helps meet those goals. GE Aviation has implemented an OSA-CBM software framework and toolset that allows the creation of truly integrated, comprehensive IVHM solutions whilst protecting 3rd party IPR within executable modules. This paper identifies specific benefits GE Aviation have identified through the application of such a standard in comprehensive IVHM solutions, including the complete aircraft, engines and ground support infrastructure.


Iron plays an important role in the process of pedogenesis soil. The proportion of iron forms basis of diagnosis of different types and subtypes of soils. Iron has a direct impact on the growth and development of plants, participates in the process of photosynthesis and prevents the formation of chlorosis. 120 soil samples were analyzed in the research laboratory of Hydroelology of Dnepropetrovsk State Agrarian and Economic University. The iron content was determined in accordance with GOST 27395-87 Soils. Method for determination of mobile connections ferric iron-on Verigina Arinushkina profiles technogenic disturbed soil to a depth of 100 cm every 10 cm. The reference sample was selected southern chernozemic soil. Test profiles presented an inhomogeneous mixture of ground rocks. It was established that sod-lithogenic soil to gray-green clays most secured mobile iron compounds and are similar to a reference sample. The active layer 0-10sm are weathering processes that lead to the destruction and leaching of substances in the lower layers of the profile. At this stage of the iron content of the soil depends on the soil type studied, and mixtures heterogeneity infiltration layers. The content of ferrous iron throughout the depth of the four investigated profiles of more than 60% of the iron moving. For plants dvohvalentne iron is easily accessible form for learning, which is a good indicator for their development. The ratio of mobile iron in the form of Fe 2+  and Fe 3+  ions is important for plants, but it can have both positive and negative consequences that may arise depending on the compounds formed. Total iron content moving in all types studied tehnozemiv increases with depth or vary, describing the heterogeneity of the layers of soil profile, except sod to soil lithogenic lesopodibnomu loam where the movable iron compounds in the majority concentrated in the 0-40 cm layer and decreased with depth, which is typical for vnutrishnohruntovoho ohleyennya that is seasonal. Iron is involved in all processes of soil formation, so establishing its quantity and distribution of the profile is important in understanding ways to restore technogenic disturbed soils. According to the data obtained can be studied soil acidification offer to improve the availability of moving iron compounds and installation of mineral soils. It can be assumed value using mobile forms of iron for the diagnosis of technogenic disturbed soils and identify the differences between them and examine patterns of distribution of iron in the soil profile, as the model changes technogenic disturbed soil, which is a scientific interest.


We present a theoretical study of the electronic and optical properties of InGaAsN/GaAs quantum dot (QD) structures. The calculations are based on a 10×10 k⋅p band‐anti‐crossing Hamiltonian, incorporating valence, conduction and nitrogen‐induced bands. Numerical results for the model system of capped pyramid shaped quantum dot with {101} facets on a thin wetting layer are presented. Theoretical results show lowering of the fundamental optical transition upon introduction of nitrogen. With appropriate tailoring of the indium and nitrogen concentration this system could be a potential candidate for 1.55 μm emission on GaAs substrate.


Physical impairments bring about social and psychological consequences leading to stress. Here Dutch epidemiological data were used to test whether the physically disabled have an increased risk of CD. Results indicated this was partly so. Possible confounding variables, however, severely limit a firm statement concerning the relationship between disabling impairments and cardiovascular disorders.


The glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide is used to treat diabetes. A hallmark of liraglutide is the glucose-dependent facilitation of insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells. In β-cells, the glycolytic enzyme glucokinase plays a pivotal role as a glucose sensor. However, the role of glucokinase in the glucose-dependent action of liraglutide remains unknown. We first examined the effects of liraglutide on glucokinase haploinsufficient (Gck(+/-)) mice. Single administration of liraglutide significantly improved glucose tolerance in Gck(+/-) mice without increase of insulin secretion. We also assessed the effects of liraglutide on the survival rates, metabolic parameters, and histology of liver or pancreas of β-cell-specific glucokinase-deficient (Gck(-/-)) newborn mice. Liraglutide reduced the blood glucose levels in Gck(-/-) neonates but failed to prolong survival, and all the mice died within 1 wk. Furthermore, liraglutide did not improve glucose-induced insulin secretion in isolated islets from Gck(-/-) neonates. Liraglutide initially prevented increases in alanine aminotransferase, free fatty acids, and triglycerides in Gck(-/-) neonates but not at 4 d after birth. Liraglutide transiently prevented liver steatosis, with reduced triglyceride contents and elevated glycogen contents in Gck(-/-) neonate livers at 2 d after birth. Liraglutide also protected against reductions in β-cells in Gck(-/-) neonates at 4 d after birth. Taken together, β-cell glucokinase appears to be essential for liraglutide-mediated insulin secretion, but liraglutide may improve glycemic control, steatosis, and β-cell death in a glucokinase-independent fashion.


In this paper we investigate the problem of locating singing voice in music tracks. As opposed to most existing methods for this task, we rely on the extraction of the characteristics specific to singing voice. In our approach we suppose that the singing voice is characterized by harmonicity, formants, vibrato and tremolo. In the present study we deal only with the vibrato and tremolo characteristics. For this, we first extract sinusoidal partials from the musical audio signal . The frequency modulation (vibrato) and amplitude modulation (tremolo) of each partial are then studied to determine if the partial corresponds to singing voice and hence the corresponding segment is supposed to contain singing voice. For this we estimate for each partial the rate (frequency of the modulations) and the extent (amplitude of modulation) of both vibrato and tremolo. A partial selection is then operated based on these values. A second criteria based on harmonicity is also introduced. Based on this, each segment can be labelled as singing or non-singing. Post-processing of the segmentation is then applied in order to remove short-duration segments. The proposed method is then evaluated on a large manually annotated test-set. The results of this evaluation are compared to the one obtained with a usual machine learning approach (MFCC and SFM modeling with GMM). The proposed method achieves very close results to the machine learning approach : 76.8% compared to 77.4% F-measure (frame classification). This result is very promising, since both approaches are orthogonal and can then be combined.


One-tenth of cytochrome c (cyt c) remains bound to the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) at physiological ionic strength (I; i.e. , I approximately 150 mM), exhibiting decreased electron transport (ET) activity. We now show that this form of membrane-bound cyt c (MB-cyt c) can be obtained in vitro and that binding to membranes at low I generates an additional conformation with higher ET activity. This low I bound form of MB-cyt c (MBL-cyt c) exhibited intrinsic ET rates similar to those of electrostatically bound cyt c (EB-cyt c). The ET activity of IMM-bound MB-cyt c approached slowly that of MBL-cyt c or EB-cyt c, suggesting that MB-cyt c converts to MBL-cyt c while bound to IMM. When maintained at physiological I, both forms of MB-cyt c were released from the membrane, indicating that they convert to an EB-cyt c-like form. This process may be very dynamic in cellular mitochondria, as binding and release for both MB-cyt c forms increased considerably with temperature. I-Dependent binding of MB-cyt c does not require IMM, and it can be reproduced using large or small unilamellar vesicles (SUV). Using SUV-cyt c complexes, we characterized the secondary structure of MB-cyt c and MBL-cyt c by circular dichroism. Conformational analysis revealed that cyt c binding as MB-cyt c decreases its alpha-helical content (70-79%) and increases its beta-sheet up to 135%. The secondary structure of MBL-cyt c was similar to that of EB-cyt c and soluble cyt c, with a modest increase in beta-sheet. Taken together, our experiments suggest that physiological cyt c exists in soluble and membrane-bound conformations with similar ET activity, which may exchange very rapidly, and that soluble hydrophilic proteins can bind transiently to biomembranes.


It is true that nowadays the sector of credit insurance is extremely developing. The existence of the credit sector is very important because usually many companies are unable to pay up their debts to their suppliers. As a result credit insurance appertains to credit deals and does not include cash deals or open account deals. For example, when a company is being supplied with a quantity of products or feedstock from another ( of the same or another sector ) the debt is being paid with an emission of a behest, and not in cash. Consequently the risk of loss due to a deptor`s non-payment of a loan or other line of credit (credit risk) exists. In this case the insurance company must indemnify its client. The question is how necessary this kind of insurance is. The answer is very simple if you think that usually the 70% of the turnover of a company appertain credit sales, and that the 33% of the companies are unable to clear off a debt.


Since the introduction of therapeutic arthroscopy, by Oconnor, arthroscopic partial meniscectomy or meniscus repair become the golden stander treatment of meniscus tear, whenever possible, which allow preservation of normal or near normal meniscus function to avoid or reduce the risk of osteoarthritis of the knee joint, that might develop after complete meniscus removal.This study was aimed to evaluate the long-term functional and radiological results of arthroscopic partial meniscectomy.The present cross-sectional study was carried out in Al-Diwaniyah teaching hospital, orthopedic department. The study included 75 patients, 54 male patients and 21 female patients, known to undergo arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for isolated traumatic meniscus tear (6-7) years ago. The age range of the examined patients was 21 to 40 years. All patients were clinically assessed, according to Tapper and Hoover knee score scale and Lysholm knee score with a radiological assessment of the knee for early degenerative changes, using Kellgren and Lawrence system.Forty-five (45) patients with the excellent result (60%), eighteen (18) patients with good results (24%), teen (10) patients with fair results (13.33%) and two (2) patients with bad results (2.66%) according to tapper and Hoover scale. According to Lysholm score, the preoperative score was 22 to 70, while at the end of follow up was (92_100). Radiological examination of 48 patients was normal (grade 0), while grade 1 in 27 patients. Partial arthroscopic meniscectomy still gives excellent to good results on long-term, in otherwise stable knee without cartilage damage.


Background: To describe open simple prostatectomy performed by applying lateral capsular transfixing sutures after adenoma enucleation and minimum operative haemorrhage. Methods: A total of 425 patients with benign enlarged prostate underwent surgery. After adenomectomy transfixing sutures were placed from 3 to 9 o'clock positions around the prostatic capsule. Four variables were used to quantify intra-operative and postoperative haemorrhage. Results: Average intra-operative blood loss was 125 cc and average decrease in haematocrit was 3.2%. Conclusion: Simple open prostatectomy with application of lateral transfixing sutures has minimum haemorrhage.


ABSTRACT Due to the apparent absence of an agent-specific nucleic acid genome, scrapie strains cannot be classified by genome characterization, which is commonly used for the classification of many viruses. However, scrapie strains can be distinguished to some extent by biological properties such as transmissibility to experimental animals and distribution of neuropathological lesions and by biochemical properties such as the molecular mass and relative protease-resistance of the disease-specific isoform of prion protein (PrPSc). In order to preliminarily characterize the scrapie strains that are prevalent in Japan, we analyzed the transmissibility of sheep scrapie isolates to mice and the relative proteinase K (PK) resistance of the corresponding PrPSc. The results indicate that Japanese scrapie strains can be divided into at least three groups based on biological and biochemical properties. The first group includes isolates which cause disease in mice with an incubation period of ∼400 days and possess PrPSc with relatively high PK resistance. Isolates of the second group contain PrPSc that is highly resistant to PK digestion but transmit poorly to mice. The final group consists of isolates that cause disease in mice with an incubation period of less than 300 days and are associated with PrPSc with reduced PK resistance. Sheep scrapie has occurred sporadically in Japan since1982, with only ∼60 officially reported cases so far. However, the diversity of scrapie strains in the field suggested by our data raises the concern that a scrapie strain similar to the parental agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy could exist or emerge in Japan. Thus, continuous surveillance for scrapie will be required to prevent the further spread of scrapie, not only among the sheep population but also to other species, and to eliminate any potential risk of sheep scrapie to public health.


A mouse/human hybrid cell panel of human chromosome 16 has been extended to a total of 31 hybrids. These hybrids were derived from constitutional translocations and deletions ascertained during clinical cytogenetic studies. This panel of hybrids, together with four fragile sites, have the potential to divide chromosome 16 into 38 regions. Rapid detailed physical mapping of gene probes or anonymous DNA probes is possible using this hybrid panel. This hybrid cell panel also allows the physical mapping of other chromosomes with three breakpoints on chromosomes 1, 4, 11 and 13 and two on chromosomes 3, 10 and 18.


In asthma, neurogenic inflammation in bronchial airways may occur though the release of neuropeptides from C fibers via an axon reflex. Structural evidence for this neural pathway was sought in the pig and in humans by three-dimensional mapping of substance P-immunoreactive (SP-IR) nerves in whole mounts of mucosa using immunofluorescent staining and confocal microscopy. To show continuity, nerves were traced with 1,1'-didodecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethyl indocarbocyanine perchlorate from their epithelial endings through the mucosa. The pan-neuronal marker protein gene product 9.5 revealed an extensive apical and basal plexus of nerves in the epithelium; 94% of these were varicose SP-IR fibers. Apical SP-IR fibers had a length density of 88 mm/mm(2). Varicose apical processes followed closely around the circumference of goblet cells. Calcitonin gene-related peptide was colocalized with SP-IR in varicosites. The epithelial fibers converged into bundles as they entered the lamina propria where lateral branches ran along arterioles, often contiguous with the vascular smooth muscle. 1,1'-didodecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethyl indocarbocyanine perchlorate tracing showed that they projected to the epithelium. SP-IR fibers were rare near postcapillary venules. In human bronchial epithelium, protein gene product 9.5 revealed a similar apical and basal plexus of varicose fibers that weakly stained for SP-IR. Thus, a continuous sensory nerve pathway from the epithelium to arterioles provides structural support for a local axon reflex.


Epigenetic alterations have emerged as an important cause of microRNA (miRNA) deregulation. In Multiple Myeloma (MM), a few tumor suppressive miRNAs silenced by DNA hypermethylation have been reported, but so far there are few systemic investigations on epigenetically silenced miRNAs. We conducted genome-wide screening for tumor suppressive miRNAs epigenetically silenced in MM. Four Human MM Cell lines were treated with demethylating agent 5′azacytidine (5′aza). Consistently upregulated miRNAs include miR-155, miR-198, miR-135a*, miR-200c, miR-125a-3p, miR-188-5p, miR-483-5p, miR-663, and miR-630. Methylation array analysis revealed increased methylation at or near miRNA-associated CpG islands in MM patients. Ectopic restoration of miR-155, miR-198, miR-135a*, miR-200c, miR-663 and miR-483-5p significantly repressed MM cell proliferation, migration and colony formation. Furthermore, we derived a 33-gene signature from predicted miRNA target genes that were also upregulated in MM patients and associated with patient survival in three independent myeloma datasets. In summary, we have revealed important, epigenetically silenced tumor suppressive miRNAs by pharmacologic reversal of epigenetic silencing.


INTRODUCTION
Iodine is often used for water purification and has been used throughout the U.S. space program. Because of concern about potential effects on crewmembers' thyroid function, in 1997 a system was implemented on board the Space Shuttles to remove iodine from water before it was consumed. We report here thyroid hormone data from crews flying before and after this system was implemented.

METHODS
Blood samples were collected and analyzed for thyroid hormone content during routine medical exams before and after Space Shuttle missions. Data are reported for 224 male and 49 female astronauts (about two-thirds of them before implementation of iodine removal).

RESULTS
Serum concentrations of total thyroxine (T4) and the free T4 index were elevated in men after flight and triiodothyronine (T3) was lower after flight, regardless of iodine removal status. T4 was higher, even before flight, in the group of men who flew after iodine removal was implemented. Conversely, T3 was lower in men who flew during that period. Before iodine removal was implemented, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was elevated in male and tended to be elevated in female astronauts, with average increases of 27% and 19% after flight, respectively. After iodine removal was implemented, postflight TSH was not significantly different from preflight values.

DISCUSSION
These data provide evidence that crewmembers' increase in serum TSH on landing day after early Shuttle flights resulted from their consumption of iodinated water during spaceflight, because the same increase was not observed after implementation of the iodine removal system.


The Heterosexist Harassment, Rejection, and Discrimination Scale (HHRDS) is one of the most commonly used measures of sexual orientation-related discrimination, but little is known about its psychometric properties across different sexual orientations, gender, and racial/ethnic groups. A three-factor model was initially obtained, but most studies treat the HHRDS unidimensionally. Therefore, we tested whether the HHRDS exhibited measurement invariance across sexual orientation, gender, and racial/ethnic groups among 792 sexual minority young adults (aged 18-29) who participated in an online study. Across models, the three-factor solution fit better than the one-factor solution. All models achieved configural invariance and most achieved metric invariance; none of the considered models achieved scalar invariance (1-3 items were not equivalent across groups, depending on the comparison). Findings suggest that the HHRDS generally functions equivalently across sexual orientation, gender, and racial/ethnic groups, but some caution in interpreting scores is warranted.


ABSTRACT This article focuses on the role of Blanca (1319–79?) – the granddaughter of monarchs Sancho IV of Castile and Jaume II of Aragon —in the context of the legal process supporting the election of João I of Portugal in the 1385 Coimbra parliament. The topic prompts an inquiry into the different viewpoints on a little-known character in the Iberian royal families. First, the methodology employed contrasts the information known about Blanca and the description that Portuguese documents dating from 1385 make of her. These are an inquest and the official election act of João, the first king of the second Portuguese dynasty. After this section, the article seeks to shed light on the impact which the events described in the latter document had on Blanca's historical context between the end of the 1320s and the 1340s. The article ends with a fresh look at chroniclers' portrait of Blanca. In short, this article assesses and contrasts several portrayals of reality over several periods in time: the short term in the 1385 parliamentary meeting, Blanca's lifespan, and finally a long period during which she almost vanished from historiography.


While literally the word photorefraction may describe all kinds of photo-induced changes of the refractive index of a material and therefore any photo-induced phase grating would belong to this category, it has become customary in the literature to consider only a smaller class of materials as being photorefractive. These materials possess two important properties: they are photoconductive and exhibit an electro-optic effect. Photoconductivity ensures charge transport, resulting in the creation of a space-charge distribution under inhomogeneous illumination. The electro-optic effect translates the internal electric fields induced by the inhomogeneous space-charges into a modulation of the material refractive index. This is the main mechanism for photorefraction in inorganic and organic crystals [1]. In polymers and liquid crystals, the concept of photorefraction has been expanded to include refractive index changes governed by a field-assisted molecular reorientation of the chromophores. The photorefractive effect is also distinguished from many other mechanisms leading to optically induced refractive index gratings by the fact that it is an intrinsically non-local effect, in the sense that the maximum refractive index change does not need to occur at the spatial locations where the light intensity is largest. In the strict sense mentioned above, the photorefractive effect was first observed in the mid-1960s by Ashkin and co-workers [2]. They found that intense laser radiation focused on ferroelectric LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 crystals induced semi-permanent index changes. This phenomenon was unwanted for their purposes, and therefore they referred to it as "optical damage". However, the potential of this new effect for use in high-density optical storage of data was soon realized by Chen and co-workers [3]. The effect later became known as the photorefractive effect, and it is understood as a modulated refractive index change. Although the photorefractive effect was first discovered in inorganic-ferroelectric materials, in the past few years highly polarizable and photoconductive organic crystals and polymeric materials with extended π-electron systems have presented themselves as possible candidates for photorefractive applications. The photorefractive process, which culminates with the formation of the phase grating, is described by the mechanisms shown in the schematic diagram of Fig. 11.1. The three most important properties that a material must fulfill are depicted in the figure in the shaded boxes: optical absorption, charge transport, and electro-optic effect or field-assisted molecular reorientation.


Attenuation of airway responses to inhaled allergen is increasingly used to evaluate anti‐asthma drugs. Many studies use different allergen challenge methods and the presence of the late asthmatic response can be identified by a screening challenge with inhalation of incremental doses of allergen. Once defined, subsequent challenges are often administered as a constant dose based on the dose from the screening challenge. Previously, constant dose challenges have been employed but never validated.


This letter reports the first detailed measurement of $M_z$, the component parallel to the effective field direction, when ferromagnets are excited by microwave fields at high power levels. It is found that $M_z$ drops dramatically at the saturation of the main resonance. Simultaneous measurements of $M_z$ and absorption power show that this drop corresponds to a diminution of the spin-lattice relaxation rate. These changes are interpreted as reflecting the properties of longitudinal spinwaves excited above Suhl's instability. Similar behavior should be expected in spinwave emission by currents.


Deep belief network (DBN) is an import deep learning model and restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM) is one of its basic models. The traditional DBN and RBM have numerous redundant features. Hence an improved strategy is required to perform sparse operations on them. Previously, we have proposed our own sparse DBN (SDBN): using a multi-objective optimization (MOP) algorithm to learn sparse features, which solves the contradiction between the reconstruction error and network sparsity of RBM. Due to the optimization algorithm and millions of parameters of the network itself, the training process is difficult. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an efficient parallel strategy to speed up the training of SDBN networks. Self-adaptive Quantum Multi-objectives Evolutionary algorithm based on Decomposition (SA-QMOEA/D) that we have proposed as the multi-objective optimization algorithm has the hidden parallelism of populations. Based on this, we not only parallelize the DBN network but also realize the parallelism of the multi-objective optimization algorithm. In order to further verify the advantages of our approach, we apply it to the problem of facial expression recognition (FER). The obtained experimental results demonstrate that our parallel algorithm achieves a significant speedup performance and a higher accuracy rate over previous CPU implementations and other conventional methods.


This research discuss the respiratory defense mechanisms with special attention to the cilio-muco activity and cough reflex. It shows the alteration in these mechanisms, the follow pulmonary complications and the nurse role in the care with this kind of patients.


Thrombolysis is a milestone in the therapy of acute myocardial infarction due to its ubiquitous availability and ease of application. The recombinant form of tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) has been proven to be superior over first generation fibrinolytic agents (streptokinase, urokinase, APSAC) with respect to efficacy and side effects and the front-loaded regimen has meanwhile become the "gold"-standard of thrombolytic therapy. Biochemically modified mutants of wild-type t-PA, e.g. r-PA (reteplase), n-PA (lanoteplase), and TNK-t-PA have altered biochemical and pharmacokinetic characteristics which make them more easy to use (as double or single bolus injection) and share a theoretical efficacy benefit. This article describes these specific characteristics focussing on clot-selectivity and PAI-1 resistance of the new mutants of wild-type t-PA and their possible clinical efficiency.


Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic progressive inflammatory condition that is associated with significant economic burden. Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor indicated in the US for treatment of moderate to severe RA. Given the limited resource and multiplicity of treatment options, economic evaluation of alternate treatment strategies could inform formulary decisions in the US. Objectives The objective of this analysis is to estimate incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs) of tofacitinib after failure of methotrexate (MTX) in a sequence of treatments compared with a similar sequence without tofacitinib from a third-party-payer's perspective in the US. Methods The model was designed to estimate the costs and outcomes of treating RA with a pre-specified "treatment sequence" (MTX, tofacitinib, adalimumab, abatacept, tocilizumab and rituximab, in that order) vs a "comparator sequence" (MTX, etanercept, adalimumab, abatacept, tocilizumab and rituximab, in that order). Alternative sequences of treatment were also considered but not reported here. Efficacy was measured using Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and compared using results of a mixed treatment comparison and data from long-term extension trials. Adverse events data were taken from published meta-analyses, trial data on tofacitinib and identified relevant comparators. Patient characteristics were based on averages from tofacitinib clinical trials (NCT00856544, ORAL Sync; NCT00847613, ORAL Scan; NCT00853385, ORAL Standard). Costs related to RA were taken from published data which mapped HAQ onto healthcare resource utilisation in US RA patients. Indirect costs were not considered. Results From the perspective of the US third-party payer, the predicted lifetime cost of "treatment sequence" including tofacitinib had costs of $509,047 vs $546,860 for "comparator sequence" without tofacitinib. The "treatment sequence" with tofacitinib also resulted in an additional 0.11 in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), vs "comparator sequence" without tofacitinib. Therefore, "treatment sequence" with tofacitinib is dominant vs alternative sequence without tofacitinib. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis suggests that the probability of tofacitinib being cost-effective as a second-line therapy is 64.0% at a threshold of $100,000. Conclusions Our model suggests that inclusion of tofacitinib as second-line therapy following methotrexate failure is a cost-effective alternative vs a "comparator sequence" without tofacitinib. Sensitivity analysis reiterates the robustness of results and cost-effectiveness of a sequence of treatment with tofacitinib. A comparison of alternate sequences of treatment resulted in comparable findings. Acknowledgements This study was funded by Pfizer Inc. Disclosure of Interest L. Claxton Consultant for: Pfizer Inc., M. Taylor Consultant for: Pfizer Inc., D. Moynagh Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc., Employee of: Pfizer Inc., D. Gruben Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc., Employee of: Pfizer Inc., G. Wallenstein Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc., Employee of: Pfizer Inc., A. Singh Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc., Employee of: Pfizer Inc.


The objective this study was evaluate the agroindustrial performance, estimate genetic parameters and selection gain for productivity in progenies of sugarcane under field conditions. The experiment was carried out at the Factory Saint Jose, Igarassu (PE), during the 2008/2009 growing season. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design, and five replicates. The variables were: TCH, TPH, PC, BRIX, ATR and ATR t/ha. The analysis of variance and estimate of genetic parameters were performed. To estimate the selection gain, was used the method of direct selection. The F test showed significance and high estimate of mean heritability for TCH, TPH and ATR t/ha variables, indicating the possibility of successful selection based on those characters. Through the group averages, evidenced by Scott and Knott test, the progeny from crosses between genotypes RB83102 x RB855035 stood out above all others when it comes to productivity. By estimating the selection gain, it was found that it is possible for the practice of direct selection obtain genetic gain is significant in relation to productivity.


Overall, the absolute rate of clinical rejection in FK 506 patients is only slightly lower than with current standard therapies, but fewer steroid boluses, steroid recycles, and OKT 3 courses were needed as compared to CyA patients. FK 506 has not significantly affected allograft or patient survival or the incidence of infection as compared to CyA. It does have the benefit of allowing for the potential elimination or reduction in dose of azathioprine and prednisone. The majority of information available on FK 506 is generated by the sole human clinical trial site in Pittsburgh. Far more data from other clinical trial sites will be essential to finalize information on dosing, side effects, and drug monitoring for renal transplant recipients. The role of FK 506 in renal transplantation has yet to be well defined. The frequency and severity of side effects produced by this drug will be major determinants in its long-term usefulness for renal transplant recipients.


HIV-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy often demonstrate abnormalities in glucose regulation, in association with changes in fat distribution[1,2]. In the majority of cases, these abnormalities are best characterized by insulin resistance and impaired glucose tolerance, rather than overt diabetes mellitus and fasting hyperglycemia. Insulin resistance may result from direct effects of antiretroviral therapy, changes in fat distribution or abnormal regulation of fat metabolism and adipocytokines. Use of insulin sensitizing agents may be rationale to reduce cardiovascular risk and improve related metabolic and body fat abnormalities in HIV-infected patients.


This paper analyzes Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (1954) and Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter (2003) by focusing on their affinities and differences. It is an analytical literary study from a linguistic standpoint using Kenny's (2011) ideas. In addition to focusing on differences, the aim of this study is to scrutinize silence and its different meanings inasmuch as silence is a distinctive feature that groups and differentiates both plays. The study sheds light on a different aspect of research. Hence, besides focusing on interpreting speeches, this paper analyzes silences in both plays. It vindicates that silences are as important in literary interpretation as speeches. While Beckett's silences indicate the void of modern life, Pinter's silences convey threats and violence. Albeit much attention is given to verbal utterances and silences are generally neglected in terms of literary analysis, they are a sine qua non in terms of understanding Beckett's Waiting for Godot and Pinter's The Dumb Waiter and most importantly understanding the different languages of silence that greatly contribute to the whole meaning of both plays. Consequently, silences deserve much attention in literary interpretation as speeches and they are highly eloquent.


Manipulation of donor organs, rather than the recipients, for tolerance induction represents an exciting approach. We have recently developed a novel approach designated as ProtEx™ that allows for the generation of chimeric immunological ligands with core streptavidin (SA) and their display on the biotinylated cell surfaces in a rapid and efficient manner. Chimeric proteins have potent immunological activities, possibly due to their ability to form tetramers and higher structures. We generated a chimeric form of FasL molecule (SA-FasL) with potent apoptotic activity and previously demonstrated that this protein can be displayed on the surface of donor splenocytes in a rapid and efficient manner, and such cells when co-transplanted with islets prevented their rejection in allogeneic hosts. We herein tested if islets can directly be engineered to display SA-FasL on their surface and if such islets become refractive to rejection in allogeneic hosts. BALB/c islets were biotinylated, decorated with SA-FasL, and transplanted into syngeneic or allogeneic C57BL/6 hosts with STZ-induced diabetes. SA-FasL-decorated islets had no observed toxicity and normalized blood glucose levels in 100% of syngeneic hosts. Transplantation of SA-FasL-decorated BALB/c islets into C57BL/6 resulted in prolonged graft survival with >20% of grafts surviving indefinetly. All the islets decorated with the control SA protein were rejected in a normal tempo. Engineering pancreatic islets for the display of SA-FasL in a rapid and efficient manner represents a practical and safe alternative to gene therapy for immunomodulation. NIH (R21 DK61333, R01 AI47864, R21 AI057903, R21 HL080108), JDRF (1-2001-328), and ADA (1-05-JF-56.


— Photonic integration significantly reduces power consumption, cost, and size while it enhances reliability and functionality. As modern networking and computing systems require high-performance, low-power, and agile optical communications, photonic integration is emerging as critically important technology for future networking and computing. On the other hand, the main challenge with photonic integration lies in the yield and process-compatibility. This paper reviews the impact of photonic integration in optical communications, discusses the challenges, and probes the future prospects for photonic integration.


A novel verticillate strain of streptomycetes, Streptomyces strain MBT76T, was isolated from the QinLing mountains, which harbours more than 40 biosynthetic gene clusters for natural products. Here we present full taxonomic classification of strain MBT76T, and show that it has chemotaxonomic, genomic and morphological properties consistent with its classification in the genus Streptomyces. Strain MBT76T is part of the cluster of Streptoverticillates, a group within the genus Streptomyces that has characteristic whorl-forming spores produced in chains along the lateral wall of the hyphae. Multi-locus sequence analysis based on five housekeeping gene alleles showed that MBT76T is closely related to Streptomyces hiroshimensis. Average Nucleotide Identification (ANI) and Genome to Genome Distance Calculation (GGDC) of the genomes of strain MBT76T and S. hiroshimensis separated them into distinct species. Strain MBT76T represents a novel species of the genus Streptomyces for which we propose the name Streptomyces roseofaciens sp. nov. The type strain is MBT76T (=NCCB 100637T =DSM 106196T). The whole genome of MBT76T has 7974 predicted open reading frames and a total genome size of 8.64 Mb. Further genomic analysis showed that verticillate streptomycetes lack the sporulation gene ssgE, and our data suggest that this is a useful genetic marker for the spore-chain morphology of the verticillates.


System decomposition is a novel technique for modeling the dependability of complex systems without constructing a single-level Markov Chain (MC). This is demonstrated in this paper for the availability computation of a class of multiprocessors that uses 4*4 switching elements for the multistage interconnection network (MIN). The availability model is known as task-based availability, where a system is considered operational as long as the task requirements are satisfied. The authors develop two simple MC's for the processors and memories and solve them using a software package, called HARP. The probabilities of i processing elements (PE's) and j memory modules (MM's) working at any time t, denoted as Pi(t) and Pj(t), are obtained from their corresponding MC's. The effect of the MIN is captured in the model by finding the number of switches required for the connection of i PE's and j MM's. A third MC is then developed for the switches to find the probability that the MIN provides the required (i*j) connection. Multiplying this term with Pi(t) and Pj(t), the probability of an (i*j) working group is obtained. The methodology is generalized to model arbitrary as well as larger size systems. Transient and steady state availabilities are computed for a variety of MIN configurations and the results are validated through simulation. >


The primary cilium is a sensory organelle, defects in which cause a wide range of human diseases including retinal degeneration, polycystic kidney disease and birth defects. The sensory functions of cilia require specific receptors to be targeted to the ciliary subdomain of the plasma membrane. Arf4 has been proposed to sort cargo destined for the cilium at the Golgi complex and deemed a key regulator of ciliary protein trafficking. In this work, we show that Arf4 binds to the ciliary targeting sequence (CTS) of fibrocystin. Knockdown of Arf4 indicates that it is not absolutely required for trafficking of the fibrocystin CTS to cilia as steady-state CTS levels are unaffected. However, we did observe a delay in delivery of newly synthesized CTS from the Golgi complex to the cilium when Arf4 was reduced. Arf4 mutant mice are embryonic lethal and die at mid-gestation shortly after node formation. Nodal cilia appeared normal and functioned properly to break left-right symmetry in Arf4 mutant embryos. At this stage of development Arf4 expression is highest in the visceral endoderm but we did not detect cilia on these cells. In the visceral endoderm, the lack of Arf4 caused defects in cell structure and apical protein localization. This work suggests that while Arf4 is not required for ciliary assembly, it is important for the efficient transport of fibrocystin to cilia, and also plays critical roles in non-ciliary processes.


4,4″-Diamidino-m-terphenyl (1) and 36 analogues were prepared and assayed in vitro against T rypanosoma brucei rhodesiense , Trypanosoma cruzi , Plasmodium falciparum , and Leishmania amazonensis . Twenty-three compounds were highly active against T. b. rhodesiense or P. falciparum. Most noteworthy were amidines 1, 10, and 11 with IC50 of 4 nM against T. b. rhodesiense, and dimethyltetrahydropyrimidinyl analogues 4 and 9 with IC50 values of ≤ 3 nM against P. falciparum. Bis-pyridylimidamide derivative 31 was 25 times more potent than benznidazole against T. cruzi and slightly more potent than amphotericin B against L. amazonensis. Terphenyldiamidine 1 and dipyridylbenzene analogues 23 and 25 each cured 4/4 mice infected with T. b. rhodesiense STIB900 with four daily 5 mg/kg intraperitoneal doses, as well as with single doses of ≤ 10 mg/kg. Derivatives 5 and 28 (prodrugs of 1 and 25) each cured 3/4 mice with four daily 25 mg/kg oral doses.


The hyperfine interaction is an important probe for understanding the structure and symmetry of defects in a semiconductor. Density functional theory has shown that it can provide useful first-principles predictions for both the hyperfine tensor and the hyperfine constants that arise from it. Recently there has been great interest in using group-IV impurity-vacancy color centers X V − (where X = Si, Ge, Sn, or Pb and V is a carbon vacancy) for important applications in quantum computing and quantum information science. In this paper we have calculated the hyperfine tensors for these X V − color centers using the HSE06 screened Hartree-Fock hybrid exchange-correlation functional with the inclusion of core electron spin polarization. We have compared our results to calculations which only use the PBE exchange-correlation functional without the inclusion of core electron spin polarization and we have found that our results are in very good agreement with available experimental results. Finally, we have theoretically shown that these X V − color centers exhibit a Jahn-Teller distortion which explains the observed anisotropic distribution of the hyperfine constants among the neighboring 13 C nuclear spins.


• This article analyzes Mataku, a New Zealand television anthology program created with an eye toward the global media market and, according to its producers, the first such TV drama ever to be `written, directed and produced entirely by Maori'. Mataku has emerged partly through the economic dynamics of globalization and partly as a consequence of government policies, institutional arrangements and funding mechanisms established in New Zealand in response to threats posed by neoliberalism. Mataku revisits traditional Maori narratives that have circulated orally for generations and repackages those stories within generic frameworks associated with the global resurgence of supernaturalism in television. The program therefore embodies aspects of both cultural globality and cultural hybridity on several levels. Its emphasis on the multiplicity of modalities through which `the old ways' assert their significance within contemporary life creates a space for complex postcolonial negotiations between past and present, disenchantment and alterity. •


SmartKom is a multimodal dialog system that combines speech, gesture, and mimics input and output. Spontaneous speech understanding is combined with the video-based recognition of natural gestures. One of the major scientific goals of SmartKom is to design new computational methods for the seamless integration and mutual disambiguation of multimodal input and output on a semantic and pragmatic level. SmartKom is based on the situated delegation-oriented dialog paradigm, in which the user delegates a task to a virtual communication assistant, visualized as a lifelike character on a graphical display. We describe the SmartKom architecture, the use of an XML-based markup language for multimodal content, and some of the distinguishing features of the first fully operational SmartKom demonstrator. More effective, efficient, and natural interfaces to support the location-sensitive access to information, applications, and people are increasingly relevant in mobile and time-critical situations [4]. SmartKom (www.smartkom.org) is a multimodal dialog system that combines speech, gesture, and mimics input and output [5]. It supports the situated understanding of possibly imprecise, ambiguous, or partial multimodal input and the generation of coordinated, cohesive, and coherent multimodal presentations [1]. SmartKom's interaction management is based on representing, reasoning, and exploiting models of the user, domain, task, context and the media itself. One of the major scientific goals of SmartKom is to explore and design new computational methods for the seamless integration and mutual disambiguation of multimodal input and output on a semantic and pragmatic level [2]. The main contractor of the SmartKom consortium is the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and W. Wahlster serves as the scientific project director. The major industrial partners involved in SmartKom are DaimlerChrysler, Philips, Siemens and Sony. The project was started in 1999 and will last for four years. SmartKom is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and the industrial partners. The total budget is roughly 25 Million Euros. SmartKom is the follow-up project to Verbmobil (1993-2000) and reuses some of Verbmobil's components for the understanding of spontaneous dialogs [3]. In this paper we will present the main objectives of SmartKom, introduce the basic architecture and XML-based knowledge and interface descriptions, and present the first demonstrator system (see figure 1). The main goal of SmartKom is to exploit one of the major characteristics of human interactions: the coordinated use of different code systems, like language, gesture, and mimics, to interact in complex environments. It is …


We study the diffraction of Gaussian pulses and beams within the framework of boundary diffraction wave theory. For the first time the boundary diffraction wave theory is applied to pulsed Gaussian beams, and it is shown that the diffracted field of a pulsed Gaussian beam on a circularly symmetric aperture can be evaluated by a single 1D integration along the diffractive aperture of every point of interest. We compare the theoretical simulations to experimental measurements of ultrashort pulses diffracted off a circular aperture, an opaque disc, an annular aperture, and a system of four concentric annular apertures. Using the recently developed SEA TADPOLE measurement technique, we obtain micron spatial and femtosecond temporal resolutions in the spatio-temporal measurements of the diffracted fields.


We present a method to measure carbonate content of apatite that uses infrared spectroscopy, The method was calibrated against the amount of C02 released by reaction of apatite with phosphoric acid and may be used to study apatite with C02 content below I wt%. We have applied the method to apatite from carbonatite (>:::0.3-0.4 wt% C02) and metasomatic (>:::0.6-1.0 wt% C02) and alkaline silicate «0.3 wt% C02) rocks from the Jacupiranga alkaline complex. The results show that higher concentration of carbonate was found in apatite related to metasomatic processes and, in particular, to metasomatism related to the intrusion of carbonatite from Jacupiranga. Major and trace elements of the analyzed apatites do not show a simple substitution mechanism that would explain the presence of carbonate in the apatite structure. In a series of exploratory laboratory experiments in which apatite was synthesized under high temperature and pressure, no clear relationship was observed between the carbonate content of the synthetic apatite and the total C content in the coexisting fluid (molecular C02 or carbonate ions in solution). However, even though these experiments were not conclusive, they suggest that apatite coexisting with carbonate ions in solution has a C02 content above 0.3 wt%, whereas apatite coexisting with molecular C02 has a C02 content <0.3 wt%. These results indicate that the C02 content of apatite depends not only on total fluid C content, but also on the C speciation in the fluid.


In this paper, we propose an efficient driving pattern which consumes less energy for driving from one station to next. Three driving patterns for four sections in the No. 5 subway line of Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corp. are compared for the energy consumption, the maximum speed, and the powering time. It turns out that the powering time and the maximum speed should be decreased as much as possible in order to achieve the efficient driving.


This study was done to assess the effectiveness of structured teaching programs on knowledge regarding hoarding disease and its prevention among adolescents in selected nursing colleges at Gonda. A person with hoarding disorder experiences distresses at the thought of getting rid of the items. Excessive accumulation of items, regardless of actual value, occurs. Although HD is not uncommon in India, this disorder is rarely reported in specialty settings in India, which suggests that awareness and detection should be improved. A study says the prevalence of HD was 1.02%. The aim of the study is to make the adolescent students understand this disorder in order to identify and treat the patient with HD disorder. The conceptual framework was done based on a Conceptual Framework based on general system theory as postulated by Von Ludwig Bertalanffy (1968). In order to accomplish the objectives of the study, a pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest study design was adopted. In this study, the sample consists of 60 adolescents who fulfilled the inclusion criteria for the study. The non-probability convenient sampling technique was used for this study. A structured socio-demographic data, and Questionnaire to assess the knowledge regarding hoarding disorder and its prevention were selected on the basis of the objectives of the study. The collected data were tabulated according to various parameters and the complete analysis was done with descriptive and inferential statistics. The finding of the study says there is a huge improvement in the knowledge of adolescents on hoarding disorder and its prevention, in number it shows that in pre-test there were only 3(5%) samples had adequate knowledge, it became 39(65%) samples after post-test. It implies that the structured teaching program was effective.


Langerhans cell histiocytosis is a rare disease related to aggressive proliferation of histiocytes that could be a multisystem involvement disease. The diagnosis is based on the histopathological finding. Oral findings should carefully be considered when extensive periodontal involvement is seen in comparison to marginal periodontitis.


Hong Kong is an Asian metropolis with a population of approximately seven million. Previous studies on the region concentrate on its history that is marked by radical changes to conclude that the on-going makeovers in the physical environment leave people without a permanence of place. Researchers also say that this fluid history eradicates temporal identity because pre-modernism and post-modernism exist at the same time. This study investigates how to describe and explain the relationship between people and environment in Hong Kong. Six informants who are from Hong Kong and who live in Hong Kong help to portray an image of home that does not agree with earlier studies. By looking at physical and emotional boundaries, expressions, and temporal dimensions, this study shows that people cannot be separated from their environment as both parts constitute the unity of being home. This study therefore concludes that neither the sense of place nor the temporal identity is threatened by the region's history of instability. Rather, the informants express a strong sense of home because of the fast pace of life in Hong Kong.


Induction I was not born to be a mathematician. Like many, I was drawn to mathematics by great teaching. Not that I was encouraged or mentored by supportive and caring teachers—such was not the case. It was instead that I had as teachers some remarkable mathematicians who made the highest expression of mathematical thinking visible and available to be appreciated. This was like listening to fine music with all of its beauty, charm, and sometimes magical surprise. Though not a musician, I felt that this practice of mathematical thinking was something I could pursue with great pleasure and capably so, even if not as a virtuoso. And I had the good fortune to be in a time and place where such pursuits were comfortably encouraged. The watershed event for me was my freshman (honors) calculus course at Princeton. The course was directed by Emil Artin, with his graduate students John Tate and Serge Lang among its teaching assistants. It was essentially a Landau-style course in real analysis (i.e., one taught rigorously from first principles). Several notable mathematics research careers were launched by that course. Amid this cohort of brilliant students, I hardly entertained ideas of an illustrious mathematical future, but I reveled in this ambience of beautiful thinking, and I could think of nothing more satisfying than to remain a part of that world. It was only some fifteen years later that I came to realize that this had not been a more-or-less standard freshman calculus course. Certain mathematical dispositions that were sown in that course remain with me to this day, and influence both my research and my teaching. First is the paramount importance of proofs as the defining source of mathematical truth. A theorem is a distilled product of a proof, but the proof is a mine from which much more may often be profitably extracted. Proof analysis may show that the argument in fact proves much more than the theorem statement captures. Certain hypotheses may not have been, or only weakly, used, and so a stronger conclusion might be drawn from the same argument. Two proofs may be observed to be structurally similar, and so the two theorems can be seen to be special cases of a more unifying claim. The most agreeable proofs explain rather than just establish truth. And the logical narrative clearly distinguishes the illuminating turn from technical routine. Artin himself once reflected on teaching in a review published in 1953.


Therapists working at the eight psycho-oncological centers in the Netherlands (N = 43) were presented a list of 15 problems often encountered during therapy with cancer patients. The therapists were asked to indicate the predominant psychological problems they had dealt with during their five most recently completed interventions. The authors received complete answers from 37 therapists (86%). Anxiety and depression were the two predominant problems most often encountered by therapists during therapy (31% and 29%, respectively). Other problems included relationship problems (23%) and saying farewell to life (21%). In about one half of the cancer patients anxiety and/or depression were not the focus during their therapy.


Background/Aims Intralesional steroid injections have been administered as prophylaxis for stenosis after esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection. However, this method carries a risk of potential complications such as perforation because a fine needle is used to directly puncture the postoperative ulcer. We devised a new method of steroid intralesional infusion using a spray tube and evaluated its efficacy and safety. Methods Intralesional steroid infusion using a spray tube was performed on 27 patients who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection for superficial esophageal cancer with three-quarters or more of the lumen circumference resected. The presence or absence of stenosis, complications, and the number of endoscopic balloon dilations (EBDs) performed were evaluated after treatment. Results Although stenosis was not observed in 22 of the 27 patients, five patients had stenosis and dysphagia requiring EBD. The stenosis in these five patients was relieved after four EBDs. No complications related to intralesional steroid infusion using the spray tube were observed. Conclusions Intralesional steroid infusion using a spray tube is a simple and safe technique that is adequately effective in preventing stenosis (clinical trial number, UMIN000037567).