We investigated whether the physiological effects of prostaglandin B2 (PGB2) in the pulmonary circulation might be due to stimulation of thromboxane A2-prostaglandin H2 (TxA2/PGH2) receptors. In seven anesthetized rabbits, intravenous infusion of PGB2 (5.0 micrograms/kg) caused pulmonary hypertension as evidenced by increases in right ventricular systolic blood pressure. The magnitude of the pulmonary hypertension was comparable to that observed after infusion of the TxA2 mimetic U-46619 at a significantly lower dose (0.5 micrograms/kg), indicating that the effects of PGB2 in the intact animal are similar to TxA2 but less potent. Additionally, the TxA2/PGH2-receptor antagonist SQ-29548 blocked the pulmonary blood pressure responses elicited by PGB2. Receptor-binding studies using the TxA2 receptor ligand [3H]SQ-29548 indicated that PGB2 was a potent competitor for TxA2/PGH2 receptor binding. In agreement with the results from the intact animal, however, the efficacy of inhibition with PGB2 was significantly less than that measured for the TxA2 agonist U-46619. All of these results are consistent with the hypothesis that the physiological effects of PGB2 are mediated by stimulation of TxA2/PGH2 receptors.


Salient object detection (SOD) for optical remote sensing images (RSIs) aims at locating and extracting visually distinctive objects/regions from the optical RSIs. Since some saliency models were proposed to solve the intrinsic problem of optical RSIs (such as complex background and scale-variant objects), the accuracy and completeness are still unsatisfactory. To this end, we propose a relational reasoning network (RRNet) with parallel multiscale attention (PMA) for SOD in optical RSIs in this article. The relational reasoning module that integrates the spatial and the channel dimensions is designed to infer the semantic relationship by utilizing high-level encoder features, thereby promoting the generation of more complete detection results. The PMA module is proposed to effectively restore the detailed information and address the scale variation of salient objects by using the low-level features refined by multiscale attention. Extensive experiments on two datasets demonstrate that our proposed RRNet outperforms the existing state-of-the-art SOD competitors both qualitatively and quantitatively (https://rmcong.github.io/proj_RRNet.html).


We identify recurrent ingredients in the antithetic sampling literature leading to a unified sampling framework. We introduce a new class of antithetic schemes that includes the most used antithetic proposals. This perspective enables the derivation of new properties of the sampling schemes: i) optimality in the Kullback-Leibler sense; ii) closed-form multivariate Kendall's τ and Spearman's ρ; iii)ranking in concordance order and iv) a central limit theorem that characterizes stochastic behavior of Monte Carlo estimators when the sample size tends to infinity. Finally, we provide applications to Monte Carlo integration and Markov Chain Monte Carlo Bayesian estimation.


Petrography of the Hawkesbury Sandstone was described by thin section, scanning electron microscope and Xray diffraction techniques. Quartz is dominant in the Hawkesbury Sandstone which contains very minor feldspar, lithic grains, mica and heavy minerals. The Hawkesbury Sandstone is quartzarenite to sublitharenite. Quartz includes monocrystalline and polycrystalline grains while the feldspar includes both K-feldspar and plagioclase. Volcanic, sedimentary and chert rock fragments are present. Thin section porosity occurs in the Hawkesbury Sandstone, particularly the coarse-grained deposits. Primary porosity is more common than secondary porosity in the Hawkesbury Sandstone. Thin sections and scanning electron microscopy were used to describe diagenetic alterations and their influence on porosity in Hawkesbury Sandstone. These diagenetic alterations include compaction, quartz overgrowths, authigenicclay minerals and carbonate cement. Compaction occurred in the Hawkesbury Sandstoneduring throughout diagenesis. The influence of chemical compaction on thin section porosity was greater in the Hawkesbury Sandstone. Quartz overgrowths are common in the Hawkesbury Sandstone where they have a strong influence on porosity. Authigenic clay minerals are the widespread in the Hawkesbury Sandstone filling pores and occurring as grain-coatings on detrital and authigenic grains. Where they coat quartz grains they preserve porosity by preventing growth of quartz overgrowths. Pore-filling carbonate cement reduced porosity whereas dissolution of carbonate resulted in secondary porosity. Dissolution of unstable feldspar and lithic grains is absent in the Hawkesbury Sandstone. The Hawkesbury Sandstone is characterized by primary and secondary porosity, thus it has good groundwater storage and flow potential. Mediumand coarse-grained sandstone beds are common in the Hawkesbury Sandstone but it shows vertical variations in porosity. A few impermeable shale and siltstone units occur in the Hawkesbury Sandstone forming local confining layers.


After a decade evolving in the High Performance Computing arena, GPU-equipped supercomputers have conquered the top500 and green500 lists, providing us unprecedented levels of computational power and memory bandwidth. This year, major vendors have introduced new accelerators based on 3D memory, like Xeon Phi Knights Landing by Intel and Pascal architecture by Nvidia. This paper reviews hardware features of those new HPC accelerators and unveils potential performance for scientific applications, with an emphasis on Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) and High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) used by commercial products according to roadmaps already announced.


Hyalohyphomycosis is a rare infection caused by a group of fungi that are devoid of pigments in their cell walls. As one of the main pathogens of hyalohyphomycosis, Purpureocillium lilacinum (former Paecilomyces lilacinus) is known for its intrinsic resistance to various antifungal agents. Here, we report three cases that coincide with a history of farming and all of them suffered from cutaneous hyalohyphomycosis caused by P. lilacinum. They shared a clinical presentation consisting of erythematous‐to‐violaceous painful plaques with overlying pustules on one of their forearms. Hyphae and fungal elements were highlighted by periodic acid Schiff or Gomori methenamine silver staining in their skin biopsies. Fungal cultures of their skin tissues yielded P. lilacinum, which was confirmed by both morphological and molecular characteristics. All patients responded well to oral terbinafine or itraconazole treatment. In this report, we also reviewed previously reported cases associated with either P. lilacinum or other Paecilomyces spp. infections in Taiwan.


A new family of proteins (annexins) that bind to membranes at micromolar free Ca2+ has been recognized. Its members include an EGF-receptor kinase substrate (p35), a retroviral tyrosine kinase substrate (p36), the liver protein endonexin (p32) and an electric ray protein, calelectrin. Each protein contains four sequence repeats with a further 2-fold internal homology. Using the predicted secondary structure and pattern of conserved hydrophobic residues in each repeat, we have built a three-dimensional model that is largely isostructural with the known molecular conformation of bovine intestinal calcium-binding protein. The final (energy-refined) model had a core formed from the conserved hydrophobic residues. It differed from ICaBP principally in the length of the two Ca2+-binding loops with only one loop being able to bind. The model suggests a mechanism for interaction of these new Ca2+-binding proteins with phospholipid bilayers.


Coaxial electrospinning was firstly developed to encapsulate fish oil in composite nanofibers to improve its oxidative stability. TEM analysis revealed that a clear core–shell structure was formed in the obtained coaxial nanofibers, the average diameter of which was 560 nm. The loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency of fish oil were 14.5% and 96.9%, respectively. FTIR data demonstrated that fish oil was successfully entrapped into the coaxial electrospun nanofibers. The oxidative stability of encapsulated fish oil in the coaxial nanofibers was significantly enhanced compared to that in single nanofibers. Meanwhile, most of the encapsulated fish oil can be efficiently released from the coaxial electrospun nanofibers and the release was controlled by a combination of diffusion and macromolecular chain relaxation. This coaxial electrospun nanofibrous mat with favourable oxidative stability and release properties has potential for an application as a nutritional additive.


Aim: This study aimed to assess the impact of an educational program on nurses' knowledge and performance regarding nursing care of children with WT. Setting: This study was conducted at the outpatient and inpatient of pediatric oncology departments in Children Cancer Hospital (57357). This study sample is convenient, involved all the available (60) staff nurses giving nursing care for about 70 children suffering from WT. Tools of data collection included a structured interviewing questionnaire and Observational checklists sheets for assessing nurses' knowledge and performance (pre-posttest and follow up). The findings of the present study revealed that, the impact of the educational program on nurses' knowledge and performance about care of children with WT the result concluded that there was a positive correlation between nurses' knowledge and performance regarding WT after the educational program implementation. The result recommended that newly appointed nurses who are working at oncology unit must have an orientation program prior to care of children with Wilms' tumor, periodical continuous on job-training programs for oncology nurses to update and refresh their knowledge and performance about care of children with Wilms' tumor, regular clinical sessions to monitor the nursing performance at 57357 hospital will reinforce and improve the skills regarding to care of children with Wilms' tumor and further studies and replication of this study in other oncology units.


In very large wind farms, the vertical interaction with the atmospheric boundary layer plays an important role, i.e. the total energy extraction is governed by the vertical transport of kinetic energy from higher regions in the boundary layer towards the turbine level. In the current study, we investigate optimal control of wind-farm boundary layers, considering the individual wind turbines as flow actuators, whose energy extraction can be dynamically regulated in time so as to optimally influence the flow field and the vertical energy transport. To this end, we use large-eddy simulations of a fully developed pressure-driven wind-farm boundary layer in a receding-horizon optimal control framework. For the optimization of the wind-turbine controls, a conjugate-gradient optimization method is used in combination with adjoint large-eddy simulations for the determination of the gradients of the cost functional. In a first control study, wind-farm energy extraction is optimized in an aligned wind farm. Results are accumulated over one hour of operation. We find that the energy extraction is increased by 16 % compared to the uncontrolled reference. This is directly related to an increase of the vertical fluxes of energy towards the wind turbines, and vertical shear stresses increase considerably. A further analysis, decomposing the total stresses into dispersive and Reynolds stresses, shows that the dispersive stresses increase drastically, and that the Reynolds stresses decrease on average, but increase in the wake region, leading to better wake recovery. We further observe also that turbulent dissipation levels in the boundary layer increase, and overall the outer layer of the boundary layer enters into a transient decelerating regime, while the inner layer and the turbine region attain a new statistically steady equilibrium within approximately one wind-farm through-flow time. Two additional optimal control cases study penalization of turbulent dissipation. For the current wind-farm geometry, it is found that the ratio between wind-farm energy extraction and turbulent boundary-layer dissipation remains roughly around 70 %, but can be slightly increased by a few per cent by penalizing the dissipation in the optimization objective. For a pressure-driven boundary layer in equilibrium, we estimate that such a shift can lead to an increase in wind-farm energy extraction of 6 %.


This paper proposes novel formation maintenance strategies for multiple nonholonomic mobile robots based on nonholonomic trajectory tracking techniques and dynamic feedback linearization. It also presents experimental results for formation stability and noise tolerance of the proposed and existing leader-follower based controllers using physical P3AT robots. The research focusses only on the problem of formation maintenance by multiple nonholonomic mobile robots. Two types of formation maintenance controllers are developed by transforming the follower robot's motion in to separate trajectory tracking tasks and then by applying existing nonholonomic trajectory tracking techniques. A third controller is developed through the use of dynamic feedback linearization. The proposed systems are implemented in physical P3AT type mobile robots and real-world experimental results are shown to compare the formation accuracy and the stability of these controllers.


Vulcanizates of chlorobutyl rubber (CIIR) with the accelerated sulfur generally exhibit poor crosslinking density owing to the low level of unsaturation in the backbone of CIIR. Therefore, the sulfur cured CIIR shows inferior thermo-mechanical properties at elevated temperature. In addition to this, the vulcanization of CIIR with accelerated sulfur is limited at higher temperature due to reversion. To solve these problems, 4,4′-bis (maleimido) diphenyl methane (BMDM) was applied as a crosslinking additive along with the accelerated sulfur. The detailed curing studies have proved that the presence of BMDM greatly enhanced the rheometric torque and the reversion resistance while curing CIIR with accelerated sulfur even at higher vulcanization temperature. Moreover, the crosslinking densities of the sulfur cured CIIR have increased by 109% with the use of 1 phr BMDM and further rose to 380% with 5 phr BMDM. The improved crosslink density could enable reduction of the compression set of the sulfur cured CIIR to around 40% at 100 °C when it was vulcanized in the presence of 5 phr BMDM. The kinetic studies revealed that incorporation of this additive does not adversely affect the original vulcanization behavior of CIIR with accelerated sulfur, instead it marginally improved the speed of the vulcanization.


This study was conducted in order to analyze the theories behind external protective factors. In particular, it sought to understand the influence of adolescent resilience on learning motivation. Students of a public high school located in Gyeonggi Province participated in various questionnaires during the week of March 5th, 2013. Frequency analysis, one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance), correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were utilized to analyze the acquired data. The results revealed that when family relationships were strong and local community expectations were high, the students` `attention to implementation processes,` one aspect of intrinsic motivation to learn, was also high. `Suitable levels of adventurousness and risk-taking,` another aspect of intrinsic motivation to learn, was high when school expectations were also high and when relationships at the school level were weaker. The study results verified that the theory that intrinsic motivation to learn can be enhanced by strengthening external factors to protect adolescent resilience. This study is significant in that it establishes theoretical grounds to address adolescent issues, to develop programs to prevent school dropouts, and to apply the results to future legislative policies.


The prevalence of immediate positive reactions to prick testing with house dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) and grass pollen allergens was determined in a random sample of 303 children aged between 8 and 14 years from two Southampton schools. One hundred and two (33.7%) showed positive reactions, fifty to both D. pteronyssinus and grass pollen, thirty to D. pteronyssinus only and twenty‐two to pollen only. Allergic symptoms were present in fifty‐one of the 102 children with positive skin tests; amongst thirty children with D. pteronyssinus skin sensitivity by itself, only six had symptoms suggestive of allergic disorder. Significantly more children with positive than with negative tests were reported by their parents to have suffered from recurrent bronchitis during early childhood.


Oropharyngeal cancer is a subtype of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma that is associated with unique risk exposures like consumption of smokeless tobacco and areca nut and is highly prevalent in the northeastern region of India, especially Meghalaya. However, the underlying epigenetic and transcriptomic changes in this cancer type is yet to be delineated. We have undertaken a study on genome wide somatic alterations in the DNA methylation and transcriptome in oropharyngeal cancer patients from this region using genome wide techniques in paired tumors and adjacent normal tissues. By using integrative approaches, we have identified 194 epigenetically silenced and 241 epigenetically overexpressed genes in the tumor tissue of these patients. Pathways that are significantly enriched by these genes include the pathways of immune systems, such as the interleukin signaling pathways and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. Also, osteoclast differentiation pathway was found to be epigenetically upregulated. The pathways enriched by the epigenetically downregulated genes were found to be predominantly those involved in xenobiotic metabolism and keratinization. Two major transcription factors – SPI1 and RUNX1 were identified as epigenetically dysregulated, which further modulates 129 downstream genes. Comparison of our observations with the head and neck cancer data from TCGA revealed distinct DNA methylation and gene expression landscapes which might be specific for oropharyngeal cancer. HPV DNA sequences were not detected in any of the tumor samples in RNA-Seq data. The results obtained in this study might provide improved understanding of the disease.


This paper is concerned with the study of square boolean synchronous four-neighbor peripheral cellular automata. It is first shown that, due to conjugation and plane reflection symmetry transformations, the number of dynamically nonequivalent such automata is equal to 4 856. The cellular automata for which the homogeneous final states play a significant role are then identified. Finally, it is shown that, contrary to what happens in the case of one-dimensional boolean three-neighbor cellular automata, for some peripheral automata there is coexistence between a homogeneous final state and other dynamics.


The term vasculitis embraces a heterogeneous group of conditions which may occur as primary phenomena or secondary to disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus. Classification of vasculitis is often difficult in the absence of identifiable aetiological factors or specific serological markers. However, the primary systemic vasculitides can be segregated morphologically, according to the size of blood vessels involved and the presence of granulomata (Table 1). Recently, the discovery of circulating antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in many patients with these disorders, whose differing specificities substantiate the histological classification, has led to interest being focused on their relevance in the development of vasculitis. This paper reviews the historical aspects of the detection of ANCA, and the value of these antibodies in the diagnosis and management of the primary systemic vasculitides likely to be encountered by the dermatologist. The clinical features in patients with these vasculitides are also outlined.


Classical molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to investigate the structural evolution in deformation-induced rejuvenation in Cu80Zr20 metallic glass. Metallic glasses obtained by different cooling rates can be rejuvenated into the glassy state with almost the same potential energy by compressive deformation. The aging effect in different metallic glasses in cooling process can be completely erased by the deformation-induced rejuvenation. The evolution of cavities has been analyzed to understand the structural evolution in rejuvenation. It is found that as metallic glasses are rejuvenated by mechanical deformation, a lot of cavities are created. The lower the potential energy is, the more the cavities are created. The cavities are mainly created in the regions without cavities or with small cavities populated, indicating that the irreversible rearrangements induced by deformation are accompanied by the creation of cavity. This finding elucidates the underlying structural basis for rejuvenation and aging in metallic glasses from the cavity perspective.


Objectives: To report and associate acute cerebral infarctions in 2 young, previously healthy siblings with use of the street drug known as "spice" (a synthetic marijuana product, also known as "K2"), which they independently smoked before experiencing acute embolic-appearing ischemic strokes. Methods: We present history, physical examination, laboratory data, cerebrovascular imaging, echocardiogram, ECG, and hospital course of these patients. Results: We found that in both siblings spice was obtained from the same source. The drug was found to contain the schedule I synthetic cannabinoid JWH-018. Full stroke workup was unrevealing of a stroke etiology; urine drug screen was positive for marijuana. Conclusions: We found that our 2 patients who smoked the street drug spice had a temporal association with symptoms of acute cerebral infarction. This association may be confounded by contaminants in the product consumed (i.e., marijuana or an unidentified toxin) or by an unknown genetic mechanism. The imaging of both patients suggests an embolic etiology, which is consistent with reports of serious adverse cardiac events with spice use, including tachyarrhythmias and myocardial infarctions.


Abstract: Community improvement districts (CIDs) in Georgia are business improvement districts (BIDs) with a difference: They are constitutionally established autonomous local governments, though entirely run by the districts' leading property/business owners, mostly real estate and banking interests. Like BIDs they assess themselves but, as governments, they are also able to leverage large sums of state and federal monies for substantial infrastructure construction and improvements. In metropolitan Atlanta, CIDs arose first in response to an excess of success in suburban commercial nodes that required large-scale capital investments and transportation improvements. In the business-friendly political climate of Georgia they are strongly supported by the officials of the counties and city within which they are located, though there are some differences between CID and local government relations from county to county and especially the city. The autonomous legal status of CIDs and their ability to leverage public money create problems for their accountability to local governments and general publics. As they expand their activities more in the direction of general-purpose governments, and as more CIDs are established, their accountability problems and their implications for democratic governance will come more into focus.


The mitochondrion has emerged as one of the uncommon targets in cancer therapeutics due to its involvement in cancer generation and progression. Consequently, nanoplatform mediated delivery of anti-cancer drugs into the mitochondria of cancer tissues demonstrated immense potential in cancer treatment. In the last couple of decades, gold nanoparticles have gained incredible attention in biomedical applications due to their easy synthesis, size-shape tenability, optical properties and outstanding photothermal ability. However, application of gold nanoparticles to target mitochondria to induce the chemo-photothermal effect in cancer has remained in its infancy. To address this, herein we have engineered dog-bone shaped gold nanoparticles (Mito-AuDB-NPs) comprising cisplatin and 10-hydroxycamptothecin as chemotherapeutic drugs along with the triphenylphosphonium (TPP) cation for mitochondria homing. Mito-AuDB-NPs exhibited a remarkable increase in temperature till 56 °C upon 18 min irradiation with 740 nm NIR LED light with a power density of 0.9 W cm-2. These Mito-AuDB-NPs successfully homed into the mitochondria of HeLa cervical cancer cells within 1 h and induced mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) under the chemo-photothermal effect leading to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This Mito-AuDB-NP-mediated mitochondrial damage triggered programmed cell death (apoptosis) by decreasing the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2/Bcl-xl and increasing the expression of pro-apoptotic BAX followed by caspase-3 cleavage towards extraordinary HeLa cell killing in a synergistic manner without showing toxicity towards non-cancerous RPE-1 human epithelial retinal pigment cells. We anticipate that this dog-bone shaped gold nanoparticle-mediated chemo-photothermal impairment of mitochondria in the cancer cells can open a new direction towards organelle targeted cancer therapy.


With topologcial semimetal developing, semimetal with nodal-line ring comes into people's vision as a powerful candidate for practical application of topological devices. We propose a method using ultracold atoms in two-dimensional amplitude-shaken bipartite hexagonal optical lattice to simulate nodal-line semimetal, which can be achieved in experiment by attaching one triangular optical lattice to a hexangonal optical lattice and periodically modulating the intensity and position of the triangular lattice. By amplitude shaking, a time-reversal-symmetry-unstable mode is introduced into the bipartite optical lattice, and then the nodal-line semimetal is gotten by adjusting the proportion of such mode and the trivial mode of hexagonal lattice. Through calculating the energy spectrum of effective Hamiltonian, the transformation from Dirac semimetal to nodal-line semimetal in pace with changing shaking parameters is observed. We also study the change of Berry curvature and Berry phase in the transformation, which provides guidance on measuring the transformation in experiment. By analyzing the symmetry of the system, the emergence of the time-reversal-symmetry-unstable mode is researched. This proposal provides a way to research the pure nodal-line semimetal without the influence of other bands, which may contribute to the study of those unique features of surface states and bulk states of nodal-line semimetal.


Background and Objectives: rpoS is a bacterial sigma factor of RNA polymerase which is involved in the expression of the genes which control regulons and play a critical role in survival against stresses. Few suitable vectors are available which could be maintained successfully in Flexibacter chinesis cells and could in particular be used as a suicide vector to make mutation in the rpoS gene. The aim of this study was to investigate if rpoS mutagenesis has impact on bacterial morphology in addition to cell division. Materials and Methods: A 0.603 kb BamHI-PstI fragment subclone of pICRPOS38Ω was cloned into linearized pLYLO3. The final construct, pLRPOS38 suicide vector, was introduced into Flexibacter chinesis. Then the cytoplasm of mutant strain and wild-type were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Results: After successful subcloning of suicide vector into F. chinesis, based on TEM study, it was demonstrated that mutation in rpoS gene leads to decomposition of outer membrane of F. chinesis. Conclusion: A suitable vector to make suicide mutation in rpoS was constructed for F. chinesi.


The results of analysis of high-boiling petroleum fractions by classic capillary gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (CGC-FID) were compared with those obtained in short capillary columns under conditions offast capillary gas chromatography. For the determination of the high-boiling fractions by CGC-FID, both the calibration curve and its combination with internal standard were proposed. It was confirmed that light gas oil can be used as an internal standard for the analysis of high-boiling petroleum fractions in environmental samples. Both the classic capillary gas chromatography and its modified fast version give comparable results in spite of a significant drop in the column efficiency at the last stage.


Juvenile crime in New South Wales (NSW) has received a great deal of publicity in recent years. Despite the attention it receives, public perceptions of juvenile crime have been surrounded by a substantial amount of confusion. A casual reading of newspaper headlines may seem to suggest that most juvenile offenders are involved in violent crime and offend frequently. This bulletin explores recent trends in juvenile crime which tend to belie this impression and outlines the findings of two recent research studies conducted by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research on juvenile offending. There are four sections to this bulletin. The first section discusses the criminal prosecution process for juveniles in NSW. The second section discusses sources of information about juvenile crime. The third section presents current statistics with respect to offences committed by juveniles and juvenile offender characteristics. The final section of the bulletin examines patterns of juvenile offending, the offending frequency of juveniles in NSW, and how this information can be used to prevent juvenile offending.


Background: Hospital readmissions are a key metric associated with quality of health care. While IBD patients are frequently hospitalized for disease exacerbations or surgeries, there are a paucity of data on factors associated with hospital readmissions in IBD patients from nationally representative datasets. Methods: We used 2013 data from the National Readmissions Database (NRD), a nationally representative database from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, in a retrospective cohort to describe IBD readmissions. With data from 21 states, the NRD can be used to create national estimates of readmission rates for all payers and the uninsured. International Classification of Diseases, ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnosis codes were used to identify adult patients with discharge diagnoses of ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD). Among patients >18 years of age with IBD, available demographic factors and details of the index hospitalization and readmissions were determined. Bivariate analyses were performed to describe factors associated with readmission. As there were no a priori hypotheses, statistical testing was not performed. Data were analyzed using SAS survey procedures. Results: There were 80,203 CD and 48,900 UC patients who were hospitalized in 2013. Of those who were hospitalized, 58% of CD patients and 54% of UC patients were female. The mean age was 51 years for CD patients and 56 years for UC patients. The median length of stay for the index hospitalization was 3.1 days for CD patients and 3.5 days for UC patients. In 2013, 20,325 CD patients (25%) and 9694 (20%) UC patients were re-admitted within 90 days. Of the 80,203 CD patients, 5549 (7%) had surgery during the index hospitalization; 1455 CD patients (26%) who had surgery during the index hospitalization were readmitted. Of the 48,900 UC patients, 2691 (6%) had surgery during the index hospitalization, 632 UC patients (23%) who had surgery during the index hospitalization were readmitted. The median length of stay for a readmission was 3.6 days for CD patients and 4.0 days for UC patients. The 5 most frequent primary diagnoses for CD readmissions are as follows: Crohn's disease (32.8%), septicemia (3.6%), intestinal obstruction (3.3%), acute kidney failure (2.3%) and clostridium difficile intestinal infection (1.6%). The average cost for a CD readmission was $46,203. The 5 most frequent primary diagnoses for a UC readmission are as follows: ulcerative colitis (34.8%), septicemia (4.2%), clostridium difficile intestinal infection (3.7%), acute kidney failure (1.7%) and pneumonia (1.2%). The average cost for a UC readmission was $54,776. Conclusions: The rate of IBD readmissions are similar whether or not the index hospitalization involved surgery. After IBD itself, infections and acute kidney injury were some of the most common primary diagnosis codes for hospital readmission within 90 days. The cost of readmission is high. Understanding factors associated with hospital readmissions in the United States will help make progress toward improving quality of care for patients with IBD and reducing costs of readmission.


Aged 15, TOM is a model patient. He has suffered more than his fair share of life-threatening events and never complains. But then TOM is not your average sick teenager - he is the world's first open chest paediatric/adult manikin.


The problems posed by tracheal intubation in the presence of a tracheal bronchus in adults are exemplified with three case histories. The anomaly has been categorized into three types on the basis of its potential to cause problems when attempting intubation. Suggestions are given for ways of securing the airway that are safe and less likely to result in obstruction and hypoxia.


Abstract Whereas fungi are very efficient at accumulating compounds from the medium by active transport, compounds lacking transport mechanisms often show very low permeability.


Reflective functioning (RF) has been found to be associated with mother-child interactions, but less is known about the association of fathers' self and child-focused RF and father-child relationships.  Fathers who have histories of intimate partner violence (IPV) are known to have poor RF, which may impact their father-child interactions.  The current study was designed to examine how types of RF are associated with father-child relationships.  Pretreatment assessments and recorded, coded father-child play interactions were used to examine associations among fathers' history of adverse childhood experiences (ACES), RF and coded father-child play interactions in a sample of 47 fathers with a history of IPV use in the last 6 months with their coparent.  Fathers' ACES and their child's mental states (CM) were associated with father-child dyadic play interactions.  Fathers with greater ACES and higher scores on CM had the most dyadic tension and constriction during play interactions.  Those with high ACES but low CM had scores similar to those with low ACES and low CM.  These results indicate that fathers who have used IPV and have a history of significant adversity may benefit from interventions to increase their child-focused RF and further improve their interactions with their children.


OBJECTIVES
A group of ST664 XDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains have been isolated from a burn clinic. Here we decipher their resistomes and likely mechanisms of resistance acquisition.

METHODS
The complete nucleotide sequences of representative isolates were determined, by PacBio and Illumina MiSeq sequencing, and analysed for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes as well as sequence variations. S1-PFGE was used to determine the sizes and numbers of plasmids harboured by the isolates. Purified plasmid DNA was further sequenced by PacBio technology, closed manually and annotated by RAST. The mobility of plasmids was determined by conjugation assays.

RESULTS
The XDR P. aeruginosa ST664 clone carries 11 AMR genes, including a blaKPC-2 gene that confers resistance to carbapenems. Most of the ST664 isolates carry three coexisting plasmids. blaKPC-2 and a cluster of three AMR genes (aadB-cmlA1-sul1) are encoded on a 475 kb megaplasmid pNK546a, which codes for an IncP-3-like replication and partitioning mechanism, but has lost the conjugative transfer system. Interestingly, however, pNK546a is mobilizable and can be transferred to P. aeruginosa PAO1 with the help of a co-residing IncP-7 conjugative plasmid. The blaKPC-2 gene is carried by an IS6100-ISKpn27-blaKPC-2-ΔISKpn6-Tn1403 mobile element, which might be brought into the ST664 clone by another co-resident IncP-1α plasmid, which is inclined to be lost. Moreover, pNK546a harbours multiple heavy metal (mercury, tellurite and silver) resistance modules.

CONCLUSIONS
To the best of our knowledge, pNK546a is the first fully sequenced blaKPC-2-carrying megaplasmid from P. aeruginosa. These results give new insights into bacterial adaptation and evolution during nosocomial infections.


This paper surveys the status and future prospects of bioenergy renewable energy source (RES) hybrids, i.e. energy conversion processes that have at least two renewable energy inputs, one of which is bioenergy. Finland, Austria, Germany and Denmark were the case study countries. We found that the implementation of bioenergy RES hybrids was already ongoing in various sectors, but a majority of them was focused on domestic heating applications. Bioenergy can be used to provide flexible resources for both energy supply and energy storage. An important motivation behind hybrid systems is the possibility of switching between different energy sources in an optimal way. No significant technical limitations were identified for surveyed hybrid systems, but the future economic potential of bioenergy RES hybrids remains difficult to estimate as the value of flexibility cannot be assessed in isolation from the energy system. © 2019 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


In the past, sacral agenesis was thought to be a form of bony malformation associated with static neurological deficits. The majority of therapeutic recommendations involved orthopedic correction of foot and leg deformities. Myelographic studies were seldom obtained, and surgical exploration was rarely attempted. We recently encountered two cases of sacral agenesis with progressive neurological deficits; both patients had myelographically demonstrable lesions and both responded favorably to surgical treatment. We believe that patients with caudal agenesis can be divided into two groups: one with static neurological deficits that probably would not improve after operation, and the other with progressive neurological findings probably associated with specific neuropathological lesions that would be amenable to operative therapy. We therefore endorse a more aggressive approach toward the management of patients in the second group. Upon the diagnosis of caudal agenesis, a detailed documentation of the base line neurological status, the bladder and bowel functions, and the degree of lower limb deformities should be obtained. A diligent follow-up program is essential to detect progression which, when present, should be followed promptly by myelography and surgical intervention. The etiology, classifications, and clinical features of sacral agenesis are discussed, and the associated neuropathological abnormalities are analyzed.


We describe the geographic distribution and variation in host-pathogen specificity for Leptospira-infected small mammals collected concurrently from three Hawaiian Islands over a period of 14 years: 1990-2003. Four serogroups (Icterohaemorrhagiae, Ballum, Sejroe, and Australis) were identified from the 15,171 animals tested. Serogroup prevalence differed across host species and islands (P < 0.0001 for each), but not across years. The host associations and biogeographic patterns of Leptospira in Hawaii indicate a pathogen community shaped by ecological factors.


During the winding process of HTS coils the tapes of Bi-2223 are subjected to the influence of bending strain, axial strain, compressive force and torsional deformation resulting in I/sub c/ degradation. In the literature the effects of the individual strain components are separately analyzed in spite of during coil winding and energizing the strain-stress effects are combined. In this work using commercial tapes of Bi-2223 Ag/AgMg with and without stainless steel reinforcement several samples were wound on cylindrical FRP G-10 holder in which different combined strains are applied. Measurements of I-V characteristic curves are done to determine the degree of critical current degradation and the operational limits. The results are compared with the I/sub c/ values of short samples and other specimens subjected to deformation generated by loading types such as tensile and bending strain.


Students often take computing classes because they are eager to create games, to learn to create meaningful and useful software, or both. Connecting computing to real, cutting-edge applications has been shown to increase engagement of women and minorities. The new CS Principles curriculum, a pilot Advanced Placement course, seeks to broaden the participation in computing to a larger and more diverse audience. This curriculum emphasizes that computing is a creative activity where people work together to solve relevant problems. In this workshop, we introduce free software and curricula to enable novice high school and college students in a first computing course to learn basic game and mobile phone development. We discuss how these activities facilitate teaching high school and non-major (CS0) course topics, but they can also be used to illustrate more advanced topics. Participants will learn GameMaker and mobile phone programming using AppInventor, and/or Touch Develop. These tools allow students to create and have fun with computing while teaching object-oriented and event-driven programming and game architectures. If possible, Windows 7 phones will be provided for use during the workshop. We will provide links to curricular modules for the CS Principles: Beauty and Joy of Computing course, as well as links to the GameMaker, AppInventor, and Touch Develop platforms and tutorials. Participants must bring a network-connected laptop with a modern browser, and the latest version of Java (ideally with AppInventor installed), and may optionally bring an Android or Windows 7 phone.


We analytically obtain the capture regions for the true proportional navigation (TPN) missile guidance law against an intelligently maneuvering target. Two versions of TPN are considered. The first is the original TPN which assumes the commanded lateral acceleration to be directly proportional to the line-of-sight (LOS) rate only, the proportionality factor being an arbitrary constant or dependent only on the initial closing velocity. The other, known as RTPN (realistic TPN), assumes the commanded lateral acceleration to be directly proportional to the LOS rate and also the current closing velocity. The target is assumed to maneuver in such a way as to increase the LOS rate and thus directly oppose the proportional navigation (PN) philosophy of annulling the LOS rate. A necessary and sufficient condition for capture is derived for the original TPN, and using it, the exact capture region is obtained. A sufficient condition for capture is derived for RTPN and is used to obtain its capture region partially. Some necessary conditions for capture are also derived for RTPN and are used to obtain an upper bound on its complete capture region. Using these conditions some important results on the existence of capture regions and a comparative study of capturability of TPN laws are also presented. >


Introduction: Estrogen Receptor (ER) is arguably the most powerful predictive marker in breast cancer. However, a recent incident in Canada revealed a strikingly high false-negative rate and raised awareness of the current limitations in our measurement of ER. The current clinical standard is both subjective and qualitative. Even though guidelines are about to be issued to standardize this assay, there is very little data on the misclassification rate in current practice in the US.Hypothesis: Our hypothesis is that the use of a quantitative assay for ER on a series of retrospective collections may reveal both the level and significance of the misclassification rate.Method: Cell lines with a range of ER expression levels were analyzed by quantitative western blotting in parallel with IF/AQUA analysis (r2 = 0.865), in order to create standard curves for assessment of absolute ER protein concentration in tissue. The optimized assay was then used to quantify ER protein expression in a large cohort of archival breast cancer samples from Yale (1962-1982, n =617).Results: Using a set of standard curves with recombinant ER and cell line controls, we developed a standardized method for quantifying ER as an absolute concentration (pg ER per μg total protein) in formalin-fixed tissue on TMAs. This ER AQUA assay has a range in sensitivity from 50 pg/μg to 1500pg/μg total protein. Quantification of ER protein expression on the Yale archival cohort revealed a unimodal distribution with 49.8% of cases above the 50pg/ug threshold and thus defined as positive. When compared to pathologist performed conventional ER classification, we found a false negative rate of 6.65% and a false positive rate of 10.2%, for a total misclassification rate of 16.6%. Although no response data is available on that cohort, data is under analysis on 4 other cohorts with endocrine therapy treatment information, including an independent Yale cohort, SWOG 9313, NSABP B14, and the TEAM trial.Conclusion: We have developed a quantitative method to measure absolute levels of ER in breast tissue. Use of this assay on a series of cohorts suggests a misclassification rate in the 15% range. The significance of this level of misclassification with respect to response to endocrine therapy is currently under study. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 4068.


A study was carried out using potted plants arranged in a randomized complete block experimental design, to evaluate the pathogenic responses of Cowpea that was inoculated with cucumber mosaic virus to soil amendment with neem leaf powder. The amendments were applied at varying rates of 0.125Kg/10kg soil, 0.25Kg/10Kg soil and 0.5Kg/10Kg soil, and at the time of two weeks before planting, at planting and at two weeks after planting. Plants that served as control were also inoculated with the virus but were sown in soil not amended with neem leaf powder. Results from the experiment indicated that amendment of the soil with neem-leaf powder produced plants that were less vulnerable to diseases occasioned by viruses. The rate and time of the application of the neem leaf powder also appeared to be an important factor in this regard. It was observed that application of relatively lower rate of 0.125kg neem leaf powder per 10kg of soil at two weeks prior planting conferred the highest tolerance to virus diseases, as these treatment plants had the highest growth indices and yields. On the other hand, plants grown in soil amended at the higher rate of 0.50kg neem leaf powder per 10kg of soil two weeks after planting, had the lowest growth and yield attributes which were similar to the control. This experiment suggests that neem leaf powder applied as soil amendment at an appropriate rate and time could achieve possible potentials for virus disease control in cowpea. Keywords: Neem leaf powder, Rate and Time of Application, Inoculation, Cucumber mosaic virus, Cowpea, Soil amendment.


Purpose of reviewDyspnea is a distressing consequence of many unremitting diseases. This review discusses the therapeutic use of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in advanced illness. Recent findingsNIV continues to be investigated most rigorously in patients with progressive neuromuscular weakness and the combination of emphysema and lung cancer. Data are quite limited on the palliative role of NIV in bronchiectasis and interstitial lung diseases. It remains difficult to identify the subsets of patients with acute-on-chronic respiratory failure who are most likely to benefit from ICU admission, but NIV may particularly help those with hypercapnia. The question of whether general or disease-specific instruments should be used to evaluate the effects of NIV on quality of life is unanswered. Computerized decision aids have been developed to assist providers, patients, and their families with advance care planning. SummaryNIV is an important adjunct to medications for patients with intractable dyspnea. Future research should attempt to clarify the effectiveness of NIV at controlling dyspnea within and outside the hospital. Barriers to its domiciliary application are largely unknown. Processes should be developed to optimize communication among clinicians, patients, and their caregivers around the issues of when to start NIV and how to withdraw it at the end of life.


This study examined children's peer reputation from three perspectives, within the context of the transition to secondary school.

Participants were Year Seven pupils from five secondary schools across England and Wales (N = 608), within which a subset had participated in an earlier cross-sectional study and thus formed a longitudinal sample (N = 105).

This study investigated:
1) To what extent the transition to secondary school is a 'turning point' in children's social experiences, and how this relates to peer reputations in secondary school.

2) Whether differences in social understanding explain unique variance in children's (peer-rated) social profiles, refining previously reported associations between theory of mind and popularity.

3) Whether cultural differences in performance on an attribution task corresponded with group differences in how peer reputation is related to peer acceptance / rejection among White British and Asian children.

Results from the longitudinal sample indicated that change in sociometric status across the transition to secondary school was associated with social adjustment and aspects of peer reputation, generally consistent with the notion of a turning point; however predicted associations with theory of mind and aggression were not found. In the wider sample, theory of mind was associated only with leadership, while results from the attribution task showed that cultural differences were confounded by differences in socioeconomic status and showed no significant associations with peer reputation.

Finally, exploratory analysis revealed that performance on the attribution task was related to theory of mind ability. Implications are discussed.


An approach for measuring linear X-ray polarization over a broad-band using conventional spectroscopic optics is described. A set of multilayer-coated flats reflect the dispersed X-rays to the instrument detectors. The intensity variation as a function of energy and position angle is measured to determine three Stokes parameters: I, Q, and U. By laterally grading the multilayer optics and matching the dispersion of the gratings, one may take advantage of high multilayer reflectivities and achieve modulation factors over 80% over the entire 0.2 to 0.8 keV band. A sample design is shown that could be used with a small orbiting mission.


Implantation following placentation is a unique system for mammals to reproduce. The initial attachment of the embryo to the uterus occurs via the apical cell membranes of two epithelial cells, trophoblast of the blastocyst and surface epithelial cells of the endometrium. Analysis of the implantation at the molecular level has been a difficult problem in reproductive biology. Recently, a major break through was made in this area: A discovery of a novel cell adhesion molecule complex mediating the initial attachment of trophoblast to the endometrial epithelium. This review provides a brief overview of cell adhesion molecules involved in implantation and introduces identification and characterization of trophinin and tastin.


Fibroblast growth factor receptor-like 1 (FGFRL1) is a transmembrane receptor that interacts with heparin and FGF ligands. In contrast to the classical FGF receptors, FGFR1 to FGFR4, it does not appear to affect cell growth and proliferation. In the present study, an inducible gene expression system was utilized in combination with a xenograft tumor model to investigate the effects of FGFRL1 on cell adhesion and tumor formation. It was determined that recombinant FGFRL1 promotes the adhesion of HEK 293 Tet-On® cells in vitro. Moreover, when such cells are induced to express FGFRL1ΔC they aggregate into huge clusters. If injected into nude mice, the cells form large tumors. Notably, this tumor growth is completely inhibited when the expression of FGFRL1 is induced. The forced expression of FGFRL1 in the tumor tissue may restore contact inhibition, thereby preventing growth of the cells in nude mice. The results of the present study demonstrate that FGFRL1 acts as a tumor suppressor similar to numerous other cell adhesion proteins. It is therefore likely that FGFRL1 functions as a regular cell-cell adhesion protein.


Salmeterol is a long acting, highly selective, padrenergic agonist. It prevents asthma symptoms in patients with mild or moderate disesse and improves nocturnal asthma and sleep quality. We evaluated the bronchodilator and bronchoprotective effect and duration of action of inhaled salmeterol in patients with asthma. We compared the bronchodilator and bronc- hoprotective effects of salmeterol with salbutamol in 34 patients with asthma. Diagnosis of asthma was confirmed with methacholine challenge test or airway reversibility test. We performed the symptom index questionnaire, peak expiratory flow rate, pulmonary function test and methacholine challenge test. Symptom scores were more improved with salmeterol treatment than salbutamol treatment. After salmeterol inhalation, mean FEV, increased from 1.95L(pre-treatment) to 2.04L (early stage in the treatment), 2.06L(late stage), 2.03L(follow up). There was no difference in FEV, between early stage and late stage after salmeterol treatment. With salmeterol, there was a significant increases in PC, on methacholine challenge test (PC20 4.96 : 16.42) Salmeterol is a potent, longacting bronchodilator, with a slower onset and longer duration of bronchodilation than salbutamol. It also has bronchoprotective effect and shows low incidence of adverse effects.


Increasing issue of returning to nature, the presence of organic fertilizer is one of the things required in agriculture sector. The presence of the liquid organic fertilizer, it is expected to have a positive impact on plants and soil. Moreover, in the manufacturing process, it was utilizing wastes. The liquid fertilizer was made by mixing waste from micro-businesses that produce a porridge (old coconut water) and side product of the sugar factory (molasses). Seven litter solutions from the liquid were mixed using a bioreactor equipped with impeller for 8 incubation days. The isolated microbes were inserted with initial number of 1012 using counting chamber method. As a phosphate source, the phosphate rock was implemented into reactor. Every 4 days, the samples were taken and analysed for knowing the concentration of NPK and C components. Three consortium microbe variables were carried out for making the fertilizer where the source of microorganisms from enrichment cultures + old coconut water + molasses (EOM); soil + old coconut water + molasses (SOM); and only old coconut water + molasses (OM). The highest (%) of N, P, K and C components was detected at 0.09; 0.04; 10.5 and 1.74, respectively achieved by the EOM after 8 day of incubation period. The bio-fertilizer was applied into the paddy test plants with a hydroponic system.


Author(s): Chang, Jeffrey | Advisor(s): Chang, Jane P | Abstract: This work focuses on the design, synthesis, characterization and integration of multiferroic composite materials via radical-enhanced atomic layer deposition (RE-ALD). Specifically, ferrimagnetic CoFe2O4 is integrated with multiferroic BiFeO3 and ferroelectric HfO2 (FE-HfO2), respectively, to create two distinct composite systems. The use of multiferroic BiFeO3 as the ferroelectric phase offers the potential of employing two interfacial coupling phenomena simultaneously. On the other hand, desirable ferroelectric property and superior Si-compatibility that FE-HfO2 can offer make it an intriguing material system for further implementation into device processing at an industrial scale. In the CoFe2O4/BiFeO3 system, high-quality CoFe2O4 and BiFeO3 were synthesized on SrTiO3 (001) substrates via RE-ALD using TMHD-based metalorganic precursors (TMHD = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylheptane-3,5 dione) and atomic oxygen. With post-deposition thermal treatments, BiFeO3 exhibited epitaxial single-crystalline growth in its (001)pc orientation. Ferroelectric switching and measurable ferromagnetism confirmed the multiferroicity of BiFeO3. CoFe2O4 exhibited textured-polycrystalline growth with a ~10-nm epitaxial transition layer, which led to tunable ferrimagnetism with a thickness-related strain relaxation process. The CoFe2O4 thin films exhibited magnetic behavior that is comparable with the ones synthesized by other processing techniques as well as bulk crystals. Nano-laminates of CoFe2O4/BiFeO3 in 2D-2D configuration were synthesized on SrTiO3 (001) and Si (001) substrates. By fixing the nanolaminate total thickness at 55 nm and CoFe2O4-BiFeO3 ratio at a constant of CoFe2O4:BiFeO3 = 15:40 while increasing the number of alternating layers up to 5 layers, the tri-layer BiFeO3/CoFe2O4/BiFeO3 structure exhibits the most promising functional properties with an optimized polarization ~17 μC/cm2 and saturation magnetism (Ms) ~125 emu/cm3. Both strain and magnetic interactions were observed at the interface for the nano-laminates due to the multiferroic nature of BiFeO3. The tri-layer structure exhibited a converse magnetoelectric coupling coefficient (αconverse) of ~22 Oe cm/kV. By scaling the nano-laminate from ~55 nm to ~16 nm in total thickness, αconverse is further improved to ~64 Oe cm/kV, comparable with systems reported with much higher thicknesses. As the first demonstration of a fully ALD-synthesized multiferroic composite, this part of the work reveals the possibility to utilize ALD to optimize multiferroic nano-laminates for further integrations into magnetoelectric devices.For CoFe2O4/FE-HfO2 composites, HfO2 thin films were synthesized with tetrakis(dimethylamido)hafnium(IV) (TDMAH) and atomic oxygen. In this design, CoFe2O4 served not only as the mechanical confinement layer but also as an active magnetic layer that contributed to overall magnetism. For ~6nm HfO2 annealed at ~700 i?½C, the CoFe2O4/FE-HfO2 composites exhibited a remnant polarization (Pr) ~5.5 μC/cm2 and an electrical coercivity (Ec) ~2000 kV/cm as well as an out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy with a saturation magnetization (Ms) of ~155 emu/cm3 and a magnetic coercivity (Hc) ranging from ~1000-3400 Oe. Magnetoelectric characterization revealed promising magnetoelectric coupling, with αconverse ranged 55-168 Oe cm/kV at room-temperature, once again is comparable with other systems reported with much higher thicknesses. It is believed that the CoFe2O4/FE-HfO2 system here opens many new avenues for developing future magnetoelectric composites and related devices.


Medulloblastoma is a pediatric brain tumor which arises in the cerebellum and is the most common childhood malignancy. The current standard of treatment for medulloblastoma (MB) is a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, which can cause lifelong side effects to MB survivors due to damage to the developing brain. Approximately 30% of human MB show aberrant Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling and feature mutated SMO/PTCH1 or amplified GLI/NMYC , components of the SHH pathway. To study SHH-driven mitogenic and oncogenic signaling pathways, we use the NeuroD2-SmoA1 mouse model to investigate how downstream effectors of SHH signaling regulate cell proliferation in MB development. The NeuroD2-SmoA1 mouse closely recapitulates human SHH MB and bears constitutively active SMO in its cerebellum. The early onset and high incidence of tumors, and the adherence to human pathology make NeuroD2-SmoA1 mouse an efficient model for MB research. Utilizing this model, I have been focusing on the nuclear oncoprotein, I2PP2A, also known as endogenous inhibitor 2 of phosphatase 2A. I2PP2A has recently been proposed to be targeted in other malignant tumors such as leukemia, prostate, and lung cancers. However, whether I2PP2A play oncogenic roles in medulloblastoma has not been established yet. I found that I2PP2A protein is markedly elevated in mouse MB cytosol compared with neighboring normal cerebellum through histology and western blot approaches. In the efforts of searching molecules interacting with I2PP2A in cytoplasm, a non-metastasis marker, called NME1, stands out as the cytosol level of this protein also shows a strong induction. NME1 is a DNase that triggers cell death when tumor cells encounter the immune attack from the microenvironment. Based on the preliminary data, I hypothesize that I2PP2A sequesters NME1 in cytosol and inhibits the activation of this DNA nicking protein, thus prevents the MB cell death. My future plans are to determine the roles of I2PP2A and NME1 in tumorigenesis, test whether inhibiting I2PP2A can induce MB cell death mediated by NME1, and finally extrapolate this research to novel therapy design targeting I2PP2A in SHH medulloblastoma. Citation Format: Yun Wei, Anna Maria Kenney. The oncogenic role of I2PP2A by inhibiting NME1 in SHH medulloblastoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Advances in Brain Cancer Research; May 27-30, 2015; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(23 Suppl):Abstract nr B11.


The secular decline in the equilibrium real interest rate observed over the past decades has materially limited the room for policy-rate reductions in recessions, and has led to a marked increase in the incidence of episodes where policy rates are likely to be at, or near, the effective lower bound on nominal interest rates. Using the ECB's New Area-Wide Model, we show that, if unaddressed, the effective lower bound can cause substantial costs in terms of worsened macroeconomic performance, as rejected in negative biases in inflation and economic activity, as well as heightened macroeconomic volatility. These costs can be mitigated by the use of nonstandard instruments, notably the joint use of interest-rate forward guidance and large-scale asset purchases. When considering alternatives to inflation targeting, we find that make-up strategies such as price-level targeting and average-inflation targeting can, if they are well-understood by the private sector, largely undo the negative biases and heightened volatility induced by the effective lower bound.


Laser therapy is being implemented with increasing frequency in medicine. Carbon dioxide laser is the system most commonly used in gynaecology and the main indications are disease of the uterine cervix, vagina, vulva or perineum. When used in conjunction with the microscope or laparoscope during reconstructive operations on the adnexa, laser speeds up the surgical procedure and brings out the inherent advantages of this technique, namely, precise separation or destruction of tissue, absence of postoperative oedema, uncomplicated wound healing, minimal mechanical trauma, decreased postoperative pain and good haemostasis. With good maintenance and practice laser systems all work well. The only disadvantage is their high cost.


Energy levels, radiative transition probabilities and autoionization rates for Be-like Ne (Ne6+) including 1s22pnl (n = 2-9, l n-1) and 1s23l´nl (n = 3-6, l n-1) states are calculated. Two theoretical methods, the perturbation theory Z-expansion (MZ code) method and the multi-configurational Hartree-Fock (Cowan code) method, are used for the calculations. Autoionizing levels above the 1s22s and 1s22p thresholds are considered and their contributions computed. The state-selective dielectronic recombination rate coefficients from Li-like Ne (Ne7+) ions to Be-like Ne (Ne6+) ions for bound states of Ne6+ ions are obtained. Configuration mixing plays an important role for the principal quantum number, n, distribution of the dielectronic recombination rate coefficients for n6 levels. The orbital angular momentum quantum number, l, distribution of the rate coefficients shows a peak around l = 4-5. The rate coefficients for the excited states with higher n are extrapolated using a scaling law. The total dielectronic recombination rate coefficients are derived as a function of electron temperature.


Compact representations of three dimensional objects are very often used
in computer graphics to create effective ways to analyse, manipulate and
transmit 3D models. Their ability to abstract from the concrete shapes and
expose their structure is important in a number of applications, spanning
from computer animation, to medicine, to physical simulations. This thesis
will investigate new methods for the generation of compact shape representations.
In the first part, the problem of computing optimal PolyCube base
complexes will be considered. PolyCubes are orthogonal polyhedra used
in computer graphics to map both surfaces and volumes. Their ability to
resemble the original models and at the same time expose a very simple and
regular structure is important in a number of applications, such as texture
mapping, spline fitting and hex-meshing. The second part will focus on
medial descriptors. In particular, two new algorithms for the generation
of curve-skeletons will be presented. These methods are completely based
on the visual appearance of the input, therefore they are independent from
the type, number and quality of the primitives used to describe a shape,
determining, thus, an advancement to the state of the art in the field.


A previously healthy 8-year-old boy presented to the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary hospital. He had a parietal mass which had been growing for the last month, with an approximate diameter of 3 cm on admission. The lesion was circular, erythematous, studded with pustules, stiff, painful to touch and had a purulent exudate (Fig. 1). There were no other remarkable findings on clinical examination, and no constitutional symptoms or adenopathies. No history of trauma was mentioned. What is the most probable diagnosis? (Answer on page 846)


Abstract In this contribution, a design methodology for octave-bandwidth power amplifiers (PA) for 5G communication systems using surface mount dual-flat-no-lead packaged gallium-nitride high-electron-mobility transistor devices is presented. Systematic source- and load-pull simulations have been used to find the optimum impedances across 75% fractional bandwidth for S- (1.9–4.2 GHz) and C-band (3.8–8.4 GHz) PAs. The harmonic impact is considered to improve the output power and efficiency of the PAs. Utilizing the characteristic behavior of the transistors leads to modified optimum fundamental load impedances for the low-frequency range, which have higher gain compared with high-frequency range, and minimize the influence of the higher harmonics. Continuous wave large-signal measurements of the realized S-Band PA show a power added efficiency (PAE) of more than 40% from 1.9–4.2 GHz and a flat power gain of 11 dB while achieving a saturated output power of 10 W. The measured performance of the C-Band PA demonstrates a delivered power between 3.5 and 5 W across the frequency range of 3.8–8.4 GHz. A flat power gain of around 9 ± 0.5 dB with 26–40% PAE is achieved.


Nonlinear boundary element analysis provides a more accurate and detailing tool for the design of switched reluctance machines than conventional equivalent-circuit methods. Design optimization through more detailed analysis and simulation can reduce development and prototyping costs and time to market. Firstly, magnetic field modeling of an industrial switched reluctance machine by the boundary element method is reported in this paper. Secondly, performance prediction and dynamic simulation of motor and control design are presented. Thirdly, magnetic forces that cause noise and vibration are studied, to include the effects of motor and control design variations on noise in the design process. Testing of such a motor in the NEMA 215-Frame size is carried out to verify the accuracy of modeling and simulation.


The aim of this study was to determine the potential nutritive value of a wild narrow-leaved clover (Trifolium angustifolium) hay harvested at 3 maturity stages (pre-flowering, flowering and seeding) in terms of chemical composition and in vitro gas production. In vitro gas production of Trifolium angustifolium hay was determined at incubation times of 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h and the gas production kinetics were described using the equation y = a + b (1-e-ct). Maturity had a significant effect on both chemical composition and in vitro gas production kinetics. Neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre and condensed tannin (CT) concentrations increased with maturity, while crude protein (CP) concentration decreased from 16.9% pre-flowering to 13.2% at seeding. The condensed tannin concentration of Trifolium angustifolium hay ranged


The discretization of the electronic spectrum in semiconductor quantum dots implies a strong coupling behavior between the optical phonons and the electron-hole pairs, despite the fact that a pair is electrically neutral. The excitonic polarons strongly modify the optical spectra. In particular, the ground excitonic polaron contains one or two phonon components, which leads to the existence of phonon replicas in the luminescence. The population and coherence decay times of the optical transition associated with the ground excitonic polaron are calculated.


Rivers in north-western Australia have been long isolated systems and several of them, including those in the central north Kimberley (CNK) and Pilbara (PIL) regions, are known for their endemism in freshwater fishes. Furthermore, some species of freshwater fish are shared between rivers of the south-western Kimberley (SWK) and rivers of the western Arafura-Carpentarian (WAC) regions to the exclusion of CNK, despite CNK being geographically intermediate to these regions. This suggests that the freshwater biota of the CNK may have an independent evolutionary history with respect to the SWK and the WAC, and that the latter two may have relatively strong biogeographic affinities. This pattern warrants further examination using phylogeographic analyses of freshwater biota, such as freshwater caridean shrimp. In this study we used mtDNA data and conservation biogeographic approaches to assess molecular patterns of biodiversity within freshwater shrimp, genus Caridina (Atyidae), in north-western Australia using reported biogeographic patterns in freshwater fishes as a hypothesis. Specifically, we expected CNK and PIL to have higher endemism and phylogenetic diversity ( PD ) within the Caridina than SWK and WAC, and shrimps of SWK and WAC to have stronger biogeographic affinities with one another than either one has with CNK. Results showed high endemism within genus Caridina from the CNK and PIL, although PD and species richness was lowest for PIL and highest for CNK. Two lineages within Caridina were shared between the SWK and the WAC to the exclusion of the CNK. The results of this study for Caridina shrimp are thus strikingly similar to previous analyses of freshwater fishes, and support earlier studies that define PIL as a bioregion. We suggest that the incorporation of phylogeographic data for both fishes and freshwater macroinvertebrates (i.e., shrimps and molluscs) in future analyses may also identify CNK as a bioregion.


The increased need for organ transplantation in diabetic patients requires the development of alternatives to allotransplantation, such as xenotransplantation. However, this approach is limited at the present time by important immunological barriers related to the presence of xenogeneic antibodies capable of rapid activation of the complement pathway. Improved understanding of the acute rejection phase has led to the development of specific animal donors and raises the question of the control of secondary cellular reaction against the xenograft. Several discordant or concordant xenograft models have been used to test different strategies for inducing permanent immunological tolerance in the absence of chronic immunosuppression. However, additional studies in non-human primates are clearly needed before clinical applications can be carried out. Several problems also need to be solved, such as autoimmune recurrence and biological hazards due to porcine retroviruses.


ABSTRACT Introduction: The incidence and prevalence of Crohn's disease are increasing causing a significant disease burden. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is advocated as a promising tool for personalized or individual-tailored therapy strategies and has been welcomed as a new means to improve current therapy strategies. Nevertheless, pharmacokinetic-based TDM has limitations, and straightforward target concentrations for most therapies are lacking. Areas covered: In the following concise review of literature, key insights of TDM in thiopurine, methotrexate, anti-TNF, vedolizumab and ustekinumab therapy for Crohn's disease are being described. Expert opinion: Therapeutic drug monitoring may, up till now, be helpful to adjust thiopurine and infliximab therapy, primarily in a reactive setting, in case of inefficacy and of occurrence of adverse event. With this restricted application, the goal of individualized therapy based on TDM has not yet been achieved.


The aim of this paper is to compare two modeling methods for a wound-rotor induction machine in order to simulate it in both healthy and faulty modes. The circuit-oriented approach which represents the machine model as a rotating transformer will be compared to the discrete event method. First, the wound-rotor induction machine model will be described using the classical equations in the abc reference frame. In fact, the circuit oriented method is based on a representation with only resistances, inductances and controlled voltage sources. It has been implemented by using the MATLAB/Simulink© software. With the discrete event method, the classical abc reference frame model is based on ordinary differential equations which are translated in block-scheme to be interpreted as a coupling of basic models based on a discrete event system specification. Finally, the performances of the two methods have been verified by comparison between simulation and experiments on a 5.5kW-220V/380V-50Hz-8 poles wound-rotor induction machine working in both healthy and faulty modes at different load conditions.


We consider impulse response estimation of linear time-invariant causal systems based on input-output measurements. In particular, our interest is in developing estimates that are robust against outliers and distributional uncertainties. We present a method which uses the Huber's function as the criterion for fitting a parametric model to the input-output observations. The estimates from this method are compared with the estimates from a similar parametric approach but which uses the conventional quadratic criterion, and also with the estimates from some nonparametric approaches. Results from simulation clearly show that the estimates from the parametric approach using Huber's function are most robust of all the estimates considered here.


In the present investigation medium of instruction in relation to anxiety achievement skills and level of creativity is studied. Present study is a correlational field study in which medium of instruction is taken as independent variable and creativity level, creativity and achievement skills are taken as dependent variables Academic anxiety skills for children by Singh and Gupta (1971) and non verbal creativity test by Mehandi (1973) were used. Achievement skills measured through Hojan (1975). The total number of 600 sample is used of males and female students. It was hypothesized that Academic achievement and anxiety and achievement will be influenced by medium of instructions. Findings confirm the hypotheses.


This qualitative study explored the parents' perceptions and involvement in homework for secondary school students. The study also explored parents' challenges and suggestions in completing homework as an engaging activity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 parents selected through a purposive sampling technique.  Thematic analysis was used to draw themes and sub-themes from qualitative data. The findings revealed that parents of secondary school students believed that homework is an activity that supports the learning process of their children. They considered homework the responsibility of the school and teachers. The challenges were that homework was an overloaded activity that teachers and schools did not support. These findings led to some important implications for the study. It is important to involve parents in devising homework policies and providing training to support their children in homework completion. The study also suggested developing a nation-wide homework policy that may guide teachers, parents, and students.


Easy as it is to recognize a typical case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the diagnosis of an atypical form of this morbid condition is often difficult. Pathologically evidenced by degeneration of the system of the motor ganglion cells of the cortex, medulla and spinal cord, a typical case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis manifests itself clinically by a combination of atrophies of the muscles innervated by the bulbar and spinal nerves and spasticity of the extremities, especially the lower. The atrophies are the result of degeneration of the motor cells of the medulla and spinal cord; the spasticity is the result of degeneration of the motor cells of the cortex and the consequent degeneration of the pyramidal tracts. As has been emphasized on several occasions,1the clinical picture of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis may be a manifestation of involvement of only a part of the system of the motor cells. For


The Cassini spacecraft completed 20 highly repeatable orbits during northern summer at Saturn, known as the F‐ring orbits, of which 18 are considered in this study. The spacecraft traversed Saturn's magnetotail current sheet during each apoapsis pass between 16 and 22 Saturn radii over 2‐day intervals and revealed a highly variable radial magnetic field from orbit to orbit. The solar wind and planetary period oscillations (PPOs) are significant sources of temporal variability in the Saturnian magnetosphere. PPOs refer to dual magnetic perturbation systems, one in each hemisphere, which have been observed to modulate the position and thickness of the magnetotail current sheet with a ∼ 10.7‐hr periodicity. Thus, we employ a model which considers dual‐modulation effects of the northern and southern PPO systems, together with a model of variable solar wind forcing on the magnetotail current sheet, to investigate their combined temporal effects on the radial magnetic field in the magnetotail. For all 18 F‐ring orbits considered, the modeled radial fields show excellent overall agreement with the temporal variability in the large‐scale structure of the observed radial fields (root mean square error < 1.5 nT for 80% of the orbits). The amplitudes of the northern PPO modulations are well constrained between 0.3 and 0.5 Saturn radii, and they exceed the southern modulations by a factor of 1.3. The solar wind forcing is observed to be highly variable from orbit to orbit.


Modular Distance Learning involves individualized instruction that allows learners to use self-learning modules (SLMs) in print or digital format/electronic copy, whichever is applicable in the context of the learner, and other learning resources like Learner's Materials, textbooks, activity sheets, study guides and other study materials. Learners access electronic copies of learning materials on a computer, tablet PC, or smartphone. CDs, DVDs, USB storage and computer-based applications can all be used to deliver e-learning materials, including offline E-books. The teacher takes the responsibility of monitoring the progress of the learners. The learners may ask assistance from the teacher via e-mail, telephone, text message/instant messaging. Where possible, the teacher shall do home visits to learners needing remediation or assistance. Any member of the family or other stakeholder in the community needs to serve as para-teachers.


A necessary requirement incumbent on any information communication system and/or network is the capacity to transmit information with a predefined degree of accuracy in the presence of inevitable interference. The transmission of audio and video streaming services over different conduits (wireless access systems, Internet, etc.) is becoming ever more popular. As should be expected, this widespread increase is accompanied by the attendant new and difficult task of maintaining the quality of service of streaming video. The use of very accurate coding techniques for transmissions over wireless networks alone cannot guarantee a complete eradication of distortions characteristic of the video signal. A software-hardware composite system has been developed for investigating the effect of single bit error and bit packet errors in wideband wireless access systems on the quality of H.264/AVC standard bursty video streams. Numerical results of the modeling and analysis of the effect of interference robustness on quality of video streaming are presented and discussed.


Objective Foodborne disease is a significant global public health concern, with Bacillus cereus being a frequent cause of outbreaks. However, due to the relatively mild symptoms caused by infection with B. cereus, the shorter duration of illness and the challenges of testing for it in both stool and food samples, outbreaks are often underreported. This report describes the epidemiology of cases of foodborne illness, the causative agent and risk factors associated with an outbreak in a boarding school in Seremban district, Negeri Sembilan state, Malaysia, that occurred in November 2021. Methods Epidemiological, environmental and laboratory investigations were performed. A case was defined as any person with abdominal pain, vomiting or diarrhoea that occurred after consuming food served by the canteen at the school. The data were analysed using Microsoft Excel and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results A total of 152 cases were identified among the 597 students, giving an attack rate of 25.5%. All cases were females aged 13–17 years. They presented with abdominal pain (100%), nausea (97.4%, 148), vomiting (78.3%, 119) or diarrhoea (61.8%, 94), or a combination of these. The mode of transmission of the outbreak was a continual common source. The foods associated with becoming a case were beef rendang (a dry curry) (odds ratio [OR]: 20.54, 95% CI: 4.89–86.30), rice (OR: 19.62, 95% CI: 2.62–147.01), rice cubes (OR: 18.17, 95% CI: 4.31–76.55) and vermicelli (OR: 17.02, 95% CI: 4.03–71.86). Cross-contamination and inadequate thawing and storage temperatures contributed to the outbreak. Discussion This outbreak of foodborne illness at a boarding school was likely caused by B. cereus. The findings highlight the importance of proper food preparation, temperature monitoring, hygiene practices among food handlers and compliance with food safety guidelines.


BACKGROUND
The expression of microRNA-451 (miR-451) and its association with clinical pathological factors in GC remain still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate if miR-451 is a potential prognostic biomarker and tumor suppressor for gastric cancer.

METHODS
Real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) was applied to detect miR-451 expression in GC cell lines and primary tumor and paired non-cancerous tissues. The association of miR-451 expression with clinicopathological factors and prognosis was statistically analyzed.

RESULTS
We found that miR-451 showed decreased expression in GC tissues and cell lines, and its down-regulation tended to be positively correlated with lymphatic metastasis, clinical staging and shorter overall survival of patients. In addition, forced expression of miR-451 in BGC-823 and MKN-45 cells did not impact on cell proliferation, but did reduce migration and invasion rates in BGC-823 cells.

CONCLUSION
Our findings indicated that miR-451 may act as a novel prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target in human GC.


Photogrammetry has been used in the past to monitor the laboratory testing of civil engineering structures using multiple image based sensors. This has been successful, but detecting vibrations during dynamic structural tests has proved more challenging. Detecting vibrations during dynamic structural tests usually depend on high speed cameras, but these sensors often result in lower image resolutions and reduced accuracy. To overcome this limitation, a novel approach described in this paper has been devised to take measurements from blurred images in long-exposure photos. The motion of the structure is captured in individual motion-blurred image, without dependence on imaging speed. A bespoke algorithm then determines each measurement point's motion. Using photogrammetric techniques, a model structure's motion with respect to different excitation frequencies is captured and its vibration envelope recreated in 3D. The approach is tested and used to identify changes in the model's vibration response.


HEART FAILURE (HF) is a major and escalating health problem in the United States and other industrialized societies, particularly those with aging populations. It is estimated that HF contributes to nearly 250 000 deaths annually in the United States, and this clinical syndrome is the principal cause of hospital admissions in the elderly; HF was listed as the primary discharge diagnosis for approximately 681 000 hospitalizations in persons aged 65 years and older in 1993. 1,2 National estimates in 1990 suggest that more than 3 million Americans had HF, including nearly 1.8 million women and 1.5 million men. 1 Reflecting the ever-increasing clinical and public health burden from this condition, the number of hospital discharges associated with HF in the United States has increased dramatically over time. The number of hospital discharges in which HF was the first listed diagnosis in 1993 (more than 875 000 admissions) was almost 5


An automated ir ellipsometer for measurements of the optical properties of thin adsorbed films is described. The instrument makes use of two stationary polarizers that bracket a rotating polarizer and the reflecting surface. This combination introduces modulation in the transmitted light intensity at twice and four times the frequency of rotation of the polarizer. The phases of these two frequency components are then measured in digital form relative to signals derived from the rotating device, the entire instrument being under automatic data acquisition control. A result for an ir ellipsometric study of formic acid chemisorbed on silver is presented.


In England and Wales, the issue of mediator immunity has not been considered by the courts or via legislation. Mediator immunity is constructed by analogy to that given to judges, but the role of the judiciary is different to that of mediators, who do not determine cases and, it is argued, do not require protection from litigation because the parties are responsible for the final settlement outcome. In Australia and the USA, mediators are usually provided with immunity in mandatory, 'court-annexed' programmes, although this varies from an absolute to a qualified level that is constrained by bad faith or dishonesty. In the English jurisdiction, mediation is court-connected and parties are dissuaded from accessing the courts through the risk of costs penalties or automatic referral schemes. Therefore, the time is opportune for a review of many issues involved in mediation development, including immunity. This paper considers the reasoning for extending immunity to mediators, before concluding that the subject should not be determined through legal action until after a comprehensive review of mediation developments and after a consideration of mediator standards and regulation of practice.


The suspended triple-layer graphene modulator is firstly investigated theoretically. We find there appear two modulation depths for electro-absorption modulation. The light-graphene interaction is enhanced to its maximum by our designed waveguide structure. The highest modulation depth for electro-absorption modulation can be 0.834 dB/µm, causing a 3-dB footprint of only 0.94 µm2. For electro-refractive modulation, there appear several 100% modulations with a much smaller π-phase shift length of only 11.3 µm. This modulator also shows great potential for high-speed modulation with a prediction value of 759.85 GHz, while the switch energy can be as low as 0.61 fJ/bit with low applied voltage. Moreover, the verification simulation by COMSOL is also presented, which shows very good agreement with our calculation results, and the figure of merit (defined as the ratio of modulation depth to insertion loss) of this modulator can be 2105. We believe these results can pave the way to design practical high-speed, compact-footprint, and high-efficiency devices.


In the immediate postoperative period, echocardiography was used to study left ventricular function in 69 children after correction of various congenital cardiac malformations. Left ventricular contractility indices and systolic time intervals measured from aortic cusp echoes were repeatedly obtained during the fist postoperative week. The degree of impairment of left ventricular function was assessed for different diagnostic groups and are tabulated. Decrease in left ventricular function was strongly correlated to operating time, cardiac bypass time, and aortic clamping time, the most important factor being cardiac bypass time. Left ventricular ejection time (LVET) was the most useful parameter of cardiac function in the immediate postoperative period and was of prognostic value in 5 patients who died early in that period. Abnormal septal movement was seen in most patients, but usually normalized within 2 wk. After extensive operations, changes in the movement pattern of the aortic leaflets were also seen. Although pericardial effusion was commonly found during the postoperative period, it did not indicate postcardiotomy syndrome and disappeared spontaneous within 2 mth.


The efficacy of radiotherapy can be enhanced by the delivery of radiosensitizer (Etanidazole) to brain tumor from biodegradable polymer implants. This process is investigated by simulation carried out at a cut section of tumor with polymeric wafers of Etanidazole loading implanted in the resected cavity. The coupled mass and momentum equations are solved to obtain the transient solution of the drug distribution in the tumor. The polymeric delivery shows high therapeutic index, indicating the wafers' success in delivering more drugs to the tumor rather than to the tissue. The penetration distance of Etanidazole was found to decrease from 14 mm (at 5th/40th day after implantation) to 6.5 mm (at 30th/75th day), suggesting an initial high burst of drug release which cause nearby tissue toxicity and a low effective drug delivery towards the later stages. The short penetration depth is due to Etanidazole having low interstitial Peclet number and high elimination/diffusion modulus. Edema causes the interstitial pressure, velocity, and concentration to increase in all domains, and leads to enhanced convection and a lowering of therapeutic index. Simulations on the open tumor geometry show significantly lower efficacy of the drug delivery due to the uneven distribution of drug in the tumor zone.


HIGH-TEMPERATURE OXIDATION BEHAVIOUR OF Fe11Al BASED ALLOYS . Thermomechanically treated Fe11Al based alloys were isothermally oxidised in air at 900, 1000 and 1100 °C respectively. Their oxidation behaviour was studied using thermogravimetric analyser (TGA), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was found that the oxide scales formed on alloys studied consisted mainly of α- and θ-Al 2 O 3 . Additions of 0.5 wt. % Nb and Mo significantly improved the oxidation resistance of the alloys.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Purpose Ovarian cancer is usually diagnosed at a late stage, making it the deadliest gynecological cancer in women. Identification of precursor lesions and development of biomarkers for early diagnoses are currently needed. Endometrioid and clear cell ovarian tumors are believed to develop from endometriosis, a largely benign, chronic inflammatory disease. Our purpose is to identify plasma miRNAs that can be used to differentiate ovarian cancer and endometriosis patients from healthy individuals. We hypothesize that plasma miRNAs could serve as biomarkers for minimally invasive detection of endometriosis and endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer (EAOC). Patients and Methods The 20 plasma samples used for initial discovery study include healthy individuals (n=6), endometriosis patients (n=7), and endometriosis associated ovarian cancer patients (n=7). They were used for global profiling of plasma miRNA expression, using probes for more than 1,000 miRNAs. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis of these samples using Quantimir Kit identified 25 candidate miRNAs that can potentially differentiate these three patient categories. For validation of findings with the 25 miRNA candidates, we used additional 69 plasma samples from healthy individuals (n =14), endometriosis (n = 24), endometriosis associated ovarian cancer EAOC (n = 10), and serous ovarian cancer (n= 21, included controls). These samples (n = 89) were subjected to qPCR analyses and their differential gene expression was analyzed by applying several statistical methods. To evaluate the diagnostic power of these miRNAs as potential biomarkers, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and classification models were employed. Results Global profiling of 1150 miRNAs in human plasma by qPCR identified 25 candidate miRNAs. These candidates, when subjected to expanded number of plasma samples revealed a unique signature of miRNAs for reliable identification of endometriosis and ovarian cancer patients. We show that combinations of plasma miRNAs can differentiate between healthy individuals, endometriosis, and EAOC ovarian cancer patients from each other. Conclusion Currently there are no reliable biomarkers for endometriosis and ovarian cancer detection. Our study indicates the significance of blood based miRNA biomarkers that have the potential to serve as highly specific and sensitive diagnostic biomarkers to discriminate between healthy, endometriosis and ovarian cancer individuals. These biomarkers can function as a non-invasive and quick approach for diagnosis. With additional advancement in this area, these miRNAs in combination with other existing biomarkers may prove to be highly accurate predictors of the highly deadly cancer in women.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-479. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-LB-479


BACKGROUND
Infective endocarditis is a disease with high morbidity and mortality. The clinical characteristics differ among populations. Therefore it is important to know the characteristics of the disease in our region.

METHODS
This is an observational study that included all patients diagnosed with infective endocarditis from 1 January 2009 until 31 December 2014. The data are showed as frequencies and percentages altogether with medians with interquartile range.

RESULTS
10 cases were included. The median age was 34 years (IQR 26-41). Several risk factors were identified and included: previous valvular heart disease, patients with chronic kidney disease who have had a vascular access and previous history of immunological disease. The native mitral valve was the most affected. The size of vegetations had a median length of 14 mm (IQR 9.3-16). Streptococcus alpha hemolytic was the most common organism. In-hospital mortality rate was 10 %.

CONCLUSIONS
The behavior of the disease is similar to other national series. We identify risk factors that could be related to the type of morbidities in the region.