In this paper, new approaches for the identification of FIR systems using HOS are proposed. The unknown model parameters are obtained using optimization algorithms. In fact, the proposed method consists first in defining an optimization problem and second in using an appropriate algorithm to resolve it. Moreover, we develop a new method for estimating the order of FIR Models using only the output cumulants. The results presented in this paper illustrate the performance of our methods and compare them with a range of existing approaches.


The present state of knowledge of the scolytine ambrosia beetles of Thailand is summarised to provide a basis for future studies of the fauna and its economic importance in forestry, timber production and crop tree plantations. A checklist of the fauna is provided with information on local and world distribution, host trees, biology and taxonomy. Six faunal elements based on geographical distribution, and the host tree and altitudinal preferences of species are discussed. One hundred and sixty-one species are recorded from Thailand, 67 of them for the first time. The following new synonym is proposed: Euwallacea wallacei (Blandford) (= Xyleborus barbatomorphus Schedl n.syn.). The following new combinations are given: Ambrosiophilus cristatulus (Schedl), Ambrosiophilus latisulcatus (Eggers), Beaverium dihingensis (Eggers), Beaverium lantanae (Eggers) and Immanus desectus (Eggers) are transferred from their present position in Ambrosiodmus; Ancipitis depressus (Eggers) and Ancipitis punctatissimus (Eichhoff) are transferred from Leptoxyleborus; Cyclorhipidion armipenne (Schedl), Cyclorhipidion inarmatum (Eggers), Euwallacea semiermis (Schedl), Fortiborus macropterus (Schedl), Microperus nudibrevis (Schedl) and Wallacellus minutus (Blandford) are transferred from Xyleborus.


Trust negotiation is a mechanism supporting complex, distributed, rule-based access control for sensitive information and resources, through the controlled release of credentials. It is also a mutual authorization protocol between two entities. Here we proposed multisession trust negotiation which involves exchange of digital credentials protected by rule based disclosure policies which make it for two (or more) peers to establish mutual trust, A peer is able to suspend an ongoing negotiation and resume it with another(authenticated) peer. But the peer can also be un trusted so to select the authenticate peer we propose Trusted peer head Authority. By using server Selection algorithm we select the trusted peer.Due to this proposed frame work that it supports crash recovery and the possibility of completing the negotiation over multiple sessions negotiation portions and intermediate states can be safely and privately be transferred among peers.


Author(s): Bell, Robert Joseph Allen | Advisor(s): Costello, Joseph F.; Song, Jun S. | Abstract: Cis-regulatory element (cRE) mutations underlie hereditary cancers and may contribute significantly to sporadic cancer, but cancer genetics research to date has primarily focused on the protein coding exome. Non-coding mutations can contribute to tumorigenesis by altering transcription factor (TF) binding and the expression level of their target gene(s). Determining which cRE mutations are functional and act as drivers of a malignant phenotype in part depends on the cell type-specific chromatin state and the presence of relevant transcription factors. Only a fraction of cREs in the genome are active in a given cell type, and many show little conservation between species, making their identification difficult using comparative genomics alone. Recent advances in mapping histone modifications using ChIP-seq allows for the rapid identification of active cREs in any accessible tissue type. We generated these "chromatin state" maps from primary Glioblastoma (GBM) and adult normal brain tissues, and intersected publicly available GBM whole genome and transcriptome sequencing data to identify novel mutations in cREs. We identified the TERT promoter to be the most commonly mutated cRE in GBM patients. TERT gene expression is critical for the modulation of telomerase activity, the enzyme responsible for telomere maintenance, and TERT promoter mutations are among the most common genetic alterations observed across multiple cancer types. We identify the functional consequence of these mutations in GBM to be recruitment of the multimeric GABP transcription factor specifically to the mutant promoter. Allelic recruitment of GABP is consistently observed across four cancer types, highlighting a shared mechanism underlying TERT reactivation. This study provides an experimental and computational framework to identify driver cRE mutations that is widely applicable to most other tumor types.


In this article the design and fabrication of a new mechatronic platform (called "Mechatronic Board") for behavioral analysis of children are presented and discussed. The platform is the result of a multidisciplinary design approach which merges input coming from neuroscientists, psychologists, roboticians and bioengineers, with the main goal of studying learning mechanisms driven by intrinsic motivations and curiosity. A detailed analysis of the main features of the mechatronic board is provided, focusing on the key aspects which allow studying intrinsically motivated learning in children. Finally preliminary results on curiosity-driven learning, coming from a pilot study on children are reported.


Aims. We evaluate some approximations for solving the equations of special relativistic hydrodynamics within complex geometries. In particular, we assess the following schemes: the Generalized FORCE (GFORCE) and MUlti STAge (MUSTA) approaches which are used as the basis for a second-order-accurate Slope-LImited-Centred (SLIC) method. These do not require detailed knowledge of the characteristic structure of the system, but have the potential to be nearly as accurate as more expensive schemes which do require this knowledge. Methods. In order to treat complex geometries, we use multiple overlapping grids which allow the capturing of complex geometries while retaining the efficiencies associated with structured grids. Results. The schemes are evaluated using a suite of one dimensional problems some of which have known exact solutions, and it is shown that the schemes can be used at CFL numbers close to the theoretical stability limit. We compare the effects of the MUSTA approach when applied to two different schemes. The scheme is further validated on a number of problems involving complex geometries with overlapping grids.


In liver diseases, most commonly in the terminal stage of liver failure, a variety of hemostatic defects affecting almost all parts of the blood coagulation system are developing. This leads to diminishing the capabilities of patients with liver diseases to correctly maintain the hemostatic balance. The severity of hemostatic disorders depends on the nosological form and degree of a liver damage. Depending on the imbalance of the hemostasis system and accumulated clinical/laboratory data, patients with liver diseases can be subdivided into three groups as exhibiting: 1. non-cholestatic liver damage; 2. cholestatic liver damage and 3. liver damage of vascular origin. The first part of the review discusses multiple alterations in the hemostasis system in patients with noncholestatic liver diseases, which are commonly accompanied by hypocoagulation.


One of the factors for economic stabilization and growth of the industrial production index is appearing young high quality trained professionals in prior areas of modernization and technological development of the Russian economy. Every year the state spends huge financial resources to ensure the budget places for the Russian economy demanded specialties and departments of universities. However, as shown by monitoring carried out at different levels, about 75% of graduates are not able to integrate into the production process for various reasons In connection with the vector of strategies of modern education reforms should be the creation of prerequisites and conditions for the effectiveness of the system based on a comprehensive implementation of innovative mechanisms of organizational and economic activity of educational institutions. As well as the reduction and, in the future, complete elimination of the gap between the needs of the economy to a qualitatively trained staff and modern system of vocational education. This article discusses issues related to the conditions for the training of qualified personnel for the regional economy in the current conditions, the main ways of integration of young highly qualified specialists in various industry sectors. This is possible with the implementation mechanisms of public-private partnerships in education, which allows combining the interests of universities, large and medium-sized businesses, and in the future accession and small businesses. We determined priority directions and synergistic interaction and the cluster approach to public policy, business and university towards the restoration of the lost positions "nurturing" human capacity for the relevant quality criteria demands of employers, focused not only on theoretical knowledge but also on practical experience of the high school graduate


In order to discover a possible correlation between climatic parameters and the occurrence of acute neurological vascular accidents (thrombosis, hemorrhages) and of cardiac accidents (myocardial infarction), the data of a meteorological card-index including climatological parameters [atmospheric pressure in millibars, temperature of the air under shelter in degrees Celsius, relative humidity, speed and direction of the winds, hydrometeors and electrometeors) as well as parameters of solar and ionospheric activity (daily flare index (DFI), index of the geomagnetic activity (AA), daily planetary index (AP), phases of the moon] were compared. The study concerned a period of 731 days and the parameters, subdivided into classes and gradients, were compared with the admission to hospital of 535 patients with myocardial infarction and of 378 patients with stroke. The statistical study consisted in searching for correlations between the parameters considered two by two and in applying the method of the factorial analysis of correspondence for a more extensive analysis. The frequency of the vascular accidents increased when the temperature of the air was less than 12 degrees, when there was hoar-frost with fog, rain or snow and when the DFI was less than 530. The factorial analysis of correspondence enabled to consider 3 fields in which correlations were suggestive for 3 distinct affections: myocardial infarction, cerebral hemorrhages and cerebral thrombo-embolisms.


Disease management programs have become increasingly popular over the past 5-10 years. Recent increases in overall medical costs have precipitated new concerns about the cost-effectiveness of medical management programs that have extended to the program directors for these programs. Initial success of the disease management movement is being challenged on the grounds that reported results have been the result of the application of faulty, if intuitive, methodologies. This paper discusses the use of "pre-post" methodology approaches in the analysis of disease management programs, and areas where application of this approach can result in spurious results and incorrect financial outcome assessments. The paper includes a checklist of these items for use by operational staff working with the programs, and a comprehensive bibliography that addresses many of the issues discussed.


A simple, rapid and reproducible high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the quantitative determination of cefepime in human plasma was developed. Ceftazidime was used as internal standard. Chromatography was performed on a reversed-phase encapped column (Hypersil BDS C18). The samples, after protein precipitation, were eluted with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-acetate buffer, pH 4 (2.8:97.2, v/v). The detection wavelength was 254 nm. The limit of quantitation of cefepime was 0.5 microgram/mL and only 0.5 mL of plasma sample was required for the determination. The average cefepime recoveries over a concentration range of 0.5-500 micrograms/mL ranged from 98 to 104%. Precision and accuracy did not exceed 5%.


The evolving needs of conducting commerce using the Internet requires more than just network quality of service mechanisms for differentiated services. Empirical evidence suggests that overloaded servers can have significant impact on user perceived response times. Furthermore, FIFO scheduling done by servers can eliminate any QoS improvements made by network-differentiated services. Consequently, server QoS is a key component in delivering end to end predictable, stable, and tiered services to end users. This article describes our research and results for WebQoS, an architecture for supporting server QoS. We demonstrate that through classification, admission control, and scheduling, we can support distinct performance levels for different classes of users and maintain predictable performance even when the server is subjected to a client request rate that is several times greater than the server's maximum processing rate.


Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes a chronic infection, resulting in progressive liver damage. Recent studies have described the protective effect of the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotype on liver damage in cases of HCV infection. Their findings were explained by the influence of the ApoE genotype on HCV pathology, which seems to be integrally linked to the process of HCV uptake into hepatocytes. We investigated whether specific ApoE genotypes were associated with the different clinical aspects of HCV infection in patients with chronic HCV. Methods: From the whole blood of 196 chronic HCV hepatitis patients, the ApoE genotypes were determined by an allele-specific polymerase chain reaction. Several markers, including liver enzymes, platelet counts and HCV viral loads, as well as the radiologic findings, were investigated. In order to estimate the treatment outcome, the sustained virologic response (SVR), early virologic response (EVR) and end-of-treatment response (ETR) were determined according to the HCV viral loads. Results: Based on genotyping, 15.8% (n=31) of the patients had the ApoE E4 allele (E2/E4, E3/E4, E4/E4), while 84.2% (n=165) were missing the ApoE E4 allele (E2/E2, E2/E3, E3/E3). Several clinical results of the E4-positive group, including liver enzymes, albumin, platelet counts, HCV viral loads and hepatic coarseness were not significantly different from those of E4-negative group. There were no differences in the SVR, EVR and ETR between patients with the ApoE E4 allele and those without the ApoE E4 allele. Conclusion: There was no significant effect of the ApoE genotype on the clinical aspects of HCV infection and the anti-viral response, including SVR, EVR and ETR, in chronic HCV hepatitis patients. (Ann Clin Microbiol 2013;16:69-74)


The four groups of uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes form a superfamily responsible for the glucuronidation of target substrates. These include hormones, flavonoids, environmental mutagens and pharmaceutical drugs. Thus, UGT enzymes are relevant for pharmacogenetic research. Most of the members of the UGT family are expressed in the liver, but are also present in intestinal, stomach or breast tissue. The incidences and types of polymorphisms for different enzymes vary with geographical regions and ethnic groups. This is the first study that examined the frequency of polymorphisms for UGT1 isozymes for a population of 100 healthy argentinians. The distribution of UGT1A1 in our population was: 70.5% (70.5) for the *1 allele, 21.5% for the *28 allele and 1% for the *36 allele. 48% (48) presented the *1/*1 genotype, while 43 % (43) had *1/*28, 2% (2) had *1/*36 and 7% (7) showed *28/*28. There was no preferential sex distribution. Since most Argentinians are of Caucasian descent, a European genotype frequency profile is to be expected. That is evident in the wild type prevalence in our population. However, the contribution of Native American ancestry to gene pool components may in part explain the higher prevalence of the *28 genotype in UGT1A1 *1 in our population, in comparison with European cohorts.


Complete disruption of the lunate from both dorsal and palmar ligamentous attachments caused by palmar dislocation has rarely been reported. The authors present two cases and discuss the surgical treatments performed. They conclude from these cases that the lunate is at risk for remaining avascular after such trauma, so that proximal row carpectomy should be considered as a surgical option in the primary treatment.


Purpose To assess the relationship between the kinetics of the serum CA15-3 level and the five-year disease-free survival rate of breast cancer patients. Methods The subjects of this study, 297 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer, were the subset of patients operated on at Kosin University Gospel Hospital from January 2008 to December 2010. We evaluated the change of serum CA15-3 levels during outpatient follow-up period. The changing patterns of serum CA15-3 level were divided into 5 categories; surge without decline, surge with incidental decline, decline without surge, decline with incidental surge, and no change. Clinicopathologic factors were evaluated for each group. Results The number of patients in surge without decline, surge with incidental decline, decline without surge, decline with incidental surge, and no changes groups were 30 (10.1%), 85 (28.6%), 80 (26.9%), 73 (24.6%), and 29 (9.7%), respectively. The clinicopathologic characteristics were not significantly different among these groups. The log rank test found that 5-year disease-free survival rate according to the kinetics of serum CA15-3 levels were significant (P = 0.004) particularly for the surge without decline group. Conclusion According to the findings of this study, the surge without incidental decline pattern of serum CA15-3 levels during the follow-up period is associated with poor prognosis. Significant association was found among changing patterns of serum CA15-3 levels and breast cancer recurrence rate.


In the article the results of development of bases of calculation and further analysis of its results on the basis of energy durability theory of tunnel constructions are presented. The practical calculation of the shallow contour interval columnar station in the case of progressing cave-in is conducted.


An algorithm of making and implementation of regional industrial policy based on an "image of the future" related to the industry of the region coordinated by the major parties has been considered in the paper.


Neuromuscular transmission was studied in neonatal mice following injection with serum globulin of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). Compared to controls, these mice showed significant reduction in successive muscle action potentials evoked by repetitive nerve stimulation, amplitude of miniature endplate potentials, and postjunctional sensitivity to acetylcholine. There was no change in evoked isometric tension, quantal content of endplate potentials, or input resistance of the endplate membrane. These results confirm earlier reports of neuromuscular block in animals following injection of globulin of myasthenic patients, and demonstrate that decrease in amplitude of evoked potentials and of miniature endplate potentials is due to reduction in sensitivity to acetylcholine rather than in input resistance of the postsynaptic membrane. These findings are compatible with a postsynaptic defect in MG caused by a humorally mediated autoimmune mechanism.


We have studied the influence of defects on silicon heterojunction solar cell efficiency by a method based on the comparison of electroluminescence (EL) image data with a finite element circuit model of solar cell efficiency. For this purpose, a general curve that relates the solar cell efficiency to a parameter representative of the defect strength, i.e., the loss of VOC, ∆VOC, from EL maps is obtained, and it is shown that the efficiency can be predicted with a good degree of confidence.


RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) analysis is a method to identify high-response customers in marketing promotions, and to improve overall response rates, which is well known and is widely applied today. Less widely understood is the value of applying RFM scoring to a customer database and measuring customer profitability. RFM analysis is considered significant also for the banks and their specific units like e-banking. A customer who has visited an e-banking site Recently (R) and Frequently (F) and created a lot of Monetary Value (M) through payment and standing orders is very likely to visit and make payments again. After evaluation of the customer's behaviour using specific RFM criteria the RFM score is correlated to the bank interest, with a high RFM score being more beneficial to the bank currently as well as in the future. Data mining methods can be considered as tools enhancing the bank RFM analysis of the customers in total as well as specific groups like the users of ebanking.


This report constitutes a long-term study of 100 saddle-bridges applied by the author during the years 1958-1973. The aim of the investigation has been to assess the prognosis for this form of therapy. The probability that a saddle-bridge will still be functioning completely, without repair, after 5 years is 93%, and after 10 years (as also after 12 years) 83%. Only 12% of the appliances had been removed 12 years after the application. The risk of defects is about the same during the first 5-year period after the application as it is during the second and the third 5-year periods. A comparison between saddle-bridges applied before and after 1965 shows no demonstrable difference as regards the 5-year prognosis in spite of modifications with respect to range of indication and therapy. The causes of the defects have been divided into biological and technical. During the first 5-year period technical defects appear to be in the majority, whereas during the later stages, biological defects predominate. Background factors such as sex, the age of the patient, length of saddle, localization in the jaw do not prove to have any appreciable importance for the prognosis. There is, on the other hand, a significantly better prognosis when the opposing jaw is furnished with the patient's own teeth and/or fixed bridges than with a removable denture. The author points out that from the result of the study, the saddle-bridge has such a good long-term prognosis that its range of application for fixed constructions should be considerably extended.


Objective: Increased salt consumption is related to blood pressure rise, while glucose metabolism deterioration increases cardiovascular risk. Their interplay and their relation to target organ damage are explored in the present study. Design and method: We studied 11820 never treated patients with uncomplicated essential hypertension, 6733 with normal glucose metabolism (N), 2216 with impaired fasting glucose (IFG), 1731 with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and 1090 with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). From 24 h urinary collection Na+ and K+ excretion was measured and their ratio (Na/K) was calculated, as was the 24 h albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR). 24 h systolic blood pressure (SBP) was obtained from simultaneous ambulatory blood pressure measurements and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was derived from echo tracings. Results: 24 h SBP increased from N to IFG to IGT to T2DM (135 to 137 to 139 to 142 mmHg, p < 0.0001), as did LVMI (116 to 122 to 126 to 130 g/m2 p < 0.0001) and ACR (29 to 40 to 49 to 76 mg/g, p < 0.0001). 24 h Na+ increased and K+ decreased in parallel from N to IFG to IGT to T2DM (3715 to 4084 to 4359 to 4711 mg/24 h, p for trend 0.0014, and 1297 to 1245 to 1189 to 1142 mg/24, p for trend 0.0005), and the Na/K ratio (3.14 to 3.62 to 4.04 to 4.66, p for trend 0.004). SBP was strongly related to Na+ (r = 0.33), less so to K+ (r = −018) and best to Na/K (r = 0.40). LVMI was related to Na+ (r = 0.37), less so to K+ (r = −0.19) and best to Na/K (r = 0.48). The correlations of urine electrolytes with SBP, LVMI and ACR decreased with increasing glucose metabolism impairment (best these of Na/K to ACR, r = 0.56 to 0.39 to 0.35 to 0.19). Overall, Na/K was related to both Hba1c (r = 0.36) and HOMA-IR (r = 0.40). Conclusions: It is concluded that in hypertensives urinary Na+ excretion increases and K+ decreases as glucose metabolism deteriorates, with inverse relations to SBP and target organ damage.


Machine learning has recently demonstrated impressive progress in predictive accuracy across a wide array of tasks. Most ML approaches focus on generalization performance on unseen data that are similar to the training data (In-Distribution, or IND). However, real world applications and deployments of ML rarely enjoy the comfort of encountering examples that are always IND. In such situations, most ML models commonly display erratic behavior on Out-of-Distribution (OOD) examples, such as assigning high confidence to wrong predictions, or vice-versa. Implications of such unusual model behavior are further exacerbated in the healthcare setting, where patient health can potentially be put at risk. It is crucial to study the behavior and robustness properties of models under distributional shift, understand common failure modes, and take mitigation steps before the model is deployed. Having a benchmark that shines light upon these aspects of a model is a first and necessary step in addressing the issue. Recent work and interest in increasing model robustness in OOD settings have focused more on image modality, while the Electronic Health Record (EHR) modality is still largely under-explored. We aim to bridge this gap by releasing BEDS-Bench, a benchmark for quantifying the behavior of ML models over EHR data under OOD settings. We use two open access, de-identified EHR datasets to construct several OOD data settings to run tests on, and measure relevant metrics that characterize crucial aspects of a model's OOD behavior. We evaluate several learning algorithms under BEDS-Bench and find that all of them show poor generalization performance under distributional shift in general. Our results highlight the need and the potential to improve robustness of EHR models under distributional shift, and BEDS-Bench provides one way to measure progress towards that goal.


In recent years, prehistoric warfare has increasingly attracted the attention of archaeologists in North America, much like other parts of the world. Skeletons with several forms of trauma, including arrow wounds, are often used as evidence of intergroup conflict, although opinion is divided over what these casualties might mean in terms of the effect of warfare on everyday life. Information on 191 patients from the nineteenth-century Indian Wars in the American West indicates that only about one in three arrows damaged bone, and as many as one-half of wounded lived for months or years following their injuries. Arrow wound distributions vary among Indian Wars cases, modern Papua New Guinea patients, and prehistoric skeletons from eastern North America, in large part because of differences in how fighting was conducted. Despite arguments to the contrary, it is reasonable to infer that even low percentages of archaeological skeletons with distinctive conflict-related bone damage indicate that warfare must have had a perceptible impact on ways of life.


The Sn/Pb eutectic alloy system is the most widely used joining material in the electronics industry. In this application, the solder acts as both an electrical and mechanical connection within and among the different packaging levels in an electronic device. Recent advances in packaging technologies, however, driven by the desire for miniaturization and increased circuit speed, result in severe operating conditions for the solder connection. In an effort to improve its mechanical integrity, metallic or intermetallic particles have been added to eutectic Sn/Pb solder, and termed composite solders. It was the goal of this study to investigate the growth and morphology of the two intermetallic phases (Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn) that form between a Cu substrate and Sn/Pb solder under different aging and annealing conditions.


Multistability, out-of-polarization-plane reorientation, and persistent oscillations have been observed in the optical Fréedericks transition in a homeotropically aligned nematic film using a normally incident linearly polarized laser beam with elliptical rather than circular cross section. These features could be ascribed to the presence of an additional optical torque connected with a transfer of the orbital angular momentum of light to the liquid crystal film. A model based on Ritz's variational method confirms this picture.


Quantitative information on the fate and efficiency of nitrogen (N) fertilizer applied to coarse textured calcareous soils in arid farming systems is scarce but, as systems intensify, is essential to support sustainable agronomic management decisions. A mesh house study was undertaken to trace the fate of N fertilizer applied to cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. cv., Huiyuan701) growing on a reconstructed profile (0–100 cm) of a calcareous (15% CaCO 3 ) sandy loam soil. Two irrigation methods (drip irrigation, DI; and furrow irrigation, FI) and four N application rates (0, 240, 360 and 480 kg/hm 2 , abbreviated as N 0 , N 240 , N 360 , and N 480 , respectively) were applied. 15 N-labelled urea fertilizer was applied in a split application. DI enhanced the biomass of whole plant and all parts of the plant, except for root; more fertilizer N was taken up and mostly stored in vegetative parts; N utilization efficiency (NUE) was significantly greater than in FI. N utilization efficiency (NUE) decreased from 52.59% in N 240 to 36.44% in N 480 . N residue in soil and plant N uptake increased with increased N dosage, but recovery rate decreased consistently both in DI and FI. Plant N uptake and soil N residue were greater in DI than in FI. N residue mainly stayed within 0–40 cm depth in DI but within 40–80 cm depth in FI. FI showed 17.89% of N leached out, but no N leaching occurred in DI. N recovery rate in the soil-plant system was 75.82% in DI, which was markedly greater than the 55.97% in FI. DI exhibited greater NUE, greater residual N in the soil profile and therefore greater N recovery rate than in FI; also, N distribution in soil profile shallowed in DI, resulting in a reduced risk of N leaching compared to FI; and enhanced shoot growth and reduced root growth in DI is beneficial for more economic yield formation. Compared to furrow irrigation, drip irrigation is an irrigation method where N movement favors the prevention of N from being lost in the plant-soil system and benefits a more efficient use of N.


Tumor-promoting cytokines are a cause of tumor progression; therefore, identifying key regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs) for controlling their production is important. The aim of this study is to identify promising miRNAs associated with tumor-promoting cytokines in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We identified circulating miRNAs from 16 published miRNA profiles. The selected miRNAs were validated in the serum of 32 NSCLC patients and compared with 33 patients with other lung diseases and 23 healthy persons using quantitative real-time PCR. The cytokine concentration was investigated using the enzyme-linked immunoassay in the same sample set, with clinical validation of the miRNAs. The correlation between miRNA expression and cytokine concentration was evaluated by Spearman's rank correlation. For consistent direction, one up-regulated miRNA (miR-145) was found in four studies, and seven miRNAs were reported in three studies. One miRNA (miR-20a) and four miRNAs (miR-25-3p, miR-223, let-7f, and miR-20b) were reported in six and five studies. However, their expression was inconsistent. In the clinical validation, serum miR-145 was significantly down-regulated, whereas serum miR-20a was significantly up-regulated in NSCLC, compared with controls. Regarding serum cytokine, all cytokines [vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)], except tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), had a higher level in NSCLC patients than controls. In addition, we found a moderate correlation between the TGF-β concentration and miR-20a (r = −0.537, p = 0.002) and miR-223 (r = 0.428, p = 0.015) and a weak correlation between the VEGF concentration with miR-20a (r = 0.376, p = 0.037) and miR-223 (r = −0.355, p = 0.046). MiR-145 and miR-20a are potential biomarkers for NSCLC. In addition, the regulation of tumor-promoting cytokine, through miR-20a and miR-223, might be a new therapeutic approach for lung cancer.


The paper gives consideration to four most feasible heating and hot water supply plans based on the air-to-water, water-to-water and air-to-air heat pump systems. It analyzes the operating aspects of these plans under various operating conditions, their energy and economic feasibility. The paper presents basic performance of the schemes to provide load heating and hot water. The values of energy conversion factor for such systems were obtained. It makes conclusions regarding the effectiveness and feasibility of the heat pump systems in heating and hot water supply systems.


We report on experimental studies of the collision process between an incident bead and a three-dimensional granular packing (made of particles identical to the impacting one). The understanding of such a process and the resulting ejection of particles is, in particular, crucial to describe eolian sand transport. We present here an extensive experimental analysis of the collision and ejection process. The analysis is two dimensional in the sense that we determined only the vertical component V{z} of the ejection velocity of the splashed particles and the horizontal component V{x} lying in the incident plane. We extracted in particular the distribution of the ejection velocities for a wide range of impact angles theta{i} and incident velocity V{i} . We show that the mean quadratic horizontal velocity of the splashed particles is almost insensitive to changes in the impact angle and velocity, while the mean quadratic vertical velocity slightly increases with increasing impact velocity (as V{i}{1/2}). Moreover, the mean number of splashed particles per collision is found to be dependent on both the impact angle and velocity, and to scale with the impact speed as V{i}{3/2}. A consequence of these outcomes is that the sum of the kinetic energy of the splashed particles is directly proportional to the kinetic energy of the incident particle. Finally, we provide the bivariate probability distribution function P(V{x},V{z}) of the ejection velocities and show that it can be approximated by the product of a log-normal distribution and a circular normal one.


Almost all P2P crypto-currencies prevent double spending and similar such attacks with a bulky "blockchain" scheme, and the ones which do not typically use some sort of pseudo-decentralized solution to manage the transactions. Here we propose a purely P2P crypto-currency scheme where old transactions can be forgotten by the network. Since nodes only require the newest portion of the blockchain in order to sync with the network, we call this portion of the chain the "mini-blockchain". We argue that the loss of security this trimming process incurs can be solved with a small "proof chain" and the loss of coin ownership data is solved with a database which holds the balance of all non-empty addresses, dubbed the "account tree". The proof chain secures the miniblockchain and the mini-blockchain secures the account tree. This paper will describe the way in which these three mechanisms can work together to form a system which provides a high level of integrity and security, yet is much slimmer than all other purely P2P currencies. It also offers other potential benefits such as faster transactions and lower fees, quicker network synchronization, support for high levels of traffic, more block space for custom messages, and potentially even increased anonymity.


This article examines the nature and correlates of stress in mothers of children with Down syndrome. In the first part of our study, we compared 27 mothers of children with Down syndrome with 15 mothers of children with heterogeneous causes of learning difficulty. Using Abidin's (1995) Parenting Stress Index (PSI), mothers in the Down syndrome group reported lower total child-related stress levels, particularly concerning the degree to which the mother considers the child acceptable and reinforcing. In the second part, we identified predictors of stress in mothers of children and adolescents with Down syndrome (N = 37). Children's behaviour problems related to higher levels of overall and specific domains of child-related stress, and children who were reported as being more cheerful and outgoing had parents who judged their offspring as more acceptable and reinforcing. Mothers also rated their children as less reinforcing when offspring were older.


ABSTRACT When University of Minnesota neurology resident Joseph A. Resch complained to the department director, A. B. Baker, in 1946 about the lack of a professional neurological association open to young neurologists like himself, he set into motion a chain of events that culminated in the founding of the American Academy of Neurology in June of 1948. This provided a supportive professional organization for practicing neurologists as the traditional bond between neurology and psychiatry was broken during the postwar era. Resch went on to become a pivotal figure in the practice of neurology in the Twin Cities and succeeded Baker as chairman of the University of Minnesota neurology department.


In respiratory-gated cardiac SPECT with amplitude binning, the acquisition time can vary greatly both among respiratory gates and among acquisition angles within each gate. If not properly accounted for, this uneven distribution in acquired data statistics will lead to limited-angle artifacts in reconstruction, which in turn can impact on the accuracy of respiratory motion correction. We investigate a compensation scheme for this uneven distribution by directly taking into account in the imaging model the actual acquisition time at different projection angles. In the experiment, we demonstrated this approach with simulated NCAT imaging data, for which quantitative results were obtained on both the reconstructed myocardium and estimated motion; we also tested the proposed approach on a set of clinical acquisition. The results show that the proposed approach could effectively suppress the limited-angle artifacts and improve the reconstruction in terms of both image accuracy and lesion detectability.


Ventricular arrhythmic and electrophysiological properties were examined during normokalaemia (5.2 mM [K+]), hypokalaemia (3 mM [K+]) or hypokalaemia in the presence of 0.1 or 2 mM heptanol in Langendorff-perfused mouse hearts. Left ventricular epicardial or endocardial monophasic action potential recordings were obtained during right ventricular pacing. Hypokalaemia induced ventricular premature beats (VPBs) in 5 of 7 and ventricular tachycardia (VT) in 6 of 7 hearts (P<0.01), prolonged action potential durations (APD90) from 36.2±1.7 to 55.7±2.0 msec (P<0.01) and shortened ventricular effective refractory periods (VERPs) from 44.5±4.0 to 28.9±3.8 msec (P<0.01) without altering conduction velocities (CVs) (0.17±0.01 m/sec, P>0.05), reducing excitation wavelengths (λ, CV × VERP) from 7.9±1.1 to 5.1±0.3 mm (P<0.05) while increasing critical intervals (CI, APD90-VERP) from −8.3±4.3 to 26.9±2.0 msec (P>0.001). Heptanol (0.1 mM) prevented VT, restored effective refractory period (ERP) to 45.2±2.9 msec without altering CV or APD, returning λ to control values (P>0.05) and CI to 8.4±3.8 msec (P<0.05). Heptanol (2 mM) prevented VPBs and VT, increased ERP to 67.7±7.6 msec (P<0.05), and reduced CV to 0.11±0.1 m/sec (P<0.001) without altering APD (P>0.05), returning λ and CI to control values (P>0.05). Anti-arrhythmic effects of heptanol during hypokalaemia were explicable by ERP changes, scaling λ and CI.


Two strains (15.1 and 15.8) of the thermophilic fungus Scytalidium thermophilum produced high levels of intracellular glucoamylases, with potential for industrial applications. The isoform I of the glucoamylase produced by 15.1 strain was sequentially submitted to DEAE-Cellulose and CM-Cellulose chromatography, and purified 141-fold, with 5.45% recovery. The glucoamylase of strain 15.8 was purified 71-fold by CM- Cellulose and Concanavalin A-Sepharose chromatography, with 7.38% recovery. Temperature and pH optima were in the range of 50-60°C and 5.0-6.0, respectively, using starch and maltose as substrates. The glucoamylase of S. thermophilum 15.8 was more stable (t50 > 60 min) than that of S. thermophilum 15.1 (t50= 11-15 min), at 60°C. The glucoamylase activities were enhanced by several ions (e.g. Mn2+ and Ca2+) and inhibited by β- mercaptoethanol. The glucoamylase from 15.1 strain showed a Km of 0.094 mg/ml and 0.029 mg/ml and Vmax of 202 U/mg prot and 109 U/mg prot, for starch and maltose, respectively. The hydrolysis products of starch and maltose, analyzed by TLC, demonstrated glucose as end product and confirming the character of the enzyme as glucoamylase. Differences were observed in relation to the products formed with maltose as substrate between the two strains studied. S. thermophilum 15.8 formed maltotriose in contrast with S. thermophilum 15.1.


For the purpose of developing controlled delivery devices for periodontal therapy which would release over several days, six fiber types made of tetracycline-loaded biocompatible polymers were manufactured and tested. Polyethylene, polypropylene, polycaprolactone, polyurethane and cellulose acetate propionate all released their drug load within 1 day. Ethylene vinyl acetate fibers, however, provided in vitro sustained release for periods up to 9 days. A bioassay was designed to measure levels of tetracycline achieved by local delivery which used growth inhibition of Bacillus cereus as a measure of the amount of tetracycline in measured volumes of gingival sulcus fluid on filter paper strips. By this assay, fibers made from 25% loaded ethylene vinyl acetate established initial concentrations of approximately 500 micrograms/ml. The measurement of tetracycline concentration resulting from the placement of these fibers into deep periodontal pockets as a packing material provided indication that concentrations of greater than 50 micrograms/ml could be maintained for months by weekly to monthly replacement. These studies indicate that monolithic fibers made of tetracycline-loaded ethylene vinyl acetate have characteristics which could prove useful as the basis of a tetracycline delivery system for the treatment of periodontal disease.


A shallow moderate earthquake of MN (Nuttli magnitude) 4.1 occurred near Sudbury, Ontario, at 07:22:55 UTC (02:22:55 local time) on 29 November 2006. The event was located 6 km from Lively, Ontario, and was induced by mining activity at Inco's Creighton mine. Inco's in-mine monitoring system, and its subsequent visual inspection, places the event at 46.478 N 81.203 W, at a depth of 2.35 km. This event offers us a rare close-up view of a moderate earthquake, because it was recorded at close distances by five three-component broad-band POLARIS (Portable Observatories for Lithospheric Analysis and Research Investigating Seismicity; http://www.polarisnet.ca) seismographic stations that are installed above and within the Creighton mine. Two stations are located on the surface, near the epicenter, while three subsurface stations are at depths of 1 to 2 km. The closest station to the event is within the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) lab, which is 2 km beneath the surface and about 300 m above the event. The event caused no damage to the SNO lab and only minor damage to the mine workings; there were no injuries. The event was widely felt in the Sudbury, Ontario, region, as expected based on instrumental ShakeMaps (http://www.shakemap.carleton.ca) and confirmed by Internet intensity reports (http://www.earthquakescanada.ca). The mainshock was followed by two significant aftershocks at 2:36 (MN 2.0) and 2:38 (MN 3.1) local time and by many smaller aftershocks. In addition to the near-source records, this event was well-recorded regionally at distances from 20 km to hundreds of kilometers by the seismographic stations of the Canadian National Seismographic Network (CNSN) and POLARIS. Figure 1 shows the location of the Lively event in relation to regional seismographic stations; the nearest regional station is SUNO, 22 km away. In this paper we provide a preliminary examination of the recorded ground motions from this …


This study has investigated the wave diffraction due to insular breakwater using analytical solutions based on the Fresnel integral and Polynomial approximation solution of Fresnel integrals, and numerical solutions of boundary element method (BEM) based on the boundary integral equation. When using the Fresnel integrals the mathematical equations and the boundary conditions became complicated, but when using the Polynomial approximation solution these things became less complex and were able to be expressed in more simple terms. Using the Polynomial approximation solution also allowed for a fast approach to going through a great deal of data. The BEM allowed for the simplification of input data, the reduction of memory usage and the allowance of measuring the physical quantity within the boundary. The results of wave diffraction derived from the three methods were compared through implementation of various calculation conditions and has been expressed through graphs and contours. This study aims to provide information on how to use the polynomial approximation solution and the BEM instead of the Fresnel integrals in many practical situations and also in regions or wave fields where a great amount of calculation time is required in order to figure out wave diffraction problems.


The major phospholipid of the Escherichia coli membranes--the zwitterion phosphatidylethanolamine (PE)--is the only phospholipid involved in the formation of non-bilayer structure of membrane lipids, which is supposed to be necessary for efficient translocation of secreted proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane. The effect of PE on the production and secretion of alkaline phosphatase has been studied in this work using the mutant strain E. coli AD93, which is unable to synthesize PE. It was shown that this phospholipid is required for the efficient production and secretion of alkaline phosphatase. The anionic phospholipid cardiolipin in combination with divalent cations Mg2+ functionally replaces PE in these processes, participating in the regulation of lipid polymorphism.


Much information communication technology (ICT) design work involves international collaboration. This requires cross-cultural understandings with one's co-collaborators. There are few opportunities for this to occur in a pedagogical setting. This paper outlines a pedagogically-oriented case study of the use of a 3D collaborative virtual environment (3DCVE). The 3D co-located laboratory (3DCollab) described in this paper served as a cross-cultural exchange platform. It fostered deeper understandings of alternate meanings to everyday social and work practices and design computing assumptions. The project involved students across three cooperating institutions, on three different continents in different time zones. It builds on previous exercises conducted by the authors


The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission was selected by NASA in 2016 as part of the Earth Venture Instrument (EVI-3) program and is now in development with planned launch readiness in late 2019. The TROPICS constellation consists of six CubeSats, two in each of three low-Earth orbital planes with a nominal circular orbit of 550 km and inclination of 30 degrees. Each CubeSat hosts a high-performance radiometer payload with twelve microwave channels, providing atmospheric temperature profiles, water vapor profiles, and rain rate. The TROPICS mission will produce rapid-refresh microwave measurements (median refresh rate of approximately 40 minutes for the baseline mission) over the tropics (±30°inclination) that will enable observations of the entire tropical storm lifecycle. The radiometer design is similar to two other MIT Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL) Cube-Sat programs, MicroMAS and MiRaTA, with improvements to meet enhanced performance requirements and longer mission life. The CubeSat bus is under contract with a commercial vendor who will integrate the MIT LL payload and their bus, and test the complete space vehicle. This paper will describe the integration and test of the payload and space vehicle. A novel characterization of the radiometer payload is described. The design was verified with a qualification space vehicle which successfully completed environmental testing July, 2019.


ABSTRACT Fluid flow is a powerful morphogenic force during embryonic development. The physical forces created by flowing fluids can either create morphogen gradients or be translated by mechanosensitive cells into biological changes in gene expression. In this Primer, we describe how fluid flow is created in different systems and highlight the important mechanosensitive signalling pathways involved for sensing and transducing flow during embryogenesis. Specifically, we describe how fluid flow helps establish left-right asymmetry in the early embryo and discuss the role of flow of blood, lymph and cerebrospinal fluid in sculpting the embryonic cardiovascular and nervous system. Summary: This Primer describes how fluid flow, a powerful morphogenic force, is created in different systems and highlights the important mechanosensitive signalling pathways involved for sensing and transducing flow during embryogenesis.


The modelling, engineering and development of systems with security requirements (which today means all systems) have been the target of different research works that are intended to deal with the increasing complexity of systems and characteristics such as distribution, real-time constraints and heterogeneity and with the need to provide increasing levels of security and privacy for users and businesses. Unfortunately, the situation is that no integral and comprehensive approach has been able to successfully address those challenges and gain acceptance in the industry. In fact, industrial system security engineering is in practice oversimplified, uses inadequate or obsolete solutions and is not treated consistently with the rest of the system engineering to allow an adequate assessment and tracing of the identified security goals, the security decisions made, security mechanisms selected and implemented. As a result, security problems are still too common in most systems. This paper presents a novel engineering process that seamlessly integrates security engineering activities throughout the whole system lifecycle, starting from the very first phases of the engineering process, named integrated security and system engineering process (ISSEP). In order to address the need to use accurate and up-to-date security knowledge by average system engineers, ISSEP follows a separation-of-responsibilities approach. Security knowledge is provided by experts in the form of libraries of engineering artefacts that can then be used by average system engineers in an easy and semi-automatic way. The ISSEP that we present here has been validated in real-world applications by several relevant companies (e.g. RUAG, Technicolor, Mixed Mode, etc.). One of the key points of the ISSEP is that it has been designed to be tool-supported. We have developed different tools to support its application. In particular, the main tool is available as a plugin for MagicDraw that offers support to the different actors in all the steps of the process. An Eclipse-based version is also under development.


Based on the framework proposed by Michel Foucault, this article explores the role of power relations in the constitution of memory. It analyses the data provided by four interviewees in narrative and semi-structured interviews, identifying the obvious and less-obvious manifestations of power in their memories. All the interviewees reside and have spent most of their lives in the Tachov region of the Czech Republic (which is a Czech-German borderland area special in its culture, geography and history) and can thus be considered integral parts of this specific environment. Keywords—everyday life; Czech-German borderland; memory; narration; power "Společnost ,bez mocenských vztahů' je pouhá abstrakce." (Foucault 1996, 220)


This article aims to identify continuity between the main neoliberal schools that had a role in the making the European legal order and the conception of labour and 'work activity' embedded in the European legal framework. The consequences of this contiguity are also discussed. In particular, the concepts of 'working activity' and 'undertaking' elaborated by the Court of Justice are used as a driver of the analysis to detect signs of these influences. A two-phase approach is adopted to develop the research. First, a review is undertaken of relevant ECJ judgments that testify to the Court's position on the topics discussed in the article. Second, the cultural common ground between the interpretation of the legal framework found in case law and specific neoliberal theories is highlighted. The meta-principles that are identified through the analysis are then compared with those derived from the rights recognised in the constitutions proclaimed in the second half of the 20th century to show the significant discontinuity that endangers the very existence of the European Union as a political project and has destabilised the constitutional order of many European countries. As the founding principles of the EU legal order kickstarted a containment of labour and social rights, the call for change at the roots of European constitutional law is becoming increasingly urgent. The formal proclamation of the Charters of Fundamental Rights at the European level (not least because of the way in which rights are recognised) has not in itself proved to be capable per se of transcending the original matrix of the European order.


The sugar composition of the polysaccharide portion of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) was determined for 42 serovars of non‐O1 Vibrio cholerae, i.e., from serogroups O2 to O41, O44, and O68. On the basis of their compositional sugar pattern, they were classified into 24 chemotypes. 2‐Keto‐3‐deoxyoctonate (KDO) was totally undetectable by the conventional color test (Weissbach's reaction) under the conventional hydrolysis conditions. Instead, a kind of KDO‐like substance, which was positive in the reaction but not identical to KDO, was found in serogroup O19. Fructose, a characteristic sugar constituent of O1 V. cholerae LPS, was found in 33 serogroups but was absent from nine serogroups, approximately 20% of the members of this group so far examined.


The article describes the role and functions of the purpose in the sphere of education, educational establishments and pedagogical activities management. The multi-functional potential of the purpose is revealed, and its usage by the heads and teachers will enhance the efficiency and quality of the education, educational establishments and pedagogical activities management.


Fracture mechanics solutions applicable to surface cracked plates in bending are studied. The flawed plate is modeled as a two-dimensional beam containing a spring to find the stress intensity factor at the point of intersection of a semielliptical surface crack with the free boundary. Results are given for cracks of various shapes and sizes. These findings, along with previous analytical solutions obtained from the literature, are then compared with experimental data. Since it is difficult to measure surface cracks in metals, polymethylemethacrylate, a transparent polymer, was selected for the test material. First, the relation between fatigue crack growth rate and range in stress intensity is calibrated for polymethylmethacrylate. Measured fatigue crack growth rates for surface flaws in bending are then used to calculate experimental values for the stress intensity factor which are compared with theory. /Author/


INTRODUCTION The individual and society's knowledge and awareness of the history of world culture significantly affect the interpretation of the world, thus contributing to the emergence of various options for social action and social relations. Such a conglomeration is a social repertoire, or vision of a person's cultural instruments 1 . Therefore, people develop their own life strategies. Powerful preparation for social interaction and the availability of several strategies increase a person's confidence and ability to collective action and to social justice. Social justice is a concept that defines honest and fair relationship between person and society. It is measured by the explicit and latent conditions for the distribution of wealth, opportunities and social privileges. Social justice includes our deepest beliefs about the world and the life we want for ourselves and others, formed by politics, religion, ethnicity and a sense of identity 2 . Meeting with different cultures can confirm existing beliefs, cause misunderstandings, anxiety, or even aggression, or broaden life horizons. Certain cultural models may reflect conflict situations and, at the same time, offer possible solutions 3 . The new ideas perception, the world's new interpretation formation, the awareness of the options' diversity for social actions and relationships contribute to a deeper awareness of one's own cultural identity, which involves a sense of self-identification to a particular culture, the adoption of certain cultural norms, patterns of behaviour, value orientations and the like.


Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of becoming infected with M. tuberculosis complex (Mtbc). Objective: To assess the magnitude of Mtbc transmission by children under the age of 15 years to HCW. Methods: Medline, Google Scholar and Cochrane library were searched to select primary studies in which a child was the presumed index case and exposed HCW were screened for latent TB infection (LTBI). Results: Of 4,702 abstracts, 15 original case reports covering 16 children with TB were identified. In sum, 1,395 HCW were contact persons and underwent testing. Ten of the studies reported TST conversion, amounting to 35 (2.9%) of the 1,228 HCW tested. In three of the TST-based and both of the studies that used IGRA testing, conversion was absent. 12 of the 15 studies (80%) reported exposure of HCW in neonatal intensive units (NICUs) to premature infants suffering from congenital pulmonary TB. One study including two infants addressed possible pulmonary Mtbc transmission in a general pediatric ward. Extrapulmonary transmission by aerosolized Mtbc was suggested in two patients, an infant with tuberculous peritonitis and a 12-year-old adolescent with pleurisy, and culture-confirmed only after the child had undergone video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Routine use of protective facemasks by HCW before exposure was not mentioned in any of the included studies. Conclusions: The results suggest that the risk of Mtbc transmission from children to HCW is low. Particular attention should be paid to infection risk during respiratory manipulations in NICUs. The consistent wearing of facemasks may further reduce the risk of Mtbc transmission.


Antigen-specific gammadelta T cells may play a role in anti-mycobacterial immunity. Studies done in humans and animal models have demonstrated complex patterns of gammadelta T cell immune responses during early mycobacterial infections and chronic tuberculosis. Recent studies have also shown a clinical correlation between major recall expansion of antigen-specific gammadelta T cells and immunity against fatal early mycobacterial diseases. Multiple host and microbial factors can regulate diverse immune responses of phosphoantigen-specific gammadelta T cells during mycobacterial infections.


Minimizing energy consumption in buildings has become an important goal in architecture and urban planning in recent years. Guidelines were developed for each climatic zone aiming at increasing solar exposure for buildings in cold climates and at reducing solar exposure for buildings in hot climates. This approach usually plans for the season with the harshest weather; often forgetting that temperatures in cities at latitude 25° can drop below thermal comfort limits in winter and that temperatures in cities at latitude 48° often rise above thermal comfort limits in summer. This paper argues that a holistic approach to energy efficient building forms is needed. It demonstrates a generic energy efficient building form derived by glass walls at exterior and composite wall at the interior. In this study material replacements were scheduled such as low carbon footprint material replacing a certain percentage of cement in concrete for R.C.C. members. In this research work for modelling and dynamic analysis ETABS tool is considered.


Background: Anemia is one of the major public health problems in the developing countries. More than 70% of pregnant women in Southeast Asian region have nutritional anemia, which affects both the mother and the newborn and subsequent child and later adult. Objective: To evaluate the response and effect of parenteral iron sucrose complex therapy in iron-deficiency anemia in pregnancy. Material andMethods: A prospective observational study was conducted at VS General Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, from September 2009 to November 2011. A total of 75 Antenatal women, between 26 and 32 weeks of pregnancy with hemoglobin level between 5–9 g%, were selected for study by purposive sampling. They were given intravenous iron sucrose complex in a dose of 200 mg (2 ampoules of 5 ml each) in 100 mL normal saline for 15–20 minutes, on alternate day. Repeat complete blood count was done after 6 weeks. Results: Of 75 women, 36 (48%) were in age group of 20–24 years and 49 (65.2%) were 27–29 weeks pregnant. The mean hemoglobin level increased from 7.8 ± 0.61 to 10.1 ± 0.73 g% (po0.001) after 6 weeks of therapy. There was significant rise in mean corpuscular volume levels (from 67.8 ± 5.0 to 79.2 ± 2.3 fL; po0.001). 91% of patients treated for anemia delivered at full term, either vaginally (65.33%) or by lower segment cesarean section (25.3%). Most of the delivered babies (80%) had birth weight of more than 2.5 kg. No major side effects or anaphylactic reactions were observed in the women during the study period. Conclusion: Parenteral iron therapy was effective in increasing hemoglobin levels and other hematological parameters in pregnant women with moderate-to-severe anemia. If used in time, this treatment will certainly help to reduce the risk of maternal and fetal complications as well as to reduce the risk of blood transfusion during peripartum period.


Two vineyards in the Abruzzo Region, central Italy, affected by grapevine leaf stripe disease (GLSD), were monitored for incidence and severity of foliar symptoms of the disease for 21 consecutive years (1994 to 2014). Each year, rainfall and temperature were recorded. Correlations between symptom incidence or severity and rainfall or temperature of different periods of the year or single months were assessed. July rainfall and temperature were highly correlated with incidence and severity of leaf symptoms. The vineyards were characterized by high longevity, vigour and yields, and a particular dynamic of GLSD. In the period following 2005, the year of peak vine mortality, there was a decrease of the expression of foliar symptoms, which was not correlated with both of the climate parameters. Greater mortality occurred for vines showing severe symptoms at the first appearance of GLSD than for vines with low severity.


In order to improve the in situ oxidation kinetic condition of Al in copper matrix, Cr, instead of Al was in situ oxidized to form Cu/Cr2O 3 composites in the present investigation, Cu—Cr powders with different solubilities after mechanical activation were utilized to synthesize Cu/Cr2O3 composites, and their microstructure and stability were analyzed. The results show that although the Cu—Cr powders suffer from the same mechanical activation, Cr2O3 particles formed by the powders with different solubilities have great differences in size, amount, and distribution. In the range of experiments conducted, the Cu/Cr2O3 composite formed by Cu—Cr powders with 67% solution has large amounts of finer Cr2O3 particles uniformly distributed in the copper matrix and exhibited the best stability at elevated temperatures.


The maximization of mutual information in a general point-to-point MIMO fading channel with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) is considered under a rank constraint on the covariance of the vector Gaussian input. The channel is assumed to have an arbitrarily distribution with the channel state information (CSI) available at the receiver and the channel distribution information known at the transmitter. Solutions to such a problem, for instance, would enable us to investigate the tradeoff between complexity and performance while using low rank signalling as a communication strategy. A numerical algorithm is developed to compute the optimal input covariance that maximizes mutual information, which is a non-convex optimization problem, over the space of rank-constrained positive semi-definite matrices. The necessary Karush-Kuhn Tucker (KKT) conditions are solved to obtain the iterative algorithm.


Introduction: The novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been considered a major life-threatening danger to the human population worldwide. The traditional Indian medicines also play an important role as possible novel therapeutic approaches, exclusively targeting SARS-CoV-2 and its pathways. Among the Siddha medicines, Kabasura kudineer is a formulation composed of 15 ingredients used against fever caused by respiratory infections. Aim: To determine the outcome of Kabasura kudineer, among SARS CoV-2 patients admitted in a tertiary care hospital of Tamil Nadu with mild to moderate symptoms or asymptomatic patients. Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out in Covid care Hospital, Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital, Tirunelveli after the approval of Institutional Ethics Committee. Written informed consent forms were obtained from the patients. A total of 100 patients with positive Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) for SARS-nCov-2 with asymptomatic and mild to moderate symptoms were included in this study. Among them, 50 patients were included in the control group and the other 50 patients were provided with 60 mL Kabasura kudineer for 5 days. Again on the sixth day, RT-PCR was repeated. Results: Among 50 participants in each group, by the sixth day, RT-PCR converted into negative for 27 patients in group B, by 10th day 25 in group A and 22 in group B, by 14th day 25 in group A and remaining 1 in group B became negative. Conclusion: The present study showed Kabasura kudineer was effective when compared with the control group against SARS-nCoV-2 patients with no symptoms and mild symptoms and also the conversion of RT-PCR.


This paper discusses effect of solid mass inventory on the hydrodynamic characteristics of circulating fluidized bed(CFB). Operating parameters of solid mass inventory and air flow rates were varied to understand their effects on fludization pattern. Experimental measurements were made in a CFB of which height and diameter are 3m and 0.05m respectively. Black SiC particles ranging from were employed as the bed material. Superficial gas velocity of riser and J-valve fluidizing velocity were in the ranges of , respectively. The axial solid fraction and solid circulation rate of CFB were calculated based on the experimental data and compared with modellings through IEA-CFBC Model and commercial CFD code.


We have prepared a DEMO conveyor device for conveying a large 8G class glass sheet using ahorizontal air-cushion system. This device consists of the body frame and the driving frame that are combined to realize a frame for conveying glass without any contact.The driving frame comprises an air flotation table (bed), drive roller supported at both ends, and ASU. Part of the ASU serves to control the airflow as the chamber consists of a porous pad and fan. Fiber filters replace the porous pad and axial fans serve as an air compressor. In addition, to determine the appropriate glass levitation from the air table, this study examined the design specifications of the applied filter (discharge speed of HEPA and ULPA filters, and flow rate) as well as the height of the and the proper supporting roller height (14mm). Then, after adjusting the position of the ASU and the number of ASUs required to configure the UNIT air floating C/V, we analyzed the height and flatness of the glass and derived the appropriate layout (1140-mm distance between ASUs).


This thesis presents the results of first-principles Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations of Pt-carbide and tie-layered carbide systems in an effort to produce computational screening methods for industrial application. The agglomeration of Pt and PGM catalytic materials on supports leads to loss of surface area and diminished activity towards the industrial processes being targeted. In this work, we have explored the possibility of using carbides as cores for core-shell nanoparticles as a means to thrift Pt loading, promote Pt availability and increase catalyst activity towards the Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) present in hydrogen fuel cells. For our initial dataset 6 carbides were selected for theoretical investigation; TiC, SiC-β, NbC, TaC and hexagonal and cubic WC. Pt overlayers were then adsorbed on to the carbides and detailed analysis of the resultant electronic structures made in order to identify carbide characteristics which predict good Pt adsorption. WC and SiC were calculated to allow full Pt encapsulation whilst the fcc carbides experienced limited Pt adsorption. Since full encapsulation of the catalyst core is crucial for Pt availability and both core and shell stability, other metallic layers were also trialled in an effort to promote Pt adsorption. These metals were observed to offer different levels of stability with respect to the Pt forming the outer surface layer although Pt introduction on to previously unfavourable carbide facets is theoretically possible using this method. The activity of the Pt overlayers towards ORR was then assessed via the study of O adsorption energies, revealing that several of the Pt/carbide structures are indeed predicted to produce 'Pt-like' or weakened O adsorption strengths which should maintain or promote ORR activity with the use of much less Pt. Finally, the stability of the Pt overlayers towards agglomeration was considered. Pt cluster calculations were carried out in order to investigate the effect on electronic structure of cluster size and geometry. These results were then used to assess the strength of Pt hemispheres interactions at the carbide surface. A thermodynamic model was also developed to enable the prediction of Pt overlayer structures under differing conditions and form the basis for entropic corrections to be made in overlayer-cluster comparisons.


Heart disease in children is not encountered as frequently in Charleston as it is in places with colder climates. In the past nine years there have been recorded only forty-three cases in a small but active pediatric service at Roper Hospital. Of these, in four cases the condition was classified as congenital, in twenty-five cases as rheumatic and in thirteen cases as nutritional. Hence, in this locality cardiac disturbances of nutritional origin are relatively important and by no means rare. Much has been written about the heart in cases of beriberi and about the association of cardiac enlargement and failure with a deficiency of vitamin B 1 . Some years ago I reported 1 several cases which I thought were instances of beriberi, and possibly the cases considered here are of the same nature, though it seems doubtful that the absence of only one vitamin can be blamed for the symptoms.


Hypertension is well identified as the main factor of mortality, cardiovascular disease and renal damage worldwide. However, only half of hypertensive patients are diagnosed as hypertensive, and only a quarter of hypertensive patients has blood pressure values normalized by the medical treatment. The aim of this article is to propose a practical reading grid in order to get a better understanding of our patients, in the GP's office, and a comprehensive approach of problematics encountered by the patient with its own perception, to identify barriers, tools and patients' available ressources.


SUMMARY Cryptosporidium is the leading aetiology of waterborne disease outbreaks in the United States. This report briefly describes the temporal and geographical distribution of US cryptosporidiosis cases and presents analyses of cryptosporidiosis case data reported in the United States for 1995–2012. The Cochran–Armitage test was used to assess changes in the proportions of cases by case status (confirmed vs. non-confirmed), sex, race, and ethnicity over the study period. Negative binomial regression models were used to estimate rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for comparing rates across three time periods (1995–2004, 2005–2008, 2009–2012). The proportion of confirmed cases significantly decreased (P < 0·0001), and a crossover from male to female predominance in case-patients occurred (P < 0·0001). Overall, compared to 1995–2004, rates were higher in 2005–2008 (RR 2·92, 95% CI 2·08–4·09) and 2009–2012 (RR 2·66, 95% CI 1·90–3·73). However, rate changes from 2005–2008 to 2009–2012 varied by age group (P interaction < 0·0001): 0–14 years (RR 0·55, 95% CI 0·42–0·71), 15–44 years (RR 0·99, 95% CI 0·82–1·19), 45–64 years (RR 1·47, 95% CI 1·21–1·79) and ⩾65 years (RR 2·18, 95% CI 1·46–3·25). The evolving epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis necessitates further identification of risk factors in population subgroups. Adding systematic molecular typing of Cryptosporidium specimens to US national cryptosporidiosis surveillance would help further identify risk factors and markedly expand understanding of cryptosporidiosis epidemiology in the United States.


Transformation of peripheral blood lymphocytes by co-incubation with EBV produces B lymphoblastoid cell lines, but rearrangement of TCR beta-chain genes was observed in three different cell lines derived from two individuals. Because rearrangement of TCR genes in B lymphocytes is considered a rare event, these B lymphoblastoid cell lines with rearranged TCR beta-genes were examined in detail to determine whether there were any additional characteristics to distinguish them from B lymphoblastoid cell lines with germ-line TCR beta-genes. All B lymphoblastoid cell lines contained rearranged Ig H and kappa L chain genes, secreted Ig, and expressed B and not T cell surface markers. Cell lines with rearranged TCR beta-genes had rearranged both IgH genes and had rearranged and subsequently deleted both kappa C region genes. Furthermore all three B lymphoblastoid cell lines with rearranged TCR beta-genes produced small amounts of Ig with lambda-L chains. Although the cellular mechanisms maintaining lineage-specific rearrangement events remain unknown, extensive Ig gene rearrangement and inefficient Ig production by B cells may be indicators of a cellular status where normally stringent lineage-specific control elements fail to function efficiently.


Objectives: To investigate the organisation of asthma care in primary care and evaluate outcomes for patients attending primary care centres with and without asthma clinics. Other objectives were to study the association between quality of life and asthma control in patients in primary care and to analyse sex differences regarding asthma outcomes related to menopausal status. Material and methods: Cross-sectional surveys and a patient record study. Results: Of all the primary health care centres, 77% had a spirometer and 53% an asthma clinic. At centres with asthma clinics 77% of the patients reported sufficient knowledge of asthma as compared with 65% at centres without asthma clinics (p<0.001). With more time allocated for the nurse, 44% of patients achieved asthma control as compared with 27% at asthma clinics with less time (p<0.003). Patients using short-acting beta-2 agonists more than twice in the last week had clinically significant lower MiniAQLQ scores (5.17 versus 5.91). This finding also held for night awakenings during the previous week (4.42 versus 5.86), courses of oral corticosteroids (5.26 versus 5.64) and reported emergency consultations during the last six months (4.85 versus 5.71). Premenopausal women had significantly lower total MiniAQLQ scores than men in the same age group (5.44 versus 5.89, p<0.001), while no difference was found between postmenopausal women and men of similar ages. The adjusted odds for premenopausal women for asthma exacerbations was 2.0 (95%CI 1.22-3.43) as compared with men in the same age group. No differences were found when comparing postmenopausal women with men of similar ages. Conclusions: Half the primary health care centres had an asthma clinic and the majority had access to a spirometer. Patients at primary health care centres with asthma clinics reported better knowledge of their disease, and asthma control is more often achieved if the nurse is allocated more time. Achieving asthma control is associated with better quality of life in patients in primary care. Premenopausal women had lower quality of life and less often asthma control then men of the same ages, while no corresponding difference was found between postmenopausal women and men of similar ages.


The objectives of this study is to analyze the competitiveness of fisheries trade between Korea and China, and to estimate strategic seafood export products for Korea-China FTA in fisheries sector. The results of analyses indicate that Korea has comparative advantages in export items such as spanish mackerel, flatfish, cod, roe in frozen fish(0303), and squid, sea cucumber, oyster in molluscs(0307). In addition, tuna in prepared or preserved fish(1604), sea cucumber in crustacean, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates(1605) have comparative advantage in exporting to China.


The simple average travel speed model of fuel consumption is widely used but the interpretation of its parameters and its areas of use have not been well understood. By deriving aggregate (but detailed) fuel consumption functions from a new instantaneous fuel consumption function, the coefficient of the average speed term can be shown to equal the idle fuel rate and the constant term can be shown to be related to the fuel required to provide tractive force to the vehicle. Thus, the constant term accounts for drag, inertia and grade components of fuel consumption and is influenced by vehicle parameters such as mass, energy efficiency, rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag as well as the driving environment. A method is given for adjusting the constant term for different vehicle parameters and driving environments. The effect of varying the vehicle's mass is discussed in detail. The average travel speed model should only be used for average speeds of less than 50 km/h since the model does not adequately reflect the increase in aerodynamic drag at high speeds. More detailed models should therefore be used for average travel speeds over 50 km/h and references are given for these models. The model is suitable for assessing the impacts on fuel consumption of transport management schemes but not of detailed traffic design schemes (a). (TRRL)


The strength of active external rotation and of abduction of the shoulder when the humerus was in the plane of the scapula (30 degrees of horizontal flexion anterior to the coronal plane) was measured isokinetically and isometrically in thirty-nine normal volunteers, who were stratified by age and sex. The angles at which peak torque was produced were similar when tested isokinetically and isometrically; these angles were similar for external rotation (at 60 and 30 degrees of internal rotation) and for abduction (at 30 and 60 degrees of abduction). Isometric peak torque was greater than slow-speed (90 degrees per second) isokinetic peak torque, which in turn was greater than fast-speed (210 degrees per second) isokinetic peak torque. There were highly significant differences in strength, measured isokinetically and isometrically, between younger and older men and between older men and older women. The variability of normal values for torque was similar in each group. Repeat testing demonstrated a high reliability of isokinetic measurements and of isometric measurements at angles within the range of the production of peak torque. Complete testing was performed in four normal volunteers before and after a block of the suprascapular nerve. The supraspinatus and infraspinatus components of the rotator cuff contributed a variable proportion to the total strength of abduction (25 to 50 per cent) and external rotation (50 to 75 per cent) throughout the range of motion. This study demonstrated that both isokinetic and isometric testing in the scapular plane are valid methods for measurement of the strength of external rotation and abduction of the shoulder. The data support standardization of the positions for testing the strength of motions of the shoulder: isometric strength of external rotation should be measured in the scapular plane with the shoulder in 45 degrees of abduction and 45 degrees of internal rotation; isometric strength of abduction, in the scapular plane with the shoulder in 45 degrees of abduction; and isokinetic strength of external rotation and abduction, in the scapular plane at 90 degrees per second.


In this research project we investigate how the design of school assignment rules affects social segregation and its implications for social inequality. The context of our study is the Hungarian school system, which is characterized by early ability tracking combined with a centralized assignment mechanism based on the student-proposing deferred-acceptance algorithm. The project is split into three interrelated parts. First, we investigate the different factors that affect social segregation through the school assignment process. Second, we analyze how segregation resulting through school assignments affects inequality in student achievement. In a final step, we plan to combine insights from the first two parts in a counterfactual analysis to evaluate different assignment rules.


The aim of the present study was to assess the neuroprotective effects of pinostrobin (PSB), a dietary bioflavonoid, and its underlying mechanisms in neurotoxin-induced Parkinson's disease (PD) models. First, PSB could attenuate 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced loss of dopaminergic neurons and improve behavior deficiency in zebrafish, supporting its potential neuroprotective actions in vivo. Next, PSB could decreased apoptosis and death in the 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+)-intoxicated SH-SY5Y cells, evidenced by MTT, LDH, Annexin V-FITC/PI, and DNA fragmentation assay. PSB also blocked MPP+-induced apoptotic cascades, including loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, activation of caspase 3, and reduced ratio of Bcl-2/Bax. In addition, PSB suppressed MPP+-induced oxidative stress but increased antioxidant enzymes, evidenced by decrease of reactive oxygen species generation and lipid peroxidation and up-regulation of GSH-Px, SOD, CAT, GSH/GSSG, and NAD/NADH. Further investigations showed that PSB significantly enhanced Nrf2 expression and nuclear accumulation, improved ARE promoter activity and up-regulated expression of HO-1 and GCLC. Furthermore, Nrf2 knockdown via specific Nrf2 siRNA abolished PSB-induced antioxidative and antiapoptotic effects against MPP+ insults. Interestingly, we then found that PSB promoted phosphorylation of PI3K/AKT and ERK, and pharmacological inhibition of PI3K/AKT or ERK signaling diminished PSB-induced Nrf2/ARE activation and protective actions. In summary, PSB confers neuroprotection against MPTP/MPP+-induced neurotoxicity in PD models. Promoting activation of Nrf2/ARE signaling contributes to PSB-mediated antioxidative and neuroprotective actions, which, in part, is mediated by PI3K/AKT and ERK.


In this present volume, different types of operational research problems have been considered for investigation, some better techniques developed to reduce mathematical calculation, statistical characteristics done by using Reliability modelling techniques, Alternative techniques developed for Wolfe's modified simplex method and for linear fractional programming. New modified methods for game theory and for linear programming problems studied Most of them were published earlier in the journal of international or national repute. The references are given at the end of each chapter and bibliography is mentioned as a pre-requirement. This book will be beneficial for researchers, undergraduates and post graduates with a new vision of thinking. All the content are well explained by taking simple examples reduces iterations numbers which is described in other mathematical books.


This article describes the conceptual apparatus of the quality of services, depending on the nature of the information asymmetry in different structural forms of service delivery It is shown that the basic structural forms of service are one-time, periodic and lasting. Specificity lasting service commits to consider the notion of its integral quality, including the quality of services and the parties, including characteristics such as stability, etc.


The bottom-dwelling, longhorn sculpin, Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus, is traditionally viewed as a stenohaline marine fish, but fishermen have described finding this sculpin in estuaries during high tide. Little is known about the salinity tolerance of the longhorn sculpin; thus, the purposes of these experiments were to explore the effects of low environmental salinity on ion transporter expression and distribution in the longhorn sculpin gill. Longhorn sculpin were acclimated to either 100% seawater (SW, sham), 20% SW, or 10% SW for 24 or 72 hr. Plasma osmolality, sodium, potassium, and chloride concentrations were not different between the 20 and 100% treatments; however, they were 20-25% lower with exposure to 10% SW at 24 and 72 hr. In the teleost gill, regulation of Na(+), K(+)-ATPase (NKA), Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl(-) cotransporter (NKCC1), and the chloride channel, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) are necessary for ion homeostasis. We immunolocalized these proteins to the mitochondrion-rich cell of the gill and determined that acclimation to low salinity does not affect their localization. Also, there was not a downregulation of gill NKA, NKCC1, and CFTR mRNA or protein during acclimation to low salinities. Collectively, these results suggest that down to 20% SW longhorn sculpin are capable of completely regulating ion levels over a 72-hr period, whereas 10% SW exposure results in a significant loss of ions and no change in ion transporter density or localization in the gill. We conclude that longhorn sculpin can tolerate low-salinity environments for days but, because they cannot regulate ion transporter density, they are unable to tolerate low salinity for longer periods or enter freshwater (FW). The genus Myoxocephalus has three FW species, making this group an excellent model to test evolutionary and physiological mechanisms that allow teleosts to invade new low salinities successfully.


− The desulfurization abilities using GC/microreactor have been examined for CuO-Fe2O3 sorbents with respect to calcination temperatures of 700, 900 and 1,100 C. CuO was used as a main active component, Fe2O3 was used as an additive one and 25 wt% SiO2 was used as a support. The desulfurization reaction temperature was 500 C and the regeneration reaction temperature was 700 C. From the XRD results, the CuFeO2 compound has been observed for the fresh sorbent calcined at 1,100 C and the CuFeS2 compound for the reacted sorbent calcined at 1,100 C. By the BET results, however any significant differences among sorbents calcined at the three different temperatures of 700, 900 and 1,100 C haven't been observed. Especially CFS1 (CuO : Fe2O3 : SiO2=67.5 wt% : 7.5 wt% : 25 wt%) sorbent calcined at 1,100 C maintained about 10 g sulfur/100 g sorbent for 100 cycles by the cyclic test.


Abstract In May 1996 there was an acute and dramatic mortality incident in the last remaining wild population of northern bald ibis Geronticus eremita. This species is Critically Endangered, comprising only about 250 wild individuals, which occur on the Atlantic coast of southern Morocco. Over a period of 10 days a total of 38 adult birds (aged 1 year or more) died or disappeared. Deaths, probably secondary to the loss of one or both parent birds, also occurred subsequently in six estlings and one recent fledgling. The incident appeared to involve no other species. This paper describes the pattern of the incident, and pathological, microbiological and toxicological investigations and findings. Several features point to a toxic aetiology but the cause of the incident has not been established.


Local dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) are nearby dark-matter dominated systems, making them excellent targets for searching for gamma rays from particle dark matter interactions. If dark matter annihilates or decays directly into two gamma rays (or a gamma ray and a neutral particle), a monochromatic spectral line is created. At TeV energies, no other processes are expected to produce spectral lines, making this a very clean indirect dark matter search channel. With the development of event-by-event energy reconstruction, we can now search for spectral lines with the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory. HAWC is a wide field of view survey instrument located in central Mexico that observes gamma rays from<1 TeV to>100 TeV. In this work we present results from a recent search for spectral lines from local, dark matter dominated dwarf galaxies using 1038 days of HAWC data. We also present updated limits on several continuum channels that were reported in a previous publication. Our gamma-ray spectral line limits are the most constraining obtained so far from 20 TeV to 100 TeV.


The aim of this work was the cloning of those transmembrane glycoproteins G and F from an isolate bovine respiratory syncytial viruses (BRSV) - a Brazilian isolate of BRSV, named BRSV-25-BR in previous studies, in a prokaryotic system to proceed the sequencing of larger genomic fragments. The nucleotide substitutions were confirmed and these clones may also be used in further studies regarding the biological effects of those proteins in vitro and in vivo.


Background Iranian civilians living in border areas are still victims of un-neutralised war mines. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess demographic characteristics and features associated with the incident in a representative group of victims. Materials and Methods Overall, 300 civilian mine victims in Kurdistan Province western Iran during 1991–2005 through a cluster randomised sampling method were recruited. The documentary data for those who lost their lives was gathered from the archives of local police, Red Crescent and War-disabled Organisation. Other survived mine-injured victims were interviewed for data collection using a validated checklist. SPSS was used for all analyses. Results Overall, 17.7% of victims (n=53) have been killed immediately after explosion and 82.3% (n=247) were injured. Of those survived, 40% (n=99) had an amputation surgery of lower limb in particular. Majority of victims were either farmers, shepherd mans, or children. Among risk factors investigated, victims' job and age were significantly correlated with mine accidents in Kurdistan province after adjusting for other factors including gender, education level and socioeconomic status (Adjusted OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.2, p<0.01 and AOR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.5, p=0.04 respectively). Conclusions Young civilians living in border areas between Iran and Iraq with certain jobs are still affected by un-neutralised war mines despite the grate efforts made by the government. Struggling efforts are required to avoid and minimise the adverse effects of mine expulsions in border areas in west of country and in Kurdistan in particular.


Objective To assess the feasibility of deriving patient safety indicators for England from routine hospital data and whether they can indicate adverse outcomes for patients. Design Nine patient safety indicators developed by the United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) were derived using hospital episode statistics for England for 2003-4, 2004-5, and 2005-6. A case-control analysis was undertaken to compare length of stay and mortality between cases (patients experiencing the particular safety event measured by an indicator) and controls matched for age, sex, health resource group (standard groupings of clinically similar treatments that use similar levels of healthcare resource), main specialty, and trust. Comparisons were undertaken with US data. Setting All NHS trusts in England. Participants Inpatients in NHS trusts. Results There was fair consistency in national rates for the nine indicators across three years. For all but one indicator, hospital stays were longer in cases than in matched controls (range 0.2-17.1 days, P<0.001). Mortality in cases was also higher than in controls (5.7-27.1%, P<0.001), except for the obstetric trauma indicators. Excess length of stay and mortality in cases was greatest for postoperative hip fracture and sepsis. England's rates were lower than US rates for these indicators. Increased length of stay in cases was generally greater in England than in the US. Excess mortality was also higher in England than in the US, except for the obstetric trauma indicators where there were few deaths in both countries. Differences between England and the US in excess length of stay and mortality were most marked for postoperative hip fracture. Conclusions Hospital administrative data provide a potentially useful low burden, low cost source of information on safety events. Indicators can be derived with English data and show that cases have poorer outcomes than matched controls. These data therefore have potential for monitoring safety events. Further validation, for example, of individual cases, is needed and levels of event recording need to improve. Differences between England and the US might reflect differences in the depth of event coding and in health systems and patterns of healthcare provision.


Introduction: Orlowski et al were the first to report that addition of PLD resulted in enhanced efficacy of bortezomib. To further optimize the clinical efficacy of these agents we included thalidomide to the regimen. In a previous report we described the clinical efficacy of this novel, non-steroidal regimen that incorporated bortezomib (V), pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (D) and thalidomide (T) in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM). High clinical responses in heavily pretreated patients, even in the absence of steroids encouraged us to investigate this regimen in previously untreated MM patients. Here we report for the first time the efficacy and toxicity profile of the VDT regimen in treatment naive MM patients enrolled on a phase II clinical study at our center. METHOD: All previously untreated MM patients were eligible for this study. Bortezomib (1.3mg/m 2 ) was given on days 1, 4, 15, and 18, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin was given (20mg/m 2 ) on days 1 and 15 and thalidomide (200mg) was given everyday continuously throughout the treatment. Patients received treatment on a 4-week cycle. Acyclovir 400mg PO BID and low-dose warfarin was given for prophylaxis of herpes zoster and venous thromboembolism respectively. RESULTS: A total of 26 patients (median age-- 60 range 40–82 years), 16 M and 10 F have so far been enrolled. Advance stage III disease was noted in ---of the patients. The median beta 2 microglobulin was 4 (range1.6–9.7), albumin of 4 (range 3.1–4.8) and LDH was 333 (range 152–1057). Patients received a median of 5 treatment cycles (range 1–8). Toxicity: The most common grade 3 or 4 hematologic toxicities included lymphopenia (27%) and neutropenia (15%), while the non-hematologic toxicity included infections 15% (n=4 patients). The incidence of grade 3 or 4 plantar palmar erythrodysthesia was 4% (n=1). Venous thromboembolism was not observed in any patient to date. Response: To date 17 patients are available for response assessment (EBMT criteria?), 7 patients are too early for response assessment. The ORR of this regimen is 65% with IFE negative CR observed in 3 patients (17.6%). Another 5 patients achieved a stable disease with only 1 progressive disease observed on the regimen so far. Conclusion: VDT is a novel non-steroidal regimen with clinical efficacy in previously untreated myeloma patients. Overall toxicity is manageable. Several patients remain on treatment and currently not evaluable for response. Detailed and updated results of this study will be presented at the meeting.


3D-QSAR on the inhibitory activities of 6-bromobenzo-[4,5]imidazo[1,2α]-pyridin-8,9-diones analogues as substrate molecule were studied quantitatively using CoMFA and CoMSIA methods. The statistical values of CoMFA model was better predictability and fitness than CoMSIA model. The inhibitory activities according to the optimized CoMFA 2 model were dependent on the steric field (90.4%). From the CoMFA contour maps, it is found that the branched side chain as R-group will be directly attached to the carbon atom (ipso carbon) of substituent, the inhibitory activities had expected to increase. The positive charge favor groups were placed in the position between imidazol ring and pyridine ring, the inhibitory activities would increase. And if the groups of liner type will be substituted, hydrophilic favor group would raise inhibitory activities.