We present details on how to implement a newly developed methodology, Optical Contour Maximization (OCM), for accurately sizing large DNA molecules. Agarose gel containing stained DNA is cast between a slide and a coverslip, and molecules moved by an applied electrical field are observed using fluorescence microscopy. The molecules of interest lie in the interface formed between the coverslip and gel. DNA movement in this region is largely confined to lateral motions. When a DNA molecule snags an obstacle, it elongates, forming a metastable hook that can persist for several seconds. We found that the longest observed hook contour length can be determined from rapidly collected images. This maximized length shows a linear correlation with reported size [X.H. Guo, E.J. Huff & D.C. Schwartz, Nature 359, 783 (1992)] Successful measurements require a critical balance between the voltage needed for full elongation, and the unwanted effects of too large a voltage: fewer metastable hooks form, they dissipate faster, molecule breakage becomes a problem, and faster image collection becomes necessary. We measured apparent contour length as a function of applied voltage and determined an optimal voltage for our apparatus, using a singly anchored 114kb molecule. The measurement precision is estimated from the distribution of results. We expect that OCM will find utility in physical mapping and molecular karyotyping of lower eucaryotes of medical importance.


In recent decades the immigrant population has increased significantly in Western countries, which not only influences the former culturally but also in their alcohol consumption patterns. The course of immigration can cause social stress, which can lead to uprooting, frustration of their expectations or marginality, which are risk factors for an increase in alcohol consumption, possibly in order to face their different problems. The aims of this study are: to investigate the progression along two years of treatment of a sample of immigrant patients with Alcohol Use Disorder, to compare it with a sample of Spanish natives and to analyze the evolution of immigrant patients according to the geographical area of origin.


In the final week of March 2020, 2.8 million Canadians were away from their usual places of work and engaging in remote and/or telework to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 (Statistics Canada, 2020). The Government of Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) were no exception, with most members from the regular force (Reg F), the primary reserve force (P Res), and the DND public service (DND PS) working from home. The COVID-19 Defence Team Survey was administered from April 29th, 2020, and May 22nd, 2020, to gain insight into work, health, and family-related challenges since the onset of the pandemic and change in work arrangements. Responses from five open-ended questions were qualitatively analyzed to determine general themes of concern regarding work, personal, and family related challenges, stress-management and coping strategies, and recommendations for improving the work situation and personal well-being. Given the different roles and conditions of employment, responses of the different groups or "components" of respondents (Reg F, P Res, DND PS) were compared to identify common and unique challenges to inform targeted organizational responses. A total of 26,207 members (Reg F = 13,668, 52.2%; P Res = 5,052, 19.3%; DND PS = 7,487, 28.6%) responded to the survey's five open-ended questions, which yielded a total of 75,000 open-ended responses. When asked about work-related challenges, respondents' most common challenges included dissatisfaction with technology/software, work arrangements, ergonomics, work-life balance, communication within the organization, and the uncertainties regarding career development. In terms of personal and/or family-related challenges, the most common challenges included social isolation, the impact of the pandemic on mental health, school closures and homeschooling, caring for vulnerable family members, and childcare concerns. The most common stress-management and coping strategies included exercise, spending time outdoors, communicating or spending time with family members, household chores/projects, mind-body wellness exercises, and playing games. The most common recommendations made by respondents to improve their work- or personal-related situations included improving technological capabilities, streamlining communication, providing hardware and software necessary to ensure comfortable ergonomics, the provision of flexibility in terms of telework schedules, return-to-work decisions, and the expansion of benefits and access to childcare services. In terms of differences among the components, DND PS personnel were most likely to report dissatisfaction with technological changes and ergonomics, and to recommend improving these technological limitations to maximize productivity. Reg F members, on the other hand, were most likely to recommend increased support and access to childcare, and both Reg F and P Res members were more likely to mention that increased benefits and entitlements in response to the COVID-19 pandemic would be ameliorative. The results of this study highlight several important facts about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on personnel working in large, diverse organizations. For example, advancements in organizational technological capabilities were highlighted herein, and these are likely to grow to maintain productivity should remote work come to be used more extensively in the long-term. This study also highlighted the importance of flexibility and accommodation in relation to individual needs – a trend that was already underway but has taken on greater relevance and urgency in light of the pandemic. This is clearly essential to the organization's role in supporting the well-being of personnel and their families. Clear and streamlined communication regarding organizational changes and support services is also essential to minimize uncertainty and to provide useful supports for coping with this and other stressful situations.


Ten almond varieties and three experimental peach-almond hybrids were evaluated for their reactions against M. arenaria, M. incognita, M. javanica, M. hapla, and Pratylenchus vulnus. In a first experiment, four almond varieties commonly used as rootstocks in Spain were susceptible to M. incognita, M. arenaria, and M. hapla. In a second experiment, the almond D-3-5, and the hybrids G x N No 9 and Cachirulo showed varying degrees of resistance to M. javanica. The remaining cultivars were susceptible to M. javanica. In a third experiment, all tested materials were good hosts of P vulnus. The peach-almond hybrid G x N No 1, highly resistant to several species of root-knot nematodes, had the highest level of parasitism by P vulnus. In an histological study, P vulnus colonized extensively the cortical parenchyma of the roots of Garrigues, Garfi and G x N No 1 forming large pockets that contained all stages of the nematode as well as cavities.


This report documents the elasticities that are available in the Trade Liberalization (TUB) database, which are used by the Static World Policy Simulation (SWOPSIM) framework for generating TLIB models. The price elasticities of supply and demand are the key elements of models created from the TLIB database because these elasticities summarize the supply and demand behavior of each country to a price change as a result of a change in government policy. Various sources of elasticities have been used to compile a set of elasticities consistent with the data in the database.


In this paper, we introduces a new type of line-shaped image representation, named semantic line segment (Sem-LS) and focus on solving its detection problem. Sem-LS contains high-level semantics and is a compact scene representation where only visually salient line segments with stable semantics are preserved. Combined with high-level semantics, Sem-LS is more robust under cluttered environment compared with existing line-shaped representations. The compactness of Sem-LS facilitates its use in large-scale applications, such as city-scale SLAM (simultaneously localization and mapping) and LCD (loop closure detection). Sem-LS detection is a challenging task due to its significantly different appearance from existing learning-based image representations such as wireframes and objects. For further investigation, we first label Sem-LS on two well-known datasets, KITTI and KAIST URBAN, as new benchmarks. Then, we propose a learning-based Sem-LS detector (Sem-LSD) and devise new module as well as metrics to address unique challenges in Sem-LS detection. Experimental results have shown both the efficacy and efficiency of Sem-LSD. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed Sem-LS is supported by two experiments on detector repeatability and a city-scale LCD problem. Labeled datasets and code will be released shortly.


This paper presents a low-noise reset technique of an asynchronous charge-pulse-detecting pixel for single-photon X-ray imaging. The proposed slow-slope ramp (S2R) reset scheme provides a reset-noise-discharging loop circuit and effectively eliminates the residual noise charge stored on the sampling capacitor by extending the falling transition time of the reset signal. In addition, the presented S2R reset signal generation circuit accurately and effectively controls the optimum switching voltage and the falling transition time of the reset signal. The prototype detector chip was implemented by using a 130-nm complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. With the quantitative analysis and the measurement results, we were able to verify that the reset noise was reduced exponentially, corresponding to the falling transition time of the reset signal. Based on the chip measurement results, the reset-noise level could be decreased by more than seven-fold by virtue of the proposed reset technique.


Depression is a highly prevalent disorder of affect characterized by persistent sadness or anhedonia (an inability to experience pleasure), typically accompanied by additional symptoms such as negative cognitions (selfperceptions of failure, feelings of guilt, and/or suicidal thoughts), somatic dysfunction (fatigue, loss of appetite, fatigue, disturbances in sleep), and impairment in daily functioning (e.g., indecisiveness) (Gelfand & Teti, 1990). When such a symptom pattern persists for at least two consecutive weeks and is not accompanied by period manic swings, the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) identifies it as a major depressive episode (MDD). A formal DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of MDD can be given for a single major depressive episode, or for multiple, recurring episodes over time, which is common. Other depressive disorders identified in DSM-IV-TR include dysthymic disorder, and adjustment disorder with depressed mood.


This article reflects upon the subject of multilevel governance for sustainability, and in particular upon the challenges facing a move to an ethic of genuine ecological sustainability posed by the reductionism of corporate capitalism, using the corporate colonisation of international human rights law as a salutary example for reflection.


Summary. Microparticles have been prepared from human and animal plateletfree plasma by dilution of the plasma to lower the specific gravity followed by high‐speed ultracentrifugation. The protein, cholesterol, and phospholipid content (and cholesterol‐phospholipid ratios) of these microparticles have been determined and compared with values obtained with whole platelet homogenates and various isolated platelet subcellular fractions. Immunological investigations on the microparticles and on the density gradient fractions of platelet homogenates suggest that the particles may have their origin either in the surface membrane or within the intracellular membrane structures of the blood platelets. The microparticles have an associated ATP‐ase activity which, though lower in specific activity than isolated platelet 'contractile protein' (thrombosthenin), has similar characteristics in response to divalent cations, mersalyl and ouabain. Thrombosthenin antisera and antisera to the microparticles both inhibit clot retraction in vitro at high dilution and also inhibit the Mg2+ ATP‐ase activity of platelet homogenates and platelet thrombosthenin. When tested against platelet subcellular fractions from sucrose density gradients both these antisera showed precipitating antibodies to the low density membrane fraction. This fraction consists almost entirely of small vesiculated and larger sheet membrane fragments. In ultrastructure, the microparticles resemble the fine granular material present in the interior of thin‐walled sacs which may often be seen in electron‐micrographs prepared from fresh platelets. These sacs are believed to be the result of either budding of the pseudopodia or herniation of the cytoplasmic contents through the platelet wall.


With the development of the internet and multimedia technology digital video encryption has attracted a great deal of research interest in the recent few years in applications. In this paper, we propose a method to encrypt video data. The proposed algorithm is based on the MPEG video coding standard. It selectively encrypts some DCT coefficients in the I frame, B frame and P frame in MPEG video compression by using chaotic systems. The key in this paper is chaotic sequence based on logistic mapping. It can produce the pseudo-random sequences with good randomness. The experimental results based on chaotic maps prove the effectiveness of the proposed method, showing advantages of large key space and high-level security. The proposed algorithm was measured through a series of tests and achieved good results. The results indicate that the algorithm can be implemented for video encryption efficiently and it provides considerable levels of security.


Multiphase nanocomposites based on epoxy resin loaded with 1 wt% of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and different amounts of hydrotalcite clay (HT) are experimentally characterized in order to investigate their possible usage as temperature sensors and/or heating elements. In particular, the effects of clay content on the temperature dependence of the electrical and thermal properties of the samples are investigated. Moderate clay content (0.7% or 1% by weight) induces an improvement of the electrical and thermal conductivities, thus allowing to achieve fixed heating power levels with applied voltages lower than those required for MWCNT filled epoxy systems. The operating temperatures can be designed to be lower than that the glass transition reducing the risk of material degradation. Furthermore, the presence of clay increases the sensitivity compared to the (binary) MWCNT-based composites. The proposed multiphase nanocomposites could be used for the deicing of aircraft structural parts, in small boilers, floor pipes, and so on.


This study explores the importance o f Key Account Management and the value it brings to the buyer-seller relationship. The study examines past and current literature in the areas o f Key Account Management and Relationship Marketing. The nature o f this study is exploratory. The research consisted o f a combination of primary and secondary research. Primary data was collected from 125 questionnaires and ten in-depth interviews with key account managers and buyers. The secondary data was attained from business libraries academic journals, textbooks within the relevant area and library electronic databases o f the internet. The primary research uncovered a number o f key findings. Findings confirm the importance and value opportunities o f Key Account Management to buyers and sellers. Findings also confirmed the significant role the KAM plays in building and maintaining the buyer-seller relationship primarily through the provision of high quality customer service and support to their key accounts. The value of organisational support, trust and commitment and regular communication in developing and maintaining a successful longterm buyer-seller relationship was also identified. The study concludes by arriving at conclusions to the overall research objective and five supporting research objectives. Recommendations are then presented for further research in the area o f KAM. Suggestions include increasing the amount o f customers research the selling company carry's out to improve understanding of the buyer, their needs and value requirements, improving the value delivered to the customer.


Wikipedia holds an ambiguous position in information literacy instruction. Long the go-to example of an untrustworthy online source to avoid, librarians are increasingly using it to illustrate the application of a variety of information literacy concepts. Beginning in Fall 2017, students enrolled in a credit-bearing information literacy course at Cal Poly Pomona were given as a final project, a Wikipedia stub (a basic, incomplete article) and assigned to apply the concepts they had been taught throughout the semester to add information, sources and images, in order to "improve" it. This paper discusses the incorporation of Wikipedia into a credit-bearing course as a form of project-based learning, the development of the course final over several quarters/semesters of class, the benefits and drawbacks of the use of online tutorials and observation of the results of student engagement with the assignment.


A common approach to the analysis of longitudinal patient reported outcomes (PROs) is the use of summary measures such as area under the time curve (AUC). However, it is not clear how missing data affects the validity of AUC analysis. This study aimed to compare the use of AUC summary measures (in individuals) with AUC summary statistics (on groups, calculated from the estimated parameters of a mixed model) when data are complete, missing at random, and missing not at random. A simulation experiment based on a two-armed randomized trial was carried out to investigate the precision and bias of AUC in longitudinal analysis where missingness, trajectory, and missingness allocation were varied. Summary measures AUC with ad hoc approaches to missing data were compared with mixed model AUC summary statistics. AUC summary statistics were consistently superior to AUC summary measures in terms of precision and bias. The bias of AUC summary statistic approach was very small, even when data were missing not at random and when differential attrition between groups existed. AUC summary measures on individuals should not be used to analyze longitudinal PRO data in the presence of missing data.


Background Reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) during immunosuppressive therapy (IST) can lead to severe and even fatal hepatitis but can be largely prevented with prophylactic antiviral therapy. Screening for HBV prior to starting IST is recommended. Both risk-based and universal screening have been recommended by different societies. For effective risk-based screening, physicians must be aware of risk factors for chronic HBV infection. Methods The HBV screening practices prior to starting IST of rheumatologists, medical and hematological oncologists were evaluated by survey and chart review. Country of origin, the primary risk factor for HBV exposure, was determined in all patients. Results Of 140 rheumatology, 79 medical oncology and 53 hematology patients reviewed, 81%, 11% and 81% were deemed to be at high risk of HBV reactivation by their physicians respectively, however only 27%, 6% and 62% (p<0.0001) were actually screened for HBV prior to starting IST. For patients from HBV-endemic regions, more hematology patients (53%) were correctly identified by their physicians as being at high risk of reactivation than rheumatology patients (2.4%, p=0.0001) or medical oncology patients (15%, p=0.009). However actual screening rates were not increased in patients from endemic regions. A total of 81 patients were screened for HBsAg; 2 were positive. Of the 33 patients screened for anti-HBc, 10 (30%) were positive. Conclusions Hematologists, rheumatologists and medical oncologists had low rates of screening for HBV prior to prescribing IST, largely due to poor identification of those at risk for infection. Risk-based screening strategies are unlikely to be effective and should be replaced by universal screening.


This paper examines to what extent the 2011 EU-wide bank stress test provided the market with new information. The intention is to conclude whether the European banking sector should be considered opaque or not. This is done by studying the credit default swap market and the equity market using event-study methodologies. Three different groups will be observed: i) the stress tested banks ii) a sample consisting of small banks and iii) a sample consisting of large banks. The empirical evidence suggests that the stress test was fairly informative to the market generally.. However, the results are much more distinct in the CDS market than in the equity market. These findings support the fact that the degree of bank opacity in the European region should be considered at least intermediate.


ABSTRACT In the treatment of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), the use of prophylactic antibiotics is most often the first treatment option in children with grades I–IV VUR. Both the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials have accelerated the appearance and spread of antibiotic resistance. There is a lack of controlled studies that address the role and efficacy of prophylactic antibiotic use in the VUR population. Physicians may also be pressured to prescribe antibiotic therapy by patients even in the absence of appropriate indications for use. However, patient reported compliance is often far lower than clinically documented compliance. The associated disadvantages of prophylactic antibiotic use include the development of antimicrobial resistance and patient noncompliance which begs for a re-evaluation of current management patterns of VUR. Considering questionable evidence supporting the use of traditional therapies, new innovations, including endoscopic injection, should be considered as an alternative.


The purpose of this study is to investigate the business cycle volatility of Turkish economy using the quarterly data over the period 1961:Q1 to 2018:Q4 and to determine the smoothing parameter, λ, of HP filter for annual frequency of observations. The macroeconomic variables such as import, investment and export are more volatile followed by government spending; while consumption and real GDP are less volatile. Price in Turkey is highly volatile, which is about four times as volatile as the average price volatility of South Africa, Japan and USA. Output, consumption and investment in Turkey are twice as volatile as the average volatility of South Africa, Japan and USA. Import and export are more volatile in emerging economies as compared to developed countries. The trend component of annual frequency with λ_annual=6.25 is practically identical to the trend component of the quarterly data with λ_quarterly=1600. In Turkish economy, investment, consumption, import, export, and government spending are procyclical; price and inflation are countercyclical; whereas, the share of government consumption in output is acyclical.

 Key words: Business cycle, correlation, Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filters, macroeconomic variables, volatility.


Quality agricultural products are assuming an increasingly important role in European Union (EU) agricultural and food policies. The potential for differentiating quality products and services on a regional basis has been recognised and legislation has been introduced for protecting the geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and quality foodstuffs. Today, marketing strategies for quality products attempt to explore these new opportunities, trying to build on the products' reputation and the image of their region of origin. This study employs a dichotomous choice model to identify the socio‐economic characteristics that influence Greek consumers' willingness to pay for an origin labelled wine. The results indicate that wine consumers' willingness to pay varies only according to social and demographic characteristics. Furthermore, the mean willingness to pay was estimated using two alternative econometric specifications of the dichotomous choice model. We have found that non‐quality wine consumers are willing to pay double the price of a bottle of normal table wine if the alternative provides for a guarantee of the place of origin of the wine. Their decision is found to be dependent only upon education and affiliation with the place of origin. The model specifications are compared and useful conclusions referring to price policy for origin labelled wines and their marketing are drawn.


Abstract An increasing number of studies have investigated soil microbial biodiversity. However, the mechanisms regulating plant responses to soil microbiota are largely unknown. A previous work tested the hypothesis that tomato plants grown on native soils with their complex microbiotas respond differently from tomato growing in a sterile substrate. Two soils, suppressive or conducive to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL), and two genotypes susceptible and resistant to the same pathogen were considered. The work highlighted that the two tested soil microbiotas, irrespectively of their taxonomic composition, elicit the PAMP-triggered Immunity Pathway, the first level of plant defence, as well as an increased lignin synthesis, leading to an active protection when FOL is present in the soil. Here, we tested the expression of a panel of genes involved in Effector-Triggered Immunity (ETI), demonstrating that soil microbiota, beside genotype, affects plant resistance to FOL also modulating this pathway.


The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the association between preoperative serological and clinical indicators and postoperative recovery in patients who had undergone resection of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). We collected data form the medical records of patients who underwent operations for the treatment of ICC at Qingdao University Affiliated Hospital from 2015 to 2021. We analyzed the data to explore the independent predictors of disease prognosis after surgery for ICC. By univariate analysis, we found that the following factors were significantly associated with overall survival and tumor-free survival in patients with ICC: TNM stage; degree of vascular invasion; levels of hemoglobin, carcinoembryonic antigen, carbohydrate antigen 125, direct bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, and albumin; prothrombin time; neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio; prothrombin time to albumin ratio; albumin to alkaline phosphatase ratio; albumin to gamma-glutamyl transferase ratio; prognostic nutrition Index, and incisional margin. However, only carbohydrate antigen 24-2 and glutamyl transpeptidase were correlated with overall survival in patients with ICC. However, only a positive history of biliary surgery was significantly associated with tumor-free survival in patients with ICC. Preoperative prothrombin time, vascular invasion, N-stage, incisal edge, and carcinoembryonic antigen levels may be simple predictors of disease progression in ICC after hepatectomy.


3 ABSTRACT: In image processing, an efficient method of removing noise from the images, before processing them for further analysis is a great challenge for the researchers. Image denoising occurs due to transmission channel error, camera misfocus, atmospheric turbulence, relative object camera motion etc…Such degradations are unavoidable while a scene is captured through a camera. Restoration of such image is a extremely essential in many practical applications. Image denoising involves the manipulation of the image data to produce a visually high quality image. The kind of noise removal algorithms to remove the noise depends on the type of noise that occur during transmission and capturing .To remove these types of noise we have many filters like mean filter, median ,inverse filter,weiner filter,psudeo inverse filter. No single filter can remove both type of noise. In this paper various special types of noises applying to image and investigates the result of noise reduction techniques by applying the various filter.


We present a new climatology of monthly air-sea oxygen fluxes throughout the ice-free surface global ocean. The climatology is based on weighted linear least squares regressions using heat flux monthly anomalies for spatial and temporal interpolation of historical O2 data. The seasonal oceanic variations show that the tropical belt (20°S-20°N) is characterized by relatively small air-sea fluxes when compared to the middle to high latitudes (40°–70°). The largest and lowest seasonal fluxes occur during summer and winter in both hemispheres. By means of an atmospheric transport model we show that our climatology is in better agreement with the observed amplitude and phasing of the variations in atmospheric O2/N2 ratios because of seasonal air-sea exchanges at baseline stations in the Pacific Ocean than with previous air-sea O2 climatologies. Our study indicates that the component of the air-sea O2 flux that correlates with heat flux dominates the large-scale air-sea O2 exchange on seasonal timescales. The contribution of each major oceanic basin to the atmospheric observations is described. The seasonal net thermal (SNOT) and biological (SNOB) outgassing components of the flux are examined in relation to latitudinal bands, basin-wide, and hemispheric contributions. The Southern Hemisphere's SNOB (∼0.26 Pmol) and SNOT (∼0.29 Pmol) values are larger than the Northern Hemisphere's SNOB (∼0.15 Pmol) and SNOT (∼0.16 Pmol) values (1 Pmol = 1015 mol). We estimate a global extratropical carbon new production during the outgassing season of 3.7 Pg C (1 Pg = 1015 g), lower than previous estimates with air-sea O2 climatologies.


Virtual environments present researchers with a range of methodological considerations, both new and old. With the advent of embodied online worlds, experiences with distributed presence, anonymity and multiple modes of engagement increasingly have become the norm. Avatars and their textual counterparts lead us to critically encounter how research can be most meaningfully handled given a terrain in which users are actually embodying themselves digitally, and often in multivalent ways. This article discusses some of the theoretical issues at stake in this form of research, as well as providing several grounded practices to help methodologically negotiate virtual worlds.


Nitric oxide (NO) synthesis during experimental endotoxemia has been shown to have both deleterious and beneficial effects. In the present study, we analyzed the in vivo production and the regulatory role of NO in the shock syndrome induced by staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) in mice. First, we found that intraperitoneal administration of 100 micrograms SEB in BALB/c mice induced a massive synthesis of NO as indicated by high serum levels of nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-) peaking 16 h after SEB injection. The inhibition of NO2- and NO3- release in mice injected with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and/or anti-interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) monoclonal antibody (mAb) before SEB challenge revealed that both cytokines were involved in SEB-induced NO overproduction. In vitro experiments indicated that NO synthase (NOS) inhibition by N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) enhanced IFN- gamma and TNF production by splenocytes in response to SEB. A similar effect was observed in vivo as treatment of mice with L-NAME resulted in increased IFN-gamma and TNF serum levels 24 h after SEB challenge, together with persistent expression of corresponding cytokine mRNA in spleen. The prolonged production of inflammatory cytokines in mice receiving L-NAME and SEB was associated with a 95% mortality rate within 96 h, whereas all mice survived injections of SEB or L-NAME alone. Both TNF and INF-gamma were responsible for the lethality induced by SEB in L-NAME-treated mice as shown by the protection provided by simultaneous administration of anti-IFN-gamma and anti-TNF mAbs. We conclude the SEB induces NO synthesis in vivo and that endogenous NO has protective effects in this model of T cell-dependent shock by downregulating IFN-gamma and TNF production.


Among the old and new controversies over brain death, none is more fundamental than whether brain death is equivalent to the biological phenomenon of human death. Here, I defend this equivalency by offering a brief conceptual justification for this view of brain death, a subject that Andrew Huang and I recently analyzed elsewhere in greater detail. My defense of the concept of brain death has evolved since Bernard Gert, Charles Culver, and I first addressed it in 1981, a development that paralleled advances in intensive care unit treatment. The century-old concept of the organism as a whole provides the fundamental justification for the equivalency of brain death and human death. In our technological age, in which increasing numbers of components and systems of an organism can be kept alive, and for longer intervals, the permanent cessation of functioning of the organism as a whole is the phenomenon that best corresponds to its death.


In this paper, we propose a novel method for text detection in natural scenes. Gradient Vector Flow is first used to extract both intra-character and inter-character symmetries. In the second step, we group horizontally aligned symmetry components into text lines based on several constraints on sizes, positions and colors. Finally, to remove false positives, we employ a learning-based approach which makes use of Histogram of Oriented Gradients feature. The main advantage of the proposed method lies in the use of both the text features and the gap (i.e., inter-character) features. Existing techniques typically extract only the former and ignore the latter. Experiments on the benchmark ICDAR 2003 dataset show the good detection performance of our method on natural scene text.


This study was undertaken during 2022 in the Regional Research Center of ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Anand, Gujarat, India to study the present status and potential in the development of freshwater aquaculture in the state of Gujarat. The present seed production (2608.37 million fry) and Inland fish production (0.158  MT) in Gujarat is forecasted to reach 3100 million fry and 0.22 MT in 2030; 4600 million fry  and 3.14 MT in 2050, respectively. The Regional Research station of ICAR-CIFA had contributed significantly in promoting aquaculture by imparting skill training and providing technical backup to fish farmers. Authors argue that in order to further develop freshwater aquaculture value chain, concerted efforts are required to disseminate technology packages for fish breeding and seed rearing, semi-intensive culture practices, diversified fish farming, scientific management (fish feed and nutrition, water quality and fish health), ornamental fish farming, pearl production and cluster-based fish farming. However, successful implementation of suggested points will be depending on the sustainable adaptive capacity of the freshwater aquaculture producers, entrepreneurs, strategies and planning of policy makers and line departments of various state departments, input dealers and buyers in the state of Gujarat. Hence, they need to be supported in terms of skill, policy and market towards establishing a vibrant fish value chain. Therefore, adoption of BMPs, nurturing entrepreneurs, aggregating farmers and strengthening extension services are recommended.


Insight into instabilities of fiber laser regimes leading to complex self-pulsing operations is an opportunity to unlock the high power and dynamic operation tunability of lasers. Though many models have been suggested, there is no complete covering of self-pulsing complexity observed experimentally. Here, I further generalized our previous vector model of erbium-doped fiber laser and, for the first time, to the best of my knowledge, map tunability of complex vector self-pulsing on Poincare sphere (limit cycles and double scroll polarization attractors) for laser parameters, e.g., power, ellipticity of the pump wave, and in-cavity birefringence. Analysis validated by extensive numerical simulations demonstrates good correspondence to the experimental results on complex self-pulsing regimes obtained by many authors during the last 20 years.


The wave formulation of the impulse approximation has been applied to the case of electron capture into the ground, 2s and 2p excited states of hydrogen in collisions between protons and alkali-metal atoms sodium, potassium, rubidium and caesium. The transition matrix elements have been numerically calculated and used to determine the differential and integral cross sections for charge transfer for incident energy varying between 50 and 500 keV. Wherever possible the results have been compared with other available results.


We determine the dispersion relation for a fluid bilayer membrane, taking into account the coupling between bending and the local density of the two monolayers. Apart from important corrections to the conventional bending mode, we obtain a second slow mode which is essentially a fluctuation in the density difference of the two monolayers, damped by inter-monolayer friction. Estimates for a stack of membranes show reasonable agreement with a recent spin-echo study of membrane undulations.


Jewish magic is thriving in present-day Israel, in spite of the supposed disenchantment of the modern world. To see how it survived from Antiquity and the Middle Ages to our own days, this essay surveys the development of Jewish magic in the modern period. It begins with the Jews of Europe, where the printing of books of popular medicine and "practical Kabbalah," and the Enlightenment's war on magic, led to the transformation and marginalization of many Jewish magical texts and practices, but did not entirely eradicate them. It then turns to the Jews of the Islamicate world, who were much less exposed to the impact of printing or the ideology of Enlightenment, and whose magical tradition therefor remained much more conservative than that of their European brethren. When the Jews of many Jewish communities finally met, before and especially after the establishment of the Jewish State, the Jews of European origin tried to disenchant the world of their "Oriental" brothers, but were only partly successful in this endeavor. And with the rise of postmodern cultural sensitivities, and of New Age religiosities, even this attempt was mostly abandoned, and the Jewish magical tradition is now more vigorous, and more visible, than the founders of Zionism would ever have imagined. Finally, while claiming that in the Jewish case modernity did not lead to the disenchantment of the world, this essay also claims that the same might be true of other magical traditions, whose history often was neglected by historians of Western esotericism.


We describe a comprehensive model for the optical properties of pristine films of poly-(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). The presented model is anisotropic with the optical axis normal to the substrate plane, which is consistent with previous x-ray diffraction studies that show preferential edge-on packing of the polymer chains on the substrate. Peak locations and spacings are defined using a Huang-Rhys vibronic progression consistent with known phonon energies. We demonstrate that the model fits variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry and normal-incidence transmission data well, and accurately predicts angle- and polarization-dependent transmission and reflection data. The spectral features of the optical constants used in the model are in excellent agreement with published spectroscopic data on P3HT. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2010


A semiempirical Langmuir probe model is introduced that is particularly adapted to high-energy-density cutting arcs, for which, as we have shown in part I, the ion current collected by negatively biased probes shows no plateau in the ion branch of the current-voltage (I-V) probe characteristic, and the signal amplitude is independent of the probe radius. According to the model, the ion drag due to the high-velocity plasma flow around the probe limits the effectively collecting area to a small fraction of the probe surface. If, according to the experimental evidence, this fraction is made independent of the probe radius, then its value results proportional to the probe bias, and so no plateau is found, at least as long as the collecting area is less than (half) the probe surface, which happens only at rather high probe bias. The model requires the determination of the function relating the electric field (in the region between the unperturbed plasma and the space-charge sheath close to the probe) to the parameters of the problem. Dimensional analysis together with empirical information allow to restrict the form of this function to leave only an auxiliary dimensionless function, which can be argued to be practically constant and whose value can be determined between rather tight bounds. As an example, radial profiles of plasma temperature and density are obtained by applying the proposed model to the experimental values of a I-V probe characteristic obtained in part I. The derived temperature profile is in good agreement with a previous published numerical simulation for a similar cutting torch.


Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor with limited treatment options and poor prognosis. In recent years, molecular research has provided valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms of GBM, uncovering key molecular alterations and signaling pathways that drive tumor development and progression. Driver mutations play a critical role in the pathogenesis of glioblastoma (GBM), influencing tumor initiation, growth, and therapeutic response. Among the key driver mutations identified in GBM, the prominent example is the mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene. Dysregulated signaling pathways, including the PI3K/Akt/mTOR, the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK, and the NOTCH pathway play a critical role in cell proliferation, survival, and invasion in GBM. Epigenetic modifications contribute to tumor initiation, repression of the tumor suppressor genes, and therapy resistance. Global DNA hypomethylation, site-specific hypermethylation, histone deacetylase, microRNAs (miRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are the most common epigenetic modifications. Immune checkpoints, such as programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) are upregulated, leading to T-cell exhaustion and impaired antitumor immune responses. The molecular classification systems have provided a more refined understanding of GBM biology, have important implications for personalized treatment strategies, play a role in guiding clinical trials designed to specifically target and evaluate novel therapies in patients with specific molecular subtypes, and hold promise for predicting treatment response. The identification of molecular subtypes can be associated with different treatment decisions.


Background: Psychiatric disorders are estimated to affect 10-20% of children and adolescents annually, globally, yet psychiatric services for children take a back seat when compared to adults in developing countries.
Aim and objectives:The objective of our study was to find the pattern of psychiatric morbidity in children and adolescents at the child and adolescent outpatient service of a tertiary care hospital.
Material and Method:A semi structured questionnaire was used to record the socio demographic status. The state of mental health and psychiatric morbidity was assessed after a thorough clinical assessment. Intelligence quotient was assessed by a clinical psychologist as and when needed. All the diagnoses were made on the basis of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV TR) criteria.
Results:A total of 476 patients were included in the study. Majority of the patients belonged to 6-16 years age group (83.61%). Number of boys affected were nearly twice (67.01%) than the girls (32.98%). 75.2% of patients were from Urban background. Mental retardation (36.5%) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (17.9%) were the most frequent diagnoses followed by behavioral disorders (10.7%) and Attention deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) (9.7%).
Conclusion:Psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents are ubiquitous and burdensome. Our study indicates the importance of identification and subsequently developing management policies of psychiatric conditions among pediatric population.


E-learning technologies have allowed authoring and playback of standardized reusable learning objects (RLO) for several years. Effective mobile learning requires similar functionality at both design time and runtime. Mobile devices can play RLO using applications like SMILE, mobile access to a learning management system (LMS), or other systems which deploy content to mobile learners (Castillo & Ayala, 2008; Chu, Hwang, & Tseng, 2010; Hsu & Chen, 2010; Nakabayashi, 2009; Zualkernan, Nikkhah, & Al-Sabah, 2009). However, implementations which author content in a mobile context do not typically permit reuse across multiple contexts due to a lack of standardization. Standards based (IMS and SCORM) authoring implementations exist for non-mobile platforms (Gonzalez-Barbone & Anido-Rifon, 2008; Griffiths, Beauvoir, Liber, & Barrett-Baxendale, 2009; Tellez, 2010; Yang, Chiu, Tsai, & Wu, 2004). However, this paradigm precludes capturing learning where and when it occurs. Consequently, RLO authored for e-learning lack learner generated content, especially with timely, relevant, and location aware examples.


This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of Glutamine, as a dipeptide or a free amino acid form, on the progression of burn injuries in rats. Thirty male Wistar rats were burned with a comb metal plate heated in boiling water (98 °C) for three minutes, creating four rectangular full-thickness burn areas separated by three unburned interspaces (zone of stasis) in both dorsum sides. The animals were randomized into three groups (n=10): saline solution (G1-Control) and treated groups that orally received Glutamine as dipeptide (G2-Dip) or free amino acid (G3-FreeAA). Two and seven days after burn injury, lesions were photographed for unburned interspaces necrosis evolution assessment. Seven days after injury, glutathione seric was measured and histopathological analysis was performed. By photographs, there was a significant reduction in necrosis progression in G3-Free-AA between days two and seven. Histopathological analysis at day 7 showed a significantly higher stasis zone without necrosis and a higher number of fibroblasts in G2-Dip and G3-FreeAA compared with G1-Control. Also, glutathione serum dosage was higher in G2-Dip. The plasmatic glutathione levels were higher in the G2-Dip than the G1-Control, and there was a trend to higher levels in G3-FreeAA. The reduction in histological lesions, greater production of fibroblasts, and greater amounts of glutathione may have benefited the evolution of burn necrosis, which showed greater preservation of interspaces.


This paper uses a cohort microsimulation model to analyse intragenerational distributional effects of a shift from a defined benefit pay‐as‐you‐go pension system that includes flat rate component and length of pensionable service component to a pension system with contribution based insurance components in the PAYG scheme and an additional compulsory funded pension scheme. Estonia was among the first European countries to shift partially from a pure PAYG scheme to fully funded financing in 2002. In addition, contribution points reflecting total life‐time earnings were introduced into the PAYG scheme in 1999.We use the contribution history for 1999‐2010 and information on the participation in the funded pension scheme of a full cohort of men, born in 1980, from the Estonian National Social Insurance Board to simulate the distribution of future pensions under alternative pension schemes taking into account economic and demographic changes. Our results show that in case of large inequality of labour earnings and high long‐term unemployment rates, such as in Estonia, introduction of very strong link between contributions and future pensions leads to considerably higher inequality of pensions.Simulation results suggest that the inequality of old‐age pensions more than doubles when the reforms mature. The inequality in replacement rates on the other hand decreases.


COYOTE is a finite element computer program designed for the solution of two-dimensional, nonlinear heat conduction problems. The theoretical and mathematical basis used to develop the code is described. Program capabilities and complete user instructions are presented. Several example problems are described in detail to demonstrate the use of the program.


Controlling the crystal orientation of organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites is crucial in tuning the optoelectronic properties and improving the device performance. Herein, the favored crystal orientation of MAPbI3 perovskite is finely tuned by additive engineering for carbon based printable mesoscopic perovskite solar cells (PSCs). By introducing biguanide hydrochloride (BH), the out-of-plane crystal orientation of perovskite film is notably enhanced along the (001) and (002) crystal plane, which affects charge transportation and collection properties of perovskite films. More importantly, the BH added perovskite has the most appropriate energy level. Under the optimized condition, the hole-conductor free printable mesoscopic PSCs deliver a champion power conversion efficiency of 16.35% by introducing a 30% molar ratio of BH. The unsealed device retains 98% of its original PCE after 2500 h storage in air with humidity of 50 ± 5%. The results provide a novel and effective approach toward fabricating highly efficient and stable PSCs for future commercialization.


Abstract This article details audiences' responses to Outdoors (2011–2012), the first U.K. commission for contemporary performance company Rimini Protokoll. Collaborating with Wales' brand new English language national theatre, 13 members of a Welsh community choir were asked to film a series of narrated journeys around the town of Aberystwyth. By watching choir members' pre-recorded videos and listening to their memories, audiences followed the lead of these absent performers around town. Drawing on findings from The National Theatre Wales Audience Research project, this article asks how participants managed their performative engagements with Aberystwyth, which was simultaneously presented on iPod screens and experienced as a guided tour. It argues that audiences' mediated engagements were a process of simultaneous remembering and forgetting: a dual-perceptive balancing act in which feelings of immersion and distance were processed contemporaneously. While Aberystwyth was presented by Outdoors as a place twice lost, audiences' responses suggested that the experience of place hadn't quite been found.


Isoquinoline alkaloids may have a wide range of pharmacological activities. Some of them have acetylcholinesterase activity inhibition. Nowadays, neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease have become a serious public health problem. Searching for new effective compounds with inhibited acetylcholinesterase activity is one of the most significant challenges of modern scientific research. The aim of this study was the in vitro investigation of acetylcholinesterase activity inhibition of extracts obtained from Sanguinaria canadensis collected before, during and after flowering. The acetylcholinesterase activity inhibition of these extracts has not been previously tested. The aim was also to quantify selected alkaloids in the investigated extracts by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The analyses of alkaloid content were performed using HPLC in reversed phase (RP) mode using Polar RP column and mobile phase containing acetonitrile, water and ionic liquid (IL). The acetylcholinesterase activity inhibition of the tested plant extracts and respective alkaloid standards were examined using high performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) for the quantification of 5-thio-2-nitro-benzoic acid, which is the product of the reaction between the thiocholine (product of the hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine reaction) with Ellman reagent. The application of the HPLC method allowed for elimination of absorption of interfering components, for example, alkaloids such as sanguinarine and berberine. It is revealed that the HPLC method can be successfully used for the evaluation of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity in samples such as plant extracts, especially those containing colored components adsorbing at wavelength in the range 405–412 nm. The acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity synergy of pairs of alkaloid standards and mixture of all investigated alkaloids was also determined. Most investigated alkaloids and all Sanguinaria canadensis extracts exhibited very high acetylcholinesterase activity inhibition. IC50 values obtained for alkaloid standards were from 0.36 for berberine to 23.13 µg/mL for protopine and from 61.24 to 89.14 µg/mL for Sanguinaria canadensis extracts. Our investigations demonstrated that these plant extracts can be recommended for further in vivo experiments to confirm their acetylcholinesterase activity inhibition.


ABSTRACT Purpose To describe our experience with retroauricular myoperiosteal autograft for surgical coverage of exposed orbital implants. Methods This was a single-center, retrospective, observational cohort study, in which demographic and clinical data were compiled by reviewing the clinical records of anophthalmic patients with implant exposure treated with an autogenous retroauricular myoperiosteal graft at the Instituto de Microcirugía Ocular (IMO, Barcelona, Spain) over the period January 2007 to December 2017. Main outcome was the long-term coverage of implant after retroauricular myoperiosteal autograft; secondary outcome was the rate of post-surgical complications and management. Results Over the 11-year period, 27 eyes of 27 patients with implant exposure received a retroauricular myoperiosteal autograft. Mean participant age was 47.3 ± 17.9 years (range 9–78, median 45). Primary surgery was enucleation in 8 eyes (29.6%) and evisceration in 19 (70.4%). Implant materials were porous polyethylene in 17 (63%), hydroxyapatite in 3 (11.1%), and bioceramics in 4 (14.8%). In the remaining three patients (11.1%), the implant material and size were unknown. Implant exposure was diagnosed after a mean of 98 ± 111.7 months. Mean exposure diameter was 5.9 ± 3.1 mm. Mean follow-up duration after graft surgery was 37.5 ± 39 months. In four patients (14.8%), implant re-exposure was recorded and in two of these patients a re-graft using the same technique was performed. In the last follow-up session, all patients showed good implant coverage. Conclusions Myoperiosteal graft could be a valid option for the long-term management of implant exposure irrespective of primary surgery, exposed area, and implant material.


Living in damp buildings has been associated with airway symptoms, suspected to be due to inflammatory reactions. The relationship between home exposure to mould and signs of inflammation was, therefore, studied. Nonsmoking subjects with a high (G-high, >4.0 ng·m−3, n=17) or low (G-low, <2.0 ng·m−3, n=18) amount of airborne β(1→3)-d-glucan, an indicator of mould biomass, in the home were recruited. Blood samples were analysed for granulocytic enzymes, T-cell subsets and the secretion of cytokines from in vitro incubated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). In the G-high group, the proportion of cytotoxic T-cells (CD8+S6F1+) was lower and secretion of tumour necrosis factor-α from PBMCs higher than in the G-low group. There were no significant differences in secretion of interferon gamma and interleukin (IL)-4 from PBMCs between the two groups. Among nonatopic subjects, the ratio between interferon gamma and IL-4 was significantly higher in the G-high group than in the G-low group and was related to the amount of β(1→3)-d-glucan in the home. No significant differences were found regarding secretion of IL-10 or IL-1β from PBMCs, eosinophil cationic protein or myeloperoxidase in serum, or differential cell counts in blood. The effects found on inflammatory markers in relation to β(1→3)-d-glucan in the home suggest upregulation of some parts of the inflammatory/immunological system due to mould exposure.


We consider a multivariate version of the so-called Lancaster problem of characterizing canonical correlation coefficients of symmetric bivariate distributions with identical marginals and orthogonal polynomial expansions. The marginal distributions examined in this paper are the Dirichlet and the Dirichlet multinomial distribution, respectively, on the continuous and the N-discrete d-dimensional simplex. Their infinite-dimensional limit distributions, respectively, the Poisson–Dirichlet distribution and Ewens's sampling formula, are considered as well. We study, in particular, the possibility of mapping canonical correlations on the d-dimensional continuous simplex (i) to canonical correlation sequences on the d+1-dimensional simplex and/or (ii) to canonical correlations on the discrete simplex, and vice versa. Driven by this motivation, the first half of the paper is devoted to providing a full characterization and probabilistic interpretation of n-orthogonal polynomial kernels (i.e., sums of products of orthogonal polynomials of the same degree n) with respect to the mentioned marginal distributions. We establish several identities and some integral representations which are multivariate extensions of important results known for the case d=2 since the 1970s. These results, along with a common interpretation of the mentioned kernels in terms of dependent Polya urns, are shown to be key features leading to several non-trivial solutions to Lancaster's problem, many of which can be extended naturally to the limit as d→∞.


Accurate prediction of roll damping is important in calculating the roll motion of a ship. This paper presents a roll decay analysis of an intact US Navy Destroyer hull form (DTMB 5415) using a Navier–Stokes (NS) solver with the volume of fluid (VOF) method. Dynamic overset mesh techniques were employed to handle mesh updating required to obtain transient ship motions. The VOF method was used to capture the fluid interface. The effect of turbulence was considered by means of a k-w and a k-e model. A sensitivity analysis was conducted, in terms of the grid, timesteps and degree of freedom. The roll decay results of the numerical simulation have been compared with those of prior physical model testing (Gokce and Kinaci, 2018), and the different roll decay responses used to predict the roll damping. It is intended that this research be a useful step towards establishing intact ship stability criteria, as part of current research.


Abstract Recrystallization rims are a common feature of zircon crystals that underwent metamorphism. We present a microstructural and microchemical study of partially recrystallized zircon grains collected in polymetamorphic migmatites (Valle d'Arbedo, Ticino, Switzerland). The rims are bright in cathodoluminescence (CL), with sharp and convex contacts characterized by inward-penetrating embayments transgressing igneous zircon cores. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) data and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging indicate that the rims are chemically and microstructurally different from the cores. The rims are strongly depleted in REE, with concentrations up to two orders of magnitude lower than in the cores, indicating a significant loss of REE during zircon recrystallization. Enrichment in non-formula elements, such as Ca, has not been observed in the rims. The microstructure of zircon cores shows a dappled intensity at and below the 100 nm scale, possibly due to radiation damage. Other defects such as pores and dislocations are absent in the core except at healed cracks. Zircon rims are mostly dapple-free, but contain nanoscale pores and strain centers, interpreted as fluid inclusions and chemical residues, respectively. Sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb ages show that the recrystallization of the rims took place >200 Ma ago when the parent igneous zircon was not metamict. The chemical composition and the low-Ti content of the rims indicate that they form at sub-solidus temperatures (550-650 °C). Recrystallization rims in Valle d'Arbedo zircon are interpreted as the result of the migration of chemical reaction fronts in which fluid triggered in situ and contemporaneous interface-coupled dissolution-reprecipitation mechanisms. This study indicates that strong lattice strain resulting from the incorporation of a large amount of impurities and structural defects is not a necessary condition for zircon to recrystallize. Our observations suggest that the early formation of recrystallization rims played a major role in preserving zircon from the more recent Alpine metamorphic overprint.


PURPOSE
To demonstrate the normal involution process of the post-partum pelvis with serial magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
MR imaging was performed in 14 women after uncomplicated vaginal delivery. Six women underwent serial MR examinations at less than 30 hours and at 1 week, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 6 months after delivery; eight women were examined only within 30 hours of delivery. The dimensions and signal intensity of the uterus and cervix and the appearance of other pelvic structures were evaluated.

RESULTS
The mean length of the uterine corpus was 13.8 cm within 30 hours of delivery and 5.0 cm at 6 months. The mean length of the cervix was 5.6 cm within 30 hours of delivery and 2.9 cm at 6 months. The junctional zone was not visible before 2 weeks; however, it was visible in all cases at 6 months. The outer cervical stroma had high signal intensity less than 30 hours after delivery and intermediate signal intensity thereafter. The inner cervical stroma was visible as a low-signal-intensity stripe on all images.

CONCLUSION
Knowledge of the normal MR appearance of the involuting postpartum pelvis provides a baseline for interpretation of MR images obtained during this period.


The Chapter presents a number of the most significant developments in the use of optical techniques for the measurement of the transport properties of liquids over the last twenty years. First the chapter examines the application of light scattering under three different circumstances. In Section 2.2 the use of the natural oscillations of a liquid surface caused by random thermal molecular motions are used as a probe of viscosity through surface light scattering, applicable most easily to low viscosity fluids of moderately high surface tension. For systems with rather higher viscosities and lower surface tensions the advantages of creating a grating in the surface of a liquid with a laser to create more readily observable effects of optical diffraction in laser- induced capillary wave scattering are described in Section 2.3. Applications of both of these techniques to industrially important fluids are illustrated. Section 2.4 describes how dynamic light scattering has been exploited to study diffusion in experiments near critical points. The final two sections then present work that has explored the phenomenon of thermal diffusion in liquids scarcely touched by optical techniques two decades ago. First the situation with respect to binary mixtures of liquids is summarized with examples of the successes by a variety of methods and then the more difficult challenge of ternary systems is explained. The current state of the art in measurement is set out as well as the remaining difficulties.


The existing RYB color wheel widely used to create harmonic color compositions is not applicable in modern digital art and design. The reason is that colors formed by light, "additive colors", and those formed by pigments, "subtractive colors" did in fact operate by different rules, and had different primary and complementary colors. So new color wheel is proposed - "RGB color wheel" suitable .to work with colors in digital environment.
The RGB color wheel is based on the primary colors R, G, B, defined by sRGB color space, create by additive mixing 3 secondary and 6 tertiary harmonic colors with which many different types of harmonic color compositions can be realized.
An analogue RGB color wheel is proposed with pastel colors suitable for print.
New definitions for Hue, Saturation and Lightness color-making attributes are formulated which correspond to the contemporary high level of computer technologies.
There are some recommendations how the new RGB color wheel can be used with the HSB model to create attractive and pleasant images with color harmony in digital design.


[1] Time series measurements of the nuclear fuel reprocessing tracers, 129I and 137Cs, and ventilation tracer, CFC-11, were used to determine circulation time scales for Atlantic Water (AW) in the Arctic Ocean. Measurements in surface water are consistent with an advection model and transit times from the North Sea of 1–4 years to the Barents Sea, 3–6 years to the Kara Sea, and 9–12 years to the North Pole. Tracer ages for intermediate waters do not support an advection model because they vary with time. The tracer relationships were employed to determine transit time distributions (TTD), using inverse Gaussian functions, that implicitly incorporate the effects of mixing in simulating fluid flow. Tracer concentrations were used to constrain the ratio of the width, Δ, of the TTD to the mean age, Γ, a measure of the relative importance of mixing, giving values for most intermediate water regimes of Δ/Γ ≤ 1. These results are in contrast to values, Δ/Γ 1 typical of the North Atlantic, indicating the greater relative importance of advection compared to mixing in the Arctic Ocean. Mean ages for AW increase from 12–20 years in the southern Makarov Basin to 30–40 years near the Arctic outflow north of Greenland. A decline in Δ/Γ with distance along the direction of AW boundary flow from the Makarov into the Canada Basin may indicate relatively stronger mixing in regimes upstream of the Makarov Basin but also implies that TTDs may differ from inverse Gaussian functions for flow in the Arctic domain.


Testicular toxicity of chemical substances has been generally assessed by sperm properties and histology. However, the methods can provide only a few information of the mechanism of the toxicity. The aim of this study is to show a method that can evaluate an overview of testicular toxic mechanisms using a tissue-specific microarray and classification of genes using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). Male ICR mice (6 weeks old) were treated with doxorubicin hydrochloride (0, 0.1, 0.3 mg/kg/time, three times per week) by subcutaneous injection for 6 weeks (until 11 weeks old). Six weeks after the final administration, tissue and blood samples were obtained. Testes were subjected to gene expression analysis using quantitative RT-PCR and cDNA microarray (testis2). To interpret the microarray data, genes were classified using MeSH related to the functions of testis and sperm. Doxorubicin (both 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg group) induced a decrease in sperm normal morphology and mortality, daily sperm production, and the number of Sertoli cells in the seminiferous tubules. Quantitative RT-PCR and microarray analysis showed dysregulation of mRNA expression levels of genes related to Sertoli cells, germ cells and spermatogenesis. Analysis of microarray data showed a significant enrichment of a total of ten MeSH categories including Spermatogenesis, Sertoli cells, Germ cells and Male infertility. This article concluded that analysis using testicular specific microarray combined with MeSH showed a more comprehensive overview of testicular toxic mechanisms than existing methods; i.e., examination of sperm properties and the histological examinations.


We review a programme of research on the attribution of humanness to people, and the ways in which lesser humanness is attributed to some compared to others. We first present evidence that humanness has two distinct senses, one representing properties that are unique to our species, and the other—human nature—those properties that are essential or fundamental to the human category. An integrative model of dehumanisation is then laid out, in which distinct forms of dehumanisation correspond to the denial of the two senses of humanness, and the likening of people to particular kinds of nonhuman entities (animals and machines). Studies demonstrating that human nature attributes are ascribed more to the self than to others are reviewed, along with evidence of the phenomenon's cognitive and motivational basis. Research also indicates that both kinds of humanness are commonly denied to social groups, both explicitly and implicitly, and that they may cast a new light on the study of stereotype content. Our approach to the study of dehumanisation complements the tradition of research on infrahumanisation, and indicates new directions for exploring the importance of humanness as a dimension of social perception.


Introduction. The article examines the formation of a network of Chinese think tanks as a special socio-political institution – a research system, not only aimed at solving the tasks set by the state, but also, due to the specifics of these tasks, exerting an ever-increasing influence on the same state is the customer. This process is been studied from the standpoint of social reflection, determined by the modern "fluid" nature of society, which is becoming in conditions of increasing socio-cultural dynamics and risk. Today think tanks, as a very popular institution in the West, are actively discussed in the scientific community in the context of their engagement and loss of expert independence. At the same time, in China, where such structures appeared later than in the United States and Europe, their influence on political and economic decision-making is recognized as consistently high. The aim of the study is to classify the leading Chinese think tanks and analyze their activities from the perspective of sociological reflection.Methodology and sources. The methodological basis of the study was the approach of reflective sociology, with the help of which was made an attempt to analyze the activities of modern analytical centers in the PRC and their focus. The empirical base was made up of publicly available data on the activities of Chinese think tanks, included in the list of the best, according to the American Go Global Think Tank Index Report, on the basis of which a study of the nature of these organizations and their topics was carried out.Results and discussion. Based on the study of the structural dynamics and research topics of Chinese think tanks, it is argued that the development of such a network since the 2000s is due to the reorientation of Chinese foreign policy from two "superpowers" to Europe and countries lying on the "new silk road" to it. There is a widespread opinion in the West that think tanks are capable of influencing political decision-making only in Western-style democratic societies. An analysis of the activities of modern think tanks in China refutes this opinion and demonstrates that it is there that ideas are discussed, which subsequently form the basis for political decision-making by the leadership of the PRC.Conclusion. Interaction with Europe, as the main foreign policy goal, has led to a social reflection of problems in the construction of comprehensive cooperation with it. Such a reflection combined with social practical rationality, led to an appeal to European rationalism with the aim of both understanding Europe and trying to establish communication with it using a discourse that it understands. The work of Chinese think tanks, whose importance in shaping China's foreign policy is growing, is aimed at solving this problem.


Two novel metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) [Zn(TITMB)(OAc)](OH).8.5H(2)O (1) and [Ag(TITMB)N(3)].H(2)O (2) [TITMB = 1,3,5-tris(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)-2,4,6-trimethylbenzene, OAc = acetate anion] were synthesized and their structures were determined by X-ray crystallography. Complex 1 crystallizes in tetragonal space group P(-)4 with a = 23.2664(7) and c = 11.9890(3) A and Z = 8. 1 has a one-dimensional tubelike structure with large inner pore size of approximately 17 A. Complex 2 crystallizes in monoclinic space group C2 with a = 20.7193(10), b = 11.5677(8), and c = 12.2944(6) A, beta = 125.5770(10) degrees, and Z = 4. 2 consists of two-dimensional honeycomb networks that interpenetrate each other to generate a polycatenated structure. In these two complexes, both zinc(II) and silver(I) atoms are four-coordinated with the same tetrahedral coordination geometry. The topologies of 1 and 2 are predominated by the conformations of TITMB, which are cis, trans, trans in 1 and cis, cis, cis in 2, respectively.


A delivery system for parthenolide (PTL), a potential anticancer drug, is being developed. PTL has proved to be effective at eradicating cancer cells, such as leukemic stem cells, but its low solubility limits its use. We propose a way to circumvent this problem utilizing micelles with a hydrophobic interior that will hold the PTL and a hydrophilic exterior that will be soluble in the blood stream. The micelles are comprised of polymers containing a hydrophilic block of poly(styrene-alt- maleic anhydride) (PSMA) and a hydrophobic block of poly(styrene) or poly(butyl acrylate). Polymers ranging from 19 to 47 kDa have been synthesized, with hydrophobic:hydrophilic ratios of 0.2 and 0.35. Micelle size is being examined to optimize PTL loading, release, and pharmacokinetics. Future work includes conjugating an antibody to the micelles through streptavidin/biotin biochemistry to allow for more specific PTL delivery to leukemic stem cells.


The present study investigated the probable influence of latrines and groundwater flow on the water quality of shallow tube wells in Shinduria village (23˚52' N and 90˚14' E) of Dhaka district, Bangladesh. A questionnaire survey was made to collect basic information on tube wells and latrines. Four boreholes were drilled to investigate lithostratigraphy. Twenty one water samples were collected and their physico-chemical parameters (Dissolved Oxygen, pH, phosphate, sulphate, nitrate, nitrite and iron) were analyzed using standard method. Total viable bacterial count (TVBC), total coliform count (TCC), total faecal coliform count (TFCC), total salmonella shigella (TSS) and total vibrio count (TVC) were also made using membrane filtration method. Average depth of the tube wells was 120 ft and most of them were less then ten years old. About 85% latrines were ring slab type and about 50% of these were built during the last five years. From borehole data, a shallow aquifer was identified at a depth of hundred feet from where local people extract drinking water. Although most of the physico-chemical parameters of the tested samples were within the Department of Environment (DoE). But almost all of the tested samples failed to ensure the quality of acceptable level for drinking water recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) due to the presence of higher load of TVBC (5.07 × 10³ cfu/100 ml), TCC (8.44 × 10 3 cfu/10 0ml), TFCC (5.16 × 10² cfu/100 ml) and TSS (1.10 × 10 3 cfu/100 ml). Local geological conditions and proximity between tube well and latrine promoted bacterial transport towards tube well while groundwater flow direction from the adjacent Bangshi River influenced the phenomenon.


Electro-Active paper(EAPap) is a new smart material that has a potential to be used in biomimetic actuator and sensor. It is made by cellulose that is abundant material in nature. EAPap is fascinating with its biodegradability, lightweight, large displacement, high mechanical strength and low actuation voltage. Actuating mechanism of EAPap is known to be the combined effects of ion migration and piezoelectricity. However, the electromechanical actuation mechanisms are not yet to be established. This paper presents the modeling of the actuation behavior of water infused cellulose samples and their composite dielectric constants calculated by Maxwell-Wagner theory. Electro-mechanical forces were calculated using Maxwell stress tensor method. Bending deflection was evaluated from simple beam model and compared with experimental observation, and which result in good correlation with each other.


Lecture Scheduling System STIE Wijaya Mulya Surakarta currently using amanual system in which all of the input data and the scheduling process is done manually so it is less efficient because it requires a relatively long time. Scheduling oflectures conducted by the head of each department of study programs in Accounting and Management. Print schedule of lectures conducted by using Ms. Word. Manuallyscheduling process allows for human error, which can lead to conflicting schedules classes in the absence of validation when scheduling process.The purpose of this study was to develop a system of scheduling lectures there on STIE Wijaya Mulya Surakarta. The system developed is scheduling classes that werepreviously done manually, converted into the form of an application program to be run by the Administration section. This change is necessary in order to simplify, speed upand minimize errors in the process of scheduling lectures are often encountered in scheduling system manually.
System development using a structured method. The system is built to match the needs STIE Wijaya Mulya Surakarta. The system is built by using Visual Basic 6.0 andMySQL as the database. The system is equipped with validation in the process of scheduling so as to minimize errors when inputting data or when the schedulingprocess. This system has been tested using blackbox methods and software quality measurement in this study using the method of McCall with the value 78.817%.From the test results, this system is expected to facilitate and expedite the scheduling of lectures that can be applied to STIE Wijaya Mulya Surakarta.


Time series forecasting aims to model the change in data points over time. It is applicable in many areas, such as energy consumption, solid waste generation, economic indicators (inflation, currency), global warming (heat, water level), and hotel sales forecasting. This paper focuses on hotel sales forecasting with machine learning and deep learning solutions. A simple forecast solution is to repeat the last observation (Naive method) or the average of the past observations (Average method). More sophisticated solutions have been developed over the years, such as machine learning methods that have linear (Linear Regression, ARIMA) and nonlinear (Polynomial Regression and Support Vector Regression) methods. Different kinds of neural networks are developed and used in time series forecasting problems, and two of the successful ones are Recurrent Neural Networks and N-BEATS. This paper presents a forecasting analysis of hotel sales from Türkiye and Cyprus. We showed that N-BEATS is a solid choice against LSTM, especially in long sequences. Moreover, N-BEATS has slightly better inference time results in long sequences, but LSTM is faster in short sequences.


Editors' Note: For many students, the first moment when "the rubber hits the road" in their learning is when they themselves hit the road, at a multi-institution competition. Across a remarkable array of institutions and cultures, the authors assess what has been learned about assessing students in competition environments. Noting that by definition, a competition requires winners (or does it? See next chapter) they suggest that students might be judged either by the "outcome" of the negotiation, or, either in combination with outcome or exclusively, by criteria more related to "style and process," in the way that competitions in gymnastics, figure skating and diving are judged.


NOË, P., et al.: Rapid Recovery of Cardiac Function after Catheter Ablation of Persistent Junctional Reciprocating Tachycardia in Children. Four children (age range 3 weeks to 15 years) with tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy due to permanent junctional reciprocating tachycardia (PJRT) underwent successful catheter ablation of the tachyarrhythmia circuit without any complications during or after the procedure. In all four patients, the left ventricular fractional shortening improved to normal within 2 weeks of the procedure. These results argue for a more aggressive approach to the therapy of PJRT when associated with tachycardiomyopathy at a young age.


Sperm capacitation is defined as the maturational changes that render a sperm competent for fertilization and occurs in the female reproductive tract. Identification of the factor/s that regulate sperm capacitation would allow the understanding of these phenomena. Among these factors, gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) has recently become as a putative modulator of sperm function. The aim of this study was to explore the presence of a GABAergic regulation of bovine sperm capacitation as well as the possible intracellular mechanisms involved. GABA was detected in fresh semen by a sensitive radioreceptor assay (spermatozoa, 0.064 ± 0.003 nmoles/106 cells; seminal plasma, 23.21 ± 1.16 nmoles/ml). Scatchard analysis of [3H]‐muscimol binding to sperm membranes yielded a linear plot consistent with a single population of binding sites (Kd = 3.87 nM, Bmax = 417 fmol/mg prot.). [3H]‐muscimol specific binding to sperm membranes was significantly inhibited by the GABA A receptor (GABA A‐R) antagonist bicuculline and by the agonists muscimol and isoguvacine. Addition of GABA to the incubation medium resulted in a concentration‐dependent increase in the percentage of capacitated spermatozoa (chlortetracycline assay). We observed a significant increment on intracellular calcium and cyclic 3′,5′ adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) concentrations induced by GABA, being the cation influx abolished when the cell suspensions were coincubated with the antagonists bicuculline or picrotoxin. It is concluded that GABA induces sperm capacitation through an intracellular mechanism dependent on calcium influx and cAMP accumulation mediated by a specific GABA A‐R. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 67: 478–486, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


THE CONCEPTION OF EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT: the perspective of the official documents and the continuing formation programs of school headmasters of the State of Sao Paulo – 1990/2009. Doctor's Degree Dissertation (Doctor in Education) – Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação, Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências da Universidade Estadual Paulista "Julio de Mesquita Filho", Marília. This research presents an analysis of the conception of school management present on the official documents and on the continuing formation programs for school headmasters on the last decades. (1990-2009). Therefore it aimed to reconstruct the role of the school headmaster based on the bibliography published by official bodies of the State of Sao Paulo and the Federal Government, as well as to analyze the legislation which contents broaches the regulation mechanisms of educational management and organization. The selected documents were essential in this research for the analysis of the reforms and the components contained in them that fall directly upon the education and the school managements. The goals established for this study led to a theoretical-methodological option based upon the content analysis, having as references the studies of Bardin (2007), and upon the critical discourse analysis of Faircloug (2001), Magalhaes (2001) and Resende & Ramalho (2006). During the progress of this research, a series of inquiries came out, which can be summarized as follows: What is the influence of the social and politic contexts on the definition of the public policies on Education? Which paradigms are the official documents ruled by? What is the conception of school headmaster and school management that these documents introduce? What is the profile of the headmasters that have been designed in this decade from the continuing formation programs? It became clear that the school management and the continuing formation of school headmasters are prominently placed in the actual public policies and are present on several propositions as central components towards the accomplishment of the educational reform. On this course, the conservative character of the government proposals has been identified. Despite the democratic aspirations, the language in their speech turns out to be rather contradictory, expressing the prescriptive pattern on the discourse. The conclusion achieved enlightens that even though the reform is framed upon a productivistic and merchandised concept of education, in which the competitiveness and the individualism are remarkable, it also keep elements that can make possible the fulfillment of a more human and democratic project.


PURPOSE: To evaluate the changes in corneal endothelial cell (CEC) indices in Ahmed valve and single-plate Molteno implants after 24 months of follow-up. SETTING: Imam Hossein Medical Center, Negah Eye Hospital and Vanak Eye Surgery Center, Tehran, IRAN METHODS: A historical cohort study was conducted. The records of patients who had Ahmed valve (n=29) or single-plate Molteno (n=28) implants and completed a 24-month period of the trial were reviewed and postoperative CEC indices were measured. Preoperative central CEC indices, performed for a then-ongoing trial, were compared with postoperative measurements of the last follow-up. The main outcome measure was endothelial cell count. RESULTS: There was no difference between the two operations in improving visual acuity and decreasing the number of anti-glaucoma medications required. However, Molteno group showed significantly better postoperative IOP control (P<0.001). There were 11.52% and 12.37% reduction in CEC density (cells/mm) and 3.78 and 2.48 increase in CEC area (mm) after 24 months in Ahmed valve and Molteno groups, respectively. There was no significant betweengroup difference in CEC density and area as well as corneal thickness, postoperatively. Both univariate and multivariate analyses did not show any significant difference between central CEC loss and patients' preand postoperative factors. CONCLUSION: There were statistically significant quantitative (cell density) and minor qualitative (cell area) changes in central CEC parameters in both groups after 24 months of follow-up. Both groups appear to cause similar CEC damage after 2 years.


A novel series of potent 2-aryl pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine mGlu5 receptor antagonists are described. The synthesis and pharmacological activities of these analogs are discussed.


: Strategic planning with SWOT analysis to do achievement the competitive university. Internal factors are strenghts and weaknesses and eksternal factors are opportunity and threats. Research approach is qualitative type case study, at Islamic Muhammadiyah University of East Borneo. Data collecting with in dept interview, participation observation and documentation. Analysis data with analysis SWOT (Strenghts, Weakness, opportunities, threats), internal and eksternal evaluation factors (IFE and EFE).The research of result can do that 12 strategic planning to the competitive university are promotion brand image, internal and eksternal quality assurance, leaderships credibilities, responsif to regulation, innovation quality, quality input, proses and outcome, human investation, accreditation legality, infrastruktur investation, character personal building and university organization, all lini empowerment and developing research.


PurposeThis study aims to focus on how online presentations have a positive effect on the anxiety of the students, especially students who are introverted by nature and always suffer from anxiety and stress while performing face-to-face presentations in the classrooms, which negatively affect students' performance and, thereby grade.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a quantitative research design to obtain a broader perspective. An online questionnaire, developed using Google Forms, was accessed by 239 female undergraduate students from Level 1 to 8 of the English Department at the College of Languages and Translation in King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire consisted of 15 closed Likert-type questions. The Arabic translation of the questions was included in the questionnaire to make the participants more comfortable answering the questions as all the participants' L1 is Arabic.FindingsWith the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, COVID-19 became a global health issue and significantly impacted education worldwide. With this, a digital transformation took place, resulting in a total e-learning distance education system. This type of technology enhanced distance learning approach had to be adopted as social and physical contacts were limited globally to mitigate the transmissions of the virus. Accordingly, all lectures, learning activities, tests and other forms of evaluation were conducted via distance e-learning. When oral presentations were conducted online, a new reality emerged in this changed situation. This study sought to prove that online oral presentations positively reduce introvert EFL learners' anxiety and stress.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted using a small number of samples; thus, to gain substantial insight, future research could be conducted with a greater number of samples from diverse demographic backgrounds. Teachers' perceptions of online oral presentations could also be considered in future studies since education consolidates between learners and teachers. In addition, as this research explored English language major students only, further comparative studies can be conducted including students from other disciplines, which may lead to new insights and issues related to online presentations. This study used a questionnaire as a data collection instrument. It is recommended to use qualitative tools such as interviews, focus group meetings, journals and student diaries in future studies so that more information about in-person presentation anxiety can be discovered.Originality/valueParticipants' opinions, procured through the questionnaire of this study, can bring new insights for educators and policymakers to incorporate online presentations as one of the mainstream assessment methods for tertiary-level courses.


Aim: The present investigation has been conducted to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of Moringa oleifera against cadmium-induced toxicity in rats. Materials and Methods: For this study, 18 Wistar albino rats were taken. Control group, Group I rats were given cadmium chloride @ 200 ppm per kg and Group II rats were treated with M. oleifera extract @ 500 mg/kg along with cadmium chloride @ 200 ppm per kg (daily oral for 28 days). On 29th day, animals were slaughtered and various parameters were determined. Serum biomarkers, oxidative stress parameters, histomorphological examination were carried out with estimation of cadmium concentration in liver tissues. Results: Oral administration of cadmium chloride @ 200 ppm/kg for 28 days resulted in a significant increase in aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), significant (p≤0.01) increase of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD), and increase in cadmium accumulation in liver. Treatment with M. oleifera @ 500 mg/kg significantly (p<0.01) decreased the elevated ALP, AST, ALT, LPO levels and increase in SOD levels, and as compared to cadmium chloride treated group. However, there was no significant difference in cadmium concentration in liver when compared with cadmium chloride treated group. Conclusion: The study conclude that supplementation of M. oleifera (500 mg/kg), daily oral for 28 days has shown protection against cadmium-induced hepatotoxicity.


BACKGROUND AIMS
Human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSC) are a promising tool for future clinical application, but their use requires rapid cell expansion in media suitable for clinical use. Therefore, we tested the influence of several culture media on colony formation, population doubling (PD) time, cell cycle and surface marker expression.

METHODS
hMSC isolated from human bone marrow (BM) obtained from healthy donors were seeded and expanded in different culture media: alpha-minimum essential medium (MEM) supplemented with 2.5%, 5%, 10% or 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 5% or 10% human cord blood serum (hCBS), 5% or 10% human blood serum from AB adult donors (hABS), or mesenchymal stem cell growth medium (MSCGM). The number, diameter and total area of the colonies formed and PD time were determined, and the cell cycle and 16 surface markers were analyzed.

RESULTS
Colony-forming efficiency was best in alpha-MEM/hCBS and alpha-MEM/hABS, good in MSCGM and worst in alpha-MEM/FBS. The shortest PD time was achieved in media enriched with human sera or MSCGM, while the time was increased in alpha-MEM/FBS. The largest proliferating fraction was seen in MSCGM followed by media enriched with human sera; the fraction was smallest in alpha-MEM/FBS. Staining for CD34, CD45, CD235a and CD271 was negative, while that for CD29, CD44, CD73, CD90, CD105 and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A, -B, -C was positive in all media tested. Media with human serum did not adversely affect the differentiation potential of hMSC, and differentiation into osteoblasts was enhanced.

CONCLUSIONS
The choice of serum influences hMSC expansion and cell properties; alpha-MEM supplemented with hABS seems to be a promising candidate for clinical use.


A series of Zn ion-doped pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) nanoislands in the form of thin films were prepared on Si substrates using spin coating. The effect of Zn concentrations on the sublimation energy was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The pure and Zn-doped nanoislands are imaged by AFM in contact mode at room temperature after annealing isothermally for a given time. The volume of the islands starts to decrease after annealing at 45 degrees C for pure PETN, whereas Zn-doped nanoislands start to decrease in height and volume after annealing at 55-58 degrees C. The minimum activation energy is found to be 29.7 Kcal/mol for 1,000 ppm Zn concentration. These studies are important for the long-term stabilization of PETN.


This paper and its companion ("The Planning Theory of Law II: The Nature of Legal Norms") provide a general introduction to Scott Shapiro's Planning Theory of Law as developed in his recent book Legality. The Planning Theory encompasses both an account of the nature of legal institutions and an account of the nature of legal norms. This first paper concerns the account of legal institutions. The second concerns the account of legal norms.


The importance of estimating sample sizes is rarely understood by researchers, when planning a study. This paper aims to highlight the centrality of sample size estimations in health research. Examples that help in understanding the basic concepts involved in their calculation are presented. The scenarios covered are based more on the epidemiological reasoning and less on mathematical formulae. Proper calculation of the number of participants in a study diminishes the likelihood of errors, which are often associated with adverse consequences in terms of economic, ethical and health aspects.


A distinct subset of CD4+ T helper cells characterized by the production of IL-17A, IL-17F, and IL-6 has recently been discovered. The differentiation of TH17 cells is dependent on transforming growth factor-β and IL-6 while IL-23 is involved in function of TH17 cells in host defense. TH17 cells have been shown to contribute to the pathogenesis of some autoimmune disorders and models of allergic asthma show TH17 cells are involved in the development of allergic responses. In order to investigate the function of TH17 cells we polarized naïve CD4+ T cells from DO11.10 TCR transgenic mice by culturing in conditioned media containing OVA peptide, TGF-β, IL-6, IL-23, anti-IFN-γ and anti-IL-4. For comparisons we also generated TH0 cells (grown in IL-2 only) and polarized TH1 and TH2 cells.TH17 cells secreted > 5 ng/ml IL-17 in an antigen-recall response when stimulated with OVA peptide. Only transfer of TH17 cells into mice challenged with OVA protein resulted in increased chemokine secretion in the BAL fluid, including substantial levels of the IL-8 homolog KC whereas only transfer of Th2 cells resulted in eosinophil emigration into the lung. Both TH17 and TH2 cells resulted in increased mucous secreting cells in the airway. These data demonstrate that the polarized antigen specific T-cells result in specific lung pathologies.


When using classical methods for the availability assessment of a multi-state system, the precise values of state' probabilities are required. But, in many cases the available data does not describe the system's components, defining the system's state, precisely. To cope with this problem, the imprecision can be incorporated into the method in terms of imprecise rates [1] (failure and repair rates) by using imprecise probability theory [2]. Markov chain models are known for their simplicity and their great ability to model reparable systems, thus, they are well adapted for modeling stochastic failure and repair processes, where conditional probability distribution of future states depends only on the present state, and then computing the system's availability. To our best of knowledge, only a few works were developed in the context of imprecise continuous Markov chain [3]. The idea in this paper is to replace precise initial distributions and transition matrices by imprecise ones where imprecise rates are expressed in terms of intervals which are supposed to contain the true unknown initial probability and transition matrix. The contribution of this work is twofold: first, applying interval analysis techniques on existing algorithms for availability assessment of multi-state systems, and second, studying the stationarity, convergence and ergodicity properties related to the new proposed technique.