Optic neuritis (ON) is a common early symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS). It is characterized by disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), inflammatory demyelination, and reactive gliosis in addition to axonal and somatic degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) within the optic nerve and retina, respectively. ON can be modelled in animals, in particular by immunization of Brown Norway (BN) rats with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG). In addition to the hallmarks of ON, RGC degeneration in BN autoimmune optic neuritis (AON) has been reported to begin during the induction phase of the disease (iAON) prior to lymphocyte infiltration and inflammatory demyelination in the optic nerve (Fairless at al., 2012). This may have parallels with observations of retinal degeneration in some MS patients even in the absence of clinically defined ON associated with demyelination (Green at al., 2010; Saidha et al., 2011).
Previous studies from our group have shown that this early RGC loss is timed with blood-retinal barrier (BRB) disruption, increase in retinal Ca2+ and activation of the Ca2+-activated protease, calpain (Hoffmann et al., 2013), with subsequent elevation of optic nerve Ca2+. We hypothesise that an initial retinal pathology may lead to Ca2+-mediated cytoskeleton reorganization and axonal transport deficits in the optic nerve that could affect axonal integrity, as observed during iAON by electron microscopy (Fairless et al., 2012).
In this study, we examined the potential accumulation of axonal transport proteins along optic nerves, with particular focus on the optic nerve head (ONH) where RGC axons are naturally unmyelinated and therefore potentially more exposed to stress. No such anomalies were observed prior to the appearance of inflammatory demyelinating lesions. However, the axonal actin network dynamics within the optic nerve was changed starting iAON. This correlated with a decrease in protein expression of the Ca2+-dependent actin binding protein gelsolin, and an increase in fractin, a cleaved product of the actin monomer; both proteins being implicated in apoptotic processes. Intravitreal injection (IVI) of MK801, an NMDA receptor blocker, during iAON significantly rescued RGCs and reverted axonal actin changes to the values observed in healthy animals.
In order to investigate downstream mechanisms of NMDA activity, a primary RGC culture was established. Based on qPCR data that Na+/Ca2+ exchanger 1 (NCX1), involved in regulating Ca2+ homeostasis, is elevated during iAON, its role in Ca2+ dynamics of isolated RGCs was investigated. Although this primary culture did not fully reflect RGC in vivo pathology (for example, cultured RGCs were seen not to retain sensitivity to glutamate excitotoxicity), blockade with an inhibitor targeting reverse NCX1 function (SEA0400) significantly reduced Ca2+ responses to glutamate stimulation.
However, SEA0400 treatment during iAON in vivo did not affect either RGC survival or optic nerve actin dynamics.
Collectively, data presented in this thesis provide further evidence that early neurodegenerative processes involved in AON pathology precede inflammatory driven demyelination of the optic nerves. Initial RGC loss observed in iAON is tightly connected to NMDA receptor activity in the retina, whereby prolonged intracellular Ca2+ increase may be one of the possible initiators of RGC death. These findings could be relevant for the development of potential neuroprotective treatment strategies in MS patients, particularly for a sub-set of MS patients characterized by retinal pathology in the absence of clinically-defined ON.


The spatial distribution of southwest monsoon rainfall is studied over Maharashtra State (India), which includes part of the well-known Western Ghats mountain range, near its western boundary, running almost from north to south, perpendicular to the summer monsoon current in the lower troposphere. Meso-scale analysis of daily rainfall is performed for Maharashtra State, including the Western Ghats, for the two mid-monsoon months of July and August, during the 10-year period of 1971-1980. Strong and weak monsoon days were identified for the 5-year period of 1976-1980. The meso-scale pattern of average daily rainfall is obtained separately for strong and for weak monsoon conditions. All these average patterns show the following features: (i) the rainfall increases rapidly from the Arabian Sea coast close to the line of maximum height of the Western Ghats; (ii) there are two rainfall maxima corresponding to the two mountain peaks parallel to the coast line; (iii) between the two mountain peaks, there is a valley which is narrow at the western end (upwind end), broadening towards the east (on the downwind side). Ground contour height of the valley rises eastwards and ends as a part of the Deccan Plateau east of the Ghats. Here the valley opens out like a funnel with higher mountains flanking its two sides. In the valley, the rainfall increases from the coast up to the line of maximum height of the Ghats, and then decreases eastwards towards the plateau. The rainfall isopleths also take a funnel-shaped configuration. An interesting feature is that near the wider section of the valley funnel, there is a rainfall minimum and then the rainfall increases further eastwards on the downwind side. This feature of rainfall minimum is somewhat similar to the rainfall minimum reported by Asnani and Kinuthia (personal communication); Asnani (Asnani GC. 1993. Tropical Meteorology, Vol. I. Prof. G.C. Asnani: Pune, India; 603) attributed the rainfall minimum to the Bernoulli effect. A somewhat similar phenomenon is assumed in the present study area.


This paper describes the role of electricity as an enabling technology vital to the accomplishment of tasks underwater, i.e. subsea intervention. The basic methods of subsea intervention, i.e. ambient-pressure and atmospheric diving and the use of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), are outlined, and the hyperbaric ambient- pressure diving environment described in some detail as this presents particular problems from the point of view of the design and operation of electrical equipment. Background information includes a brief history of the use of electricity underwater. The paper covers subsea electrical technology in general and also in relation to specific applications. General considerations include atmospheric and pressure-balanced enclosure of equipment, pressure-tolerant electronic (PTE) systems, power supplies, cables and connectors and electric safety. In the context of electric safety, the recent code of practice for the safe use of electricity underwater is summarised. Specific applications of electricity described include communications, navigation, sonar systems, underwater television and acoustic imaging, nondestructive testing (NDT), electric welding, diver heating and environmental monitoring. The consequences of, and limitations imposed by, the physical properties of water are discussed in appropriate context throughout the paper.


Migrations in Catalonia and researches carried out on them from the social sciences have experienced a series of changes during the last decades, while other features have remained almost unchanged. In this article some reflections based on materials that are focused on such issues and have appeared during the last twenty-five years are presented. Concretely, the main conclusions of a recent study signed by the authors and based, among other data basis, on a census including over one thousand works have been synthesised here. In an introductory section, the main aims of that research and its spatio-temporal definition are noted, along the key characteristics of the analysed data basis. Secondly, some considerations on the scope of the research on migrations in Catalonia is developed, including data on the university production, the number of articles found in academic journals, etc. In a third moment, some reflections on the timing and spatial scales of analysis are incorporated. In a fourth section, an analysis of the main topics studied in the items included in the data base is undertaken. Fifthly, several issues linked to migrations that have been so far scarcely researched and that would be interesting to study in the future are suggested in another section. Finally, other previous states-of-the-art on migrations in Catalonia and Spain that have been published during the last years are mentioned closing the article.


Fantasies about warrior women circulated in many forms of writing in early modern England: travel narratives such as Sir Walter Ralegh's The Discoverie of Guiana (1595) portray Amazon encounters in the New World; poems like Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (1596) depict women's skill with a spear; and the plays of Shakespeare, John Fletcher, and others stage the adventurous feats of women on the battlefield. In this dissertation, I analyze the social anxieties that emerge when warrior women threaten gender hierarchies in the patriarchal society of early modern England. The battlefield has traditionally been a site for men to prove their masculinity against other men, so when male characters find themselves submitting to a sword-wielding woman, they are forced to reimagine their own masculine identities as they become the objects acted upon by women. In their experience of subjectivity, these literary warrior women often allude to the historical Queen Elizabeth I, whose reign destabilized ideas about gender and power in the period. Negative evaluations of warrior women often indicate anxiety about Elizabeth as an Amazon-like queen. Thus, portrayals of warrior women often end with a celebration of patriarchal dominance once the male characters have successfully contained the threat of the warrior woman through marriage or death. I argue that these depictions of containment indicate a common desire to maintain patriarchal superiority during and after Elizabeth's reign.


The origin and evolution of the thousands of species-specific genes with unknown functions, the so-called orphan genes, has been a mystery. Here, we have studied the rates and patterns of orphan sequence evolution, using the Rickettsia as our reference system. Of the Rickettsia conorii orphans examined in this study, 80% were found to be short gene fragments or fusions of short segments from neighboring genes. We reconstructed the putative sequences of the full-length genes from which the short orphan fragments are thought to have originated. One of the genes thus reconstructed displays weak similarity to the ankyrin-repeat protein family, an identification that is strongly supported by comparative molecular modeling. Studies of the patterns of gene fragmentation underscore the importance of short repeated sequences as targets for recombination events that result in sequence loss and the formation of short, transient open reading frames. Our analysis demonstrates that gene sequences present in the common ancestor can be inferred even in cases when no full-length open reading frame is present in any of the contemporary species. Such reconstructions support the identification of lost protein functions and hint at important lifestyle changes.


Synthetic minimal cells, here defined as liposomal bioreactors synthesizing protein, are a recent technology that models the intricate gene and protein networks of live cells, without the noise inherent to natural systems. Here we show a toolset for engineering combinatorial genetic circuits in synthetic cells, where distinct populations of synthetic cells control single-gene components, and those populations are assembled via programmable fusion to construct complex biological pathways. We utilize this technology to demonstrate that progenitor populations can mimic differentiation into new lineages in response to small molecule stimuli or as an effect of "mating" with another synthetic cell population. This provides a practical tool for metabolic engineering and natural pathway study, as well as paving the way towards the construction of live synthetic cells with complex gene pathways and the ability to form distinct lineages.


Disparity in income across states and regions in Malaysia continues to be a matter of concern. The purpose of the present study is to investigate empirically the question of whether the economic development of the state of Sabah has an impact on her neighbouring countries or vice versa, the growth of her neighbouring countries have causal effect on the growth of the state of Sabah. Using annual data for the period 1983 to 2003, our results from employing the ARDL bounds testing approach indicate that the growth of the state of Sabah is affected by the growth of Brunei Darussalam, Sarawak, and Kalimantan Timur. Further, the growth of the state of Sabah has an impact on her neighbouring states, country and provinces during the period under study.


1. Nebulised salbutamol is frequently used in the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Its effects on the cardiovascular system have been extensively investigated although as yet little is known concerning its effects on the pulmonary circulation, particularly during hypoxaemia. We have therefore examined the effects of nebulised salbutamol on pulmonary haemodynamics to see if it modifies hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction. 2. Eight healthy normal volunteers were studied on two separate occasions. After resting to achieve baseline haemodynamics patients were randomised to receive 5 mg salbutamol or placebo via a nebuliser. They were restudied after 30 min and then rendered hypoxaemic by breathing an N2/O2 mixture to achieve an SaO2 of 75-80%. Doppler echocardiography was used to measure mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP), cardiac output (CO) and hence pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR). 3. Treatment with salbutamol significantly increased MPAP during normoxaemia and hypoxaemia compared with placebo at 12.0 +/- 1.2 vs 8.0 +/- 0.7 mm Hg and 28.6 +/- 0.9 vs 25.2 +/- 1.0 mm Hg, respectively (P < 0.05). Salbutamol caused a significant increase in heart rate compared with placebo and effects were additive to those of hypoxia at 74 +/- 2 vs 67 +/- 3 beats min-1 during normoxaemia and 84 +/- 3 vs 77 +/- 4 beats min-1 during hypoxaemia, respectively (P < 0.05). Whilst systemic vascular resistance fell in response to salbutamol, PVR was unchanged by salbutamol during either normoxaemia or hypoxaemia. Cardiac output was increased by salbutamol and by hypoxia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Background: Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and increase mortality. Clinical outcomes of patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were worse in T2DM patients than those without T2DM. New-onset diabetes after PCI (NODAP) is often observed during long-term follow-up and this further aggravates cardiovascular diseases. Several studies had focused on patients after PCI with known T2DM. Previous studies showed that impaired glucose tolerance and aging are risk factors that promote NODAP. Considering the unique characteristics of patients after PCI, we will further study relevant risk factors. We sought to investigate the potential predictors of acute coronary syndrome patients with NODAP by a multicenter retrospective cohort study. Methods: This is a multicenter retrospective cohort study including patients after PCI. Clinical medical records of these patients were collected from four hospitals in different areas in China, from 2010 to 2021. Patients' demographic information, medical history, diagnostic testing, PCI-related information, medication situation will be summarized using descriptive statistics, and correlation analysis was performed on the development of new-onset diabetes. Variation will be described and evaluated using χ2 test or Kreskas-Wallis test. The prediction model will be verified by a validation set. Discussion: A novel diabetes prediction model for patients after PCI is established, and this study can achieve advanced intervention for the occurrence of NODAP. Owing to its retrospective nature, this study has some limitations, but it will be further studied through supplement data collection or prospective study. The study has been registered for clinical trials by the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2100047241).


INTRODUCTION
Various mobile devices are used in the therapy of unilateral free-end saddle. Unilateral dentures with precise connectivity elements are not used frequently. In this paper the problem of applying and functionality of unilateral free- end saddle denture without major connector was taken into consideration.

OBJECTIVE
The aim was to analyze and compare a unilateral RPD (removable partial denture) and a classical RPD by calculating and analyzing stresses under different loads.

METHODS
3D models of unilateral removable partial denture and classical removable partial denture with casted clasps were made by using computer program CATIA V5 (abutment teeth, canine and first premolar, with crowns and abutment tissues were also made). The models were built in full-scale. Stress analyses for both models were performed by applying a force of 300 N on the second premolar, a force of 500 N on the first molar and a force of 700 N on the second molar.

RESULTS
The Fault Model Extractor (FME) analysis and calculation showed the complete behaviour of unilateral removable partial denture and abutments (canine and first premolar), as well as the behaviour of RPD under identical loading conditions. Applied forces with extreme values caused high stress levels on both models and their abutments within physiological limits.

CONCLUSION
Having analyzed stresses under same conditions, we concluded that the unilateral RPD and classical RPD have similar physiological values


(1) Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) can cause severe visual impairment or even blindness. We aimed to assess the hematological risk factors that are associated with different stages of ROP in a cohort of preterm newborns, and to compare the clinical characteristics and therapeutic interventions between groups. (2) Methods: This retrospective study included 149 preterm newborns from a tertiary maternity hospital in Romania between January 2018 and December 2018, who were segregated into: Group 1 (with ROP, n = 59 patients), and Group 2 (without ROP, n = 90 patients). The patients that were affected by ROP were subsequently divided into the following subgroups: Subgroup 1 (Stage 1, n = 21), Subgroup 2 (Stage 2, n = 35), and Subgroup 3 (Stage 3, n = 25). The associations were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression and sensitivity analysis. (3) Results: Platelet mass indexes (PMI) that were determined in the first, seventh, and tenth days of life were significantly associated with Stage 1 ROP. PMI determined in the first day of life was also significantly associated with Stage 2 ROP. The sensitivity and specificity of these parameters were modest, ranging from 44 to 57%, and 59 to 63%. (4) Conclusions: PMI has a modest ability to predict the development of ROP.


An analytical study was undertaken to determine the two-dimensional wall conduction effects in an internally finned, rotating heat pipe. The finite element method was employed to generate computer results for a copper condenser with triangular fins. Heat transfer rates were shown to be approximately seventy-five percent greater than that predicted by an earlier, one-dimensional analysis. Heat transfer rates were found to be insensitive to rotational speed and fin half-angle. Due to numerical difficulties within the finite element program, no data was obtained for the finned, stainless steel condenser.


Organizational commitment of employees must be improved for the success of contemporary businesses. Employees are the driving force and human capital of businesses. In this study, to investigate the relationship between the elements constituting the human capital and elements constituting organizational commitment and the level of impact, a questionnaire was applied to businesses having activities in the banking sector of Kirsehir Province, Turkey. In the said questionnaire, the human capital scale consists of "quality of employees", "working relationships", and "development of employees" elements, while organizational scale consists of "affective commitment", "continuance commitment" and "normative commitment" elements. In addition, whether or not assessments of the employees differed according to certain variables was analyzed using t-test and ANOVA test. As a result of these analyses, it was found that development of employees is the most important factor that affects the organizational commitment positively.


Submultiplicativity, an analytic property generalizing the Strengthened Hanna Neumann Conjecture (SHNC) to complexes was proved in [2] assuming the deep-fall property. This in particular implied SHNC. The purpose of this note is to write the proof of the original SHNC and purely in terms of groups and graphs. We also give explicit examples showing that the upper bound in SHNC is sharp.


Parks are the most important natural sources of fresh air and relaxation in a city like Timisoara. Therefore, in this paper we turned our attention to the factors that can disrupt the development of ornamental plants in the main parks. One of them is harmful insects that can affect in the medium or long term the species of plants. Thus, during 2020, between April and September, 125 observation points in 5 parks were analyzed to establish the level of abundance of insect populations. In this analysis, we considered 4 levels of evaluation: level I, extremely high (> 400 individuals), level II, high (250-400 individuals), level III, medium (100-250 individuals) and level IV, low (<100 individuals). Levels I and II included the species of Metcalfa pruinosa, Eriosoma lanigerum, Aphis rosae, Aphis gossypii, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Corythucha ciliata and Halyomorpha halys, which had high and extremely high values in 2 parks (Botanical and Roses). Increased attention should be paid to these pests which in the absence of a control strategy can multiply excessively causing qualitative and quantitative losses of plant species.


Surface longline targeting mainly sword¢sh is considered a major threat for loggerhead turtle populations in the western Mediterranean Sea. For this reason, it is necessary to analyse the relationship between the characteristics of longline sets and loggerhead turtle by-catch. The objective of this study is to look for di¡erential spatial distribution of loggerhead turtle and sword¢sh captures along the longline to gain insights that might be useful to diminish unintended, incidental catch of turtles without a¡ecting the captures of the target species. Longlines are divided into transects separated by two consecutives buoys. During the 1999 ¢shing period of the traditional (without roller) Spanish surface drifting longline £eet (August to November), 59 technically homogeneous ¢shing operations, composed of 23 sections each, were observed. Chi-square test was used to compare loggerhead turtle and sword¢sh distributions among transects with those expected at random. Signi¢cant di¡erences were obtained only for loggerhead turtles, with 93% of the specimens caught in the second half of the longline transects, which were retrieved from the sea during daytime. Signi¢cant di¡erences were not found for the sword¢sh along the whole longline or for loggerhead turtle captures retrieved during daytime.We conclude that sword¢sh captures are independent of retrieval time whereas the incidental catch of loggerhead turtles occurs mainly during daytime, probably because loggerhead turtles use vision to locate baits.


Patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) are now considered as being pre-diabetic, which indicates their relatively high risk for developing diabetes mellitus associated with abnormal metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases. However, dietary modification and physical exercise may play a critical role in this respect. To determine the influence of dietary modification and physical exercise in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance in Bangladesh, thirty three newly detected otherwise healthy subjects with IGT, aged 30-63 years, were randomly selected to participate in a 12 weeks diet and exercise program. Substantial improvement in glucose tolerance was observed at the end of 12 weeks particularly in middle aged subjects (41-50 years). Mean fasting blood glucose and 2 hr post load glucose value were reduced significantly. Glucose tolerance was reverted to normal in 66.7% of the participants, remained unchanged in 26.7% and deteriorated to diabetes in 6.7%. Significant reduction in serum total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol along with mild deterioration in HDL cholesterol and increase in triglyceride values were observed. It was found that the principles of 'prudent diet' in combination with physical exercise are highly effective in improving glucose tolerance, lowering total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in IGT subjects. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjmb.v7i1.18575 Bangladesh J Med Biochem 2014; 7(1): 17-26


UNLABELLED
This study aimed to evaluate differences between low active overweight and obese children in terms of energy expenditure (EE), ventilation (VE), and cardiac response during graded submaximal treadmill testing at constant speed.

METHODS
We categorized 20 children into two weight groups according to the International Obesity Task Force criteria: overweight (n = 10; age = 9.7 ±1.34 years) and obese (n = 10; age = 10.4 ± 1.4 years). Children performed treadmill testing at a constant speed (1.53 m·s-1) and increasing grade (0%, 4%, and 8%). every 3 min.

RESULTS
The EE across all grades was significantly higher (p < .001) in obese than in overweight children. Differences at each grade disappeared when EE was adjusted by body mass; however, several differences remained when the EE was adjusted by fat-free mass or body surface area. The increase in EE with increasing grade was greater in obese children (effect size between 0% and 8% for EE was 1.17). BMI z-score and fat mass (kg) were the main predictors of EE (Kcal·min-1) and contributed to explaining 66%, 70%, and 83.4% of the variance in EE at 0%, 4% and 8% gradients respectively.

CONCLUSION
We suggest that when assessing EE response to exercise, the degree of obesity should be taken into consideration.


The study was conducted to investigate the optimum dietary protein level needed for growing genetically male tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Diets containing crude protein levels 40, 42.5, 45, 47.5 and 50% were formulated and tried in triplicates. Test diets were fed to 20 fish/1m 3 floating hapa at 5% of fish body weight daily for 24 weeks. Survival of fish was not affected by dietary protein levels. Growth rate varied inversely with dietary protein levels to a maximum at 40%. Protein utilization and turnover decreased with increasing protein levels in diets. Quadratic regression analysis of growth indices against protein inclusion levels indicated that the optimum dietary protein required for maximum growth was 40%. This result also paralleled the least values of protein and calorie deposited for 40% protein level whereas the other levels were significantly (p<0.05) higher. The study concludes that 47.5% and 50% protein levels may depress tilapia growth and feed utilization, while 40% protein gave optimum growth.


Earthquake simulation on synthetic fault networks carries great potential for characterizing the statistical patterns of earthquake occurrence. I present an earthquake simulator based on elastic dislocation theory. It accounts for the effects of interseismic tectonic loading, static stress steps at the time of earthquakes, and postearthquake stress readjustment through viscoelastic relaxation of the lower crust and mantle. Earthquake rupture initiation and termination are determined with a Coulomb failure stress criterion and the static cascade model. The simulator is applied to interacting multifault systems: one, a synthetic two-fault network, and the other, a fault network representative of the San Francisco Bay region. The faults are discretized both along strike and along dip and can accommodate both strike slip and dip slip. Stress and seismicity functions are evaluated over 30,000 yr trial time periods, resulting in a detailed statistical characterization of the fault systems. Seismicity functions such as the coefficient of variation and a - and b -values exhibit systematic patterns with respect to simple model parameters. This suggests that reliable estimation of the controlling parameters of an earthquake simulator is a prerequisite to the interpretation of its output in terms of seismic hazard.


Summary Bacteria possess various regulatory mechanisms to detect and coordinate a response to elemental nutrient limitation. In pseudomonads, the two‐component system regulators CbrAB, NtrBC and PhoBR, are responsible for regulating cellular response to carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) respectively. Phosphonates are reduced organophosphorus compounds produced by a broad range of biota and typified by a direct C‐P bond. Numerous pseudomonads can use the environmentally abundant phosphonate species 2‐aminoethylphosphonate (2AEP) as a source of C, N, or P, but only PhoBR has been shown to play a role in 2AEP utilization. On the other hand, utilization of 2AEP as a C and N source is considered substrate inducible. Here, using the plant‐growth‐promoting rhizobacterium Pseudomonas putida BIRD‐1 we present evidence that 2AEP utilization is under dual regulation and only occurs upon depletion of C, N, or P, controlled by CbrAB, NtrBC, or PhoBR respectively. However, the presence of 2AEP was necessary for full gene expression, i.e. expression was substrate inducible. Mutation of a LysR‐type regulator, termed AepR, upstream of the 2AEP transaminase‐phosphonatase system (PhnWX), confirmed this dual regulatory mechanism. To our knowledge, this is the first study identifying coordination between global stress response and substrate‐specific regulators in phosphonate metabolism.


We propose to employ a seamless empirical dynamical modeling approach to construct a state-of-the-art benchmark probabilistic forecast system and to evaluate factors impacting predictability at forecast lead times ranging from weeks to decades in the CFS2 forecast system, including climate drift. The model used, a linear inverse model (LIM) derived from observed simultaneous and time-lag correlation statistics of oceanic and atmospheric variables, can also be used to make forecasts whose skill is competitive with current coupled global forecast GCMs. The geographical and temporal variations of forecast skill are also generally similar for the LIM and CGCMs. This makes the much simpler LIM an attractive tool for assessing and diagnosing climate predictability, including determining factors that contribute to climate prediction skill as well as those that limit it, and also for diagnosing the predictability of climate modes such as the MJO, ENSO, PDO, and AMO. We will use the LIM to diagnose where CGCM improvements should be targeted to yield the most significant gains in forecast skill. The LIM formalism also allows determination of which climate regimes have particularly high or low predictability, and how this affects the predictability of different system variables. This suggests that an important "best practices" aspect of climate forecasts on all time scales should be the issuance of both a forecast and a "forecast of forecast skill", of which the LIM would be an important component. The proposed work addresses NOAA's long-term goal of climate adaptation and mitigation (see NOAA's Next-Generation Strategic Plan) as well as the goals of MAPP in several ways. It projects strongly on NOAA's fundamental mission responsibilities To understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts and To share that knowledge and information with others. Its contribution to NOAA science includes discoveries and ever new understanding of the oceans and atmosphere, and the application of this understanding to such issues as the causes and consequences of climate change, the physical dynamics of high-impact weather events, ... and the ability to model and predict the future states of these systems. The proposed work will also improve scientific understanding of the changing climate system and its impacts by elucidating the sources of climate predictability and suggesting directions for improvement of their representation in models used in the IPCC assessments. The performance of these tasks will also contribute both directly and indirectly to a climate literate public that makes informed decisions through the direct release of information to the general public by means of web products. A Methodology for North American Decadal Climate Prediction Arun Kumar, Martin P. Hoerling, James W. Hurrell, Xiaowei Quan 1 NOAA NCEP/CPC Camp Springs, MD 2 NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO 3 NCAR Climate and Global Dynamics Division, Boulder, CO 4 University of Colorado, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Boulder, CO


Do lawyers have any social responsibilities during a revolution? If so, what are they? Does the lawyer hold any special roles in revolutionary times? This article discusses these questions, which raise thorny theoretical and practical dilemmas. According to the article, revolutions in the Western world and the legal profession are linked. Therefore, the article describes the historical role lawyers have played in the great revolutions which have created stable liberal traditions based on the idea of "rights": The Glorious English Revolution of 1688-1689 and the American and French Revolutions of the end of the 18th century. Moreover, the article deliberates on the characteristics of lawyers which support conservatism and oppose revolutions and vice versa. It then presents the conflicting duties which are imposed upon lawyers during revolutions. On the one hand, the lawyer has an obligation to preserve the legal order and the rule of law. This obligation may entail a duty to act in a counter-revolutionary manner. On the other hand, the lawyer has obligations to improve the legal system and to promote the rule of law. These may entail actions which support the revolutionary values or goals, especially in a democratic revolution. Lastly, the article considers the practical role of lawyers during a revolution, inter alia, in public speaking and assisting in drafting the basic documents of the new legal order. Even in times of revolutions that seek to collapse the existing legal order, the legal milieu is of great importance. The revolutionary lawyer plays a significant role in preserving and creating the temporary, transitional and new legal orders. According to the article, the participation of lawyers in a revolution strongly influences the legitimacy of the existing legal order and necessarily the legitimacy of the revolution itself.


Abstract. While transportation related incidents account for 42% of all occupational fatalities in the US, this burden especially affects agriculture, where it accounts for over 49% of all work-related deaths. ASABE provides recommended standards for best practices regarding the lighting and marking of farm equipment. Using these standards, we created an educational display and interviewed 313 farmers at farm shows across the Midwest. Survey questions included demographics, farm vehicle use, use of lighting/marking on farm vehicles, and personal accounts of near misses that occurred while operating farm equipment on roadways. Overall, 55% of farmers reported that they already used current retroreflective materials on their equipment, and 45% reported that they were missing/did not have the current materials. The differences among farm implement types and use of current materials was significant (p = 0.02). Compared to other implements, tractors, trailers, and sprayers were less likely to have current materials. Most farmers reported needing retroreflective materials for their tractors. Interestingly, more than half (57%) of established/experienced farmers reported having retroreflective materials, as compared to only 40% of new/beginning farmers (p = 0.02). Overall, approximately a quarter of surveyed farmers (26%) shared a personal account of an incident or near-miss that occurred while operating equipment on roadways. The most common cases involved being rear-ended (37%), passed in a 'no-pass' zone (20%), and hit from the side or front (13%). All farmers received a slow moving vehicle kit (including emblem and reflective strips) for participating in the short interview.


Traffic flow models are used to characterize traffic behavior or to describe fundamental diagram (flow-density relationship) of traffic conditions. From the viewpoint of static traffic characteristic, these models mainly provide information of traffic states (free flow or congestion) and trend of traffic variation in a highway section or intersection. However, dynamic properties observed in short time interval reveal that hysteresis phenomenon are likely to occur during traffic state-transitions. The hysteresis phenomenon is visible in the transition paths both in the flow-density and velocity-density diagrams. The hysteresis is either due to drivers' asymmetrical desired control speed in anticipation and relaxation modes or on traffic conditions of demand and supply in upstream and downstream. The hysteresis transition shows how the traffic quality evolves during minutes to hours. It is thus expected that a better traffic flow modeling and control can be achieved if hysteresis transition can be correctly modeled and used in traffic prediction. The paper develops a generalized mathematical hysteresis model based on Duhem operator. The proposed hysteresis model can describe hysteresis phenomenon in each state to state transition. An identification process is also applied to make our model more flexible in different traffic conditions. Besides modeling, issue related to flow stage transitions and congested trend can be predicted or estimated, and, accordingly, some traffic control strategies can also be devised. Simulation results are provided to illustrate transitions between free flow states and congested states. The simulation results also show that our model can represent the hysteresis phenomenon in different state transitions. The research is expected to shed light on intelligent transportation systems.


A fast Wiener filter-based crystal identification (WFCI) algorithm was recently developed to discriminate crystals with close scintillation decay times in phoswich detectors. Despite the promising performance of WFCI, the influence of various physical factors and electrical noise sources of the data acquisition chain (DAQ) on the crystal identification process was not fully investigated. This paper examines the effect of different noise sources, such as photon statistics, avalanche photodiode (APD) excess multiplication noise, and front-end electronic noise, as well as the influence of different shaping filters on the performance of the WFCI algorithm. To this end, a PET-like signal simulator based on a model of the LabPET DAQ, a small animal APD-based digital PET scanner, was developed. Simulated signals were generated under various noise conditions with CR-RC shapers of order 1, 3, and 5 having different time constants (τ). Applying the WFCI algorithm to these simulated signals showed that the non-stationary Poisson photon statistics is the main contributor to the identification error of WFCI algorithm. A shaping filter of order 1 with τ = 50 ns yielded the best WFCI performance (error ~1%), while a longer shaping time of τ = 100 ns slightly degraded the WFCI performance (error ~3%). Filters of higher orders with fast shaping time constants (10-33 ns) also produced good WFCI results (error 1.4% to 1.6%). This study shows the advantage of the pulse simulator in evaluating various DAQ conditions and confirms the influence of the detection chain on the WFCI performance.


Background. Ornamental peaches are flowering trees with petals ranging in color from white and pale pink to purplered. Because peach suffers from fungal infections, Prunus mira Koehne is often used in breeding programs as a donor of resistance. It also impacts on other traits, including flower color. The aim of this work was to study the composition of flavonoid pigments in the flowers of parent plants and new ornamental peach cultivars originated from P. mira.Objects and methods. Four new cultivars developed at the Nikita Botanical Gardens and their parental forms – P. mira and 4 cultivars with the P. persica morphotype – were included in the study. Pigments were extracted with acidified ethyl alcohol from fresh petals and identified by HPLC analysis.Results. Twelve glycosides of cyanidin and peonidin in different combinations and 8 glycosides of kaempferol and quercetin were found in the petal samples. Among colored plants, the highest amount of flavonols (114 mg g-1) and the lowest amount of anthocyanins (0.46 mg g-1) were found in P. mira petals. Anthocyanins predominate in cultivars with purple-red petals (16 mg g-1). Much more flavonols (55– 88 mg g-1) and little anthocyanins (1.2–3.4 mg g-1) were accumulated in the purple-pink flowers of hybrid cultivars. This trend persisted in the cultivars from crosses with a white-flowered parent. Conclusion. The ratio of anthocyanins and flavonols in the peach flowers depends on the plant species and determines the petals' intermediate colors and half-tones. Using P. mira in breeding programs provides opportunities for the development of cultivars with new shades of flower color.


An alternative model for diagnosing personality disorders (PDs) appears in DSM-5 Section III. This model includes a set of dimensional personality traits, which along with impairment in personality functioning can be configured to represent one of six PDs. Although specific assessment instruments for these personality traits have already been developed (e.g., the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 [PID-5]), clinicians will likely continue to use omnibus measures of psychopathology that are familiar to them to inform diagnostic decision making. One such measure, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2–Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), will likely remain in the test armamentarium of many practitioners and be employed to assess the DSM-5 dimensional traits. In the current investigation, we examined the associations between MMPI-2-RF scale scores and the PID-5 trait scores and DSM-5 Section III PDs in a combined sample of university students (n = 668) from the United States and Canada. Our results indicated that the MMPI-2-RF scale scores mostly converge with PID-5 dimensional traits as well as the Section III PDs in a conceptually expected manner. As such, we conclude that the MMPI-2-RF is a potentially useful instrument in assessing personality psychopathology as conceptualized in DSM-5 Section III.


User interfaces of most data-centered software systems are oriented on the data structure of the respective application. While such interfaces work well for trained users, they are most often not suitable for non-expert users. In this paper, we present ALEX, an advisory artificial conversational agent that uses machine learning and natural language processing to gather information from a relational database. Specifically, ALEX allows students at the Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin) to query courses and modules in a conversational way using textual input. The natural language understanding of the system is realized with a pipeline that uses a Hidden Markov Model tagger to annotate the input and groups phrases together to form SQL queries. ALEX was evaluated in a research study that compared the conversational agent with the existing online systems of the TU Berlin which are currently used by students to retrieve information about courses. The results show that the conversational approach is not only more efficient with nonexpert users, but also has higher hedonic and pragmatic quality. A live demo of the tool can be found at http://alex.qu.tu-berlin.de.


This doctorial thesis examines cognitive functions in depression and anxiety disorders in a population-based sample that includes mostly untreated persons. It is well established that depression is associated with cognitive impairments. However, in spite of the fact that most of the depressed persons are untreated, almost all available evidence in this field is based on in-and outpatient samples. Also, little attention has been paid to cognitive functioning in anxiety disorders. The thesis includes four empirical studies that were based on data from the PART study, an ongoing population-based study of mental health in Stockholm, Sweden. The specific objectives of Study I were to examine whether there is an association between depression and cognitive abilities including episodic memory, verbal ability, psychomotor speed (TMT-A), and executive function (TMT-B) as well as to examine whether potential cognitive deficits vary as a function of DSM-IV defined depression diagnoses. Similarly, in Study II we aimed to examine the relationship between anxiety disorders and cognitive functioning in the same abilities as in Study I and whether the observed cognitive impairments varied as a function of anxiety diagnosis. In Study III, the major objective was to study cognitive functioning in recovery from depression by following up a sample of depressed persons three years later. Study IV, finally, aimed to investigate premorbid markers of depression with a specific focus on low episodic memory performance. This was accomplished by prospective examination of a cohort of depression-free persons three years after the baseline examination, at which a group of these persons received a depression diagnosis. Results from Study I indicated that depressive disorder was associated with cognitive dysfunction. Depression-related deficits were observed in tests tapping episodic memory and executive function. Further, we found that persons diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and Mixed Anxiety Depressive Disorder showed significant deficits in episodic memory functioning, whereas Dysthymia was associated with impaired executive function. Minor Depressive Disorder was not found to be associated with cognitive dysfunction. The pattern of results in Study II was comparable to the observations in Study I. We found anxiety-related impairments in episodic memory that remained even after controlling for comorbid depression. Specifically, Panic Syndrome (PD), Social Phobia (SP), and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) were associated with episodic memory dysfunction, whereas Specific Phobia was not. In addition, we observed executive dysfunction in anxiety and then specifically in persons affected by PD and OCD. However, these deficits were non-significant after controlling for alcohol abuse/dependence, suggesting that excessive alcohol use may explain parts of these findings. Results from Study III demonstrated that the recovered persons suffered a continuous cognitive dysfunction. Results from Study IV suggested that low episodic memory performance, as measured by the sum of free and cued recall, was a significant risk factor for developing depression three years later independently of demographic, clinical and socioeconomic factors. Taken together, the findings from this thesis extend the picture of cognitive dysfunction in depression and anxiety disorders by including untreated persons sampled from the population. Further, the present findings suggest that episodic memory impairments persist beyond the recovery from depression and that low cognitive performance is present already three years before depression diagnoses. The overall conclusion that can be drawn from the thesis is that depression in particular, but also anxiety, are serious conditions that affect cognitive functioning indicating that these disorders are associated with brain dysfunction. This, in turn, may have a large negative impact, not only for the working and social lives of the persons affected by depression and anxiety, but also for society as a whole.


Cardiac biopsies are being undertaken with increased frequency in recent years. The present review concentrates mainly upon the role of this technique in the more accurate classification and diagnosis of the cardiomyopathies. In addition the quality of biopsy material and the degree to which it represents the overall cardiac pathological changes are presented.


Background Antineoplastons are naturally occurring peptides and amino acid derivatives found in human blood and urine. Antineoplaston A10 and AS2-1 reportedly control neoplastic growth and do not significantly inhibit normal cell growth. Antineoplastons contain 3-phenylacetylamino-2, 6-piperidinedione (A10), phenylacetylglutamine plus phenylacetylisoglutamine (A10-I), and phenylacetylglutamine plus phenylacetate (AS2-1). This open label, non- blinded randomized phase II study compared the efficacy of hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) with 5-fluorouracil,with or without antineoplastons as a postoperative therapy for colorectal metastasis to the liver. Methods Sixty-five patients with histologically confirmed metastatic colon adenocarcinoma in liver, who had undergone hepatectomy, and/or thermal ablation for liver metastases were enrolled between 1998- 2004 in Kurume University Hospital. Patients were randomly assigned to receive systemic antineoplastons (A10-I infusion followed by per-oral AS2-1) plus HAI (AN arm) or HAI alone (control arm) based on the number of metastases and presence/ absence of extra-hepatic metastasis at the time of surgery. Primary endpoint was cancer-specific survival (CSS); secondary endpoints were relapse-free survival (RFS), status and extent of recurrence, salvage surgery (rate) and toxicity. Findings Overall survival was not statistically improved (p=0.105) in the AN arm (n=32). RFS was not significant (p=0.343). Nevertheless, the CSS rate was significantly higher in the AN arm versus the control arm (n=33) with a median survival time 67 months (95%CI 43-not calculated) versus 39 months (95%CI 28-47) (p=0.037) and 5 year CSS rate 60% versus 32% respectively. Cancer recurred more often in a single organ than in multiple organs in the AN arm versus the control arm. The limited extent of recurrent tumours in the AN arm meant more patients remained eligible for salvage surgery. Major adverse effects of antineoplastons were fullness of the stomach and phlebitis. No serious toxicity, including bone marrow suppression, liver or renal dysfunction, were found in the AN arm. Interpretation Antineoplastons (A10 Injection and AS2-1) might be useful as adjunctive therapy in addition to HAI after hepatectomy in colorectal metastases to the liver. Trial registration information ClinicalTrials.gov UMIN000012099


Breast cancer is the commonest cancer among women worldwide and the probability of a woman dying from breast cancer is high (about 1 in 38 of total human population (2.6%)).The main factor for mortality is due to the resistance of this particular disease to chemotherapeutic agents. One of the most well-known proteins to be found to correlate significantly with breast cancer resistance to chemotherapeutic agent is the ATP-binding cassette super-family G member 2 (ABCG2). Knowledge on ABCG2 gene regulation is still lacking in terms of how the increased cytotoxic levels are closely related to induce a hype in gene transcript levels and ultimately cause of the reduction in chemotherapeutic agents. The approach taken in this study is through mutational analysis of selected transcription factor governing the expression of ABCG2. In order to achieve this, a previously cloned ABCG2 promoter which has been isolated (around 1500 bp in size) from Danio rerio and inserted into pGL3.0 plasmid, was subjected to site-directed mutagenesis. Selected transcription factor which is AP-1 was successfully mutated by deletion of 5'- TGACGCG -3' sequence at position 1113 bp from TSS+1 where it would bind in order to define their role in ABCG2 physiological function. Sequencing result after site-directed mutagenesis shows high similarities about 98% with ABCG2 gene of Danio rerio. Upon validation, it was found that the intended AP-1 binding site has been mutated. In future work, the mutated clone here will be subjected to transfection analysis where dual-luciferase assay will be conducted to verify the loss of activity from the ABCG2 promoter upon mutation of the targeted AP-1 site. Hence, the mutagenesis analysis of ABCG2 promoter are able to provide information on the involvement of AP-1 transcription factor in multidrug resistance mechanism of breast cancer and thus will be a potential target for chemotherapeutic agent.


Fashions, fads and memes come and go. Some, like PacMan or lava-lamps, nostalgically bring a smile to the lips; while others, like neon leg warmers and pet rocks, have slunk off into obscurity without even so much as a backward glance. We, in the medical community, are not immune to the phenomenon of the fad. From "Tar Water" and "Metallic Tractors" to control pain (Hutchison BMJ 1925) to early goal directed therapy (Rivers et al. NEJM 2001) and intensive insulin therapy in critically ill patients (van den Berghe et al. NEJM 2001), the latest and greatest sweep through our communities at regular intervals.


Since the description of Candida orthopsilosis and C. metapsilosis in 2005, several methods have been proposed to identify and differentiate these species from C. parapsilosis sensu stricto. Species-specific uniplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed and compared with sequencing of the D1/D2 region of the LSU 28S rDNA gene, microsatellite typing of C. parapsilosis sensu stricto, and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns in the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region of the rDNA gene. There was agreement between results of testing of 98 clinical isolates with the four PCR-based methods, with 59 isolates identified as C. parapsilosis sensu stricto, 37 as C. orthopsilosis, and two as C. metapsilosis.


Pickling liquors are still one of the main environmental concerns of the stainless steel industry. Most of the processes designed to recover these wastes focus on the recovery of their acid content (mixtures of HF and HNO 3 ), but also produce metals (iron, nickel, chromium and molybdenum) as a low quality by-product that sometimes must be treated as a residue. This paper presents the development of a process to obtain commercial products from the metal content of these liquors. To this end, three precipitation methods (total, sequential and modified) were tested. The proposed procedure is the last one, i.e., modified precipitation. It consists of two stages each resulting in the recovery of solids. The first product is mainly composed of iron and chromium hydroxides and oxides, along with molybdate, while the second is mainly composed of nickel hydroxide. In addition, this method allows an almost total recovery of the acids.


Whereas banks operate under different management, board of directors, ownership structures, and government regulations, there is no specific optimal corporate governance model that may be applied to all banks. This study investigates the effect of internal corporate governance mechanisms such as board structure, ownership structure, and audit function as well as other variables such as bank size and bank age on bank financial performance. The sample of the study comprises of both conventional and Islamic banks operating in the seven Arabian Peninsula countries, namely Yemen and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. Regression analysis (OLS) is used to test the aforementioned effect. The results of this study reveal that there is a significant relationship between corporate governance and bank profitability. Board meetings and bank age have positive and significant effects on ROE. Meanwhile, board independence and bank size have negative and significant effects on ROA. In addition, while bank age and board committees have positive effects on Profit Margin, ownership concentration has a negative effect on this profitability measure. These results are consistent with previous studies. However, the literature indicate that the correlation between corporate governance and bank performance is still not clearly established and that impact of corporate governance on bank financial performance in developing countries is still relatively limited.


This paper investigates the syntax of clefts in Wolof and proposes an analysis based on the Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) formalism. Wolof clefts illustrate an interaction between morphology, syntax and information structure. In particular, they vary morphosyntactically depending on what item is clefted. Structurally, the clefts lack the cleft pronoun, are mono-clausal at the phrasal level, however, bi-clausal at the functional level. Furthermore, they relate to copular constructions in that both instantiate the same form. Thus, an understanding of these constructions is a prerequisite for understanding how clefting works. In this paper, I review different approaches towards copula predication within LFG and present my analysis of Wolof data. I propose a parallel syntactic approach that assumes a close-complement (PREDLINK) for copular and cleft clauses. In addition, I posit an i(nformation)-structure projection to allow for extra-syntactic analysis.


Optimum growing temperatures were determined for Hakonechloa macra Makino 'Aureola' and Chasmanthium latifolium (Michx.) Yates, two shade-tolerant ornamental grasses found naturally in regions differing in temperature conditions. Plants were grown in four growth chambers at average daily temperatures of 13, 19, 25, and 31 °C for 12 weeks. After the treatment period, plants were destructively harvested to quantify growth and shoot tissue concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg. Optimal growth occurred at an average daily temperature of 25 °C for both grasses, but Hakonechloa was better able to tolerate lower temperatures. Hakonechloa died at 31 °C, while Chasmanthium growth was only slightly reduced at this temperature. Nutrient concentrations in shoot tissue for both species increased with increasing temperatures up to the temperature supporting optimal growth. At 13 and 19 °C, the concentrations of most nutrients were higher for Hakonechloa than for Chasmanthium, possibly reflecting the greater growth (higher nutrient demand) of Hakonechloa at lower temperatures. When compared on a per plant basis at each grasses' optimum temperature for growth, Chasmanthium has a much greater demand for nutrients than Hakonechloa, reflecting the greater growth potential of Chasmanthium.


Abstract: The economic turbulences faced by Zimbabwe in the first decade of the 21st century culminated in almost total demise of the formal industry. Concomitantly, this resulted in the emergence and proliferation of the informal industry as an alternative solution. This study explored the training strategies and approaches employed in the informal manufacturing industry. The study adopted the qualitative research paradigm to collect, present and analyse data. Findings from the study point to the efficacy of the informal apprenticeship in terms of human capital development and hence this skills training approach becomes the main trajectory to economic recovery for Zimbabwe.


This paper OD3DM (Object detection and 3D modeling) mainly discussed the process to detect complex geometric objects and thereafter performing 3D modeling of geometric objects using Entropy based selection of optimum transformation of input data, wavelet based transformation and fuzzy logictechniques for designing and training of object recognition systems using realistic 3D computer graphics models using Fuzzy Logic has been implemented in this paper. Our model OD3DM system convert picture into grid of size 10x10.10x20, 20x20 and uses centroid formula to detect geometric objects which detect edge and boundary limit of every image taken from real time camera.We look at the relation between the size of the training set and the classification accuracy for a basic recognition task and provide a method for estimating the degree of difficulty of detecting an object. A few images were taken and were captured using real time camera. We show how to sample, align, detect, and rotate images of objects. We address the problem of training on large, highly redundant data and propose a novel active learning method which generates compact training sets and compact classifiers. We believe that the use of realistic 3D models and computer graphics for view-based object recognition will lead to a reevaluation of some of the basic research questions in this area. The problems of learning from small training sets and learning from data with inaccurate or missing ground truth will lose importance while the problem of learning from large, accurately labeled but highly redundant data will become more important. Keyword: OD3DM (Object Detection & 3D Modeling), Entropy, fuzzy Logic, wavelets, Centroid based Similarity Matrix, PDF (Probability Distribution Functions)


The purpose of this research was to correlate non-random chromosomal aberrations in the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) of prostate cancer patients with specific clinical parameters. Peripheral blood samples were analyzed from 59 informative prostate cancer patients. Non-random chromosomal alterations detected in the PBLs and their correlation with any specific clinical parameters were analyzed statistically. A comparison was made between specific chromosomal abnormalities in the patients having an early (<65 years) or late (> or =65 years) age at disease onset, low-grade (Gleason grade <7) or high-grade (Gleason grade > or =7) tumors, a low (<10 ng/ml) or high (> or =10 ng/ml) prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, and androgen-sensitive or -insensitive disease. In examining the specific chromosomal breakpoints, the regions 1p13, 2q21, 3p21, 4q13, 5q31, 6p21, 7p15, 7p13, 7q32, 10p11, 10q26, 11p15, 11p11, 14q12, and 16q12 showed breaks in at least four cases. Chromosome 15 (P=0. 045) was significantly altered in patients having a PSA value greater than or equal to 10, while it (P=0.017) and chromosome 19 (P=0.036) were significantly altered in patients having a PSA value greater than or equal to 20. In addition, chromosomes 5 (P=0.032), 8 (P=0.020), 16 (P=0.009), and 20 (P=0.047) were significantly altered in patients having a Gleason grade greater than 7. Also, chromosomes 2 (P=0.020) and 3 (P=0.044) were significantly altered in patients who had early disease onset. Additionally, chromosome 10 (P=0.041) was significantly altered in patients having metastasis, and chromosomes 4 (P=0.006) and 7 (P=0.028) were significantly altered in patients having androgen-insensitive disease. In spite of the small subset of patients, chromosome 8 (p=0.003) was significantly altered in patients having small cell carcinoma of the prostate. From these results we conclude that non-random chromosomal aberrations present in PBLs of prostate cancer patients can be correlated with specific clinical parameters. These correlations can be used to identify a prostate cancer patient's risk response to therapy.


This thesis deals with tools for operational improvement of supply chain performance. The work was aimed at providing knowledge for supply chain developers and practitioners, and identifying and developing tools for improved performance in a supply chain. The investigation was part of a project financed by the European Commission called "Industrial Supply Chain Optimizer" (ISCO). The thesis consists of an introductory essay and appended papers. The appended papers each describe a selected tool or a combination of tools that improve performance. The tools in combination constitute a simple framework for improved performance in supply chains, which is further discussed in the frame. The tools together constitute the ISCO framework: · Create a process map, including your main supply chain partners (Paper 1 - Process Mapping in Supply Chains) · Find out where the costs are and their cause, including your main supply chain partners (Paper 2 - On Activity-Based Costing in Supply Chains) · Synchronize production and deliveries with your main supply chain partners (Paper 3 - Supply Chain Optimization through Genetic Algorithms) Experience from the case studies shows that the ISCO framework was very quick and simple to implement. The thesis proposes a simple framework for jump-starting improvement initiatives combined with a continuous relationship driver that is likely to be very attractive to supply chain managers. (Less)


Electrodes vapour material transport characteristics in the free-burning electric arc and formation of its pressure gradients are investigated. It is shown that adequate defining of gas-dynamic characteristic of electric arc plasma demands successive account of the thermal conductivity processes in the channel arc region. The roles of the gasdynamic and diffusion processes as transfer mechanisms of electrodes erosion products are compared. The method using distant stabilized wall to study the transfer processes out of channel proposed. PACS: 52.80.-s


Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1. The Olfactory Context: Smelling the Early Christian World A Martyr's Scent Sacrifice: The Aroma of Relation Daily Smells: Powers and Promises God's Perfume: Imagined Glory and the Scent of Life 2. The Christian Body: Ritually Fashioned Experience A New Place A Revelatory World Participatory Knowing: Ritual Scents and Devotional Uses Participatory Knowing: Scents and Sense Excursus: Incense Offerings in the Syriac Transitus Mariae 3. Olfaction and Christian Knowing Sense Perception in the Ancient Mind Christian Senses in a Christian World Olfactory Analogies as Theological Tools Revelatory Scents: Olfaction and Identity Remembering Knowledge: Liturgical Commentaries Excursus: On the Sinful Woman in Syriac Tradition 4. Redeeming Scents: Ascetic Models The Smell of Danger: Marking Sensory Contexts The Fragrance of Virtue: Reordering Olfactory Experience The Spiritual Senses: Relocating Perception Ascetic Practice and Embodied Liturgy The Stylite's Model A Syriac Tradition Continued 5. Sanctity and Stench Ascetic Stench: Sensation and Dissonance Stench and Morality: Mortality and Sin Ascetic Senses Asceticism: Holy Stench, Holy Weapon 6. Resurrection, Sensation, and Knowledge Bodily Expectation Salvific Knowing Notes Bibliography Index


The degree of acculturation is higher among the second generation immigrants than that of the first generation. Sometimes the discovery of the history, geography, custom, rites and rituals of their parental homeland causes a kind of bewilderment, amazement and wonder among the later generations. This is what reflected in Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth. The Story " Once in a Lifetime " tells the interaction between two Indian immigrant families from the point of view of a thirteen year old girl Hema. Hama's family consisting of her father her mother and herself another family Kaushik's family consisting of his father, his mother and himself. As in first paragraph of the story Lahiri writes :" Your parents had decided to leave Cambridge not for Atlanta or Arizona as some other Bengali had but to move all the way back to India abandoning the struggle that my parents and their friends had embarked upon." (2008: 223)This is not to be Kaushik's family returns to the US. Since Kaushik's father has not acquired a house before returning to the US, Kaushik and his parents have to put up with Hema's family. This is welcomed as a gesture of hospitality and love, a theme that runs through the story and provides a structural cushion to the mental conflict that is ultimately portrayed in the character of Kaushik's mother. Indeed Lahiri's study of two, unequal families in this story provides a depth for the rethinking of the post colonoial pension in the lives of individuals. The contrasts soon get externalised in Lahiri's skilful charactersation of Kaushik's family in its second immigration to the US. By the way, the reason for the second coming to the US seems scandalous. When it comes to know Perulmashi is suffering from cancer their is a mental conflict.


Meningiomas are common intracranial tumors with female predominance. Their etiology is still poorly documented. The role of sexual hormones has long been evoked, and data have been conflicting across studies. However, a dose-dependent relationship between the incidence and growth of meningiomas and hormonal treatment with the progestin cyproterone acetate (CPA) has recently been established. CPA- associated meningiomas seem to be mainly located in the anterior and middle skull base, are more likely to be multiple; may harbor P1K3CA mutations in up to 1/3 of cases and are favored by a longer duration of treatment. A similar but lower risk of meningiomas has been recently reported with the use of chlormadinone acetate and nomegestrol acetate as progestin treatments. Concerning hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) in menopausal patients, evidence from epidemiological studies seem to favor an increased risk of meningiomas in treated patients although a recent study failed to show an increased growth of meningiomas in HRT treated vs. non treated patients. Until larger studies are available, it seems wise to recommend avoiding HRT in patients with meningiomas. Evidence from published data does not seem to support an increased risk of meningiomas with oral contraceptive (OC) use. Data are too scarce to conclude on fertility treatments. Based on studies demonstrating the expression of hormonal receptors in meningiomas, therapies targeting these receptors have been tried but have failed to show an overall favorable clinical outcome in meningioma treatment.


Guidelines from the International Conference on Harmonisation suggest that clinical trial data should be actively monitored to ensure data quality. Traditional interpretation of this guidance has often led to 100% source data verification (SDV) of respective case report forms through onsite monitoring. Such monitoring activities can also identify deficiencies in site training and uncover fraudulent behavior. However, such extensive onsite review is time consuming, expensive, and as is true for any manual effort, limited in scope and prone to error. In contrast, riskbased monitoring makes use of central computerized review of clinical trial data and site metrics to determine if sites should receive more extensive quality review through on-site monitoring visits. We will demonstrate a risk-based monitoring solution within JMP Clinical to assess clinical trial data quality. Further, we'll describe a suite of tools used for identifying potentially fraudulent data at clinical sites. Data from a clinical trial of patients who experienced an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage will provide illustration.


Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) is a standard technique for exploratory analysis and is readily adaptable to integrate unique data characteristics and auxiliary feature relations. Distinguishing between the spatial and temporal features of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) time courses (TC) has proved effective in reducing the presence of false positives for stimulation studies. The fuzzy partitions generated by this FCM variant (FCMP) are compared to several cluster merging techniques using cluster validation indices. These indices quantify the degree to which a dataset justifies a particular membership partition. A basic cluster merging strategies is examined where closest samples in a distance matrix are merged. A novelty is the use of alternate centroid definitions. Finally, the dynamic modeling employed by the CHAMELEON clustering algorithm is examined. All algorithms are evaluated on a Tourette's fMRI dataset.


In this research, a study of the effect of Ta and Nb additions on the corrosion behavior and properties of Ni-Ti shape memory alloys prepared by powder metallurgy is presented. It was found that; the transformation temperatures and phase structures of the samples prepared consist of martensitic and austenitic phases at room temperature. Also, Vickers hardness values increased with increasing of Ta and Nb additions. Porosity percentages decreased with increasing of addition of Ta and Nb. Finally, the corrosion rate decreased with increasing of Ta and Nb additions.


Introduction Emerging epidemiological evidence suggests that proton pump inhibitor (PPI) acid-suppression therapy is associated with an increased risk of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Methods Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, and Scopus were searched from 1990 to January 2012 for analytical studies that reported an adjusted effect estimate of the association between PPI use and CDI. We performed random-effect meta-analyses. We used the GRADE framework to interpret the findings. Results We identified 47 eligible citations (37 case-control and 14 cohort studies) with corresponding 51 effect estimates. The pooled OR was 1.65, 95% CI (1.47, 1.85), I2 = 89.9%, with evidence of publication bias suggested by a contour funnel plot. A novel regression based method was used to adjust for publication bias and resulted in an adjusted pooled OR of 1.51 (95% CI, 1.26–1.83). In a speculative analysis that assumes that this association is based on causality, and based on published baseline CDI incidence, the risk of CDI would be very low in the general population taking PPIs with an estimated NNH of 3925 at 1 year. Conclusions In this rigorously conducted systemic review and meta-analysis, we found very low quality evidence (GRADE class) for an association between PPI use and CDI that does not support a cause-effect relationship.


The crankshaft of today's internal combustion engines with high performance output are exposed to harmful torsional oscillations originated from the unbalanced gas and inertial forces. To avoid the fatigue damage of engine components, caused by the undesired vibrations, torsional vibration dampers can be applied. Viscodampers are one type of the torsional vibration dampers, which operational fluid is silicone oil. For cost-effective R&D activities and production, finite element and finite volume numerical discretization methods based calculation techniques must be involved into the engineering work supported by the modern computer technology. The aim of this paper is to provide an insight into the multidisciplinary design and development process of visco-dampers in vehicle industry applications. Four different examples as structural, fatigue, CFD analyses and structural optimization have been introduced in the present work. It turned out from the static structural and fatigue analyses, that the investigated damper has safety factor over the limit for both static structural and fatigue analyses, so it is suitable for the given load conditions. In the structural optimization process 34.36% mass reduction has been achieved. According to the coupled fluid dynamic and heat transfer simulations a rather stagnating air zone evolved between the engine and the damper during the operation, which can cause efficiency reduction of cooling fins mounted onto the housing. In light of the numerical results, the suitable damper position has been determined for the highest heat transfer.


Many citizens abstain from the political process, and the reasons for this abstention are of great interest and importance. Most scholars and pundits assume that greater electoral competition and the increased chance of pivotality will motivate citizens to participate. We test this hypothesis through a large-scale field experiment that exploits the rare opportunity of a tied election for major political office. Informing citizens that an upcoming election will be close has little mobilizing effect. Any effect that we do detect is concentrated among a small set of frequent voters. The evidence suggests that increased pivotality is not a solution to low turnout and the predominant models of turnout focusing on pivotality are of little practical use.


The human retinoblastoma cell line Y79 has multiple copies of the MYCN gene and the DEAD box gene DDX1. Both genes have been mapped to chromosome band 2p24. A third gene, encoding the α‐subunit of mitochondrial ATP synthase (ATPSA), is also amplified in Y79. Here we report that there are at least four human mitochondrial ATPSA‐related genes located on four different chromosomes. The ATPSA gene that is amplified in Y79 originates from chromosome 18. In Y79, the amplified copies of both the ATPSA and the MYCN genes are located on a homogeneously staining region (HSR) at chromosome band 1p34.


Semiconductor membrane lasers are promising light source for on-chip interconnection on LSI [1]. However, relatively large thermal resistance due to low thermal conductivity of bottom insulator is one of the problems to be solved and direct bonding with minimum SiO2 thickness should be realized. In recent years, surface activated bonding based on fast atom beam was proposed [2], which can realize wafer bonding at room temperature. However, oxides like SiO2 are not suitable material to this method in a general condition. Therefore, to solve this problem, the Si nano-film layer was used [3]. In this report, physical bonding strength after Si or InP to SiO2 wafer bonding process is investigated.


We have analyzed the function of spermine in the aminoacylation of tRNA Val by the valyl-tRNA synthetase of Escherichia coli. Our results indicate that Mg2+ is required for the aminoacylation reaction as well as for the ATP-PPi exchange catalyzed by this enzyme. The apparent stimulation by spermine is a function of the tRNA used, which appears to contain bound cations even after dialysis against lop4 M EDTA. Higher concentrations of EDTA totally abolish sperminestimulated esterification of tRNAVs'.


: Aim: The key purpose of the current research remained to associate effectiveness also period of analgesia of caudally managed 0.3% ropivacaine through 0.3% bupivacaine sideways through retrieval of motor also sensual barrier in pediatric cases experiencing infraorbital operation. Methodology: Our current research was led at Services Hospital Lahore from May 2018 to April 2019. In the current potential, dual blind study, 66 pediatric cases prearranged for infraorbital operation, of ASA mark 1 otherwise 2, remained randomly owed in 2 diverse sets to accept 2 ml/kg of also 0.3% ropivacaine (Set A) or else 0.3% bupivacaine (Set B) through caudal direction afterwards initiation of over-all anesthesia. Objective pain score (OPS) also entire period of analgesia laterally through release analgesia remained associated in together sets. Retrieval of motorized also carnal blockade remained too distinguished. The consequences remained examined statistically by means of student's paired t-trial for intergroup assessment also chi square trial for nonparametric information otherwise difficulties. Result: Mutually all the sets remained similar about age, mass, gender circulation also period of operation. Cases endured hemodynamically steady throughout intraoperative phase in dual sets. The extreme average sedation score at opening of stay in retrieval room remained 0.61 ± 0.68 also 0.68 ± 0.72 in Set A also Set B correspondingly. Nevertheless, Objective pain score remained slightly developed in Set B as associated to Set A nevertheless alterations in overall period also excellence of analgesia stayed not statistically substantial. Normal period of painlessness remained 391.3 ± 36.17 minutes also 378.1 ± 35.42 minutes in Set A also Set B correspondingly. Though, motor retrieval stayed quicker in ropivacaine set through MPS of 11.01 ± 1.01 in assessment to 9.81±1.98 in bupivacaine set (P-value <0.02) at 2 hrz in post-operational phase. Conclusion: Caudal ropivacaine 0.3% remains correspondingly actual resident painkilling mediator once associated to caudal bupivacaine 0.3% in rapports of post-operatively painlessness, nonetheless through earlier motor retrieval in pediatric cases.


The purpose of this paper is to propose and investigate a new approach to implementing a spatio-temporal decision feedback equalizer (DFE) for MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) channels. A system with an array of n transmit and m receiver antennas where (m/spl ges/n) is assumed. Both finite-length (finite horizon) and infinite-length (infinite horizon) MIMO decision feedback equalizers are considered. We also assume an ISI (inter-symbol-interference) MIMO channel, which means the channel matrix elements are frequency selective. For the infinite-length case the DFE problem leads to solving a matrix spectral factorization. For the finite-length case the DFE problem leads to solving a corresponding Cholesky factorization. Using the estimation-based spectral factorization we have shown that the solution to the infinite-length MIMO DFE is not unique. In the finite-length case the estimation-based approach leads to a recursive algorithm to perform the Cholesky factorization. The proposed recursive algorithm has low complexity and is also simple to implement. Moreover it leads to a closed form solution for the MIMO DFE matrices.


Channels with a long but sparse impulse response arise in a variety of wireless communication applications, such as high definition television (HDTV) terrestrial transmission and underwater acoustic communications. By adopting the $\ell_1$-norm as the sparsity metric of the channel response, the channel estimation is formulated as a complex-valued convex optimization problem. A fast fixed point iteration algorithm is developed to solve the resultant complex-valued $\ell_1$-minimization problem. The proposed fast channel estimation algorithm is easy to implement and has a low computational complexity of $O(N\log N)$ per iteration with $N$ the signal length. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed fixed point algorithm.


Childhood adversity is a potent risk factor for mental health conditions via disruptions to stress response systems. Dysregulations in oxidative stress systems have been associated with both childhood adversity and several psychological disorders (e.g., major depressive disorder) in adult populations. However, few studies have examined associations between childhood adversity, oxidative stress, and mental health in pediatric populations. Childhood adversity (Adverse Childhood Events [ACE]), oxidative stress [F2t-isoprostanes (IsoPs)], and mental health pathology were assessed in 50 adolescent females recruited primarily through the Department of Youth Services. Standard ordinary least squares regression models were run co-varying for age, race/ethnicity, adolescent nicotine use, study condition, and parent history of ACEs. Adolescents who reported experiencing four or more ACEs had significantly elevated IsoP levels. Further, internalizing symptom scores across diagnoses were significantly associated with elevated IsoPs, whereas no externalizing symptoms scores, except Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, were related to altered oxidative stress. Results indicate that IsoPs may be a global marker of childhood adversity and mental health symptomatology, particularly within internalizing symptom domains. A limitation is that body mass index was not collected for this sample. Future studies are needed to replicate and extend these findings in larger, more diverse samples.


The major trend in next-generation or 4G wireless networks (NGWN/4G) is the coexistence of diverse but complementary architectures and wireless access technologies. In this context, an appropriate integration and interworking of existing wireless networks are crucial to allow seamless roaming across those networks. Several integrated architectures have been proposed for 3G cellular networks and wireless local area networks (WLANs) by both third generation wireless initiatives, 3GPP and 3GPP2. However, the proposed architectures have several drawbacks, the most significant being the absence of quality of service (QoS) guarantees, seamless roaming and service continuity. This paper proposes a novel architecture, called Integrated InterSystem Architecture (IISA), which enables the integration and interworking of various wireless networks and hide their heterogeneities from one another. The IISA architecture aims provisioning of guaranteed seamless roaming and service continuity across different access networks. Performance evaluation shows that IISA together with the proposed handoff management scheme provide significant gains than existing interworking architectures and mobility management protocols.


We have successfully achieved the stereoselective synthesis of a specific cis-diene moiety through a dehalogenative homocoupling of alkenyl bromides on the Cu(110) surface, where the formation of a cis-form organometallic intermediate is the key to such a stereoselectivity as determined by DFT calculations.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The differences of dietary iron and zinc intakes between patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and controls remain controversial. The meta-analysis aimed to explore the differences of dietary iron and zinc intakes between NAFLD patients and healthy subjects.

METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN
A systematic literature search was performed up to July 2021 in databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang. Using a randomeffects model, the differences of dietary iron and zinc intakes between cases and controls were calculated as standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A total of 21 studies from 19 articles with 6639 cases were included.

RESULTS
The pooled estimate showed no difference in dietary iron consumption in the NAFLD groups compared with control groups. The difference became significant in Asia (SMD=0.16; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.28; I2=89.1%; pheterogeneity<0.001) as well as in cross-sectional studies (SMD=0.12; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.17; I2=4.7%; pheterogeneity=0.350). The difference in dietary zinc intake between cases and controls was not significant. We noticed a statistically significant increase of dietary zinc intake in NAFLD compared to controls in studies using food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to evaluate dietary intake (SMD=0.15; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.20; I2=12.2%; pheterogeneity=0.332).

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings indicated that dietary iron intake in patients with NAFLD was higher than healthy subjects in Asia.


This paper examines a direct-sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) system for the reverse link in satellite communications on the move applications. In order to limit interference to adjacent satellites, strict limits on the effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) spectral density are established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Performance analysis of the DS-CDMA is carried out subject to this transmit power limitations and in the presence of channel and system impairments that are typically encountered in Ku-band (14-GHz band) satellite systems. Specific impairments considered are: small signal variations due to environmental conditions which are typically modeled by lognormal shadowing, atmospheric scintillations, and motion induced antenna pointing errors. Also, a novel methodology is developed to characterize motion induced antenna pointing errors and their impact on the system performance.


The Jackpile sandstone of local usage--exposed near Laguna, New Mexico--is in the uppermost unit in the Morrison formation of Jurassic age. The petrography, sedimentary structures and shape of the unit, its relation to tectonic structures, and analogies to similar ancient and modern sandstones suggest that it was probably deposited by a northeast-flowing stream system that was largely confined by contemporaneous structural depression. Continued downwarping after deposition, followed by erosional truncation, emphasized the structural localization of the unit. The sandstone is fine to medium grained, friable, and moderately well sorted; coarser grained beds are more abundant near the base of the unit. The composition ranges from a calcite-cemented subarkose near the base to kaolinite-indurated quartz sandstone near the top. Terrestrial plant remains are locally abundant. The so-called Jackpile sandstone is a northeast-trending tabular body as much as 12 miles wide, at least 30 miles long, and up to 200 feet thick. It splits into distributary-like bar fingers to the northeast. Cross-beds in the Jackpile sandstone dip mostly northeast, suggesting that the sediments were transported northeastward. The unit wedges to the northwest and southeast along an angular unconformity bounded by the overlying Dakota sandstone, and broad folds in the strata below this unconformity parallel the southeastern limit of the Jackpile sandstone. Other stratigraphic units in the Morrison formation tend to thicken in the area of the Jackpile sandstone. This suggests that structural downwarping was active in the area before, as well as during and after Jackpile deposition. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1256------------


Tight glycemic control has become the standard of care for prevention of the long-term side effects of diabetes mellitus. When individuals with diabetes approach the end of life from advanced cancer or another chronic illness, they often become anorexic. The result is an increased risk for hypoglycemic episodes. It is appropriate to shift the goal of therapy from tight control of blood sugar to maintaining comfort and enhancing quality of life.


This paper presents a method for transferring a prechamber from a single-cylinder engine (SCE) to a rapid compression machine (RCM) as a pre-step for carrying out optical experiments. The overall objective of the transfer procedure is to achieve similar flow field conditions in the prechamber which is mounted on an RCM as compared to the same prechamber mounted on an SCE. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of a large-bore natural gas SCE were carried out up to ignition timing which serve as the basis for the transfer procedure. The mass-flow rate in the prechamber neck, pressure difference between the main chamber and prechamber, prechamber pressure and mass in the prechamber were defined as the governing thermodynamic quantities which affect the evolution of the flow field in the prechamber during the compression stroke. All of these quantities in an RCM are largely influenced by operating piston speed and compression ratio for given initial conditions. The RCM operation parameters for each governing quantity were estimated with the help of 0D simulations. CFD simulations of RCM were performed for the determined RCM operation parameters, and the evolution of the velocity field and turbulent quantities in the prechamber were evaluated. The procedure has been applied to two prechambers of different shape and size and a good agreement between the RCM and corresponding SCE CFD simulations was achieved for the flow field conditions in both of the prechambers near the ignition timing. It was found that mass-flow rate in the prechamber neck is the most important quantity which influences the prechamber flow field. Overall this numerical procedure provided a flexible and computationally feasible approach to adjusting RCM operation parameters for transferring a prechamber from the SCE to RCM.


Background RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) have been extensively studied in humans over the past few years. Multiple reports have been made in the literature for genome-wide survey for this class of proteins in the human genome using different tools and techniques. Due to the inherent difference in the nature of the methods used in identifying human RBPs, as well as the diverse sources for data collection in each of these studies, there exists immense heterogeneity (including diversity in data formats) and poor intersection among the datasets available from the different studies. Description hRBPome is a comprehensive database of human RBPs known from six different studies. We have introduced considerable uniformity in the data, by mapping the various data formats reported by the different studies to gene names. This makes comparison across studies (datasets) easier than was possible before. We also provide confidence scores to each of these known RBPs, on the basis of their presence across studies. Conclusion This database presents a set of 837 high confidence RBP genes, identified in three or more resources, out of the six studies considered. Hence, it forms a "gold standard" for RBPs in the human genome. It also provides information for all the human RBPs from multiple resources, known to the best of our knowledge, on a common platform. The database can be accessed from the following URL: http://caps.ncbs.res.in/hrbpome


Caulobacter crescentus is a non-pathogenic, Gram negative bacterium that forms a surface layer (S-layer) that is composed exclusively of the protein RsaA in a crystalline array. RsaA, which constitutes 10-12% of total cellular protein, is secreted by a robust type I protein transport system in C. crescentus. These features have made this bacterium an attractive candidate for biotechnology applications that require the production of proteins of interest at high levels and purity. In a previous study aimed at determining the maximal protein secretion capability of the type I system in C. crescentus, the overexpression of rsaA did not result in the increased production and secretion of RsaA. However, upon further investigation it was determined that the plasmid used to overexpress rsaA included an extended 5' untranslated region (UTR). The results presented herein suggest that this extended 5' UTR caused a decrease in the half-life of rsaA mRNA to -19 minutes compared to the -36 minutes half-life of wild type rsaA mRNA which may in turn explain the lack of increased RsaA production. By contrast, production and secretion of RsaA was significantly increased (2.2 ±0.1 fold) in C. crescentus transformed with a plasmid containing rsaA without an extended 5' UTR when compared to wild type. Deletion of the outer membrane transporters, RsaFa and RsaFb, prevented the secretion of RsaA and resulted in a significant down-regulation of RsaA production. By using quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) it was determined that the amount of rsaA mRNA in the transporter deletion mutant was similar to wild type (0.9 ± 0.1-fold of wild type). This suggests that the down-regulation of RsaA observed in these mutants occurred at a posttranscriptional level. Previous experiments showed that recombinant forms of RsaA containing an abundance of positively charged amino acids were not detected at the cell surface, indicating a complete inhibition of secretion. Three dimensional models of RsaFa and RsaFb using the Swiss Model program placed twelve negatively charged amino acids near the entrance of the predicted pore structure on the periplasmic side. In order to test the hypothesis that these negatively charged amino acid residues were inhibiting the secretion of recombinant RsaA, site-directed mutagenesis was used to alter them. However, none of the mutants relieved the inhibition of recombinant RsaA secretion. Moreover, three of the mutants, RsaFb-D395A, RsaFb-E185A/D395A, and RsaFbD395A/E402A, also inhibited the secretion of wild type RsaA. Taken together, these results demonstrate that RsaA expression can be upregulated and that the type I secretion system of C. crescentus can facilitate this increase. In addition, regulation of RsaA can occur at a posttranscriptional level when its secretion is blocked, as is the case in the outer membrane transporter deletion mutants. Furthermore, site-directed mutagenesis suggests a role for negatively charged amino acids in the secretion of S-layer protein in RsaFb but not RsaFa. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS x


The efficacy of hydroxyapatite (HAp) as a carrier was investigated to establish a method of local administration of bisphosphonates (Bps), which has currently been administered systemically. HAp granules (300-500 microm in size) with different physicochemical features were prepared by altering the sintering temperature. To ascertain the physicochemical properties of the HAp granules, their crystallinity was assessed using X-ray diffraction, the surface morphology was examined under scanning electron microscopy, and the specific surface area and calcium dissolution were evaluated. Different Bps-HAp composites were subsequently prepared and the concentration of Bps released from these composites was measured. The influence of Bps-HAp composites on the rate of osteoclast survival was also evaluated. The results revealed that (1) HAp solubility depends on the sintering temperature; (2) The concentration of released Bps could be controlled by regulating the sintering temperature of HAp as a carrier; and (3) Bps released from Bps-HAp composites reduced the number of osteoclasts. These findings indicated that Bps-HAp composites could be locally administered as a drug delivery system to areas with bone resorption.


: The sensitivity of a rapid test versus microscopy of blood samples was studied while examining 7983 dwellers from the republic's endemic areas. The results of blood testing in the Pyanj and Shurobod districts showed agreement with those of blood microscopy. However, its sensitivity in two other districts was as high as 1.9%. Only one of 53 positive tests was verified by microscopy examination. The findings suggest that it is impossible to use the examined tests (Access Bio Inc. Care Start Malaria pLDH 2 line test) under the conditions of Tajikistan; all the more they identify malaria without differentiation in its pathogen types.


This paper, originating from the understanding and approaches to the term "adaptation", explores and analyses the stages of the social adaptation process of military personnel, discharged from service, which along with getting to know the psychological and professional aspects of the process allows the elaboration of a practical model of social and psychological adaptation of this population category. The scientific aspirations of the authors of this paper are focused on the specific characteristics of military service and the specific competences, which require the implementation of specific methods and means of professional orientation, preparation for settling and acquiring a new profession in the changed living environment .