Abstract This paper examines several philosophical issues related to emerging technologies in sport and leisure. There are a range of technologies that will likely be offered to boost performance in sport, ranging from prosthetic devices and cyborg-like implants to gene therapy and enhancement. Computer generated simulations are already in use in work and leisure, and are expected to be pervasive in the future. Technological developments such as these present a challenge to some of the traditional assumptions and cherished beliefs not only about the nature of sport and leisure and how they should be conducted, but also about the very nature of reality and what it means to be human. It is hoped that this paper can shed some light on the challenges and possibilities facing sport and leisure in the upcoming high-tech future.


This textbook is an accumulation of therapeutic quetions used in clinical pharmacy teaching conferences at the University of California San Francisco and Washington State University. These conferences consist of a discussion of therapeutic questions or cases that relate to the management of patients with various disease states. Students have previously received lectures on the pathophysiology and medical management of disease states. The objective of these conferences and the textbook is to "enable the student to identify those factors ( s) he must consider to determine the probability of whether or not a specific drug is responsible for a patient's symptoms; the clinical significance of a drug interaction; why a specific drug is not achieving therapeutic blood levels; or the dose for a patient with multiple disease states." The book consists of thirty-five chapters primarily presented on an organ and disease system basis. Thirtytwo contributors were involved in preparing the cases and questions presented. The chapters are well referenced using primary sources to document the scientific evidence to date on various therapeutic problems and dilemmas. For the most part the chapters are all well written to achieve the basic objective of the textbook in teaching the student how to integrate and apply current drug knowledge to patient situations. A number of the chapters are insufficiently treated (e.g. Applied Pharmacokinetics, Schizophrenia, Manic Depressive Disorders, Neoplastic Diseases). Although the title of the book implies that it was prepared exclusively for "clinical pharmacists" much of the material is relevant to the practice of all pharmacists and other health care perso~nel involved in drug therapy. The answers or solutions provided to many of the questions are debatable due to conflicting scientific reports and studies. However, this is unavoidable since so many gaps exist in our current scientific information for rational drug therapy. In the preface the authors state that they have drawn much information from their own clinical experiences. They emphasize that it remains the responsibility of every practitioner to evaluate the appropriateness of a particular opinion in the context of the actual clinical situation and with due consideration of any new developments in this field. Readers of this textbook should use caution in extracting factual information since


The major late promoter (MLP) of the subgroup C human adenoviruses is a preeminent model for the study of the mechanisms of basal and activated transcription, both in vivo and in vitro. However, while the structure and function of the human virus MLP has been the subject of extensive investigation, the conservation of the various promoter elements among the adenoviruses from different species has not been examined. Conservation of specific elements would strongly suggest the importance and universality of their function. To address this issue, sequences were obtained from cloned DNAs of several representative Mastadenoviridae, mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1), Tupaia adenovirus type 1 (TAV-1), and two bovine adenoviruses of two distinct subgroups, BAV-3 and BAV-7. The results of the sequencing studies showed that the TATA box and an upstream inverted CAAT box are conserved in all species and that the binding site for transcription factor USF is present in all except MAV-1, in which a sequence similar to an Sp1-binding site is present at a similar position. The initiator element (INR) sequence is not well conserved, and only one or other of the two downstream activating elements, DE1 and DE2, is predicted to be present in the nonprimate virus MLP regions. Ribonuclease protection assays on RNA isolated from MAV-1-infected cells late in infection indicated that the predicted MLP is functional, and transcription initiation and splice donor sites were identified. The human virus MLP is embedded in the essential DNA polymerase sequence on the opposite DNA strand. The primary amino acid sequences of the C-terminal regions of the predicted DNA polymerases show strong conservation of sequence motifs observed in replicative polymerases ranging from prokaryotes to mammals, and additional regions of strong conservation among the adenovirus polymerases. Pairwise comparisons between the newly sequenced regions of the polymerases and previously published sequences show that BAV-7 is most dissimilar to all others, while TAV-1 has a greater similarity to the primate sequences than to the others. The sequence data from both strands were also used to construct phylogenetic trees, based on BAV-7 as the outgroup. The trees constructed from the two sets of sequences are broadly similar, showing close relationships between primate viruses, but differing in the order of divergence of TAV-1 and MAV-1 branches.


Modern psychiatry needs to implement novel mental health care systems in order to address recent developments in diagnostics and treatment of psychiatric patients. In this context, it is necessary to take into account recent ethical and certain legal aspects which explicitly seek to reduce coercive treatment. The so-called "track-unit" is a promising strategy in order to achieve these goals. The "track-unit" seeks to enhance and improve patients' autonomy, setting-overlapping team continuity, compliance and adherence to treatment as well as to reduce time of patients in hospital as inpatients by more flexible intervention. Although there are many interfaces between normal wards and the "track-unit", implementation into daily routine should be done gradually. The first part of this paper will focus on required changes taking as an example the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim. In the second part, we will describe corresponding helpful constructional measures. In part three, we will discuss the socio-economic aspects and benefits of "track-units". In conclusion, the implementation of "track-units" in a German psychiatric department is a personnel and economic endeavor to improve the link and coordination between diagnostics and treatment throughout all stages of mental illness.


The aim of this thesis is to explore Machine Translation and the problems that these system are experiencing when translation between two different languages. The grammatical structures will be studied for English, Swedish and Persian to find a common pattern that could relate different ideas in each language to each other. In the other hand an inter lingual MT will be developed according to "Rene Descartes" principals that not only produces translations to English, Persian and Swedish but it even provides a new way of inputting text just by clicking buttons which each represent a word or concept. Then the system will be presented to a group of chosen users to study the human interaction with the application and identifying new problems associated with the new developed system and evaluating the results. The specific objectives are: the role of prepositions and other grammatical structures in determining the meaning of a text. The study even examines the possibility of using Descartes theory for improving Machine Translation. The study was conducted in "BTH". The data was collected through research, experiments, and Self-reporting.


SOSMA 2012 or the Security Offences (Special Measurements) Act 2012 was commenced on 22nd June 2012. Since its birth, SOSMA ("the Act") has invites debates and heated arguments from every level in the legal fraternity on its content. The most controversial issues are on arrest and detention of the detainee charged under the Act which is said to be unconstitutional and thus, violates the basic fundamental human rights. This paper will discuss specifically issues on arrest and detention stated in the Act. The objective of this paper is to see on how the laws is carried out and whether there is a lacuna on the procedural law. The study of this paper will be focusing on decided cases and comparisons to other security laws in Malaysia. The study is important as to see how the laws is being carried out without violation of any fundamental human rights. Through this study, it is hoped that it will assist a better understanding on how the laws is carried and executed, for further references in the future. Shall there is a lacuna procedurally, this study will assist to suggests and propose for better execution on the subject matter involved.


The activities of therapeutic regimens with azithromycin (AZI) and doxycycline combined with streptomycin (DOX-SM) were compared in Brucella melitensis infected mice. In a chronic model, AZI given over 10, 14 or 21 consecutive days (50 mg/kg/24 h) significantly reduced the infection (1.3-1.6 logs, day 48 post-infection). However, the effectiveness of DOX (21 days, 50 mg/kg/12 h) was higher than AZI (3.4 logs of reduction, day 48 post-infection). Besides, when DOX was administered for 45 days, it "cured" all the animals from day 78. Similar results were obtained in an acute model infection. One single dose of DOX or DOX-SM, starting one day after lethal challenge, was able to protect 83% of the mice. In contrast, only 25% of the mice treated with AZI (50-200 mg/Kg) survived the challenge. Our findings demonstrate that AZI, in contrast to DOX-SM, does not cure experimental brucellosis.


ABSTRACT Purpose To determine how to practice patterns for work-up of incident retinal artery occlusion (RAO) compare to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) guidelines. Methods In this cohort study, patients receiving a new diagnosis of RAO, either central (CRAO) or branch (BRAO), were identified between 2002 and 2020 from a large US medical claims database. Claims were reviewed for diagnostic tests specified by the AAO as essential components of an RAO work-up including carotid ultrasound, echocardiogram, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and emergency department (ED) referral. Outcomes included rates of and time to completion of work-up. Results 18697 new outpatient diagnoses of RAO (11348 BRAO, 7349 CRAO) were analyzed. 15.9% and 30.4% of patients received carotid ultrasounds within 7 and 30 days, respectively. 9.4% and 21.1% of patients received echocardiograms within 7 and 30 days, respectively. 4.9% and 8.1% of patients received a brain MRIs within 7 and 30 days, respectively. Only 4.1% of patients were referred to the ED within a day of diagnosis. Ophthalmologists diagnosed the majority (78.7%) of RAOs compared to neurologists (0.6%). Patients diagnosed by ophthalmologists were significantly more likely to have carotid ultrasound within 7 days, but those diagnosed by neurologists were more likely to have echocardiogram, MRI, and ED referral (p < .01 for all comparisons). The rates of adherence to the AAO care guidelines increased significantly between 2002 and 2020 (p < .01). Conclusions The referral and work-up practices demonstrated in this new RAO diagnosis patient cohort have improved with time but are still far below the standard recommended by the AAO.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the effect of post space preparation on the sealability of canals filled with 3 filling methods.

METHODS
The crowns of 24 human anterior teeth extracted for periodontal disease were removed and the working length of canal was unified to be 16 mm. The teeth were divided into 3 groups at random: group A (normal temperature flow gutta-percha single-corn technique with GuttaFlow), group B (lateral compaction technique with AH Plus) and group C (warm vertical condensation technique with AH Plus+ BeeFill thermoplastics system). The root canals were prepared and filled according to different system. Microleakage of root canals of pre-post space preparation was measured with a fluid transport study one week after filling. Then the post space was prepared using 1#- 6# G drill step by step, by leaving 4 mm of root canal filling material apically. Microleakage of root canals of post-dowel space preparation was measured again. SPSS13.0 software package was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS
No difference was found between pre-post space preparation and post-dowel space preparation in each experimental group (P>0.05). In pre-post space preparation, significant difference was found between group A and group B, group B and group C (P<0.05). In post-dowel space preparation, difference was found between group A and group B.Group A had the lowest microleakage (4.328+/-2.020)x10(-3)microl x kPa(-1) x min(-1).

CONCLUSIONS
The post space preparation do not effect the sealability of three root canal sealers. The sealability of canals filled with AH Plus are different when filled with different filling methods. Normal temperature flow gutta-percha single-corn technique with GuttaFlow gains the best sealability.


The need to accurate quantification of blast pressure loading in the near field is important because the focus of security design of critical infrastructure, buildings and bridges is for near-field detonations. Incident and reflected pressures for near-field detonations are very difficult to be measured by commercially available pressure transducers due to the high pressure and temperature, which requires a verified and validated computational fluid dynamics code to reasonably predict the near-field pressures and impulses. This paper presents numerical studies to verify and validate a CFD code for calculations of incident and reflected overpressures and impulses. The near field is emphasized and recommendations for mesh sizes to optimally simulate the near-field detonation are provided.


Purpose: Primary care practices manage most patients with diabetes, and face significant operational, regulatory, and reimbursement pressures to improve care quality. The Enhanced Primary Care Diabetes (EPCD) model was developed to leverage the expertise of care team registered nurses and pharmacists to improve diabetes care.
 Methods: Utilizing a retrospective, interrupted time series design, we evaluated the EPCD model's impact on a composite publicly reported quality measure of diabetes care (D5) , including indicators of glycemic control, blood pressure control, low-density lipoprotein, tobacco use, and aspirin use. We compared three groups of practices (32 total) that care for adults (age 18-75 years) with diabetes: staff clinician (physician and Advanced Practice Provider) practices with access to EPCD (5761 patients) , resident physician practices with access to EPCD (1887 patients) , and staff clinician practices without access EPCD (10,079 patients) . The primary outcome was a comparison of the pre-implementation trend (7 months) to the post-implementation trend (months) in the three groups for the percentage meeting the D5.
 Results: There was a positive difference in pre to post-implementation trends for patients meeting the D5 in the staff clinician practices in the EPCD group (Pre IRR 0.995, Post IRR 1.005; P= 0.01) . There was no difference in the trend for the trainee physician practices with access to EPCD (Pre IRR 0.999, Post IRR 1.011; P= 0.14) , and a significant negative trend in the staff clinician practices without access to EPCD (Pre IRR 1.001, Post IRR 0.994; P= 0.05) .
 Conclusion: The EPCD model significantly improved diabetes care quality. Further study of proactive, multidisciplinary chronic disease management led by care team nurses integrating clinical pharmacists is warranted.

 J.Herges: None. J.Matulis: None. M.Kessler: None. L.L.Ruehmann: None. K.Mara: None. R.G.Mccoy: Consultant; Emmi.

 National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (K23DK114497)


The search for new nonvolatile universal memories is propelled by the need for pushing power-efficient nanocomputing to the next higher level. As a potential contender for the next-generation memory technology of choice, the recently found "the missing fourth circuit element", memristor, has drawn a great deal of research interests. In this paper, we characterize the fundamental electrical properties of memristor devices by encapsulating them into a set of compact closed-form expressions. Our derivations provide valuable design insights and allow a deeper understanding of key design implications of memristor-based memories. In particular, we investigate the design of read and write circuits and analyze data integrity and noise-tolerance issues.


A bus duct system for wind tower is introduced. A marine cable has been widely used in wind tower or various offshore structures. However, as the electric load capacity is increases, large number of cable lines must be used to cover the huge amount of electric capacities. Therefore, the installation of the cable lines becomes very difficult due to the heavy weight and volume of the cables. On the other hand, by using a single bus duct system line, the power capacity amount of 16 cables can be delivered with significantly compacted form. However, unlike flexible cables, the bus duct is relatively stiff which could generate the resonance phenomenon in the operating condition of the wind tower. In this study, the vibration characteristics of the bus duct are investigated and its long-term reliability during the life time of the wind tower is verified.


A 64-year-old woman complained of severe infrapubic pain and pollakisuria with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but with normal urinalysis since 1987. The clinical diagnosis of interstitial cystitis (IC) was made, and cystectomy was performed in 1996. The bladder taken was markedly shrunken with a capacity of 50 ml, and showed bleeding on the mucosal surface. Histological findings of the bladder showed ulcer formation in the mucous membrane, and marked infiltration of mononuclear cells, edema and fibrosis in the submucosal tissue. She had noticed exudative erythema, swelling and sclerosis on the bilateral fingers and dorsal aspects of the hands since 1993, and Raynaud's phenomenon and morning stiffness of the fingers from November, 1998. Laboratory data showed positive anti-nuclear antibody (titer: 1: 2,560) and anti-U1 RNP antibody (titer: 69.5 by ELISA). A diagnosis of mixed connective tissue disease following IC was made.


ABSTRACT
This research aims to analyze types, functions and reasons for code switching used by the lecturers and the students. The lecturers here are the English lecturers of IPDN NTB Campus  and the students here are the students of IPDN NTB Campus in academic year 2014/2015.  This study identified and described the types of code switching based on Poplack (1980), the functions of code switching was seen by using Canagarajah (1995), and reasons by Hoffman (1991). This  Thesis  is  descriptive  qualitative  research.  The data  are  words, phrases, and clauses of code switching used by Lecturers and students in EFL classroom of IPDN NTB Campus. It's in the form of transcript from recording the conversation. The data source of this research is the conversation in class Madya Praja of IPDN NTB  Campus in academic year 2014/2015. The result showed that the types for code switching used by the lecturers and students are relatively the same.  They are: (1). inter-sentential codeswitching, (2). tag switching,  and (3). intra-sentential codeswitching. The functions of codeswitching found in this study, are: (1). Explanation, (2). Clarification for misunderstanding, (3). Unofficial Instructions, (4). Moving from one activity to another, (5). Students' comments, (6). Lecturers' admonitions, (7). Student helping each other, (8). Students' initiation, (9). Requesting for help, (10). Grammar explanation, and (11). Self-corrections. While the reasons for codeswitching by lecturers and students found in this study are: (1) Talk about a particular topic, (2). Repetition used for clarification, (3). Intention of clarify the speech content for the students, and (4). Interjections.  The findings also showed the different types, functions and reasons code switching in their performances. The most dominant code used by lecturers for different functions, i.e. for repetition and clarification. The lecturers often repeated in order to clarify their speech or the students' speech so that it would be understood more clearly by the students. While, the reasons for lecturers and students to code switch are, i.e. interjection, to avoid the vacuum of tempo in their communication. This study suggests that the students are able to develop their communication using correct English without any switching to both Indonesian and the mother tongue. Because they have to exposures their English during the classroom interaction.
Keywords: Codeswitching, types, functions and reason of codeswitching, EFL classroom, IPDN NTB Campus.


Cold spraying has been developed as a high-quality coating process. However, the deposition materials were limited as metallic materials. In this paper, titanium dioxide (TiO2) ceramic particles are deposited on several substrate materials and formed thick coatings, making this approach suitable for a wide range of photocatalytic applications. In order to understand the adhesion mechanism of solid ceramic particles, the structures of feedstock particles are carefully observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM). We find a porous structure which is agglomerated with nano-scaled primary particles. It is assumed that the break down phenomenon occurs due to the cold spray process and influences the adhesion of ceramic particles. The primary particles are bonded within a single crystal. This particular structure is the main factor to make adhesion between the particle and the substrate. SEM and TEM analysis clearly reveals adhesion mechanisms related to the impact of spraying ceramic particles toward the substrate.


Springs at La Soufrière of Guadeloupe have been monitored for nearly four decades since the phreatic eruption and associated seismic activity in 1976. We conceptualize degassing vapor/gas mixtures as square‐wave sources of chloride and heat and apply a new semianalytic solution to demonstrate that chloride and heat pulses with the same timing and duration result in good matches between measured and simulated spring temperatures and concentrations. While the concentration of chloride pulses is variable, the local boiling temperature of 96°C was assigned to all thermal pulses. Because chloride is a conservative tracer, chloride breakthrough is only affected by one‐dimensional advection and dispersion. The thermal tracer is damped and lagged relative to chloride due to conductive heat exchange with the overlying and underlying strata. Joint analysis of temperature and chloride allows estimation of the onset and duration of degassing pulses, refining the chronology of recent magmatic intrusion.


Several hydrometallurgical processes have been studied for the extraction of metals from lean ores utilizing various flow sheet options. Of particular significance is the grade of the ore being treated, the energy consumed and associated costs, options for byproduct recovery, and the relative price of the products. A process scheme needs to be optimized for simultaneously maximizing metal throughput and minimizing the direct operating costs incurred within constraints set for the operating variables. This leads to a multi-objective optimization problem. The range of input grades for raw material, which a flowsheet can handle, needs to be worked out based on an optimization exercise. A lean manganese-bearing resource such as polymetallic sea nodules has been chosen in this article for the development of an optimization approach based on which the input raw nodules grades are to be treated by a particular flowsheet. Only the chemical consumption costs have been adopted in this article as a measure of direct operating costs. A linear simulation model for the flowsheet has been developed, keeping a set of design parameters constant. The solutions generated by using a sequential modular approach become inputs to an optimization procedure based on a multi-objective genetic algorithm belonging to the differential evolution family. The variables considered in the optimization task are the grade of nodules and reactivity of different species inside the reactor. A nickel equivalent (t/h function) has been suggested as a measure of productivity, as it indirectly enhances the input manganese ore grade through a price ratio effect. This productivity function was maximized with the simultaneous minimization of direct chemical costs. Pareto optimal solutions were generated with grades of nodules and reactivity in the leach reactor as decision variables. The effect of the price ratio on the Pareto optimal solutions was also investigated. The various cases investigated clarifies the methodology for choosing an appropriate ore grade range for a given process flowsheet. Appropriate decisions regarding the nature of raw material to be used for a given flowsheet are then found on the basis of the Pareto optimal solutions.


In the following review article, we aim to summarize the current research progress in the field of evolutionary and behavior genetics studies on human religiousness and religious behavior. First, we provide a brief (and thus incomplete) overview of the historical discussions and explain the genetic basis of behavior in general and religious behavior in particular, from twin studies to molecular data analysis. In the second part of the paper, we discuss the potential evolutionary forces leading to human religiousness and human religious behavior, emphasizing the emergence of "axial age" and the so called "big gods" in the relatively recent history of humans.


Ocean is one of the renewable sources of energy that can supply part of the world's energy necessities and consequently lessen the percentage of consumption of fossil fuels and additional non-renewable resources. Water waves have a quite high power density with a total global power of approximately 1-10 TW, equivalent to a large segment of the world's current total energy consumption. The wave to electrical conversion encompasses wave energy converter (WEC), electrical generator, and signal conditioning end. This work is based on the selection and analysis of most suitable electrical generator which makes the overall wave energy conversion system simplest and reliable. The majority of wave energy conversion systems are based on conventional rotational generators which not only require mechanical interface i.e. turbine, hydraulic pump but make complicated system, incur losses and increases maintenance. On the other hand, direct-drive linear generators offer massive advantages in the field of wave energy conversion; they do not require any mechanical part, they form simple configuration and in turn increases the reliability. The literature survey has been carried out on direct-drive linear generators for wave energy conversion, it is analyzed that air-cored linear permanent magnet generator (Li-PMG) is suitable choice as compared to others.


Abstract Scanning electron microscope and electron microprobe analyses of 3 to 15 μm diameter grains present within a garnet-quartz granofels from a tungsten skarn reveal the possible existence of at least two new rare earth element (REE)-bearing phosphate phases: Ca(Ce,La,Bi,Nd)2[(P,As)O4]2(OH)2 and Ca(La,Ce,Nd,Pr,Bi)2[(P,As)O4]2(OH)2. The analyzed REEs constitute up to 50 wt% of the phases; bismuth oxide contents range from 4.1 to 16.1 wt%. Structural data has proved impossible to obtain from these tiny grains, presumably due to radiation damage by thorium decay. These potentially new phosphate minerals are present within alteration assemblages of REE-rich epidote crystals, as well as along grain boundaries and cracks cross-cutting the quartz-garnet host rock. Association with the zeolite brewsterite-Ba suggests that these hydroxyl phosphates formed during water-rich, low-temperature, retrograde mineralization in the skarn environment.


This paper presents a novel computer-aided design system which uses a computational approach to producing 3D images for stimulating creativity of designers. It introduces the genetic algorithm first. Then a binary tree based genetic algorithm is presented. This approach is illustrated by a 3D image generative example, which uses complex function expressions as chromosomes to form a binary tree, and all genetic operations are performed on the binary tree. Corresponding complex functions are processed by MATLAB software to form 3D images of artistic flowers. This generative design is integrated with a visualization interface, which allows designers to interact and select from instances for design evolution. It shows the system is able to enhance the possibility of discovering various potential design solutions.


In Aviation, Flight simulators are highly technological devices which are especially used to create the highly-accurate and zero-risk training environment for orientation, emergency, refresher, combat readiness & maintenance / testing pilot training. Full Flight Simulators are the simulators including a cockpit exactly like the real cockpit, visual system which is very close adapting the outside world images, a main simulation software which simulates the aerodynamic flight performance and the disruptive effects of helicopter. In this study, mathematical modelling of AS-532 Cougar helicopter by using Newton-Euler equation. Matlab-Simulink is used for demonstration of simulation results. Comparison of real simulator values and simulation results are enclosed.


Current study deals with the theme of African-American Civil Rights Movement in the previous century. It is focused on the events of 1954-1968, when the Negroes fight against racial discrimination peaked. The theoretical part consists of description of key historical events, list of pivotal organizations and biographies of main figures. Within the frame of analysis part a public opinion survey of Czech Republic citizens will be processed. The survey will cover issues of civil rights and racial segregation. The last part is dedicated to the comparison current oppressive regimes around the world in contrast of J. F. Kennedy and L.B. Johnsons administrations.


To the Editor.— I would like to bring to the attention of the medical community and hospitals the abuse potential of adhesive tape remover. Adhesive tape remover is often supplied to hospitals in the form of individually foilwrapped impregnated pads. Among their many ingredients are either perchloroethylene or 1,1,1-trichloroethane. These are the same active ingredients found in typewriter correction fluid, 1 which has been reported to have a high abuse potential among solvent sniffers. It is associated with coma, cardiac arrhythmias, and death. 2 This problem was recently brought to my attention by a 36-year-old woman who began hemodialysis in January 1986. Shortly thereafter she made frequent and demanding requests for adhesive tape remover in order to clear her skin of the adhesive tape that is used to hold fistula needles in place. A family member reported to me that she was inserting rolled adhesive tape remover pads in her


As pansori was registered as a UNESCO world intangible cultural inheritage in 2003, interest in Korean traditional classical music and traditional culture and art has been on the sharp increase. In commemoration of Dongli Jae-hyo Shin, who made great achievements in pansori, Dongli Gugakdang was established in Gochang, North Jeolla Province in 1990 and was recently remodeled because more than 20 years have passed since its establishment. In remodeling a pansori performance hall, however, it is necessary to focus more on improvement in acoustic performance to meet the requirements of the hall while it is also important to improve the aged facility. From this point of view, this study aimed to assess the variation in acoustic performance of Dongli Gugakdang through field test before and after the remodeling and to determine the changes in subjective responses to the remodeling through auralization test. After remodeling, there were significant changes in the volume, internal finishing materials, and room constant of the hall, whereas no significant change was found in acoustic performance and subjective responses felt by the audience and it has secured acoustic performance enough to serve as a pansori performance hall. This study is expected to be helpful in establishing a similar Korean traditional classical music performance hall.


With the use of technology in the world of health, facilitate the public in obtaining information. In this case, handling of mild ENT disease can be done with the initial handling that is utilizing medicinal plants as one good alternative. However, lack of information obtained, resulting in less people know what medicinal plants that can be utilized. Therefore, it is necessary to build a system that is educative by providing information of ENT and medicinal diseases of any medicines that can be utilized in the follow up of ENT disease in suffering. This system also provides information on medicinal plants outside of ENT diseases.


Background The innervated radial artery superficial palmar branch (iRASP) flap was designed to provide consistent innervation by the palmar cutaneous branch of the median nerve (PCMN) to a glabrous skin flap. The iRASP flap is used to achieve coverage of diverse volar defects of digits. However, unexpected anatomical variations can affect flap survival and outcomes. Methods Cases in which patients received iRASP flaps since April 1, 2014 were retrospectively investigated by reviewing the operation notes and intraoperative photographs. The injury type, flap dimensions, arterial and neural anatomy, secondary procedures, and complications were evaluated. Results Twenty-eight cases were reviewed, and no flap failures were observed. The observed anatomical variations were the absence of a direct skin perforator, large-diameter radial artery superficial palmar branch (RASP), and the PCMN not being a single branch. Debulking procedures were performed in 16 cases (57.1%) due to flap bulkiness. Conclusions In some cases, an excessively large RASP artery was observed, even when there was no direct skin perforator from the RASP or variation in the PCMN. These findings should facilitate application of the iRASP flap, as well as any surgical procedures that involve potential damage to the PCMN in the inter-thenar crease region. Additional clinical cases will provide further clarification regarding potential anatomical variations.


REAMPUTATIONS. SIR,-Captain Sampson Handley, in the JOURNAL of August 25th, has forestalled me in a contribution upon the subject of reamputations which I had proposed sending you. But a few additional remarks may serve to support his opinions, as well as to indicate wlhat appear to me some advantages in the metlhod I practise. He acknowledges the difficulty of obtaining efficient O igli saws. I have always used the chain saw; and the method of its employment is. asfollows: An incision of required extent-two to three or four inches-is, in the case of the tlhiglh, carried up the outer side of the limb, and hard down to the portion of the bone it is designed to remove. This incision may or may not divide vessels that may need to be ligatured. By means of an aneurysm needle curved laterally a silk suture is carried round the femur at the level at which the bone is to be sawn through. This can be fairly easily effected by forcibly retracting the walls of the incision. Thie silk suture is disconnected from the eye of the needle, and used as a guide and tractor -for introducing the chain saw. The operator stands at a convenient height above the stump, the latter being firmly held down by tlle assistant. To prevent the saw locking in the compact boiny tissue, and to facilitate its up and down action, carbolic oil is constantly dropped upon onbside of tlle chiain; tlhis, trickling down to thle seat of severance, very effectually lubricates tlle parts. In only then remains to detach the freed fragment of projecting bone. The advantages of this method of reamputation-in principle that adopted by Captain Handley -lhave been sufficiently well indicated by lhim; and althouglh the teclhnique in performance of the two methods differ,. the results in botlh instances appear equally good. As nearly all the cases are mnore or less septic, it is of no little moment that the area of fresh tissue exposed should be as small as possible, so tllat the risk connected with infective absorption may be reduced to a mininmum. And equally important is it to remove only as much bone as can be efficiently covered by the practically undisturbed soft tissues; in otlher words, the stump should be rendered as long as possible. In both these important particulars, not to mention others of a minor degree, these metlhods of removal of projecting bone, eitlher by the Gigli or the chain saw, fulfil tlle objects aimed at, and should commend themselves for adoption in all suitable cases, thus taking the place of the commoner practice of reamputation by newly formed flaps. A detail in tlle dressing of more particularly painful stumps wlhich I lhave carried out in several cases is, I think, of some practical value and worthy of more ex.tended application. Some stumps seem very sensitive to movement or manipulation of any kind; and the process of removing or applying a bandage is not infrequently frauglht witlh a great deal of discoinfort and even distress to.the patient. To mitigate these drawbacks in the usual metlhod of dressing I hiave had wire cages constructed -which can be lightly lined or packed with antiseptic dressings and into whiclh the stump can be slipped and rest upon a bed of soft tissue. Tlhus, little or no pressure 'is exercised upon the wound; and perfect freedom is given to the outflow of tlle dischlarges. These "stump cages " thave been made for me by Messrs. Alexander Cousland and Sons, wire workers. 3, Mitclhell Street, Glasgow, at the moderate price of 3s. 6d. each.-I am, etc.,


The growing reliance on high-bandwidth, time-critical, and delay-sensitive technologies (such as video streaming, voice over IP, and virtual reality) leads to a dominance of delay-sensitive IP flows. Nowadays, a 50ms protection interval is considered tolerable by service providers [1] since most applications support the resulting loss with limited impact on the end-user's quality of experience (QoE). However, following the increase of required broadband speed per application [2], the amount of packets lost during those 50ms will also increase, leading to disruptions in the buffer playout process, and negatively impacting the QoE. It is therefore essential to enhance network resiliency techniques in order to combat network failures. To tackle this problem, we devised PRoPHYS – Providing Resilient Path in Hybrid SDN – which leverages the centralized SDN controller in hybrid networks (SDN alongside legacy L2/L3 equipment) to monitor traffic or network segments, and quickly detect failures or network disruptions, to reroute traffic. PRoPHYS features two strategies (one passive and one active) to detect network segment failures; and is designed for smooth integration with legacy routing protocols, e.g., OSPF. Our evaluation of PRoPHYS illustrates that it can decrease downtime by 50% during segment link failures, thus reducing drastically the number of packets lost, while minimizing the number of false positives.


The purpose of this study was to examine the problem related to the undulating variant in breaststroke. In most of the video-analysis systems that are available, the trunk is represented as one straight line, namely from shoulder to hip, instead of dividing the trunk into segments. The objective of this article is to determine the point at which a straight trunk is obtained in the analysis. However, an explanation can be found in the very low swimming velocity variation. Interpretation of the data is made in three critical phases. During the second part of the arm compression phase, the body is not cambered but 'broken. As a result, the upper trunk cannot decelerate to any degree, above the water surface and conversely, water cannot be accelerated behind the lower trunk. Consequently, in order to level off the velocity variation, during the first part of the recovery, water cannot push against the back; and during the propulsion phase of the legs, no forward transfer of momentum from the upper trunk can be expected.


Metronomic photodynamic therapy (mPDT), a procedure in which both the photosensitizer and light are delivered continuously so that the individual doses overlap pharmacologically is introduced. The fundamental hypothesis in mPDT is that by providing therapy at low fluence over extended periods of time, there is potential for improved selectivity in tumor cell kill through non necrotic pathways. This is especially important in the treatment of malignant brain tumors, in which selectivity between damage to tumor cells versus normal brain tissue is critical. Previous studies have shown that low-dose PDT using aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-induced protoporphyrin IX (PiIX) can induce apoptosis in tumor cells without causing necrosis in either tumor or normal brain tissue nor apoptosis in the latter. However, in order to achieve tumor control, multiple PDT treatments, such as hyper fractionation or metronomic delivery, are required, where the frequency and duration of the treatment are determined by the levels of apoptosis achieved in relationship to tumor cell doubling times, mPDT poses two substantial technical challenges: extended delivery of ALA and implantation of interstitial devices for extended light delivery at a sufficiently high enough density to achieve low fluence exposure to the brain adjacent to tumor or the entire hemisphere. In a rat model we evaluated the feasibility of delivering sustained ALA administration via the drinking water for up to 10 days without loss of PPIX selectivity. Post mortem quantitative spectrofluorimetry of tumor, normal brain and other tissues demonstrates a 4 times higher PPIX concentration in the 9L gliosarcoma model without noticeable toxicity. Light sources and delivery devices based either on laser diode or light emitting diode (LED) coupled to an implanted optical fiber were shown to be feasible. The maximum permissible spacing of cylindrical isotropic emitters is determined using known apoptotic indices and the necrosis threshold value for white matter. Preliminary evidence of selective apoptosis of tumor under these conditions is presented.


Metal - oxide - semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) on CdTe/HgTe/CdTe heterostructures are fabricated with silicon dioxide gate insulators. In these devices, the density of the quasi two-dimensional electron gas in the HgTe quantum well can be tuned in a wide range. In low magnetic fields we observe beating patterns in the Shubnikov - de Haas oscillations that render possible the determination of the coefficient of the Rashba term in the Hamiltonian as a function of electron density. This coefficient consistently describes the splittings observed in cyclotron resonance in low magnetic fields.


The cloud point extraction (CPE) method was developed to extract and preconcentrate estrone (E1) and 17β-estradiol (E2) hormones from human urine. These hormones were detected and quantified using a combination of the techniques of high-performance liquid chromatography and electrochemical detection (HPLC-EC). A boron doped diamond (BDD) electrode was cathodically pretreated and used as the electrode material for all the electrochemical measurements. Limits of detection (S/N = 3) of 57.1 ng mL−1 and 53.4 ng mL−1 were obtained for E1 and E2 hormones, respectively. Extraction solvent volumes were changed in the 0.5–2.5 mL range, and optimum results were obtained when using 1.0 mL of nonionic Tergitol TMN-6 surfactant. A comparison was made of the efficiency of the CPE method and that of direct liquid–liquid extraction (LLE), using CCl4 as the organic solvent, which clearly indicated the superiority of the CPE method over LLE. The proposed method was validated based on fundamental parameters such as selectivity, accuracy, precision and recovery, and was successfully applied to individual urine samples collected from a man, a pregnant woman, a woman of fertile age, and a lactating woman.


Preference formation and choice are dynamic cognitive processes arising from interactions between decision-makers and their immediate choice environment. This thesis examines how preferences and decisions are played out in visual attention, captured by eye-movements, as well as in group contexts.

Papers I-II make use of the Choice Blindness paradigm. Paper I compares participants' eye movements and pupil dilation over the course of a trial when participants detect and fail to detect the false feedback concerning their choices. Results indicate objective markers of detection with important implications for questions concerning possible demand effect or cognitive dissonance explanations of choice blindness. Paper II examines another aspect of the choice environment, namely, the social context. Choice blindness is demonstrated in small groups for the first time. It is shown that preferential change can be induced in dyads by manipulating the group's beliefs about their choices, thus extending the preference change through choice effects beyond individuals for the first time.

Paper III examines how visual attention differentially supports both decision and memory processes depending on the amount of task-relevant information available to participants. Participants' performance and visual attention dynamics was found to vary depending on the amount of information available to them, and the results indicate that decision outcomes are heavily influenced by encoding prior to traditional choice phases used in decision research.

Papers IV-VII concern decision-making in the moral domain. Paper IV investigates visual attention when participants choose between difficult moral dilemmas, showing asymmetries in how participants distribute their attention depending on making utilitarian or deontological choices. Paper V introduces a novel paradigm for influencing decision based manipulating the timing of decision by measuring the direction of gaze while the participant deliberates. Using this method participants' moral decisions were biased without their knowledge to a randomly chosen alternative. This shows that moral decision and visual attention are highly coupled and that by simply knowing where someone is looking it is possible to influence their decision process. Papers VI&VII build on the links between gaze direction and moral choice and present the first computational decision models based on eye gaze applicable to the moral domain. Paper VI for choices between abstract principles and Paper VII for donations to charitable organizations.

Together the papers advance novel methodological solutions to understanding preferences and decisions across a number of domains, both highlighting the important contributions of social and sensorimotor interactions to the content of our decisions as they develop over time, as well as demonstrating how decisions can be influenced by leveraging those interactions.


A generalized theory for metal-film bolometers is presented which yields the temperature distribution along the length of a bolometer exact with respect to the fourth-power radiation law. The general case of combined radiative and conductive coupling is treated, and the resulting temperature distribution is obtained for both cooled and uncooled bolometers. An exact analysis of the signal-to-noise ratio for a bolometer is given but not solved. A method utilizing a linear approximation to the exact analysis is presented for calculating the optimum bias current from known bolometer parameters. The ratio of the average bolometer temperature with optimum bias current (maximum signal-to-noise ratio) to that without bias current is derived, and this ratio is related to a design parameter which may be used as a measure of quality. It is shown that this method leads to a more accurate description of bolometer performance as determined by the calculated terminal resistance under operating conditions.


Methionine aminopeptidase-2 (MetAP2) is over-expressed in several cancers, including the cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). We reported previously suppressive effects of fumagillin, a MetAP2 inhibitor, on growth of CCA cell lines. In the present study, we evaluated the anti-proliferative and anti-invasive activities of TNP-470, a fumagillin analogue with higher MetAP2 inhibitory activity, on CCA cell lines (KKU-M213 and KKU-M214). TNP-470 significantly inhibited growth of both lines in a dose and time dependent fashion. Moreover, a sub-toxic dose of TNP-470 significantly reduced migration and invasion of CCA cells. Exploration of the molecular mechanisms by which TNP-470 inhibited growth and metastasis of CCA cell lines demonstrated expression of c-MYC, MMP2 and MMP9 to be decreased in TNP-470 treated cells. These results suggest that TNP-470 could be a potential therapeutic agent for CCA.


An eight-year-old boy, Noonan syndrome associated with ASD and PS, was referred to our department for surgical repair. During operation, the coronary sinus ostium was not found. Farther more exploration revealed completely unroofed coronary sinus without LSVC. The large ASD (confluent with coronary sinus ASD) was closed with a ePTFE patch. The pulmonary valve was thickened moderately and each commissure was adhesive, but not dysplastic. PS was released with commissurotomy and subpulmonary muscle resection. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient discharged at 14 postoperative day. At present, he has been followed at outpatient without PS and any sign and symptom of myocardial hypertrophy.


Unsupervised anomaly detection on multidimensional time series data is a very important problem due to its wide applications in many systems such as cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things. Some existing works use traditional variational autoencoder (VAE) for anomaly detection. They generally assume a single-modal Gaussian distribution as prior in the data generative procedure. However, because of the intrinsic multimodality in time series data, previous works cannot effectively learn the complex data distribution, and hence cannot make accurate detections. To tackle this challenge, in this paper, we propose a GRU-based Gaussian Mixture VAE system for anomaly detection, called GGM-VAE. In particular, Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) cells are employed to discover the correlations among time sequences. Then we use Gaussian Mixture priors in the latent space to characterize multimodal data. The proposed detector reports an anomaly when the reconstruction probability is below a certain threshold. We conduct extensive simulations on real world datasets and find that our proposed scheme outperforms the state-of-the-art anomaly detection schemes and achieves up to 5.7% and 7.2% improvements in accuracy and F1 score, respectively, compared with existing methods.


AIXUV GmbH and partners have developed a high speed Reflectometer for EUV mask-blanks which is fully compliant with the SEMI-standard P38 for EUV-mask-blank metrology. The system has been installed in June 2004 at SCHOTT Lithotec AG. It features high throughput, high lateral and spectral resolution, high reproduci-bility and low absolute uncertainty. Using AIXUV's EUV-LAMP and debris mitigation, low cost-of-ownership and high availability is expected. The spectral reflectance of up to 3 mask-blanks per hour can be measured with at least 20 spots each. The system is push button-controlled. Results are stored in CSV file format. For a spot size of 0.1×1 mm2, 2000 spectral chan-nels of 1.6 pm bandwidth are recorded from 11.6 nm to 14.8 nm. The reflectance measurement is based on the comparison of the sample under test to two reference mirrors calibrated at the PTB radiometry laboratory at BESSY II. The three reflection spectra are recorded simultaneously. For each spot more than 107 photons are ac-cumulated in about 20 s, providing statistical reproducibility below 0.2 % RMS. The total uncertainty is below 0.5 % absolute. Wavelength calibration better than 1 pm RMS over the whole spectral range is achieved by refe-rence to NIST published wavelengths of about 100 xenon emission lines. It is consistent with the wavelength of the krypton 3d-5p absorption resonance at 13.5947 nm to better than 2 pm.


Trading at markets with mergers and acquisitions does not
develop evenly – the volumes and numbers of trades change in
particular periods; this phenomenon is referred to as M&A
waves. Studies dealing with these waves endeavour to find some
connections with the behaviour of markets with products, goods,
services and capital. In order to find out how M&A market
responds to the development of the economic environment, we
measured the dependence between changes in activities in M&A
market and the gross domestic product in the USA and the Czech
Republic. The results of the analysis proved the same behaviour
of M&A markets in the USA and the Czech Republic. In both
countries, the correlation between the development of the
economic environment and activity in the field of M&A was very
low. In agreement with expectations, the positive correlation
between the two forms of company combination (mergers and
acquisitions) and mergers (without acquisitions) has not been
confirmed, which is mainly caused by the different character of
the data entering the analysis.


The use of modern Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques has shown to be beneficial for software engineering tasks, such as vulnerability detection and type inference. However, training deep NLP models requires significant computational resources. This paper explores techniques that aim at achieving the best usage of resources and available information in these models. We propose a generic approach, EarlyBIRD, to build composite representations of code from the early layers of a pre-trained transformer model. We empirically investigate the viability of this approach on the CodeBERT model by comparing the performance of 12 strategies for creating composite representations with the standard practice of only using the last encoder layer. Our evaluation on four datasets shows that several early layer combinations yield better performance on defect detection, and some combinations improve multi-class classification. More specifically, we obtain a +2 average improvement of detection accuracy on Devign with only 3 out of 12 layers of CodeBERT and a 3.3x speed-up of fine-tuning. These findings show that early layers can be used to obtain better results using the same resources, as well as to reduce resource usage during fine-tuning and inference.


The purpose, of this study is to assess the accuracy and limitations of the outpatient endometrial biopsy in detection of endometrial carcinoma and atypical hyperplasia. This was done by reviewing all the endometrial material from the 891 women at this clinic whose first endometrial sample in 1974 was by the biopsy technique. The results of this material were correlated with subsequently available additional uterine samples obtained over a three year period by biopsy, dilatation and curettage, or hysterectomy. The detection rate by biopsy for the 21 cases of endometrial carcinoma proven by hysterectomy was 81%. There was a 5% false negative rate and no false positives. For the 25 cases of atypical hyperplasia proven by hysterectomy, the detection rate by biopsy was 68%. There was lack of hysterectomy confirmation in 33% and 24% false negatives. Insufficient material was obtained initially in 9% of the 891 women. Five percent of this group were found at hysterectomy to have either endometrial carcinoma or atypical hyperplasia. With an understanding of its limitations, the endometrial biopsy, although somewhat less accurate than the D & C, is considered to be a useful diagnostic tool for detection of these lesions.


Interval arithmetic achieves numerical reliability for a wide range of applications, at the price of a performance penalty. For applications to homotopy continuation, one key ingredient is the efficient and reliable evaluation of complex polynomials represented by straight-line programs. This is best achieved using ball arithmetic, a variant of interval arithmetic. In this article, we describe strategies for reducing the performance penalty of basic operations on balls. We also show how to bound the effect of rounding errors at the global level of evaluating a straight-line program. This allows us to introduce a new and faster "transient" variant of ball arithmetic.


This study aimed to analyze the inclusion of Traditional and Complementary Medicine in Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) and its integration with primary healthcare (PHC). A qualitative study drew on institutional data, indexed articles, and case studies in selected Brazilian cities: Campinas (São Paulo State), Florianópolis (Santa Catarina State), Recife (Pernambuco State), Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. The analysis adopted the perspective of inclusion of Traditional and Complementary Medicine in the healthcare network and its integration with primary healthcare, based on the following dimensions: presence of Traditional and Complementary Medicine on the municipal agenda; position in the services; mode of access to Traditional and Complementary Medicine; Traditional and Complementary Medicine practitioners; types of practices; demand profile; and potential for expansion in the SUS. The authors identified and characterized four types of inclusion and integration of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, whether in association or not: Type 1 - in primary healthcare via professionals from the family health teams - Integrated; Type 2 - in primary healthcare via professionals with full-time employment - Juxtaposed; Type 3 - in primary healthcare via matrix-organized teams - Matrix Organization; Type 4 - in specialized services - Without Integration. The combination of types 1 and 3 was considered a potential guideline for the expansion of Traditional and Complementary Medicine in the SUS and can orient the growth and integration of Traditional and Complementary Medicine with primary healthcare. The growing presence of Traditional and Complementary Medicine in the SUS requires conceiving its strategic expansion, while existing experiences should not be wasted.


Spinal anesthesia using equal dosages (15 mg) of bupivacaine, either as 3.0 ml of a 0.5% or 6.0 ml of a 0.25% glucose-free solution, was compared in a double-blind study including 35 patients scheduled for orthopedic or urologic surgery. There were no differences between the groups with regard to onset time of sensory or motor blockade, segmental level of analgesia, or frequency of different degrees of motor blockade. The mean maximum level of analgesia, T8-9, was reached approximately 20 minutes after injection. Fourteen patients (40%) had complete motor blockade after approximately 15 minutes. Analgesia and muscle relaxation were judged satisfactory for surgery in all patients but one. No statistically significant differences in heart rate or blood pressure were found between the groups. Eleven patients (31%) required ephedrine to treat hypotension. Four patients (11%) suffered from mild to moderate post-lumbar puncture headache. The results from this study show that equal dosages (15 mg) of 0.25% or 0.5% bupivacaine provided equally effective surgical anesthesia. These results indicate that the spread of sensory and motor blockade of bupivacaine are more related to dosage than variations in concentration or volume when used for spinal anesthesia.


Aim: To examine the pattern of antenatal care services (ANC) utilization in Baptist Medical Centre, Ogbomoso, a mission hospital with a focus on individual, family, religious and socio-economic factors affecting ANC utilisation.
Study Design: The study was a cross-sectional prospective study.
Place and duration of the study: The study was conducted among antenatal care seekers who attended antenatal care at the Baptist Medical Centre, Ogbomoso (now Bowen University Teaching Hospital) between August 1, 2002 and May 31, 2003.
Methodology: The pretested questionnaire was used to obtain the following information: sociodemographic characteristics, family type, parity and booking gestational age in weeks. Analysis was done using SPSS 16. Proportions were determined and statistics presented in tables. Chi-square test was done to determine the association between variables.
Results: A total of 442 pregnant women were recruited for the study. The age range of attendees was 13 – 48 years with a mean age of 29.2±5.3. Maternity service use was associated significantly with ANC attendance. Other factors associated with antenatal care attendance included: University educational status (p < .001), civil servant (p < .001) christianity (p = 0.006), residing in Ogbomoso (p < .001), class 1 social status (p < .001) and being told by doctor (p = 0.033).
Conclusion: The study unveiled educational status, occupation, social status, place of domicile, religion and need for maternity service use as factors positively associated with ANC utilization in the Baptist Medical Centre Ogbomoso.


DLTS results of the third acceptor level of substitutional copper in n-type germanium are presented for the first time. Accurate determination of the signature and the temperature dependence of the electron capture cross section yields an energy level of EC-0.26 eV in agreement with the Hall effect. It is shown that two DLTS bands attributed in the literature to the third copper level should correspond to other defects.


Abstract Background Mainstream economic evaluations methods may not be appropriate to capture the range of effects triggered by interventions for people with intellectual disabilities. In this systematic review, we aimed to identify, assess and synthesise the arguments in the literature on how the effects of interventions for people with intellectual disabilities could be measured in economic evaluations. Method We searched for studies providing relevant arguments by running multi‐database, backward, forward citation and grey literature searches. Following title/abstract and full‐text screening, the arguments extracted from the included studies were summarised and qualitatively assessed in a narrative synthesis. Results Our final analysis included three studies, with their arguments summarised in different methodological areas. Conclusions Based on the evidence, we suggest the use of techniques more attuned to the population with intellectual disabilities, such sensitive preference‐based instruments to collect health states data, and mapping algorithms to obtain utility values.


Introduction The pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is unclear which hinders effective targeted drug development. IBD and murine models of colitis are associated with the abnormal accumulation of activated dendritic cells (DCs) in the colonic epithelium. DCs play a critical role in promoting inflammatory responses and blockade of their activation prevents colitis development in mouse models. We now propose to address the mechanisms underlying the aberrant accumulation of DCs in the gut by focusing on microbial danger stimuli that drive activation and migration of DCs. Methods We analysed the expression of migration-associated markers on DCs from normal and colitic mice. Bone marrow derived DCs (BMDCs) from WT or Beta-2 Integrin-/- (ITGB2-/-) mice were cultured in vitro and their migration and activation analysed in response to control (Phosphate buffered saline - PBS), bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), live Escherichia coli (EC), and live Bacteroides fragilis (BF) in the presence and absence of the lamina propria extracellular matrix component fibronectin. Results During colitis there was a marked increase in a population of CD103- (aE integrin) DCs. We were able to mirror these populations in vitro. DCs moved via random motion and their velocity after stimulation with LPS and EC, in the absence of fibronectin, was significantly decreased. In comparison, stimulation with BF significantly increased DC velocity (p < 0.001 for all). In the presence of fibronectin, there was no change in DC velocity. The track displacement length (the distance between the start and finishing point of a given cell migration track) was significantly decreased after EC stimulation and significantly increased after BF stimulation (p < 0.01 for both). Unstimulated ITGB2-/- BMDC velocity and track displacement length were significantly increased in comparison to that of unstimulated WT BMDC (p < 0.001 for both). This was more marked in the absence of fibronectin. Conclusion We have shown that in vitro WT DC cultures contain DCs with similar integrin-defined phenotypes to those found in colonic DCs in colitis. Differential bacterial stimulation causes opposing fibronectin-dependent effects on BMDC migratory behaviour whilst absence of ITGB2 significantly alters the migratory behaviour of BMDC. Our data implicates a complex relationship between specific components of gut microbiota, extracellular matrix, and migration and activation of DCs that could potentiate the aberrant accumulation of DCs in the colitic gut. If this complex relationship is further elucidated, it may be possible in the future to develop therapies that reduce colitis by controlling DC migration. Disclosure of Interest None Declared.


Ninety-five patients were examined between the ages of 25 and 74 years of age at the Tuscaloosa Veterans Administration Hospital and the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry. Of the 95 patients 54.7% had never taken chlorpromazine and 45.3% were taking chlorpromazine. We analyzed the prevalence of ocular side effects of chlorpromazine and found that the most prevalent side effect was anterior lens capsule dusting followed by corneal stromal pigment dusting. Both of these changes occurred at a lower cumulative dosage level than had previously been reported. The prevalence of anterior corneal epithelial opacification, anterior corneal staining, cataracts, and pigment in the macula is also reported.


An experiment was conducted during 2014-2015 to standardize the seed testing method in Kabuli chickpea MNK-1. Among the different testing methods, 25 seeds per replication recorded highest seed germination percentage (91.58 %), less number of fresh un-germinated seeds (1.91%), abnormal seedlings (4.00 %), diseased seeds (2.33%) and significantly higher seedling vigour index index-I and II (2215 and 6863), Among the number of germination papers used, 2+1 as in between paper method (Bottom 2 and one paper above) recorded significantly higher germination percentage (92.12 %), less number of fresh un-germinated seeds (1.41%), abnormal seedlings (3.66 %), diseased seeds (2.33 %) and significantly higher seedling vigour index indexI and II (2463 and 6900), when compared to other. Irrespective of number of germination paper and number of seeds used in each replication however, interaction of 25 seeds per replication and 2+1 between paper method of seed germination testing showed significantly germination percentage (96.50 %), less number of fresh un-germinated seeds (0.00 %), abnormal seedlings (1.00%), diseased seeds (1.00%) and significantly higher seedling vigour index index-I and II (2844 and 7792) followed by 50 seeds per replication.


Irresistible Materials (IM) is a UK company spun out of the University of Birmingham. It is developing novel resist systems based on the Multi-trigger concept, and spin-on-carbon hardmask materials. IM has developed a new EUV resist that is nonmetal based, does not need a post exposure bake (PEB), and delivers high sensitivity, excellent contact hole resolution, with low LER. It is being readied for HVM through a partnership with Nano-C, Inc. (the Massachusetts based manufacturer of advanced electronic materials and chemicals). The transition to scalability will be the highlight of this discussion.


There is a growing focus on domestic tourism as a complementary strategy to international tourism. This development places a responsibility on national and local authorities to enhance their tourism attractions by ensuring that prospective visitors get value for money. In particular, local governments stand to benefit from tourism due to its potential contribution to Local Economic Development (LED). Considering the various preferences and the evidence of inadequate awareness among would-be visitors in Uganda, the focus of this article is on how Ugandan authorities can enhance rock climbing for domestic tourists. Using a data from personal interviews and self-administered questionnaire administered randomly to visitors at Got Ngetta rock, strategies for enhancing domestic tourism through rock-climbing are examined. It is established that the challenges facing rock climbing tourism revolve around a dearth of user involvement, which brings about considerable disregard of available opportunities including minimising environmental and cultural damage, enhancing user satisfaction and taking advantage of long-term economic growth. This concern necessitates a broader and inclusive strategy. It is concluded that these strategies can help redefine user involvement as an impartial instrument for enhancing rock climbing tourism and boosting the local economy.


Genetic and evironmental variability in gestation length (GL), birth date (BD), and time from first day of breeding season to first observed estrus (FE) were analyzed using twelve years of breeding and calving records on cows, sired by Simmental, Maine-Anjou, Limousin and Gelbvieh bulls. All cows were artificia lly inseminated. Statistical analyses were performed separately on first, second and last parity records. Paternal half-sib estimates of heritability for GL as a trait of the calf were between .36 and .45 while the estimates for BD were between .09 and .24. The estimates of heritability for FE, treated as a trait of the cow, were less than .10. Heritabilities for maternal additive effects were small for GL and BD. The correlation between direct and maternal additive effects were negative for GL and BD in parity 1 and for GL in parity 2. The expected annual responses to selection on an index that maximizes the sum of the direct and maternal breeding values were .76 d and 1.03 d for BD and GL, respec tively.


Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture platforms have recently received a great deal of attention, as these systems are able to recapitulate the in vivo microenvironment of tissues or tumors. Herein, we describe adjustable and versatile elastomeric well structures for spheroid formation and their use for in situ analyses as a tunable 3D cell culture platform. Elastomeric spherical wells are fabricated using a one-step interfacial reaction between aqueous droplets on immiscible liquid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) without any template or expensive equipment. Due to their differing surface tensions, spherical wells are spontaneously formed on the liquid PDMS with various sizes and curvatures that are easily controlled. Using arrays of these optimized wells, single tumor spheroids within each well were successfully formed at high efficiency (up to 97%) by co-culturing tumor cells and fibroblasts to reflect the complex microenvironment of cancer tissue. Moreover, the tumor spheroids formed within the interfacial wells were directly applied for observing drug responses and monitoring reactive oxygen species (ROS) to investigate tumor cell responses to drugs or their 3D microenvironment. We believe that our proposed platform provides a significant contribution to the multimodal analyses of anti-cancer therapeutics and the tumor microenvironment.


Music source separation is the task of decomposing music into its constitutive components, e.g., yielding separated stems for the vocals, bass, and drums. Such a separation has many applications ranging from rearranging/repurposing the stems (remixing, repanning, upmixing) to full extraction (karaoke, sample creation, audio restoration). Music separation has a long history of scientific activity as it is known to be a very challenging problem. In recent years, deep learning-based systems-for the first time-yielded high-quality separations that also lead to increased commercial interest. However, until now, no open-source implementation that achieves state-of-the-art results is available. Open-Unmix closes this gap by providing a reference implementation based on deep neural networks. It serves two main purposes. Firstly, to accelerate academic research as Open-Unmix provides implementations for the most popular deep learning frameworks, giving researchers a flexible way to reproduce results. Secondly, we provide a pre-trained model for end users and even artists to try and use source separation. Furthermore, we designed Open-Unmix to be one core component in an open ecosystem on music separation, where we already provide open datasets, software utilities, and open evaluation to foster reproducible research as the basis of future development.


The performance of commercially available shelf-stable milk powders that upon reconstitution can be used as calibration samples for mid-infrared (IR) analyzers was evaluated. Twelve reconstituted powders and 7 raw milk samples were sent to each of 7 laboratories. Each laboratory analyzed the reconstituted powders and milk samples by IR and obtained both corrected and uncorrected data. The corrected data reflected the current calibrations (based on calibration with fresh, raw milk) of each instrument. The uncorrected data from the reconstituted powders were used to derive separate calibration equations for each instrument. Two of the 12 reconstituted powers were discarded from the analysis because of poor quality. The abilities of the powder-based and current calibrations to predict accurately the total protein and fat contents of the 7 raw milk samples were compared. For the current and powder-based calibrations, respectively, the mean differences from chemical analysis for total protein were -0.006 and 0.031%, and the standard deviations of the differences (SDD) were 0.029 and 0.029%. For fat, the mean difference for the current calibration was -0.001%, and the SDD was 0.034%. For the powder-based fat calibration, the mean differences were 0.034% (fat A only), -0.047% (fat B only), and -0.061% (fat A and fat B), and SDDs were 0.046% (fat A only), 0.036% (fat B only), and 0.056% (fat A and fat B). The reconstituted powders did not provide as accurate an IR fat calibration for testing raw milk samples as can be obtained with raw milk calibration samples. This is attributed primarily to differences in the characteristics of the fat in the reconstituted powders and in raw milk. For protein, analytical precisions for both types of calibrations were comparable, and the positive bias for the powder-based calibration is relatively easy to correct by basing calibration on true protein nitrogen instead of total nitrogen.


Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) differentiate into specialized cells, including midbrain dopaminergic neurons (DAN). Non-human primates (NHPs) injected with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine develop some alterations observed in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. We obtained DAN from hESCs and confirmed that they express dopaminergic markers, generate action potentials, and release dopamine (DA) in vitro. DAN were transplanted bilaterally in the putamen of parkinsonian NHPs. After grafting, animals improved motor behavior, evaluated by the HALLWAY task, and in agreement with this recovery, DA release was detected by microdialysis. Imaging techniques revealed changes in fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity in magnetic resonance imaging and higher 11C-DTBZ binding in positron-emission tomography scans, associated with grafts. Postmortem analysis showed that transplanted DAN survived over ten months in the putamen, without developing tumors, in the immunosuppressed NHPs. These results indicate that cell replacement therapy with hESCs-derived DAN causes long-term biochemical, anatomical, and physiological improvements in this model of PD.


Regulatory T (Treg) cells are the chief player in induction of autotolerance and the transcription factor, Forkhead Box P3 (Foxp3), is the master regulator of their development and function. Polymorphisms in Foxp3 locus affect Foxp3 expression and can influence Treg cell function. This study aimed to determine the frequency of -3279C/A and -924A/G polymorphisms in the promoter region of the Foxp3 gene in Egyptian rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in comparison to apparently healthy controls, to test their association with Foxp3 serum levels as well as with patients' clinical and laboratory features. Also, to evaluate Foxp3 serum level as a putative measure of Foxp3+ Treg cells-mediated immune regulation and disease activity. A total of 136 subjects (68 RA patients and 68 controls) were studied for determining the frequency of both -3279 C/A and -924 A/G polymorphisms in the Foxp3 promoter region by PCR-RFLP and measuring their Foxp3 protein serum levels by ELISA. Our results indicated that; -3279 Foxp3 CA and AA genotypes were significantly higher in patients than controls (OR (95% CI) = 2.86 (1.31-6.26) and 2.79 (1.11-7.07), P= 0.008 and p = 0.03, respectively). Similarly, -924 AG genotype was significantly higher in patients than controls (OR (95% CI) = 2.92 (1.35-6.34); P=0.006). A significantly higher risk of RA was associated with the Foxp3 polymorphic variants -3279 A and -924 G. There was a statistically significant elevation in Foxp3 serum levels among patients, which was positively correlated to disease activity score and disease grade. In conclusion, Foxp3 polymorphisms influenced the risk of developing RA, but did not influence disease severity or activity. Serum level of Foxp3 is not a reliable indicator of Treg-mediated immune regulation in RA patients.


The dynamics of contents of chemical elements in fetal liver, and its physiological and nutritional significance are studied. Twenty-one chemical elements in livers of fetus from induced abortion aged four to ten months are measured and are compared with those in adult. The relativity between the monthly average contents of twenty-one elements and fetus month age are analyzed and assorted. The results show that the contents of chemical elements of fetus liver are not well distributed and are not stable during the stage of fetus growth, and even change following the fetus's age. The changing patterns of contents of chemical elements of fetus liver can be divided into three types: a marked positive relativity of some chemical element contents with the increase in fetus age, marked negative relativity with the increase of fetus age, and indefinite relativity with the increase of fetus age. In the time period of embryo development to fetus to newborn infant, the content of some elements that has marked positive relativity with the increase of fetus age varies from low to high, indicating an increase of their contents in liver of fetus while supplying the need of fetus growth. The content of elements that have marked negative relativity with the increase of fetus age varies also from low to high and rapidly decreases in per unit tissue, resulting in an increase of the sensitivity to deficiency of these elements. The contents of elements that have indistinctive relativity with the increase of fetus age may not bring about any impact to fetus and newborn infant from the view of physiology and nutrition.


OBJECTIVE
To establish two strains of mouse developing dampness-heat syndrome models infected by Dengue virus and to compare the difference in infection, so as to choose a suitable mouse strain for modeling.

METHODS
According to the modeling methods of the seasonal febrile disease of the dampness-heat syndrome in Chinese medicine, BALB/C and C57BL/6 mice were respectively treated with complex factors as the high glucose and high fat forage + high-temperature chamber + Dengue virus. At the same time a normal control group, the virus infection group (modeled by Dengue virus infection), and the dampness-heat group (modeling by pure dampness heat circumstance) were set up. Changes of the body temperature, platelet counts, virus in the separate serum, pathological changes of the liver, and serological indicators were observed to compare the modeling difference.

RESULTS
After modeling low-grade fever appeared in mice in the high-temperature chamber. Compared with the normal control group, the platelet count decreased in mice of the BALB/C model group. AST increased in both BALB/C and C57BL/6 mice and the virus infection group. TC and TG increased in BALB/C model group and the dampness-heat group, with statistical significance (P<0.05). Various degrees of pathological changes were shown in the liver tissue of each group, with the most severe one in the BALB/C model group. The serum virus titers were detected with Real-time PCR after modeling. The virus load was 2.9 x 10(4) - 5.5 x 10(4) copies/mL. No significant difference was found among these groups.

CONCLUSIONS
The mouse model of dampness-heat syndrome infected by Dengue virus was primarily established. When compared the infection between BALB/C mice and C57BL/6 mice, BALB/C mice were more suitable for modeling.


Growth and lateral charge transport properties of thin (d = 20 - 30 Å) Bi films are investigated with scanning tunnelling microscopy. Bismuth is deposited at T = 140 K onto the cleaved (110) surface of an InP-based heterostructure. Growth at low temperature is kinetically limited and leads to strained, metastable overlayers. After annealing to 300 K the Bi surface consists of atomically flat terraces separated by 12 Å deep holes. We find that prolonged injection of a high lateral current promotes significant changes in surface morphology which are attributed to a strain relaxation process mediated by electromigration. Scanning tunnelling potentiometry is applied to probe the local response of the semimetal overlayers to the injected lateral current. The observed potential distribution provides evidence for both phonon and defect scattering. At the position of holes and grain boundaries we find typically 2 - 4 mV high potential steps. It is argued that these steps indeed reflect a localized increase of the film resistance and cannot be attributed to tip-convolution artefacts.


ABSTRACT This article introduces the "Boko Haram disaggregation problem," or the often frequent failure by observers to disaggregate the group following its August 2016 split into two distinct factions, instead, labeling and studying all factions as "Boko Haram." It asks: What are the origins of the "Boko Haram disaggregation problem," and, given this phenomenon, what are the possibilities and constraints in understanding profiles of violence between the pre-2016 and post-2016 iterations of the group(s)? It argues that the "Boko Haram disaggregation problem" has origins both internal and external to the group(s), most prevalent in quantitative academic research. Highlighting the challenges of this phenomenon, it uses data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) from 2009 to 2018 to compare profiles of violence between various "Boko Haram" factions. In sum, it shows why beyond merely a methodological challenge, overcoming this phenomenon has real-world impacts for addressing the violence perpetrated by these groups.


BACKGROUND
The ovarian tumors' diagnosis is based on biological and radiologic tests but only the histological examination associated to an immunohistochemical study allow best diagnosis.

AIM
The purposes of this study is to examine inhibin and other markers immunoreactivity to ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors and their histological mimics and to discuss its value in the differential diagnosis.

METHODS
We report a retrospective study of 31 cases of ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors and review the clinical, pathologic and immunohistochimical features of these tumors.

RESULTS
The average age of our patients was 51,3 years with an average size of 8,4cm. Immunostaining for inhibin was positive in 66% of granulosa cell tumor, in 50% of Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor and in 54% of thecoma-fibroma group. Inhibin immunoreactivity was more important than with cytokeratin and epithelial membrane antigen, but less marked than with CD99, vimentin, smooth muscle actin, desmin and S-100 protein.

CONCLUSION
The results of this study show that although it is not complete specificity, inhibin, contrarily to the other markers, can be used to help in the distinction between ovarian sex cord-stromal neoplasms and the other primary and metastatic tumors.


We investigated the chemical behavior of lanthanides (Ln) by multistage extraction. Using 10 aqueous phases with Ln and 3 organic phases, we drew the breakthrough curves for light and middle Ln. Our study reveals that the limit of metal extraction depends on their D values and the metal concentration employed in experiments. From the multistage extractions of 15 stage aqueous phases and 15 stage organic phases, three curves (extraction curves, back-extraction curves, and separation curves) were obtained. Setting appropriate conditions, adequate separation of light Ln from middle ones can be achieved. As an example, under the condition of the separation curve experiment (aqueous phase: 0.5 M HNO^3, organic phase: 0.1 M TDDGA ( N,N,N′,N′ -tetradecyl-diglycolamide) in n-dodecane), the recovery of more than 99% of Sm in the organic phase with less than 1% of Nd can be obtained, even in the case of two metals adjacent to each other in the Ln series.


In the most comprehensive study of political ritual yet written, David I. Kertzer explains why ritual has been and will continue to be an essential part of political life. Weaving together examples from around the world and throughout history, Kertzer shows that the success of all political groups, whether conservative or revolutionary, is linked to their effective use of ritual. "The author delights the reader with numerous excursions into the political rites of the Aztecs, the contemporary Soviet Union, the French Revolution, colonial Africa, the Italian Communist Party, and a host of others, all richly and amusingly analyzed...This is...political anthropology as it should be, directed at an interdisciplinary audience, and demonstrating to non-anthropologists the vital relevance of ethnographic comparison for political theory."-Robert W. Hefner, American Anthropologist "A major work in comparative political culture, this book should be mandatory reading for all undergraduate and graduate students of politics."-Choice "An important and compelling book, one that illuminates the role of ritual in human life, as well as the nature of politics. Written in a lucid and graceful style, it should appeal to the general reader as well as to anthropologists and political scientists."-Charles E. Silberman, author of A Certain People and Criminal Violence, Criminal Justice.


The epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy which is currently afflicting British cattle probably represents transmission of the sheep disease, scrapie, to bovines. Epidemiological evidence suggests that the source of the infection was dietary, and implicates commercial cattle rations containing meat and bone meal. Although this product is manufactured worldwide from waste animal tissues, only sporadic cases of the cattle disease have occurred outside Great Britain where a unique combination of factors is considered to be involved; this includes changes in manufacturing methods together with the greater use of ovine raw material, an increasing proportion of which was probably scrapie-infected. A number of legislative measures have been introduced which should lead to the eventual elimination of the disease and prevent the occurrence of analogous diseases in other species. Meanwhile, pilot-scale spiking studies are underway to determine the relative decontamination efficiencies of various procedures used throughout the EC to manufacture meat and bone meal; more rigorous methods which are not currently employed are also being assessed.


With the emergence of Big Data, the use of NoSQL (Not only SQL) technology is rising rapidly among internet companies and other enterprises. Benefits include simplicity of design, horizontal scaling and finer control over availability. NoSQL databases are increasingly considered a viable alternative to relational databases, as more organizations recognize that its schema less data model is a better method for handling the large volumes of structured, semi structured and unstructured data, being captured and processed today. For example NoSQL databases are often used to collect and store social media data. This paper aims to introduce the concepts behind NoSQL, provides a review of relevant literature, highlights the different NoSQL database types, and provide arguments for and against adopting NoSQL. A small prototype application has been developed to assess the stated NoSQL benefits and illustrate the differences between the SQL and NoSQL approaches. The last section of the paper offers some conclusions and recommendations for further research to expand upon our research work.


nearly 20 years ago. Focusing specifically on depression and anxiety, as these are probably the most likely mental health concomitants of AA, this large-scale study found that both conditions are more common among people diagnosed with AA than among controls. This is not a surprising finding. Hair is of fundamental importance in projecting the self-image, and a dramatic change in appearance can profoundly affect the way people see themselves. In this sense AA is similar to other forms of disfigurement. We have long acknowledged the importance of the psychosocial aspects of, for example, facial disfigurement, but hair has similarities because it can be just as important for selfesteem as any other part of appearance. Many women (in particular) see their hair as their 'crowning glory', so the loss of hair can be particularly distressful for women. Macbeth et al. did not compare sex differences. It would have been helpful to see whether previous findings regarding sex differences are repeated, or whether cultural change has altered the pattern of psychosocial problems experienced by men and women. One important finding from the study of Macbeth et al. is not just that people with AA were more likely to experience depression and anxiety, but that they were also more likely to be issued time off work certificates and be recorded as unemployed. We know that hair loss can affect whether people take part in social activities such as sport or sexual activity, so this adds to the evidence regarding the inability of many people with AA to take part in normal social activities, presumably directly because of their hair loss. The authors do recognize some of the limitations of their study. In addition to this, one problem may be the focus on medications as the main indicators of depression and anxiety. While this provides a reasonable measure of the classification of depression and anxiety, it is not without its faults. Many people experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety do not go to their doctor and obtain medication. On the other hand, some people may be prescribed medication without a full assessment of their mental health. These issues are not likely to change the overall picture that many people with AA experience psychosocial problems. Perhaps the most important point made by Macbeth et al. is that people with AA who experience psychological distress should be provided with appropriate support, and that we need to develop and test appropriate psychological therapies for use with AA. Psychologists do have appropriate therapies available. We must recognize the need for these among people with AA.


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has traditionally been treated using the pyramid approach, in which non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the first-line treatment and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are introduced relatively late in the disease. This approach is no longer valid. Previously regarded as a benign disease, RA is now recognized as causing substantial morbidity and mortality, as do the NSAIDs used in treatment. DMARDs are more effective in controlling the pain and disability of RA than NSAIDs, and are often no more toxic. The current treatment paradigm emphasizes early, consistent use of DMARDs. A 'sawtooth' strategy of DMARD use has been proposed, in which a rising but low level of disability triggers a change in therapy. Determining the most clinically useful DMARD combinations and the optimal sequence of DMARD use requires effectiveness studies, Bayesian approaches and analyses of long-term outcomes. Such approaches will allow optimization of multiple drug therapies in RA, and should substantially improve the long-term outcome for many patients.


Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is the most widely used process for metal joining because of its high productivity and good quality, but analysis shows that the fundamental characteristic restricts conventional GMAW from further increasing the welding productivity. A novel GMAW process, refereed to as double-electrode GMAW or DE-GMAW, thus has been developed to make it possible to increase the melting current while the base metal current can still be controlled at a desired level. This fundamental change provides an effective method to allow manufacturers to use high melting currents to achieve high melting speed and low base metal heat input. A series of experiments have been conducted to uncover the basic characteristics of this novel process. Results obtained from analyses of high-speed image sequences and recorded current signals suggest that DE-GMAW can lower the critical current for achieving the desired spray transfer, shift the droplet trajectory, reduce the diameter of the droplet, and increase the speed and (generation) rate of the droplets.


Metformin, a frontline treatment for T2D, is a BIG drug with low potency and limiting side effects. To overcome these limitations, we examined a compound library of 265 novel BIGs by screening these agents against five organic cationic transporters (OCTs) (OCTs 1, 2 and 3, PMATE and MATE1), an approach based on the need of OCTs for BIG cell entry and action. mRNA expression data from vervet monkey liver, fat and muscle showed OCT1, OCT3, PMAT and MATE1 were the predominate transporters and were used to guide our search for more potent and selective BIGs. BIG transport activity was measured by a decrease in oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in HEK 293 cells that express a single OCT and the results reported as EC 50 values. Following the screening, we identified NT1195 from its EC 50 transport values of 25, 5, 12, 3 and 57 uM respectively for OCT1, 2 and 3, PMAT and MATE1 when compared to those for metformin of 409, 320, 133, 288 and 5,993 uM. Other cellular effects of NT1195 were then examined in human adipocytes and myotubes, and in H4-lle liver cells. AMPK activation, a basic feature of BIG action, was increased by 6-fold over basal by NT1195 in fat cells versus a 3-fold increase by metformin; the EC 50 values were respectively 78 uM and 4,928 uM. NT1195 stimulated AMPK in myotubes by 3-fold with an EC 50 of 1,994 uM; metformin stimulation AMPK by 1.8-fold with an EC 50 of 7,817 uM. Both agents produced a 2-fold activation of AMPK in H4-II e cells but with different EC 50 values of 641 uM for NT1195 and 5,576 uM for metformin. Glucose production by H4-IIe cells was inhibited 90% by both BIGs, whereas the EC 50 values were 32 nM for NT1195 and 285 uM for metformin. NT1195 inhibited lipolysis in human fat cells stimulated by isoproterenol by 90% with an EC 50 of 286 uM while metformin inhibited lipolysis by 66% with an EC 50 of 4,360 uM. Therefore overall, these findings demonstrate the much greater potency of NT1195 over metformin and supports its potential as an improved therapeutic for T2D. Disclosure J.N. Livingston: Consultant; Self; CohBar, Inc. Employee; Self; NovoTarg Therapeutics. J.E. Cobb: Consultant; Self; NovaTarg Therapeutics. K.K. Brown: None. K. Kavanagh: Research Support; Self; Takeda Development Centre Europe Ltd. K.W. Batchelor: None. Funding National Institutes of Health


Autoimmune gastritis (AIG), an organ‐specific autoimmune disease, is accompanied by achlorhydria, pernicious anemia, gastric carcinoid tumors, and gastric cancer. Patients with AIG initially respond to corticosteroids but have a great potential to relapse after treatment is withdrawn. This study examines the roles of cytokines in order to identify potential therapeutic options for AIG patients.


Azole applications in energy are empirical and, despite increasing interest in azole and energy research, many challenges remain in synthesizing and processing azoles with functionality for energy applications. The use of azole in wood treatment has been effective to some extent in producing durable wood; however, there is still the need for improving the treatment of wood species. This chapter seeks solutions which are developed systematically with scientific validation principles. Consequently, this chapter aims to provide a concise overview of integrating azoles in materials used for renewable energy processing and applications, and wood treatment, with an outlook on challenges and opportunities.