A new species of Bryconops is described from a tributary to the rio Madeira in the Amazon basin, State of Rondonia, Brazil. Bryconops piracolina belongs to the subgenus Bryconops by having no teeth or rarely one tooth in the maxilla, and a naked area on cheek between the second and third infraorbitals. The new species is distinguished from all species of this subgenus by the presence of a large black blotch on dorsal-fin base. Furthermore, it is distinguished from all congeners, except B. inpai, by possessing the adipose fin entirely black. It differs from B. inpai by the lack of humeral spots. It further differs from all species of the subgenus Bryconops, except B. caudomaculatus, by having the last scales of the longitudinal series of scales that bears the lateral line series not pored beyond the end of the hypural plate, and differs from B. caudomaculatus by the smaller number of pored lateral line scales (31-36, mean 34.6, vs. 37-43, mean = 40.6, respectively).


Engineering successful machine learning (ML)-enabled systems poses various challenges from both a theoretical and a practical side. Among those challenges are how to effectively address unrealistic expectations of ML capabilities from customers, managers and even other team members, and how to connect business value to engineering and data science activities composed by interdisciplinary teams. In this paper, we present PerSpecML, a perspective-based approach for specifying ML-enabled systems that helps practitioners identify which attributes, including ML and non-ML components, are important to contribute to the overall system's quality. The approach involves analyzing 59 concerns related to typical tasks that practitioners face in ML projects, grouping them into five perspectives: system objectives, user experience, infrastructure, model, and data. Together, these perspectives serve to mediate the communication between business owners, domain experts, designers, software and ML engineers, and data scientists. The creation of PerSpecML involved a series of validations conducted in different contexts: (i) in academia, (ii) with industry representatives, and (iii) in two real industrial case studies. As a result of the diverse validations and continuous improvements, PerSpecML stands as a promising approach, poised to positively impact the specification of ML-enabled systems, particularly helping to reveal key components that would have been otherwise missed without using PerSpecML.


We report a case of a premature newborn baby who presented with hyponatremia, hyperkalemia, and metabolic acidosis accompanied by severe polyhydramnios in utero. The baby was diagnosed with pseudohypoaldosteronism on the basis of normal 17-hydroxyprogesterone levels, elevated aldosterone, and clinical symptoms. His serum electrolyte levels were corrected with sodium chloride supplementation. Sodium supplementation was reduced gradually and discontinued at 5 months of age. At 5 months, the child was able to maintain normal serum electrolyte levels without oral sodium chloride supplementation, and showed normal physical and neurological development. This case illustrates that pseudohypoaldosteronism must be considered if a newborn infant with an antenatal history of severe polyhydramnios shows excessive salt loss with normal levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone.


Objectives The purpose of this study was to study the initial fixation and migration pattern of a monoblock acetabular component used for a metal on metal hip resurfacing using Einzel Bild Roentgen Analyse (EBRA). Methods 99 patients with a mean age of 49.6 years (range 28.5-66.3 years) of whom 14 were bilateral underwent a hip resurfacing (Conserve Plus®, MicroPort, Memphis, TN) for a total of 113 resurfacings. Acetabular component orientation was noted with 35 of the 113 components (31.0%) having a lucency >2 mm on the immediate postoperative radiograph. Results The mean follow-up for our cohort of 113 hips is 50 months (2-79 months). When examining the 2-year migration mark, 37 of the 113 hips exceeded the threshold of 0.5 mm/year with a median total migration of 1.40 mm (range 1.02-4.24). 6 resurfacings underwent revision surgery for aseptic loosening of the acetabular component at a mean time of 43.6 months. Presence of initial lucency (OR 2.29, p = 0.05) was the only significant predictor of migration over threshold at 2-years. Those that had migrated over the threshold (1.0 mm) at 2 years were at significantly greater risk of continued migration at 4 years. Conclusions The migration pattern of this component raises concerns about long term performance, with postoperative lucencies representing a significant factor for future migration.


This study was conducted to verify the simulation model through the drying test, and investigate effect of factors, such as temperature of drying air, airflow rate, and velocity of the airflow, on the drying. The low temperature drying simulation model was developed based on the circulation dry simulation model presented by Keum et al. (1987), and by modifying low temperature thin layer drying model, equilibrium moisture content model, latent heat of vaporization model, and crack ratio prediction model. The heat pump and experimental dryer with a capacity of 150kg were used for the test. The RMSE between the predicted and measured value was 0.27% (drying temperature), 0.15% (crack ratio), and 2.08% (relative humidity), so the relevance of the model was verified. In addition, the effect of drying temperature, airflow rate, and velocity of the airflow on the drying was examined. The experimental results showed that the crack ratio at drying temperature of was allowable. Moreover, at below , variation of the crack ratio was slight, but drying time was delayed. Given these results, the drying temperature of over was effective. As the airflow rate increased, required energy dramatically increased. Whereas drying rate slowly increased, so loss of drying efficiency was caused. Considering these results, the dryer needed to be designed and adjusted to lower than . As velocity of the airflow increased, required drying energy increased when the velocity of the airflow was over /hr, while crack ratio and drying rate showed little variation.


Abstract This thesis is a case study aiming to give explanations to Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. By using three different theoretical perspectives, realism, regional hegemony and constructivism, the aim is to find different but also complementing explanations to the case. The theories realism and regional hegemony are related and also similar to each other, but still contributes with some different focuses on the case. Both realism and regional hegemony has their main focus on the sovereign state's security and their power militarily, politically and economically. Constructivism on the other hand is a bit different from the other two, and has its main focus on identity, ideas and worldviews. Thanks to the differences between the three perspectives the analysis gives a broader and deeper explanation to Russia's invasion and annexation of Crimea.


【As fantasy films in which super heroes with superhuman abilities play an active part are rapidly becoming more popular, super hero stories are taking root as a new genre in fantasy films. The costumes in films play an important role in visualizing the virtual reality of fantasy films when those costumes are worn by characters so as to express and define them. In the meantime, in the antagonistic structure of good versus evil as a typical subject in these films, it may be said that the costumes of super heroes who advocate good and those of villains who represent evil have been created as an image of power. In this sense, it is necessary to establish an analytic system of how images of the power of good and evil are visually created in costumes for fantasy films. As such, this study seeks to analyze costumes in fantasy films more systemically through semiotic, which has taken root as a science of analysis in all areas of science. From the perspectives of aesthetic semiotic developed by Morris and costume aesthetics, the syntactical dimension is analyzed into formative elements and the principles of costumes; factual and expressive meanings, themes, and inherent meaning, all of which are immanent in costumes, are elicited in the semantic dimension; and the influence of costumes on viewers is described as identification in terms of pragmatics. This study provided a system to analyze costumes in fantasy films(especially 'Superman', 'Batman' and 'Spiderman') from the perspective of Morris' semiotic, and based on the analytic system, examined how 'power' is revealed in the costumes of super heroes and ruffians, and what it implies.】


Purpose: To evaluate the safety and short-term efficacy of uterine artery embolization (UAE) in treating uncontrolled vaginal bleeding in a group of gynecologic and obstetric patients. Methods: Eighteen symptomatic patients were treated by this method. These included 11 patients with an advanced carcinoma of the cervix, three patients with uterine fibroid, three patients with a uterine arterio-venous malformation (AVM) and one patient with placenta accreta. All procedures were done by transfemoral route. Polyvinyl alcohol foam particles, 300-500 microns in size, were used for embolization. Imaging by duplex sonography was performed before the procedure and at one week and one-month follow-up. Result: Eight patient (six with carcinoma of the cervix and one each with a uterine AVM and placenta accreta) underwent unilateral and 10 patients underwent a bilateral UAE. All procedures were technically and clinically successful. Four patients developed a self-limiting post-embolization syndrome, characterized by mild fever and leucocytosis. They responded well to analgesic therapy. One patient developed a groin hematoma that resolved with conservative management. All patients reported mild to moderate pelvic pain in the post-embolization period which lasted for 24-72 hours and responded well to medication. There were no permanent sequelae of UAE. The follow-up period was 2-17 months (mean, 7 months). During follow-up, vaginal bleeding was controlled in all of them. It stopped completely in 8 and was significantly reduced in 10 patients. The size of the tumor regressed in all patients. The AVM was completely blocked in one and showed a substantially reduced flow in two patients. Conclusion: UAE is used in treating vaginal bleeding, irrespective of its etiology. The procedure is safe, produces no permanent sequelae and provides an effective control of hemorrhage. The overall complication rate is low.


This book is written during the LRET Summer Collegium 2011 held in the University of Southampton. In recognition to the need to reduced CO2 emission from coal or fuel fired power plant, research project on an engineering system for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in ocean space utilisation is proposed in the collegium. This book is written to address the engineering challenges in our proposed CCS engineering system. It is recognised that the public perception is the main key to successful CCS project and an engineering system that involves public engagement in the CCS project in the early stage is proposed. The proposed project is known as the "Green Town" where it comprises of an air scrubbing towers that has the ability to capture CO2 from the air. The selected site for the case study would then be free of anthropogenic CO2. The captured CO2 will then be transported by pipelines and stored in depleted oil/gas field for a geological time scale. Hamburg in Germany is selected as the case study city since it is a port city and is close to available geological formations for CO2 storage. The K12-B gas field has also been identified as the proposed sequestration site. The CO2 pipelines will tie-in to existing gas pipelines when they are no longer in use in the near future and the CO2 injection system for the CO2 will be retrofitted to gas platform when the gas field is no longer in use. The cost, risk and legal issues for the proposed "Green Town" idea are also addressed as well. This project also designed and conducted specific surveys in Southampton and Hamburg to investigate the public perception towards the "Green Town" idea and CCS. Unique findings are found and presented in this book. This book makes an important contribution in addressing the need to engage the public at the early stage of the CCS project. The designed surveys successfully proved that the proposed "Green Town" idea could act as an effective 'door opener' to future CCS project. We hope that this book would be useful to engineers and scientists working on the areas of CCS and are looking forward to share our views on the unique findings about the public's perception of CCS.


The graph of zigzag diagrams is a close relative of Young's lattice. The boundary problem for this graph amounts to describing coherent random permutations with descent-set statistic, and is also related to certain positive characters on the algebra of quasi-symmetric functions. We establish connections to some further relatives of Young's lattice and solve the boundary problem by reducing it to the classification of spreadable total orders on integers, as recently obtained by Jacka and Warren.


Forty-eight white-tailed deer fawns (Odocoileus virginianus) were marked during the spring and early summer of 1981 and 1982. Forty-one (85.4%) of these fawns died, 26 (63%) due to predation. In 18 of the 26 predator-caused deaths, the species of predator could be determined. Bobcats (Felis rufus) accounted for 12 deaths, while red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) , gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and alligators (Alligator missis sipptensis) were responsible for a total of at least 6 fawn deaths. Criteria for determining predator damage are discussed. Foxes and alligators have not previously been documented as predators on white-tailed deer fawns.


Background and Aim: Data are scanty on allocating simultaneous liver kidney (SLK) based on model for end-stage disease (MELD) score. Diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) are frequent in cirrhosis patients. We analyzed transplant recipients with DM and/or HTN to compare MELD-based outcomes of SLK to liver transplantation alone (LTA). Materials and Methods: Of 13,584 first deceased donor liver transplantation among patients with DM and/or HTN (1530 or 11.2% SLK), MELD score predicted SLK [1.02 (1.01-1.03)]. SLK was beneficial for 5-year patient survival at MELD score ≥43 (78.6% vs. 62.6%, P=0.017), but not at MELD score <29 (74.8% vs. 76.2%, P=0.63). Among 11,405 recipients (976 SLK) at MELD score <29, SLK (n=816) was beneficial compared with 706 LTA [75% vs. 64%, P<0.001; 0.71 (0.55-0.91)] at serum creatinine (SC) ≥2 but not at SC<2 [73% vs. 76%, P=0.32; 0.85 (0.60-1.2)]. Among patients with MELD score 29 to 42, SLK (n=484) and LTA (n=1403) had similar survival [69% vs. 69%, P=0.58; 0.9 (0.7-1.5)]. Among patients with MELD score ≥43, SLK (n=70) was associated with 35% improved patient survival at 5 years compared with 222 LTA [0.65 (0.46-0.93)]. Conclusions: Among patients with DM and/or HTN, SLK is useful at: (a) MELD score <29 and SC≥2 and (b) MELD score ≥43. Prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings as basis to optimize use of SLK.


IN this artucke the high strength micro-expansive concrete that has been applied on big-diameter and long-span steel arch bridge is researched. The applications show that the concrete has some merits , such as good fluidity, low bleeding ratio and no segregation, low slump loss, high early strength and high later strength, micro- expansion etc.


The Cu-line patterns with different linewidth were deposited by radio-frequency sputtering and defined by photolithography lift-off process. The residual stress was evaluated with X-ray diffraction technique and the results show that the Cu-line patterns are in a biaxial stress state and the stress values have a great dependence on linewidth. Further analysis reveals that the intrinsic stress has a main effect on changes of residual stress; however, the thermal stress plays a key role on anisotropic contribution of residual stress in directions along and across the Cu line. The variation of intrinsic stress correlates well with crystal orientation of the Cu line, and the linewidth seems to be the most crucial parameter for evolution of both texture and stress.


When compared to unimodal systems, multimodal biometric systems have several advantages, including lower error rate, higher accuracy, and larger population coverage. However, multimodal systems have an increased demand for integrity and privacy because they must store multiple biometric traits associated with each user. In this paper, we present a deep learning framework for feature-level fusion that generates a secure multimodal template from each user's face and iris biometrics. We integrate a deep hashing (binarization) technique into the fusion architecture to generate a robust binary multimodal shared latent representation. Further, we employ a hybrid secure architecture by combining cancelable biometrics with secure sketch techniques and integrate it with a deep hashing framework, which makes it computationally prohibitive to forge a combination of multiple biometrics that passes the authentication. The efficacy of the proposed approach is shown using a multimodal database of face and iris and it is observed that the matching performance is improved due to the fusion of multiple biometrics. Furthermore, the proposed approach also provides cancelability and unlinkability of the templates along with improved privacy of the biometric data. Additionally, we also test the proposed hashing function for an image retrieval application using a benchmark dataset. The main goal of this paper is to develop a method for integrating multimodal fusion, deep hashing, and biometric security, with an emphasis on structural data from modalities like face and iris. The proposed approach is in no way a general biometrics security framework that can be applied to all biometrics modalities, as further research is needed to extend the proposed framework to other unconstrained biometric modalities.


SCIAMACHY on ENVISAT has now successfully operated more than 4 years in space. The current in-flight performance of the instrument shows an excellent status with only a few minor in-flight non-conformances. A large volume of high quality scientific data has been acquired with results being retrieved covering many aspects of the changing Earth's atmosphere. In this paper a brief overview of SCIAMACHY is given with special emphasis on operations and performance aspects.


Motivated by the drive to impact the quality and diversity of students applying to engineering schools, this study evaluates a component of a Personalized Digital Learning Management System (PLMS) that has been designed to increase student engagement in K-12 Physics. In particular, a non-traditional project based learning module, with roots in game-based learning, has been developed and executed in grade 8 science classrooms. Pre and post survey data that includes attitudinal markers, learning style profiles, gender, and assessments of knowledge gained, are analyzed and presented. Results suggest that students who are more interested in science, physics and engineering tend to have learning styles that require programming that is more active and less sequential than traditionally delivered. This is particularly the case for female students. The non-traditional game based project acted to provide these types of learning opportunities and post survey data showed a very high level of student engagement. Results obtained will be used to further refine the PLMS.


Although giving and receiving affection are beneficial, the benefits often depend on who is providing the affection and in what context. Some affectionate expressions may even reduce well-being. This mixed-method study examined perceptions of unwanted affection and its relationship to stress and anxiety. Participants described a memory of unwanted affection and their reactions to it. Additionally, participants reported on their stress, somatic anxiety, and cognitive anxiety. Thematic analyses revealed that expressions of unwanted affection ranged in verbal (e.g., disclosure rate, saying "I love you") or nonverbal (e.g., hugs, handholding) behaviors and participants responded by explicit rejecting the affection, reduced/stopped contact with the person, and ignoring the affection. Feelings reflecting the perceived negativity of the event were related to higher stress, somatic, and cognitive anxiety. Generally, results indicated that retrospective cognitive anxiety and stress were worse when experiencing unwanted affection from well-known partners (e.g., romantic partners) than from strangers. Conversely, the perceived negativity of the recalled unwanted affectionate event tended to worsen with lesser known partners (e.g., strangers, acquaintances).


The most efficient approach to solve probabilistic planning problems is based on stochastic shortest path (SSP) and uses heuristic search to find a policy that minimizes the expected accumulated cost to the goal (MINCOST criterion). However, this approach can only solve problems with dead ends (states from which it is not possible to reach the goal) if an efficient dead end detection heuristic is used. Another solution would be to plan in two phases: maximizing the probability to reach the goal (MAXPROB) and then minimizing the expected cost (MINCOST). While there exist several heuristics to solve MINCOST, there is not known efficient heuristics to solve MAXPROB. A recent work proposes the first heuristic that takes into account the probabilities, called h pom, which solves a relaxed version of an SSP as a linear program in the dual space. However, to solve large problems with dead ends, h pom must be augmented with a dead end detection heuristic (e.g., h_pom and h_max ). In this work, we propose two new heuristics based on h pom. The first, h^pe_pom (s), estimates the minimal cost of state s to reach the goal, including new variables and constraints for the dead ends and adding an expected penalty for reaching them. The second, h ppom (s), estimates the maximum probability of state s to reach the goal, and is used to solve MAXPROB problems by ignoring action costs; We claim that h ppom (s) is the first heuristic for MAXPROB. Empirical results show that h^pe_pom can solve larger planning instances when compared to h pom h_max.


In this study; the effects of land use/land cover (LULC) changes, soil type and slope characteristics on surface water quality trends were evaluated for rainy and dry periods based on the riverside boundary zone concept. The Mann–Kendall test demonstrated the degree and importance of tendencies in all water quality parameters for each riparian area between 2008–2015 and 1999–2015. The LULC changes (between 1999 and 2015), soil types and slope characteristics were demonstrated by geographical information system and remote sensing methods. Pearson correlation analysis was applied to determine the relationships between the variables of water quality parameters with LULC, soil types, and slope. Results show that urban and agricultural areas have a negative impact on water quality and vegetation cover areas play an important role in improving water quality. Negative correlations were found between bare areas and all parameters. LULC changes negatively affected water quality, especially in terms of NH4, NO3, total dissolved solids and total phosphorus parameters. Alluvial soils and 0%–2% slope group also negatively affected the water quality. This study demonstrated the spatial-temporal distribution of surface water quality across the watershed and emphasized the importance of the riparian area in determining the variables affecting water quality.


Elevated QT interval variability (QTV) has been associated with increased cardiac mortality, but the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Sympathetic activity is thought to be a main contributor to QTV. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between cardiac sympathetic integrity and QTV in 15 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and varying degrees of cardiac autonomic neuropathy. Cardiac sympathetic innervation was assessed by 123I-mIBG scintigraphy based on heart-to-mediastinum ratio of 123I-mIBG uptake 4 hours after infusion. To assess QTV high resolution ECGs (1000 Hz) were recorded during standing. Beat-to-beat QT intervals were calculated over a period of 5 minutes, using a template-stretching algorithm. QTV was quantified using time and frequency domain measures as well as non-linear approaches (symbolic dynamics, fractal dimension). The group mean and standard deviation of HMR values were 1.07 ± 0.48. Time and frequency domain QTV parameters were significantly increased in subjects with sympathetic dysinnervation and inversely correlated with HMR (r = −0.7, p < 0.001). In conclusion, there is a clear link between sympathetic dysinnervation and elevated QTV in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus during sympathetic activation. Sympathetic dysinnervation is associated with increased ventricular repolarization lability.


The dependence of the energy cost of muons on the target density for the purposes of muon-catalyzed fusion in a deuterium-tritium target is investigated. The advantages of a particular target structure are discussed.


A widely accepted regulatory mechanism in maintaining hormone homeostasis involves negative or positive feedback control of biosynthetic genes through signal transduction pathways triggered by hormones. For brassinosteroid (BR) homeostasis, the antagonistic relationship between signaling and biosynthetic pathways has been well characterized. We have identified a transcriptional regulator, RAV-Like1, which activates both a BR receptor gene (BRI1) and BR synthetic genes (D2, D11, and BRD1). RAVL1 possesses a B3 DNA binding domain that exhibits differential affinity for E-box elements in the promoters of BRI1, D2, D11, and BRD1. Semi-dwarfism and BR-insensitive phenotypes are exhibited by ravl1 mutants. Genetic studies have demonstrated that expression alteration of BRI1 and BR synthetic genes by RAVL1 results in changes in BR sensitivity. BZR1 is a negative regulator involved in BR feedback mechanisms. To examine the relationship between RAVL1 and BZR1, expression of the common target gene BRD1 was examined using a transient transcription assay. The suppression of BRD1 by BZR1 is epistatic to activation by RAVL1. More importantly, RAVL1 is not subject to BR feedback regulation. Taken together, this data indicates that RAVL1 is involved in maintaining the basal activity of BRI1 and BR synthetic genes, which ensures that the basal levels of the hormone are produced. This study elucidated the RAVL1-mediated basal activation system which, in cooperation with negative feedback mechanisms, maintains BR homeostasis in higher plants.


Received: 12/May/2008, Accepted: 21/Sep/2008 Rodgers (Rg) and Chido (Ch) are blood-group antigens and they determine the fourthcomponent of human complement C4. Rodgers and Chido are associated with two C4 isotypes (C4A and C4B). In addition to genotype determination, study on expression of Rg and Chido could be useful in disease studies. DNA was extracted from the whole blood of 60 normal individuals. Then, PCR amplification of C4d gene fragment was followed by restriction digestion. This study demonstrated that the frequency of Ch and Rg in Iranian healthy population was 98.3 and 93.4 percent, respectively. Additionally, 6.6 percent of the studied population showed Chido-positive, Rodger-negative and 1.7 percent showed Rodger-positive, Chido-negative genotype. It may be concluded that upon receiving blood transfusion, 6.6 and 1.7 percent of individuals could produce anti-Rg and anti-Ch antibodies, re-


A comprehensive review of the propagation prediction models for terrestrial wireless communication systems is presented in this paper. The classic empirical models are briefly described and the focus is placed on the application of ray-tracing techniques to the development of deterministic propagation models. Schemes to increase the computational efficiency and accuracy are discussed. Traditional statistical models are also briefly reviewed for completeness. New challenges to the propagation prediction are described and some new approaches for meeting these challenges are presented.


Bismuth-based solar cells have exhibited some advantages over lead perovskite solar cells for nontoxicity and superior stability, which are currently two main concerns in the photovoltaic community. As for the perovskite-related compound (CH3NH3)3Bi2I9 applied for solar cells, the conversion efficiency is severely restricted by the unsatisfactory photoactive film quality. Herein we report a novel two-step approach- high-vacuum BiI3 deposition and low-vacuum homogeneous transformation of BiI3 to (CH3NH3)3Bi2I9-for highly compact, pinhole-free, large-grained films, which are characterized with absorption coefficient, trap density of states, and charge diffusion length comparable to those of some lead perovskite analogues. Accordingly, the solar cells have realized a record power conversion of efficiency of 1.64% and also a high external quantum efficiency approaching 60%. Our work demonstrates the potential of (CH3NH3)3Bi2I9 for highly efficient and long-term stable solar cells.


The two-frequency mutual coherence of HF electromagnetic field fluctuations caused by ionospheric irregularities in an oblique radio path is studied. The single scattering approximation is first developed and then extended to stronger field fluctuations by applying Rytov's approximation. Of considerable interest for wideband HF cpmmunication applications is the two-frequency, two-time correlation function of the channel 〈u* (ω,t1)u(ω + Ω,t1 + t)〉, where u(ω,t) is the complex amplitude of the radio wave transmitted at a frequency ω, measured by a receiver at time t. Our results show that this particular quantity behaves as though there were no diffraction effects (no Fresnel-filtering effects). Thus the correlation time τ0 is close to Λ /ν regardless of the ratio between the irregularity size and the Fresnel length. Here Λ is the irregularity size and ν is the component of the drift velocity perpendicular to the ray path. Typical scales for the two-frequency mutual correlation function are studied, and simple physical interpretations are developed. For example, the correlation bandwidth Ωc is determined by the condition that the rays connecting the transmitter and receiver at ω and ω + Ωc are separated from each other (in the vicinity of the reflection point) by a distance of the order of Λ. A procedure is described which allows the size of irregularities and components of plasma drift to be estimated from one of the mutual correlation functions and from the autocorrelation function. This procedure was applied to measurements from the University of Illinois sounder (transmitter is located in Platteville, Colorado, receiver in Urbana, Illinois). In the examples considered, irregularities with a size of the order of a few hundred meters drifting with a velocity 20–100 m s−1 can explain the fading. The observed magnitude of fading is consistent with an rms irregularity fluctuation of the order of a few tenths of one percent.


The current water systems are experiencing the problem of eutrophication, which is the process of the water collecting too much nutrients that cause harmful algae blooms. Our hypothesis is that if fertilizer is placed into pond water, then there will be less dissolved oxygen, because if will pollute the water and decrease the water quality. With our experiment, we are testing the effects of fertilizer on pond water, and how this affects the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. We simulated fertilizer, dishwashing soap, and ammonia by using nitrogen and phosphorous. These chemicals can also be found in many household products which can pollute water systems due to sewage run off. Using pond water collected from NY, we added nitrogen and/or phosphorus and yeast, and measured the amount of dissolved oxygen over 4 weeks. Although our results were not statistically significant, we were able to see that the combination treatment, which represents fertilizer, had the smallest increase in the level of dissolved oxygen (increased by an average of only 3.92mg/L).


Clinical evidence on knee osteoarthritis suggests that intra-articular administration of hyaluronic acid may be useful in the management of patients with persistent pain. This study assesses the duration of effectiveness of a single intra-articular hyaluronic acid injection in a large population of patients with knee osteoarthritis. This retrospective post-marketing cohort study collected data from the ANTIAGE Registry (http://www.antiagefbf.it/registro), selecting patients of age ≥ 40 years, with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade I-III) of ≥ 12 months duration, and ≥12 months of follow-up. Patients had received a single intra-articular injection of high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (1,500-2,000 kDa) at baseline. WOMAC Osteoarthritis Index total scores measured using the LK 3.1 scale and 10 cm VAS pain scores were evaluated before IA Injection and at 6, 9, 10, 11 and 12 months. Blood cell counts, uricemia, erythrocyte sedimentation rates and levels of C-reactive protein were measured at baseline and 12 months. Time from initial treatment to second injection up to 12 months was recorded to assess event-free survival. Included patients (n=187) were 53.5% female and had a mean (±SD) age at baseline of 62 (±16.6) years and mean (±SD) body mass index of 26.2 (±2.5) kg/m2. Mean (±SD) WOMAC index total score and VAS pain scores were 60.9 (±7.1) and 5.9 cm (±1.8), respectively. There were statistically significant reductions compared to baseline in mean WOMAC index total score and VAS pain score at all time points (p less than0.01 at 6 and 9 months; p less than 0.05 at 10, 11 and 12 months for both parameters). These results support the clinical effectiveness and safety of hyaluronic acid for up to 12 months for pain relief and function improvement in patients with knee osteoarthritis, confirming previous data on intra-articular administration of hyaluronic acid as chronic therapy in the management of knee osteoarthritis.


A detailed theoretical study of the emission rate of the acoustic (AC) phonons is presented for AlGaAs-GaAs-AlGaAs single quantum wells (SQWs). The electron interacting with AC phonons via the deformation potential and piezoelectric coupling is taken into account, We consider the situations where one and two electronic subbands are occupied by electrons, using the results obtained from our self-consistent calculations on the electronic structure. The angle and energy dependences of the AC phonons generated in a GaAs-based two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) are determined entirely by momentum and energy conservation during the electron-phonon scattering event, in contrast with the process of phonon generation in Si-based structures. Our results show that, in the phonon frequency range omega Q approximately 1012 Hz, the phonons with higher frequency can be detected at smaller emission angles. The phonons generated through the intersubband scattering processes have a more marked angle dependence and larger emission rate than those generated by intrasubband scattering processes.


The ongoing research paper is concerned about the sensitive issue like neotectonism and its impact on the landscape development. It is a detail and micro level study of North Bengal Himalayan foothills where the effect of tectonism is precisely observed. The term, neotectonism was introduced by Obruchen (1948) to summarize the active tectonic processes including the last major tectonic configuration change and establishment of modern stress. The North Bengal Himalayan foothill are very much concerned about the neotectonism activities at last to present geological periods. It is the one of the active unstable area of NE India where faults/thrusts and presence of synformal axis are predominantly controlling the geomorphological landscape development. This frontal region of an active orogenic beltlikethe NE Himalaya is characterized by complex terrace morphology with fluvial aggradation, degradationandstrath terraces. The detail study is mainly about the lineaments, drainage sequences, thrusting zone and synformal depressed zone of the area. Near the Neora-Mal river valley, close to to the mountain front a thick supported boulder bed with huge angular boulders of gneisses are exposed near Neora valley of Samsing area. Concerning the fault zone area of Matiali scarp, it is very clearly observed the extended part of Garubathan thrust (MBT) under the Matiali formation near the upper part of Kurtiriver. But, in the middle part of the river, where the synformation axis is present, river terraces are magnificiently developed over two sides of R. Kurti near Matiali hat. Here, two terraces are well virtualized but the upper most flat terrain is designated as fan surface which is made of mainly by the sediments of Matialiformation. In this region, slope of the fan surface is southerly 2.1˚. In south of the Matiali scarp on the banks of R. Neora, Kurti, Murti raised terraces are distinctly observed as T1 and T2.There kinds of features have developed due to the active tectonic activities from last Pleistocene to recent Holocene. As an evidence , we can consider the recent seismic study with in meizoseismal zone of both the 1934 Bihar-Nepal and 1950 Assam earthquakes but last surface rupture with a recorded displacement of 14m of Chalsafault related to the historical earthquake in Nepal around 1100 AD (Kumar et.al. 2011). It is a positive feedback system where neotectonism and geomorphological landscape are well related and in a classical model of fault propagation; geomorphic evolution through the structure/process is present in respect of time and space.


Using a standard decomposition of forecasts errors into common and idiosyncratic shocks, we show that aggregate forecast uncertainty can be expressed as the disagreement among the forecasters plus the perceived variability of future aggregate shocks. Thus, the reliability of disagreement as a proxy for uncertainty will be determined by the stability of the forecasting environment, and the length of the forecast horizon. Using density forecasts from the Survey of Professional Forecasters, we find direct evidence in support of our hypothesis. Our results support the use of GARCH-type models, rather than the ex post squared errors in consensus forecasts, to estimate the ex ante variability of aggregate shocks as a component of aggregate uncertainty.


In this paper we explore whether increasing individuals' activation (self-management) levels could hold potential for reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health. A causal model is posited that assumes that social-environmental factors influence activation levels, which in turn influence health outcomes. Relationships are examined separately for whites and African Americans, and findings are supportive of the model for both groups. Simulations of what would happen to outcomes if there were racial parity in activation predict a narrowing of the racial gap in health and behavior. The findings suggest that a focus on increasing activation holds potential for addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health.


The new Chinese Enterprise Bankruptcy Law 2006 has been written in accordance with the best international practice. We would therefore expect to see it being used to resolve most cases of corporate financial distress. However, the law is only rarely used in practice which prompts search for explanations and alternative mechanisms that the creditors rely on when trying to enforce their claims. In this paper I analyse this puzzle focusing in particular on debtors' and creditors' incentives for using extra-legal substitutes and formal law. Based on this analysis, I propose two major reasons for the law's limited use, and explore three alternative enforcement mechanisms that have been used instead of the formal law. I argue that the main reason for low use of the new law is that in practice it produces low payoffs: private creditors don't use bankruptcy procedures because they produce low financial payoffs, and that the government- controlled players (state-owned enterprises, state banks, etc.) are not allowed and/or willing to rely on bankruptcy procedures because they disregard the socio-political interests. Instead, the players in bankruptcy rely on extra-legal alternatives which provide higher payoffs. Private creditors rely on the reputation mechanism to enforce repayment, and the government uses various forms of bailouts and financial support for the ailing state enterprises. In companies with a mixed public-private ownership, hybrid solutions are adopted to satisfy the interests of both groups.


Conventionally casing and cement evaluation logging has played a critical part in the success of well intervention operations. Understanding the condition of the casing, whether it is worn or corroded, and the material in the annulus behind the casing, such as cement quality, whether there is fluid, settled barite or even gas directly play into the success or otherwise and also the safety of these operations. Historically this information has only been available from wireline conveyed tools, as a consequence of this other rig operations then have to stop to allow the wireline logging. As wells become more complex, more deviated and deeper, then the time required to obtain this data can become an economic constraint.
 This paper will introduce a drillpipe conveyed casing and cement evaluation tool that can be deployed in parallel with other runs in the well to improve the efficiency of well intervention and plug and abandonment operations. This also allows multiple times when this data can be obtained to best fit the rig operations without adding extra time to the rig schedule. Case histories will demonstrate how operators improved efficiency, reduced rigtime and personnel on board, improved the safety of operations and reduced the risk of non-productive time by the application of this new technology.


This paper aims to assess whether the purchasing power parity (PPP) holds by examining the dynamic link between nominal exchange rate (NER) and relative consumer price (RCP) in China. Because of existing economic transitions and structural breaks, we discover that there is no relationship between NER and RCP to support the PPP by using full sample data. Hence, we employ the rolling window causality method to reexamine the causal relation and the results show that PPP sets up only for a short period of time. Exchange rate reform, trade cost, restrictions and imperfect competition can be utilized to explain the deviations in most time of the sample. Therefore, this empirical result has important implications for stakeholders to distinguish` factors that bring about the PPP deviations and further offers policy suggestions for the Chinese monetary authority.


The purpose of this review is to illustrate how tools and concepts from decision and cost-effectiveness analyses can be used to help make decisions in the face of uncertainty and resource constraints, select appropriate subjects for imaging, choose between competing imaging modalities, and prioritize future research. Examples from trauma imaging illustrate the use of the presented tools. The author advocates the PROACTIVE approach in deciding which imaging strategies are cost-effective (PRO for defining the problem, reframing the problem from multiple perspectives, and focusing on the objective; ACT for expanding the alternatives, considering the consequences and associated chances of each alternative, and identifying the trade-offs involved; IVE for integrating the evidence and values, optimizing the value of interest, and exploring uncertainty). Simulation models play an important role in the assessment of imaging strategies by helping to identify alternative strategies and to integrate the best-available evidence related to risks, benefits, patient values, and costs. Exploring the uncertainty in the evidence and assessing the value of obtaining more information can help prioritize future research and guide study design.


Concentrations of IgG and titres of IgG antibodies to rabbit erythrocytes were studied in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 21 phenytoin-treated patients; 11 of these had reduced serum IgA. The CSF IgG concentration was not reduced in any patient. A reduction of CSF IgG has been found earlier in phenytoin-treated patients, when other antisera to IgG were used for the determination of IgG concentration. The present findings therefore indicate that an alteration of the composition or quality of the CSF IgG is present in phenytoin-treated patients. 1 patient had a phenytoin-induced low serum concentration of IgG and IgA. In this patient the ratios CSF:serum were normal both for IgG concentration and for IgG antibodies to rabbit erythrocytes.


This article promotes a stronger partnership between life-course sociology and life-span psychology. Despite some common commitments and goals, the gulf between the two fields remains wide. This gulf is problematic if human development is to be seriously conceived as the interplay between species, social, and individual influences. This article discusses some of the challenges and potentials of bridging these fields, given the different domains and outcomes, levels of analysis, and explanatory factors on which they focus. It explores how these two fields might create a bigger shared toolbox of models, methods, and data. It also considers some of the ways in which disciplinary and age-based inquiry are reinforced in the social organization of science. As attention to the whole of life grows, it will become increasingly important to justify how particular life periods are conceptually autonomous from adjacent periods.


Background and Aims Functional cure (FC) is characterized by the clearance of the hepatitis B surface antigen from the serum of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, the level of intrahepatic covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) integration remains unclear. We conducted this study to determine them and reveal their value in the treatment of CHB. Methods There were two sessions to elucidate the changes in intrahepatic cccDNA and HBV integration after antiviral therapy. In the first session, 116 patients were enrolled and divided into FC, non-functional cure (NFC), and CHB groups, including 48 patients with functionally cured CHB, 27 with CHB without functional cure after antiviral treatment, and 41 with treatment-naïve CHB. Patients were tested for both intrahepatic cccDNA and other viral markers. All patients in the FC group were followed up for at least 24 weeks to observe relapse. In the second session, another ten patients were included for in-depth whole-genome sequencing to analyze HBV integration. Results Thirteen patients in the FC group were negative for intrahepatic cccDNA. Intrahepatic cccDNA was much higher in the CHB group compared with the FC group. Seven patients had HBsAg seroreversion, including two with virological relapse. Integration of HBV was detected in one (33.3%) functionally cured patients and in seven (100%) with CHB. 28.0% of the HBV breakpoints were assigned in the 1,500 nt to 1,900 nt range of the HBV genome. Conclusions After achieving an FC, the rate of intrahepatic cccDNA and HBV integration was significantly reduced in patients with CHB. For those patients who cleared intrahepatic cccDNA, the chances of developing virological relapse were even lower.


DEAR SIR, hyperandrogenicity and insulin resistance may be in a causal relationship and this condition can be considered prediabetic in women, as was recently suggested in the review article by Dr P. Bjorntorp [l]. Although the details are far from clear, it was mentioned that clinical arguments for the sequence of hyperandrogenicity leading to insulin resistance could be expected from the results of studies where androgens have been administered to women and children. Furthermore, testosterone administration to transsexual women could provide a unique opportunity for studying the potential cause-effect relationship of hyperandrogenicity : insulin resistance. I should like to add a further clinical condition to the list where the sequence of hyperandrogenicity : insulin resistance could be studied. Late-onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia is considered a clinical curiosity which is probably not as rare as has been previously suggested. Specific symptoms due to hyperandrogenicity are characteristic for women with late-onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia, but few data are available about the glucose homeostasis in these patients. We reported on two female siblings, aged 51 and 60 years, where late-onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia was associated with noninsulin-requiring diabetes mellitus [2]. Although the causality remained questionable in our case, larger studies of women with late-onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia could probably provide further evidence for the causal relationship, if any, between hyperandrogenicity and insulin resistance (glucose intolerance). If more evidence becomes available that hyperandrogenicity occupies an important role in women in the development of insulin resistance (glucose intolerance), late-onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia could be added to the list of endocrine diseases (Cushing's syndrome, phaeochromocytoma, acromegaly, glucagonoma, somatostatinoma, primary aldosteronism) that are known to be possible causes of hormonal diabetes [3]. GY. JERMENDY Third Medical Department Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Hospital Budapest Hungary


Clinicians conduct routine diagnosis by scrutinizing patients' signs and symptoms in treating epidemics. This skill evolves through trial-and-error and improves with time. The success of the therapeutic regime relies largely on the accuracy of interpretation of such sign-symptoms, based on which the clinician ranks the potent causes of the epidemic and analyzes their interdependence to devise sustainable containment strategies. This study proposes an alternative medical front, a VIRtual DOCtor (VIRDOC), that can selfconsistently rank key contributors of an epidemic and also correctly identify the infection stage, using the language of Statistical Modelling and Machine Learning. VIRDOC analyzes medical data and then translates these into a vector comprising Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) coefficients to probabilistically predict scores that compare with clinical experience-based assessment. The VIRDOC algorithm, risk managed through ANOVA, has been tested on dengue epidemic data (N=100 with 11 weighted signsymptoms). Results are highly encouraging with ca 75% accurate fatality prediction, compared to 71.4% from traditional diagnosis. The algorithm can be generically extended to analyze other epidemic forms.


Higher oxidant stress capacity could promote invasion and metastasis. A previous study showed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) expressed more Nrf2 than para-carcinoma tissue. The chemotherapeutics such as epirubicin (EPI) could increase Nrf2 expression, while Camptothecin (CPT) could inhibit tumor growth by down-regulating the key molecule of antioxidant stress signal—Nrf2. The role of Nrf2 in invasion and metastasis was still unclear. In this study, we use EPI and CPT to determine the invasion and metastasis in Huh7 cells, H22 and Huh7 mouse models. In Huh7 cells, Nrf2 expression and ROS level were found increased after incubation with EPI by western blot and flow cytometry assay. But with the combination of EPI and CPT, inhibition of Nrf2 could decrease proliferation, invasion, and metastasis, which were investigated by CCK8 assay, wound healing, and Transwell assays. In Huh7 and H22 mouse models, EPI promoted Nrf2 up-regulation and nucleus translocation. Tumor growth was obviously inhibited with a single application of EPI or CPT. The combination of EPI and CPT could inhibit Nrf2 expression but demonstrated more suppressing effect of tumor growth than EPI. Western blot and immunohistochemical staining study revealed that Nrf2 inhibition was beneficial in decreasing the expression of N-cadherin, MMP9, Snail as well as Twist, and increasing E-cadherin, which were associated with epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Nrf2 down-regulation promoted lung metastasis of H22 cells in vivo. In addition, H&E staining and immunofluorescence staining of VEGFR suggested angiogenesis of Huh7 and H22 tumors was reduced. In conclusion, down-regulation of Nrf2 demonstrated inhibition of invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis of hepatoma, which may provide a potential therapy in HCC.


Abstract. Wind turbines are nonlinear, time-varying systems that are subject and sensitive to model parameter variations and a stochastic wind field. For such applications, Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) control provides a state-space approach to designing nonlinear controllers with robust performance. LPV uses multi-input multi-output (MIMO) model with a guaranteed limit on the exogenous disturbance's gain with respect to performance signals. A robust matrix inequality synthesis of an H∞ based performance LPV controller using a parametrically varying model will be developed with the goal of obtaining a torque controller with drive-train damping properties. The technique guarantees a-priori performance values and closed-loop stability for the simplified model, and provides a systematic tuning procedure to adjust controller performance.


After a century largely dominated by discussions of space and form, there is now renewed interest in the material and tectonic aspects of architecture. This richly illustrated and handsomely designed book takes a detailed and timely look at the importance of materials in architecture, focusing particularly on modern and contemporary buildings.

Noted architecture expert Richard Weston begins with a brief cultural history of major building materials—such as timber, earth, stone, steel, and glass—exploring how they have been produced, considered, worked, and used in a variety of buildings and cultures. He then explores the ways that architects, theorists, and critics have articulated the relationship between materials and architectural forms and spaces throughout modern history. Other featured topics include the importance of place, time, junctions, finish, and meaning; the proposition that in an increasingly global and virtual world, many architects emphasize the material qualities of buildings to ensure a heightened sense of reality; and a comprehensive survey of current and prospective developments in materials, from refinements of such familiar materials as fiber-reinforced concrete and "intelligent" glass to new synthetic compounds and working methods.

Together, these varied perspectives on the material art of building offer fascinating insights into the impact that the type and treatment of materials has on how buildings can be constructed and designed, how they function, and how they fare over time.


Heavy metals are too well-known environmental pollutants of particularly serious health hazard to human health because of the effects of their actions are not immediate, but they show up after many years. Due to their wide usage in many industrial branches they are present everywhere in the air, water and soil. Food contaminant by heavy elements is hard to avoid and it is a result of environmental contamination by dusts, industrial gases, sewage, waste and coal burning processes. The content of heavy metals in the environment is quite diverse and their harmful action depends on the type of element, the chemical form of their occurrence and the state of organism's nutrition. One of the very toxic and also very frequently used heavy metal is mercury. Exposure to mercury can cause immune, sensory, neurological, motor and behavioral dysfunctions.


BACKGROUND
Civilian gunshot injuries are common in our environment. Hospitalisation for this appears to be on the increase especially around the periods of general elections, but studies on the peri-election pattern are lacking. This report examines the pattern of gunshot injuries seen at an apex trauma centre spanning the periods of two general elections.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
This hospital based retrospective study reviewed all admissions into the trauma unit of the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu over six years (January 1999 December 2004). The sources of data were the trauma unit admission registers, nurses' report books, and the case notes of the patients. Simple arithmetic analysis was used.

RESULTS
Of 6,765 trauma admissions in the period, gunshot injuries accounted for 306 (4.5%). In 1999 and 2003 they accounted for 6% and 8% of all trauma admissions respectively The overall pattern over the six year period shows the incidence rises from January to a peak in May However in the election year 1999, a progression in incidence immediately following May (the month of hand-over) rising to a peak in August was noted.

CONCLUSION
A definite increase in presentation of gunshot injuries exist in the years of general elections.


Dynamic and static conformations at the water-solid interface Rosa Poetes In this work, we have explored dynamic and static phenomena occurring at the watersolid interface. Controlling the interaction of solids with water is technologically very interesting. Applications include the inside coating of pipes, containers and medical equipment and coating of boats, windows and underwater equipment. In Part I, we explore the possibility of using low cost and practical triggering mechanisms for fast and reliably switching of the surface wettability in the liquid environment. Electric fields are used as triggers to change the surface properties of charged polymer brushes and hydrogels in water. The response of surface-attached polymers to the external triggers was studied in detail. We showed that neither charged polymer brushes nor hydrogels are easily exploitable for surface property tuning using electric potentials as switching mechanisms. The two limiting factors for the use of polymer brushes and hydrogels in such systems are the material instability and the low switching speed between swollen and collapsed conformations. While the stability issues could be resolved through further work on the synthetic side, we believe that the long switching times necessary for complete conformational changes are an inherent problem of these densely grafted systems and due to entanglements. Part II focuses on the influence of structure on surface wettability. Metastable selfcleaning wetting behaviour of water droplets on hydrophilic surfaces was studied. We confirmed and expanded the design parameters for very robust metastable CassieBaxter wetting states with high contact angles on hydrophilic surfaces, which were introduced by Tuteja et al. [1]. The fundamental difference in the wetting behaviour of disconnected and connected structures was also shown. The behaviour of superhydrophobic surfaces under water in an open system was also studied. The decay of the air bubble covering the superhydrophobic material (plastron) was quantified for different materials. A strongly non-linear depth dependence of the plastron stability was shown. The limited plastron life-time makes the use of superhydrophobic surfaces for underwater applications (buoyancy increase or drag reduction) technologically challenging.


It is recognized that the product of neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) tumor suppressor gene, also referred to as Merlin/neurofibromin, is implicated in the homeostatic regulation of the liver stem cell niche through the control of abundance and signaling of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), with a mechanism independent of the Mst/Lats/Yap Hippo pathway [1]. We have previously reported that locally elevated estrogen formation, driven by abnormally high expression and function of the aromatase enzyme, may be implicated in both development and progression of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through the activation of a rapid signaling pathway mediated by amphiregulin (AREG) and EGFR [2]. In this framework, we have recently presented a model by which the aromatase-estrogen-amphiregulin-EGFR axis is activated in response to tissue injury and/or inflammatory disease, with its alteration eventually leading to development not only of major human tumors (liver, breast, prostate), but also to other non-neoplastic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer9s disease, heart disease and stroke [3]. In the present work, we have investigated the expression of merlin/neurofibromin (NF2) in different liver cancer cells and liver tissues in relation to aromatase expression/function, estrogen receptor (ER) status, amphiregulin and EGFR. Our data indicate that NF2 expression is strictly associated to aromatase, AREG and EGFR expression, being elevated in HCC tissues and HepG2 cells, intermediate in cirrhotic tissues and Huh7 liver cancer cells, and lower in nontumoral liver and HA22T cells. In addition, NF2 expression is inversely related to that of wild type hERα66 and proportional to the expression of the membrane-associated hERα36 splice variant, as measured by exon-specific RT-PCR analysis, both in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, incubation with 1 nM estradiol induced a significant decrease of NF2 expression in both HA22T and Huh7 cells (over 54% and 22%, respectively), while no change could be observed in HepG2 cells, this effect being inversely related to aromatase expression and activity in these HCC cell lines. Based on this combined evidence, we propose here that NF2 may behave as a protein sensing tissue damage and, at least in human liver, increasing, via a Hippo-independent mechanism, aromatase-driven local estrogen formation, eventually leading to regulation of oval stem cells differentiation and tissue repair. An alteration of this putative NF2-aromatase-estrogen axis or a deficiency in NF2 may therefore be implicated in HCC development and/or progression. [1] Drvarov O & Cubero FJ 2011. Hepatology 53(5): 1767-70 [2] Carruba G et al. 2011. Horm Mol Biol Clin Invest 5(3): 153-160. [3] Carruba G. 2011. Gordon Research Conference, Invited Paper. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Letizia Cocciadiferro, Vitale Miceli, Orazia M. Granata, Giuseppe Carruba. Merlin/NF2 is associated with elevated aromatase expression and estrogen formation in human liver tissues and liver cancer cells: An unifying model for hepatocellular carcinoma development and progression. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1852. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1852


Diarrhoea is one of the most common causes of illness and death in children worldwide. Despite the fact that improved sanitation and the use of oral rehydration therapy have significantly reduced the number of diarrhoea-related deaths in children, the estimated number of deaths is estimated to stand at about 2 million annually.


The numerical solution of continuum damage mechanics (CDM) problems suffers from convergence-related challenges during the material softening stage, and consequently existing iterative solvers are subject to a trade-off between computational expense and solution accuracy. In this work, we present a novel unified arc-length (UAL) method, and we derive the formulation of the analytical tangent matrix and governing system of equations for both local and non-local gradient damage problems. Unlike existing versions of arc-length solvers that monolithically scale the external force vector, the proposed method treats the latter as an independent variable and determines the position of the system on the equilibrium path based on all the nodal variations of the external force vector. This approach renders the proposed solver substantially more efficient and robust than existing solvers used in CDM problems. We demonstrate the considerable advantages of the proposed algorithm through several benchmark 1D problems with sharp snap-backs and 2D examples under various boundary conditions and loading scenarios. The proposed UAL approach exhibits a superior ability of overcoming critical increments along the equilibrium path. Moreover, the proposed UAL method is 1-2 orders of magnitude faster than force-controlled arc-length and monolithic Newton-Raphson solvers.


The main results obtained are as follows: (a) The problem is reduced, for the front part of a cylinder, to a non-linear differential equation of the same form as that studied by Falkner & Skan (1930), namely, ƒ´´´ +ƒƒ´´ = λ (1—ƒ´2). This equation has been numerically solved by Hartree (1937), so that the evaluation of velocities and surface friction requires only very simple and short computations. Near the separation point the problem leads to a more complicated differential equation (3·20). (b) Elliptic cylinder. The calculated and observed velocities agree up to and including the point x = 1·457 (§5), where x is the distance along the boundary of the ellipse from the forward stagnation point, expressed as a multiple of the minor axis. An approximate integration, by neglecting certain terms in the equation (3·20), gives the separation point at about 108° 30' from the stagnation point, as against 103° observed, where the angle corresponds to the elliptic co-ordinate of (4·1). (c) Circular cylinder. In all cases the calculated surface friction shows good agreement with the observed results, and the results previously obtained from experimental pressure distributions, for the front part of the cylinder. In the case of the cylinder of diameter d = 5*89 in. the calculated results (by neglecting certain terms in the equation (3·20)) show good agreement with observations almost up to separation point. (d) Pressure consists of two terms: one is equal to the pressure of the potential flow, the other one depends on the thickness of the boundary layer.


Library spaces that blend collaboration areas, advanced technologies, and librarian expertise are creating new modes of scholarly communication. These spaces enable scholarship created within high-definition, large-scale visual collaborative environments. This emergent model of scholarly communication can be experienced within those specific contexts or through digital surrogates on the networked Web. From experiencing in three dimensions the sermons of John Donne in 1622 to interactive media interpretations of American wars, scholars are partnering with libraries to create immersive digital scholarship. Viewing the library as a research platform for these emergent forms of digital scholarship presents several opportunities and challenges. Opportunities include re-engaging faculty in the use of library space, integrating the full life-cycle of the research enterprise, and engaging broad communities in the changing nature of digitally-driven scholarship. Issues such as identifying and filtering collaborations, strategically managing staff resources, creating surrogates of immersive digital scholarship, and preserving this content for the future present an array of challenges for libraries that require coordination across organizations. From engaging and using high-technology spaces to documenting the data and digital objects created, this developing scholarly communication medium brings to bear the multifaceted skills and organizational capabilities of libraries.


Background: Schizophrenia is an enduring severe mental illness with significant morbidity and early excess mortality. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a construct that aids psychiatrist to understand this constellation of risk factors leading to premature mortality. The current study was carried out with an aim to understand the association of metabolic syndrome in patients with schizophrenia and also to ascertain its relationship with socio-demographic & clinical variables. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was undertaken in patients suffering from Schizophrenia (F20) as per International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10. A total of one-hundred patients were selected by purposive random sampling after obtaining a written informed consent. A predesigned proforma was used to obtain the information regarding the sociodemographic variables, drug intake, anthropometric values and metabolic parameters. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed as per the International Diabetes Federation2006 criteria. The data obtained was analysed using statistical package for social services (SPSS 20). Results: The association of metabolic syndrome in schizophrenia in the current study was 42%. The individual metabolic parameters were found to be higher in the MetS group than the non-MetS group (p=0.001). Majority of the schizophrenia patients with MetS were older (59.5% vs 44.8%; 31-50 years of age) and females (52.4% vs 36.2%; p=0.107) compared to those without MetS. Most of them were married (85.7% vs 56.9%; p=0.006), from urban areas (45.2% vs 19%; p=0.005), had lower educational qualification (p=0.01) in comparison to the non-MetS group. The MetS group had longer mean duration of schizophrenia (9.64±8.1 years vs 3.76±2.29 years), more hospitalizations (66.7% vs 53.4%; p=0.02) and higher medical comorbidity (diabetes-7.1% vs nil, hypertension-9.5% vs 1.7% and hypothyroidism-7.1% vs nil; p=0.006). With respect to psychotropic drugs usage; the use of Olanzapine (69% vs 46.6%; p=0.025), longer duration of treatment with Olanzapine (26.31 ± 33.9 months vs 8.98 ± 12.3; p=0.001) and Amisulpride (11.0 ± 21.68 months vs 3.48 ± 9.9; p=0.022) were significantly associated with MetS group than the group without MetS. On the contrary, the non-MetS group had more patients receiving risperidone (58.6%) than the MetS group. Conclusion: The study shows that the association of metabolic syndrome in schizophrenia patients is significantly in higher percentage and thereby underlines the importance of early detection and treatment of both the disorders simultaneously.


Effects of natural aging before pre-aging, pre-aging and natural aging after pre-aging on the bake hardenability of the Al–0.62mass%Mg–0.96mass%Si alloy have been studied by tension test, hardness measurement, electrical resistance measurement and differential scanning calorimetric analysis ( DSC ) . The bake hardenability after natural aging at 20°C for 86.4ks was improved by pre-aging between 100°C and 170°C. In the case of short pre-aging at 100°C, the bake hardenability started to decrease after natural aging for more than 86.4ks, because the amount of clusters of solute atoms in-creased. Natural aging before pre-aging causes decreasing the bake hardenability because the clusters formed during natural aging before pre-aging.


Polarization/orientation (P/O) micro-Raman spectroscopy can be used to identify vibrational modes, determine crystal structure, distinguish allotropes and polymorphs, differentiate single from polycrystalline materials, and determine orientation of the crystal and degree of disorder, all on a micrometer scale. P/O micro-Raman spectroscopy promises to be an important analytical tool because of its complementarity to micro-X-ray diffraction. Here, we explain the theoretical basis for P/O micro-Raman spectroscopy and provide an example to demonstrate its feasibility.


We propose an algorithm for monitoring timing constraints to satisfy confidence threshold requirements when there is uncertainty in the exact timing of event occurrences. In our model, a timed event trace is examined for possible satisfaction/violation with respect to a given set of timing constraints. Every event occurrence has a timestamp given by a time interval. Assuming that the time of occurrence is uniformly distributed over the time interval, our algorithm determines whether the probability that a timing constraint has been satisfied exceeds a specified threshold value. Timing constraints are composed of deadline and delay constraints for which satisfaction probabilities are defined. A confidence threshold is a minimum satisfaction probability of the timing constraint. A timing constraint is violated if the confidence threshold is not reached by the timed event trace. We present a ptime monitoring algorithm for detecting timing violation by finding the earliest expiration time (EET) of the deadline timer for each of the cases P = 100%, 50% /spl les/ P < 100%, and 0% < P < 50%, where P is the confidence threshold of the timing constraint. We give a derivation of the implicit constraints needed for computing the EET, and we show how to use an all-pairs shortest path algorithm to compute the implicit constraints.


The effect of barley grain processing and source of supplemental fat on performance of lactating dairy cows were studied in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design with 21-d periods and a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Eight Holstein cows with mean body weight (BW) of 572 ± 71 kg and 45 ± 10 days in milk were allocated to 4 dietary treatments including 1) ground barley with cottonseed 2) pelleted barley with cottonseed 3) ground barley with canola seed 4) pelleted barley with canola seed. The nitrogen intake and fecal N were higher in cows fed ground barley in comparison with those fed pelleted barley. Source of supplemental fat or barley processing had no effect on milk fat and milk protein contents. Milk SNF yield was higher in cows fed canola as supplemental fat source and ground barley (P < 0.05). Milk yield was affected by method of barley grain processing and was 0.64 to 1.9 kg/d higher in cows fed ground barley compared with those fed pelleted barley (P = 0.04). Plasma concentrations of glucose, NEFA, BHBA, cholesterol, triglycerides and blood urea nitrogen were similar in all treatments. Dry matter intake was affected by barley grain processing. The cows fed ground barley consuming 1.15 to 2.18 kg/d more DM compared with those fed pelleted barley (P = 0.04).Total tract digestibilities of DM, crude fat, ADF, NDF and OM were not affected by the barley grain processing as well as source of oilseed. The results indicated that interactions between barley grain processing and source of supplemental dietary fat can improve the performance of lactating dairy cows, However, more detailed studies are required


This article is an adapted and elaborated version of the memorial lecture (sponsored by the National Afrikaans Literature Museum and Research Centre in Bloemfontein) delivered in Potchefstroom on 4 March 2005. My encounter with the famous scholar P. J. Nienaber prompted deeper reflection on literary historiography and education methodology at tertiary institutions. The core question of the essay is to which extent the traditional way of thinking about Afrikaans literature, as applied in South Africa,
should be rewritten when the Afrikaans literary historical process is explained to an external, foreign target audience. I argue from my experience as the author of a history of Afrikaans literature written for an European audience. The second related issue
under investigation and supplied with examples is in connection with the new field of study "South African Studies" as it is planned and being realised in Poland. Here I go deeper into the question of what the possibilities of knowledge transfer are when
the object of study is an exotic reality as well as ways of familiarizing it. The idea is that the new Polish curriculum should benefit the student in two ways: to transfer a certain amount of knowledge and, by this indirect route, give new insights into the student's own familiar reality Keywords : Literary historiography, Afrikaans literary history, Afrikaans outside South Africa, South African Studies. > Tydskriff vir Letterkunde Vol. 44 (2) 2007: pp. 215-231


Antenna arrays are considered as important type used today for long distance communication with a very high gain. The design of such antenna depends on parameters and desired behavior performing the task, this project handle the application of a new type of nature-inspired global optimization methodology in the design of an optimized planar antenna array which ensures minimum side lobes and high directivity, this new optimization method is based on the atmospheric motion and it is known as Wind Driven Optimization (WDO) a population based iterative heuristic global optimization algorithm technique for multi-dimensional and multi-modal problems with the potential to implement constraints on the search domain. The optimal values obtained results in a good suppression of the side lobe level for the different antenna configurations with several sorts of excitation: Amplitude only, phase only, both amplitude and phase. Besides, the directivity is not worse than that of the uniform one.


Purpose: It is important for sustainable use of soil water resources to forecast soil moisture in forestland of water-limited regions. There are some soil moisture models. However, there is not a better method to forecast soil moisture.Methods: The change of soil moisture with time were investigated and the data of soil moisture were divided into a low frequency and a high frequency component using wavelet analysis, and then NARX neural network was used to build model I and model II. For model I, low frequency component was the input variable, and for model II, low frequency component and high frequency component were predicted.Results: the average relative error for model I is 3.5% and for model II is 0.3%. The average relative error of predicted soil moisture in100cm layer using model II is 0.8%, then soil water content in 40 cm and 200 cm soil depth is selected and the forecast errors are 4.9 % and 0.4 %.Using model II to predict soil water is well.Conclusion: Predicting soil water will be important for sustainable use of soil water resource and controlling soil degradation, vegetation decline and crop failure in water limited regions.


The most common type of renal injury in patients with multiple myeloma is "myeloma kidney," a predominantly tubulointerstitial kidney disease that is characterized by cast formation and marked interstitial fibrosis. We previously demonstrated that excessive endocytosis of myeloma light chains (LCs) induces inflammatory cytokines in human proximal tubule epithelial cells (PTECs). In the present studies, we examined whether LCs directly induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human renal PTECs. Human LCs were purified from the urine of myeloma patients with modest renal insufficiency. We found that LCs induce marked cellular morphologic alterations in PTECs, accompanied with increased mRNA levels for the extracellular matrix components, collagen IV and fibronectin. Using semiquantative immunoblotting and RT-PCR analyses in human PTECs exposed to 25 μM LCs for up to 72 hours, we observed that the expression of E-cadherin decreases after 24 hours, whereas the expression of α-SMA increased, consistent with the acquisition of mesenchymal characteristics. In contrast, exposure to human serum albumin (160 μM) had no effect on the expression of EMT-related molecules, and its effect was not different from the cells without protein absorption. Human cytokine antibody arrays showed that human PTECs exposed to LCs have increased expressions of profibrotic IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-1ra, MCP-1/4, M-CSF, and TIMP-1/2, as well as EGF, VEGF, TNF-α/β, sTNF-R, and TGF-β. However, the induction of EMT by LCs was not blocked by a neutralizing TGF-β1 antibody, suggesting that this action was TGF-β1 independent. In contrast, LC-induced EMT was markedly attenuated by silencing the p38 MAPK gene using a siRNA. The use of 500 ng/mL bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP-7) or 10−8 M pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) induced the formation of cell aggregates and the reacquisition of E-cadherin expression and renal proximal tubule epithelial morphology within the confluent cell monolayer during LC treatment. These findings demonstrate that LCs are a direct stimulus for EMT in human renal PTECs. LC-induced EMT involves multiple cytokines and is modulated by p38 MAPK but appears to be independent of the action of TGF-β. LC-induced EMT may be an important mechanism for kidney involvement in myeloma and may be reversible upon administration of exogenous BMP-7 or PACAP.


Manually inspecting bridges is a time-consuming and costly task. There are over 600,000 bridges in the US, and not all of them can be inspected and maintained within the specified time frame as some state DOTs cannot afford the essential costs and manpower. This paper presents a novel method that can detect bridge concrete columns from visual data for the purpose of eventually creating an automated bridge condition assessment system. The method employs SIFT feature detection and matching to find overlapping areas among images. Affine transformation matrices are then calculated to combine images containing different segments of one column into a single image. Following that, the bridge columns are detected by identifying the boundaries in the stitched image and classifying the material within each boundary. Preliminary test results using real bridge images indicate that most columns in stitched images can be correctly detected and thus, the viability of the application of this research.


Context Involvement and leading on quality improvement projects by trainees is currently recognised as an essential part of training to build up on future NHS leaders. Our aim was to empower our trainees to identify potentials for quality improvement projects. Problem Many trainees who rotate to our neonatal unit have had some exposure to neonatology before, but they generally have other sub-interests, hence, they lack ideas for quality improvement projects in the speciality. Assessment of problem and analysis of its causes Trainees are generally motivated but they lack ideas and support to lead on quality improvement projects. We identified the need to create a platform for identifying potential projects which lead to practicing up to date evidence based medicine and subsequent improvement in quality of care. Intervention Initiated and established a journal club to discuss evidence base practice and to identify potentials for quality improvement projects. Study design Identified personnel responsible for the overall running of the club, booking the venues, allocating trainees to lead on each club and advertising and inviting staff to attend the club. Strategy for change Trainees are encouraged and assisted by the club responsible personnel to identify journal articles which may have a potential to change clinical practice and to lead to quality improvement. They are encouraged to lead on projects following discussions with their educational supervisors. Measurement of improvement Trainees satisfaction with the culture created to identify potentials for quality improvement. Effects of changes Creating a culture of continuously identifying potential ideas for quality improvement by practicing up to date evidence based medicine. Lessons learnt Trainees are more aware of their need to be involved with quality improvement projects. Establishing a journal club which provides a platform to discuss potential ideas, overcomes the difficulty which some trainees face with identifying potentials for quality improvement. Message for others Journal clubs can be a useful platform for creating a culture of looking for quality improvement ideas. Trainees should be encouraged and assisted to actively participate in leading clubs and identifiyng potentials for improvements.


The critical temperature of scuffing found in some lubrication systems is identified with desorption of the surface active agent in the lubricating oil. The thermodynamics of the system are considered and then applied to the chain matching of carrier and additives. Chemisorption takes place more readily on a martensitic steel, which is reactive, than on austenite, and thus masks the physical desorption and so hinders scuffing. This is the reason that in industrial gears retained surface austenite is avoided. The surfactant adsorbed on the metal can inhibit corrosion and prevent extreme pressure additives from forming a protective layer on the surface. This explains the widely known phenomenon of additive interference and increases the understanding of scuffing and running-in.


The syndrome of generalized resistance to thyroid hormone is characterized by elevated circulating levels of thyroid hormone in the presence of an overall eumetabolic state and failure to respond normally to triiodothyronine. We have evaluated a family with inherited generalized resistance to thyroid hormone for abnormalities in the thyroid hormone nuclear receptors. A single guanine----cytosine replacement in the codon for amino acid 340 resulted in a glycine----arginine substitution in the hormone-binding domain of one of two alleles of the patient's thyroid hormone nuclear receptor beta gene. In vitro translation products of this mutant human thyroid hormone nuclear receptor beta gene did not bind triiodothyronine. Thus, generalized resistance to thyroid hormone can result from expression of an abnormal thyroid hormone nuclear receptor molecule.


Progressive taxation has historically been discussed primarily in the context of developed, Western nations. This Article considers its application in two developing, nonwestern economies, emphasizing the differences in political, economic, and (especially) cultural contexts and their effect on the progressivity equation. In India these differences include long-standing attitudes, such as the Hindu tradition's historic ambivalence towards utilitarian arguments, and shorter-term institutional arrangements, such as the division of power within India's federal system and the tax exemption for agricultural income. In China they include the legacy of Marxism as well as a more long-standing tendency to resolve legal and policy issues based on notions of communal rather than individual welfare. Both countries have limited administrative resources and (by Western standards) a relatively small middle class, so that the income tax remains a relatively small albeit growing source of national revenues. In this Article I consider the impact of these factors, and conclude by asking whether a similar "tax life cycle" will apply to both countries or political and cultural differences will result in divergent tax patterns. Furthermore I also evaluate the progressivity problem as a case study in comparative taxation and assess the need to develop a more sophisticated methodology for dealing with institutional, attitudinal, and other cultural differences.


To observe and analyze the cloud and fog characteristics, the METeorological Research Institute (METRI) has established the Cloud Physics Observation System (CPOS) by implementing the cloud observation instruments: Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP), PARticle SIze and VELocity (PARSIVEL), Microwave Radiometer (MWR), Micro Rain Radar (MRR), and 3D-AWS at the Daegwallyeong Enhanced Mountain Weather Observation Center. The cloud-related products of CPOS and the validation status for the size distribution of FSSP, the precipitable water of MWR, and the rainfall rate of MRR and PARSIVEL are described.


International surveys repeatedly showed that Japanese children were good at mathematics but disliking it. We hypothesized there were a considerable number of "fake math-dislikes" among Japanese students who claimed they disliked mathematics explicitly while accepted it implicitly. To examine this hypothesis, we administered questionnaires and paper-based implicit association tests (IAT) to 204 Japanese junior high school students (13-14 years old) and found 38 fake math-dislikes (Study 1). We hypothesized further that those fake math-dislikes would become real math-dislikes eventually and that informing of their implicit attitude toward mathematics might work preventing this undesirable transition. Then, in Study 2, we randomly assigned them into experimental and control groups and informed only the experimental students of their positive implicit attitude toward mathematics we revealed with the IAT. One year later, we found 15 of the 16 experimental students improved their math achievement scores while only nine of the 17 control students did. The simple practice of informing of their implicit attitude worked effectively for improving their math achievement. As hypothesized, it prevented the fake math-dislike students from turning into real math-dislikes.


In order to identify the critical structural feature(s) of phenylpropanoic acid-type PPARalpha agonists, such as KCL, which exhibit human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha)-selective activation, transient transactivation assay of KCL and related derivatives was performed with PPARalpha containing wild-type and point-mutated (I272F or T279M) ligand-binding domain. The results indicated that the interaction of the distal hydrophobic tail part of KCL and related derivatives with amino acid residue 272 (isoleucine) in the helix three region of PPARalpha is of primary importance for human-selective PPARalpha activation.


Productivity of nonlegume crops depends partly on nitrate uptake and reduction. To study the nitrate assimilation pathway of plants, the herbicide chlorate has been exploited as an analog of nitrate. Marked variations in visible leaf chlorosis among 15 soft red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings exposed to 120 μM chlorate were reported by others. From their study, we selected three chlorate-tolerant and three chlorate-sensitive ranked cultivars and measured influx and assimilation of 15 N-nitrate to determine if these traits were related to differences in chlorate sensitivity. Effects of 120 μM chlorate on growth, leaf chlorophyll concentration, and nutrition were also quantified. The growth and chlorophyll levels of main stem oldest leaf blades decreased in the presence of chlorate in all cultivars except for one chlorate-tolerant cultivar. Neither the level of tissue nitrate nor the influx and assimilation of 15 N-nitrate was related to chlorate sensitivities we observed, or those previously reported for the six selected cultivars. Chlorate toxic effects unrelated to nitrate assimilation and interactions between absorbed nitrate and chlorate and their compartmentation may alter the response of these cultivars to chlorate. Inferences that chlorate sensitivity of wheat is related to nitrate uptake and assimilation appeared to be inappropriate.


Thin plate structures are common in many industrial products and in particular they can be found as skins in sandwich panels. In order to develop complex FE analysis which involve the damage of these structures, it's crucial the knowledge of constitutive law and damage criterion of the material they are made. In this paper a complete characterization of both constitutive material law and damage criterion for very thin rectangular Al2024-T3 aluminum alloy specimen plate has been done. The specimens have been cut, using a water jet machine, directly from sandwich panel skins in order to take into account the modification of mechanical behavior due to the manufacturing process. A complete experimental campaign of tensile tests has been done and an accurate virtual testing methodology has been subsequently applied (by means on Finite Element Models) in order to numerically reproduce the tests. The calibration of a fitted constitutive law and of three ductile failure criteria allows the numerical model to reproduce the experimental tests with good agreement up to failure.


Iron deficiency in higher plants causes accumulation of salts of organic acids in the roots, the most characteristic being citrate. We show that citrate and malate accumulate in beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. var Prélude), not because of a lack of the iron-containing enzyme aconitase (EC 184.108.40.206), but in close coupling to the extrusion of protons during rhizosphere acidification, one of the ;Fe-efficiency' reactions of dicotyledonous plants. When proton excretion is induced in roots of control bean plants by addition of fusicoccin, only malate, not citrate, is accumulated. We propose that iron deficiency induces production of organic acids in the roots, which in beans leads to both proton excretion and an increased capacity to reduce ferric chelates via the induced electron transfer system in the root epidermis cells.


Background: Classic lobular carcinoma is characterized by a distinctive morphology, loss of E-cadherin commonly due to mutation or deletion of CDH1 on chromosome 16q, and a variable clinical course (Pestalozzi J Clin Oncol. 2008 26:3006). Variants (pleomorphic, solid and alveolar) with distinct morphologies and potential differences in outcome have been described (Rosen 2009). Herein we explore the patterns of quantitative gene expression as measured by the 21 gene Oncotype DX® assay observed between ductal NOS (DC) and classic and variant lobular carcinomas. Material and Methods: All tumors analyzed in the Genomic Health laboratory from 6/1/04-3/31/10 were included. Central path used WHO criteria for classification of classic lobular (CL), solid & alveolar lobular (SAL), and pleomorphic lobular (PL) carcinomas. Quantitative expression of 16 cancer related genes was measured on a scale from 0 to 15 (relative to reference genes) where a 1 unit increment is associated with an ∼2-fold change in expression. Descriptive statistics for RS & individual genes [ER, PR, invasion gene group (IGG) & proliferation gene group (PGG)] among the different subtypes were obtained. Comparisons of means among the subtypes were adjusted to control the overall error rate under any complete or partial null hypothesis. Results: DC accounted for 90.4% of 133,234 cases, CL 8.2%, SAL 0.7% and PL 0.8%. For all types a continuous range of RS was observed. DC had the greatest percentage of high risk RS followed by SAL, PL and CL. DC had the highest RS and CL had the lowest RS. SAL had the highest ER expression and CL had the lowest expression, but these results may refect a submission bias and are not population based. The proportion with the ER+/PR-phenotype was slightly different among the subtypes: SAL (24.2%) and PL (19.5%) had a higher incidence compared to DC (15%) and CL (15.6%). SAL had the highest PGG expression; CL had the lowest. DC had the highest IGG; CL had the lowest. Discussion: Classic lobular carcinoma and the lobular carcinoma variants are characterized by differential patterns of gene expression. Outlier cases are not infrequent within each of the special subtypes in this large observational cohort. The variation in gene expression, noted by histologic subtype, will be presented in detail. RS Distributions in Ductal NOS, Lobular and Lobular Variants Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-10-15.


Recent sequencing of the human genome has opened up new areas of investigation for genetic aberrations responsible for the pathogenesis of many human diseases. To date, there have been no studies that have investigated the entire human genome for the genetic underpinnings of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). Utilizing Gene Chip Arrays we analyzed the relative expression levels of more than 47,000 transcripts and variants and approximately 38,500 well-characterized genes from each of 20 patients (N (CVI)=10; N (Control Group)=10). Relative gene expression profiles significantly differed between patients with CVI and patients unaffected by CVI. Regulatory genes of mediators of the inflammatory reaction and collagen production were up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively in CVI patients. DNA microarray analysis also showed that relative gene expression of multiple genes which function remains to be elucidated was significantly different in CVI patients. Fundamental advancements in our knowledge of the human genome and understanding of the genetic basis of CVI represents an opportunity to develop new diagnostic, prognostic, preventive and therapeutic modalities in the management of CVI.


The Lower Mississippi Valley is more than just a distinct geographical region of the United States; it was central to the outcome of the Civil War and the destruction of slavery in the American South. Beginning with Lincoln's 1860 presidential election and concluding with the final ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, Freedom's Crescent explores the four states of this region that seceded and joined the Confederacy: Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. By weaving into a coherent narrative the major military campaigns that enveloped the region, the daily disintegration of slavery in the countryside, and political developments across the four states and in Washington DC, John C. Rodrigue identifies the Lower Mississippi Valley as the epicenter of emancipation in the South. A sweeping examination of one of the war's most important theaters, this book highlights the integral role this region played in transforming United States history.


Fully differential amplifiers require the use of common-mode feedback (CMFB) circuits to properly set the amplifier's operating point. Due to scaling trends in CMOS technology, modern amplifiers increasingly rely on cascading more than two stages to achieve sufficient gain. With multiple gain stages, different topologies for implementing CMFB are possible, whether using a single CMFB loop or multiple ones. However, the impact on performance of each CMFB approach has seldom been studied in the literature. The aim of this work is to guide the choice of the CMFB implementation topology evaluating performance in terms of stability, linearity, noise and common-mode rejection. We present a detailed theoretical analysis, comparing the relative performance of two CMFB configurations for 3-stage OTA topologies in an implementation-agnostic manner. Our analysis is then corroborated through a case study with full simulation results comparing the two topologies at the transistor level and confirming the theoretical intuition. An active-RC filter is used as an example of a high-linearity OTA application, highlighting a 6 dB improvement in P1dB in the multi-loop implementation with respect to the single-loop case.