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 Educating students is the primary goal of colleges and universities. However, reaching that goal depends on understanding those learners. Only by understanding the NMLs can colleges and universities create learning environments that optimize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.  The study aimed at determining the perspectives of the NMLs in terms of the teaching learning process they undergo in higher education.  The study is a descriptive type of research which attempts to describe the new millennium higher education learners using a researcher made instrument. A total of 350 college students from six institutions of higher learning in Region IV-A were the respondents of the study.  Results have shown that even with the luxury of the technological advances, there is not much change in the ways NMLs want education should be.  In the Philippines, education is still a valued activity that every youth should be able to acquire.  The traditional ways and methods still apply but with some adjustments, modifications or additions.  Technology is used as tools but the methods and strategies still remain.  The teacher is still a requirement in the classroom for the students to follow.


2 ABSTRACT:An embedded system based colorimeter has been developed for the analysis of copper in waste water. The design is based on the ARM-7 LPC-2148 processor. The data convertor section of the processor is interfaced to the photoelectric sensor of the colorimeter. The inbuilt DAC is used for the control of intensity of incident light produced by light source. The monochromatic colored LEDs are used as source of stable light. Similarly the inbuilt ADC is used to measure the potential corresponding to the transmitted light. The transmitted light is detected and converted into potential by the LDR circuit. The instrumental and the experimental errors introduced due to the absorption by cuvette and the reagent respectively were compensated by the software techniques. In addition to above functions, the software performs the operations of calculation of absorptivity coefficient, detection and estimation of concentration of copper. The developed equipment has been successfully used for the analysis of copper in waste water. The software program can be easily modified for the similar study of other analytes.


The permittivity ( epsilon ') of blood of four different haemoglobin concentrations was measured at room temperature at a frequency near 2 GHz. The permittivity of the plasma was also determined. The variation of permittivity with concentration was shown to exhibit a good straight line relationship corresponding to a change in epsilon ' of 0.8 (about 1.3%) for a change of haemoglobin content of 1g Hb per 100 ml of blood.


Here we report a facile one-step solution-phase process to directly grow ultrathin MoS2 nanofilms on a transparent conductive glass as a novel high-performance counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells. After an appropriate reaction time, the entire surface of the conductive glass substrate was uniformly covered by ultrathin MoS2 nanofilms with a thickness of only several stacked layers. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry reveal that the MoS2 nanofilms possess excellent catalytic activity towards tri-iodide reduction. When used in dye-sensitized solar cells, the MoS2 nanofilms show an impressive energy conversion efficiency of 8.3%, which is higher than that of a Pt-based electrode and very promising to be a desirable alternative counter electrode. Considering their ultrathin thickness, superior catalytic activity, simple preparation process and low cost, the as-prepared MoS2 nanofilms with high photovoltaic performance are expected to be widely employed in dye-sensitized solar cells.


The defining feature of immersion language learning is the omnipresent pressure to communicate in the second language (L2), even as incipient skills are being acquired. This study uses the focused essay technique to investigate ambivalence about communicating among adolescent French immersion students (12-14 years of age). Students described situations in which they were most willing to communicate (241 entries received) and situations in which they were least willing to communicate (179 entries received). Responses reveal complex interrelations among linguistic development, L2 self-development, and the nonlinguistic issues that typically face adolescents. Most frequently, students discussed communication with teachers and friends in a school context, but other entries described situations outside the classroom, with extended family or encounters with media. Perceived competence and error correction were identified as major issues. Students also described feeling excluded or mocked because of their status as immersion students, but at other times they used language to form a secret club to exclude or poke fun at other people. Although we found substantial similarities between situations in which students are most or least willing to communicate, they can be differentiated by subtle changes in context that affect the authenticity of communication and needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]


The factors associated with the level of knowledge of the preventive measures of COVID-19 in pregnant and postpartum women from two Peruvian communities were determined. Quantitative, prospective, cross-sectional and analytical study. They worked with the entire population. The level of knowledge was measured through a previously validated instrument. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was performed, using linear regression with a 95% confidence interval. The results indicate that the majority (64.7%) considered the use of rubber gloves as a preventive measure, while 33.8% considered the use of homemade masks incorrect and considered that domestic animals transmitted COVID-19. In the multivariate analysis, the level of knowledge was associated with having received information from their health center. There is a good level of knowledge about COVID-19 prevention in pregnant and postpartum women from two Peruvian communities, and that the main associated factor is having received information from their Health Center.


This paper proposes an optimized Energy Management System for a hybrid power system which includes a wind turbine, solar PV, fuel cell, an electrolyzer with hydrogen storage and a battery. From the list of the above sources, wind and solar systems are considered as primary sources of energy. It is very vital to manage the energy sources in a hybrid power system in order to provide a continuous supply to meet the load demand. The 'B' block load consisting of only fans of our institution(SNS College of Technology, Coimbatore) is considered as load profile to verify the proposed scheme. In this paper, a fuzzy logic based energy management system is used to maintain the State of Charge (SOC) of battery as well as the pressure level of hydrogen tank and thereby meet the load demand in an optimized manner. Optimal management of the hybrid power system under different source and load conditions was simulated using MATLAB/SIMULINK software.


This research note designates and describes some of the most important Internet sites for the Nobel Peace Prize. It includes the most comprehensive sites, including access to all categories of awards and to the Peace Prize specifically: the Nobel Foundation, the Nobel Channel, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Irwin Abrams, and Norbert's Bookmarks for a Better World. It also includes a few web sites related to specific Nobel awards: the American Friends Service Committee, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, regarding East Timor, regarding Tibet, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and Medecins Sans Frontieres.


Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a prevalent human virus whose replication requires factors provided by a coinfecting helper virus. AAV can establish latent infections in vitro by integration of the AAV genome into cellular DNA. To study the process of integration as well as the rescue of AAV replication in latently infected cells after superinfection with a helper virus, we established a panel of independently derived latently infected cell clones. KB cells were infected with a high multiplicity of AAV in the absence of helper virus, cloned, and passaged to dilute out input AAV genomes. AAV DNA replication and protein synthesis were rescued from more than 10% of the KB cell clones after superinfection with adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) or herpes simplex virus types 1 or 2. In the absence of helper virus, there was no detectable expression of AAV-specific RNA or proteins in the latently infected cell clones. Ad5 superinfection also resulted in the production of infectious AAV in most cases. All mutant adenoviruses tested that were able to help AAV DNA replication in a coinfection were also able to rescue AAV from the latently infected cells, although one mutant, Ad5hr6, was less efficient at AAV rescue. Analysis of high-molecular-weight cellular DNA indicated that AAV sequences were integrated into the cell genome. The restriction enzyme digestion patterns of the cellular DNA were consistent with colinear integration of the AAV genome, with the viral termini present at the cell-virus junction. In addition, many of the cell lines appeared to contain head-to-tail concatemers of the AAV genome. The understanding of the integration of AAV DNA is increasingly important since AAV-based vectors have many advantages for gene transduction in vitro and in vivo.


Nutrition is an unavoidable issue throughout the field of long-term care, occupying a key position in the system. Along with the current trends of population aging, chronic changes in morbidity, functional impairment of health, progressive complexity of care content, the elongation of the caring period and the consequences of these trends, the long-term care burden has become more challenging than ever. Nutrition is just one of many key issues presented by these challenges. The factors associated with nutritional problems are numerous and complex. Residents of long-term care facilities are both representative of elderly people generally and reasonably approachable, and therefore constitute a suitable sample for investigation. To grasp and define the causes of the nutritional problems, conduct periodic nutritional assessments, monitor diet & nutrition, and actively intervene to improve these areas, can be regarded as necessary if the needs of basic and advanced nutrition are to be met, and nutrition is to take its rightful place in the practice of long-term care. Nutritional problems usually consist of malnutrition from inappropriate intake, over-nutrition from over-intake, deficiency of special nutrients, and imbalance of intake from inappropriate ratio of food components. Associated factors include physiological change, morbid condition, medication, financial support and social support.


This study observed the preferential host and feeding sites of horse fly species. A total of 2705 samples including 7 genera and 14 species were collected. Eight most abundant species were used in the analysis while Tabanus lunatus was ranked first with a rate of 50.55%. As a result of the analysis, eight species ( T. lunatus, T. regularis, T. spodopterus, T. miki, T. bromius, T. bifarius, Silvius alpinus, Haematopoda subcylindrica ) preferred the foot of hosts with a rate of 66.93%, while the back areas were used with a rate of 4.69%. Kruskall-Wallis test analysis showed that horse flies do not randomize their hosts and feeding sides on the hosts.


In popular discussion, the term constitutional crisis is used to describe every kind of conflict, great and small. But we think we can give the idea greater analytical clarity, and in the process, make some important points about constitutional design. The secret, we shall argue, is to think about crisis not in terms of constitutional disagreement but in terms of constitutional design. Disagreement and conflict are natural features of politics. The goal of constitutions is to manage them within acceptable boundaries. When constitutional design functions properly - even if people strongly disagree with each other and threaten each other - there is no crisis. On the other hand, when the system of constitutional design breaks down, either because people abandon it or because it is leading them off of the proverbial cliff, disagreements and threats take on a special urgency that deserves the name of crisis. In this essay we offer a typology of different types of constitution crises based on this insight. We argue that a constitutional crisis refers to a turning point in the health and history of a constitutional order, and we identify three different types of constitutional crises. Type One crises arise when political leaders believe that exigencies require public violation of the constitution. Type Two crises are situations where fidelity to constitutional forms leads to ruin or disaster. Type Three crises involve situations where publicly articulated disagreements about the Constitution lead political actors to engage in extraordinary forms of protest beyond mere legal disagreements and political protests; people take to the streets, armies mobilize, and brute force is used - or threatened - in order to prevail. If a central purpose of constitutions is to make politics possible, constitutional crises mark moments when constitutions threaten to fail at this central task.


A celiacomesenteric trunk, with common origin of the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries from the aorta, is quite rare. This variation may be accompanied by some other arterial anomalies, as well as being involved in pathological processes. We report the case of common celiacomesenteric trunk in combination with bilateral duplication of the renal arteries and hypospadias. Two large branches of celiacomesentric trunk were observed: the gastrosplenic and hepatomesenteric trunks. The gastrosplenic trunk was divided into the splenic artery and the left gastric artery. The hepatomesenteric trunk gave off the common hepatic artery and then was continuous as superior mesenteric artery. Bilateral duplication of the renal arteries, hypospadias and chordee were also presented. The embryological mechanism of celiacomesenteric trunk development is known. The association of the common celiacomesenteric trunk with bilateral duplication of renal arteries and anomalies of external genitalia (hypospadias) has not been reported. Knowledge about variations of arteries, particularly about the possibility of the celiacomesenteric trunk, is clinically important.


Even today, little is known about engineers. They are a multifarious group difficult to define. Engineers came into existence in the Middle Ages and performed many different types of work over the years ; but it was in the nineteenth century, when industrial development really took off, that they structured themselves as a group. But can engineers really be said to constitute an independent group within industrial firms and within society ? Recently, special efforts have been made by researchers to try and answer the many questions concerning engineers. This issue of Culture Technique is a part of the process. To gain a better understanding of what engineers really are, the articles deal with many differing aspects: the «image» projected by engineers, the work and function of engineers, their relationship to innovation, their logic, their ideological/political attitudes, their structural organisation, questions relating to the training of engineers and the current problems facing them. These themes are not treated exhaustively, but in all cases the authors'intention has been to open up new paths, suggest new lines of thought, provide new and unpublished information so that we may improve our understanding of this important socio-professional group.


This study evaluates the simulation of wintertime (15 October, 2019, to 15 March, 2020) statistics of the central Arctic near-surface atmosphere and surface energy budget observed during the MOSAiC campaign with short-term forecasts from 7 state-of-the-art operational and experimental forecast systems. Five of these systems are fully coupled ocean-sea ice-atmosphere models. Forecast systems need to simultaneously simulate the impact of radiative effects, turbulence, and precipitation processes on the surface energy budget and near-surface atmospheric conditions in order to produce useful forecasts of the Arctic system. This study focuses on processes unique to the Arctic, such as, the representation of liquid-bearing clouds at cold temperatures and the representation of a persistent stable boundary layer. It is found that contemporary models still struggle to maintain liquid water in clouds at cold temperatures. Given the simple balance between net longwave radiation, sensible heat flux, and conductive ground flux in the wintertime Arctic surface energy balance, a bias in one of these components manifests as a compensating bias in other terms. This study highlights the different manifestations of model bias and the potential implications on other terms. Three general types of challenges are found within the models evaluated: representing the radiative impact of clouds, representing the interaction of atmospheric heat fluxes with sub-surface fluxes (i.e., snow and ice properties), and representing the relationship between stability and turbulent heat fluxes.


Horseshoe kidney is probably the most common renal fusion anomaly. With the continuous donor shortage, transplant surgeons tend to accept donors previously considered unsuitable. We present a successful case of en bloc horseshoe kidney transplant in a single recipient. The literature is reviewed. The use of horseshoe kidneys in transplantation is recommended in selected cases.


Gaussian particles provide a flexible framework for modelling and simulating three-dimensional star-shaped random sets. In our framework, the radial function of the particle arises from a kernel smoothing, and is associated with an isotropic random field on the sphere. If the kernel is a von Mises-Fisher density, or uniform on a spherical cap, the correlation function of the associated random field admits a closed form expression. The Hausdorff dimension of the surface of the Gaussian particle reflects the decay of the correlation function at the origin, as quantified by the fractal index. Under power kernels we obtain particles with boundaries of any Hausdorff dimension between 2 and 3.


Based on measurements obtained by commodity wireless sensors, we observe that the majority of thermostatic loads in a user premise are described by periodic pulse waves. We propose a novel first stage of optimization in the smart grid which reduces external on/off command flow for demand response between the controller and the smart appliances. A phase management scheme is developed that defines optimal time shifts on the periodic loads in order to provide peak power and energy cost reduction over a limited time horizon. A gradient descent optimization technique, based on Taylor series, is applied to determine the phases of the pulses in discrete time steps. Three optimization strategies and two control schemes are explored. Minimization of peak power loads, minimization of energy costs and flattening of the power curve are modeled. A centralized and a distributed control scheme are explored. It is found that respectable peak power and cost reduction can be achieved in the centralized control scheme but redundant data transfer in the network and increased complexity is necessary. On the other hand, the distributed control scheme reduces the overall complexity but does not present significant savings.


On thoroughly analyzing modes of interpreting normativism that exist in Western political thought, the author comes to the conclusion that the "normativism" category is devoid of clear-cut, strictly fixed content and is applied for the characterization of intellectual trends that are very much apart. Although the term "normativism" is one of the most noticeable among notions figuring in Western political science and is actively used when analyzing most different research tendencies, nevertheless a theoretical and methodological approach it is supposed to designate, usually fails to fall within the field of consideration by scholars. As a result, the author states, specificity of the said approach hasn't by the present time been determined and the question of whether it is possible at all to find out general characteristics proper to this theoretical and methodological trend and whether there exists any invariant "minimum of normativism", hasn't got an answer.


Since the end of the Second World War, poverty in the United States has been a persistent focus of social anxiety, public debate, and federal policy. This volume argues convincingly that we will not be able to reduce or eliminate poverty until we take the political factors that contribute to its continuation into account. Ideal for course use, A New Introduction to Poverty opens with a historical overview of the major intellectual and political debates surrounding poverty in the United States. Several factors have received inadequate attention: the impact of poverty on women; the synergy of racism and poverty; race and gender stratification of the workplace; and, crucially, the ways in which the powerful use their resources to maintain the economic status quo. Contributors include Mimi Abramovitz, Peter Alcock, Bonnie Thornton Dill, Raymond Franklin, Herman George Jr., Michael B. Katz, Marlene Kim, Rebecca Morales, Sandra Patton, Valerie Polakow, Jackie Pope, Jill Quadagno, David C. Ranney, Barbara Ransby, Bette Woody, and Maxine Baca Zinn.


This paper presents the capturing of objects using Wi-Fi enabled modular esp32 camera and processes the captured stream of data using machine learning and computer vision techniques, then sends the processed data to the cloud, there are major cloud providers in the market who occupied more than 80% of the global public market the cloud providers are Google Cloud, Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure. Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is been our primary choice because of its good documentation availability, The Cloud IoT-Core Gateway, as well as a serverless cloud layer to store all of the data. The cloud functions help to trigger the notifications to the users when the cameras detect what we have trained the model. The Edge computing project uses an ESP32 With cameras as a device listener and a raspberry pi as an edge server which has an image classifier model trained with TensorFlow.


In this paper, we propose a new methodology for the segmentation and retrieval system for Computed Tomography (CT) brain images. For the segmentation part, two segmentation techniques are considered which are modified FCM with population-diameter independent (PDI) and expectation-maximization (EM) segmentation. However, only one of the techniques is selected based on the average intensity in order to obtain the more proper results. The ultimate goal of the segmentation is to acquire the ventricles. For the retrieval part, features are extracted from the ventricles and images are retrieved based on the similarities of the ventricles. From the obtained experimental results, the proposed methodology is feasible and attains satisfactory results.


A competitive protein-binding method was used to determine serum thyroxine concentration throughout childhood, adolescence, and in young adults. The values showed a gradual decrease as the child became older and reached adult levels by the time of adolescence. The range (mean ± 2 SD μg/100 ml) for cord serum was 8·8-14·8; for 4 weeks to 11 years, 6·5-13·9; for 11 to 17 years, 5·4-12·2, and for young adults 6·0-11·2.


The use of optical fiber amplifiers in optical telecommunication systems has opened up many new possibilities with the amplifier's large gain and wide spectral bandwidth. They include ultra-long distance signal transmission without repeaters, and multi channel optical frequency division multiplexing. Very short optical pulses, optical soliton pulses, and wavelength tunable laser sources with extremely narrow linewidth are also of great interest as light source for broadband optical communication. More recently, new applications of the optical fiber amplifiers to sensors have been intr~duced. '-~ They are in forms of various types of fiber lasers whose output optical frequencies or temporal properties are determined by the optical pathlengths of laser cavities. The magnitude of external pertubations that change the optical pathlength of the cavity can be measured by monitoring the output characteristics of the laser. To achieve good performance from the fiber laser sensors, the longitudinal mode and polarization properties of the fiber laser have to be understood in detail. One of the good exam les is a polarimetric fiber laser sensor','where the frequency difference between two eigen polarization components of the laser output has a linear dependence on the net birefringence of the fiber laser cavity. External perturbations such as longitudinal strain, lateral stress, and temperature change can easily be measured with such a fiber laser sensor. Since the sensor has a frequency readout with an inherently linear scale factor, complicated electronic signal processing can be avoided. This is an important feature for practical sensors that has been pursued since the early stage of sensor development. Another example utilizes mode locked operation with short optical pulse output? The timing of the pulses is determined by the phase difference in a fiber interferometer that is part of the laser cavity. Therefore, the output is in time interval that can be conveniently measured. Rotation rate sensing can be accomplished with this approach. Other examples include fiber ring laser sensors using either rare-earth doped fiber amplifiers4 or stimulated Brillouin scattering amplifier? The operating principles and applications of several fiber laser sensors will be described. Some of the recent activities including new results obtained with a fast semiconductor amplifier instead of a slow fiber amplifier in a fiber laser cavity will be pres,ented. The properties of fiber laser output as a function of linear and circular birefringence in the cavity will also be briefly discussed.


The observation accuracy of rainfall processes affects every aspects of the meteorological and hydrological affairs, which is widely monitored by various types of tipping bucket rain gauges（TBRs）because of the simple structure and reliable performance. The study of the measurement errors of TBRs is quite valuable and necessary for improving the rainfall data quality and evaluating the uncertainty of the research based on the dataset.

In this study, an artificial rainfall and monitor experiment system is designed with peristaltic pump, balances, recorder and controller for the accurate rainfall and the TBRs instrumental values record, based on which the error distribution and instrument stability were analyzed. Eight types of TBRs are chose for the error evaluation experiment, including five single-layer TBRs, three double-layer TBRs. For each TBRs, we observe its performance under 6 rain intensity (0.1-4mm/min) in turn. With regard to each rain intensity, when the simulated total rainfall reaches 10 mm, the experiment stops and records the data, then repeats the same experiment 6 times.

The result shows that the single-layer TBRs have a good linear relationship between the rainfall and the measurement error, and the double-layer TBRs has a significant regulating effect on the continuous heavy rain intensity, which can make the rain flow steadily down to the lower tipping bucket (metering tipping bucket) with a stable rain intensity to avoid the rain intensity variation influence on the measurement error. However, due to its high resolution of 0.1mm, it is greatly affected by the residual water volume of the tipper bucket.

According to the results, the single-layer TBRs can correct the actual rainfall measurement process according to the error ~ rainfall intensity curve. The double-layer TBRs can play an important role in the rainy day record, but the randomness of the residual in the tipping bucket needs to be further estimated. Because the proportion of the light rainfall intensity in most of the rainfall events are quite high according to the statistics, it is necessary to have lower measurement error under the light rainfall in the TBRs chosen and calibration process. It's a good idea to choose a combination of rain gauges(0.1mm&0.5mm) to improve the accuracy of rainfall and rainy day.


[Purpose] The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise training on the levels of peripheral brain-derived neurotrophic factor and eotaxin-1 in obese young men. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects included sixteen obese young men with a body mass index greater than 25 kg/m2. They were randomly divided between control and exercise groups (n = 8 in each group). The exercise group performed treadmill exercise for 40 min, 3 times a week for 8 weeks at the intensity of 70% heart rate reserve. Blood collection was performed to examine the levels of serum glucose, plasma malonaldehyde, serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and plasma eotaxin-1 before and after the intervention (aerobic exercise training). [Results] Following the intervention, serum BDNF levels were significantly higher, while serum glucose, plasma MDA, and plasma eotaxin-1 levels were significantly lower than those prior to the intervention in the exercise group. [Conclusion] Aerobic exercise training can induce neurogenesis in obese individuals by increasing the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and reducing the levels of eotaxin-1. Alleviation of oxidative stress is possibly responsible for such changes.


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of ozone in combination with insulin on cranial and spinal neuropathy in rats with diabetes mellitus (DM).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sixty adult male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into the following six groups (n = 10): control (C), ozone (O), diabetic (D), ozone-treated diabetic (DO), insulin-treated diabetic (DI), and ozone, insulin-treated diabetic (DOI). DM was induced by a single intraperitoneal (ip) streptozotocin injection (60 mg/kg), followed by 3 IU (ip) insulin administration for 60 days. Next, 1.1 mg/kg (50 μg/ml) ozone was administered to the O, DO, and DOI groups for 60 days. After inducing diabetes, the total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS) were measured; the oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated. The brain and spinal cord tissues were obtained for histopathological evaluation. This cross sectional study was conducted in Dumlupinar University Laboratory Animals Research Center e.g 11.03.2015 ‒ 15.05.2015.

RESULTS
TAS was higher in the DO, DI, and DOI groups than in the D group. TOS and OSI were lower in the DO, DI, and DOI groups than in the D group. Little pathological alterations with degenerated axons and vascular congestion were observed in the DO, DI, and DOI groups compared with the D group.

CONCLUSION
Ozone with insulin can stimulate the endogenous antioxidant defense mechanism in diabetic neuropathy, thereby preventing reactive oxygen species-induced damage and protecting against cranial and spinal neuropathies (Fig. 6, Ref. 29).


Psoriasis is an immune-mediated disease causing raised, scaly patches on the skin, especially the elbows, knees, and scalp due to systemic inflammation. The disease affects more than 125 million people worldwide. Psoriasis is associated with problems such as depression, reduced quality of life, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, lymphoma, diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome. Psoriasis has a complex pathogenesis that is not yet fully understood. Many studies have shown the importance of the microbiome for the exacerbation of psoriasis. On the other hand, psoriasis and some other treatments can increase the colonization of some microbial agents in the body. Candida is commensal yeast that forms part of the natural microflora of the skin and mucous membranes. It has been shown that people with psoriasis are susceptible to candidiasis. In this review article, the causes of candidiasis, its diagnosis, and treatment in patients with psoriasis, as well as psoriasis aggravation methods by Candida species have also been investigated. To this end, keywords such as "psoriasis", "candida", " oral candidiasis", "cutaneous candidiasis", "vulvovaginal candidiasis", "epidemiology of Candida"  and "balanitis" were searched. Articles published in national and international scientific databases, namely Google Scholar, PubMed/MEDLINE, Elsevier databases, Scopus, Science Direct, IranMedex, and SID from 2001 to 2023 were used. Oral candidiasis, cutaneous candidiasis, vulvovaginal candidiasis, and balanitis are diseases that affect people with psoriasis. On the other. This fungus may aggravate psoriasis through toxin production and activation of T lymphocytes independent of antigen presentation.


The antigenicity, local irritation and mutagenicity tests of bestatin (NK421) were carried out as special toxicity studies. The antigenicity tests in rabbits and guinea pigs were as follows: active and passive anaphylactic shock tests, Schultz-Dale reaction test, PCA (passive cutaneous anaphylaxis) reaction test, agar gel precipitation test, hemagglutination test of tannic acid-treated erythrocyte and the test according to the appraisal in the U.S.A. The ocular mucosal irritation test in rabbits was performed as a local irritation test. The mutagenicity test was made using S. typhimurium TA100, TA98 strains by means of preincubation method. The results were that NK421 had no antigenicity, irritation on the ocular mucosa and mutagenicity.


Coal blending is a critically important process in the coal mining industry as it directly influences the number of product tonnes and the total revenue generated by a mine site. Coal blending represents a challenging and complex problem with numerous blending possibilities, multiple constraints and competing objectives. At many mine sites, blending decisions are made using heuristics that have been developed through experience or made by using computer assisted control algorithms or linear programming. While current blending procedures have achieved profitable outcomes in the past, they often result in a sub-optimal utilization of high quality coal. This sub-optimality has a considerable negative impact on mine site productivity as it can reduce the amount of lower quality ROM that is blended and sold. This article reviews the coal blending problem and discusses some of the difficult trade-offs and challenges that arise in trying to address this problem. We highlight some of the risks from making simplifying assumptions and the limitations of current software optimization systems. We conclude by explaining how the mining industry would significantly benefit from research and development into optimization algorithms and technologies that are better able to combine computer optimization algorithm capabilities with the important insights of engineers and quality control specialists.


The diamagnetic susceptibility χ of aligned carbon nanotubes is anisotropic: χ|| differs from χ⊥. The ratio χ||/χ⊥ exhibits a singularity at 40 K. Below this temperature χ|| differs in samples cooled in magnetic field from those cooled in zero field. This observation suggested interaction of the magnetic moments responsible for susceptibility.


We study the governance of voice in digital platforms in light of contestations and struggles over meaning and resources among their stakeholders. In particular, we argue that social media platforms as fields are subject to power imbalances that might constrain the voices of marginalized and under-represented individuals and groups. Consequently, the governance decisions that private firms (i.e. platform owners) undertake are critical in providing users and communities with the capacity to self-present and identify. Through a qualitative longitudinal study of a popular social media platform, we study the means through which a marginalized community leverages the governance tools at its disposal to overcome the contestation within the platform. We present implications for the governance of digital platforms and their evolution.


Background In goals-of-care conversations, patients' prognosis, level of functional autonomy, values and life goals are discussed in order to inform decisions regarding the use of life-sustaining interventions. Without such discussions, interventions that prolong life at the cost of decreasing its quality may be used without appropriate guidance from patients. Shared decision making (SDM) is recommended to support these goals-of-care conversations. Decision aids (DA), providing unbiased, evidence-based information to patients, can help clinicians engage in SDM. We developed a DA adapted to the context of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and a training program that could support these goals-of-care conversations. Objectives We aimed to: (i) determine to which extent DA use and training increase intensivists' SDM related skills, (ii) identify elderly patients' concerns regarding goals-of-care and whether and how they are addressed during the conversation, and (iii) identify opportunities for intensivists to improve their SDM skills. Methods We conducted a three-phase study using mixed-methods analysis, in a single ICU (Lévis, Canada), recruiting intensivists to participate in the training program and use the DA during real life goals-of-care conversations. We recruited elderly patients (>65 years) with whom intensivists intended to engage in a goals-of-care conversation. We videotaped goals-of-care conversations in three phases: (i) prior to the training session and DA availability, (ii) with the DA available for use, (iii) after the training session (and DA availability). We conducted a videographic analysis to assessed the degree of SDM related behaviour displayed (12-item OPTION scale, min-max scores: 0–48) and a retrospective qualitative content analysis to address goals-of-care elements addressed during conversations. Results We recruited 7 dyads per phase for a total of 21 patients (71% male; mean age 76 years) and 5 intensivists (80% male). None of the 21 conversations were supported by the DA. Median OPTION score were 12 (interquartile range [IQR]: 10–14), 10 (IQR: 7–12) and 9 (IQR: 8–14) for the three phases respectively. Content analysis showed that intensivists tended to focus on medical interventions rather than talking about death/dying and avoided addressing options of not attempting cardiopulmonary/mechanical ventilation. When intensivists talked about death and dying, they used euphemisms and metaphors referring to the human body as a machine. Conclusion Our results show that the intensivists never used the DA and avoided discussing death and dying and the option of not attempting cardiopulmonary/mechanical ventilation in the case of a cardiac arrest/respiratory failure during the three study phases.


SETTING
The prevalence of substandard anti-tuberculosis drugs is unknown. To maximize the effectiveness of tuberculosis (TB) control efforts, simple, inexpensive drug quality screening methods are needed.

DESIGN
Isoniazid (INH) and rifampin (RMP) single- and fixed-dose combination (FDC) formulations were collected from selected TB programs and pharmacies in Colombia, Estonia, India, Latvia, Russia and Vietnam. Samples were screened using a recently developed thin-layer chromatography (TLC) kit. All abnormal samples and a 40% random sample of normal formulations were further analyzed using confirmatory techniques. Samples outside of 85% to 115% of stated content, and/or containing compounds other than the stated drug, were defined as being substandard.

RESULTS
Overall, 10% (4/40) of all samples, including 13% (4/30) RMP samples, contained <85% of stated content. More FDCs (5/24, 21%) than single-drug samples (2/16, 13%) were substandard. A comparison of TLC with the confirmatory analysis for RMP analysis showed a sensitivity of 100% (4/4), a specificity of 92% (24/26), a positive predictive value (PPV) of 67% (4/6), and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 100% (24/24). An analysis of INH showed a specificity of 90% (9/10). However, sensitivity, PPV, and NVP could not be determined.

CONCLUSION
A substantial number of anti-tuberculosis drugs from several countries, in particular FDCs, were found to be substandard. Such drugs may contribute to the creation of drug-resistant TB. TLC is an effective, convenient, and inexpensive method for the detection of substandard drugs.


Suspense and surprise, as common and crucial elements of interest realised in literary fiction, are analysed closely in a sample of short stories, so as to develop a detailed explanation of how these forms of interest are created in literary texts, and to propose models for them. Creating suspense involves more conditions, necessary and optional, and more complication than surprise: the several optional conditions mainly serve to intensify the feeling of suspense the reader experiences. Surprise requires two necessary and sufficient conditions, with only a couple of optional conditions to maintain or ensure coherence in the text. The differences are considered attributable to a more fundamental difference between suspense and surprise as emotions. Suspense can be regarded as a progressive emotion, whereas surprise is a perfective emotion. As such, suspense as an interest is considered as a process-oriented interest, while surprise is an effect-oriented one. Suspense is mostly experienced while reading and has the reader involved with the story. Surprise drives the reader to reassess the story in the new light it throws on events and to look for some further message; this is often a main aim of the literary fiction which ends in surprise.


This study investigates the 3-axis transmissibility of the vehicle compact disk player's mainbase which is supported by dampers and springs. These dampers and springs as the important element ' determining the vibration performance of vehicle compact disk Player are used to minimize the vibration which is induced by driving the vehicle. In order to determine the analysis frequency band, we investigated the excitation frequency of road from the vehicle test. As the characteristics of damper and spring were changed, we carried out the vibration test and investigated the change of transmissibility, Also, we carried out the sensitivity analysis for transmissibility and we found out that the properties of damper were the dominant element in the vibration performance of vehicle compact disk player.


Asthma and other allergic diseases are associated with mast cell activation and prostaglandin D 2 (PGD 2 ) generation. PGD 2 exerts pro-inflammatory activity via chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells (CRTh2). The safety and efficacy of CRTh2 antagonist ARRY-502 was studied in mild atopic asthmatic adults in a double-blind, placebo-controlled 4 week phase 2a study. Enrolled patients were free of inhaled corticosteroids with an FEV1% predicted of 60-85%. Potential participants were screened and randomized to receive 200 mg BID ARRY-502 (n = 93) or matching placebo (n = 91). In patients with elevated Th2 associated biomarkers at baseline there were significant improvements in spirometric outcomes, measures of asthma control and quality of life. In addition, there was a significant reduction in markers of Th2 driven inflammation in these patients. For example, patients that exhibited FENO levels at or above the median value of 48 ppb at baseline experienced a reduction in FENO of 27.0 ppb (pl0.0001) at week 4 in the ARRY-502 group versus placebo group. This indicates significant anti-inflammatory activity of ARRY-502 via CRTh2 antagonism. Other markers of Th2 inflammation were also reduced including serum periostin, serum squamous cell carcinoma antigens 1 & 2, serum TARC (CCL17), and blood CRTh2 + eosinophils. These results imply that ARRY-502 controls multiple Th2 inflammatory pathways and could be beneficial in patients that suffer from other Th2-driven allergic diseases like atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis.


This article presents the missing federalism and individual liberty portion of Chief Justice Roberts' health care case opinion. It illuminates and reinforces the commerce power and limited and enumerated powers arguments he makes there just as the Tenth Amendment and the doctrine of federalism more generally illuminate and reinforce the commerce power and the doctrine of limited and enumerated powers in constitutional law and doctrine. It also answers and explains the claims made by the Chief Justice's critics on and off the bench that his opinion and similar arguments made by like-thinking lower court judges and law professors use a semi-respectable cover of federalism and enumerated powers arguments to mask their real constitutional doctrine and goals — turning back commerce power doctrine to the bad old days of Hammer v. Dagenhart and economic due process doctrine to the much-maligned case of Lochner v. New York. These critics, in effect, take the Chief Justice and his supporters here to be conservative deconstructionists, intent on reversing the status and valorization of the current constitutional canon and anti-canon.The Chief Justice's critics are right to say that his opinion is based on (largely unstated) individual liberty grounds, but they are wrong to charge that these are economic due process grounds. The unconstitutionality of individual economic mandates can be established without turning back the constitutional clock or overturning modern precedent. It can be better accomplished in a doctrine of federalism and individual liberty fully consistent with Supreme Court precedent since 1937, including the health care case. This argument brings together the doctrine of the Court's state anti-commandeering cases and their Tenth Amendment/individual liberty decision in Bond v. United States to argue for the unconstitutionality of individual economic mandates and appeals to the spirit as well as the letter of the Constitution.These critics misperceive the differences between their constitutional vision and that of Chief Justice Roberts, taking them to involve a difference in canons, when instead they arise out of a difference in constitutional gestalts. The two sides here do not follow different cases; they only have different takes on the same cases. Chief Justice Roberts' critics overlook the view of federalism and individual liberty here presented, mainly because there is no logical space for it in their constitutional worldview which, for example, sees the Tenth Amendment as merely a truism. For this reason, they wrongly conclude that those holding opposing views can only do so because they reject post-1937 constitutional precedent and doctrine and wish to bring back Lochner, Hammer and the constitution in exile.


Field emission characteristics of a graphite nanofiber (GNF) emitter used in FED were examined using a scanning Faraday cup emission profiler. The current density of emitted electrons changed considerably over the emitting area at a low field, as high as two orders in intensity in a measuring emitter area of 1 mm2. However, uniformity was significantly improved due to current saturation at a high field. This paper discusses the current saturation in field emission of GNF from the space-charge effect of emitted electrons.


With the maturity of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, this work investigates the integration of UAV into wireless communication systems. Since the UAV is powered by a capacity-limited battery, this work proposes to use the radio energy harvesting technology at the UAV in order to extend the lifetime of UAV empowered base station. To extract the most weighted throughput of UAV empowered wireless systems, the dirty paper coding scheme and information-theoretic uplinkdownlink channel duality are exploited to propose an extracting the most weighted throughput algorithm. Numerical results are used to verify the proposed algorithm.


This paper analyzes main characteristics of monetary policy management under inflation targeting and monetary targeting. It also examines the strengths and weaknesses of the two policy strategies in the application to the context of developing countries like Thailand. Although the results from the empirical analysis in this study remain inconclusive to indicate which sort of policy strategies, inflation targeting or monetary targeting, is more suitable for the actual application in Thailand's case, the findings suggest some specific conditions and important factors that the central bank and concerned authorities have to take into consideration when opting for an appropriate monetary policy framework in the future. In choosing a monetary policy strategy appropriate to a changing structure of Thailand's economic and financial environment, the monetary authorities need to examine further the issues related to the ability to forecast inflation reasonably well over the medium term, the nature of transmission mechanism of monetary and exchange rate A Preliminary Analysis of Monetary and Inflation Targeting Frameworks for Thailand * Rungsun Hataiseree Monetary Policy Group Bank of Thailand * Background paper to a lecture given to central banks' delegates at a session of "Study Visit on Option for Exchange Rate Policy", organized by ESCAP and the Bank of Thailand, on 22nd, November, 1999. An earlier version of this paper was also presented at the Tenth Convention of the Economic Society of Thailand, November 4, 1999, Bangkok. The author wishes to thank seminar participants in particular Chalongphob Sussangkarn, Sataporn Jinachitra for helpful discussion. Special thanks are also due to Atchana Waiquamdee and Suchada Kirakul for their useful comments and suggestions on the previous version of the paper. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Bank of Thailand. policies on inflation, the role of financial innovation and the stability of money demand, a quantitative nature on linkage between instruments and targets of monetary policy, a degree of independence of monetary policy, the nature of the trade-off between the attainment of inflation and other macroeconomic objectives, the nature of shocks affecting the Thai economy in the near term.


Larvae of Melanotus cribricollis, feed on bamboo shoots and roots, causing serious damage to bamboo in Southern China. However, there is currently no effective control measure to limit the population of this underground pest. Previously, a new entomopathogenic fungal strain isolated from M. cribricollis larvae cadavers named Metarhizium pingshaense WP08 showed high pathogenic efficacy indoors, indicated that the fungus could be used as a bio-control measure. So far, the genetic backgrounds of both M. cribricollis and M. pingshaense WP08 were blank. Here, we analyzed the whole transcriptome of M. cribricollis larvae, infected with M. pingshaense WP08 or not, using high-throughput next generation sequencing technology. In addition, the transcriptome sequencing of M. pingshaense WP08 was also performed for data separation of those two non-model species. The reliability of the RNA-Seq data was also validated through qRT-PCR experiment. The de novo assembly, functional annotation, sequence comparison of four insect species, and analysis of DEGs, enriched pathways, GO terms and immune related candidate genes were operated. The results indicated that, multiple defense mechanisms of M. cribricollis larvae are initiated to protect against the more serious negative effects caused by fungal infection. To our knowledge, this was the first report of transcriptome analysis of Melanotus spp. infected with a fungus, and it could provide insights to further explore insect–fungi interaction mechanisms.


Rapid urbanization and increased of motorization have resulted in congestion and pollution that requires the need for a shift towards the use of more sustainable transportation mode like public transportation. In most major cities of developing countries, traffic congestion and air pollution have been observed to be associated with the operation of informal transportation and huge number of private vehicles uses, and there is no exception to Phnom Penh. Since public transport such as buses and subways is not well developed in the city, paratransit, such as motor taxis and auto rickshaws is the main mode of travel. In order to deal with serious traffic congestion, city bus was introduced in 2014, expecting to reduce the number of vehicles commuting on the roads. However, this initiative has not been successful since paratransit is still the most preferred mode for travellers though the trip fare of city bus is relatively cheap.
The purpose of this study is to provide insights about the influence of paratransit in application of city bus policies and also explain the reasons why travellers do not prefer to use public bus services for commuting. The research method is a mixed strategy of using survey and semi-structured interview. A total number of 335 commuters in Phnom Penh were interviewed to hear their perceptions on the level of service delivery of both public bus and paratransit and particularly the reasons behind non-preference of city bus service. The key informants are users of public bus and paratransit, and experts who involved with public transport improvement project.
Major findings and analysis cover four main categories including 1). Differences in perception between public bus and paratransit, 2), Encouraging factors for using public bus, 3). Encouraging factors for using paratransit, and 4). Discouraging factors for using public bus. The study shown that commuters have positive perception on paratransit in terms of its availability, accessibility, reliability and flexibility, while they perceived these characteristics provided by public bus were poor. Nonetheless, commuters were satisfied with public bus when it comes to trip fare, comfortability, safety and driver's behavior. The study further revealed that students and elderly were in favor of using public bus, while middle age people and wage-paid employees were not satisfied with its services.
It was observed that the reasons that travellers do not prefer to use public bus are because of low level of flexibility, reliability and accessibility that resulted in longer travel time, being delayed and especially they still have to use another transportation mode in order to connect with bus service. These three indicators were considered as priority factors that needed to be improved. Public bus quality could be improved by expanding bus routes to sub-urban areas and increasing frequency of bus operation. It is also recommended that law enforcement should be done on on-street parking, illegal use of sidewalks, traffic management and vehicle growth control to enhance the smooth operation of public bus. Finally, awareness campaigns should be highly promoted to spread the information of bus operation networks as well as the necessity of using formal public transportation to reduce the serious traffic congestion.


OBJECTIVES
The authors compared the safety, gastrointestinal tolerance, and clinical efficacy of feeding an enteral diet containing a fish oil/medium-chain triglyceride structured lipid (FOSL-HN) versus an isonitrogenous, isocaloric formula (O-HN) in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery for upper gastrointestinal malignancies.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA
Previous studies suggest that feeding with n-3 fatty acids from fish oil can alter eicosanoid and cytokine production, yielding an improved immunocompetence and a reduced inflammatory response to injury. The use of n-3 fatty acids as a structured lipid can improve long-chain fatty acid absorption.

METHODS
This prospective, blinded, randomized trial was conducted in 50 adult patients who were jejunally fed either FOSL-HN or O-HN for 7 days. Serum chemistries, hematology, urinalysis, gastrointestinal complications, liver and renal function, plasma and erythrocyte fatty acid analysis, urinary prostaglandins, and outcome parameters were measured at baseline and on day 7. Comparisons were made in 18 and 17 evaluable patients based a priori on the ability to reach a tube feeding rate of 40 mL/hour.

RESULTS
Patients receiving FOSL-HN experienced no untoward side effects, significant incorporation of eicosapentaenoic acid into plasma and erythrocyte phospholipids, and a 50% decline in the total number of gastrointestinal complications and infections compared with patients given O-HN. The data strongly suggest improved liver and renal function during the postoperative period in the FOSL-HN group.

CONCLUSION
Early enteral feeding with FOSL-HN was safe and well tolerated. Results suggest that the use of such a formula during the postoperative period may reduce the number of infections and gastrointestinal complications per patient, as well as improve renal and liver function through modulation of urinary prostaglandin levels. Additional clinical trials to fully quantify clinical benefits and optimize nutritional support with FOSL-HN should be undertaken.


Processing semantically related stimuli creates interference across various domains of cognition, including language and memory. In this study, we identify the locus and mechanism of interference when retrieving meanings associated with words and pictures. Subjects matched a probe stimulus (e.g., cat) to its associated target picture (e.g., yarn) from an array of unrelated pictures. Across trials, probes were either semantically related or unrelated. To test the locus of interference, we presented probes as either words or pictures. If semantic interference occurs at the stage common to both tasks, that is, access to semantic representations, then interference should occur in both probe presentation modalities. Results showed clear semantic interference effects independent of presentation modality and lexical frequency, confirming a semantic locus of interference in comprehension. To test the mechanism of interference, we repeated trials across 4 presentation cycles and manipulated the number of unrelated intervening trials (zero vs. two). We found that semantic interference was additive across cycles and survived 2 intervening trials, demonstrating interference to be long-lasting as opposed to short-lived. However, interference was smaller with zero versus 2 intervening trials, which we interpret to suggest that short-lived facilitation counteracted the long-lived interference. We propose that retrieving meanings associated with words/pictures from the same semantic category yields both interference due to long-lasting changes in connection strength between semantic representations (i.e., incremental learning) and facilitation caused by short-lived residual activation. (PsycINFO Database Record


Elastin is a primary structural protein in the arterial wall that contributes to vascular mechanical properties and degrades with aging. Aging is associated with arterial stiffening and an increase in blood pressure. There is evidence that arterial aging follows different timelines with sex. Our objective was to investigate how elastin content affects arterial remodeling in male and female mice with aging. We used male and female wild-type (Eln+/+) and elastin heterozygous (Eln+/-) mice at 6, 12, and 24 months of age and measured their blood pressure and arterial morphology, wall structure, protein content, circumferential stress, stretch ratio, and stiffness. Two arteries were used with varying contents of elastin: the left common carotid and ascending aorta. We show that Eln+/- arteries start at a different homeostatic set point for circumferential wall stress, stretch, and material stiffness, but show similar increases with aging to Eln+/+ mice. With aging, structural stiffness is greatly increased, while material stiffness and circumferential stress are only slightly increased, highlighting the importance of maintaining these homeostatic values. Circumferential stretch shows the smallest change with age and may be important for controlling cellular phenotype. Independent sex differences are mostly associated with males being larger than females, however many of the measured factors show age x sex and/or genotype x sex interactions, indicating that males and females follow different cardiovascular remodeling timelines with aging and are differentially affected by reduced elastin content.


Objectives
To search for anti-adipogenic components from natural plants, this study evaluated inhibitory effects of active components from Portulaca oleracea on adipogenic differentiation.

Methods
The crude extract was partitioned into n-hexane, 85% aqueous methanol, n-butanol, and water fractions. By anti-adipogenic assay-guided isolation method, 4 kinds of homoisoflavonoids (1-4) were isolated from 85%aq. MeOH fraction. Their inhibitory effects on adipogenic differentiation were evaluated by Oil red O intracellular lipid staining, and measuring glycerol release, glucose consumption and adiopogenesis-related gene expression in 3T3-L1 cells.

Results
The administration of homoisoflavonoids 1-4 to adipocyte cells decreased the lipid accumulation and glucose consumption, and increased the release of glycerol into culture medium. In particular, homoisoflavonoid 3 effectively down-regulated the adipogenic transcription genes such as peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins (C/EBPα), and adipogenic target genes such as fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4), fatty acid transport protein 1 (FATP1), and acyl-CoA synthase 1 (ACS1).

Conclusions
This study suggested that homoisoflavonoids 3 held notable potential to be used for the treatment and prevention of obesity and related disorders.

Funding Sources
This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education and the Center for Women In Science, Engineering and Technology (WISET) Grant funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) under the Program for Returners into R&D.


Managing feeding difficulties in infants and young children with chronic medical conditions can be very stressful for parents. Occupational therapists providing feeding interventions need to be sensitive to the psychological stresses experienced by families as well as the biomedical issues that can contribute to paediatric feeding disorders. Qualitative research, using the phenomenological theory, was conducted with eight families to explore parents' perceptions of the impact of feeding difficulties on family life. This article reports on preliminary findings, describing factors that contributed to parental stress and factors that influenced their psychological adjustment. A unifying theme emerged drawing together parents' perceptions of how they had 'survived' and coped with chronic stress. Parents attributed satisfaction with medical care, management of nutrition, and support from professionals, partners and family as contributing to their ability to cope and adjust over time. Based on these preliminary findings, recommendations that acknowledge the psychosocial aspects of feeding intervention in occupational therapy practice are discussed, along with recommendations for future research.


In the latest World Health Organization classification of brain tumors, gliomatosis cerebri has been redefined to varying subsets of diffuse gliomas; however, the term is still used to describe gliomas with infiltrative growth into three or more cerebral lobes. These tumors are frequently misdiagnosed and difficult to treat due to their atypical presentation using structural imaging modalities including computed tomography and T1/T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this retrospective case series, we compared clinical MRI to amino acid positron emission tomography (PET) to assess the potential value of PET in the assessment of the extent of tumor involvement and in monitoring disease progression. We report the clinical course and serial multimodal imaging findings of four patients. Each patient presented at varying points in disease progression with widespread glioma brain involvement and was evaluated at least once by amino acid PET using alpha-[11C]methyl-L-tryptophan ([11C]-AMT). Increased uptake of [11C]-AMT was detected in a subset of non-enhancing brain lesions and detected tumor invasion before MRI signs of tumor in some regions. Increased uptake of [11C]-AMT was also detected in tumorous regions not detected by perfusion MRI or MR spectroscopy. Metabolic response to treatment was also observed in two patients. Overall, these data are consistent with and expand upon previous reports using other amino acid PET tracers in gliomatosis and show the potential added value of this imaging modality to clinical MRI in the detection and monitoring of these diffusely infiltrative tumors.


After lentectomy of the adult newt eye, non-dividing iris epithelial cells re-enter the cell cycle. Some of the iris epithelial cells become completely depigmented while they are in the cell cycle, and then differentiate into lens cells. The remaining iris epithelial cells become partially depigmented in the induced cell cycle, but resynthesize melanosomes and recover the normal state of iris epithelial cells. The two groups of cells are spatially separated within the iris epithelium. The cell cycle parameters of both groups of iris epithelial cells were estimated by a mathematical procedure on a computerized programme from the percentage of labelled mitotic cells as a function of time after peritoneal injection of [3H]methyl-thymidine on day 6 after lentectomy. The total cell cycle time was found significantly shorter in the cell population with complete depigmentation as compared with that with partial depigmentation. Based on these results the possible role of differential cell cycle time in the control of dedifferentiation was discussed. Grafting of unlabelled iris into the optic cavity of host animals injected 6 h beforehand with [3H]methyl-thymidine, followed by a study of radioactivity of iris epithelial cells of the graft demonstrated incorporation at a low level during the whole period of experiment in which the cell cycle parameters were estimated. The data used for the estimation were corrected for the delayed incorporation.


: The effect of potassium benzylpenicillin, streptomycin sulfate and chlortetracycline on experimental gangrenous intoxication was studied. When the antibiotics were injected before intoxication, the albino mice resistance did not significantly change. When the antibiotics were injected immediately after the toxin administration, the resistance of the test animals markedly decreased.


Lately renaming of districts, towns and villages in Kazakhstan has drawn attention amongst experts, journalists and curious onlookers equally. The topic has caused particular interest within heated debates on Kazakhstan's nation-building path and the role that national minorities are meant to occupy in that process. In fact, both media and academia have often portrayed policies of renaming in the country as another sign of an ongoing process of "Kazakhization". During the last decades, scholarship involved in the study of toponyms has developed approaches closer to critical studies in the belief that the study of the landscape, and the elements which conform it (as it is the case of place-names) can be a useful tool in order to expose the prevailing ideologies behind the ones who author it through acts such as naming and renaming practices, or in other words, the ones who hold the power over it. Therefore, the objective of this work is to understand the attitudes of the Kazakhstani state towards its national minorities through the analysis of the acts of renaming which took place since its independence.


ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the influence of the Kangaroo Position duration in the initial interactions between mothers and preterm infants. Methods: This is an exploratory prospective observational study that analyzed the mother-infant interaction during breastfeeding, before hospital discharge. All eligible newborns, with a gestational age of 28-32 weeks and a birth weight of 1,000-1,800 g from June 11 to September 31, 2014 were included. The films of the interaction were evaluated by the "Mother-Baby Interaction Protocol 0-6 months" tool. The duration of the Kangaroo Position during all the hospitalization period was correlated with the interaction between mother and preterm infant. Results: The longer the dyad spent time in the Kangaroo Position, the more the newborns made physical contact attempts with their mothers during breastfeeding (r=0.37; p=0.03); and the longer the time in the Kangaroo Position, the less the mothers talked to their children (r=-0.47; p=0.006). Conclusions: Longer periods in the Kangaroo Position stimulates the initial exchanges of contact between preterm infant with his mother, which suggests a higher alert status of the newborn and a better availability for interactions with the mother during breastfeeding.


Abstract Question: This study analysed the effect of severe soil erosion on species composition of plant communities by favouring species showing certain growth forms, root-sprouting and clonal growth abilities. Location: The study area was located between the middle Ebro Valley and the Pre-Pyrenees (northeastern Spain). Methods: Root-sprouting and shoot-rooting abilities, clonal reproduction and growth form were assessed for the 123 most common plant species from eroded lands in the study area. We obtained 260 vegetation relevés in three different substrata (gypsum outcrops, Miocene clays and Eocene marls) on areas with different degrees of soil erosion. The frequency of every plant trait in each relevé was estimated according to species presence. The effect of soil erosion on the frequency of plant attributes was assessed by correlation analyses. Results: Bipolar, non-clonal plants and annual species decreased their frequency with increasing soil erosion in the three substrata analyzed, whereas root-sprouters and woody plants (mostly sub-shrubs) increased their frequency in most of the substrata analysed. Conclusions: Woody sub-shrubs, root-sprouters and clonal species are favoured in eroded lands in NE Spain. Bipolar species and annual plants might not be plastic enough to survive the high stress and frequent disturbances prevailing in such eroded areas.


A comparative study of interaction between Lysozyme (Lyz) with two hexavalent chromate ions; chromate and dichromate; which are prevalently known for their toxicity, was investigated using different spectroscopic techniques along with molecular docking study. Both steady-state and time-resolved studies revealed that the addition of chromate/dichromate is responsible for strong quenching of intrinsic fluorescence in Lyz and the quenching is caused by both static and dynamic quenching mechanism. Different binding and thermodynamic parameters were also calculated at different temperatures from the intrinsic fluorescence of Lyz. The conformational change in Lyz and thermodynamic parameters obtained during the course of interaction with chromate/dichromate were well-supported by the molecular docking results.


In order for manufacturing companies to gain competitive advantage, stay competitive, or even survive, they need to develop new products and processes. However, most successful ventures require as much attention on process design as product design. This case study describes how a local company used discrete-event simulation modeling and analysis to help them design the first phase of production for their new manufacturing facility in Mississippi. The local company needed to determine the equipment and personnel required for a lean manufacturing implementation of a new high-technology product line, composite fan blade platforms for jet engines, using newly designed production processes. This project was conducted as the plant was being constructed and as the products and processes were finishing prototype production. One key aspect of the study is the demonstration of the importance of including variability in planning and the significant impact it has on fulfilling production requirements. The model was developed by faculty, students, and staff from the Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University (MSU) in conjunction with the local company's engineers.


Marjorie Perloff's 2006 presidential address may be most striking in its call for a return to a conventional definition of the literary as the ground of disciplinary training. If the profession of literary study in the contemporary academy is in a state of crisis, Perloff argues, it is largely a result of the ways literary scholars have undermined and contaminated the core of the discipline, adopting a "governing paradigm" for scholarship and teaching from other fields, including anthropology and history (654). "It is time to trust the literary instinct that brought us to this field in the first place," she counsels, "and to recognize that, instead of lusting after those other disciplines that seem so exotic primarily because we don't really practice them, what we need is more theoretical, historical, and critical training in our own discipline" (662). One could respond that this position, with its suggestion that the solution is mostly a matter of self-fashioning in the discipline, understates the broader pressures in the university as a social institution. But in what follows I would like to take up a different, smaller concern: Perloff's hostility to interdisciplinarity.


Bluestar Silicones, one of the worldwide leaders in silicones chemistry, proposes a
R&D project, aiming to design new equipment for the transposition of batch to continuous
processes. The safety and environmental issues linked to this type of chemicals, and the
productivity targets as well require innovative technologies characterized by a fair corrosion
resistance and high heat and mass transfer performances. A preliminary prototype of heat
exchanger reactor made of silicon carbide plates has been developed by the LGC in
collaboration with a SME specialist of SiC, Boostec. It has allowed the pilot feasibility with
some reactions of industrial interest for a Bluestar Silicones to be highlighted. Now, it is
necessary to pursue this effort and beyond the feasibility step to go on up to the design of an
industrial reactor. This project corresponds to a programme of innovative process development
in order to design cleaner, safer and less consuming devices.


Children's invisibility, non-participation or limited participation can be associated with social workers' experiences of losing focus of the child in their work, while at the same time navigating organisational and legal demands where a child perspective is strongly promoted. This article sheds light on social workers' experiences of working with a child perspective and with children's participation. Six in-depth interviews were conducted with professionals from social services and ngo s and from different child welfare services in Sweden. Our findings indicate that losing focus of the child is a common phenomenon that relates to the dominance of adult-centred practice and that child-centred methods need to be developed. Social workers from ngo s described having better opportunities for working in a child-centred way. Losing focus of the child mirrors the subordinated position of child-centred practice, proving that a child perspective and children's participation are still inadequately anchored in social work practice.


A new ferrous-ion chelating agent, siderochelin, was isolated from fermentation broths of Nocardia sp. SC 11,340. Siderochelin was produced by conventional submerged culture and purified by solvent extraction and recrystallization. The antibiotic was crystallized from acetonitrile as a mixture of diastereoisomers. The molecular formula of siderochelin was determined as C11H13N3O3 on the basis of elemental analysis and mass spectrometry, and the structure was elucidated by X-ray crystallography. The compound shows a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity, being active against bacteria, fungi and protozoa.


We report a case of 27-year-old female patient who presented with swelling on the right side of neck for 6 months. On examination the swelling was soft compressible non tender, with no local rise of temperature, roughly 2*3 cm in size. MRI of the neck showed a small 2.2*0.8*2.4 cm sized well defined T2W and STIR hyperintense and T1W hypointense lesion in the subcutaneous plane over the lateral aspect of the middle third of the neck. Posteriorly it was abutting the right external jugular vein without any thrombosis. Medially abutting the right sternocleidomastoid muscle. The patient was taken up for resection of the AVM under general anaesthesia. Round 5 cm linear vertical incision was put on the right side along the anterior border of sternocleidomastoid muscle at the level of greater cornua of hyoid bone. A vascular 2*2*2 cm mass was noted abutting the sternocleidomastoid muscle medially and internal jugular vein laterally. Blunt dissection was done. The mass was excised completely by separating from sternocleidomastoid muscle and internal jugular vein. All the feeding vessels from the internal jugular vein were individually identified and ligated and the mass was removed completely with minimal intra-operative bleeding. The bed was inspected thoroughly for any bleeding and after achieving haemostasis the wound site was closed in layers. The tissue was sent for histopathological examination. Histopathology was consistent with that of arteriovenous malformation showing admixture of malformed capillaries, arteries and venules with involvement of submucosa but not muscularis propria. The patient was asymptomatic at 3 months follow up and wound site showed complete healing with no scarring.


Copper nanoclusters catalyse the cross-coupling of alkynes and aryl halides to give the corresponding disubstituted alkynes. No palladium, ligand, or co-catalyst is needed, and products are isolated in good yields (80–85%) and high selectivity. The clusters are simple to prepare, stable and can be applied to a variety of iodo- and bromoaryls. Mechanistic pathways for homocoupling and cross-coupling of alkynes are examined by comparing the activity of different catalyst and co-catalyst combinations. The copper clusters show different catalytic properties than their homogeneous analogues.


*** SUMMARY: For adequate treatment of patients with breast cancer, mastologists should have a complete understanding of the anatomy of the thoracic wall, axilla and breast. However, the classical anatomical descriptions in textbooks make it difficult to gain full mastery of this subject, because the books usually deal with its elements separately. In an endeavor to resolve this difficulty, the present authors have conducted an extensive review, to describe the muscles, blood vessels and nerves of the thoracic wall and in the axilla that are of interest to mastologists. The axilla was described in detail, with emphasis on its limits, walls and contents, and highlighting the lymph nodes in this region. Finally, the anatomy of the breast and its topography, innervation, vascularization and lymph drainage were described, making correlations between the anatomy and the lymph node group classification routinely used by mastologists.


Structural information in web text provides natural annotations for NLP problems such as word segmentation and parsing. In this paper we propose a discriminative learning algorithm to take advantage of the linguistic knowledge in large amounts of natural annotations on the Internet. It utilizes the Internet as an external corpus with massive (although slight and sparse) natural annotations, and enables a classifier to evolve on the large-scaled and real-time updated web text. With Chinese word segmentation as a case study, experiments show that the segmenter enhanced with the Chinese wikipedia achieves significant improvement on a series of testing sets from different domains, even with a single classifier and local features.


Multiplicative gain control is a vital component of many theoretical analyses of neural computations, conferring the ability to scale neuronal firing rate in response to synaptic inputs. Many theories of gain control in single cells have used precisely balanced noisy inputs. Such noisy inputs can degrade signal processing. We demonstrate a deterministic method for the control of gain without the use of noise. We show that a depolarizing afterpotential (DAP), arising from active dendritic spike backpropagation, leads to a multiplicative increase in gain. Reduction of DAP amplitude by dendritic inhibition dilutes the multiplicative effect, allowing for divisive scaling of the firing rate. In contrast, somatic inhibition acts in a subtractive manner, allowing spatially distinct inhibitory inputs to perform distinct computations. The simplicity of this mechanism and the ubiquity of its elementary components suggest that many cell types have the potential to display a dendritic division of neuronal output.


Studies the anomalous variations of the OFF-state leakage current (I/sub OFF/) in n-channel poly-Si thin-film transistors (TFTs) under static stress. The dominant mechanisms for the anomalous I/sub OFF/ can be attributed to (1) I/sub OFF/ increases due to channel hot electrons trapping at the gate oxide/channel interface and silicon grain boundaries and (2) I/sub OFF/ decreases due to hot holes accumulated/trapped near the channel/bottom oxide interface near the source region. Under the stress of high drain bias, serious impact ionization effect will occur to generate hot electrons and hot holes near the drain region. Some of holes will be injected into the gate oxide due to the vertical field (/spl sim/(V_Gstress V_Dstress)/T/sub OX/) near the drain and the others will be migrated from drain to source along the channel due to lateral electric field (/spl sim/V_Dstress/L/sub CH/).


This paper investigates the optimal transmit beamforming designs for simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) in multiple-input single-output interference channels (IFC). Based on cooperation level among transmitters and receivsers, we classify the SWIPT IFC systems into two categories. First, we consider the IFC with partial cooperation, where only channel state information (CSI) is available at transmitters and receivers, but not the signal waveform. Second, we examine the IFC with signal cooperation, where both the CSI and the signal waveforms are known to transmitters and receivers. Then, for the both scenarios, we identify the Pareto boundary of the achievable rate-energy (R-E) region which characterizes the optimal tradeoff between the information rate and the harvested energy. To this end, the problems for maximizing the information rate are formulated with minimum required harvested energy constraint. To solve these non-convex problems, we introduce parameterization techniques for characterizing the R-E region. As a result, the original problem is separated into two subproblems, for which closed-form solutions are obtained by addressing the line search method. Finally, we provide numerical examples for the Pareto boundary of the R-E region through simulations.


The development of persulfate-mediated oxidation of tetrahydro-β-carbolines is reported. This mild reaction facilitates the formation of a variety of 2-formyl N-substituted tryptamines and the related derivatives as key intermediates in moderate to excellent yields. The method is applicable to direct last-stage oxidation of two interesting pharmaceuticals, Cialis and evodiamine.


Determination of sex from the femur measurements has been attempted in several populations and various studies have demonstrated the importance of population specific standards in the metric assessment of sex. The present study attempts to establish metric standards for sex determination by using femur measurements for ancient Japanese populations. Osteometric data were obtained from 151 adult skeletal remains from Jomon period, Yoshigo human skeletal collection. Eight femur measurements were taken and the data were analyzed by discriminant analysis using SPSS version 10.0. For the univariate discriminant function derived, precision of sex determination was 93% with the condyle breadth. Prediction values showed that sex differentiation could be done by femur measurements with reliability between 66.9 and 100%, with values for males higher than for females. It is suggested that discriminant formulas developed by femur measurements in this study, can be used for sex determination accurately on fragmentary skeletal remains in ancient Japanese populations.


The article seeks to explore opportunities for further entrepreneurship development and its intensification in a pandemic setting, in the transport sector in particular, which is associated with the constant search for and implementation of new ideas, technologies, goods, services, manufacturing methods, etc. to retain a business. An emphasis is put that in modern realia as never before, the effective functioning of any company demands for continuous improvement, renewal, reorganization, finding new pathways to manage and run a successful business. It is noted that this approach is based on the latest concept that assumes significant changes in entrepreneurship in the transport industry and will foster further business development. In addition, the study reveals that the application of digital platforms is viewed as the newest tool that has the potential to boost the transport industry growth. However, despite objective reasons, there is still a lack of proper justification for the need to use digital technologies in transport. It is noted that the Industry Development Strategy 4.0 designed by the Ukrainian Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs interprets digital transformation as social or technological changes associated with the penetration of digital technology into all areas of human interactions. The essence of these transformations is to find new approaches and management concepts to resolve classic business challenges. The purpose of this article is to verify the feasibility of transport entrepreneurship based on digital platforms. The study provides insights into the benefits and specifics of digitalization in the context of Covid restrictions adjusted the needs of business acceleration. To attain the research objectives, the tools of information and marketing communications were used as well as the outcomes of marketing research to summarize information on the development of courier delivery and taxi services in Ukraine. Based on the analysis of entrepreneurship in the transport industry, the essential characteristics of digital platforms for taxi service have been discussed. It is argued that a customer focus makes the basis of any successful digital strategy. However, according to the study findings, transport companies need a single comprehensive perception of their customers to develop cooperation and offer a personalized approach to them. The summary concludes that digitalization is aimed at retaining the contact between the consumer and the producer to balance twofold interests: on the one hand, to the producer it will result in profit growth, and on the other – the consumer will be able to get the enhanced service quality, thus managing a close relationship between these two market actors, even in the quarantine realia.


This paper provides a roadmap for addressing security requirements on projects using an agile approach. The Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) is used as an example framework for development. Security quality requirements engineering (SQUARE) is used as an example methodology to address security issues early in the development life cycle. SQUARE can be more effective when it fits into an organization's existing development process. Hence this paper describes a way to fit the SQUARE methodology into the DSDM framework.


Strata-bound massive sulfide deposits of the central Virginia Piedmont occur in a volcanic-plutonic belt composed of Lower Cambrian(?) metamorphosed volcanic rocks and locally of pre-Upper Ordovician, low potassium granitoid rocks. The belt, interpreted as an ancient island arc, begins about 50 km south of Washington, D.C., and extends some 175 km south-westward. The volcanic rocks within the belt are located along the flanks of the Quantico-Columbia synclinorium and the Arvonia syncline. The Chopawamsic Formation, a western facies of the belt, consists of volcanic rocks that have the geochemical features (rare earth and immobile elements) of a tholeiitic island-arc suite; it also contains calc-alkaline components. Tholeiitic amphibolites of the Ta River Metamorphic Suite on the eastern side of the belt form an oceanward facies of the island arc, coeval with the Chopawamsic. This distribution suggests an underlying westward-dipping Cambrian(?) subduction zone. Contrasts in stratigraphy, geochemistry, and magnetic and gravity features indicate that the central Virginia volcanic-plutonic belt is not related to the Carolina slate belt as has been proposed in the past.Known sulfide bodies in the Chopawamsic and its coeval units total about 13.5 million tons. The Mineral district on the northwest flank of the Quantico-Columbia synclinorium has the largest deposits and contains about 10 million tons. Sulfide bodies in the belt consist largely of pyrite with minor sphalerite and chalcopyrite; Zn and Pb are important in a few of the smaller deposits. There are local concentrations of sphalerite and other base metal minerals within the major pyritic deposits (Zn = 1-12.5%; Cu: 1-2%; Pb as much as 5%). The dominantly sphaleritic deposits are found in and northward for about 15 km from the Mineral district. Sulfide mineralization is found in all types of volcanic rock, but the large sulfide bodies on the northwest flank of the Quantico-Columbia synclinorium are in felsite. Amphibolite, containing local beds of iron-formation, is abundant on the southeast flank of the Arvonia syncline; however, most sulfide mineralization there took place in felsitic to intermediate layers. Mineralization, attributed to submarine volcanic exhalation, took place during formation of the island arc.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To describe the use of a logic model methodology in the development, implementation, and evaluation of a regionally based cancer health network.

DATA SOURCES
Published articles; online references; published reports from government, state, and private organizations; and regional breast health project results.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Through the use of the logic model, the program objectives and outcomes were identified and actualized.

CONCLUSIONS
The logic model served as a framework for developing the key components of the program: infrastructure, implementation, and sustainability. Supportive structures, such as the timeline, process evaluation, and outcome evaluation plan, enhanced the use of the logic model by adding clarity to program development and program evaluation.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Nurses, particularly advanced practice nurses and nurse managers, play a key role in leading program development. A logic model can be used to guide program development, implementation, and evaluation. It serves as an excellent framework for developing a program that integrates service, practice, and research.


Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are a type of smart materials that reacts mechanically to heat. Due to their complex behavior, they are often used in a simple geometry such as wires. This constrains the output displacement of the alloy to a simple linear contraction of the wire. When a different output displacement is desired, the SMA is coupled to a mechanism that transforms the motion, degrading the compactness of the whole system. To alleviate such issues, we propose fabricating, directly in SMA, a compliant mechanism that performs complex output motions and thus improves integration. The first part of this paper presents a method to design such systems. When coupled with a bias-spring and a heating system, these mechanisms form a full actuator. The conventional heating system relies on Joules losses coming from direct electric conduction through the alloy. However, now that the SMA has a complex shape, passing a current through it becomes an arduous task requiring multiple electrodes making the system cumbersome and deteriorating its integrability. Magnetic induction heating is proposed to tackle this limitation, heating the mechanism without contact and conserving a compact actuator.


We investigated the effects of very brief pictorial information on transfer between the cerebral hemispheres through recordings of skin conductance responses. The pictorial stimuli had been judged previously as "neutral", "positive", or "negative" by an independent group of subjects. The verbally-available stimuli (VA) were neutral whereas the very brief, verbally-unavailable stimuli (VU) were positive or negative. The VA and VU stimuli were presented simultaneously, either in the same visual half-field (intra-hemispheric interference) or in the opposite visual half-field (inter-hemispheric interference). In a third condition, there were only VA stimuli in either visual field (no interference). We found that the right hemisphere was especially sensitive to negative VU presentations, both in the inter-and intra-hemispheric interference groups. The left hemisphere showed a corresponding sensitivity to positive interference, but only in the inter-hemispheric interference group. These findings confirm the hemispheric roles in mediating positive versus negative emotions and they show that in the interplay between hemispheric specialization and commissural transfer, left to right transfer can take place without linguistic cognition.


Due to the ways their disease develops diabetics are more likely to require surgery than the rest of the population and operations constitute a stress factor with high rates of morbidity and post-operative mortality due essentially to cardiovascular and infectious complications. In normal subjects the stimulation of the hypothalamohypophyseal axis and the suprarenal marrow induced by surgical stress mobilizes energy substrates that provoke the secretion of insulin that prevents their accumulation and improves their utilization. In diabetics the inadequacy or lack of insulin secretion unbalances these mechanisms to the great danger of the patients themselves. For this reason patients' pre-operative conditions must be very carefully assessed and treatment designed to prevent the increase of catabolic ways due to the lack of insulin must be given. Some of the many treatment protocols proposed are described and discussed, a distinction being made between diet, non insulin and insulin dependent diabetics. The post-operative risk constituted by the onset of non-ketoacidotic hyperosmolar coma, as occurs in other severe stress situations should also be remembered.


Under conditions of constant temperature at 25°C and controlled illumination, the spontaneous running activities of separate groups of experimentally hypertensive rats were measured at graded periods of time after bilateral kidney encapsulation. The activity of hypertensive rats was greater than that of controls from 3–8 weeks after kidney encapsulation; i.e., during the time blood pressure was increasing. When blood pressure became maximally elevated (8–9 weeks after kidney encapsulation), activity of hypertensive rats decreased to that of control rats and thereafter the activities of both groups decreased in the same fashion with increasing age. Under these conditions hypertensive disease did not impose a limitation on spontaneous activity despite the increased work load of the heart and the elevated mean blood pressure. Comparable results were also observed when hypertensive and normal rats were kept continuously in activity cages. Unrestricted activity did not affect either the time course of development or the severity of the elevated blood pressure.


Complement-dependent cytotoxicity in tumor bearer sera (TBS) from Wistar rats carrying any of five transplantable aminoazo dye-induced hepatomas (D23, D33, D23/Not, D30, or D202) were investigated by a short-term 51Cr release assay. Extensive tests of various TBS against the hepatomas revealed that the tumors could be divided into two groups. Group 1 hepatomas (D23, D33, and D23/Not) all shared antigens which could induce serum antibodies in syngeneic hosts as shown by complement-dependent cytotoxicity. The Group 2 tumors (D30 and D202) elicited such an immune response occasionally and less efficiently. This immune response was demonstrable only with Group 1 tumors as targets.

It was shown that this reactivity was directed against antigens also present in several homogenates made from normal tissues. Furthermore, absorption experiments with viable tumor cells confirmed that the target antigens for the cytotoxic effect of Group 1 TBS were poorly expressed on the Group 2 tumors. In allogeneic sera raised in Dark Agouti rats against the tumors, a similar immune response was detected when the sera were tested against the tumors and Wistar spleen cells. The alloantisera against the Group 1 tumors reacted strongly with tumor-associated antigens as well as with Wistar alloantigens, but no reactivity against the Group 2 tumors was found. In some of the alloantisera against the Group 2 tumors, reactivities against Group 1 tumor antigens as well as against Wistar alloantigens were detected, thus confirming the results obtained with the syngeneic TBS. From these results, it was concluded that the predominant humoral immune response against the tumors detected herein was directed to autoantigens present in all tumors as well as in normal tissues.