A total of 56 Gram negative bacterial isolates were recovered from twenty ground beef samples and were screened for their potentiality to produce lipase. Forty four bacterial isolates were recorded as positive producers for lipase on tween as carbon source in solid medium. Also, the highly producer isolates were screened for lipase activity in submerged culture using olive oil as carbon and the most active isolate was 2043 which gave an activity of 20.0 ± 0.29 U/ml. The bacterial isolate 2403 was identified phenotypically according to Bergey's Manual and genotypically using 16S rRNA genes analysis as Pseudomonas monteilli. Effect of some different factors on lipase activity were studied and the maximum lipase activity was achieved at reaction medium of pH 6 and incubated at 40°C for 60 min. Also, addition of Ba2+ in the reaction medium enhanced the lipase activity, while the other tested metals reduced the enzyme activity.

 Key words: Food contamination, lipase activity, olive oil, cultural conditions, Pseudomonas.


This study examines the uncharted area of Court judgments finding no violations of the ECHR. After a statistical analysis of the Court's contemporary decision–making the study considers the types of rights being asserted in cases where the Grand Chamber eventually determined that no violations of the Convention took place. Then a detailed scrutiny of those judgments identifies a number of factors explaining why the Court may find no violations to have occurred. Conclusions are drawn as to the importance of the margin of appreciation doctrine in this area.


In a tactical-edge environment, where multiple weapon resources are coordinated together via services, it is essential to make an efficient binding between an abstract service and a resource that are needed to execute composite services for accomplishing a given mission. However, the tactical network that is used in military operation has low bandwidth and a high rate of packet loss. Therefore, communication overhead between services must be minimized to execute composite services in a stable manner in the tactical network. In addition, a tactical-edge environment changes dynamically, and it affects the connectivity and bandwidth of the tactical network. To deal with these characteristics of the tactical network we propose two service-resource reallocation methods which minimize the communication overhead between service gateways and effectively manage neutralization of gateways during distributed service coordination. We compared the effectiveness of these two methods in terms of total communication overhead between service gateways and resource-allocation similarity between the initial resource allocation and the reallocation result.


This study analyzes rural restructuring and its sustainability in rural Bavaria, Germany, using the example of Unterjoch, which is located in a mountain region. In Unterjoch, the sustainable rural system has been characterized by more extensive and differentiated land use since the 1990s. In general, the intensive use of rural land has led to pluriactivity in rural Europe. A recent trend is the attraction of rural tourism.Until the 1980s farmers achieved pluriactivity by combining intensive farming in arable land accompanied by price support, guest house management and service sector employment in urban areas. But intensive farming degraded arable land that played an important role, not only for production, but also for attracting rural tourism. At the same time, the number of overnight guests decreased, and the number of day-trip guests increased in Unterjoch. In addition, since the 1990s the EU has worked out a policy to reduce price supports for farmers and restrict the overuse of arable land by reforming CAP (Common Agricultural Policy).In response to these socio-economic changes, farmers in Unterjoch diversified pluriactivity by adding organic farming and direct marketing for the purpose of sustaining arable land as the space for production and attraction to rural tourists. Farmers started to use arable land extensively for organic farming. Furthermore, they re-used and diversified mountainous land in the Alp, abandoned during the productivist era, according to the standards of the organic certification group. In addition, farmers restructured the system in which they produce and sell agricultural product that utilize local resources. Moreover, farmers are now able to receive subsidies from agro-environmental policies in spite of the reduction of price supports owing to the reform of CAP.From the view point of community-based development, the vertical differentiation of spatial use makes it possible for farm and tourism-oriented management to co-exist with a common purpose of sustaining rural space for tourism. The area for farm-oriented management is made up of arable land and mountainous land in the Alp, whereas the area for tourism-oriented management consists of arable land and housing. As a result, a community-based development model named 'Oko-modell Hindelang' is promoted, which is designed to promote the extensive use of arable land for sustaining the attraction of rural tourists and direct the marketing of agricultural products to rural tourists.


Removal of Cd(II) ions from aqueous solutions via adsorption using raw and acid-modified cassava tuber bark waste was investigated in a batch process. Effects of contact time, solution pH, temperature and initial Cd(II) ions concentrations on the sorption yield was evaluated. Optimum adsorption conditions were found to be pH of 5.5 and 5.0 for raw cassava tuber bark waste (RCTBW) and modified cassava tuber bark waste (MCTBW) respectively, initial Cd(II) ions concentration of 100 mg/L, temperature of 40 o C and contact time of 60 mins. The sorption process conformed Freundlich isotherm than the Langmuir isotherm. Kinetic studies showed that the uptake of Cd(II) ions by both adsorbents followed the Largergren pseudo-first-order kinetic model. FT-IR study showed the involvement of -OH, -NH, C=O, COOH and –C-N functional group in the sorption process. Thus, cassava tuber bark waste demonstrated excellent property as an adsorbent materials for the removal of Cd(II) ions from aqueous solutions.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) δ is reported to be deeply implicated in the process of colon carcinogenesis. However, the crosstalk between PPARδ in colon cancer cells and a hypoxic tumor microenvironment is not entirely understood. Hypoxia (<1% O2) and deferoxamine (a hypoxia mimetic) induced the expression of tumor-promoting cytokines, IL-8 and VEGF, in colon cancer cells (HCT116). In contrast, the induction of IL-8 and VEGF by hypoxic stress was greatly attenuated in PPARδ-knockout HCT116 cells. Consistently, while HCT116 cells stimulated with hypoxic stress were able to promote the vascular formation of endothelial cells and the migration of macrophages, the capacity of PPARδ-knockout HCT116 cells to induce angiogenesis and macrophage activation was greatly attenuated. Hypoxic stress enhanced DNA binding activity of PPARδ in HCT116 cells showing PPARδ transactivation was stimulated by hypoxic stress. Overexpression of p300 enhanced deferoxamine-induced transcriptional activation of PPARδ whereas siRNA knockdown of p300 decreased deferoxamine-induced PPARδ transactivation. Inhibition of PI3K/Akt pathway by LY294002 or siRNA-Akt resulted in the decrease of PPARδ transactivation induced by hypoxia and deferoxamine in HCT116 cells. Collectively, the results show that PPARδ plays a role in hypoxic stress-induced cytokine expression in colon cancer cells, leading to the promotion of angiogenesis and macrophage activation in the tumor microenvironment. p300 and the PI3K/Akt pathway participate in the regulation of hypoxic stress-mediated PPARδ transactivation in colon cancer cells. Our results suggest that the positive crosstalk between PPARδ in colon cancer cells and hypoxia in tumor microenvironment aggravate and accelerate the progress of tumorigenesis.

Citation Format: Joo Young Lee, Eunshil Jeong, Jung Eun Koo, Sang Hyun Yeon. Hypoxic stress enhances tumorigenic potential of PPARδ in colon cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 497. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-497


Author(s): Chanthery, Yvan Hathu | Advisor(s): Weiss, William A; Werb, Zena | Abstract: The MYCN transcription factor and proto-oncogene contributes to a broad range of pediatric tumors including neuroblastoma, the most common extracranial solid tumor of childhood. Amplification of MYCN occurs in ~25% of neuroblastoma and is associated with high-risk disease in which survival is less than 20%. Tumor angiogenesis is prominent in neuroblastoma and contributes to metastasis, with increased microvascular density also associated inversely with survival. We hypothesize that angiogenesis in neuroblastoma is triggered in-part by MYCN, that stabilization of MYCN is enhances by PI3K/mTOR and miR-17~92 activations, and that destabilization of MYCN contributes to the efficacy of PI3K inhibitors. In the first part, we show that NVP-BEZ235 decreased angiogenesis and tumor progression. Using both gain and loss of function approaches, we validate that the efficacy of NVP-BEZ235 depends greatly on stability of MYCN.In the second part, we demonstrate that MYCN stability is enhanced through activation of miR-17~92 (a transcriptional target of MYCN); this in-turn induces a feed forward loop, leading to a highly aggressive pathology of MYCN-driven neuroblastoma. Altogether, these observations argue that NVP-BEZ235 should be tested in children with high-risk, MYCN amplified cancers.


Advances in the syntactic parsing of written language have proceeded apace in the last few decades, but much less progress has been made in the syntactic parsing of spoken language. Here, we address one question important for such progress: how can we bring prosody in to inform syntactic parsing of spoken language? We identify and take on two key challenges: (i) explicitly defining aspects of the syntax–prosody interface, including prosodic trees, and (ii) modeling distinct contributions of syntax to conditioning prosodic events, including aspects other than relations between syntactic and prosodic domain edges, such as prosodic reflexes of spell-out. We demonstrate a proof-of-concept implementation of simultaneous (post-)syntactic and prosodic parsing of a Samoan utterance, with syntactic parsing informed by prosody, and prosodic parsing informed by syntax.


The act to boost nation building is not separated from the role of a political actor who represents a country. Donald Trump's decision to finally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is very contrary to US foreign policy over the past 7 decades, which makes it controversial. This raises questions about the dominance of power over a figure of the President of United States in representing his role as a political actor. This research aims to analyze the dominance of power over a figure of Donald Trump as The President of United States through his official presidential speech on recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Using a discourse analysis by Teun A. Van Dijk, this research is done by analyzing structures of language based on the full transcript of the video, as The basic assumption of the study of critical discourse is that the language used for various functions has various consequences, whether it is governing, influencing, deciphering, filing, manipulating moving groups or persuading. It can also be implied that certain statement of a powerful political leader can be used to support nation building, in this case is the United States as a superpower.

Keywords: domination, power, Trump, nation building, United States, discourse, Van Dijk


We consider the language of CSP extended with a construct that allows processes to test whether a particular event is available (w ithout actually performing the event). We present an operational semantics for this language, together with two congruent denotational semantic models. We also show how this extended language can be simulated using standard CSP, so as to be able to analyse systems using the model checker FDR.


Alongside the ever growing theoretical literature on men and masculinity, it remains important to offer accounts of men that are located within men's own experience. This paper presents evidence on men's lives and their attitudes to work in the Republic of Ireland. Recently Ireland has experienced one of the most dramatic economic transformations in Western Europe. However, regardless of the longevity of such economic change, a sizeable part of the Irish population has not benefited from this economic success. Although unemployment has fallen, men make up over seventy per cent of those still unemployed. Using data collected from 170 Irish men, during 1998 and 1999, this paper contributes to gender debates by documenting and exploring how men experience working life in Ireland.


A novel low-cost sensor system for the measurement of low angular or linear speed is presented. The sensing element consists of a noncontact resistive potentiometer. The applied sliding electrode does not make mechanical contact with the resistive layer. The processing circuit consists of a very linear oscillator which converts the position quantity to a period-modulated signal. This signal can be directly read out by a microcontroller. A novel algorithm is presented which can eliminate or strongly reduce the influence of the many nonidealities, and which results in a short measurement time. The resolution of the low-cost angular speed sensor system is about 8/spl times/10/sup -2/ r/min in a measurement time of only 80 ms. The angular range is limited by the potentiometer geometry and the finite size of the sliding electrode, and typically amounts to about 270/spl deg/. The sensor system also indicates the moving direction.


Although the philosophy of Muhammad Iqbal is highly original, it reflects a strong and pervading presence of Romanticism. Correspondingly, literary critics have drawn similarities between the English Romantics and Iqbal on a number of thematic concerns, in particular, their appreciation for nature. There is, however, a notable absence of discussions on the role that imagination in the two philosophies. This paper aims to discuss the ways in which Iqbal extends the primary position given by the English Romantics to imagination in order to assert the importance of intuition. In doing so, the Romantic ideal of the heroic person as one who has unattainable wants brought about by his imagination, is transformed in Iqbal's poetry into an individual's struggle to fulfill his almost impossible desire to have an intuitive closeness to and knowledge of Allah (s.w.t) and the resulting intensity of love that the narrator has for his Creator.


The bacterial sigma54 RNA polymerase holoenzyme binds to promoters as a stable closed complex that is silent for transcription unless acted upon by an enhancer-bound activator protein. Using DNA binding and transcription assays the ability of the enhancer-dependent sigma54 holoenzyme to interact with promoter DNA containing various regions of heteroduplex from -12 to -1 was assessed. Different DNA regions important for stabilising sigma54 holoenzyme-promoter interactions, destabilizing binding, limiting template utilisation in activator-dependent transcription and for stable binding of a deregulated form of the holoenzyme lacking sigma54 Region I were identified. It appears that homoduplex structures are required for early events in sigma54 holoenzyme promoter binding and that disruption of a repressive fork junction structure only modestly deregulates transcription. DNA opening from -5 to -1 appears important for stable engagement of the holoenzyme following activation. The regulatory Region I of sigma54 was shown to be involved in interactions with the sequences in the -5 to -1 area.


High coverage whole genome DNA-sequencing enables identification of somatic structural variation (SSV) more evident in paired tumor and normal samples. Recent studies show that simultaneous analysis of paired samples provides a better resolution of SSV detection than subtracting shared SVs. However, available tools can neither identify all types of SSVs nor provide any rank information regarding their somatic features. In this paper, we have developed a Bayesian framework, by integrating read alignment information from both tumor and normal samples, called BSSV, to calculate the significance of each SSV. Tested by simulated data, the precision of BSSV is comparable to that of available tools and the false negative rate is significantly lowered. We have also applied this approach to The Cancer Genome Atlas breast cancer data for SSV detection. Many known breast cancer specific mutated genes like RAD51, BRIP1, ER, PGR and PTPRD have been successfully identified.


OBJECTIVES
This report presents trends in rates of cesarean delivery and rates of vaginal birth after previous cesarean (VBAC) delivery for 1991-99. Data for the United States showing trends by maternal age, race/ethnicity, and State are presented. Also trends in cesarean rates by selected maternal characteristics, medical risk factors, and complications of labor and/or delivery are shown. A brief explanation of the Healthy People 2010 objective regarding cesarean and VBAC rates for low-risk women is also included. Summary statistics for 2000 based on preliminary data are also included, but most tabular and text information is based on detailed final statistics for 1999.

METHODS
Cesarean and VBAC rates were computed based on the information reported on birth certificates.

RESULTS
The U.S. cesarean rate dropped 8 percent between 1991 and 1996 (from 22.6 to 20.7 per 100 births) but then increased 6 percent between 1996 and 1999 (to 22.0); preliminary data show that the rate increased again by 4 percent between 1999 and 2000 (to 22.9). The decline between 1991 and 1996 was present for women of all ages but was most pronounced for those under 30 years of age. The decline was greatest for non-Hispanic white women, 10 percent, compared with a 7-percent decline for Hispanic women and only a 1-percent decline for non-Hispanic black women. All groups experienced increases in cesarean rates of about 6 to 7 percent between 1996 and 1999. The increase in cesarean rates between 1996 and 1999 was greatest for women 30 years of age and over. The VBAC rate increased 33 percent between 1991 and 1996 (from 21.3 to 28.3 per 100 births to women with a previous cesarean) but then fell 17 percent between 1996 and 1999 (to 23.4). The dramatic increase in VBAC rates between 1991 and 1996, followed by the subsequent decline, was experienced by women of all ages and for each major race/ethnicity group. Similar trends in cesarean rates were present for nearly all States and for most medical risk factors and complications of labor and/or delivery.


A low initial rate of the culture growth is an obligatory condition for intensive biosynthesis of tetracycline by Act. aureofaciens in batch fermentations. The mineral phosphorus concentration is a factor limiting the growth rate. Under conditions of model experiments, the maximum specific rate of the culture growth equaled to 0.07--0.08 hours-1 was observed in the presence of at least 40 gamma/ml of phosphorus: such a rate correlated with the mycelium productivity equaled to 0.40--0.42 gamma/mg/hour. Cultures growing at a rate of 0.02--0.03 hours-1 were most productive (4.8--4.2 gamma/mg/hour). Such a rate was attained at the phosphorus concentration of 25--30 gamma/ml.


277 patients treated by radio iodine for Graves' disease were observed during a one to twenty three years period. 24 % relapse, always during the first three years. Hypothyroidism is ineluctable : 20 % from the first year and 3,4 % more each year. Goiter increases the delay for hypothyroidism occurrence. There is no linkage between hypothyroidism and radio iodine dose. Radio iodine does not cure graves' disease but give a "non hypo-non hyper" status, before secondary hypothyroidism.


The properties of the contact materials Ag/CdO, Ag/SnO/sub 2/, Ag/Ni, Ag/C, and Ag/W are discussed on the basis of the metallurgical processes occurring due to the interaction of an electric arc with the contact material. In the case of Ag/CdO and Ag/SnO/sub 2/, the arc erosion behavior is characterized by the interplay between decomposition of the oxide component (energy consumption) and viscosity effects due to the oxide particles in suspension in the silver melt. With Ag/Ni the process of dissolution and reprecipitation of the Ni appears to be the dominant factor. The switching behavior of Ag/C is largely governed by the combustion reaction between the graphite particles and the oxygen of the atmosphere. The erosion resistance of Ag/W and Ag/WC, respectively, is mainly brought about by the high melting point of the W or WC component. By means of selected examples taken from the authors' research work and field experience, it is pointed out how the contact properties are influenced by the metallurgical mechanisms involved. It is shown that every material with a special advantage in one particular property also has a pronounced disadvantage in some other properties. >


Nonlinear theories of elasticity describe rubber deformation but not failure; however, in reality, rubbers do fail. In the present work, we review a new approach of energy limiters that allows for unifying hyperelasticity theories with failure descriptions, and we discuss results of this unification. First, we introduce the energy limiter concept, which allows the enforcement of failure descriptions in elasticity theories. The limiter provides the saturation value for the strain energy, hence indicating the maximal energy that may be stored and dissipated by an infinitesimal material volume. The limiter is a material constant that can be calibrated via macroscopic experiments. Second, we illustrate the new approach with examples in which failure initiation is predicted but its propagation is not tracked. Examples include the problems of crack initiation, cavity instability, and rupture of inflating membranes. In addition, the traditional strength-of-materials criteria are reassessed. Third, the theory is used for three-dimensional explicit finite element simulations of a high-velocity penetration of a stiff elastic body into a rubber plate. These simulations show that a high-velocity penetration of a flat projectile leads to a diffused nonlocal failure, which does not trigger the mesh sensitivity. To the contrary, a low-velocity penetration of a sharp projectile leads to a highly localized cracklike failure, which does trigger the mesh sensitivity. Calculation of the characteristic length of failure localization allows for setting the mesh size that provides regularization of the simulations. The fact that the calculation is based on results of solely macroscopic experiments is noteworthy. [doi:10.5254/rct.13.87948]


Through this work I wanted to conduct an empirical research of the evolution of the utilization of geothermal water over the last 15 years in Bihor county, from activities that use low temperature geothermal water such as leisure baths to activities for obtaining electricity through high temperature geothermal water. Geothermal energy holds an important place among the renewable energy resources together with wind energy, solar energy, hydro energy and energy obtained from biomass. One of the advantages of using geothermal water for the purpose of obtaining energy is the fact that there is a reduced amount of waste and there are not any additional costs for waste depositing or for the environmental pollution. Up until the end of the last century geothermal energy was used especially from leisure baths or balneology to greenhouse heating or residential spaces and district heating. There were identified geothermal water resources in over 80 countries and the resources were registered in 58 of these countries. The continual growth of global requirements and tendencies concerning the obtaining of electrical energy out of non-polluting sources and without generating gas with greenhouse effects, led to investments in technologies that obtain electricity out of geothermal waters with temperatures over 100 degrees Celsius (after 2000). In Bihor County the main usage of geothermal waters was for leisure baths and balneology in Baile Felix and 1 May Resorts. After 2000, the usage of geothermal water expanded for leisure baths through the construction or modernization of certain pools in Marghita, Madaras and Sarcau. The activity of heating up residential districts in 2000 was in primary state. Due to the involvement of Transgex SA, one of the main companies in the area that exploits geothermal water on a national level and through the Oradea City Hall contest and the mayors of Beius, Salonta, Marghita, Nojorid-Livada,Sacuieni-Sanicolau-de-Munte, Bors-Santion, the number of residencial districts that are heated up using geothermal water resources extended considerably. In 2000 there were 21 countries all over the world where geothermal energy was converted to electricity. In 2012 Transgex SA installed in Oradea, in Iosia Neighborhood the first unit in Romania that generates electrical power using geothermal water, having a capacity of 50kW. This investment is a primary step in the field of electricity production using geothermal water as sustainable use of renewable resources


Two nominal internal structures in Mandarin Chinese are introduced in this study, one with the order Demonstrative + Numeral + Classifier + Adjective + Noun, the other with the order Adjective + Demonstrative + Numeral + Classifier + Noun. This study assumes an AgrP between DP and NP (Yoon 1995), and movement of adjectival modifiers from Spec-NP to Spec-AgrP in Mandarin. The 'de' and the pre-'de' segment in the Adjectives undergo a fusion process, incorporating them into a frozen AP, prior to further syntactic operations. The differences between these two options arise from successive AP movement in the latter, which supports Zhang's (2015) generalization. This cyclic movement is triggered by a strong [+foc] feature on the covert head D. This analysis supports a similar approach to left peripheries of CPs and DPs, and also empirically explains the freer position of adjectival modifiers in nominal-internal structures in Mandarin.


In this article the author focuses on the political crisis in modern Ukraine. Under these circumstances, the stock of public confidence in official institutions of power is almost exhausted, thereby legitimating new institutions representing informal structures. One such institution is the Maidan parallel structure, duplicating the functions of state structures. The author tries to rethink Maidan through a unique Ukrainian political culture and quite bright and attractive political image. Legitimation of Maidan and delegitimation of formal structures from the point of view of the author may be due to the low tolerance of society to the government itself, which is a specific feature of the Ukrainian political culture.


The fact that the values of the approximates of the positive definite branched continued fraction of special form are all in a certain circle is established for the certain conditions. The uniform convergence of branched continued fraction of special form, which is a particular case of the mentioned fraction, in the some limited parabolic region is investigated.


188 patients with primary malignant tumors of the liver, gallbladder and extrahepatic bile ducts are reported. Changes in diagnostics, treatment and survival were analyzed in comparing three periods: 1959-1966, 1967-1974, 1975-1980. A significant improvement of the patient's prognosis could be observed, but this was only based on a decrease of hospital mortality. Radical tumor resection offers the only hope for long-term survival in patients with primary liver tumor. In contrast the carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile duct should be rather treated by palliative surgery. In the case of gallbladder carcinoma the prognosis was already hopeless if the tumor was detected macroscopically during surgery.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

Background: Esophageal cancer causes > 400,000 deaths/year in the world. Clinically useful early detection methods must identify these cancers and their precursor lesions at more curable stages. We conducted comparative genomic hybridization analyses of preneoplastic and invasive esophageal squamous cell carcinoma to look for gene copy number patterns that might be useful as early detection markers. The current effort focuses on aberrations associated with mild squamous dysplasia, the earliest histologic form of squamous preneoplasia.

Methods: DNA was extracted from either biopsies or surgical resections from 122 esophageal tissues spanning a spectrum including normal mucosa, squamous preneoplasia, and invasive squamous cell carcinoma. High-resolution micro-array based comparative genomic hybridization (Agilent) was used to measure regions of chromosomal gain or loss with an emphasis on identifying changes associated with the transition from normal to mild dysplasia.

Results: Chromosomal number aberrations were identified that involve several chromosomes, occur early in the neoplastic process, and progress with disease severity. Specific chromosomal number aberrations associated with mild squamous dysplasia, the earliest form of squamous preneoplasia, were uniquely identified.

Conclusions: Comparative genomic hybridization identifies patterns of chromosomal number aberrations that may distinguish patients with and without high-grade squamous dysplasia or cancer. The current effort also identifies specific changes associated with mild squamous dysplasia, the earliest form of preneoplasia, and this may help elucidate mechanisms related to the initiation of carcinogenesis.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1493.


The key focus of this study is to find out the TCV (Time, Cost, and number of Visit) impact through a project entitled "Online Fertiliser Recommendation, Automation of Data Processing, and Data Updating" implemented by the Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI) in Bangladesh . Fertiliser recommendation, automation of data processing, and data updating on-line are important works of SRDI. Previously, people had to go to the city or regional SRDI offices to test the soil for measuring its condition and plant nutrient status for better crop cultivation. Now, the provision of on-line fertiliser recommendation service has made the process much easier, less time consuming and less costly than the previous manual / off-line system. SRDI test soil samples and publish the fertiliser recommendations in their database. It has minimised the expenditure of the beneficiaries in terms of time and money needed to obtain fertilised recommendations for their crops. The study also focuses on the non-monetary benefits, like the beneficiaries' satisfaction, willingness to recommend the application to others and relevant indicators of this ICT based-project. Keywords:  On-line Fertiliser recommendations, Data Processing for Soil Resource, Data Updating for Soil Resource, TCV (Time, Cost and Visit), ICT for Soil Resource, ICT for Agriculture


Limited data exist regarding combination therapy for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). After adjusting for confounders in a cohort of patients with CDI and≥1 year old, combination therapy was not associated with significant differences in clinical outcomes, but it was associated with prolonged duration of therapy (1.22 days; 95% confidence interval, 1.03–1.44 days; P=.02). Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:602–605


We describe studies of Bronsted acid catalyzed ring opening of substituted furans contained within biomass derived C8- and C9-molecules. Ring opening occurs homogeneously under relatively mild conditions of 80 °C using catalytic hydrochloric acid. In the case of 4-(5-methyl-2-furyl)-2-butanone (1a), the reaction proceeds to a single product in up to 92% yield after 24 hours. For 4-(2-furanyl)-2-butanone (1b) and 4-(5-hydroxymethyl)-2-furanyl-2-butanone (1c), however, multiple products are observed, illustrating the significant influence of furan ring substituents on the reactivity of this class of compounds. The generality of these reaction pathways was tested using several other similar substrates. Kinetics experiments indicate that ring opening of 1a occurs via specific acid catalysis, and computations elucidate the effect of initial protonation on the reaction pathway. Calculated pKa values were calibrated against experimentally measured values and are consistent with observed reactivities. Inclusion of explicit, hydrogen-bonded water molecules in addition to the SMD solvent model is necessary when studying protonation of alcohol and ketone groups.


The dynamical behaviour of the glass transition of propylene glycol confined in droplets in butyl rubber (three-dimensional confinement, mean droplet diameter d = 8-11 nm) and in pores in controlled porous glasses (two-dimensional confinement, mean pore diameter d = 2.5-7.5 nm) has been studied in detail by means of broadband dielectric spectroscopy (5 Hz-2 GHz) and of thermally stimulated depolarization current measurements. Effective medium theory corrections of the data are discussed. The results indicate the existence of a relatively immobile interfacial layer close to the wall. For the volume liquid the dynamics of the glass transition becomes faster and the glass transition temperature decreases compared to the bulk liquid. The shifts increase with decreasing d, are larger in butyl rubber than in controlled porous glasses (three-dimensional versus two-dimensional confinement) and vanish for nm. These results are discussed in relation to those obtained with polymers confined in thin polymeric films (one-dimensional confinement) and in semicrystalline polymeric samples and are explained on the basis of the cooperativity concept and the model of Adam and Gibbs. The cooperativity length at is determined to be nm in both butyl rubber and controlled porous glasses. Interesting effects of confinement are observed on the shape of the dielectric response of the process associated with the glass transition.


Abstract This paper provides a methodological overview of service supply chain research through a comprehensive review of published literature, enabling us to describe the service supply chain from a knowledge perspective. The nature of the service supply chain is substantially different from the characteristics of the traditional supply chain. Consequently, the robustness of ideas underpinning this area of research has not been fully analyzed by the academic community and a more cross-disciplinary approach is needed. Following a comprehensive review, all the selected papers can be divided into nine generic groups in terms of problem focus in the service supply chain. These were production processes, human resources, logistics, information technology, theory and model generation, productivity and profitability, environmentally friendly practices, customer satisfaction and other cross-disciplinary studies. Four key aspects of the service supply chain are recommended for future research, namely: environment-friendly practices, market relationships, information technology integration and adoption of industry-specific case studies. In future extensions, additional work can include and correlate knowledge from other disciplines, theoretical perspectives, intellectual trends, and traditional practices associated with service industries. Lastly, this study could be used as a starting point for establishing a future research agenda in the area of the service supply chain.


Most research universities require some combination of standardized classroom teaching and independent research as part of a post-graduate level plan of study. Increasingly construction management, construction technology, architecture, and related programmes that award degrees related to the built environment (BE) are awarding post-graduate degrees. Frequently these degrees, unlike traditional engineering degrees which test theory from a quantitative or positivist position, relate to issues that are more difficult to measure using strictly quantifiable metrics. Because the managerial issues faced by these graduates deal with human interaction and behaviour, research in the BE often resembles social science research to a greater degree than traditional scientific research. As post-graduate programmes in the BE expand, there is an increasing need for student support in the research fundamentals that are required to complete valid research on construction and design issues. Small programmes can rely on the individual mentorship of students, but as student populations grow a more formalized approach is needed to support varying research methodologies employed by post-graduate students as they complete their thesis or dissertation obligations. This paper is an examination of the research fundamentals approach to post-graduate education being used by construction related research programmes in a sample of universities in the US and the UK/Ireland. Emphasis was placed on understanding the current educational support for the understanding of research fundamentals critical to research in the built environment. The paper utilizes both a literature review and a survey instrument. Specific areas of examination include information detailing the educational unit(s) within the university with responsibility for teaching research fundamentals, research fundamentals courses available, the research philosophy or approach emphasized, and the text or other literature support utilized to advance valid research design by post-graduate students. As academic processes develop at post-graduate level there appears to be a consensus that the need for research principles courses is accepted. Where the position differs is at what level this course should be offered.


Adenylate cyclase activity and endogenous cyclic AMP levels were measured using a highly sensitive radioimmunoassay and protein binding assay during 24 h of development of Dictyostelium discoideum. Adenylate cyclase activity was not detected until the aggregation stage of development (10 h) when a sudden peak of activity was found. The enzyme was active at all subsequent stages, although a slow decline in activity was observed. Similarly, cyclic AMP levels were not detectable through the first 7 h of development and then showed a sudden peak at aggregation. Following aggregation the cyclic AMP levels decreased to approximately 1/2 the peak value and maintained that level throughout the remainder of the developmental cycle. Adenylate cyclase had a narrow range of substrate saturation with a maximum velocity at 1 to 4 mM ATP at both the aggregation stage (10 h) and the sorocarp stage (24 h). At levels of ATP higher than 6 mM the enzyme from both stages was strongly inhibited. No activity was observed in the absence of Mg2+ or dithiothreitol. The activity from 10-, 14-, and 20-h stages was found bound to a 25,000 x g pellet fraction. The sudden appearance of adenylate cyclase and its product cyclic AMP at aggregation provides additional evidence of a role for this nucleotide in chemotaxis, and the retention of enzyme activity and nucleotide level during the subsequent stages may reflect a further function of cyclic AMP during formation of the two cell types.


[1] Rising concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere change how much solar radiation is reflected back into space. A proposed NASA mission, Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO), would make benchmark measurements of shortwave reflectance and longwave radiance spectra and of atmospheric refractivity to help researchers understand the changing solar reflectance and its effects on climate. To help mission planners and to determine the utility of solar reflectance data from CLARREO for understanding climate forcings and feedbacks,Feldman et al. introduce an observational system simulation experiment that calculates the signals of future climate forcings and feedbacks in top-of-atmosphere reflectance spectra. The simulation experiment allows mission planners to simulate CLARREO instrument measurements. They found that expected forcings from increases in anthropogenic emissions would be detectable and the proposed mission should help scientists understand climate forcings and feedbacks. (Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, doi:10.1029/2010JD015350, 2011)


We present SEMAGE (SEmantically MAtching imaGEs), a new image-based CAPTCHA that capitalizes on the human ability to define and comprehend image content and to establish semantic relationships between them. A SEMAGE challenge asks a user to select semantically related images from a given image set. SEMAGE has a two-factor design where in order to pass a challenge the user is required to figure out the content of each image and then understand and identify semantic relationship between a subset of them. Most of the current state-of-the-art image-based systems like Assira [20] only require the user to solve the first level, i.e., image recognition. Utilizing the semantic correlation between images to create more secure and user-friendly challenges makes SEMAGE novel. SEMAGE does not suffer from limitations of traditional image-based approaches such as lacking customization and adaptability. SEMAGE unlike the current text-based systems is also very user-friendly with a high fun factor. These features make it very attractive to web service providers. In addition, SEMAGE is language independent and highly flexible for customizations (both in terms of security and usability levels). SEMAGE is also mobile devices friendly as it does not require the user to type anything. We conduct a first-of-its-kind large-scale user study involving 174 users to gauge and compare accuracy and usability of SEMAGE with existing state-of-the-art CAPTCHA systems like reCAPTCHA (text-based) [6] and Asirra (image-based) [20]. The user study further reinstates our points and shows that users achieve high accuracy using our system and consider our system to be fun and easy.


Customers are aware of the complexity of supply chains, and link this to a high environmental burden. However, if not coupled with quantitative results, this may be overestimated. The present paper proposes a general method used in the specific case of deep environmental evaluation of a swimming goggles distribution. The results are compared to the consumers' perceptions, collected and analyzed from questionnaires, and the remaining product lifecycle stages, assessed through the Life Cycle Assessment. The design and prototyping phases take place in Italy, the goods are manufactured in Asia and further commercialized worldwide. The environmental analysis enabled the identification of the most impacting lifecycle phases. Results highlight that for small products, with a simple use phase like the goggles, the distribution phase retains a small percentage of the overall environmental impact; thus, it is reasonable to simplify the modeling of the supply chain by selecting a limited number of significant scenarios. This work proves how important is to quantify and rationalize the environmental impacts of a complex system. The End of Life and transport phases are perceived as high impacting, but the Life Cycle Assessment Analysis reveals that the materials and manufacturing phases retain the highest impacts and are the first that should be improved. Consequently, proper dissemination, cooperation and communication strategies should be carried out by the goggles brand toward suppliers and stakeholders; the company is now studying how to replace virgin materials with recycled content to lower the environmental impact without hampering the product's performance.


Aims. We aim to evaluate the near-infrared colors of brown dwarfs as observed with four major infrared imaging space observatories: the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Euclid mission, and the WFIRST telescope.
Methods. We used the SPLAT SPEX/ISPEX spectroscopic library to map out the colors of the M-, L-, and T-type dwarfs. We have identified which color–color combination is optimal for identifying broad type and which single color is optimal to then identify the subtype (e.g., T0-9). We evaluated each observatory separately as well as the narrow-field (HST and JWST) and wide-field (Euclid and WFIRST) combinations.
Results. The Euclid filters perform equally well as HST wide filters in discriminating between broad types of brown dwarfs. WFIRST performs similarly well, despite a wider selection of filters. However, subtyping with any combination of Euclid and WFIRST observations remains uncertain due to the lack of medium, or narrow-band filters. We argue that a medium band added to the WFIRST filter selection would greatly improve its ability to preselect brown dwarfs its imaging surveys.
Conclusions. The HST filters used in high-redshift searches are close to optimal to identify broad stellar type. However, the addition of F127M to the commonly used broad filter sets would allow for unambiguous subtyping. An improvement over HST is one of two broad and medium filter combinations on JWST: pairing F140M with either F150W or F162M discriminates very well between subtypes.


Experiments on single DNA molecules have shown that abrupt transitions between states of different extensions can be driven by stretching and twisting. Here we show how a simple statistical-mechanical model can be used to globally fit experimental force-extension data of Léger et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 1066 (1999)], over a wide range of DNA molecule twisting. We obtain the mean twists, extensions, and free energies of the five DNA states found experimentally. We also predict global force-torque and force-linking number phase diagrams for DNA. At zero force, the unwinding torque for zero-force structural transition from the double helix to an unwound structure is found to be approximately -2kBT, while the right-handed torque needed to drive DNA to a highly overwound state approximately 7kBT.


: Textile industry is characterized by higher share of women involved (up to 80%), early start of employment (since 15 years of age, with consideration of professional training)--that requires hygienists' special attention to the problem.


In practice, distillation may be carried out by either of two methods. The first method is based on the production of vapor by boiling the liquid mixture to be separated and condensing the vapour without allowing any liquid to return to the still. Then, there is no reflux. The second method is based upon the return of part of the condensate to the still under such conditions that this returning liquid is brought into the intimate contact with the vapours on their way to the condenser. Either of these two methods may be conducted as a continuous or as a batch process, but the study of dynamics and control of the process is one of most important part of each process.

Distillation is one of the commonly used separation technique in the chemical industries. The separation is based on differences in "volatilities" (tendencies to vaporize) among various chemical components. In a distillation column the more volatile, or lighter, components are removed from the top of the column, and the less volatile, or heavier, components are removed from the lower part of the column. Further Aspen Plus makes it easy to build and run the process simulation model by providing with a comprehensive system of the online process modelling. Process simulation allows one to predict the behaviour of a process by using basic engineering relationships, such as mass and energy balances, and phase and chemical equilibrium. Process simulation enables one to run many cases, conduct "what if" analysis and perform sensitivity analysis and optimization runs. With simulation one can design better plants and increase the profitability of the existing plants. Process simulation is helpful throughout the entire life of a process, from research and development through process design to production.

This thesis studies the dynamics and control of distillation columns using Aspen Plus. In this thesis, simulation studies of the distillation column are presented. Steady-state simulations are being performed using Aspen Plus followed by Aspen Dynamic simulation. In the steady state simulation, it was tried to see the effect of changing the flow rate of the extractive distillation. And finding the optimum flow rate in the distillation column. Controllers are then implemented for controlling sump level, reflux level and feed flow rate. Furthermore, two strategies were used for controlling the purity of distillate product controlling the distillation column tray temperature where the maximum change of temperature is observed due to reboiler heat change and the purity of the product by using composition controller.

The case study was an example taken from Aspen Plus (version 8.4v). In the example, there are two main streams enters the distillation column and phenol will be the stream one, and methyl cyclone hexane (MCH) and toluene mixer will enter the distillation column as the second stream. MCH has been distilled from the top of the column and the phenol and toluene the bottom product. With the latest Aspen Plus and Aspen Dynamics version V10 with operating under Windows 10, because of that, we will come across few compatibility issues in Aspen Dynamics mainly when it comes to MATLAB. Moreover, due to incompatibility MATLAB and Simulink were not tested for this process.

In this study, Methyl Cyclo Hexane (MCH) been separated from Toluene by using Phenol as the third component in an extractive distillation column. And in Aspen Dynamics new controllers been developed to control the product Methyl Cyclo Hexane (MCH) purity by making adjusting the flow rate level of the Phenol. DMC controllers were tried to implement in the process to replaces the PI controller but fail attempt.

All the PI controllers have been auto-tuned in Aspen Dynamics using it tool of the faceplates. Which given the best possible controller parameters to for the process. Therefore, all the controller's other was able to reach its set-point expect the composition controller. The controllers were helping to achieve the maximum purity of the distillate stream.

All the obtained results have been discussed and the Important guidelines been outlined and explained in the overall simulation. Most of the objective been achieved in this thesis.


The filtering hydrocyclone is a solid-liquid separation device patented by the Chemical Engineering Department at the Federal University of Uberlândia, which consists of a hydrocyclone whose conical section was replaced by a conical filtering wall. The objective of this work is to compare the performances of the filtering hydrocyclones designed by Bradley and by Rietema. The experimental results obtained with the filtering hydrocyclones under the same operational conditions as those used with the conventional device allow the conclusion that performance of the Bradley and Rietema types is significantly influenced by the filtering medium. Rietema's filtering hydrocyclones had a lower volumetric feed flowrate than the conventional device and Bradley's filtering hydrocyclones showed increases in this same variable. In both designs, overall efficiency was influenced by the underflow-to-throughput ratio.


Abstract In this study, the effect of the halved dosage of RRR-d-α-tocopherol (with respect to dl-α-to-copherol acetate) in diets containing oil rich in linoleic or α-linolenic acid (soybean or linseed oil, respectively) on the quality characteristics and fatty acid (FA) profile of turkey meat was studied. The experiment was conducted using 480 one-week-old turkey hens Big 6 line reared until the 16th week of life. The hens in Groups I and II received soybean oil added to their feed mixture, in Groups III and IV linseed oil was the source of supplementary fat. Turkeys in Groups I and III received dl-α-tocopherol acetate, whereas those in Groups II and IV RRR-d-α-tocopherol. No influence of dietary manipulation was observed on the chemical composition of turkey meat. The combined effect of the type of dietary fat and vitamin E source added to the feed was assessed using the color parameters. The addition of natural vitamin E to the feed mixture with linseed oil significantly increased the proportion of PUFA in breast muscle lipids compared with the group receiving soybean oil with this form of vitamin E. The inclusion of linseed oil increased the content of α-linolenic acid and total n-3 FA concentration in both muscles, compared with the diet that contained soybean oil. This modification of FA composition led to lower n-6/n-3 ratio in both the breast and thigh muscles regardless of the dietary vitamin E source. The use of natural form of tocopherol in diets containing linseed oil may help to improve the nutritional quality of turkey meat, especially by enhancing n-3 PUFA levels with no detrimental effect of lipid addition on the chemical composition and quality of meat.


The protocols described in this unit are designed to assess the effects of substances on intestinal transit and gastric emptying and to evaluate their ulcerogenic potential on the stomach and duodenum of the rat. Examples of results obtained with atropine or morphine (intestinal transit), loperamide (gastric emptying), or indomethacin (ulcerogenic activity) used as reference substances are provided for illustrative purposes. Atropine and morphine clearly reduce intestinal transit. Atropine, morphine, and loperamide clearly reduce gastric emptying. Indomethacin shows a marked ulcerogenic potential. Curr. Protoc. Pharmacol. 42:5.3.1‐5.3.12. © 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Objective: To determine the distribution of terbinafine in the cornea and aqueous humor after topical administration. Methods: A corn oil ointment of terbinafine 0.2% (resolved in sterile corn oil) was applied to the conjunctival sac of albino rabbits twice (with a 5-min interval). The concentration of terbinafine was determined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) 5, 15, 30, 60, 120 and 240 min after administration of terbinafine. Results: After topical administration, the concentration of terbinafine increased gradually, reached a peak (1.39 µg/ml at 30 min in the cornea and 82.9 ng/ml at 30 min in aqueous humor, respectively) and then decreased. The concentration was 0.18 µg/g at 240 min in the cornea, but terbinafine could not be tested at 120 min in aqueous humor. Conclusions: Topical ophthalmic terbinafine 0.2% could penetrate into the cornea and aqueous humor at concentrations adequate for inhibition of fungus.


Deep-learning algorithms are growing in popularity in the field of exoplanetary science due to their ability to model highly nonlinear relations and solve interesting problems in a data-driven manner. Several works have attempted to perform fast retrievals of atmospheric parameters with the use of machine-learning algorithms like deep neural networks (DNNs). Yet, despite their high predictive power, DNNs are also infamous for being "black boxes." It is their apparent lack of explainability that makes the astrophysics community reluctant to adopt them. What are their predictions based on? How confident should we be in them? When are they wrong, and how wrong can they be? In this work, we present a number of general evaluation methodologies that can be applied to any trained model and answer questions like these. In particular, we train three different popular DNN architectures to retrieve atmospheric parameters from exoplanet spectra and show that all three achieve good predictive performance. We then present an extensive analysis of the predictions of DNNs, which can inform us–among other things–of the credibility limits for atmospheric parameters for a given instrument and model. Finally, we perform a perturbation-based sensitivity analysis to identify to which features of the spectrum the outcome of the retrieval is most sensitive. We conclude that, for different molecules, the wavelength ranges to which the DNNs predictions are most sensitive do indeed coincide with their characteristic absorption regions. The methodologies presented in this work help to improve the evaluation of DNNs and to grant interpretability to their predictions.


The authors have examined eight patients operated at the Department of Surgery "B" of the G. Bosco Hospital (Torino) from 1980 to 1992 for gastric stump cancer. All patients were male of about 72 years who were subjected to resection: 5 for gastric ulcer and 3 for duodenal ulcer. During the first operation they used the same recanalization technique after gastric resection: the semi-oral distal gastric jejunal anastomosis created by Hofmeister-Finsterer. The second operation was the subtotal gastric resection made on 6 patients, total gastrectomy in 1 case and explorative laparotomy in an inoperable case. The average of free time from disease was 32 years while it is 24 years in literature. The mean survival was 40 months. The 5-year survival was about 33%. The authors conclude that carcinoma of the gastric stump has a worst prognosis then carcinoma in normal stomach. The subtotal resection has the same results as in total gastrectomy.


Helicobacter pylori infections are thought to eventually lead to symptoms as a result of the long‐lasting interactions between the bacterium and its host. Mechanisms that allow this bacterium to cause a life‐long infection involve modulation of both the immune response and host cellular processes. Last year many novel findings that improve our knowledge on how H. pylori virulence factors interact with the host were reported, but because of space limitations we can only discuss a limited number of these studies. Among those are studies on the genetic variation of genes encoding outer membrane proteins and the mimicry of host antigens, factors that alter host‐cell metabolism and factors that modulate the host's immune response.


Cancer tissues from 30 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity were examined immunohistopathologically as to the responsiveness of the host against its own cancer cells in both biopsy and surgically resected specimens from the same patients. Subpopulations of the infiltrating lymphocytes in cancer tissues were identified on paraffin‐embedded serial sections by a modified indirect immunoperoxidase technique (PAB method) in which it was combined with peroxidase‐antiperoxidase (PAP) complex and avidin‐biotin system with rabbit anti‐human B‐cell, peripheral T‐cell sera. Macrophages were also identified by nonspecific acid esterase staining. T‐cells were predominant over B‐cells in 26 of 30 tissues in biopsy specimens and 23 of 30 in surgically resected specimens with bleomycin treatment. T‐cell infiltration in the peripheral region of the tumor was more prominent than that in the stroma among the cancer nests. T‐cells surrounded the cancer nests, occasionally accumulated around the cancer cells, infiltrated at the marginal part of the cancer nests, and frequently produced perivascular massive accumulations. B‐cells and macrophages, on the other hand, were almost absent or negligible around cancer tissues. The grade of T‐cell infiltration, especially in biopsied specimens, was correlated well to the size of the tumor, and also more marked significantly in patients without cervical lymph node metastasis than in those with lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between the grade of T‐cell infiltration at the peripheral region of the invading cancer mass in initial biopsy specimens and the clinical tumor regression rates with bleomycin treatment, but it did not correlate to the surgically resected specimens. These facts suggest that T‐cells might inhibit the development and spreading of the cancer cells, and that the T‐cell infiltration correlates with the clinical course or prognosis of the oral cancer patients.


Geomagnetic substorms are associated with characteristic energetic particle injection signatures at geosynchronous orbit that are often dispersionless in both electrons and ions near the magnetic local time sector of auroral onset locations and are dispersed farther away from this region. Although the precise mechanism responsible for the coherent injection signatures at geosynchronous orbit have been the topic on considerable ongoing debate for decades, recent work on bursty bulk flows (BBFs) in the tail have led to the hypothesis that they may be the result of multiple, overlapping flow bursts penetrating into the inner magnetosphere from more distant downtail reconnection sites. Since auroral streamers are thought to be ionospheric signatures of BBFs in the tail, they can be used as proxies for testing this hypothesis. Using high resolution auroral imagery from the POLAR/VIS instrument combined with multi-spacecraft observations of energetic particle injections at geosynchronous orbit, we examine the association of mesoscale auroral structures with particle injection signatures over many hours during the 9 November 1998 storm. We find that the explosive types of auroral activations, such as pseudo-breakups and substorm onset breakups, are associated with the more intense and well-defined dispersed injection signatures, while intervals of isolated streamer activity appear to be associated with smaller dispersed "injectionlet" signatures. Furthermore, intervals of sustained, intense, and late expansion phase/recovery phase streamer activity appear to be associated with sustained elevated dispersed particle fluxes. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that it is the overlapping effects of sustained, intense multiple flow bursts penetrating toward the Earth that result in classical substorm particle injection signatures at geosynchronous orbit. However, it is also suggested that torches/omega-band tongues are the prime fate of braking isolated flow bursts (streamers) rather than the development of breakups, bulges, and substorm current wedge formation. A statistical analysis is presented showing that 93% of the observed torches evolved from streamers, 93% of streamers arriving in the equatorward regions of the bulge led to torches, 10.5% of such streamers led to breakups (either pseudo-breakups or substorm onsets), and only 3.5% of such streamers led to substorm onsets.


Working in residential care is associated with high demands and high stress. As a result, employees may develop symptoms of burnout. These symptoms lead to absence from work and have a negative effect on the continuity and quality of the residential care. Until now, little is known about burnout risks in child welfare workers, although children and adolescents are especially dependent on continuous relationships and healthy caregivers. A better understanding of the relationship between burnout symptoms and work satisfaction may help to identify starting points for prevention and intervention. The present study assessed symptoms of burnout in a sample of 319 social education workers in residential care in Switzerland using the burnout-screening-scales (BOSS). Work satisfaction was assessed with a newly developed questionnaire based on concepts of trauma-sensitive care. The questionnaire was tested for reliability and factorial validity in the present study. In order to estimate the relationship between burnout symptoms and work satisfaction, correlations and relative risks were calculated. Almost one fifth (18 %) of the sample showed a risk of burnout. The principal component analysis of the questionnaire on work satisfaction revealed four factors: support by superiors, participation and transparency; communication and support within the team; gratification in the work; and institutional structures and resources. All four factors as well as the total score showed significant correlations with burnout symptoms. Among employees with a comparably lower work satisfaction, the risk of burnout was 5.4 times higher than among employees with a comparably higher work satisfaction. It is discussed how work satisfaction could be promoted and how, as a result, the quality and continuity of care for the children and adolescents could be improved.


The response to phagocytic stimuli was tested for polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells from gonorrhea repeaters, first-time infected patients, and never-infected controls. PMN function was assessed by measuring quantitative leukocyte iodination, glucose-1-C oxidation, and phagocytosis and killing of Staphylococcus aureus 502A. No significant differences in PMN function were noted for the three groups studied. However, white patients had significantly greater leukocyte iodination than black patients (p less than 0.05) and males tended to have greater leukocyte iodination than females (p less than 0.02). It is concluded that PMN cells from gonorrhea repeaters, first-time infected patients, and never-infected controls respond equally well to in vitro phagocytic stimuli. This implies that a significant defect in PMN cell function should not be implicated as a reason for the apparent susceptibility of gonorrhea repeaters to multiple genital gonococcal infections.


alpha-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) accelerates the regrowth of peripheral nerve axons in the rat following their transection (Verhaagen et al., Expl Neurol. 92, 451-454, 1986). The cellular mechanisms of this trophic response were investigated for several naturally occurring derivatives of alpha-MSH using Nerve Growth Factor (NGF)-stimulated quail sensory ganglion explants in vitro in which both neurite outgrowth and non-neuronal cell behaviour could be more reliably observed and quantified. Neurite outgrowth was determined with a semi-quantitative scoring assay. Glial migration into the outgrowth was quantified using a monoclonal antibody, GTE-52, which labels the nuclei of Schwann cells. Des-acetyl alpha-MSH caused a marginal increase in the neurite outgrowth density which was significant at concentrations of 0.04 and 0.1 microgram/ml. The response to acetylated (N-acetyl, N,O-diacetyl) forms of alpha-MSH was characterized by fascicle formation by neurites which resulted in an apparent decrease in the neurite score, and by the outgrowth of non-neuronal cells. Using monoclonal antibody GTE-52, which recognizes a glial nuclear antigen, these cells were identified as Schwann cells. N-Acetyl, but not des-acetyl alpha-MSH increased the number of GTE-52-labelled cells in the NGF-stimulated neurite outgrowth and stimulated their migration in the absence of neurites when NGF was omitted from the culture medium. Exposure of growing explants to two polyclonal antibodies against alpha-MSH resulted in an increased neurite outgrowth density. The results support the hypothesis that alpha-MSH peptides stimulate peripheral nerve growth by modulating the neurite sprouting response, and demonstrate that the nature of the neurotrophic response to naturally occurring melanotropins depends on the existence of acyl substitution at the N-terminal amino acid residue. A possible role of endogenous melanotropin peptides in the regulation of sensory nerve growth is discussed.


Low‐grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (LGESS) is a rare malignant uterine tumor with the potential to metastasize years after the primary resection. There is a broad differential diagnosis for endometrial stromal sarcomas (ESS), including both benign and malignant entities. Herein, we present the case of a 64‐year‐old female with metastatic LGESS to the lung, diagnosed by cytology, 24 years after her initial presentation. This report discusses the cytomorphologic and histopathologic characteristics, and ancillary studies including immunohistochemical stains and recent advances in molecular diagnostics of ESS. Accurate diagnosis of spindle cell lesions in the lung can be challenging. As such, this case highlights the instrumental role of ancillary testing and molecular diagnostics to achieve a more definitive diagnosis.


During the last 10-12 years, the research on homocysteine has become very active. About 1500 of articles are now published each year on homocysteine and the vitamins involved in its metabolism. A disturbed homocysteine metabolism can be an underlying factor for pregnancy complications and fetal malformations, cardiovascular disease, dementia, psychiatric and neurologic disorders and possibly carcinogenesis. A disturbed homocysteine metabolism can in most cases be normalised by treatment with folate and/or vitamines B12 and B6. Many of these findings therefore directly concern most practitioners. However, if there are good reviews covering single aspects of this research, these are published in specialised journals. The author has realised the difficulties for the practitioner in keeping updated. This second edition has been thoroughly updated and also offers more data on the vitamins. Over 1600 references are made available.


Summary

1. Relatively little information exists on the effects of logging on rain forest organisms, particularly in the Neotropics where logging operations have increased dramatically in recent years. In this study we determined experimentally the effects of selective logging of a central Amazonian forest on ground-living ants.

2. The experimental design consisted of three 4-ha replicated plots representing control unlogged forest, forest logged 10 years prior to the start of the study (1987), and forest logged 4 years prior to the start of the study (1993). The logging operation removed 50% of the basal area of trees of commercial value, or about eight trees per hectare. This resulted in a significant decrease in canopy cover, and an increase in understorey vegetation density in logged plots relative to controls.

3. Collection and identification of ants from a total of 360 1-m2 samples of leaf-litter revealed 143 ant species, of which 97 were found in the control plots, 97 in the plots logged in 1987, and 106 in those logged in 1993. Species richness, evenness and mean abundance (ants m−2) per plot did not vary among treatments. Most of the species found in the control plots were also present in the logged plots. However, population density of many species changed as a result of logging, an effect that persisted for at least 10 years after logging. Species commonly found in sites that were directly disturbed by logging (gaps and tracks) were rare in the undisturbed forest, as revealed by an additional collection of ants.

4. These results suggest that the persistence of ant assemblages typical of undisturbed forest is likely to depend on the amount of structural damage incurred by logging. Thus management techniques that minimize logging impacts on forest structure are likely to help maintain the conservation value of logged forests for ground-dwelling ants. It is particularly important to minimize the extent of logging roads and tracks created by heavy machinery because these areas appear more prone to invasion by non-forest species.


This paper tests the hypothesis that the net of extraction cost price of a natural resource does not change with volume. The hypothesis is shown to he a consequence of Hotelling's theory. The tests are performed on equations estimated by a nonparametric regression (ACE), and we show that the usual least squares estimation techniques are not general enough to successfully perform the test. The test rejects the pure form of the Hotelling theory and shows that it is necessary to adjust sale prices for volume sold.


Mai-Luo-Shu-Tong pill is an effective traditional Chinese medicine formula for the treatment of superficial thrombophlebitis, but it was insufficiently chemically scrutinized. In this study, the mass spectral data of Mai-Luo-Shu-Tong pill were acquired by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q Exactive hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry. Then, a data mining strategy combining multiple data processing methods was used to identify chemical constituents in Mai-Luo-Shu-Tong pill by constructing a database of precursor ions and summarizing the mass spectral fragmentation behaviors. As a result, a total of 211 compounds including 70 flavonoids, 56 terpenoids, 37 phenolic acids and 48 others were identified in positive and negative ion modes. Among them, 66 compounds have passed comparison verification with reference standards, 145 compounds were identified based on the data mining strategy combining the characteristic cleavage behaviour of homologous compounds and fragment ions and 4 compounds were potentially new compounds. This study provides a database for quality evaluation and further study of Mai-Luo-Shu-Tong pill in vivo. Moreover, it provides a reference for the characterization of the chemical constituents of other traditional Chinese medicine formulae.


Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy directed at CD19 produces durable remissions in the treatment of relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Nonetheless, many patients receiving CD19 CAR-T cells fail to respond for unknown reasons. To reveal changes in 4-1BB-based CD19 CAR-T cells and identify biomarkers of response, we employed single cell RNA sequencing and protein surface marker profiling of patient CAR-T cells pre- and post-infusion into NHL patients. At the transcriptional and protein levels, we note the evolution of CAR-T cells toward a non-proliferative, highly differentiated, and exhausted state, with an enriched exhaustion profile in CAR-T cells of patients with poor response marked by TIGIT expression. Utilizing in vitro and in vivo studies, we demonstrate TIGIT blockade alone improves the anti-tumor function of CAR-T cells. Altogether, we provide evidence of CAR-T cell dysfunction marked by TIGIT expression driving a poor response in NHL patients.


Three flavanonol namely quercetin, dihydroquercetin and dihydromyricetin were isolated from ethyl acetate fraction of Picea smithiana (wall) Boiss by using standard isolation schemes. The isolated flavanonol were evaluated for their enzyme inhibition potential against urease, carbonic anhydrase and Phosphodiesterases-I. Flavanonol showed significant activity against urease with IC50 value of 29.73 ± 1.22 μM, While quercetin and dihydroquercetin were found to be weak inhibitors of urease with IC50 values of 208.87 ± 2.11 and 202.87 ± 2.01 μM respectively. Thiourea was used as a standard for the inhibition of urease enzyme (IC50=21 ± 0.12). On the other hand flavanonol 2 showed potent activity against phosphodieseterase-1 when compared with the standard EDTA (IC50=273 ± 1.69 μM). Newly identified inhibitors of enzyme may lead for the discovery of new drug to treat urolithiasis, and cardiovascular associated disorder. In silico drug designing plays an important role in the discovery of new inhibitors against the target. Compounds 1-3 were screen for docking study. The docked conformations of compounds 1-3 and reference thiourea showed potency of compounds 1-3. From the docking statistics, it is observed that the binding affinity of compound 3 is -8.5 kcal/mol (Autodock vina docking energies), which is best than the standard thiourea (-3.4 kcal/mol).


The present paper represents the first part of an extensive theoretical study on the electronic spectrum of B2H2. The results of ab initio calculations of the vertical spectrum and the trans- and cis-bending potential curves for the low-lying triplet and singlet electronic states are reported. Special attention is paid to the study of the interaction between valence- and Rydberg-type electronic species. Copyright 1997Academic Press


SDS-PAGE and western blotting are two commonly taught protein detection techniques in biochemistry and molecular biology laboratory classrooms. A pitfall associated with incorporating these techniques into the laboratory is the significant wait times that do not allow students to obtain timely results. The waiting associated with SDS-PAGE comes from staining and destaining, whereas with western blotting it is the times required for antibody incubations and the numerous wash steps. This laboratory exercise incorporates 2,2,2-trichloroethanol (TCE) into the SDS-PAGE gel allowing for visualization of migrated proteins in a matter of minutes, saving both the time and chemical waste associated with traditional Coomassie staining. Addi-tionally, TCE staining does not affect protein transfer eliminating the requirement for duplicated gels for total protein and western analyses. Protein transfer can be confirmed immediately without the use of Ponceau S staining. Lastly, this western blot procedure has been further shortened by using an HRP-conjugated primary antibody, which eliminates the secondary antibody incubation and washes, and uses a colorimetric detection to allow for visualization by students without the need for specialized equipment. V C 2015 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 43(5):358–365, 2015.


6-Chloro-3-alkylamino-4H-thieno[3,2-e]-1,2,4-thiadiazine 1,1-dioxide derivatives were synthesized and characterized as activators of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channels in the beta-cells by measuring effects on membrane potential and insulin release in vitro. The effects on vascular tissue in vitro were measured on rat aorta and small mesenteric vessels. Selected compounds were characterized as competitive inhibitors of [(3)H]glibenclamide binding to membranes of HEK293 cells expressing human SUR1/Kir6.2 and as potent inhibitors of insulin release in isolated rat islets. 6-Chloro-3-(1-methylcyclobutyl)amino-4H-thieno[3,2-e]-1,2,4-thiadiazine 1,1-dioxide (54) was found to bind and activate the SUR1/Kir6.2 K(ATP) channels in the low nanomolar range and to be at least 1000 times more potent than the reference compound diazoxide with respect to inhibition of insulin release from rat islets. Several compounds, e.g., 3-propylamino- (30), 3-isopropylamino- (34), 3-(S)-sec-butylamino- (37), and 3-(1-methylcyclopropyl)amino-4H-thieno[3,2-e]-1,2,4-thiadiazine 1,1-dioxide (53), which were found to be potent and beta-cell selective activators of K(ATP) channels in vitro, were found to inhibit insulin secretion in rats with minimal effects on blood pressure and to exhibit good oral pharmacokinetic properties.


In this review the recent progress in molecular platforms that form rigid and well-defined contact to a metal surface are discussed. Most of the presented examples have at least three anchoring units in order to control the spatial arrangement of the protruding molecular subunit. Another interesting feature is the lateral orientation of these foot structures which, depending on the particular application, is equally important as the spatial arrangement of the molecules. The numerous approaches towards assembling and organizing functional molecules into specific architectures on metal substrates are reviewed here. Particular attention is paid to variations of both, the core structures and the anchoring groups. Furthermore, the analytical methods enabling the investigation of individual molecules as well as monomolecular layers of ordered platform structures are summarized. The presented multipodal platforms bearing several anchoring groups form considerably more stable molecule–metal contacts than corresponding monopodal analogues and exhibit an enlarged separation of the functional molecules due to the increased footprint, as well as restrict tilting of the functional termini with respect to the metal surface. These platforms are thus ideally suited to tune important properties of the molecule–metal interface. On a single-molecule level, several of these platforms enable the control over the arrangement of the protruding rod-type molecular structures (e.g., molecular wires, switches, rotors, sensors) with respect to the surface of the substrate.


The administration of a 250-ppm retinyl acetate dietary supplement for various periods relative to intragastric administration of 50 mg benzo[a]pyrene (BP) significantly inhibited the induction of mammary cancers in virgin female inbred LEW/Mai rats. with day of BP administration taken as time 0, groups receiving the retinoid from weeks -2 to +1, +1 to +90, +20 to +90, and -2 to +90 showed a significant reduction in tumor response as compared to controls. The inhibition of carcinogenesis achieved by a +1 to +20 administration schedule was temporary; the tumor yield was suppressed initially but returned to control levels by week 60. Autoradiographic analysis of mammary glands from 50-day-old rats indicated that a 2-week exposure to supplemental retinyl acetate significantly reduced the mammary gland parenchymal cell labeling index in ductal, alveolar, and terminal end bud structures. Beginning the retinyl acetate supplement 1 week after the administration of BP significantly reduced the number of terminal ductal hyperplasias. The inhibition of carcinogenesis achieved by a short period of retinyl acetate administration before and during the period of carcinogen availability as well as the inhibition achieved by long-term postcarcinogen retinoid exposure may involve an antiproliferative effect on the rat mammary gland.


We have treated 45 patients (47 ankles) for chronic lateral instability by a new reconstructive procedure. The operation includes lateral shift of the entire lateral capsule-ligament complex and proximal advancement of the talocalcaneal ligament and the inferior extensor retinaculum. We reviewed 39 patients (39 ankles) at a mean of 4.6 years (2 to 7) after operation. There were 29 men and 10 women with an average age of 27 years (19 to 43); 11 of them were competitive college-level athletes and 28 were recreational athletes. The functional rating was excellent in 26 patients, good in 8, fair in 3 and poor in 2. Thirty-six patients (92%) were satisfied with the result and 34 (9 of 11 college-level athletes and 25 of 28 recreational athletes) have been able to return to their preinjury level of sport. At the last review, there had been only three episodes of recurrent ankle instability, all in recreational athletes; none had required further surgery. The unsatisfactory results were associated with pre-existing degenerative changes in the ankle.


In the traditional Walrasian version of an economy with multi-sectoral exchange, the changes in relative prices and the general level of prices do not influence each other so that inflation is neutral. Various empirical studies in recent times, however, have invalidated this thesis. Unfortunately, they have not provided a well-defined alternative theoretical model, able to explain the formation of prices and rates of inflation in a context of multi-sectoral equilibrium (or disequilibrium). Therefore, some modern versions of neoclassical theory that seem to provide a multi-sectoral analytical foundation to the observed correlation between the dynamics of relative prices and the general level of prices are particularly worthy of interest. Their detailed examination, considered appropriate for both the novelty and complexity of the arguments, and their empirical data on the last two decades in Italy are the subject of the present work. JEL: E31


The monoclonal antibody GAP A3 detects the HLA allospecificity A3. Reactivity of the monoclonal was in exact concordance with the presence of the A3 antigen as defined by conventional alloantisera on a panel of 59 cells from individuals with well-characterized HLA antigens. Reactivity with GAP A3 segregated with HLA-A3 in a family where three of eight siblings inherited the paternal A3 antigen. GAP A3 precipitated appropriate 44,000- and 12,000-dalton bands on SDS-polyacrylamide gels under reducing conditions from an HLA-A3-positive, but not an HLA-A3-negative B lymphoblastoid cell line. Thus, by serological, familial, and biochemical criteria, GAP A3 defines the allospecificity HLA-A3.


OBJECTIVES To examine trends in life expectancy at birth and age and cause specific patterns of mortality in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) and Poland during political transition and throughout the 1990s in both parts of Germany and in Poland. METHODS Decomposition of life expectancy by age and cause of death. Changes in life expectancy during transition by cause of death were examined using data for 1988/89 and 1990/91 for the former GDR and Poland; examination of life expectancy changes after transition were based on 1992–97 data for Germany and 1991–96 data for Poland. RESULTS In both the former GDR and Poland male life expectancy at birth declined by almost one year during transition, mainly attributable to rising death rates from external causes and circulatory diseases. Female life expectancy in Poland deteriorated by 0.3 years, largely attributable to increasing circulatory mortality among the old, while in East German female rising death rates in children and young adults were nearly outbalanced by declining circulatory mortality among those over 70. Between 1991/92 and 1996/97, male life expectancy at birth increased by 2.4 years in the former GDR, 1.2 years in old Federal Republic, and 2.0 years in Poland (women: 2.3, 0.9, and 1.2 years). In East Germany and Poland, the overall improvement was largely attributable to falling mortality among men aged 40–64, while those over 65 contributed the largest proportion to life expectancy gains in women. The change in deaths among men aged 15–39 accounted for 0.4 of a year to life expectancy at birth in East Germany and Poland, attributable largely to greater decreases from external causes. Among those over 40, absolute contributions to changing life expectancy were greater in the former GDR than in the other two entities in both sexes, largely attributable to circulatory diseases. A persisting East-west life expectancy gap in Germany of 2.1 years in men in 1997 was largely attributable to external causes, diseases of the digestive system and circulatory diseases. Higher death rates from circulatory diseases among the elderly largely explain the female life expectancy gap of approximately one year. CONCLUSIONS This study provides further insights into the health effects of political transition. Post-transition improvements in life expectancy and mortality have been much steeper in East Germany compared with Poland. Changes in dietary pattern and, in Germany, medical care may have been important factors in shaping post-transition mortality trends.


Examination. — Profuse discharge from meatus, the latter narrowed by- swelling of the deep posterior meatal wall so that the drum membrane is invisible. Pinna projects from side of head and there is extensive cedema over mastoid region. Temperature 994° F. Operation (February 13, 5 p.m.).—The visual incision gave exit to a sub- periosteal abscess. The soft tissues were about 1 in. thick from oedema. The removal of outer walls of antrum and mastoid cells revealed extensive destruction of the mastoid process, and the bony wall of the lateral sinus had been destroyed for about half an inch over the posterior wall of the abscess. While removing the tip of the mastoid process I accidentally wounded the sinus, and checked the flow of blood by means of a strip of gauze moistened with B.I.P. Having removed all the infected region, cleansed with spirit and smeared with B.I.P., the entire wound was sutured except for its lowest end, through which the gauze strip plugging the sinus was led out. The patient made a quick recovery; the gauze strip was removed on the second day, and the wound healed by immediate union. The patient was exhibited before the Section on the eighth day from operation and left the nursing home on the ninth day. Dysdiadokokinesia


Background Natural killer (NK) cells represent one of the major components of innate immune system and are very important in both early and chronic phases of inflammatory responses. NK cells might contribute to the disease onset through the release of great amount of pro-inflammatory cytokines and through a direct cytolitic activity. However, the role of NK cells in joint inflammation remains unclear. Objectives To determine whether NK cells are present in synovial fluid (SF) and whether they might play a role in amplifying the inflammatory process. Methods Mononuclear cells were isolated by density gradient centrifugation from SF collected by arthrocentesis from the knees of 4 untreated patients with inflammatory arthritis (3 seronegative spondiloarthritis and 1 psoriatic arthritis). NK cells were isolated from mononuclear cells by negative immunomagnetic selection. Human fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) were obtained by synovial tissue explants from patients with OA and cocultured for 24 h at 10×103 cells/well in 96-well plates with increasing ratios of NK cells (1:1; 1:2; 1:5; 1:10; 1:20). FLS or NK cells were cultured alone as control. Culture supernatants were tested by ELISA for the production of IL-1β, IL-8, CCL2 and TGFβ1. Results NK cells were isolated from all 4 SF collected. The percentage of NK cells in mononuclear cells was 0.14 in SF1, 0.16 in SF2, 1.06 in SF3 and 0.56 in SF4. IL-1β and TGFβ1 were not detectable in all culture supernatants. When FLS were cocultured with NK cells the production of IL-8 and CCL2 increased in a NK ratio-dependent manner. FLS or NK alone did not release significant levels of IL-8 and CCL2. Conclusions This study confirms that NK cells are also present in synovial fluid and they might potentially contribute to amplification of the inflammatory process within the joint. The increased cytokine production might be due to the capacity of NK cells to produce fibroblast-activating factors or to direct interactions with synovial cells. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Objective To determine if timing of cord clamping affects blood flow in the upper body, as measured by flow in the superior vena cava (SVC). Design Observational study. Setting Neonatal Unit, Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. Patients 30 preterm infants <30 weeks' gestational age. Intervention Cord clamping was immediate in 17 infants and delayed by 30–45 s in 13. Results Infants in the two groups did not differ significantly in terms of gestational age, gender or use of antenatal steroids. Median flow in the SVC in the first 24 h was significantly higher in the group with delayed clamping (median 91 ml/kg/min; IQR 81–101) compared with 52 ml/kg/min (IQR 42–100) in the immediate clamping group (p=0.028). Fewer infants in the delayed group had low flow (1 compared with 9; p=0.017). All three infants with intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) (of any grade) had low flow. Conclusions Blood flow in the SVC was higher in infants where delayed cord clamping was performed. The relationship of IVH, low flow and timing of cord clamping requires further study.


Studies with different avian species have revealed that surface applications of microliter amounts of some crude and fuel oils that coat less than 10% of the egg surface result in considerable reduction in hatching with teratogenicity and stunted growth. Other studies have shown that the embryotoxicity is dependent on the aromatic hydrocarbon content, further suggesting that the toxicity is due to causes other than asphyxia. In the present study the effects of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons identified in petroleum were examined on mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) embryo development. Addition of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), chrysene, or 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) to a synthetic petroleum hydrocarbon mixture of known composition and relatively low embryotoxicity resulted in embryotoxicity that was enhanced or equal to that of crude oil when 10 microliter was applied externally to eggs at 72 h of development. The order of ability to enhance embryotoxicity was DMBA greater than BaP greater than chrysene. The temporal pattern of embryonic death was similar to that reported after exposure to crude oil, with additional mortality occurring after outgrowth of the chorioallantois. Retarded growth, as reflected by embryonic body weight, crown-rump length, and bill length, was accompanied by teratogenicity. Abnormal embryos exhibited extreme stunting; eye, brain, and bill defects; and incomplete ossification. Gas chromatographic-mass spectral analysis of externally treated eggs showed the passage of aromatic hydrocarbons including chrysene through the shell and shell membranes to the developing embryos. These findings suggest that the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum, including BaP, chrysene, and DMBA, significantly enhances the overall embryotoxicity in avian species.


To ensure progress in astronomy over the coming decades, the key questions are "what facilities will we build, and when?" Toward this end, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) recently commissioned a study on future space-based options for UV and optical astronomy. The resulting study - "From Cosmic Birth to Living Earths" - concluded that a space telescope equipped with a 12-meter class primary mirror would make fundamental advances across virtually all of astrophysics, including finding and characterizing the atmospheres of dozens of Earth-like planets. This ambitious telescope concept is referred to as the High Definition Space Telescope (HDST). In a recent arXiv white paper, Elvis (2015) critiqued a subset of the findings of the AURA study, focusing on the detection and characterization of rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone. In this response, we clarify these issues to confirm that HDST would play a transformative role in the study of terrestrial worlds. Its capabilities for studying exoplanets would be truly unique, even in 2035, and would complement HDST's broad and deep range of exciting astrophysics.


Aiming at the complex structure of cross-linked polyethylene(XLPE) power cable joints and the characteristics of partial discharge(PD) easily caused by insulation defects, the paper designs and develops an improved built-in coupling sensor based on capacitive coupling effect. Firstly, by constructing the equivalent circuit model of the sensor, the transfer function of the sensor is calculated, and the factors affecting the detection performance of the sensor are comprehensively analyzed. Secondly, based on the analysis of the detection performance of the sensor, the design scheme of the effective detection frequency band of the sensor is determined, and the structural size of the sensor is determined, including the width of the ring electrode and the thickness of the insulating cushion of the sensor. Finally, the key performance test experiments are carried out on the developed sensor. The test results show that the effective detection frequency band of the sensor is $1 \sim 300$ MHz, and the effective detection sensitivity is 5pC, which can effectively detect the internal PD signal of the cable joint.


In this paper we propose a new way of conceptualizing animals in experimentation: the animal-as-patient. Construing and treating animals as patients offers a way of successfully addressing some of the entrenched epistemological and ethical problems within a practice of animal experimentation directed to human clinical benefit. This ap proach is grounded in an epistemological insight and builds on work with so-called "pet models". It relies upon the occurrence and characterization of analogous human and nonhuman animal diseases, where, if certain criteria of homology and mechanism are met, the animal simultaneously becomes a patient and a spontaneous model of the human disease.


The title of this collection of case studies, The Bible and Global Tourism, is somewhat misleading; there is much more to this volume than consideration of visits to famous Holy Land sites or European points of pilgrimage. Jack Kugelmass does provide a detailed discussion of late nineteenth century and early twentieth century guides for travellers to the Holy Land, and Crispin Paine gives a very clear overview of different types of 'Bible museums' as a worldwide phenomenon, but perhaps more enlightening are the case studies of biblical tourism that could be considered slightly idiosyncratic. Larissa Carneiro writes perceptively on 'The Visual Culture of Creation Science,' describing how tourism is used in an attempt to promote creationism. Brook Wilensky-Lanford casts an amused eye on what he calls 'the theological creativity of the not so distant past' when examining late nineteenth century and early twentieth century American Eden theories. Admittedly both of these examples focus on North America, but the volume moves beyond attractions directly linked to biblical texts and extends into media and the creative arts, with Suzanne van der Beek linking the Camino de Santiago to its modern portrayals in film and Lieke Wijnia providing observations from the Dutch Arts festival, Musica Sacra Maastricht. The essays in The Bible and Global Tourism are wide-ranging in scope and this is perhaps a minor concern, in that by providing such a broad spectrum of case studies, there is not a clearly defined focus. There is an overall awareness of the process of 'valorization' and Polyxeni Moira explains how the concept works in relation to Paul's missionary activity in Greece, but the idea does not explicitly feature in every discussion. Some readers may find the choice of case studies problematic: strictly speaking Daniel H. Olsen and George A. Pierce's outline of Mormon approaches to heritage, attempting to protect sites relevant the history of Joseph Smith, might not be 'biblical' in relation to more orthodox Christian perspectives, but the chapter does provide an interesting counter-balance to Simon Dein's consideration of Lubavitch pilgrimage tradition. With all of the above being said, each essay does provide a fascinating insight into the area which its author discusses and so it is well-worth reading.