BACKGROUND
Lichen planus is a darkly pigmented skin disease that impairs the quality of life of patients. The effect of lichen planus on patient's quality of life (QoL) is not widely documented. The study's objective was to determine QoL impairment of LP patients, determine what aspect of QoL is impaired, and correlate clinical and sociodemographic characteristics with QOL impairment.

METHODOLOGY
This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted from February 2018 to January 2019 at the outpatient dermatology clinic of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. All consecutive newly diagnosed LP patients who gave their consent were recruited into the study. Socio-demographic data and QoL (using the dermatology life quality index, DLQI) was documented. The hospital's ethical committee gave ethical approval for the study. The patients were clinically examined. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 22. The level of significance of all tests was set at 5%.

RESULTS
Quality of life was impaired in 95.5% of the patients. The mean DLQI score was 10±6.7. The minimum DLQI was one and the highest 24. Quality of life was mildly, moderately and severely impaired in 38.01%, 23.81% and 38.01% respectively. Pruritus was significantly associated with QoL impairment. Feelings of embarrassment (54.5%), itchy skin (54.5%), interference with being in public (54.5%), social life (50%) and having to deliberately choose clothes to cover the LP lesions (61.1%) were the main items impaired in the DLQI instrument.

CONCLUSION
Lichen planus affects QoL of patients negatively. The items of impairment are feelings of embarrassment, social functioning and choice of clothing.


Gradient descent is arguably one of the most popular online optimization methods with a wide array of applications. However, the standard implementation where agents simultaneously update their strategies yields several undesirable properties; strategies diverge away from equilibrium and regret grows over time. In this paper, we eliminate these negative properties by introducing a different implementation to obtain finite regret via arbitrary fixed step-size. We obtain this surprising property by having agents take turns when updating their strategies. In this setting, we show that an agent that uses gradient descent obtains bounded regret -- regardless of how their opponent updates their strategies. Furthermore, we show that in adversarial settings that agents' strategies are bounded and cycle when both are using the alternating gradient descent algorithm.


We have examined 370 infants less than 12 months of age with atopic dermatitis about food allergies, especially by egg white antigens. Since the results of the skin scratch test and serum specific IgE antibody test often correspond to each other, only the serum specific IgE antibody test was given to infants over 6 months of age. An oral provocation test using boiled egg white was given to 176 patients, and 52 of them showed immediate positive reaction. The number of patients with a positive reaction was much fewer than expected. This may be due to lowered levels of egg white antigens from being boiled, and the majority of patients that took the test were over 12 months of age. Those infants with atopic dermatitis often react positively to both serum specific IgE antibody tests and skin scratch tests, therefore follow up studies on changes in the level of serum IgE antibody and reaction to oral provocation tests with infants over 6 or 7 months of age must be done to determine if egg whites need to be eliminated from their diet or not.


OBJECTIVE
To report our cancer centre experience in the biliary tumours incidence other than cholangiocellular-carcinoma, emphasizing the radiological features.

METHODS
197 patients with biliary disease undergoing Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI were reviewed. Four radiologists evaluated retrospectively size, structure, anatomical site and signal intensity of lesions on MRI. Enhancement-pattern during the arterial-, portal- and late-phase on ultrasound, CT and MR study was assessed as well as the enhancement pattern during the hepatobiliary-phase on MRI.

RESULTS
23 patients were selected. The lesion was intraductal in 5 cases, periductal in 14 and intrahepatic in 4. 16 lesions were solid, 5 uniloculated cystic and 2 complex cystic. In five patients the lesion was simple cyst, with a signal intensity in T1 weighted (T1W) and T2 weighted (T2W) similar to the gallbladder. In two patients with complex cystic lesion, the solid component was heterogeneously hypointense in T1 W, hyperintense in T2 W with a restricted diffusion. The solid component showed heterogeneous contrast-enhancement on CT, MR and ultrasound. The tumour was intrahepatic in two patients, with signal hypointense in T1 W and hyperintense in T2 W. Diffusion was restricted. The lesions showed heterogeneous contrast-enhancement. The periductal lesions were hypointense in T1 W, hyperintense in T2 W with restricted diffusion. The lesion showed progressive contrast-enhancement. Peribiliary melanoma was hyperintense in T1 W, hyperintense in T2 W with restricted diffusion and progressively contrast-enhanced.

CONCLUSION
Biliary tumours can have a wide spectrum of radiologic appearances and consequently represent a diagnostic challenge for the radiologist. Advances in knowledge: MRI is the technique of choice in diagnosing biliary tumours, including rare (non-CCC) tumours.


The Telescope Array (TA) is the largest experiment in the northern hemisphere studying ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. TA is a hybrid experiment, which means it has two detector systems: a surface detector and a fluorescence detector. In this paper we report on results from TA on the spectrum, composition, and anisotropy of cosmic rays. The spectrum measured by the TA surface detector, cosmic ray composition measured with the TA fluorescence detectors operating in stereoscopic mode, and a search for correlations between the pointing directions of cosmic rays, seen by the surface detector, and AGN's are presented.


The present study was carried out in Mato Grosso fluvial system, a costal drainage from Serra do Mar. We analysed the diet and the feeding daily rhythm of Pimelodella lateristriga from samples carried out during 24 hours over a 4 hour fishing interval, in June, July and September, 2006 as well as in January and February, 2007. Diet was described from the Feeding Index (IAi) and feeding daily rhythm was verified through the Gut Fullness Index (GFI). Pimelodella lateristriga diet was composed of 37 items, being aquatic insects the most important ones. IAi analysis revealed that Diptera, Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera amounted to 90% of the diet. Autochthonous invertebrates were the most important consumed items. Pimelodella lateristriga concentrated its feeding activities in the nocturnal period (10:00 PM to 2:00 AM) with marked significant differences (F = 16.11; gl = 5; p < 0.05) between each diurnal and nocturnal periods. Between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM, foraging activity was gradually reduced. We concluded that P. lateristriga has an insectivorous diet and a nocturnal feeding habit with greater activity between 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM.


PURPOSE
This primer provides background and an update on immune mechanisms which allow small-molecule drugs to trigger drug allergy.

SUMMARY
For many years, understanding of drug allergy was limited. The hapten model of drug allergy applies only to a subset of drugs known to cause allergic reactions. More recently, the understanding of immune reactions has expanded to include pharmacologic interactions with the molecules involved in immune identity and surveillance. These insights are presented and discussed here.

CONCLUSION
Greater understanding of allergic reactions to drugs offers the promise to move from a position of reacting to immune reactions to a more proactive model. This may translate to new opportunities to characterize risk in drug development, confirm the nature of reactions in clinical settings, enhance the targeting of alerts, and ultimately to allow patient-specific prediction.


Image style transfer is an increasingly interesting topic in computer vision where the goal is to map images from one style to another. In this paper, we propose a new framework called Combined Layer GAN as a solution of dealing with image style transfer problem. Specifically, the edge-constraint and color-constraint are proposed and explored in the GAN based image translation method to improve the performance. The motivation of the work is that color and edge are fundamental vision factors for an image, while in the traditional deep network based approach, there is a lack of fine control of these factors in the process of translation and the performance is degraded consequently. Our experiments and evaluations show that our novel method with the edge and color constrains is more stable, and significantly improves the performance compared with the traditional methods.


High-speed, short-distance data transmission over all-plastic step-index fiber (plastic optical fiber, or POF) is normally considered to be limited by intermodal dispersion. Theoretical calculations in this letter show that the baseband frequency response can be significantly improved using simple linear equalization. However, as the fiber length is increased, the sharp absorption attenuation peaks of PMMA fiber can potentially introduce mode partition noise. The bounds on practical laser characteristics and fiber lengths are explored; these results indicate that 530-Mb/s transmission over 100 m of 1-mm-diameter POF is feasible, thus potentially satisfying a significant segment of future computer interconnect applications.<<ETX>>


Abstract. Combining historical climatology and environmental history, this
article examines the diverse range of strategies deployed by the city
government of Barcelona (Catalonia, NE Spain) to confront the recurrent
drought episodes experienced between 1626 and 1650. Our reconstruction of
drought in Barcelona for the period 1525–1821, based on pro pluvia rogations as
documentary proxy data, identifies the years 1626–1635 and the 1640s as the most
significant drought events of the series (highest drought frequency weighted
index and drought duration index). We then focus on the period 1601–1650,
providing a timeline that visualises rain rogation levels in Barcelona at a
monthly resolution. Against this backdrop, we examine institutional
responses to drought and discuss how water scarcity was perceived and
confronted by Barcelona city authorities. Among the several measures
implemented, we present the ambitious water supply projects launched by the
city government, together with the construction of windmills as an
alternative to watermills, as a diversification strategy aimed at coping
better with diminishing water flows. We pay special attention to the
institutional efforts to codify the knowledge about Barcelona's water
supply, which in 1650 resulted in the Book of Fountains of the City of
Barcelona (Llibre de les Fonts de la Ciutat de Barcelona). This manual of urban water supply, written by the city water
officer after 3 decades of experience in his post, constitutes a rare
and valuable source to study water management history but also includes
significant information to interpret historical climate. We analyse the
production of this manual in the context of 3 decades marked by
recurrent episodes of severe drought. We interpret the city government
aspiration to codify knowledge about urban water supply as an attempt to
systematise and store historical information on infrastructure to improve
institutional capacities to cope with future water scarcities.


Abstract In this article I will examine the powers and activities of NATO-led Kosovo forces (KFOR) and their impact on human rights protection in Kosovo. Through this examination, I seek to answer the following questions: which KFOR actions affected the human rights of Kosovars? Does KFOR carry out responsibilities and abide by the obligations normally imposed upon nation-states? And is there a solution available when the alleged violator is KFOR? KFOR is responsible for carrying out military tasks and for 'shouldering' UNMIK and local security forces in some civilian peace-building tasks. In the course of the exercise of its mandate, there were alleged complaints of human rights violations by KFOR. The legal implications of these alleged complaints against KFOR (in)actions will also be discussed.


A 61-year-old man presented to the emergency department of a community hospital with a 2-week history of fever, chills, and sudden extreme weakness of his right arm and lower extremities. He also had a cough, shortness of breath, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and myalgia. Though initially alert and cooperative, he quickly became unresponsive. In addition, he had hyponatremia, renal insufficiency, and compromised cardiopulmonary function. He was admitted to the intensive care unit for suspected bacterial infection and was started on broad-spectrum antibiotics. Chest radiograph revealed miliary infiltrates consistent with infectious emboli or metastatic carcinoma. Despite intensive resuscitation, the patient died 36 hours after admission. At autopsy multiple nodular lesions were observed on gross examination of the lungs, perihilar and paratracheal lymph nodes, and liver. Microscopic sections of the lung (Figure 1) and brain (Figures 2 and 3) are shown.


:>-, SUhlhlARY A brief historical review of its generic diagnosis is given for Phanerotomella SZEPLIGETI. For the oriental biogeographical area, two new species from Vietnam are described: P. barbieri and P. nainkyensis and two other species are redescribed: P. albipalpis (CAMERON) and P. albiscapa (ASHIEAD). For the australkan and Polynesian areas, P. novaguineensis (SZEPLIGETI) is reassigned to the genus Phanerotonza and Phunerotonla hawaiiensis ASHYE AD is considered as belonging to Phanerotomella. For the first time, biological data are given for a Phanerotomella species.


Rectal prolapse is a rare disorder, which usually affects patients suffering from genital prolapse (rectal prolapse is associated with genital prolapse in 50% of cases). On the basis of a study of the literature and with regard to one case history, the authors set out to explore the simplest and most effective way of treating these two disorders simultaneously. The treatment remains surgical and should combine treatment of the genital prolapse by vaginal route with treatment of the rectal prolapse by means of the Delorme operation. The mortality and morbidity rates are zero if this operation is used and the relapse rate is only 8 to 11% for the rectal prolapse. It would appear that the two approaches are rarely associated by the authors and would seem to be interesting to reconsider this question by indicating mixed treatment of the two prolapses whenever possible.


Abstract This article draws upon research involving in-depth interviews with 60 mothers of young children about the home healthcare in which they engage when promoting their children's health and dealing with their illnesses, allergies or developmental problems. The study found that a series of often interconnected discourses were evident in the women's accounts. These included the discourses of health states as controllable, good health as an outcome of good management and the child's body as vulnerable. Other discourses were related to the concept of the 'good mother'. The interviewees also employed the discourses of home healthcare as emotionally distressing and as hard work and of children's illness as a mother's loss of control. As this suggests, such caring was often an intensely embodied and negative emotional experience for the mothers, particularly if they felt as if they had lost control over their children's bodies.


Background: The natural clinical course of Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is characterized by episodes of relapse and remission. Fecal Calprotectin (FC) is a relatively new marker of intestinal inflammation and is an available, non-expensive tool for predicting relapse of quiescent UC. The Seo colitis activity index is a clinical index for assessment of the severity of UC. Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of FC and the Seo colitis activity index and their correlation in prediction of UC exacerbation. Patients and Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 157 patients with clinical and endoscopic diagnosis of UC selected randomly from 1273 registered patients in Fars province's IBD registry center in Shiraz, Iran, were followed from October 2012 to October 2013 for 12 months or shorter, if they had a relapse. Two patients left the study before completion and one patient had relapse because of discontinuation of drugs. The participants' clinical and serum factors were evaluated every three months. Furthermore, stool samples were collected at the beginning of study and every three months and FC concentration (commercially available enzyme linked immunoassay) and the Seo Index were assessed. Then univariate analysis, multiple variable logistic regression, Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve analysis, and Pearson's correlation test (r) were used for statistical analysis of data. Results: According to the results, 74 patients (48.1%) relapsed during the follow-up (33 men and 41 women). Mean ± SD of FC was 862.82 ± 655.97 μg/g and 163.19 ± 215.85 μg/g in relapsing and non-relapsing patients, respectively (P < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that age, number of previous relapses, FC and the Seo index were significant predictors of relapse. ROC curve analysis of FC level and Seo activity index for prediction of relapse demonstrated area under the curve of 0.882 (P < 0.001) and 0.92 1(P < 0.001), respectively. Besides, FC level of 341 μg/g was identified as the cut-off point with 11.2% and 79.7% relapse rate below and above this point, respectively. Additionally, Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between FC and the Seo index was significant in prediction of relapse (r = 0.63, P < 0.001). Conclusions: As a simple and noninvasive marker, FC is highly accurate and significantly correlated to the Seo activity index in prediction of relapse in the course of quiescent UC in Iranian patients.


The objective for this master's thesis was to test and evaluate two methods for determining the content of tannin in a pinebarkextract. The methods used at Sodra for this previously have not been specific enough, only the amount of polyphenolics have been measured. One of these methods is a test based on the Stiasny test and it determines the extracts ability to form a gel with formaldehyde. When this test was carried out it showed that the extract did not contain much tannin. The other method used at Sodra measures the amount of polyphenolic substances with a spectrophotometer. The result from this method showed that the content were 50 %. One of the two new methods that were evaluated determines the amount tannin present in the extract because of tannins ability to form a complex with proteins. According to this method, the amount tannin in the extract were 42,5 %, and 19,4 % of this in the form of tannic acid. These results are credible on basis of previous information about the extract. The other method uses a RP- HPLC where ellagic and gallic acid were used as standards. The amount ellagic acid in the extract was determined to 0,06 %, but the result from gallic acid was inconclusive. Further analysis is necessary to evaluate the obtained results and the methods reliability. If the metods is to be used on a regular basis, my recommendation would be to start evaluating the protein-binding method because this would be easier and less time-consuming than modifying the HPLC- method. The HPLC- method could on the other hand provide useful information about the extract, not only the amount tannin could be measured, but also which kind of tannin could be investigated.


A /spl beta/=1 accelerating structure for the IFUSP Microtron has been built. The 17-cavity structure and the tuning plungers placed at both ends of the structure are described. Details from some of the processes, like machining and pre-tuning of the cavities, brazing of the pieces and the final tuning of the whole structure are given. The final results obtained for the structure are presented and the dynamic tuning system based on moving plungers described.


Since 2000, an increasing number of humpback whale sightings have been recorded in northern Chilean Patagonia (mostly between 41.5°S and 44°S) from dedicated aerial and marine surveys and also opportunistic and land-based platforms during austral summer and autumn months.
Based on local knowledge from the early years of coastal whaling suggesting the historic presence of humpback whales in the area, and more recent observations confirming feeding groups, mother–calf pairs, and philopatry, it is proposed that a proportion of the eastern South Pacific humpback whales consistently use the Chiloe-Corcovado region to feed and nurse their young.
This mid-latitude area could be regarded as the northernmost feeding ground for humpback whales in South America, extending the previous known range some 1300 km north.
These findings provide further evidence for alternative life-strategies other than traditional migration and highlight the importance of northern Patagonian fjords to resolve questions that are central for large baleen whale conservation and management such as the extent and characteristics of spatio-temporal habitat use and overlap with human activities.
The need for future research on the migratory movements and population structure of this poorly understood population of humpback whales is emphasized, while an account is given of the threats they currently face.

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The purpose of this paper is to suggest a new approach that improves the conventional Historical Value-at-Risk (HVaR) estimations' accuracy and can be easily applied by anyone. The main assumption for the newly suggested method is "the more representative to the financial conditions the data inputs are, the better the VaR estimations". Volatility is assumed to be the criterion for the "representative to the financial conditions" definition. In practice, the newly suggested approach does not use the previous x days observations as data inputs in the estimation process (as the HVaR does), but the last x filtered volatility (fv) observations of a "representative to the current financial conditions dataset". Depending on the volatility value, each observation is classified in several regimes, from which the VaR is estimated depending on the examined day's volatility. This way the HVaR approach is more historical. The empirical findings using data from the US and the Eurozone stock market show that the newly suggested filtered volatility approach not only significantly improves the VaR estimations, but also makes these estimations much more representative of the real financial conditions. The results using the filtered volatility approach are comparable to some previously documented VaR estimations that adopt advanced econometric models. In this point, we should note advanced econometric models have the drawbacks that are not usually applied in financial markets industry because of their complexity. The newly suggested approach: (i) popularizes some of the most advanced econometric techniques, (ii) improves the VaR estimations accuracy, and (iii) enables financial risk analysts and portfolio managers to estimate the risk-return under several volatility regimes in order to help them to apply their desired investment strategy. Finally, this paper not only examines accuracy using the traditional/conventional tests [1], but also suggests some new measures for the comparison amongst different VaR models and their ability to accurately estimate the real financial risk.


Abstract : Polylactic and polyglycolic acids(alpha polyamides) or combinations thereof are biodegradable materials commonly used in suture materials and surgical meshes for the temporary support of abdominal organs. The materials are well known in the clinical literature and have been in common usage without risk for over two decades. The polyamides are rich in polyester linkages that are degraded in aqueous environments by hydrolysis. Various investigators have shown that the pure form of polyglycolic acid (PGA) degrades over a period of 5 months whereas pure polylactic acid (PLA) takes about 6.5 months. copolymers of PLA/PGA have been synthesized that degrade within a few weeks to several months depending upon the ratios employed and the specific sequencing of the chemical units. Further, the alpha polyamides show no adverse host tissue reactions when implanted in numerous animal models.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) is one of the most widely studied probiotic bacterial strain. The benefits of LGG treatment in gastrointestinal disorders are well documented. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether LGG can be detected in the oral cavity after discontinuation of administration of a product prepared with this bacterium.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
56 volunteers consumed Gefilus juice (Valio Ltd, Helsinki, Finland) containing LGG during a 14-day trial period. Saliva samples were collected and cultured onto MRS agar after a clearance period and then daily after a 2-week intervention period for as long as LGG was found. LGG-like colonies were analyzed in saliva samples, identified by characteristic colony morphology, a lactose fermentation test, and PCR with specific primers.

RESULTS
LGG was not able to colonize the oral cavity. It could only be temporarily detected. In one female subject, however, whose medical history revealed use of LGG in childhood, the bacterium was detected in all saliva samples taken up to 5 months. (She was excluded from the intervention trial).

CONCLUSION
Permanent colonization of LGG in the oral cavity is improbable but seems possible in individual cases.


The nature of dark matter remains an open question and could be in the form of warm dark matter. Sterile neutrinos and axion-like particles are well motivated warm dark candidates, and can decay into photons, which are consequently detectable by X-ray telescopes with keV dark matter mass. Both particles could explain the observed unidentified 3.5 keV line and, interestingly, XENON1T observed an excess at a few keV that can originate from axion-like particles. We study the diffuse emission coming from the Galactic halo, and test the sensitivity of all-sky X-ray survey eROSITA to identify a sterile neutrino or axion-like particle. By Monte Carlo method, we set bounds on the mixing angle of the sterile neutrinos and coupling strength of the axion-like particles. With eROSITA, we will be able to set stringent constraints, and in particular, we will be able to firmly probe the best-fit of the unidentified 3.5 keV line, where we reach an order of magnitude better sensitivity. Moreover, eROSITA is able to confirm an axion-like particle origin of the XENON1T excess for an excess


Background The liver is the third most common metastatic site for advanced breast cancer (BC), and liver metastases predict poor prognoses. However, the characteristic biomarkers of BC liver metastases and the biological role of secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine-like 1 (SPARCL1) in BC remain unclear. The present study aimed to identify potential biomarkers for liver metastasis of BC and to investigate the effect of SPARCL1 on BC. Methods The publicly available GSE124648 dataset was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between BC and liver metastases. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were conducted to annotate these DEGs and understand the biological functions in which they are involved. A protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to identify metastasis-related hub genes and further validated in a second independent dataset (GSE58708). Clinicopathological correlation of hub gene expression in patients with BC was determined. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to explore DEG-related signaling pathways. SPARCL1 expression in BC tissues and cell lines was verified by RT-qPCR. Further in vitro experiments were performed to investigate the biological functions of SPARCL1 in BC cells. Results We identified 332 liver metastasis-related DEGs from GSE124648 and 30 hub genes, including SPARCL1, from the PPI network. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of liver-metastasis-related DEGs revealed several enriched terms associated with the extracellular matrix and pathways in cancer. Clinicopathological correlation analysis of SPARCL1 revealed that its expression in BC was associated with age, TNM stage, estrogen receptor status, progesterone receptor status, histological type, molecular type, and living status of patients. GSEA results suggested that low SPARCL1 expression in BC was related to the cell cycle, DNA replication, oxidative phosphorylation, and homologous recombination. Lower expression levels of SPARCL1 were detected in BC tissues compared to adjacent tissues. The in vitro experiments showed that SPARCL1 knockdown significantly increased the proliferation and migration of BC cells, whereas the proliferation and migration were suppressed after elevating the expression of SPARCL1. Conclusion We identified SPARCL1 as a tumor suppressor in BC, which shows potential as a target for BC and liver metastasis therapy and diagnosis.


Pillows are a known source of house dust mite (HDM) allergens and covering pillows with allergen-impermeable covers is known to reduce exposure to HDM allergens (1). House dust mite sensitized patients are often advised to cover all bedding items with allergen-impermeable covers and, although some studies have shown beneficial effects, other studies have not. Lately, it has been shown that pillows contain substantial amounts of fungi (2) which may be of importance for asthmatic patients. Subsequently we demonstrated that pillows contain appreciable amounts of ß-(1,3)-glucan, a major component of the fungal cell wall (3). Although ß-(1,3)-glucan is nonallergenic, it is pro-inflammatory and shows associations with airway inflammation and asthma symptoms (4). Early exposure in infancy to ß-(1,3)-glucan may also protect against development of allergic diseases in childhood (5). To our knowledge, no studies have determined the effects of impermeable covers on ß-(1,3)glucan levels. Ten pillows, which had been on five mattresses for at least 3 months, were studied. Initially, dust was collected from the top of the pillows by vacuuming each side for 1 min. The pillows were then covered with impermeable covers (Premium Microfiber Encasings, Mission:Allergy, Hawleyville, CT, USA) and replaced on the mattresses. After 6 weeks, dust was again collected from the top of the pillows. Collected dust samples were weighed and extracted with 0.3 M NaOH. The ß(1,3)-glucan content of the supernatants were determined by a modified Limulus amoebocyte lysate kinetic assay kit specific for ß-(1,3)-glucan (Glucatell; Cape Cod Inc., Falmouth, MA, USA). Because of non-normal distribution, ß-(1,3)-glucan results were log-transformed and results expressed as geometric means (total ng/pillow) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). The effect of allergenimpermeable covers on ß-(1,3)-glucan levels was assessed by paired Student's t-test and a P value of <0.05 was deemed statistically significant. After 6 weeks of allergen-impermeable covers, pillows ß-(1,3)-glucan content, expressed as ng/pillow, was significantly reduced by about threeto four-fold. This reduction was primarily because of a reduction in total dust weights recovered after 6 weeks as there was no difference when expressed as ng/g. Table 1 shows the ß-(1,3)-glucan levels and dust sample weights before and after 6 weeks of allergen-impermeable covers. This study has shown that covering pillows with allergen-impermeable covers reduces total ß-(1,3)-glucan load by about threeto four-fold. This was predominantly because of about a three-fold reduction in total dust weight. We have previously shown that covering pillows with allergen-impermeable covers reduces dust permeability (6). It may be that by leaving the covers on for longer than 6 weeks that a greater reduction in ß(1,3)-glucan may occur. Also, as we did not cover other bedding items, such as comforters and mattresses, greater reduction in ß-(1,3)-glucan can be anticipated as the ß-(1,3)-glucan content on pillows after 6 weeks of covering is most likely from the ß-(1,3)-glucan on the uncovered bedding items. The reduction in ß-(1,3)-glucan after allergen-impermeable covers on pillows could be of clinical relevance for asthmatics as bedding is in close proximity to the airways and ß-(1,3)-glucan is both pro-inflammatory and has been shown to increase peak flow variability in children (5). Further studies are warranted to determine if covering all bedding items with allergen-impermeable covers, and for longer periods, significantly reduces exposure to ß-(1,3)-glucan and whether this reduction leads to an improvement in asthma symptoms. A L L E R G Y 2 0 0 7 : 6 2 : 4 5 1 – 4 5 4 • a 2 0 0 7 T H E A U T H O R S • J O U R N A L C O M P I L AT I O N a 2 0 0 7 B L A C K W E L L M U N K S G A A R D • C O N T R I B U T I O N S T O T H I S S E C T I O N W I L L N O T U N D E R G O P E E R R E V I E W, B U T W I L L B E R E V I E W E D B Y T H E A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R S •


Peculiarities of series of picture interpretations and Rorschach test results in patients with unilateral benign hemispheric tumours are discussed. It is concluded that visual perception in the right hemisphere has hierarchic structure, i.e., each successive area from the occipital lobe towards the frontal having a more complicated function. Visual engrams are distributed over the right hemisphere in a manner similar to the way the visual information is recorded in holographic systems. In any impairment of the right hemisphere a tendency towards whole but unclear vision arises. The preservation of lower levels of visual perception provides for clear vision only of small parts of the image. Thus, confabulatory phenomena arises, which are specific for right hemispheric lesions.


Objective The current study investigated whether the relationship between sex and experimental pain report was explained by systolic blood pressure (SBP) at rest or during pain task, by gender-role socialization as assessed by the Bem Sex Role Inventory, or both. The influence of gender-role socialization on pain report is often inferred but rarely studied. Methods Fifty female and 54 male healthy, young adults completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory and then underwent a cold pressor task. Blood pressure was assessed before and during pain testing. Results Univariate analyses indicated significant sex-related differences in pain threshold and pain tolerance. Baseline SBP was positively related to pain tolerance but did not explain sex differences, in accord with previous research. The Bem Sex Role Inventory demonstrated a relationship with pain, but did not explain sex differences. Conclusions We suggest that context-specific measures of gender are needed to assess gender-related pain behaviors in specific situations. Results from the current study support our contention that gender is part of sex as commonly measured. Also, blood pressure does not appear to fully account for sex-related differences in pain.


Unlearning is the deliberate undoing or reversal of what has been previously learned. This skill has been acknowledged in business and academia as being increasingly important for engineers in a highly changeable 21st century environment; additionally, industry have recently flagged a real-world skill deficit in graduates that can be remedied using the concept of unlearning. This paper shows that modern learning theories and engineering teaching initiatives implicitly rely on unlearning to successfully influence and appropriately prepare engineering students for industry.


Many works have attempted to solve the scalability, the availability, and the low-latency problems of peer-to-peer (P2P) live video streaming; yet, the problems still remain. While tree-based systems are vulnerable to churn, the mesh-based systems suffer from high delay and overhead. The DHT-aided chunk-driven overlay (DCO) [1] tried to tackle these problems by using the distributed hash table (DHT), which structures into a mesh-based overlay to efficiently share the video segment. However, DCO fully depends on the capacity of the users' device which is small and unstable, i.e., the users' device may leave and join the network anytime, and the video server's bandwidth can be insufficient when the number of users joining the network suddenly increases. Therefore, cloud assist is introduced to overcome those problems. Cloud assist can be used to enhance the availability, the low-latency, and the scalability of the system. In this paper, the DHT is used to maintain the location of the streaming segments in a distributed manner, and the cloud server is used to assist other peers when the bandwidth which required for sharing the video segment is insufficient. The simulation results show that by using the threshold and cloud assist, the availability and the low-latency of the video segments, and the scalability of the network are greatly improved.


Peat which is considered as a problematic soft soil due to its high water
content and compressibility and low bearing capacity. Generally, higher percentage
of moisture and organic content are likely to influence the consolidation and
settlement of the peat soil. This study was focused on the effect of different levels of
peat sampling on one-dimensional consolidation test. Oedometer consolidation test
are conducted for samples taken from Matang at different level of depths. Several
parameters such as coefficient of consolidation, Cv, compression index, C, and the
coefficient of volume compressibility, mv were determined. Apart from that, the
physical and chemical properties were also determined. The result shows that the
coefficient of consolidation, Cv and the coefficient of volume compressibility, mv
show decreasing value when subjected to increment of consolidation pressure with
time. Meanwhile, the compression index, C is found to have a good correlation
between moisture content and void ratio. However, the properties and characteristics
of peats vary with their depths, locations and conditions of that particular area.


Architectural imperatives due to the slowing of Moore's Law, the broad acceptance of relaxed semantics and the O(n!) worst case verification complexity of generating sequential histories motivate a new approach to concurrent correctness. Desiderata for a new correctness condition are that it be independent of sequential histories, composable over objects, flexible as to timing, modular as to semantics and free of inherent locking or waiting. We propose Quantifiability, a novel correctness condition based on intuitive first principles. Quantifiability models a system in vector space to launch a new mathematical analysis of concurrency. The vector space model is suitable for a wide range of concurrent systems and their associated data structures. This paper formally defines quantifiablity with its system model and demonstrates useful properties such as compositionality. Analysis is facilitated with linear algebra, better supported and of much more efficient time complexity than traditional combinatorial methods. We present results showing that quantifiable data structures are highly scalable due to the usage of relaxed semantics, an explicit implementation trade-off that is permitted by quantifiability.


The article on diagnosis of leptomeningeal metastasis by Frei-lich and colleagues [ 1 J suggests that the diagnosis of malignant meningitis may be made without a positive cytology, providing the patient has "appropriate neuroimaging abnormalities" and "typical clinical features.


SUMMARY: The utilization and translocation of 14C by micro-organisms, especially fungi, was shown to occur during the decomposition of labelled plant residues in agar cultures and in soil. Utilization was demonstrated by the evolution of 14CO2 and by autoradiograms that showed 14C within micro-organisms. Translocation was indicated by labelled structures occurring on coverslips at a distance from the substrate, and by the labelling of sclerotia which had accumulated 14C preferentially nearly 1 cm. from the plant residues. Rhizoctonia solani, Trichoderma sp. and Streptomyces flavovirens, shown to be cellulolytic on cotton cellulose agar, were similarly active in agar and soil cultures containing radioactive plant residues. Labelled structures of Fusarium spp., Rhizoctonia spp., Humicolagrisea, Xylaria spp. and fungi with non-sporing dark mycelia were detected in non-sterile soil during the later stages of the decomposition of the labelled plant residues when a marked fall in carbon content was occurring. The autoradiographic technique employed here enables organisms that probably act as primary agents in the degradation of plant residues to be distinguished from those that do not.


In recent times, the Dairy industries hrve started incorporating sophisticated processing equipments with CIP cleaning systems and PLC based process automation systems. As a result, the conventional water use pattern of 3:1 is largely reduced to almost less than one against one liter of milk processing. Also, the effluent characteristics were changed with COD restricted to 4000-5000 mg/L, BOD at 2500-3500 mg/L and pH from 5.5 – 8.5. The biodegradability of Dairy effluent is 0.625 to 0.70. Any anaerobic treatment at the first stage of the effluent treatment will greatly reduce the organic load over the subsequent aerobic reactor and ultimately enhance the overall waste removal efficiency and also bring down the cost of treatment. The Fixed Bed Fixed Film anaerobic reactor is evaluated with a laboratory model (42.70 L) for the treatment of Dairy effluent. The experiment was run for three different operating conditions viz., Hydraulic Loading Rates, m3/m2.day (0.016, 0.011, 0.008, 0.005, 0.003), Organic Loading Rates, Kg COD/m2.day (0.013, 0.022, 0.031, 0.035, 0.040) and HRT, hrs (7.30, 10.95, 14.60, 21.90, 43.80). The optimum COD removal was observed for 80.88% and the biogas conversion was 0.318 m3 per Kg COD removed.


Flexible floating structures received increasing attention in recent years as support structures for floating offshore solar installations and other forms of oceans space utilization. An early example for such structures was the Mega-Float structure proposed as floating airport runway for Tokyo Bay. More recent examples can be found in the large inland floating solar parks where interconnected pontoons form a flexible floating structure. The common denominator of these structures is their small height compared to their length and width resulting in low bending stiffness in the vertical direction. Structural length being much longer than the wavelength and low bending stiffness result in large vertical deflections of the floating structures and strong hydroelastic interaction with the waves. Similar behavior can be observed for sloshing mitigation measures with flexible membranes. In this study, we investigated the wave structure interaction of a floating flexible sheet with a length to height ratio of 1000 in regular long-crested head waves in the small towing tank of Delft University of Technology. Wavelength was varied between 1/20 and 1/5 of structure length with wave steepness in the range of 0.02 to 0.05. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) was used to measure the surface elevation of the entire structure and wave elevation was measured in three different locations to provide reference data. The results show that the floating sheet mainly followed the local wave elevation and a reduction of motion amplitude was observed over the length of the structure. Further, the results reveal 3D effects of different elevation amplitude across the width of the sheet, which suggests strong interaction with the waves.


In this present methodical study, on the basis of the density functional theory (DFT), the first-principles calculations have been employed successfully to study the structural and electronic properties of N-acetyl-DL-methionine (C7H13NO3S) which is a derivative of DL-methionine which is also known DL-2-amino-4-methyl-thiobutanoic acid. Optimized molecular structure, vibrational frequencies and also 13C and 1H NMR chemical shift values of the title compound are provided in a detailed manner by using B3LYP and HSEH1PBE functionals by applying 6-311++G(d,p) basis set for calculations using Gaussian 09W program. The comparison of the calculated values with the experimental values provides important information about the title compound. In addition, the electronic properties (UV-Vis calculations) of the title compound, such as HOMO-LUMO energy values and energy gap, absorption wavelengths, oscillator strengths were performed basing on the optimized structure in gas phase. Moreover, the molecular electrostatic potential surface, dipole moment, nonlinear optical properties, linear polarizabilities and first hyperpolarizabilities and chemical parameters have also been studied.


Many bullying cases that happened in Indonesia, especially in Semarang City, became the background of this Penerangan Hukum Jaksa Masuk Sekolah Program with the theme of Anti Bullying. The program is expected to be able to change student's behavior not to do bullying actions and aware of the law applied in Indonesia towards bullying actions performed. The purpose of the program will be achieved if the instructor team has a good persuasive communication ability. Persuasive communication ability can be measured through evaluation activities held by Kejaksaan Tinggi Jawa Tengah, but in fact to achive the purpose of the program, Law Explanation Team (Tim Penerangan Hukum) has not do any evalution yet about persuasive communication that has been done. The research which aimed to evaluates the persuasive communication level of the instructors of anti bullying law explanation program uses quantitative and qualitative approach with pragmatic paradigm to help spells out the evalution results. The research with quantitative approach aimed to 167 respondents which are the audience of anti bullying law explanation program, and the research with qualitative approach aimed to 3 interviewees which are law explanation team of Kejaksaan Tinggi Jawa Tengah. The result of the research shows that instructor's persuasive communication ability level based on inventio, dispositio aspects and instructor's attractiveness development aspect are good, but the purpose to put on the anti bullying manner did not achieved. The knowledge of the audience are very low considering the material given, although the audience's affection to the program are very good, so that the audiences still do bullying. Penerangan hukum jaksa masuk sekolah team already prepare the materials well, know the characteristics of the audience, choosing a good method, and also organize verbal and non verbal message well, supported by power point the team has. The team is also good in building audience's interest, but the communication happened was not effective due to many bullying actions that still performed. Anti bullying law explanation program that has been done once in a school could not support persuasive communication in putting on anti bullying manner. It needs a continous activities to achieve the persuasive communication.


SUMMARY Previous studies have implicated the area postrema (AP) as a site responsible for the centrally mediated neurogenic effects of angiotensin II. To clarify its role further we characterized in mongrel dogs: 1) the onset and offset transients of the pressor response due to electrical stimulation of the AP; 2) the peripheral efferent autonomic pathways; and 3) the immediate and long-term hemodynamic effects of AP ablation. Large pressor responses (+30 ± 4 mm Hg) due to increased peripheral resistance were obtained at low stimulus strength (20-80 MA) via electrodes stereotaxically lowered into the area postrema. Rises in arterial pressure were due to augmented sympathetic activity because they were prevented by sympathetic ganglionic blockade. and were unaffected by either vagotomy or beta-adrenergic blockade. In conscious, trained, instrumented dogs thermocoagulation of the AP caused transient hypertension (40 ± 1%) and tachycardia. Subsequently, mild hypotension due to decreases in cardiac output and peripheral resistance was a feature persisting for 4 additional weeks of measurements. The mild changes in resting hemodynamics were associated with a large fall in the normal lability of heart rate and cardiac output sustained for the entire period of observation. The hypotensive effects of AP ablation were accompanied by significantly reduced vasoconstrictor effects of I.V. injected angiotensin II at all doses tested (0.5-5 fig). Vascular responses to I.V. norepinephrine (5-40 ng) were augmented. Since electrical stimulation causes hypertension and ablation results in sustained hypotension, the data indicate that the AP participates in the regulation of blood pressure by the central nervous system.


This letter presents a neural-network-based computational scheme for redundancy resolution of manipulators. The Tank-Hopfield (TH) network is adopted for pseudoinverse and inverse kinematics calculations and it can provide joint velocity and joint acceleration solutions within a time frame of the order of hundreds of nanoseconds. Incorporating the TH network into the redundancy resolution scheme allows planning algorithms to be implemented in real time. Simulation results for a three-link planar manipulator are presented to demonstrate that the proposed approach is efficient and practical.


The aim of this study was to analyze the issue of violence and family dynamics based on the analysis of the film "We need to talk about Kevin". The movie portrays the story of Kevin, an adolescent who plans and commits eleven murders in the school where he studied. Therefore, based on authors who talk about the issues presented and using the content analysis, was elected the following categories in the narrative of the film: 1) The Story of Kevin: the mother and child relationship; 2) Family context; 3) Adolescence; 4) Massacre. The analysis of the film highlights the need for maintaining a space for questioning the episodes such as that of Kevin, giving them the importance they certainly evoke.


A real-time particle parameter's distribution measuring method is proposed. Particles are vibrated by sinusoidal sound waves, and the speed of the vibration is detected using the optics of a conventional laser Doppler velocimeter. A small segment of detected signal is sampled, and its power spectrum is calculated. This process is repeated several times, and the results are averaged and properly restored. Then the shape of the resulting power spectrum represents the distribution of a parameter of the particles, such as the diameter. The principle, concrete construction, proper signal processings of the system, and some experimental results are shown.


Background: Reports on the relationships between white matter lesion load (WMLL) and fatigue and anxiety in multiple sclerosis (MS) are inconsistent. Objective: To investigate the association of total and tract-specific WMLL with fatigue and anxiety. Methods: Total and regional T2 WMLL was assessed for 19 tracts in 48 MS patients (30 females). ICBM-DTI-81 Atlas-based parcellation was combined with WMLL segmentation of T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Fatigue, anxiety, and depression were assessed using Fatigue Impact Scale, State Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Beck Depression Inventory, respectively. Results: Fatigue, anxiety, and depression showed significant inter-correlation. We found no association between fatigue and total or regional WMLLs, whereas anxiety was associated with total and regional WMLLs in nine tracts. After adjusting for total WMLL, age, and depression, only the column and body of the fornix (CBF) remained significantly associated with anxiety. Post hoc analyses showed no CBF lesions on T1-weighted MRI and suggested, but could not confirm, that the septum pellucidum might play a role in the pathogenesis of anxiety. Conclusion: Our results suggest that anxiety in MS patients may have a neuropathological substrate in the septo-fornical area, which requires further validation using larger sample size and ultra-high-field MRI in targeted prospective studies.


Air pollution in China comes from multiple sources, including coal consumption, construction and industrial dust, and vehicle exhaust. Coal consumption in particular directly determines the emissions of three major air pollutants: dust, sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxide (NOx). The rapidly increasing number of civilian vehicles is expected to bring NOx emission to a very high level. Contrary to expectations, however, existing data show that the concentrations of major pollutants [particulate matter-10 (PM10), SO2, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)] in several large Chinese cities have declined during the past decades, though they still exceed the national standards of ambient air quality. Archived data from China does not fully support that the concentrations of pollutants directly depend on local emissions, but this is likely due to inaccurate measurement of pollutants. Analyses on the cancer registry data show that cancer burden related to air pollution is on the rise in China and will likely increase further, but there is a lack of data to accurately predict the cancer burden. Past experience from other countries has sounded alarm of the link between air pollution and cancer. The quantitative association requires dedicated research as well as establishment of needed monitoring infrastructures and cancer registries. The air pollution-cancer link is a serious public health issue that needs urgent investigation.


In customs matters, as currently happens in other fields of EU law, access to information that is incorporated into official documents held by the customs authorities as well as access to relevant evidence is a major issue for traders, companies, and counsels. In EU customs law, there are formally no discovery proceedings to allow a trader to obtain access to relevant evidence at the pre-litigation stage. However, the EU has put in place a whole set of discovery-like proceedings under the formal umbrella of transparency and access to documents as well as under the 'loyal cooperation doctrine' and which often are as effective as real discovery proceedings. In some cases, they work even better than formal discovery proceedings, and in all cases, judicial control is guaranteed. However, because there are many such discovery-like proceedings both at the Member State and at the EU centralized level and considering that they can be combined together, a precondition for their effectiveness is that in-house and external counsels are fully acquainted with them.


Purpose: To investigate the effect of Paris polyphylla extract (PPE) on proliferation and apoptosis in A549 human lung cancer cells. Methods: Morphological changes were examined by microscopy in A549 cells after exposure to PPE. Trypan blue staining of living cells was used to aid the construction of the cell growth curve after treatment with different concentrations of PPE. The influence of PPE on cell proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle were determined by MTT assay. Protein expressions of key apoptosis-related enzymes were determined by immuno-cytochemical method. Results: PPE inhibited the growth of A549 lung cancer cells at a concentration range of 12.5 – 200.0 μg/mL. Flow cytometry revealed that PPE promoted apoptosis in A549 cells. The proportion of cells in G0/G1-phase increased significantly ( p < 0.01), while the proportion of cells in S- and G2/M-phases decreased correspondingly, indicating that the cells were in G0/G1-phase arrest. Cell cycle arrest and apoptosis-inducing effect gradually increased with increase in PPE concentration. With increasing concentration of PPE, there was significant increase in the expressions of caspase-8, caspase-3 and caspase-9, but significant decrease in Ki-67, p21ras protein ( p < 0.01). Conclusion: PPE exerts pronounced inhibitory activity on the proliferation of A549 lung cancer cells. It also induces apoptosis in A549 cells, most probably by a mechanism related to Ki-67 and p21 ras protein expression, and arrest of cell cycle in G0/G1-phase. Keywords: Paris polyphylla, Antitumor activity, Lung cancer, A549 cells, p21 ras protein expression, Caspase, Cell cycle arrest, Apoptosis


In Alzheimer's disease (AD), the functional connectome plays a key role in the trans‐neuronal spreading of tau pathology, a key driver of cognitive decline. The functional connectome is comprised of segregated, but communicating networks which lose segregation with age, resulting in an overall more diffuse connectome. Prior neuroimaging studies have found an association between weaker network segregation and faster symptom manifestation in AD, however, it is unclear if this association occurs because of a more diffuse connectome facilitating connectivity‐mediated tau spreading.


AIM
To examine the performance of non-smokers (n = 24), light smokers (n = 22, mean 6.5 cigarettes per day) and heavy smokers (n = 19, mean 23 cigarettes per day) on the Sternberg memory search task.

DESIGN
A repeated-measures, counterbalanced design was used with one between-subject factor, status (heavy, light or non-smoker) and two within-subject factors, condition (12 hours abstinence or ad libitum smoking) x time (pre- or post-cigarette).

FINDINGS
Heavy smokers in the pre-cigarette abstinent session had significantly slower reaction times, movement times and higher intercepts (a measure of factors contributing to performance other than rate of memory scan) than non-smokers. After smoking these differences were removed.

CONCLUSIONS
This suggests that rather than improving performance smoking ameliorates a deficit in certain measures of the Sternberg task produced by abstinence. Under ad libitum conditions improvements in performance were attributed to practice. Across all within-subject conditions, there were no significant main effects of smoking status, and this result was consistent with the lack of relationship between measures of saliva continine and expired air carbon monoxide and performance. These data do not support the view that non-abstinent smokers differ from non-smokers in the performance of the Sternberg memory search procedure.


1. The present paper contains an account of the methods and results of an investigation into the lunar diurnal magnetic variations at the observatories of Pavlovsk and Pola (1897-1903). This work is part of a larger undertaking, now in progress, by which I hope to obtain the data necessary for the discussion of the lunar diurnal magnetic variations over the whole earth, using the method of the Gaussian potential in a manner similar to that in which Schuster applied it to the solar diurnal magnetic variations. For this purpose data will be computed from at least three or four other observatories. The labour of computation involved is very large, and in the present instance has been executed partly by the aid of a grant from the Government Grant Committee of the Royal Society, and partly by assistance put at my disposal by the Astronomer Royal and Dr. Schuster. While the data thus obtained will, I trust, throw much new light on the theory both of the lunar and solar diurnal magnetic variations, the investigation has been undertaken not with any thought of finality in itself, but rather as an incentive to the provision of data for a more accurate and detailed discussion by subsequent workers. The reduction of the observations to the required form is, in fact, almost too great a labour for a single person to undertake if it is to be done on an adequate scale and in a reasonable time. It is in the hope, therefore, that a number of directors of magnetic observatories may be induced to carry out the reductions for their own stations that I have, in this paper, indicated what seems to me to be the simplest and most suitable method of computation for the purpose, and also some of the lines along which the discussion of the results from a single observatory should proceed. In a later paper some further points will be dealt with, in addition to the final discussion of the collected results from several observatories ; for a general review of the subject, reference may be made to my recent discussion of the previously existing data for Batavia, Bombay, and Trevandrum. A few of its main points are summarized below for the better understanding of the object of the present paper. 2. The magnetic elements undergo regular variations with the period of a lunar day, just as they do in the course of a solar day; the latter variations are much the larger of the two. The lunar diurnal changes are the simpler in character, however, taking the form, when averaged over a whole lunation, of a purely semi-diurnal wave. But if the variation is computed from a number of days all at the same lunar phase ( i. e ., when there is a definite angular distance between the sun and moon), the solar diurnal variation having first been eliminated from the observations, harmonic components of other frequencies in the lunar day are also found to be present. The epoch of the component of frequency 2 (the semi-diurnal term) remains constant throughout the lunation, but the epochs of the terms of frequency 1, (2), 3, 4, ..., n change regularly during the lunation by amounts —2π, (0), 2π, 4π, ..., 2( n - 2) π respectively. Moreover, the epochs of the various components generally seem to be nearly or quite the same at the time of new moon, when the sun and moon are on the same meridian. This law of phase change was discovered and verified by a study of the first four harmonic components; it explains the disappearance of all components of frequency other than 2 from the variation computed from a whole lunation. The phenomenon clearly suggests a solar action modifying a regular semi-diurnal lunar variation. In the paper referred to, I have shown that the law according to which the epochs of the several harmonic components change during a lunation is in accordance with the theoretical consequences of such a solar action. While the proof of this theorem might easily be stated in terms which imply no special hypothesis as to the manner in which the action takes place, it was actually given in terms of a particular theory, viz., that the effect is due to a variation, periodic in a solar day, of the electrical conductivity of the medium in which flow the currents to whose magnetic potential is attributed the variable field put in evidence by the observations. The dependence of the electrical conductivity upon solar time is accounted for if we suppose that all or part of this conductivity is due to some ionizing influence from the sun. So far as regards the facts thus mentioned, this assumption fits in naturally with a view that the lunar magnetic variations arise from the lunar tide in the earth's atmosphere in the same way as, according to Schuster's well-known theory, the solar diurnal magnetic changes arise from the ordinary daily atmospheric motions which are indicated by the barometer.


Some of the theories of nation building have been dedicated to the study of link between nation and nationalism; others are attributed to explore nation building, state building, social integration, national integration and even conflict transformation during various historical periods. However, nation building is a normative concept used by academicians and nation builders alike to study the role of armed forces in nation building in recent times. Although research has conducted on ethnicity and nation building in Nepal, a little is known about application of theoretical perspective to explore the role of Nepali Army in nation building. Apparently, this article argues that the level of theoretical awareness of academicians and nation builders needs improvement and multiple theories of nation building are relevant to explore the role of Nepali Army in nation building during various enclaves of Nepali nation. Important issues like what are the relevant theories in Nepali context to analyse nation building?
Their implication during the historical times to study the link of Nepali Army with nation building needs to be studied. Hence, this paper comparatively examines a nation building theories and their relevant implications during various enclaves of Nepali nation particularly applauding the role on Nepali Army. Conceptual framework based on Saunder's Research Onion Peeled (2007) method was used with qualitative design in a way of inductive approach to conduct the research work to investigate the research questions. Comparative document study, library research, quick survey with policy makers, government employees, professors, university students APF Officers and Army Officers based on purposive sampling method have been used. Study found that Nepali nation passes through its own way of building the nation in various enclaves, none of the theories are complete to study the employment of Nepali Army to produce visible and encouraging results. The level of theoretical awareness of academicians and nation builders needs further improvement. For this, multiple theories particularly related to social transformation, infrastructural development in support of centre to periphery relation; social integration and nationalism are appropriate.


International organizations play increasingly important parts in international relations, yet a limited legal framework governs their activities. The International Law Commission identified the issue of responsibility of international organizations as early as 1963&semic however it was not until 2001 that it included the topic in its programme of work. At present, the Commission has provisionally adopted seven articles on the topic. The starting point for a discussion of the responsibility of an international organization is the question of its conceptual status. Legal personality of an international organization, including certain rights and duties, constitutes a prerequisite for responsibility. One must recognize that there are different views on how, and to what extent, an organization is granted its powers. The widely accepted implied powers doctrine determines an organization's capacities based on functionality, which ultimately constitutes the frame for the conduct of the organization and its organs and personnel. Furthermore, some objective elements are required in order for the organization to be able to maintain its personality towards a third party. The question of attribution of conduct has constituted one of the most controversial aspects of the subject. The crucial issue as regards imputability is the determination of whether an organ or agent acts on behalf of an organization. International organizations generally have very limited resources for the performance of their functions and are often dependant on external assistance. In order to claim that conduct performed by organs placed at the disposal of an organization by a state or organization is attributable to the former organization, one needs to determine whether it has exercised effective control over the conduct in question. International organizations generally enjoy certain autonomy but can not in reality function without their member states. Thus, the issue of the responsibility of the member states for the actions of the organization is another important issue to consider in this context. Although it does not appear controversial to attribute the same conduct to an organization and one or several of its member states, it is relevant to consider whether dual attribution could lead to joint responsibility. Another issue to consider is whether the member states have a subsidiary responsibility of the organization when the latter is unable to provide for reparation. The rules of responsibility of international organizations open up to a new field of international law. In the absence of a court with a specific competence with regard to international organization, the question of a forum conveniens for future dispute-settlement arises. Although arbitration constitutes an appropriate body for such, it may become necessary to establish a permanent forum for disputes arising between organizations, or between a state and an organization.


Background Catheter-related bladder discomfort (CRBD), an extremely distressing complication secondary to an indwelling urinary catheterization, is frequently reported in patients with transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), postoperatively. A prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blind study was designed to assess the efficacy of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) as a treatment for CRBD in patients undergoing TURP. Methods Seventy benign prostatic hyperplasia male patients undergoing TURP under general anesthesia requiring intraoperative urinary catheterization were enrolled for the trial. An experienced acupuncturist performed TEAS for 30 minutes before general anesthesia with acupoints RN7, RN6, RN5, RN4, and RN3 and bilateral BL32, BL33, and BL34. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), oxygen saturation (SPO2), body temperature (T), and blood samples were collected during the surgery. A series of assessments included the incidence and severity of CRBD, postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting, and physical and mental state measurements. Results The incidence of CRBD was significantly lower in TEAS group than in control group at the time T5 [9(26%) vs. 28(80%), P < 0.001], T9 [20(57%) vs. 28(80%), P=0.039], T11 [7(20%) vs. 31(89%), P < 0.001], and T12 [4(11%) vs. 7(20%), P=0.003]. The severity of CRBD was significantly lower in TEAS group than in control group at the time T5 [0 vs. 10 (29%), P < 0.001], T9 [2(6%) vs. 10(29%), P=0.011], and T11 [0 vs .9(26%), P=0.002]. The QoR-40 total score was higher in TEAS group at time T11 [191.7(4.4) vs. 189.1(4.3), P=0.007] and T12 [195.3(1.9) vs. 193.3(3.0), P < 0.001]. The postoperative analgesia requirement was higher in control group [5.0(2.9) vs. 3.8(1.9), P=0.045]. Conclusions TEAS could significantly prevent the incidence and severity of CRBD, reduce the postoperative analgesic requirement in the early postoperative period, and promote the quality of early recovery in patients undergoing TURP.


Summary form only given. For non-resonant atomic interactions the properties of ultra-cold scattering can be accurately represented by the scattering length. When the interactions are resonant, for instance when the atoms are colliding via a Feshbach resonance, the scattering properties become strongly dependent on energy, and the scattering length approximation is no longer valid. We show that there is a limited set of parameters that fully characterizes the scattering in the ultra-cold regime, and that this description can be easily incorporated into a theory of many-body physics. In effect, it can be shown that with a Hamiltonian where the resonant bound-state is explicitly treated, the resulting many-body mean-field equations have built in the microscopic two-body coupled-channels scattering equations. We have used this many-body theory to derive a theory of resonance superfluidity, and applied it to both fermionic /sup 40/K and /sup 6/Li. Since the scattering length a does not appear as an expansion parameter of the theory it can be shown that this field theory does not break down as a goes to infinity. In fact, the theory describes the high-T/sub c/ behavior of the system and predicts a critical temperature which can be as high as half the Fermi temperature.


The conventional open gate ISFET sensor is normally very sensitive to light exposure which influences the sensor characteristics. In this study, different process conditions of ISFET were simulated using SILVACO TCAD in order to find the right doping profile which minimizes light effect. Various channels doping levels for ISFET sensor have been analyzed. Comparison with SRP samples was done in order to ensure the accuracy of the simulation output. Based on simulation results, the ISFETs were then fabricated and tested under the same intensities of light exposure and ambient temperatures. It shows that ISFET which underwent double PWELL implant and with deeper junction depth experiences lower light effect. This paper will discuss on how doping profiles affect ISFET performance with respect to light effect.


Clinically, the stable sole‐ground contact in the diet is considered as important for achieving safe swallows in the dysphagic patients. However, the effects of varied sole‐ground contacts on swallow‐related muscles activities remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sole‐ground contacts on the muscle activities during swallow for various materials; 26 healthy adult subjects participated in this study. Three different sole‐ground contact conditions were investigated; sole‐ground contact with knees bent to 90° (KB 90°), sole‐ground contact with knees bent to 135° (KB 135°), and sole‐ground off the floor (Off). Participants swallowed four bolus materials (saliva, 5‐ml water, 10‐ml water, and 5‐ml yogurt) in each sole‐ground contact condition. The muscular activities of the suprahyoid (SH) muscle and the sternocleidomastoid muscle during swallowing were detected and recorded using surface electromyography. The sole‐ground contact pressure was evaluated using the data acquisition system. Duration of SH during 10‐ml water swallow for Off was significantly longer than that for KB 90°. Duration of SH during 5‐ml yogurt swallow for Off was significantly longer than that for KB 90°. Integration of SH during 10‐ml water swallow for Off was significantly greater than that for KB 135°. Integration of SH during 5‐ml yogurt swallow for Off was significantly greater than that for KB 90°. No significant differences were found in peak of SH. Sole‐ground contact conditions had significant effect on swallow‐related muscles activities. The stable sitting positions might be more advantageous for performing effective swallows compared with less stable sitting positions.


Visual motion is the projection of scene movements on a visual sensor. It is a rich source of information for the analysis of a visual scene. Especially for dynamic vision systems the estimation of visual motion is important because it allows to deduce the motion of objects as well as the self-motion of the system relative to the environment. Therefore, visual motion serves as a basic information for navigation and exploration tasks, like obstacle avoidance, object tracking or visual scene decomposition into static and moving parts. Despite many years of progress, visual motion processing continues to puzzle the mind of researchers involved in understanding the principles of visual perception. Basic aspects such as measuring motions of spatially local entities have been widely studied. But what is most striking about motion processing is its temporal dynamics. This is obvious, because the environment perceived by a visual observer like a video camera or the human eye is highly dynamic. Moving objects enter and leave the field of view and also change the way they move, e.g. change the direction or speed. Hence, suitable assumptions about the dynamics of the visual scene and about the correlations between local moving entities are beneficial for the estimation of the scene motion as a whole. Probabilistic machine learning techniques have become very popular for early vision problems like binocular depth and optical flow computation. The reason for that popularity is because of the possibility to explicitly consider inherent uncertainties in the measurement processes and to incorporate prior knowledge about the state to be estimated. Along this line of argumentation, we present a general approach to visual motion estimation based on a probabilistic generative model that allows to infer visual motion from visual data. We start with a definition of visual motion and point out the basic problems that come along with visual motion estimation. Then, we summaries common ideas that can be found in different state-of-the-art optical flow estimation techniques and stress the need for taking uncertainty into account. Based on the ideas of already existing models we introduce a general Bayesian framework for dynamic optical flow estimation that comprises several different aspects for solving the optical flow estimation problem into one common approach. So far, the research on optical flow has mainly concentrated on motion estimations using the observation of two frames of an image sequence isolated in time. Our main concern is to stress that visual motion is a dynamic feature of an image input stream and the more visual data has been observed the more precise and detailed we can estimate and predict the motion contained in this visual


Background The paediatric cardiology HDU ward can be a busy environment with complex and often very unwell children. Ward rounds are imperative for information sharing and complex decision-making, but have traditionally been run without parental presence to maintain patient confidentiality. Parents were asked to leave their children creating problems twofold; both child and parent would be distressed at not being with the other when the child is often critically unwell, and parents would have to track down doctors for clinical updates and management plans. We proposed the use of noise-cancelling headphones for use during the ward round to maintain confidentiality, whilst keeping parents by their child's bedside. Objectives To understand and evaluate the current HDU parental experience. To implement a strategy to improve the HDU experience. To evaluate the change. Methods Two questionnaires were constructed to collect retrospective and prospective data. Telephone discussions with parents of children who were admitted during July-August 2019 took place to answer the questionnaire before the implementation of headphones. Anonymised paper questionnaires were given to parents of children admitted during September-October 2019, when headphones were being used. Headphones were given to all parents present in HDU to be worn at all times, apart from when their child was being reviewed so they could contribute. Doctors and nurses on the cardiology ward were also given a questionnaire for their opinions about how headphones have altered working practice. Results Prior to implementation, all parents were asked to leave ward round at some point during admission (100%, n=7). After headphone implementation, 90% of parents were invited to stay (n=12). Parents were most thankful for the support they were able to provide for their child constantly during ward round, and the ease at which they were able to gather information from the medical team about their childs' progress so far and subsequent plans. Staff results mirrored parental responses, indicating enhanced confidentiality and parental inclusion in ward round discussions were key positive factors following implementation. Conclusions Implementing headphones enabled parents to engage with ward rounds. In a busy environment with complex and unwell children, we should do our utmost to reduce patient and parental anxiety, and help empower parents in challenging times. This holistic approach is imperative to a positive patient journey and good rounded compassionate care.


Positive reinforcement procedures have had a major impact on educational programs for the developmentally disabled; nevertheless, variation in reinforcer effectiveness both within and across individuals is a common phenomenon. This study examined one class of variables--establishing operations--that might influence the effectiveness of reinforcers. Five developmentally disabled adult males participated. Responding on one of two motor tasks--switch closure or block placement--was assessed during baseline, satiation, and deprivation conditions with respect to three classes of consequences: small food items, music, and social praise. Deprivation and satiation conditions were constructed so as not to alter significantly the normal course of events in a subject's day. For example, food deprivation entailed scheduling sessions just prior to a subject's regular lunch, and social deprivation involved limiting a subject's access to social interaction for 15 minutes, during which time the subject had access to an assortment of other activities. Results showed that each stimulus class functioned as reinforcement with different degrees of effectiveness during satiation versus deprivation conditions. These results are discussed in light of previous research on enhancement of reinforcer efficacy as well as the assessment and identification of functional reinforcers, and implications are presented for future research and client habilitation.


INTRODUCTION Although using color in print documents is no longer as uncommon as it was when Jan V. White's popular article, "Color: The Newest Tool for Technical Communicators," appeared in Technical communication in 1991, many of us still do not feel comfortable in using it. Most of us technical communicators did not go to design school, thereby acquiring a nuanced understanding of color theory. Similarly, many of us have not worked in professional print shops, thereby acquiring a keen understanding of printer output. Even the textbooks we read in technical communication courses usually devote just one or two pages to color (Reep 2006, 158–159; Smith-Worthington and Jefferson 2005, 152–153). Although most of us are not as "chromophobic" as we once were, we may lack background knowledge about color and, therefore, lack confidence in our choices. As technical communicators, we realize that we should know something about color theory so that we can choose colors and color combinations that increase documents' usability. We know that color can do more than just dress a document or create visual interest. We also realize that we should know something about the practice of using color effectively and methods of obtaining the colors we intend. In this article, I expand on White's important article (so important that it was republished in STC's fiftieth anniversary issue of Technical communication in 2003). From White's focus on the practice of creating usable documents, I zoom out to discuss a broader spectrum of both theory and practice related to color in technical communication, particularly in relation to print documents. That is, in this article, I examine research and best practices to provide some of that confidence-building background knowledge about color. THEORY AND PRACTICE OF COLOR On a very basic level, we can divide our understanding of color into two categories: theory and practice. Color theory informs us, helping us understand underlying, universal principles that govern all situations. Color practice directs us, telling us how to use color most effectively. Figure 1 diagrams theoretical and practical knowledge about color that is of interest to technical communicators. White (2003) focused mainly on four branches of this diagram; these four fall under the "creating usable documents" node (and appear in italics in Figure 1). This article discusses the rest of the branches—more considerations about color for technical communicators.


Rapid adaptation to their hosts' defence systems usually allows parasites to keep the upper hand in the co-evolutionary arms race between hosts and parasites. However, although morphological and physiological adaptations are generally far slower in hosts than in their parasites, the former can rapidly respond to a parasite challenge by dispersal-related, adaptive changes in their behaviour. We investigated whether the drywood termite Cryptotermes secundus altered its behaviour in response to an infestation with parasitic, astigmatic mites. The frequency of the vital, dispersal-related behaviours allogrooming and proctodeal trophallaxis did not differ between colonies or between individuals with mites compared to without mites. However, activity levels were lower in mite-infested colonies and individuals spent more time resting and feeding when mites were present in the colony, irrespective of whether they were infested themselves or not. This behavioural pattern shown by individuals from infested mite-colonies is known to be associated with a development of C. secundus workers into winged dispersing sexuals. As dispersing individuals were less likely to have mites, this behavioural response to the mites' infestation might be an adaptive response to escape the deteriorating nest conditions.


In this paper, a 4.2-5.4 GHz, -Gm LC voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) for IEEE 802.11a standard is presented. The circuit is designed with AMS 0.35 mum SiGe BiCMOS process that includes high-speed SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). Phase noise is -110.7 dBc/Hz at 1MHz offset from 5.4 GHz carrier frequency and -113.5 dBc/Hz from 4.2 GHz carrier frequency. A linear, 1200 MHz tuning range is obtained utilizing accumulation-mode varactors. Phase noise is relatively low due to taking the advantage of differential tuning concept. Output power of the fundamental frequency changes between 4.8 dBm and 5.5 dBm depending on the tuning voltage. The circuit draws 2 mA without buffers and 14.5 mA from 2.5 V supply including buffer circuits leading to a total power dissipation of 36.25 mW. The circuit occupies an area of 0.6 mm2 on Si substrate including RF and DC pads.


Students often find mechanics a difficult area to grasp. This paper describes an equation of motion for a waggling conical pendulum. A wide range of pendulum dynamics can be simulated with this model. The equation of motion is embedded in a graphical user interface (GUI) for its numerical solution in MATLAB. This allows a student's focus to be on the influence of different parameters on the pendulums dynamics. The simulation tool can be used as a dynamics demonstrator in a lecture or as an educational tool driven by the imagination of the student. By way of demonstration, the simulation tool has been applied to two damped pendulums and an inverted damped pendulum. The model has also been used to simulate resonance and has shown that there is a wide range of behaviour possible depending on the type of forcing applied. Finally, a forced conical pendulum as a system for harnessing wave energy is considered.


Week-long course relating to negotiation and conflict management theory, with application by course attendees in a group-based week-long simulation of a negotiation/conflict management situation. Lectures on negotiation and conflict management concepts/practices, and exploration of creativity/creative tools to address conflict and gain greater insight into conflict situations.
Pre-in-residence course paper; in-residence simulation, presentation, and group paper; post- in-residence major individual assignment.


Long-term instrumental measurements of the 1-100GeV/nucleon cosmic radiation intensity commenced in the 1930s using ionization chambers, and in 1951 using neutron monitors. Together, they showed that the cosmic-ray intensity at Earth varies in response to short-term (<1 year) and the 11-year changes in solar activity. B. Peters predicted in 1955 that the production of the cosmogenic isotopes in the Earth's atmosphere, and their subsequent storage in terrestrial archives, had provided a record of the cosmic-ray intensity prior to the commencement of instrumental measurements. The most abundant cosmogenic nuclides, Be and C, with half-lives of 1.5 × 10 and 5730 years, respectively, are well-suited to this purpose, and by the mid-1990s there were comprehensive archives of both nuclides extending over the past 50,000 years (C in tree rings and marine and lake sediments) and several over 100,000 years (Be in polar ice cores and sediments).


This book chapter reviews 14 retrospective surveys inquiring into respondent's child abuse experiences and whether they ever disclosed abuse as children. I discuss the advantages of retrospective surveys (representativeness, reduced likelihood of false allegations, reduced suspicion bias). However, I also emphasize the likelihood of survey reluctance, and explain how this biases upwards estimates of abuse victims' prior disclosure. If respondents who previously disclosed abuse are more likely to acknowledge abuse to a surveyor than respondents who never previously disclosed abuse, respondents who acknowledge abuse are disproportionately likely to be those who have previously disclosed. Difficulties notwithstanding, the research supports the proposition that most sexual abuse is not disclosed during childhood, and that, indeed, disclosure is difficult even for older respondents, particularly so in cases of intrafamilial abuse.


Objective:
In this study, we evaluated the management of cervical intraepithelial
neoplasia (CIN) in pregnant women and evaluated the postpartum prognosis.
Methods: Twenty-four pregnant women, who were diagnosed with CIN at Ehime
University Hospital between January 2008 and October 2012, were recruited. The
mode of delivery and pathophysiological examination results in the postpartum
period were evaluated. Results: Four patients were antenatally diagnosed with
either CIN1 or CIN2. Of these patients, CIN regressed or remained stable during
pregnancy, and there was no disease progression in the postpartum period.
Nine patients were diagnosed with severe dysplasia (CIN3) and eleven patients
had carcinoma in situ (CIS). Of these
patients, 5/9 (55%) and 4/11 (36%), respectively, had disease regression
postnatally. No CIN lesion progressed to invasive carcinoma after delivery. Conclusions: We determined that many cases diagnosed antenatally with CIN regressed
during the postpartum period, regardless of the grade of CIN. We recommend a
conservative management strategy with careful ante- and postpartum
examinations for pregnant women with CIN.


Background and aims It is known that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been closely linked to hypertension and is considered an important stressor. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) is major component involved in stress response. However, response of HPA axis to OSA effects may be variable. Thus, the aim of this study is to estimate HPA axis hormonal profile in OSA and non-OSA adolescents with essential hypertension (EH). Methods We examined 38 adolescents with EH (18 OSA patients – the 1-rst group, 20 non-OSA patients – the 2-nd group) aged 14–17 years, all male. OSA was verified by overnight polysomnography in the sleep laboratory applying system GRASS-TELEFACTOR Twin PSG (Comet, USA) if apnea-hypopnea index was>5/hr. EH was diagnosed with 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring using monitor Oscar 2 for OXFORD Medilog Prima. Demographic and anthropometric data were routinely collected. Three overweight patients were excluded from this study. Hormonal status, including TSH, PRL and cortisol, were routinely collected using an automatic analyzer Immunotest-800 (Russia) and test-system Dias (Russia). All differences were considered significant at p<0.05. Results OSA hypertensive boys did not significantly differ from non-OSA participants in age and body mass index. There were statistically significant differences in morning serum cortisol and TSH levels of OSA adolescents (745,8±6,4 nmol/L versus 493,2±3,2 nmol/L in non-OSA participants, and 1,95±0,9 mkME/ml versus 1,5±0,2 mkME/ml, respectively, p<0,05 ). Morning serum PRL level in the both groups no statistically significant differences, but there is a trend towards its increasing in OSA adolescents with EH (482,8±4,2 mME/L in the 1-rst group and 442,2±4,1 mME/L in the 2-nd group). Conclusions The results of this study indicate for chronic stress if OSA in adolescents with EH is present. This is due to the influence of sleep fragmentation and intermittent hypoxia on HPA axis with compensatory stress-related hormones release. Such intra systemic changes suggest the prevalence of sanogenetic above pathogenetic mechanisms for OSA in adolescents.


Dental Enamel is the hardest mineralized tissue in the human body which is comprised of nanorod-like hydroxyapatite crystals arranged into a highly organized micro-architectural unit called an enamel prism. In this paper the direct growth of human enamel-like structures on human tooth using fluorapatite/phosphoric acid pastes is explored. SEM images show that the newly formed calcium phosphate crystals can be self-assembled into a similar ordered microstructure as those seen in human enamel. The mechanism of how these structures form is discussed. This work demonstrates the potential of applying nanotechnology to regenerate dental enamel clinically without cells.


This paper is an introductory exploration of the notion of 'forms of life' in the later philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. The notion of 'forms of life' is central to understanding Wittgenstein's later philosophy. Even though this is the case, there have been a variety of interpretations of this notion in the literature on Wittgenstein's thought. In part this is due to Wittgenstein's infrequent reference to 'forms of life'. The term 'form of life' only appears five times in the Philosophical Investigations, the central text of Wittgenstein's later philosophy. It is a point of debate whether the notion of 'forms of life' commits Wittgenstein to a form of relativism. This paper explores this problem. We argue that it is entirely possible for members of different conceptual communities to engage in dialogue with each other on Wittgenstein's view. We argue that Wittgenstein was not a cognitive relativist. Wittgenstein's conviction was that truth is bound to this complicated form of life, or the fundamentally human perspective. His view of truth remains perspectival. Members of different conceptual communities can enter into dialogue. Other 'forms of life' are available to "us" and members of diverse groups can change their views.


BACKGROUND
To study the proliferation-inhibiting and apoptosis-inducing effects of recombinant human endostatin on both human umbilical vein endothelial cell ECV304 and fibroblast WI-38, and to investigate the efficacy, specificity and possible mechanisms of cell proliferation-inhibiting effect of endostatin.

METHODS
The different cells were cultured for a period of time in different kinds of culture fluids containing endostatin. The modality of the cells, proliferation-inhibiting rate and apoptosis degree were observed by MTT-cell proliferation detection and ELISA-cell death detection methods.

RESULTS
Recombinant human endostatin strikingly inhibited ECV304 cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, with an ED₅₀ value range from 15 to 20μg/ml, and it also strongly induced ECV304 cell apoptosis ( enrichment factor 2. 44) . No similar results were obtained in WI-38 cell.

CONCLUSIONS
Recombinant human endostatin can inhibit vascular endothelial cell proliferation specifically, and one of the possible mechanisms may be its apoptosis-inducing effect.


A map of Table Bay showing the position of eleven ships before and after the gale, including the position of the five ships that were wrecked, with the changing direction of the wind as observed at the Royal Observatory and thechanging direction of the sea observed at the Harbour Works. The shoreline shows Somerset Hospital, a laboratory, the convict station, the breakwater, the outer basin and Alfred Basin, Amsterdam Battery and magazine, Somerset Road, the Castel, the Military Hospital, Fort Knockke, the Craig Tower and Battery and the Salt River. Some colour. Relief shown by hachures. Scale 1 inch to 1000 feet.


Purpose This study examines the influences of bank-specific and macroeconomic determinants on liquidity on 29 listed commercial banks of Bangladesh.
Methods To analyze the relationship, this study performs Pooled Ordinary Least Square method, fixed and random effect estimates, and implemented GLS random effect method on strongly balanced panel dataset over 2014 to 2019. Capital adequacy, nonperforming loans, and profitability are considered bank-specific factors while GDP, Monetary policy interest rate, and Interest rate spread are considered the macroeconomic factors.
Results Business cycle and monetary policy interest rate inversely affected bank liquidity. Contrary, bank liquidity has a positive association with profitability, nonperforming loans, capital adequacy, and interest rate spread. According to the findings, capital adequacy and business cycle have a significant impact on liquidity.
Implications This study has significant implications for bankers, consumers, and policymakers. The banking sector of Bangladesh will highly be benefited from this research as this paper critically analyzes the determinants of banks' liquidity risk. This research will help the banks and other financial institutions to understand the effect of capital adequacy, nonperforming loans on liquidity in the Bangladeshi context. This study infers that banks need to monitor the factors cautiously to avoid the liquidity crisis in the future.
Originality There are a few studies that examine these determinants with liquidity in the Bangladeshi context. This remarks the significance of the present paper as this study put an attempt to analyze bank-specific and macroeconomic determinants with bank liquidity in the Bangladeshi context has been conducted within a limited scope.


This paper introduces a CAD environment for design-space exploration of coarse grain reconfigurable KressArray architectures and similar platforms, To find an optimal solution to a given application domain this KressArray Xplorer supports experimenting with different architectures. An estimator analyses the input and suggests an architecture onto which then the application is mapped using an heuristic algorithm. A graphic editor supports user interaction. The system generates performance analysis data, which is used by an automatic tool to refine the result iteratively.