The fossil genus Micraster from the Chalk gives an excellent example of continuous evolution of individual characters. The changes, however, appear to be independent of changes in those environmental conditions which have left their mark in the formation of the sediment (changes in depth at which it was deposited, particle size, temperature, etc (Nichols 1956)). Consequently, these changes in the urchins probably reflect either a change in niche or an improvement in the adaptation of the animal in an effectively unchanged niche. To discover the significance of the changes, the following seven living species of British irregular echinoids have been studied in detail, both morphologically and functionally. Order Spatangoida: Spatangus purpureas, S. raschi, Echinocardium cordatum, E. pennatifidum, E. flavescens, Brissopsis lyrifera. Order Clypeastroida: Echinocyamus pusillus. The ciliary currents on the tests of these urchins are in general similar, except at the fascioles. Features not previously reported are, first, the existence in all the urchins of an apical eddy of currents to ensure that the genital products are not wafted into the mouth, and secondly, forwardly directed currents into the mouth flowing over the lip. The normal burrowing of three of the urchins, S. purpureus, S. raschi and E. cordatum, was observed. S. purpureus can burrow with its dorsal surface some 5 cm below the surface of the substratum, with no visible connexion with the sea water; water currents for respiration are apparently obtained through the interstices of the gravel particles in which it lives. The prehensile tube-feet of its subanal region build a double sanitary tube, each element originating at one lobe of the bilobed subanal fasciole. E. cordatum, observed both in aquaria and in the field, burrows to a maximum depth of about 18 cm, and maintains contact with the sea water via a respiratory funnel built by the tube-feet of the dorsal part of the anterior ambulacrum. A single sanitary tube is built, originating at the shield-shaped subanal fasciole. From the configuration of their subanal regions it is inferred that E. pennatifidum and E. flavescens also build single sanitary tubes, whereas B. lyrifera builds a double one. The main factor governing the number of tubes for sanitation is suggested to be the coherence of the substratum, those living in shell gravel and mud requiring only the same number of tube-feet to build two tubes as those living in sand require to build one; in consequence the shell-gravel and mud forms can attain a larger size. Some experimental evidence is presented for this hypothesis. S. raschi ploughs through the substratum with about half of its corona exposed above the surface; it attains a larger size than any other urchin studied, yet apparently builds only one subanal tube. The reason for this seems to be that since the respiratory tube-feet are not confined in a burrow, there is no need for a large soak-away for the respiratory water, and the sanitary device can be correspondingly smaller in cross-section. The feeding of all six spatangids was observed; in general they grasp a particleor cluster of particles of the substratum with the oral prehensile tube-feet, convey the material with its covering of organic matter to the mouth, and scrape it off against the spines surrounding the peristome so that it passes into the gut. Selection of food particles by weight occurs in those urchins normally inhabiting shell gravel (S. purpureus, E. pennatifidum, E. flavescens) . The functional significance of the following morphological features of all the urchins is discussed: (i) number and arrangement of the fascioles providing augmentation of the ciliary currents on the test where they are specially needed; (ii) shape and arrangement of spines, for use in scraping, locomotion and burrow-building; (iii) division of labour among the tube-feet for feeding, burrow-building, respiration and sensation; (iv) depth of the anterior groove providing a channel for the passage of food currents from the dorsal surface to the mouth; (v) arrangement of the respiratory organs in the most efficient way for the type of burrow. The morphology of the various tube-feet of E. cordatum, and the pores from which they arise, is described. The disks of the feeding tube-feet have a velvet-like pile of papillae for collecting the sediment, whereas those of the burrow-building tube-feet tend to allow space in the centre so that the fringe of papillae can fold in during retraction. The feeding tube-feet, extending at all angles to the test, have wide bases to their stems, whereas those whose extensions are mainly perpendicular to the test are much narrower. The main features of Micraster and the closely related subgenus Isomicraster are described, and the work of Rowe and Kermack on the evolution of the group is reviewed. The probable effect of other animals living in or feeding on the sea bottom at the time of these fossils is described. The number of pore-pairs in the petaloid parts of the paired ambulacra (those which gave rise to the respiratory tube-feet) have been examined in specimens from successive stages of the Micraster and Isomicraster series. There is a progressive increase in number in the main Micraster line with time, while the Isomicraster series have many more than the highest number of these. The increase in the main line is interpreted as enabling successive populations to burrow more and more deeply and is confirmed by changes in other features, particularly the increase in surface area by ornamentation to increase the concentration of cilia. The higher number in the isomicrasters is interpreted as enabling a reduction in size of the tube-feet as a countermeasure to predation, thus paralleling such living forms as S. raschi, and this is also supported by other features, particularly the reduction in ciliary currents in the subanal region. In the main Micraster phylum changes in the peristomial region, in the position of the mouth, degree of development of the labrum and the depth of the anterior groove suggest by comparison with the mode of life of living urchins a gradually increasing reliance on a ciliary mode of feeding at the expense of that of using tube-feet. When Micraster appears in the cuvieri zone as M. leskei it is a rare urchin. Its features suggest that it burrowed only shallowly. In the next two zones the shallow-burrowing features are retained by extremes on one side (corbvis), while features suggesting deeper burrowing gradually become more common and more pronounced on the other (cortestudinarium). At the top of the planus zone the shallow-burrowing forms die out, but the deeper burrowers persist up to the testudinarius zone, the features that suggest deeper burrowing becoming even more marked (coranguinum). At the same time, following the disappearance of the shallow burrowers, a partial burrower, senonensis, appears, probably by immigration. Considerable interbreeding occurs between this, the so-called Isomicraster line, and the main line and at the most it should only be considered subspecifically distinct from the micrasters. Similarly, in the mucronata zone of Norfolk intermediates occur between glyphus and its contemporary member of the isomicrasters, stolleyi, though from the small sample available and because of the lack of evidence from intermediate strata it is not possible to say whether the situation parallels the micrasters and isomicrasters of the south of England (i.e. that stolleyi is an immigrant), or whether both these forms have re-invaded the English area after becoming subspecifically distinct outside it.


ABSTRACT Ralstonia solanacearum, a major phytopathogenic bacterium, causes a bacterial wilt disease in diverse plants. Although fatty acid analyses of total membranes of R. solanacearum showed that they contain primarily palmitic (C16:0), palmitoleic (C16:1) and cis-vaccenic (C18:1) acids, little is known regarding R. solanacearum fatty acid synthesis. The R. solanacearum GMI1000 genome is unusual in that it contains four genes (fabF1, fabF2, fabF3, and fabF4) annotated as encoding 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase II homologues and one gene (fabB) annotated as encoding 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase I. We have analyzed this puzzling apparent redundancy and found that only one of these genes, fabF1, encoded a long-chain 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase, whereas the other homologues did not play roles in R. solanacearum fatty acid synthesis. Mutant strains lacking fabF1 are nonviable, and thus, FabF1 is essential for R. solanacearum fatty acid biosynthesis. Moreover, R. solanacearum FabF1 has the activities of both 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase II and 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase I.


In this work we discuss the potential for plasma diagnostics of forbidden transitions from the ground levels in the nitrogen-like ions: Al VII, Si VIII, P IX, S X, Ar XII, K XIII, and Ca XIV. We also study the lines emitted by n = 3 levels of Si VIII. These transitions fall in the UV spectral range and have been recently observed by the SOHO/SUMER instrument in the solar spectrum. Some of the lines considered in the present study have been measured by SUMER for the first time. We investigate the effects of photospheric radiation, proton collisional excitation, additional configurations, and resonances on level populations, in order to assess the importance of these processes in the calculation of line emissivities. We compare line ratios with observations from SUMER on quiet-Sun and active regions and measure the electron density and temperature of the emitting plasma. We show that in a few cases current atomic data are still not able to reproduce the observations and that further work is required to solve inconsistencies between observations and theoretical predictions.


From eleven-year-old Sophie's point of view, there is no greater time of year than Summerhouse Time, when the extended family all gathers in a rented pink cottage on the ocean for a few weeks of sun and fun. Spinelli's free-verse novel begins several weeks before this most anticipated event, introducing the characters, highlighting the preparations, and offering hints of the impending conflicts. At the top of Sophie's list of upcoming excitements is the chance to see her beloved older cousin Colleen and tell her about the boy who has caught Sophie's attention. Not all is as perfect as Sophie hopes, however: fourteen-year-old Colleen is distant and angry, opting to have her own room rather than share with Sophie, and Dad is not himself, prone to long periods of silence and to removing himself from the group. While these two conflicts are interwoven into the events (it turns out Colleen is bearing guilt because she stole some candy from the grocery store and that Dad is experiencing panic attacks), the story mostly focuses on the playful, summer-centered episodes of a big, noisy family gathered together. There is great appeal in Sophie's sweet young voice as she narrates the events that make Summerhouse Time what it is, and middle-grades readers will readily identify with her evocative descriptions of family dynamics. Lew-Vriethoff 's expressive sketches are sprinkled throughout the text, offering further emotional exploration of the stories as they unfold. This would make a great end-of-year readaloud as well as a helpful back-to-school introduction to writing personal narrative. HM


We study the fair division problem of allocating multiple resources among a set of agents with Leontief preferences that are each required to complete a finite amount of work, which we term "limited demands". We examine the behavior of the classic Dominant Resource Fairness (DRF) mechanism in this setting and show it is fair but only weakly Pareto optimal and inefficient in many natural examples. We propose as an alternative the Least Cost Product (LCP) mechanism, a natural adaptation of Maximum Nash Welfare to this setting. We characterize the structure of allocation of the LCP mechanism in this setting, show that it is Pareto efficient, and that it satisfies the relatively weak fairness property of sharing incentives. While we prove that it satisfies the stronger fairness property of (expected) envy freeness in some special cases, we provide a counterexample showing it does not do so in general, a striking contrast to the "unreasonable fairness" of Maximum Nash Welfare in other settings. Simulations suggest, however, that these violations of envy freeness are rare in randomly generated examples.


In this paper, a speed-adaptive full-order flux observer for sensorless vector control of doubly-fed induction generators (DFIGs) is proposed. The observer is a simulation of the full-order electrical model of DFIGs with feedback of the rotor current estimation error and a speed adaptation loop. The observer gains are selected based on a stability analysis and validated by the linearized closed-loop observer model. Simulation results demonstrate desired steady-state and dynamic performance of this sensorless control approach for DFIG-based variable speed wind turbines.


Initiatives to boost public trust of government often rely on better reporting of the efforts and accomplishments of government agencies. But if citizens disbelieve the performance reports of agencies, especially information about good performance, then these initiatives may be do little to enhance trust. We ask the following questions: Do citizens find performance information from government agencies to be credible, or do they trust more in independent sources? Do they believe some agencies more than others? And does credibility of the agency itself as a source depend on the level of performance that is being reported? To address these questions, we designed an experiment to test the credibility of a customer satisfaction index for two U.S. federal agencies, with random allocation of the specific agency (one politically less attractive, the other more so), the source of the index (the federal agency itself or an independent rating firm), as well as the level of performance reported in the index. Results from an online sample of nearly 600 U.S. adults show that credibility is lower for the politically less attractive agency and that citizens are especially doubtful about good performance reported by the government agency itself (as opposed to the independent rating firm). These results suggest that independent sources can boost credibility when reporting good news about government performance.


St. Paul, Oct. 30, 1906. To the Editor: —I notice in an editorial inThe Journal, October 27, page 1382, that Ontario County, New York, is thought to have been the first county to appoint a county bacteriologist. The date of this appointment does not appear, but St. Louis County, Minnesota, I think, antedates Ontario County, New York, so far as I can judge from the editorial. In July, 1905, an agreement was entered into between the Minnesota State Board of Health and the city of Duluth by which the former was to establish a laboratory in said city. The control of this branch laboratory is entirely under the State Board of Health. The country district contiguous to Duluth felt that it should have the benefit of this laboratory, and a request was made of the county commissioners of St. Louis County that it enter into negotiations with the State


Numerous wildfire management agencies and institutions rely primarily on simple risk approaches to wildfire that focus on technical risk assessments that do not reflect the complexity of contemporary wildfire risk. This review paper argues that such insufficiently complex conceptualizations of risk, which do not account for the social and ecological diversity of fire-prone areas, are key contributors to the continued wildfire dilemma. We discuss distinctions between approaching wildfire as a simple and a complex risk and illuminate the need for expanded and complimentary ways to further fire adaptation. We then share five principles to guide approaching wildfire as a complex risk to increase adaptation to and coexistence with wildfire. Such efforts are more likely to yield socially relevant and legitimate strategies for building wildfire adapted communities by recognizing and accounting for the complexities of wildfire governance amongst a variety of stakeholders who may operate at various scales using different knowledge systems.


Preprocessing steps in MADM are very important and have a critical role in ranking operations. In many ranking algorithms, before running the models, it is necessary to do some modifications. These modifications are for example, Quantification, determination of utility of criteria, dimensionless operations for attributes, weighting methods and so on. Weighting methods try to define an importance of criteria in decision making process. Changing the weight in decision making process has a great influence in ranking results. Sometimes, determination of criteria weights are so difficult with conjoint of errors. There are many methods for this operation, but in literature we can not see an integrated model for classification of these methods. Methods such as entropy, LINMAP, eigenvector, smart, swing and so on, are the main weighting methods in this area. In this paper, our viewpoint for classification is multidimensional. To be or not to be decision making matrix, decision maker role in criteria weighting, number of criterion in weighting operation, and something like that. What is the weight for this criterion in decision making process? To answer, we must try to mine data from two different resources, first considering construction and layout of data in decision making matrix and second from opinion and perception of decision maker. We can see two main problems, first lack off the role of decision maker to finding weights by use decision making matrix and second educe of data from decision maker's opinion without attention to reliability and validity of data is very difficult. This paper tries to introduce a new approach for classification of current weighting methods and make a logical construction for this purpose. At the end, a new combinatorial model for reduce error and produce reliable and valid data for decision making is presented


OBJECTIVES
Iris germanica L. is a medicinal plant, which has a long history of uses, mainly in medieval Persia and many places worldwide for the management of a wide variety of diseases. In this study, we aimed to review ethnopharmacological applications in addition to phytochemical and pharmacological properties of I. germanica.

KEY FINDINGS
Ethnomedical uses of I. germanica have been reported from many countries such as China, Pakistan, India, Iran and Turkey. The medicinal part of I. germanica is the rhizome and the roots. Based on phytochemical investigations, different bioactive compounds, including flavonoids, triterpenes, sterols, phenolics, ceramides and benzoquinones, have been identified in its medicinal parts. Current pharmacological studies represent that the plant possesses several biological and therapeutic effects, including neuroprotective, hypoglycaemic, hypolipidaemic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, antiplasmodial, antifungal, immunomodulatory, cytotoxic and antimutagenic effects.

SUMMARY
Although the majority of preclinical studies reported various pharmacological activities of this plant, however, sufficient clinical trials are not currently available. Therefore, to draw a definitive conclusion about the efficacy and therapeutic activities of I. germanica and its bioactive compounds, further clinical and experimental studies are required. Moreover, it is necessary to focus on the pharmacokinetic and safety studies on the extracts of I. germanica.


CONTENTS I. Introduction 272 II. General properties and methods of establishing structure 272 III. Dienoic acids 274 IV. Trienoic and tetraenoic acids 276 V. Syntheses of naturally occurring polyenoic aliphatic acids 280


Direct Instruction learning model is a model that is widely used in Physical Education learning. However, some steps in the implementation of this model are sometimes ig-nored which affects the learning outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Direct Instruction learning models on learning outcomes of the volleyball forearm pass. This research was an experimental research using One-Group Pre-test-Post-test Design. The subjects of the study were 32 students, consisting of 15 male students and 17 female students aged 13 years in average. Volleyball skill test instru-ments were used in this study. The results of the study show a significant increase of the average scores. The study implies that the Direct Instruction learning model would affect learning outcomes of volleyball forearm pass if all steps of this model are imple-mented.


SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: The effect of chronic pain on the elderly population is enormous in terms of both human suffering and cost. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with chronic low back pain in older adults by performing a comprehensive geriatric assessment. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 225 elderly patients admitted to a geriatric outpatient clinic. All participants underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment, and factors related to chronic low back pain were assessed. Participants were grouped as those with and without chronic pain. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 72.9±6.9 years, and 149 (66.2%) of them had chronic pain complaints. The number of chronic diseases and medications, depressive symptom scores, and sleep quality scores were higher, and quality of life (European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions index and European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions visual analog scale) and nutritional status scores were lower in the chronic pain group. The pain visual analog scale score had a statistically significant moderate negative correlation with the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions index (r=-0.440, p=0.000) and European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions visual analog scale (r=-0.398, p=0.000) scores. The male gender was associated with a reduced risk of chronic pain, while poor sleep quality and number of comorbidities were associated with an increased risk of chronic pain (p=0.000, OR 0.20, p=0.021, OR 2.54, and p=0.010, OR 1.40, respectively). CONCLUSION: Chronic pain is common and independently associated with poor sleep quality, an increased number of diseases, and female gender. The results of our study may guide pain management in older individuals.


The aim of this study was to assess knowledge of parents of preschool children from Nowy Sqcz and the vicinity about the role of nutrients and principles of composing a diet. Parents of 121 six-year-old children filled in the questionnaires on the role of nutrients and principles of composing a diet. Statistical analysis was carried out by means of the SPSS 12.0 PL for Windows computer programme. The studied population was divided according to children's gender Children's gender had statistically significant influence on parents' answers to eight questions. A higher percentage of the parents of boys answered correctly to as many as seven of those questions. Also to the remaining questions, statistically not significant, the parents of boys gave more correct answers. Low level of nutritional knowledge of the studied parents shows the need to spread basic information on human nutrition by publishing it in daily press, popular science books and the mass media.


Anna (Calypte anna) and rufous (Selasphorus rufus) hummingbirds exhibited regular diurnal changes in body mass, locomotor activity (flight time and frequency), and feeding activity (frequency and consumption) at ambient temperatures (Ta) from 38 to −1 C. Body mass of both species increased gradually throughout the day and amounted to increases of as much as 16.4% in C. anna (7 C) and 10.8% in S. rufus (22 C). These changes in body mass were related to marked decreases in flight expenditure in the afternoon: birds of both species flew only 15%–47% as frequently after midday as they did in the morning at all temperatures. Of these afternoon flights, a higher percentage were directed toward feeding. Calypte anna increased daily mass gain (DMG) with exposure to cold (DMG = 0.01 Ta + 0.49) by simultaneously increasing energy intake and reducing flight expenditures. Selasphorus rufus, which did not significantly increase in energy intake at Ta below 21 C, had approximately constant DMG at Ta from 28 to −1 C. However, overnight mass loss (OML) of S. rufus decreased when birds were exposed to cold (OML = −0.004 Ta + 0.36), while OML of C. anna increased at low Ta (OML = 0.006 Ta + 0.09). Reduction of overnight expenditures at low Ta by S. rufus may be attributed to longer torpor periods than were exhibited by C. anna. These two hummingbird species employed different strategies for maintenance of positive energy balance in this study: C. anna behaviorally regulated energy stores, maximizing daily net energy gain by manipulating both energy gains and expenditures; S. rufus relied more on physiological means (i.e., torpor) to conserve energy overnight. The latter species either behaviorally does not or physically cannot (under the conditions of this experiment) increase its daily energy stores at low Ta.


This paper considers information trading in fixed networks of economic agents who can only observe and trade with other agents with whom they are directly connected. We study the nature of price competition for information in this environment. The linear network, when the agents are located at the integer points of the real line, is a specific example I completely characterize. For the linear network there always exists a stationary equilibrium, where the strategies do not depend on time. I show that there is an equilibrium where any agent has a nonzero probability of staying uninformed forever. Under certain initial conditions this equilibrium is a limit of equilibria of finite-horizon games. The role of a transversality condition is emphasized, namely that the price in the transaction should not exceed the expected utility of all the agents who get the information due to the transaction. I show that the price offered does not converge to zero with time.


Trypsin is a key protease related to digestion and absorption of proteins, which its inhibition must be studied when natural compounds, such as flavonoids, are used as part of alternative treatments for obesity and diabetes mellitus type 2, since trypsin and other pancreatic enzymes work at small intestine. Considering that flavonoids are good lipase and amylase inhibitors, trypsin-flavonoids interactions were analyzed through UV-Vis, intrinsic and extrinsic fluorescence spectroscopies, circular dichroism, and molecular docking. The interaction between porcine pancreas trypsin and five flavonoids: hesperetin (HES), luteolin (LUT), quercetin (QUE), catechin (CAT), and rutin (RUT) was evaluated. Most of them exhibited a mixed-type inhibition mode. LUT was the best trypsin inhibitor (e.g., lower IC50, 45.20 ± 1.00 μM). All flavonoids-trypsin complexes showed static quenching, and QUE and LUT exhibited higher affinity (associative binding constant, Ka values, 0.90 ± 0.10 and 1.60 ± 0.20·10−1 mM−1, respectively). Hydrophobic interactions between trypsin and flavonoids were predominant.


We define weaker forms of topological and measure-theoretical equicontinuity for topological dynamical systems, and we study their relationships with sequence entropy and systems with discrete spectrum. We show that for topological systems equipped with ergodic measures having discrete spectrum is equivalent to $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$ -mean equicontinuity. In the purely topological category we show that minimal subshifts with zero topological sequence entropy are strictly contained in diam-mean equicontinuous systems; and that transitive almost automorphic subshifts are diam-mean equicontinuous if and only if they are regular (i.e. the maximal equicontinuous factor map is one–one on a set of full Haar measure). For both categories we find characterizations using stronger versions of the classical notion of sensitivity. As a consequence, we obtain a dichotomy between discrete spectrum and a strong form of measure-theoretical sensitivity.


Hierarchical clustering algorithm of cluster analysis method can detect data in different granularity levels, and the clustering process is suitable for most of practical problems, but complexity of the merger and split conditions limits its application. This paper proposed a new hierarchical clustering algorithm basis on dynamic fuzzy granular computing combining with the particle swarm optimization, the condition of merger and split were new expressed and optimized. The experimental results show that the new algorithm is effective.


Purpose of review The highly heterogeneous clinical, histological, biological and genetic nature of breast malignancies is due in part to their extreme molecular complexity. Recent findings Many genetic and epigenetic alterations have been described, affecting a relatively small number of signaling pathways (PI3K, NK-κB, FGF, etc.) and thus several molecular subtypes of breast cancer have been identified. Summary The next decade will see even more prolific developments, notably with the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies capable of providing individual patients' constitutional and somatic genome sequences both rapidly and cheaply. Knowledge of the full catalogue of somatic genetic alterations will pave the way for fully individualized management of breast cancer patients.


Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes hepatitis, a life-threatening disease responsible for liver cirrhosis. Urgent measures have been taken to develop therapeutics against this deadly pathogen. NS3/4A protease is an extremely important target. A series of inhibitors have been developed against this viral protease including Faldaprevir. Unfortunately, the error-prone viral RNA polymerase causes the emergence of resistance, thereby causing reduced effectiveness of those peptidomimetic inhibitors. Among the drug resistant variants, three single amino acid residues (R155, A156 and D168) are notable for their presence in clinical isolates and also their effectivity against most of the known inhibitors in clinical development. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the mechanistic role of those drug resistant variants while designing potent novel inhibitors. In this communication, we have deeply analyzed through using in silico studies to understand the molecular mechanism of alteration of inhibitor binding between wild type and its R155K, A156V and D168V variants. Principal component analysis was carried to identify the backbone fluctuations of important residues in HCV NS3/4A responsible for the inhibitor binding and maintaining drug resistance. Free energy landscape as a function of the principal components has been used to identify the stability and conformation of the key residues that regulate inhibitor binding and their impact in developing drug resistance. Our findings are consistent with the trend of experimental results. The observations are also true in case of other Faldaprevir-like peptidomimetic inhibitors. Understanding this binding mechanism would be significant for the development of novel inhibitors with less susceptibility towards drug resistance. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma Graphical Abstract


Abstract Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by polyarticular, symmetric, and aggressive inflammation of the small joints in the hands and feet, resulting in dysfunction. With progress and development in medicine, treatment of RA is constantly evolving, making several drugs available for the treatment of RA. From the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) at the start of illness to glucocorticoids and then to conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs), biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs), and targeted synthetic DMARDs (tsDMARDs), therapeutic-use drugs for RA have been keeping pace with scientific research. However, various types of drugs have additional side effects when used over the long-term. New and emerging biological and targeted agents have been widely applied in recent years; however, the side effects have not been thoroughly investigated. In this paper, we review the research progress on liver damage caused by novel biological and targeted agents available for RA treatment. The aim is to provide a reference for rational clinical administration of such drugs.


The National Curricular Guidelines consider health an interdisciplinary area seen that its object " the process of human health and disease " involves social relations, biology and emotional expressions. This study aims to analyze the programs and activities of the curriculum implanted at the Medical School of PUC-Campinas since 2001 with respect to interdisciplinary and multiprofessional actions involving other health courses. Documents and personal statements from different participants involved in the course were analyzed. From the point of view of the interviewed persons, in spite of some difficulties related to fragmentation of knowledge and practices, lack of knowledge and prejudice regarding the fields and core areas of the health professions and the precarious employment conditions of the faculty, integration initiatives have taken place, above all the morphophysiological cycles, the clinical correlation and the Family and Community Health practices. We conclude that interdisciplinary is present in the curricular proposal and as an intention of the University, but that it is carried on by individual initiatives, in "meetings" of students, teachers, employees and patients, winning significance and demonstrating a process in construction but still far away from transdisciplinarity.


Background/Aims: Endovascular recanalization therapies are an increasingly used strategy for acute cerebral ischemia with heterogeneous clinical outcomes. We aimed to determine the impact of previous medication on ischemic stroke following intra-arterial revascularization therapy. Methods: Consecutive patients receiving intra-arterial reperfusion therapy after an acute intracranial occlusion were analyzed. Premorbid use of antiplatelets, statins, oral antidiabetic drugs, antihypertensive drugs and oral anticoagulants were recorded. Collateral pial circulation (CPC) was scored on initial angiogram. Results: 118 patients were included (mean age 70.4 ± 11 years, 45% female). 66 patients (56%) were cardioembolic, 30 (25%) atherothrombotic, and 22 (19%) other/unknown etiologies. No significant impact of medication was detected in all the series or cardioembolic strokes. However, relevant differences were found among atherothrombotic strokes. The previous use of antiplatelets was associated with smaller infarct volume (64 vs. 170 ml; p = 0.043) whereas premorbid statin predicted reduced infarct volume (64 vs. 215 ml; p = 0.019), clinical improvement (79 vs. 29%; p = 0.016) and good CPC (100 vs. 20%; p = 0.04). Statins were the only medication independently predicting reduced infarct volume and clinical improvement and this effect depended on CPC. Conclusion: Previous use of statins may preferentially benefit patients with atherothrombotic strokes by favoring the development of CPC.


In this paper, we investigate the long-time near-conservations of energy and kinetic energy by the widely used exponential integrators to highly oscillatory conservative systems. The modulated Fourier expansions of two kinds of exponential integrators have been constructed and the long-time numerical conservations of energy and kinetic energy are obtained by deriving two almost-invariants of the expansions. Practical examples of the methods are given and the theoretical results are confirmed and demonstrated by a numerical experiment.


We administered a battery of self-rated objective and quantitative psychometric tests, including the MMPI, to a group of adult cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Important findings were related to the age but not the sex of the patients. We found that older patients (i.e., over the median age of twenty-three) were more likely than younger patients to: 1) express emotional conflicts through physical symptoms, 2) be anxious or uncomfortable in social situations, and 3) have self-doubt. We could not confirm a previous report of increased depression or anxiety in adult CF patients. We discuss implications of these results for health professionals.


The Colorado River delta in Mexico has been partially revegetated following 20 years of water flows from the United States. Lake Powell, the last major impoundment built on the river, filled in 1981. Since then, flood flows in the main channel of the river have occurred in El Nino cycles, and have returned native trees and other vegetation to the riparian corridor. This vegetation provides a migration route for endangered southwestern willow flycatchers (Empidonax traillii) and other migratory birds moving from Mexico to the United States for summer nesting. Agricultural drain water from the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation District conveyed to the delta since 1977 has created Cienega de Santa Clara, a 4200-ha Typha domengensis marsh containing the largest remaining population of the endangered Yuma clapper rail (Rallus longirostris yumanensis), plus numerous species of migratory and resident waterfowl. Populations in the marine part of the delta have been severely affected by the lack of river flow, but some species have responded positively to renewed flows. Currently, there are 170,000 ha of natural areas in the lower delta in Mexico, containing riparian, wetland and intertidal habitats. Much of this land as well as the adjacent marine zone is protected in the Biosphere Reserve of the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta. Natural resource managers, scientists and non-governmental environmental groups in Mexico and the United States are exploring conservation measures that can provide water and protection for these areas for the future.


MgSO4 and (NH4)2SO4 are the main impurities in the hydrometallurgical systems of zinc and manganese. To understand their influences on MgF2(s) solubility, which the fluoride in these systems is expected to remove, we measured MgF2(s) solubility in NH4Cl, (NH4)2SO4 and MgSO4 aqueous solutions at 298.15 K. It was found that the MgF2(s) solubility exhibits salt-in effect in the (NH4)2SO4(aq) and NH4Cl(aq) solutions, but salt-out and salt-in effects in the MgSO4(aq) solution. Furthermore, the MgF2(s) solubility in (NH4)2SO4(aq) is higher than in NH4Cl(aq) solution. Ionic association reactions have been derived to interpret the above solubility phenomena.


1. Program evaluation using a self instruction CPR home learning system indicated that people could learn CPR without attending a formal class. Reported training time for adult CPR averaged 1 hour, and ease of understanding was rated 4.9 on a 5 point scale. 2. Use of a home learning system can benefit a workplace by reducing reliance on a CPR instructor, reducing total training time, and exposing families and others in the community to the learning experience. 3. This program evaluation suggests that this training methodology supports the mission of AHA, and also can meet corporate objectives.


We study the focusing of atoms by multiple layers of standing light waves in the context of atom lithography. In particular, atomic localization by a double-layer light mask is examined using the optimal squeezing approach. Operation of the focusing setup is analyzed both in the paraxial approximation and in the regime of nonlinear spatial squeezing for the thin-thin as well as thinthick atom lens combinations. It is shown that the optimized double light mask may considerably reduce the imaging problems, improve the quality of focusing and enhance the contrast ratio of the deposited structures.


In this paper, the extrusion process of bimetallic tubes is discussed, and the extrusion pressure is calculated based on the method of energy conservation, according to the three categories of metal flow that may occur during the process. A number of parameters, geometry of bimetallic tube, mechanical properties of material components and friction conditions, are highlighted in this analytical method. Compared with the data of TP304l/20G bimetallic tubes which were extruded at 1100-1200 °C, the calculated results show a good agreement with the industrial results, with the error less than 10 %. It also proves that the friction between the two layers play an important role in the process.


Psychophysical and neurophysiological studies suggest that human body motions can be readily recognized. Human bodies are highly articulated and can move in a nonrigid manner. As a result, we perceive highly dissimilar views of the human form in motion. How does the visual system integrate multiple views of a human body in motion so that we can perceive human movement as a continuous event? The results of a set of priming experiments suggest that motion can readily facilitate the linkage of different views of a moving human. Positive priming was found for novel views of a human body that fell within the path of human movement. However, no priming was observed for novel views outside the path of motion. Furthermore, priming was restricted to those views that satisfied the biomechanical constraints of human movement. These results suggest that visual representation of human movement may be based upon the movement limitations of the human body and may reflect a dynamic interaction of motion and object-recognition processes.


BACKGROUND
Fenestration of the proximal anterior cerebral artery (ACA) A1 segment is a rare anatomic variation. The purpose of the this study was to report the incidence of fenestration in the proximal segment of the anterior cerebral artery and to delineate its configurations on cranial MR angiography.

METHODS
Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was performed in 762 patients using 1.5 T imagers during the period July 2007 through September 2008. All images were obtained by the three-dimensional time-of-flight (3D TOF) technique. Volume rendering (VR) images in the horizontal rotation view were displayed stereoscopically. The presence of fenestration in the proximal segment of the anterior cerebral artery was identified and evaluated retrospectively by MRA.

RESULTS
Six patients (four men and two women, 15 to 63 years of age, median age 50 years) had proximal ACA fenestration. The appearance rate of ACA fenestration was 0.8% (6/762). All 6 fenestrations were located at the A1 segment: three of them were with a slit-like shape and three were with a convex-lens-like shape, 5 of the right A1 segment, 1 of the left A1 segment.

CONCLUSION
Recognizing ACA fenestration is important to interpret cranial MR angiographys and helpful to make a plan for neurosurgical procedures or neurological intervention.


The next generation of lidar systems needs to adapt to variable environments with broadened bandwidth for increased resolution. Due to their digital components, conventional lidar systems, especially imaging lidar systems, suffer from limited detector bandwidth and sampling frequency. However, photonics devices can provide a reliable technical solution with high precision and ultra-broad bandwidth. This paper presents a photonic signal processing structure for a phase-coded lidar system. Two acousto-optic modulators (AOMs) are adopted in the proposed architecture. One is used for phase-coded laser signal modulation, and the other is used for demodulation. The echo laser signal is directed to the AOM performing demodulation before the sampling of the detector, accomplishing the multiplication of the echo laser signal and the electric reference signal. The detector is controlled to accumulate the demodulated laser signal. The AOM and detector transfer the correlation calculation from electrical signals processing to photonic signals processing. This photonics-based structure greatly decreases the sampling frequency of the detector without extending the width of the laser pulses, which achieves high resolution with low sampling speed. Photonic signal processing has the promising potential of simultaneously processing signals of multiple pixels. It is going to be an effective solution for imaging lidar systems to increase resolution with available low-cost devices.


This paper considers an integrated hub location and revenue management problem in which a set of capacities is available from which one can be chosen for each hub and the disruption is considered in a star-star shaped airline network. We propose a two-stage stochastic programming model to maximize the profit of the network in which the cost of installing the hubs at different levels of capacities, the transportation cost, and the revenue obtained by selling airline tickets are considered. To provide flexible solutions, a hybrid two-stage stochastic programming-robust optimization model is developed by putting relative emphasis on a weighted sum of profit maximization. Furthermore, a sample average approximation approach is used for solving the stochastic programming formulation and a genetic algorithm approach is applied for both formulations. Numerical experiments are conducted to verify the mathematical formulations and compare the performance of the used approaches.


The microtubule associated protein tau oligomerizes in response to stress and disease, but the function of oligomeric tau (oTau) and the ultimate mechanisms of toxicity are unknown. To gain insights, we have now used Cry2-based optogenetics to induce tau oligomers (oTau-c) in neuronal cultures. oTau-c can seed tau aggregation and biochemical fractionatesin a manner similar to oTau. Optical induction of oTau elicits a translational stress response that includes cytoplasmic translocation of the TIA1, abundant stress granules(SGs) and reduced protein synthesis. Proteomic analysis identifies HNRNPA2B1 as a principle target of oTau. Imaging and immunoprecipitation verify the HNRNPA2B1 association with endogenous oTau in neurons, animal models and human Alzheimer brain tissue. Mechanistic studies demonstrate that HNRNPA2B1 functions as a linker, connecting oTau with N6-methyladenosine modified transcripts (m6A). Knockdown of HNRNPA2B1 prevents oTau from associating with m6A, prevents oTau-induced reductions in protein synthesis and reduces oTau-induced toxicity. Finally, we show striking increases in m6A-oTau and -HNRNPA2B1 complexes in brains of Alzheimer subjects and P301S tau mice. These results reveal a novel complex containing oTau, HNRNPA2B1 and m6A that contributes to the integrated stress response of oTau.


This paper will analyse and consider 360-degree videos in the context of previous new technologies and how they changed processes for journalism. Referencing previous research literature, news articles, case studies and my
personal experience using 360-degree videos as a videojournalist, this paper will serve as a conceptual review in order to better understand new considerations that might have to be taken when considering 360-degree videos for daily news production. Moreover, this paper will review the introduction of liveblogs and Facebook Live, and how each has fundamentally changed journalism. By doing so, this conceptual review will hope to identify unique challenges and successes that 360-degree video journalism might have for the reporter from a technical,
ethical and storytelling point of view.


Devising technologies to make use of renewable energy such as solar energy is very innovative and progressive sincetapping energy from a free source is cost effective in the long-term and totally ecologically friendly. The main aim ofsolar drying of crops is to preserve them by removing the excess moisture that will cause their deterioration in orderto improve their shelf life. Solar drying though found to be a mature, cost-effective and an efficient method ofdrying especially crops, it has not been widely deployed for crop drying both at the commercial and industrial levelin Ghana. The purpose of this research is to produce a solar heat collector for space heating using cheap andavailable materials and also to demonstrate the importance of incorporating obstacle/fins on plates to improve theefficiency of solar collectors. This study investigates the effect of increased air contact area of various configurationon the efficiency of solar air heaters. Nine different absorber plates (with and without fins) were considered by thisresearch in an experimental study to select the best design that will be suitable for absorbing or providing a highfraction of heat for conditioning humid atmospheric air (lowest relative humidity of the collector air). The bestdesigns of this study had an efficiency between 58% to 72% and maximum absorber temperatures above 80oC,collector air temperature above 70oC and collector air relative humidity below 20% while the worst design had anefficiency between 35% and 50%, collector air temperature bellow 45oC and the lowest collector air relativehumidity of 26%. The findings of this research have revealed that increasing the contact area of the air current orcirculation and the shapes of the fins attached to flat absorber plates increase their air contact areas and affect thethermal efficiency of the solar collectors. Also, it has revealed that the arrangement of fins contributes positively tothe efficiency of solar collectors.
Citation: Felix Uba, Eric Osei Essandoh, Gilbert Ayine Okolo, Charles Nunya Dzikunu. Thermal Performance of Flat PlateSolar Collectors for Humid and Unpredicted Weather using Air Properties and Energy Method, 2020; 5(4): 30-49.
Received: September 17, 2020Accepted: December 31, 2020


Cancer cells evade cell death during tumor progression under metabolic stress. However, molecular mechanisms involved in cellular adaptation to this stress are still poorly understood. NUAK1, a serine threonine kinase of the AMPK catalytic subunit family, has been involved in tumor cell survival, but its regulation and function under metabolic stress remain unclear. For this study, we have used mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) and cancer cells to better understand the role of NUAK1 in cell survival. We found that NUAK1 mRNA and protein levels increase in response to metabolic stress, suggesting a transcriptional regulation of NUAK1 expression. In addition, we found that NUAK1 is expressed almost exclusively in the nucleus of MEFs and several cancer cell lines. Because of the nuclear localization of NUAK1 and previous studies showing that NUAK1 regulates p53 transcription factor, we investigated whether p53 is necessary for NUAK1´s effect on cell survival. By using p53ER/ER MEFs that can be reversibly and rapidly switched between p53 wild-type and knockout states, we demonstrated that NUAK1 can promote cell survival in a p53-independent cellular context. Furthermore, NUAK1 was involved in cell survival of p53-null H1299 lung cancer and p53-null HCT116 colorectal cancer cells under metabolic stress. In parallel to the increase of NUAK1 expression, we found that NUAK1 is phosphorylated. LKB1 kinase is known to phosphorylate NUAK1, increasing NUAK1 kinase activity. However, shRNA-mediated depletion of LKB1 or mutation of the NUAK1 residue phosphorylated by LKB1 did not affect NUAK1 function on cell survival. By bioinformatics analysis of NUAK1 protein sequence, we found several sites predicted to be phosphorylated by JNK and p38. Future studies will determine whether JNK or p38 is involved in NUAK1 phosphorylation, and also evaluate whether NUAK1 nuclear localization is directly related with tumor progression in a p53-independent manner. Overall, our results showed that NUAK1 is transcriptional and post-translational regulated in response to metabolic stress, and that the effect of NUAK1 on cell survival is independently of LKB1 and p53. Funded by FONDECYT 1120923 Citation Format: Mario Palma, Daniela Pena, Katherine Venturelli, Ariel F. Castro. Nuclear NUAK1 function on cancer cell survival, independently of LKB1 and p53. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fourth AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research; 2015 Oct 23-26; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(3 Suppl):Abstract nr A36.


In this paper, we propose the CBS topic model, a probabilistic graphical model, to derive the user communities in microblogging networks based on the sentiments they express on their generated content and behaviors they adopt. As a topic model, CBS can uncover hidden topics and derive user topic distribution. In addition, our model associates topicspecific sentiments and behaviors with each user community. Notably, CBS has a general framework that accommodates multiple types of behaviors simultaneously. Our experiments on two Twitter datasets show that the CBS model can effectively mine the representative behaviors and emotional topics for each community. We also demonstrate that CBS model perform as well as other state-of-the-art models in modeling topics, but outperforms the rest in mining user


Treatment of RuCl(2)(PPh(3))(3) with sodium 2,2,2-tris(pyrazolyl)ethoxide [NaOCH(2)C(pz)(3); pz = pyrazolyl] affords the asymmetric heteroscorpionate complex cis-(Ep(OX))RuCl(PPh(3))(2) (1), (Ep(OX) = κ(3)-N,N,O-OCH(2)C(pz)(3)), which can be converted to Ru(II) compounds (2-6), (Ep(OX))RuCl(L)(L') [(2) L = PPh(3), L' = P(OCH(2))(3)CEt; (3) L = L' = P(OCH(2))(3)CEt; (5) L, L' = PPh(3), CO; (6) L = L' = CO]. Compounds 1 and 3 react with CHCl(3) at 60 and 100 °C, respectively, to yield cationic tris(pyrazolyl)methane Ru(II) complexes, [(κ(3)-N,N,N-Mp)RuCl(L)(2)]Cl [Mp = HC(pz)(3); (7) L = PPh(3); (8) L = P(OCH(2))(3)CEt]. The complexes have been characterized by (1)H, (13)C, and (31)P{(1)H} NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, high resolution mass spectrometry, and cyclic voltammetry. Complexes 1 and 3 have also been characterized by single crystal X-ray analysis.


by DANIEL AKWASI KANYAM (Under the Direction of Nicholas Magnan) ABSTRACT This dissertation consists of two essays on aflatoxin risk mitigation in peanuts in Ghana. The first essay uses a unique dataset that combines aflatoxin test results with detailed survey data to examine how the constraints Ghanaian households face affect their peanuts production, drying, and storage practices, and how these practices affect aflatoxin levels. Results show a significant association of high aflatoxin levels with delayed harvest and drying on bare dirt, while sorting by quality results in a reduction in aflatoxin levels. The second essay assesses the effect of post-harvest measures (here improved methods of groundnuts drying and storage) on aflatoxin contamination levels in peanuts crops for subsistence farmers in the Northern and Upper East Region of Ghana. The result shows that sun drying on a tarpaulin reduces aflatoxin levels in groundnuts by approximately 40 percent compared to status quo methods of drying.


In the filamental phase of reactions embedded in fluid flows, where the concentration distribution is strongly fluctuating, we show that a chemical measure can be defined based on the absolute value of the concentration gradients. We express the generalized dimensions in terms of the roughness exponents of the structure functions as well as of the cancellation exponents of the chemical concentration. This measure is of basically different character than the natural distribution of the passive advection. It is similar to the SRB measures of dissipative systems, although the advection problem is area preserving. This approach is shown to be a useful tool in analyzing sea surface temperature anomalies.


We present a scalable method to build a high quality instruction following language model by automatically labelling human-written text with corresponding instructions. Our approach, named instruction backtranslation, starts with a language model finetuned on a small amount of seed data, and a given web corpus. The seed model is used to construct training examples by generating instruction prompts for web documents (self-augmentation), and then selecting high quality examples from among these candidates (self-curation). This data is then used to finetune a stronger model. Finetuning LLaMa on two iterations of our approach yields a model that outperforms all other LLaMa-based models on the Alpaca leaderboard not relying on distillation data, demonstrating highly effective self-alignment.


A new method for the determination of bismuth was established by combining ultrasound-assisted dispersive micro solid phase extraction (UA-DMSPE) with thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (TS-FF-AAS) for the first time in this work. Nanometer-sized titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2) was used as the adsorbent, and the unpacked extraction pattern simplified the operation procedure. The extraction process was assisted by ultrasound. With the application of slurry sampling, the on-line method combining UA-DMSPE with TS-FF-AAS was developed. Problems of nebulization associated with previous methods based on the coupling of FAAS and solid phase microextraction (SPME) were overcome. The combination significantly improved the analytical performance of the modified FAAS instrument. Under the optimal conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.34 μg L−1, with a sensitivity enhancement factor (EF) of 67. Compared with direct FAAS, the EF was as high as 736. The method was applied to analyze environmental water and geological samples with good agreement with certified values of the standard materials or with values obtained using ICP-MS, which demonstrated its reliability for the determination of traces of Bi in environmental samples. The proposed method provides a promising, simple and low-cost approach to develop a sensitive detection method for Bi based on FAAS.


Context Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is documented to increase the risk of mortality in the general population. However, there are reports of lower mortality in end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with obesity. Since obesity is a major component of MetS, this meta-analysis was conducted to determine the risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, and cardiovascular disease events (CVE) associated with MetS in ESRD subjects. Evidence Acquisition Eligible studies from inception to March 2017 assessing the clinical outcome of MetS in ESRD subjects were comprehensively searched in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL. ESRD participants treated with hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD) were included, but renal transplant subjects were excluded. Two authors independently assessed article quality and extracted the data. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality and, secondary outcomes were CVD death and CVE. Results Fifty full-text articles were reviewed and eight studies were included in the meta-analysis, based on the random effects model. ESRD subjects with MetS, as compared with the non-MetS, had significant increased risk of all-cause mortality (pooled RR = 1.92; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15 - 3.21; P = 0.01) and CVE (pooled RR = 6.42; 95% CI 2.00 - 20.58). Age, type of dialysis, triglycerides, and HDL-C were significant predictors of risk of mortality, based on univariate meta-regression analyses. Conclusions Metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality in ESRD patients.


The conceptual distinctions introduced in Freud's theorization of mourning, melancholia and melancholic identification can be used to open up the meaning of grief within the political field. Freud's observation of the visceral ambivalence associated with melancholia provides a basis for later theorizations of the fundamental passion or narcissistic wound that underlies both the intransigence and the unpredictability of forces associated with loss. His conceptualization of complex mechanisms of internalization of both lost objects and cultural prohibitions, provides a basis for exploring processes of repudiation of excluded or marginalized identities. His identification of contrasting processes of internalization and externalization helps us to map the contrasting ways political energies are directed in the aftermath of loss. Most crucially, his formulation of unconscious object loss as a way of explaining intensely painful affective processes guides our understanding of relations to loss as a psychical layer embedded within political and economic relations. To explore the use of these ideas in political theory, this chapter examines a series of cases and suggests that it is important to distinguish between epistemology and the empirical exploration of a specific case. Epistemological arguments indicate some of the political risks involved in the representation of loss; but it is important to remain open minded in exploring unconscious relations to a particular instance of loss in the political field.


The Complementary Learning Systems (CLS) theory provides a powerful framework for considering the acquisition, consolidation and generalisation of new knowledge. We tested this proposed neural division of labour in adults through an investigation of the consolidation and long-term retention of newly-learned native vocabulary with post-learning functional neuroimaging. Newly-learned items were compared to two conditions: (i) previously known items to highlight the similarities and differences with established vocabulary; and (ii) unknown/untrained items to provide a control for non-specific perceptual and motor-speech output. Consistent with the CLS, retrieval of newly-learned items was supported by a combination of regions associated with episodic memory (including left hippocampus) and the language-semantic areas that support established vocabulary (left inferior frontal gyrus and left anterior temporal lobe). Furthermore, there was a shifting division of labour across these two networks in line with the items' consolidation status; faster naming was associated with more activation of language-semantic areas and lesser activation of episodic memory regions. Hippocampal activity during naming predicted more than half the variation in naming retention six months later.


The slag obtained in the process of pig iron smelting has been widely used, but the variational hydration activity always is a significant factor affecting its quality. In this experiment, the laboratory simulated slag was prepared by adjusting the chemical composition and cooling method. The experiment primary characterized the structure and hydration process with different types of slag by using MAS NMR, XRD, compressive strength, ICP, SEM, and hydration heat, then obtained the influence of the composition of the network former S/A (the mass ratio of SiO2 and Al2O3 in chemical composition) and amorphous phase content on its structure and hydration activity. The result shows that lowering the S/A value can reduce the degree of vitreous polymerization in the slag; reducing the S/A value of the slag can make the slag hydration time advance, and consequently, the cumulative exotherm increases, the liquid phase Ca/Si and Al/Si ionic ratio increases, and the hydration product changes from C–S–H gel to C–A–S–H gel, which ultimately leads to an increase in compressive strength. In the high S/A value slag, the formation of the trace crystal phase of gehlenite is beneficial to reduce the degree of polymerization of the amorphous.


Mycoviruses widely exist in diverse lineages of fungi, yet there are only a few studies on mycovirus infection in uncultivated fungi. We here report the presence of a dsRNA mycovirus in saprotrophic spring orange peel fungus Caloscypha fulgens. A novel dsRNA virus, named "Caloscypha fulgens fusagravirus 1" (CfFV1), was isolated from a single ascocarp of C. fulgens, and its molecular features were revealed. The full-length cDNA of CfFV1 comprises 9,548 nucleotides with a calculated GC content of 47.9% and two discontinuous open reading frames (ORF 1 and 2). A-1 ribosomal frameshift region with two distinctive elements, including a canonical slippery heptanucleotide (AAAAAAC) and a pseudoknot structure, predicted as a Recoding Stimulatory Element, was detected in the junction region of ORF1 and ORF2. The deduced amino acid sequence of ORF1 and ORF2 showed the highest similarity to the putative structural protein and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of Rosellinia necatrix fusagravirus 4 (RnFGV4). Genome organization, sequence similarity, and phylogenetic analysis indicate that this virus belongs to a new member of the proposed family Fusagraviridae. This is the first report of the presence of a mycovirus in the spring orange peel fungus C. fulgens. Keywords: mycovirus; dsRNA; proposed Fusagraviridae; uncultivated fungi; Caloscypha fulgens.


Trade facilitation projects often assume indirect benefits for small-scale, cross-border traders. Recent studies have shown the challenges faced in Africa by this population, especially women, but it remains unknown in Cambodia and the Lao People's Democratic Republic, despite large trade facilitation investments. This paper fills this gap, thanks to an innovative mix of original qualitative and quantitative data from various checkpoints on the borders with Thailand and Vietnam. The quantitative data, collected in 2014, consist of an exhaustive list of trade-related border crossings during two to three days and a survey of 158 randomly selected small-scale, cross-border traders and brokers. The paper combines qualitative data and statistical techniques to shed light on the structure of the small-scale, cross-border trade economy, traders' and brokers' profiles, the challenges they face, and potential solutions, with a particular emphasis on gender. Key challenges pertain to taxation and poor infrastructures. Narrow roads, insufficient parking space, and restrictive border regulations on transportation means cause traffic jams and delays. These disproportionately affect women, who are more time constrained. Despite a rather moderate tax pressure, widespread informal payments erode traders' and brokers' willingness to comply with taxes. Women suffer from a higher tax rate and a tax schedule that deters them from upgrading to more profitable cross-border trade activities. Along with capital constraints, this finding may explain the lower share of women in small-scale, cross-border trade than among own-account workers and the self-employed, as evidenced by nationally representative data. The paper delineates policy implications and puts forward concrete steps.


Objective—Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), a serine protease inhibitor that promotes and inhibits cell migration, plays a complex and important role in adverse vascular remodeling. Little is known about the effects of pharmacological PAI-1 inhibitors, an emerging drug class, on migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs), crucial mediators of vascular remodeling. We investigated the effects of PAI-039 (tiplaxtinin), a specific PAI-1 inhibitor, on SMC and EC migration in vitro and vascular remodeling in vivo. Approach and Results—PAI-039 inhibited SMC migration through collagen gels, including those supplemented with vitronectin and other extracellular matrix proteins, but did not inhibit migration of PAI-1-deficient SMCs, suggesting that its antimigratory effects were PAI-1-specific and physiologically relevant. However, PAI-039 did not inhibit EC migration. PAI-039 inhibited phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of signal transducers and activators of transcription-1 in SMCs, but had no discernable effect on signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 signaling in ECs. Expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor–related protein 1, a motogenic PAI-1 receptor that activates Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription-1 signaling, was markedly lower in ECs than in SMCs. Notably, PAI-039 significantly inhibited intimal hyperplasia and inflammation in murine models of adverse vascular remodeling, but did not adversely affect re-endothelialization after endothelium-denuding mechanical vascular injury. Conclusions—PAI-039 inhibits SMC migration and intimal hyperplasia, while having no inhibitory effect on ECs, which seems to be because of differences in PAI-1-dependent low-density lipoprotein receptor–related protein 1/Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 signaling between SMCs and ECs. These findings suggest that PAI-1 may be an important therapeutic target in obstructive vascular diseases characterized by neointimal hyperplasia.


Baculovirus expression systems have been widely used to produce recombinant mammalian proteins owing to the lack of viral replication in vertebrates. Although several lines of evidence have demonstrated impacts of baculovirus infection in mammalian hosts, genome-wide effects have not been fully elucidated. Here, we provide comparative transcriptome profiles of baculovirus and host-immune response genes in recombinant baculovirus-infected mammalian and insect cells. Specifically, to decipher the impacts of baculovirus infection in mammalian cells, we conducted total RNA-seq on human 293TT cells and insect Sf9 cells infected with recombinant baculovirus. We found that baculovirus genes were rarely expressed under the control of baculoviral promoters in 293TT cells. Although some baculovirus early genes, such as PE38 and IE-01, showed limited expression in 293TT cells, baculoviral late genes were mostly silent. We also found modest induction of a small number of mammalian immune response genes associated with Toll-like receptors, cytokine signaling, and complement in baculovirus-infected 293TT cells. These comprehensive transcriptome data will contribute to improving recombinant baculovirus as tools for gene delivery, gene therapy, and vaccine development.


This paper presents an interactive visualization tool for resource usage monitoring. This paper discusses the developing processes and focuses on implementation techniques for data preparation and visualization. The web application called Energis is developed as the first prototype. It features interactive 3D graphical map with numerical and animated infographics. It is designed to enable real-time user-to-user data sharing. A user experience study is conducted in order to evaluate the potential usage of the tool. The preliminary results from a standardized questionnaire show that the voluntary participants rate the application based on their hands-on experience at a consistently high level. With the availability of meter data providers, the tool can be utilized in location-based management to understand resource usage in both temporal and spatial domains.


We study how robust current ImageNet models are to distribution shifts arising from natural variations in datasets. Most research on robustness focuses on synthetic image perturbations (noise, simulated weather artifacts, adversarial examples, etc.), which leaves open how robustness on synthetic distribution shift relates to distribution shift arising in real data. Informed by an evaluation of 204 ImageNet models in 213 different test conditions, we find that there is often little to no transfer of robustness from current synthetic to natural distribution shift. Moreover, most current techniques provide no robustness to the natural distribution shifts in our testbed. The main exception is training on larger and more diverse datasets, which in multiple cases increases robustness, but is still far from closing the performance gaps. Our results indicate that distribution shifts arising in real data are currently an open research problem. We provide our testbed and data as a resource for future work at this https URL .


OBJECTIVE
To report early postimplantation speech recognition results in children who received Nucleus CI24M cochlear implants.

STUDY DESIGN
The study group consisted of 19 consecutively implanted children.

PATIENTS AND SETTING
Congenitally deaf children (20 months to 15 years old) were implanted with the Nucleus CI24M and followed-up at New York University Medical Center for a period of 3 to 12 months.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Speech perception was evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively using the Early Speech Perception (ESP) test, the Glendonald Auditory Screening Procedure (GASP) word and sentence tests, Phonetically Balanced Kindergarten (PBK) monosyllabic word lists, Common Phrases test, the Multisyllabic and Lexical Neighborhood (MLNT, LNT) tests, and the Banford-Kowal-Bench (BKB) sentence test.

RESULTS
One-way analyses of variance revealed significant improvement in open-set speech recognition in children able to perform measurement tasks.

CONCLUSIONS
The Nucleus CI24M cochlear implant provides significant benefit to children after short-term use.


Does place of residence matter for gay men and lesbians? Both conventional wisdom and scholarly literature suggests that it does, and that those living in rural areas are disadvantaged relative to their urban peers. This study explores this issue by comparing gay people's wellbeing in rural and urban areas. Results from a large probability sample show that rural gay people fare no worse than their urban peers. If anything, results suggest living in the largest cities may be detrimental to gay people's wellbeing, although more so for lesbians than for gay men. Results are discussed in light of 4 competing perspectives on rural–urban differences.


Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that attacks a part of the body's metabolism that makes a patient a change in behavior. Behavior change along with the treatment process, if the management of the behavior change is good then the healing process also becomes effective. Spiritual needs are ways that can help management change patient behavior. Objective: This study aims to determine the spiritual needs of patients with diabetic ulcers. Method: This study uses a literature study approach used several sources selected based on criteria established by researchers. Results: From 10 journals obtained and conducted a literature review of spiritual needs that were met when the patient met the criteria described in a good relationship to interpersonal, intrapersonal, transpersonal. Conclusion: The problem with poor self-management in people with diabetes mellitus is when a lack of self-motivation makes the healing process ineffective, the spiritual needs that are met the best coping, because the subconscious will create patterns of thought, emotional, and motivation.


Applications that process large volumes of data (such as, search engines, grid computing applications, data mining applications, etc.) require a backend infrastructure for storing data. The distributed file system is the central component for storing data infrastructure. There have been many projects focused on network computing that have designed and implemented distributed file systems with a variety of architectures and functionalities. In this paper, we develop a comprehensive taxonomy for describing distributed file system architectures and use this taxonomy to survey existing distributed file system implementations in very large-scale network computing systems such as Grids, Search Engines, etc. We use the taxonomy and the survey results to identify architectural approaches that have not been fully explored in the distributed file system research.


We propose a call admission control scheme for soft handoff of CDMA networks based on mobility estimation and mobility history of mobile stations. This work is further improvement of the Eliminating Pseudo Handoff Call (EPHC) proposed by Xiaomin Ma et.al. Therefore we named our proposed scheme as Improved EPHC (IEPHC). The proposed scheme not only improves network throughput but also reduces handoff and new call blocking probability. We derive here the handoff blocking probability. In addition, we present the decision procedures for the call admission control agent, which assigns a channel for handover requester mobile station. Numerical results show that the IEPHC scheme minimizes handover call blocking probability and increases throughput of CDMA cellular networks.


By definition, the key objective of an organized investor is to commit capital with an expectation of financial returns within a specified period. This definition neither explicitly nor implicitly indicates the moral ways through which such financial returns are to be expected. Thus, the founding members of any Retail start-ups in India need to be cognizant of the fact that the key objectives of external organized investors are contrary to the founding members' objectives of building a successful firm. This study demonstrates that the founding members of Retail start-ups in India knowingly or unknowingly distance themselves from understanding such objectives of investors, they are constantly reaching out to fund their start-ups. We have noticed that the most important aspects that have given the highest attention by the founding members (implicitly influenced by organized investors' ideology) and have a greater significance in the failure to protect the majority shareholding in the firm revolve around (i) Quick reward; (ii) Short-term reward; (iii) Immediate reward; (iv) Impulsivity and rapid decision-making for the reward; (v) A desire for prodigious financial returns. And the only strategy that has a significant association and determination in getting rid of such aspects is the concept of Delayed Gratification (DG) i.e., 'a person's ability to resist either a smaller or immediate reward to receive either a larger or more enduring reward later'. This study indicates that even after ten years of operation, the founding members with high levels of DG were able to retain more than 65% of their original shareholding with a relatively better financial performance of their firm whereas, founders with lower levels of DG were able to retain less than 5% and founders with no DG are no more holding any shareholding of the startup they founded. Besides finding evidence of the DG strategy's role for the founding members, our results are also consistent with the arguments, suggestions, and recommendations of Cognitive, Biological, Psychodynamic, Social, Behavioral, and Developmental psychologists. However, our findings are contrary to Evolutionary theorists.


Today's highly competitive, global marketplace is redefining the way companies do business. Many companies are being faced with the challenge of providing as much variety as possible for the market with as little variety as possible between products in order to maintain economies of scale while satisfying a wide range of customer requirements. Developing a family of products—a group of related products derived from a common product platform—provides an efficient and effective means to realize sufficient product variety to satisfy a range of customer demands. In this paper the Product Platform Concept Exploration Method (PPCEM) is presented, providing a Method that facilitates the synthesis and Exploration of a common Product Platform Concept that can be scaled into an appropriate family of products. As an example, the PPCEM is employed to design a family of universal electric motors that are also compared against a benchmark group of individually designed motors. The focus in this paper, however, is on the PPCEM and not on the results, per se. NOMENCLATURE Awa Cross-sectional area of armature wire [mm 2


The aim of this article is to address some of the problems related to the notion of 'professionalism' in translation studies. Different definitions of professionalism and expertise are discussed on the basis of translation process research, expertise research and the sociology of translation. Translation quality is also touched upon, as it relates to both professionalism and expertise. We argue that both translation research and translator education need to deal with the developments on the translation market in order to better describe and explain the reality of translating, to change the reality if necessary, and to equip translation students with the skills and knowledge that are essential to cope with the realities.


In the end it was a bit of a disappointment. Not much blood on the mat or any clear knockouts. Gorgeous George did better than expected: there was some smart money on him to be on the canvas early, but it didn't happen. Vince Cable was the most depressingly realistic and emerged as more of an honest broker because of it. The other parties still largely sidestepped the issues of exactly which spending areas would feel the axe swinging.


Background. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most terrible health problems. Most of these patients choose to be placed on hemodialysis which can be debilitating and can threaten body image, finances, independency, and quality of life (QoL). Therefore it is important to conduct studies to identify the related factors of quality of life in patients with CKD undergoing dialysis to determine what strategies can be implemented to improve quality of life. This study was aimed to identify the relationship between patients' characteristics and their quality of life. Method: Twenty-nine patients with CKD undergoing hemodialysis were recruited from a Hospital in Kediri, East Java Indonesia. The patients' quality was of life measured using WHO-QoL BREF which consisted of 26 questions including physical and psychological dimension, social, and environment dimension. Descriptive statistic was used to analyze patients' characteristics data and level of patients QoL, while the relationship between both variable was analyzed by Chi Square. Results: Almost all patients were Muslim (96.55%), mostly male (72.4%), and more than half of patients were over 51 years old (51.72%). Additionally, more than half of patients (58.62%) had high QoL. However, there was no significant relationship between gender, religion, family relationship, and social activity with patient's quality of life. There was significant relationship between age and educational state with quality of life. Conclusion: It was concluded that patients' QoL in this area need an improvement. It also is extensively recommended to further conduct study with bigger sample and broader predisposing factor in order to identifying build strong evidence in improving patients QoL.


Abstract Background: The needle size used in ultrasound-guided percutaneous renal biopsy significantly influences the efficacy and safety of the procedure. The aim of this study is to perform a comparative analysis of 16-gauge and 18-gauge needles for ultrasound-guided percutaneous renal biopsy. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis included randomized controlled trials and observational studies that compared the outcomes of using 18-gauge and 16-gauge needles for ultrasound-guided percutaneous renal biopsy. The efficacy parameters included a mean number of glomeruli obtained and the number of passes, while the safety parameters focused on the rate of complications. We searched multiple databases, assessed the risk of bias, and conducted statistical analyses using appropriate models. Results: Fifteen studies were included. Compared to the 18-gauge needle, the use of 16-gauge needle for the biopsy was associated with the significantly higher mean number of glomeruli obtained (pooled SMD 0.61, 95%CI: 0.32 to 0.89; p < 0.001) and fewer required passes (pooled SMD −0.57, 95%CI: −0.97 to −0.18; p = 0.004). No significant difference was observed in the individual safety parameters, including pain, hematuria, need for blood transfusion, major, and minor complications. However, the use of 16-gauge needle was associated with higher odds of total complications (pooled OR 1.57, 95%CI: 1.16 to 2.13; p = 0.004). Conclusion: While the 16-gauge needle for ultrasound-guided percutaneous renal biopsy offers improved efficacy in terms of a higher mean number of glomeruli and fewer required passes, it is associated with higher total complications. A judicious needle size selection that would consider patient-specific factors and risk-benefit ratio, is crucial for optimizing patient outcomes.


The observed unusually high temperatures in the Arctic during recent decades can be related to the Arctic sea ice declines in summer 2007, 2012 and 2016. Arctic dipole formation has been associated with all three heatwaves of 2007, 2012 and 2016 in the Canadian Arctic. Here, the differences in weather patterns are investigated and compared with normal climatological mean (1981–2010) structures. This study examines the high-resolution datasets from the North American Regional Reanalysis model. During the study periods, the north of Alaska has been affected by the low-pressure tongue. The maximum difference between Greenland high-pressure centre and Alaska low-pressure tongue for the summers of 2012, 2016 and 2007 are 8 hPa, 7 hPa and 6 hPa, respectively, corresponding and matching to the maximum summer surface Canadian Arctic temperature records. During anomalous summer heatwaves, low-level wind, temperatures, total clouds (%) and downward radiation flux at the surface are dramatically changed. This study shows the surface albedo has been reduced over most parts of the Canadian Arctic Ocean during the mentioned heatwaves (∼5–40%), with a higher change (specifically in the eastern Canadian Arctic region) during summer 2012 in comparison with summer 2016 and summer 2007, agreeing with the maximum surface temperature and sea ice decline records.


This essay examines the rapprochement between science and metaphysics that the French philosopher Alfred Fouillée staged in his writings from 1872 up until his death in 1912. Amidst the influx of new research in scientific psychology inundating France in the late nineteenth century, Fouillée's thought stands out for its creative effort to advance a new spiritualist philosophy on the basis of positive scientific advancements. Fouillée's work is significant for intellectual historians of thought in the fin de siècle because it challenges the common historiographical narrative, initially presented in H. Stuart Hughes's Consciousness and Society, which erroneously frames spiritualist thinkers, Henri Bergson chief among them, as leading a "revolt against positivism." Fouillée throws into stark relief a new spiritualist current that incorporated research in the natural and human sciences from across Europe in order to craft an updated understanding of consciousness. This essay treats Fouillée's work as a historical window onto a distinctly new spiritualism whose proponents sought to overcome the old spiritualism of Victor Cousin's eclectic school, which shunned any naturalist underpinning of metaphysics. While Fouillée has already been widely historicized as a social and political thinker, this essay introduces original archival materials that help to resituate Fouillée as a leading figure of the new spiritualism animating French philosophy in the final quarter of the nineteenth century.


Due to the efforts of the clinical and scientific communities and boosted by recent advances in genetic technologies, we now understand the molecular mechanisms underlying most of the frequent and recognizable human malformation syndromes. However, some well‐established human malformation syndromes remain without a molecular diagnosis despite intensive investigation. This issue of Seminars mines the phenotypic entries in OMIM and estimates that of the documented 2,034 unsolved entries likely to represent a rare genetic disease, only 160 are well‐established and possibly amenable to investigation. This issue also reviews well‐characterized and extensively investigated human malformation syndromes and associations that remain unsolved, including the following: Dubowitz syndrome (MIM 223370%), Hallermann–Streiff syndrome (MIM 234100%), PHACE syndrome (MIM 606519), Oculocerebrocutaneous syndrome (MIM 164180), Aicardi syndrome (MIM 304050%), Gomez–Lopez–Hernandez syndrome and Rhombencephalosynapsis (MIM 601853%), VACTERL (MIM 192350%), and Nablus syndrome (MIM #608156). Possible explanations for their intractability to molecular diagnosis are explored, including genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity, mosaicism, epigenetics, gene–environment interactions, and other non‐Mendelian contributions. Finally, this issue of Seminars presents a path forward for these unsolved rare conditions and suggests a renewed focus on solving amendable OMIM disorders. It is clear that the way forward will require new technologies, global cooperation, and data sharing; these will also be necessary to help reach the vision of the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC), that is to enable all people living with a rare disease to receive an accurate diagnosis, care and available therapy within 1 year of coming to medical attention.


Often effective management of a water resource will involve cooperation and understanding between concerned stakeholders. An inquiry into the challenges in operation of the current water distribution system at the Headquarters and Areas Office of the Federal Capital Territory Water Board (FCTWB) showed that reluctance to share information (where present) to maintain a level of control on was routine and often lead to differing views between them on various subjects including non-revenue water and cooperation with the city development agency. It also revealed the need for integration of the operational staff of the area offices in the affairs and decisions of the headquarters in order to ensure practicality of programmes during the planning phase and promote cooperation and initiative in implementation.


The study investigated effectiveness of microfinance banks in the delivery of credit to entrepreneurs for poverty reduction in Ekiti State. The design adopted for the study is descriptive research of survey type. The population of the study consisted of 381 owners of registered small and medium business in Ekiti State. The whole population was used for the study therefore no sampling was done. A self-design questionnaire on 5-point scale was used to collect data for the study. The instrument was validated by two experts. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha and yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.72. Data collected were analyzed using mean. Finding of study revealed that microfinance banks are effective in the use of their credit to improve the living standard of entrepreneurs. The study recommended among other things that the capital base of microfinance banks should be increased to enable them grant more credit to prospective entrepreneurs in order to increase the number of small and medium scale business.


Acyl glucoses are a group of specialized metabolites produced by Solanaceae. Solanum pennellii, a wild-type tomato plant, produces acyl glucoses in its hair-like epidermal structures known as trichomes. These compounds have been found to be herbicides, microbial growth inhibitors, or allelopathic compounds. However, there are a few reports regarding isolation and investigation of biological activities of acyl glucoses in its pure form due to the difficulty of isolation. Here, we report a new acyl glucose, pennelliiside D, isolated and identified from S. pennellii. Its structure was determined by 1D NMR and 2D NMR, together with FD-MS analysis. To clarify the absolute configuration of the acyl moiety of 2-methylbutyryl in the natural compound, two possible isomers were synthesized starting from β-D-glucose pentaacetate. By comparing the spectroscopic data of natural and synthesized compounds of isomers, the structure of pennelliiside D was confirmed to be 3,4-O-diisobutyryl-2-O-((S)-2-methylbutyryl)-D-glucose. Pennelliiside D and its constituent fatty acid moiety, (S)-2-methylbutanoic acid, did not show root growth-inhibitory activity. Additionally, in this study, chemical synthesis pathways toward pennelliisides A and B were adapted to give 1,6-O-dibenzylpennelliisides A and B.


A new arylsulfatase designated Es-1, which desulfated etoposide 4'-sulfate and p-nitrophenyl sulfate, was isolated from Streptomyces griseorubiginosus S980-14 and purified to protein homogeneity by ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion exchange column chromatography, and chromatofocusing. The enzyme was active in monomeric form with an approximate molecular weight of 45,000, had a pI value of 4.95, and required calcium for full activity. At an optimum reaction pH of 8.5, iodoacetate, mercurous chloride, and EDTA severely inhibited the activity of Es-1 arylsulfatase.


Background Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies of the urinary system with an unfavorable prognosis. More and more studies have suggested that lipid metabolism could influence the progression and treatment of tumors. However, there are few studies exploring the relationship between lipid metabolism and bladder cancer. This study aimed to explore the roles that lipid metabolism-related genes play in patients with bladder cancer. Methods TCGA_BLCA cohort and GSE13507 cohort were included in this study, and transcriptional and somatic mutation profiles of 309 lipid metabolism-related genes were analyzed to discover the critical lipid metabolism-related genes in the incurrence and progression of bladder cancer. Furthermore, the TCGA_BLCA cohort was randomly divided into training set and validation set, and the GSE13507 cohort was served as an external independent validation set. We performed the LASSO regression and multivariate Cox regression in training set to develop a prognostic signature and further verified this signature in TCGA_BLCA validation set and GSE13507 external validation set. Finally, we systematically investigated the association between this signature and tumor microenvironment, drug response, and potential functions and then verified the differential expression status of signature genes in the protein level by immunohistochemistry. Results A novel 6-lipidmetabolism-related gene signature was identified and validated, and this risk score model could predict the prognosis of patients with bladder cancer. In addition, the prognostic model was tightly related to immune cell infiltration and tumor mutation burden. Gene set variation analysis (GSVA) and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) showed that mTOR signaling pathway, G2M checkpoint, fatty acid metabolism, and hypoxia were enriched in patients in the high-risk score groups. Furthermore, 3 therapies specific for bladder cancer patients in different risk scores were identified. Conclusion s. In conclusion, we investigated the lipid metabolism-related genes in bladder cancer through comprehensive bioinformatic analysis. A novel 6-gene signature associated with lipid metabolism for predicting the outcomes of patients with bladder cancer was conducted and validated. Furthermore, the risk score model could be utilized to indicate the choice of therapy in bladder cancer.


The problem of this thesis is that the investigation is tied to a country that is not fully explored to Volvo Car Corporation at the present time. Differences within culture and attitudes will be important for Volvo Car Corporation to be aware of. Will the new customers emphasize the importance of social or functional needs or do they care for the same attributes as the Swedish buyers do? The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the consumer trends within interior design in the front row of the car among young potential car buyers in China. This will be done in order to gather information that can be interpreted and valuable for Volvo Cars future business decisions. To fulfill the purpose of this theis a deductive approach have been implemented with theories that are drawn from previous research. The theories will be integrated with quantitative findings that the authors have received through a conducted Internet survey. The study was implemented on a group of Chinese students and were then compared to a sample of Swedish students. This was done in order to investigate the different tendencies for the two samples regarding the interior design within a car. The findings shows that there are both similarities and differences between the two samples which dismiss the concept of a Global Teenager. The tendencies that the authors found through the conducted research shows that the hedonic and social factors are emphasised while the utilitarian needs seem to be accounted for as obvious in the majority of cases. The findings further states that there are no strong feelings concerning Roominess and Daily Life Usage. The liking of the smaller car do give a signal that roominess and storage is not of highest importance. These two concepts were not the most preferred interior attributes and were placed in the region from three to five in the ranking. The authors conclusion for Volvo Car Corporation is that the focus should lie on the aspect of a car that generates an emotional attachment to the customer.


In recent years considerable interest has been aroused concerning the role of the depressor nerve in angina pectoris and the possibility of relief through sectioning this nerve. As there is variance in the use of the term "depressor nerve," and as its anatomy is, in general, little understood, this study was made with a view to clarifying the matter. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE In the literature, the name "depressor" has been given to several nerves of vagal origin, first of all to a nerve occurring in the rabbit, described first by Cyon and Ludwig. 1 This nerve has been shown repeatedly to be a depressor by physiologic experiments. Stimulation of the peripheral end of the cut nerve in the rabbit, as a rule, gives negative results, while stimulation of the central stump causes a reflex fall in blood pressure. The name has also been given to the cardiac branches of