The development of any urban area has been followed by dramatic changes in fl oral and faunal biodiversity, which also touches upon vectors of human and animal diseases, and provides strong impacts on wildlife-pathogen interaction. Although the urban environment creates a new reality for animal existence and the urbanization process is followed by impoverishment of biodiversity, new conditions meet tick requirements both in developing and developed countries. Numerous hosts of adult ticks are either preserved in individual properties or specially bred in small farms in suburban areas of many developing countries. In developed countries, environmental protection and ecologically-based standards of the urban growth preserve green spaces inside urban and residential areas together with increasing number of hosts including those which can amplify tick populations. Urbanization has been connected with the sharp increase of urban pet populations, both domesticated and stray, which are excellent hosts for ticks. Pet owners comprise a group of high risk for tick attacks and infection with trick-transmitted diseases. The main task of the review is not in comprehensively cataloguing cases of tick fi ndings in towns but in trying to outline some general dependence of tick survival in urban areas and possible ways of protection from tick attacks and, hence, from the danger of infections with tick-transmitted pathogens in towns.


This report argues that reforming the pension could deliver income gains of more than $5,900 a year to almost 98% of pensioners. These reforms would also reduce the cost of the pension by $14.5 billion a year. Executive summary At $42 billion this year, the Age Pension is the largest single payment made by the federal government, exceeded only by combined grants to state governments. Annual expenditure is predicted to rise to nearly $50 billion by 2017–18. The cost of assistance to the aged has risen by more than 50% in the decade to 2013– 14, outstripping real GDP growth, while the cost of the Age Pension alone has increased by 35% in real terms between 2007–08 and 2014–15. In part the growth in pension expenditure has been driven by the fact that most people of retirement age (80%) receive some form of pension. The Australian Treasury's Intergenerational Reports raise real questions about the affordability and sustainability of the nation's retirement incomes system as the population ages. The 2015 Intergenerational Report predicts age-related pensions would increase from 2.9% of GDP in 2014–15 to 3.6% in 2054–55. Other predictions suggest that growth in Age Pension expenditure could be even higher. The maturation of the superannuation system will not substantially reduce these fiscal pressures. There are other problems with the pension beyond looming fiscal pressures. The exemption of the family home from the pension assets means test creates significant inequities between homeowners and nonhomeowners. Homeowners tend to have more non-housing assets than non-homeowners. Hence, homeowners have substantially higher net worth, on average, than those who don't own their homes. They therefore have a much greater ability to support themselves. Yet homeowner pension entitlements are often similar to those with few assets and no other income. Homeowners also face lower housing costs and other advantages over those with no housing assets. In practice, the emotional connection to the family home, together with the perverse incentives created by the pension system, means the vast majority of pensioners do not use their home to support their retirement. The solution to the underutilisation of housing lies in acknowledging and supporting the emotional connection to the home, while removing the distortions created by the family home exemption from the assets test and encouraging pensioners to access the equity in their homes over time. Addressing this underutilisation would both substantially improve pension living standards — increasing income by thousands of dollars each year — and cut the government's pension bill in half. A three-point strategy is needed. First, the family home should be included in the pension assets means test and the homeowner/non-homeowner distinction in that means test should be abolished. Second, the government should support pensioners' accessing reverse mortgage products by legislating for a default reverse mortgage product. This product, provided by banks and superannuation funds but guaranteed or insured by government, would provide a regular annuity payment at a low interest rate up to a set equity limit (the greater of 80% loan to valuation ratio or $100,000 inflated at CPI). It would also ensure pensioners would never be forced to sell their home. Third, the government should deem income from the default reverse mortgage for the purposes of the pension income test in the same way income from financial assets are treated. This would remove the distorting treatment of housing assets, provide a safeguard for pensioners and ensure the focus of the pension remained on raising living standards. These reforms should be coupled with other reforms such as increasing the rate of rent assistance for non-homeowning pensioners, increasing the base rate of the pension for singles and couples in line with modest standards advocated by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, and tightening the income means test taper from $0.50 in the dollar to $0.60 in the dollar. This package of reforms would generate significant benefits to both pensioners and the wider community. Our modelling indicates: Nearly 98% of pensioners would benefit, with the average benefit exceeding $5,900 a year; and Only 2% of pensioners would be worse off with the average loss less than $875 a year Importantly, by moving those with the means to support themselves off the pension the government can increase the base rate of the pension, providing benefits to those who are completely dependent on the pension. Tangible benefits would accrue even if housing prices did not rise as fast as predicted, or if interest rates were higher, or if the equity limit were lowered. The increase in pensioner income is so significant many pensioners would move off the full rate of the pension. More than 70% of single and couple pensioners would move off the full rate and onto the part rate, while more than 24% of single part-rate pensioners, and 32% of couple part-rate pensioners would move off the pension entirely. In addition to this substantial increase in pensioner income, there would be a very large reduction in government pension spending, with annual expenditure under our simulation falling from $42.2 billion to $27.7 billion. Reports that Australians do not save enough for their retirement typically ignore the impact the family home could have on lifting retirement incomes. Unlocking the $625 billion of home equity controlled by age pensioners has the potential to be the solution to the rising cost of the Age Pension as well as reducing poverty among pensioners.


Protected areas such as national parks are key mechanisms for conserving nature. They also provide important opportunities for people to engage in a range of nature based tourism and recreation activities, engendering active lifestyles and providing access to fresh air, solitude and nature. In part due to the psychological and health benefits of these activities, visitation to protected areas is increasingly popular, especially for parks close to cities. Rapid urban growth in many cities has also heightened demand for, and increased use of, protected areas. Visitor use of protected areas can however, adversely impact both visitors and local communities if not properly managed.
National park managers face the challenge of accommodating often times competing expectations about these types of protected areas, including providing access without negatively affecting the natural environment or visitors' experiences. Reliable information is needed about visitor characteristics, the activities they undertake, and their expectations of parks including the types of activities permitted. We also need to know how the values, attitudes, and travel patterns of visitors shape their park experiences. Moreover, we need to know how nearby communities interact with the park and their attitudes about visitor activities. To better understand how these factors potentially affect people-park interactions, including parks close to cities, this thesis assessed six peri-urban national parks in South East Queensland, Australia.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a new method for ranking authentication products. Using this method, issues such as technical performance, application/system‐specific requirements, cost and usability are addressed. The method simplifies and makes the selection process more transparent by identifying issues that are important when selecting products.Design/methodology/approach – The paper used quantitative cost and performance analysis.Findings – The method can be widely applied, allowing the comparison and ranking of an extensive variety of authentication products (passwords, biometrics, tokens). The method can be used for both product selection and the process of product development as supported by the case studies.Originality/value – This is a work that demonstrates how to compare authentication methods from different categories. A novel ranking method has been developed which allows the comparison of different authentication products in a defined usage scenario.


Background—Accumulating evidence has suggested that the cardiac renin-angiotensin system is activated during the remodeling process after myocardial infarction (MI). Although 2 types of angiotensin II receptors (AT1 and AT2) are upregulated in the infarcted tissue, the contribution of AT2 to the subsequent fibrogenetic phase of wound healing is less certain. This study was conducted to evaluate the role of AT2 in wound healing after MI using an in vivo intervention study in mice with MI. Methods and Results—We examined myocardial hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis, and morphological evidence of fibrillar collagen accumulation at the infarcted and noninfarcted regions in male mice lacking the AT2 receptor (Agtr 2−/Y) and age-matched wild-type (WT) animals. Of the Agtr 2−/Y mice, 63.6% died of cardiac rupture, whereas 23.5% of the WT mice died of the same cause within 1 week. The extent of fibrosis and that of collagen gene expression in Agtr 2−/Y mice were significantly reduced compared with WT mice at 1 week after coronary ligation. Furthermore, MI resulted in a marked increase in the prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) level at 4 days after surgery in Agtr 2−/Y mice. In WT mice, the PGE2 level was also elevated after MI but to a significantly lesser extent than in Agtr 2−/Y mice. Conclusions—A chronic loss of AT2 by gene targeting prevented the collagen deposition and caused cardiac rupture. The markedly elevated PGE2 may be a mechanism that inhibits collagen synthesis in the infarcted region of Agtr 2−/Y mice.


We review the performance of various nanoscaled structures needed to support the propagation of the surface plasmons responsible for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), and assess the potential for the optimisation of the compromise between enhancement and reproducibility that they provide, and hence their utility for relevant applications. We divide these nanostructures into those comprising structured arrays of discrete nanoparticles in two or three dimensions, and those comprising structured or regularly patterned surfaces in two or three dimensions. The most promising in terms of this compromise are those that involve the tethering of functionalised metal nanoparticles to surfaces. They are not only reproducible, but the functionalisation provides a measure of selectivity to relevant target analytes that the majority of SERS applications require. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This paper presents results of several imbalanced learning techniques applied to operator functional state assessment where the data is highly imbalanced, i.e., some function states (majority classes) have much more training samples than other states (minority classes). Conventional machine learning techniques usually tend to classify all data samples into majority classes and perform poorly for minority classes. In this study, we implemented five imbalanced learning techniques, including random undersampling, random over-sampling, synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE), borderline-SMOTE and adaptive synthetic sampling (ADASYN) to solve this problem. Experimental results on a benchmark driving lest dataset show thai accuracies for minority classes could be improved dramatically with a cost of slight performance degradations for majority classes,


Three-terminal single-electron transistor devices utilizing Al/ Al 2 O 3 gate electrodes were developed for the study of electron transport through individual single-molecule magnets SMMs. The devices were patterned via multiple layers of optical and electron beam lithography. Electromigration induced breaking of the nanowires reliably produces 1 – 3 nm gaps between which the SMM can be situated. Conductance through a single Mn12 3-thiophenecarboxylate displays the Coulomb blockade effect with several excitations within ±40 meV. © 2007 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2671613


The most efficient diversity generating approaches to heterocycles are combinations of a multicomponent (MCR) with a cyclization reaction, for example, by Ugi-deprotection-cylization (UDC) protocols. If the desired post-Ugi reaction requires more than one deprotection, for example of two initially protected Ugi-reactive groups, or if it requires additional activation, for example, by an Ugi-activation-cyclization (UAC), either the isolation of intermediates or a sequential process or both become necessary. A recently introduced convertible isonitrile reagent allows a mild and chemoselective in situ post-Ugi activation of the isonitrile-born carboxylate with simultaneous deprotection of the nucleophilic amine, that is, liberation and activation of two Ugi-reactive groups, if desired also under subsequent lactam formation. This is exemplified by the synthesis of peptide-peptoid diketopiperazines.


It is important to clarify the flocculation phenomena for the mineral processing such as waste water treatment. For this object, experiments on the flocculation phenomena have been carried out using quartz and fluorite particles which are negatively and positively charged in distilled water, respectively. In the present study, suspensions containing the particles smaller than 4.6μm (fine particle suspension) and larger than 9.3μm (coarse particle suspension) are prepared to understand the flocculation phenomena of the mixture of fine quartz-fine fluorite particles, fine quartz-coarse fluorite particles, fine fluorite-coarse quartz particles and coarse quartz-coarse fluorite particles in the different pH values. It is found that fine quartz and fluorite particles homo-flocculate at pH about 2 and pH over 11, while coarse quartz and fluorite particles do not homo-flocculate at all pH range. In the experiments conducted with the mixture of fine quartz and fluorite particles in equal proportion, the electric gravitation between them has led to the hetero-flocculation at all pH range. When fine quartz and coarse fluorite particles are mixed, it is considered that the hetero-flocculation such as coarse particles are coated with fine particles would occur at all pH values. Besides, homo-flocculation of fine quartz particles can be also observed at pH about 2. In case of the mixture of fine fluorite and coarse quartz particles, the hetero-flocculation such as coarse particles are coated with fine particles and homo-flocculation of fine fluorite particles are supposed to occur at all pH values and at all pH values, respectively. Remarkable flocculation phenomena can not be seen in mixing coarse quartz and coarse fluorite particles at all pH values.


CY24 Areeba Ltd against Cyprus Telecommunications 22.03.13 www.competition.gov.cy — NCA, abuse of dominance Authority Case number 11.17.10/2005 The case concerned the re-examination and…


Statement of Problem: Implant overdentures become thinner and weaker after direct transfer of implant attachment housings. The introduction of a metal housing changes the character of the repair as denture has to be relieved to provide space for the housings; therefore, a strong method of repair is desirable to avoid prosthesis fracture. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare flexural strength of two different chairside repair materials with and without modification of implant attachment housings. Materials and Methods: Eighty 13 mm × 10 mm × 41 mm heat-polymerized acrylic resin blocks were processed, assessed for porosities, and polished. An 8.5-mm diameter hole was created to a depth of 5 mm in the center of each block. Two different attachment housings sandblasted and nonsandblasted were placed into the blocks with two different repair materials: autopolymerized acrylic resin (APAR) and light-polymerized acrylic resin. Later blocks were immersed in water for 7 days in an incubator. A three-point bend test was done in a universal testing machine, and load to fracture was recorded (MPa). Results were compared with one-way analysis of variance (α = 0.05). Results: The mean maximum strength of APAR groups was significantly higher than light-polymerized acrylic resin groups. Groups with sandblasted attachment housings showed significantly higher strength compared to nonsandblasted groups. Conclusions: The flexural strength of self-cured acrylic resin with and without sandblasting of attachment was significantly higher than light-cured acrylic resin with and without sandblasting of attachment housings. Sandblasting produced higher flexural strength in denture blocks repaired with self-cured acrylic.


Received Sep 10, 2021 Revised Mar 26, 2022 Accepted Apr 7, 2022 Computational models based on deep learning (DL) algorithms have multiple processing layers representing data at multiple levels of abstraction. Deep learning has exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly in medical image processing, medical image analysis, and bioinformatics. As a result, deep learning has effectively modified and strengthened the means of identification, prediction, and diagnosis in several healthcare fields, including pathology, brain tumours, lung cancer, the abdomen, cardiac, and retina. In general, brain tumours are among the most common and aggressive malignant tumour diseases, with a limited life span if diagnosed at a higher grade. After identifying the tumour, brain tumour grading is a crucial step in evaluating a successful treatment strategy. This research aims to propose a cancerous brain tumor detection and classification using deep learning. In this paper, numerous soft computing techniques and a deep learning model to summarise the pathophysiology of brain cancer, imaging modalities for brain cancer, and automated computer-assisted methods for brain cancer characterization is used. In the sense of machine learning and the deep learning model, paper has highlighted the association between brain cancer and other brain disorders such as epilepsy, stroke, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Wilson's disease, leukoaraiosis, and other neurological disorders.


Carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as one of the most difficult to treat nosocomial bacterial infections in recent years. It was one of the major causes of secondary infections in Covid-19 patients in developing countries. The polycationic polypeptide antibiotic colistin is used as a last resort drug to treat carbapenem resistant A. baumannii infections. Therefore, resistance to colistin is considered as a serious medical threat. The purpose of this study was to assess the current status of colistin resistance in Pakistan, a country where carbapenem resistant A. bumannii infections are endemic, to understand the impact of colistin resistance on virulence in mice and to assess alternative strategies to treat such infections. Out of 150 isolates collected from five hospitals in Pakistan during 2019–20, 84% were carbapenem resistant and 7.3% were additionally resistant to colistin. There were two isolates resistant to all tested antibiotics and 83% of colistin resistant isolates were susceptible to only tetracycline family drugs doxycycline and minocycline. Doxycycline exhibited a synergetic bactericidal effect with colistin even in colistin resistant isolates. Exposure of A. baumannii 17978 to sub inhibitory concentrations of colistin identified novel point mutations associated with colistin resistance. Colistin tolerance acquired independent of mutations in lpxA, lpxB, lpxC, lpxD, and pmrAB supressed the proinflammatory immune response in epithelial cells and the virulence in a mouse infection model. Moreover, the oral administration of water extract of Saussuria lappa, although not showing antimicrobial activity against A. baumannii in vitro, lowered the number of colonizing bacteria in liver, spleen and lung of the mouse model and also lowered the levels of neutrophils and interleukin 8 in mice. Our findings suggest that the S. lappa extract exhibits an immunomodulatory effect with potential to reduce and cure systemic infections by both opaque and translucent colony variants of A. baumannii.


The Paleozoic orogen that forms the backbone of Mid-Europa results from the collision between Gondwana, Laurussia and several microcontinents. The French Massif Central and Massif Armoricain belong to three tectonic and paleogeographic domains. Namely, the entire Massif Central and the south part of the Massif Armoricain belong to the North Gondwana margin, the Central Armorican Domain is a part of Armorica microcontinent and the Leon Domain is a piece of another microcontinent. The N. Gondwana margin and Leon Domain are made of a stack of syn-metamorphic nappes, conversely, the Central Armorican Domain consists of a Proterozoic basement built up by the Neoproterozoic Cadomian orogeny and a Paleozoic basement weakly deformed by upright folds related to wrench faults. The bulk architecture of the North Gondwana margin id the result of three main tectonic and metamorphic events that followed a Late Silurian high-pressure metamorphism whose associated structures are poorly documented. The Early Devonian D1 event (ca 385 Ma) is responsible for top-to-the-SW nappe stacking coeval with migmatization and exhumation of high-pressure rocks. The Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous D2 event (360-350 Ma) is associated to a medium pressure/temperature metamorphism during which top-to-the-NW shearing develops. The Visean D3 event (335-330 Ma) is characterized by contrasted tectonic regimes. A synmetamorphic top-to-the-south ductile shearing is widespread in south Massif Central whereas in north Massif Central, D3 is coeval with the onset of synorogenic extension. Orogen-parallel (E-W) extension develops coevally with Namurian-Westphalian plutonism, and orogen-transverse (N-S) extension took place in Late Carboniferous (ca 300 Ma). The Variscan Belt is also characterized by several magmatic events. The Early Cambrian and Early Ordovician pre-orogenic alkaline magmatisms correspond to the rifting events that separated Avalonia, Armorica and Leon microcontinents from Gondwana. The Early-Middle Devonian calc-alkaline magmatism is related to the Gondwana-directed subduction of the Rheic Ocean. Other magmatic events are due to the crustal melting that took place in Carboniferous times in response to D2 and D3 events. Late Visean and younger magmatic stages are coeval with extensional tectonics. These structural, metamorphic and magmatic events are replaced in a geodynamic evolution model at the scale of Western Europe.


Classifying question sentences into their corresponding categories is an important task with wide applications, for example in many websites' FAQ sections.
However, traditional question classification techniques do not fully utilize the well-prepared answer data which has great potential for improving question sentence representations which could lead to better classification performance. In order to encode answer information into question representation, we first introduce novel group sparse autoencoders which could utilize the group information in the answer set to refine question representation. We then propose a new group sparse convolutional neural network which could naturally learn the question representation with respect to their corresponding answers by implanting the group sparse autoencoders into the traditional convolutional neural network. The proposed model show significant improvements over strong baselines on four datasets.


Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a progressive airway obstruction, irreversible and occurs concurrent chronic bronchitis, emphysema or both. The prevalence of COPD in the ratio between men and women is 3 to 1. Predisposing factors of reversible COPD should be sought and treated, which include smoking, hiperesponsif respiratory tract, respiratory tract infection, occupational exposure, pollution, genetic. Mr. M, 47 years old, present with shortness of breath, coughing and weight loss. Patients has history of consumption of anti-tuberculosis drugs, smoking for a quite long time, and also his mother has history of shortness of breath disease. Besides that, the physical examination found bronchial breath sound and wet ronchi additional sound by auscultation. Patients was diagnosed with COPD exacerbation and treated with oxygen therapy, bronchodilators, and antibiotics. COPD is a progressive, reversible and associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles or gases. [J Agromed Unila 2014; 1(1):49-54]  Keywords: chronic obstructive, hiperesponsive, inflammatory, progressive, pulmonary disease


The reaction of metallothionein-2 (MT-2) with the organometallic antitumour compound [Ru(η(6)-p-cymene)Cl(2)(pta)], RAPTA-C, was investigated using ESI MS and ICP AES. The studies were performed in comparison to cisplatin and significant differences in the binding of the two complexes were observed. RAPTA-C forms monoadducts with MT-2, at variance with cisplatin, that has been observed to form up to four adducts. These data, combined with ICP AES analysis, show that binding of both RAPTA-C and cisplatin to MT-2 requires the displacement of an equivalent amount of zinc, suggesting that Cys residues are the target binding sites for the two metallodrugs. The competitive binding of RAPTA-C and cisplatin towards a mixture of ubiquitin (Ub) and MT-2 was also studied, showing that MT-2 can abstract RAPTA-C from Ub more efficiently than it can abstract cisplatin. The mechanistic implications of these results are discussed.


Introduction. The latest Guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) were published in 2010. The aim of the implementation of basic life support (BLS) guidelines is the introduction of uniform criteria within the domain of cardiac arrest diagnostics and treatment both for lay rescuers and first line lifesavers without formal medical education as well as for medical personnel who happen to be in the role of the event witness but without medical equipment and outside of their working place. Objective. The goal of this study was to investigate the significance of pre-existing knowledge of the latest 2010 Guidelines for CPR for achieving successful training in BLS among 6th year students of the Belgrade School of Medicine. Methods. In a five-month prospective study of 6th year medical students doing a clinical internship at the Belgrade Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were in a peer training on the application of BLS. At the beginning and at the end of the training program, the students had to pass entrance (E) and final (F) tests composed of 25 identical questions. Using the E test, the students' knowledge of the latest CPR Guidelines was tested; they were classified into groups with pre-existing knowledge (group I) and groups without pre-existing knowledge (group II). By comparing data from E and F tests we analyzed the influence of training on the improvement of pre-existing knowledge or gaining new knowledge in BLS and first aid. Results. A total of 423 students were tested. The analysis of obtained data showed that in group I there was a statistically significant difference between correct and incorrect responses to eleven questions on the F and E tests. In group II there was a statistically significant difference between test responses in the E and F tests to 17 questions. In group II, knowledge additionally improved after training so that in the F test, a statistical significance in correct answers was achieved with regard to 8 questions in relation to the E test (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between correct and inaccurate answers in tests F and E with regard to 10 questions. In the entire group of students, a total statistical significance (p<0.05) was achieved in answers to as much as 25 questions. Conclusion. Among 6th year medical students without pre-existing knowledge of the latest 2010 CPR Guidelines, BLS training considerably improved their previously acquired knowledge. Also, students with good pre-existing knowledge, showed a considerably higher level of acquired knowledge after implemented training. A future study with a longer follow-up period to estimate the effect on long-term retention of learning outcomes is needed. SLAÐANA ANÐELIÆ ( ) Belgrade Emergency Medical Services Street Franše d`Eperea 5 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Phone: +381113615015 E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com DIMITRA KALIMANOVSKA-OŠTRIĆ


An on-chip Coarse wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) has been designed, fabricated and experimentally measured, yielding 9 multiplexed wavelength channels spanning S+C+L band. The average channel crosstalk is −25 dB. All channels cover the CWDM central wavelengths stipulated by ITU standard.


We prepare and detect the hyperfine state of a single 87Rb atom coupled to a fiber-based high-finesse cavity on an atom chip. The atom is extracted from a Bose-Einstein condensate and trapped at the maximum of the cavity field, resulting in a reproducibly strong atom-cavity coupling. We use the cavity reflection and transmission signal to infer the atomic hyperfine state with a fidelity exceeding 99.92% in a readout time of 100  μs. The atom is still trapped after detection.


The author has designed a simple and inexpensive cylindrical stereotactic retractor that is compatible with the Leksell stereotactic system. The device allows the stereotactic localization and open resection of appropriate intracranial lesions through a 3-cm craniotomy, using standard microsurgical techniques and a completely sterile field. The device and its use are described.


Because of increased productivity and availability, more people have had the chance to undergo prophylactic influenza vaccination. It has been reported that influenza vaccination has cross-reactivity with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody assays, but this information is not well known in the field of transplantation. Recently, we experienced a case of living donor liver transplantation in which a healthy donor candidate was frightened and was further screened for the HIV antibody. The patient was a 43-year-old female who was a candidate for partial liver donation for her husband, who was suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma associated with hepatitis B liver cirrhosis. She had never undergone a blood transfusion or abused drugs before her screening for living partial liver donation. According to her laboratory results, she was positive for the HIV antibody (1.7 cut off index). Otherwise, all data, including hepatitis B antibody results, were within normal limits. It was found that she had undergone vaccination for influenza 1 week before the screening. She was referred to a specialist in HIV infection, and western blotting for all antibodies (GP160, GP110/120, P68/66, P55, P52/51, GP41, P40, P34/31, P24/25, and P18/17) was negative. HIV RNA was undetectable in her blood (<40 copies/mL). Thus, she was considered to be HIVnegative with a high level of confidence and subsequently donated the left lobe of her liver. The recipient remained negative for the HIV antibody even after living donor liver transplantation. With the prevalence of influenza vaccination and organ donation, physicians should keep in mind that recent inoculation with any brand of influenza vaccine is associated with a false-positive screening assay for HIV antibodies.


The requirement of non-invasive counting and classifying devices has grown significantly
in the last few years due to contributing factors from Occupational Health and Safety
Standards developed by state road authorities. There is significant risk associated with
departmental personnel working in proximity to traffic. The risk is elevated further
for these personnel working on the road whilst installing the devices in high speed and
high volume traffic environments.
The focus of this project was to develop a technology capable of classifying vehicles
into the Austroads 94 12 Bin Classification Standard. The restrictions for the system
were such that no devices or apparatus are placed on the carriageway, the detection
system would not affect motorists in anyway and the system would be portable and
suitable for multilane high-speed roads.
The system chosen to develop was based on the use of 2 infrared lasers. The project
deals with noise in the laser data via comparison of denoising techniques such as Low
Pass Filtering, Frequency Domain Thresholding and Discrete Wavelet Transform. It
was found in the project that Wavelet Denoising offers the best noise reduction for
the signal and was far superior at retaining the signal properties. The accuracy of the
developed system was found to be low compared with that of commercially available
systems. However, the discrepancy is attributed to sensor synchronization, a problem
able to be solved by the introduction of a designated processor.


The effects of stress, size, geometry, and composition on the microstructure in small-scale Sn-Pb solder joints are investigated by using a model coupled with microstructural evolution and mechanical behavior. The growth of both the Pb-rich phase and the Sn-rich phase along the boundaries of the solder joints is observed under an external shear stress and boundary constraints on diffusion. This result indicates that the microstructure in small-scaled solder joints is sensitive to stress. In addition, the heterogeneity of microstructure tends to increase with the shrinking of solder joint size. In particular, the size of the Sn-rich phase is observed to be nearly 1/5 of the standoff height in the solder joint with 1.5 μm pad size. The size effect on the microstructural heterogeneity is more pronounced in the hourglass-shaped joints than in the barrel-shaped counterparts. Furthermore, a larger volume fraction of the well-connected Sn-rich phase is found in the solder joints of a higher content of Sn. The heterogeneous microstructures exert influences on the stress distribution in the joints because the stress concentrates in the Sn-rich phase. The correlation between stress and microstructure is stronger in the hourglass geometry.


Risk management is an integrated part of project management to identify, assess, evaluate and mitigate threats or opportunities that aid or endanger the goals of a project. Risk Matrices are one of the most popular tools to execute a proper risk management process. However, they suffer from shortcomings that can lead to non-meaningful results and oversimplified classification. Cox ( 2008a ) and other researchers have described these shortcomings, Thomas et al. ( 2013 ) even proposed to avoid risk matrices in general. This paper presents adaptions that will prevent oversimplified classification, e.g. continuous coloring schemes and viewing risk probability and risk consequence as independent variables. Furthermore, the typical green-yellow-red color scheme is questioned due to its lack of perceptual uniformity and inaccessibility for people with color vision deficiencies. It is proposed that these changes will shaft the area of application from standalone risk analysis tools to supporting tools for quantitative risk analysis which will develop to be the state of the art in project risk management.


We aimed to scrutinize the extent to which single amino acid substitutions in the MTHFR and factor V Leiden (FVL) genes affect the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in pregnant women of South Indian descendant. This case–control study was implemented once the ethical approval has been obtained. Overall, 237 women were recruited in this study: 137 had been diagnosed with GDM and the remaining 100 women were used as normal controls or non-GDM. The diagnosis of GDM was confirmed with biochemical analysis, i.e., GCT and oral glucose tolerance tests. Five milliliters of peripheral blood was collected and used for biochemical and molecular analyses. DNA was isolated, and genotyping for MTHFR (C677T) and FVL (G1691A) mutations was performed using PCR–RFLP. FVL (G1691A) locus was not polymorphic in the investigated sample. There was no significant difference in the allele and genotype frequencies of C677T polymorphism between GDM and non-GDM women (p = 0.8892).


Depending on Leishmania species and the presence/absence of virulence factors, Leishmania extracellular vesicles (EVs) can differently stimulate host immune cells. This work is aimed at characterizing and evaluating the protective role of EVs released by Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes under different maintenance conditions. Initially, using a control strain, we standardized 26°C as the best release temperature to obtain EVs with a potential protective role in the experimental leishmaniasis model. Then, long-term (LT-P) promastigotes of L. amazonensis were obtained after long-term in vitro culture (100 in vitro passages). In vivo-derived (IVD-P) promastigotes of L. amazonensis were selected after 3 consecutive experimental infections in BALB/c mice. Those strains developed similar lesion sizes except for IVD-P at 8 weeks post infection. No differences in EV production were detected in both strains. However, the presence of LPG between LT-P and IVD-P EVs was different. Groups of mice immunized with EVs emulsified in the adjuvant and challenged with IVD-P parasites showed decreased lesion size and parasitic load compared with the nonimmunized groups. The immunization regimen with two doses showed high IFN-γ and IgG2a titers in challenged mice with either IVD-P or LT-P EVs. IL-4 and IL-10 were detected in immunized mice, suggesting a mixed Th1/Th2 profile. EVs released by either IVD-P or LT-P induced a partial protective effect in an immunization model. Thus, our results uncover a potential protective role of EVs from L. amazonensis for cutaneous leishmaniasis. Moreover, long-term maintenance under in vitro conditions did not seem to affect EV release and their immunization properties in mice.


The burgeoning digital economy is characterized by providers offering their products and services to consumers in bundles. Consequently, firms, policy-makers, competition authorities and courts are challenged to consider the actual and possible effects of bundling on profits, consumer and total welfare, sometimes in advance of products being brought to market. Current literature provides some guidance for evaluating possible outcomes (Abdallah 2018; Hennig-Thurau and Houston 2018; Simon and Fassnacht 2018). However, theoretical tractability requires most models to make highly stylized assumptions rarely observed or anticipated in the real-life situations motivating inquiry.

Different ways of evaluating these complex cases are required. Howell and Potgieter (2017), Howell and Potgieter (2018b), Howell and Potgieter (2018a), and Howell and Potgieter (2019) propose the use of numerical analysis of the output of discrete simulation models capturing the specific characteristics of real-life cases offers an alternative means of evaluation. They successively develop a competition model in which:

* the firms, consumers and differentiated products are finite in number;
prices are discrete and not continuous;

* consumers may purchase multiple items in a single product category.

A particular strength of these models are that they mimic the price-setting strategy adopted by firms facing uncertainty about the distributions of consumer preferences for the items. Variants of the model have been used to provide insights into real-life business situations where firms have limited opportunities to sample information about a market where (for example) firms offer differentiated Internet access (e.g. cable and copper/fiber) and content offers (e.g. Netflix, Spotify, other proprietary video content products, gaming, home security monitoring) both stand-alone and in bundles.

In Howell and Potgieter (2019) the authors generated a set of consumer willingness-to-pay values for the two products from random (normal) distributions. In this paper, we explore the expected behavior when the underlying distribution of both products is drawn from an asymmetrical long-tail distribution. By varying the parameters of the distribution from which the products' WTPs are drawn, we can explore how bundle pricing offers might vary in several distinct scenarios.


Various features of the river ice regime in the north of the European part of Russia are of critical importance for hydroecological safety. Spatial and temporal variability of these characteristics was analysed using the most up-to-date hydrometeorological data from 146 gauging stations in the study region. Trends of ice regime changes during recent decades were identified and interpreted in the context of the changing climate. It was found that under low flow conditions, autumn ice and slashed ice drifts became longer, ice jams more frequent, and freeze-up periods shorter. More frequent thawing spells resulted in decreasing ice thickness and snow storage in river basins. Winter break-ups were accompanied by ice jams and floods. High water levels during further freezing-up, as well as large amounts of slashed ice in river channels increased the risk of catastrophic ice jams.


In temporal-logic model checking, we verify the correctness of a program with respect to a desired behavior by checking whether a structure that models the program satisfies a temporal logic formula that specifies this behavior. One of the ways to overcome the expressiveness limitation of temporal logics is to augment them with quantification over atomic propositions. In this paper we consider the extension of branching temporal logics with existential quantification over atomic propositions. Once we add existential quantification to a branching temporal logic, it becomes sensitive to unwinding. That is, unwinding a structure into an infinite tree does not preserve the set of formulas it satisfies. Accordingly, we distinguish between two semantics, two practices as specification languages, and two versions of the model-checking problem for such a logic. One semantics refers to the structure that models the program, and the second semantics refers to the infinite computation tree that the program induces. We examine the complexity of the model-checking problem in the two semantics for the logics CTL and CTL* augmented with existential quantification over atomic propositions. Following the cheerless results that we get, we examine also the program complexity of model checking; i.e., the complexity of this problem in terms of the program, assuming the formula is fixed. We show that while fixing the formula dramatically reduces model-checking complexity in the tree semantics, its influence on the structure semantics is poor.


We present the galaxy luminosity function (LF) of the Abell 119 cluster down to mag based on deep images in the u, g, and r bands taken by using MOSAIC II CCD mounted on the Blanco 4 m telescope at the CTIO. The cluster membership was accurately determined based on the radial velocity information and on the color–magnitude relation for bright galaxies and the scaling relation for faint galaxies. The overall LF exhibits a bimodal behavior with a distinct dip at mag ( mag), which is more appropriately described by a two-component function. The shape of the LF strongly depends on the clustercentric distance and on the local galaxy density. The LF of galaxies in the outer, low-density region exhibits a steeper slope and more prominent dip compared with that of counterparts in the inner, high-density region. We found evidence for a substructure in the projected galaxy distribution in which several overdense regions in the Abell 119 cluster appear to be closely associated with the surrounding, possible filamentary structure. The combined LF of the overdense regions exhibits a two-component function with a distinct dip, while the LF of the central region is well described by a single Schechter function. We suggest that, in the context of the hierarchical cluster formation scenario, the observed overdense regions are the relics of galaxy groups, retaining their two-component LFs with a dip, which acquired their shapes through a galaxy merging process in group environments, before they fall into a cluster.


Background Natural Killer cells (NK) are effectors of the innate immune system carrying inhibitory KIR, which regulate the killing function of these cells by interacting with MHC class I molecules (MHC-I). The "missing-self" hypothesis proposes that NK can sense the absence of self MHC-I on the surface of allogeneic cells. This unique characteristic suggests that NK could promote innate-driven rejection, a concept that has not been validated in clinical transplantation. Methods and Results 938 kidney transplant recipients had a graft biopsy between 2004 and 2012 in our center. Among them, 130 had microvascular inflammation (mvi, g+ptc Banff score ≥ 2), which is usually attributed to humoral rejection. Nevertheless, only 75 had circulating donor-specific antibodies (DSA) directed against HLA antigens or endothelial cells susceptible to explain their microvascular inflammation. We hypothesize that "missing-self" could be responsible for the lesions of the 55 remaining patients (mvi+DSA-). Finally, DNA samples were available for 44 pairs. A matched control group of 55 patients with no microvascular inflammation and no DSA was constructed (mvi-DSA-). Recipients' KIR genes and donors' and recipients' HLA ligands were genotyped and the licensing of the 5 inhibitory KIR with known MHC-I ligands (KIR2DL1/C2, KIR2DL2/C1, KIR2DL3/C1, KIR3DL1/Bw4, KIR3DL2/A3, A11) was assessed for both groups. The proportion of patients with at least 1 licensed inhibitory KIR-ligand mismatch was higher in mvi+DSA- group (66% vs 38%, p=0.009). In a human in vitro model, we demonstrated that the lack of self MHC-I on endothelial cells can activate NK. This activation triggers mTOR pathway in NK, which can be blocked by rapamycine. Using a murine in vivo cellular model of missing-self mediated killing, we found that rapamycine (but not CNI) can prevent the killing of targets. Finally, we confirmed the existence of missing-self induced rejection in a murine heart transplantation model and its sensitivity to mTOR inhibition. Conclusion "Missing-self" triggers NK-mediated chronic vascular rejection of allogeneic kidneys. MTOR inhibitors might be of interest to prevent this previously unrecognized type of rejection.


This study sought to investigate the effects of response shzft bias on outcomes using a self-report measure in a leadership development course. While students in this study rated themselves as having a "high " level of leadership skill at the end of the course, significant differences were found between their self-report ratings using the pretest/posttest and the then/posttest approach. The degree of response shift (then/post pre/post comparison) was also significant. The findings from this study together with other studies cited suggest that when employing self-report measures, the then/post approach provides a less conservative and more accurate means of assessing leadership skill development than would the traditional pretest/posttest approach.


When two persons enter into an agreement, a dispute between them is not always inevitable. The purpose of the agreement may be anything. It may be the sale and purchase of goods; it may be the construction of any works or projects; it may be for rendering any professional or other services; it may be lending and borrowing money; it may be hiring and leasing, and so on. Often, the contracts are performed and closed to the entire satisfaction of the parties. However, it is impossible to imagine a situation where under a contract no dispute ever arises between the parties. Sometimes, in spite of best efforts by the parties to the contract disputes between them do arise, whatever may be the reason. The consequences of such disputes vary. The book that you have into your hands is a guide to assist a lawyer or/and legal expert to deal with disputes arising between two or more parties involved in an agreement.


We cultured canine kidney (MDCK) cells stably expressing aquaporin-2 (AQP2) on collagen-coated permeable membrane filters and examined the effect of extracellular ATP on arginine vasopressin (AVP)-stimulated fluid transport and cAMP production. Exposure of cell monolayers to basolateral AVP resulted in stimulation of apical to basolateral net fluid transport driven by osmotic gradient which was formed by addition of 500 mM mannitol to basolateral bathing solution. Pre-exposure of the basolateral surface of cell monolayers to ATP (100 microM) for 30 min significantly inhibited the AVP-stimulated net fluid transport. In these cells, AVP-stimulated cAMP production was suppressed as well. Profile of the effects of different nucleotides suggested that the P2Y(2) receptor is involved in the action of ATP. ATP inhibited the effect of isoproterenol as well, but not that of forskolin to stimulate cAMP production. The inhibitory effect of ATP on AVP-stimulated fluid movement was attenuated by a protein kinase C inhibitor, calphostin C or pertussis toxin. These results suggest that prolonged activation of the P2 receptors inhibits AVP-stimulated fluid transport and cAMP responses in AQP2 transfected MDCK cells. Depressed responsiveness of the adenylyl cyclase by PKC-mediated modification of the pertussis-toxin sensitive G(i) protein seems to be the underlyihng mechanism.


We report the first application of a single-shot cross-correlator for pulse duration and pulse contrast diagnostics in Nd:glass petawatt laser. The information of pulse duration, measured in the single-shot, guides the fine adjustment of the pulse compressor in real time. By integrating several shots of measurements at different time delays together, the petawatt pulse profile is obtained within an overall temporal window of ~100ps, indicating a contrast of ~104. The measurements suggest that the additional contrast improvement is necessary for the Nd:glass petawatt laser system, which should be different from conventional Ti:sapphire lasers and is also discussed.


ABSTRACT This study examines undergraduate law students' perceptions of tutorials delivered by PhD tutors. Enrolment in UK law schools has increased in recent decades and PhD tutors are playing an ever-expanding pedagogical role in undergraduate degree courses. At the same time, the implementation of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework and the growing credence given to the results of the National Student Survey have increased UK universities' focus on achieving consistently high teaching standards and improving the student experience. This makes a study seeking to ascertain undergraduate law students' perceptions of PhD tutors timely and relevant. The empirical data collected via a questionnaire and then mapped against the existing pedagogical literature on effective teaching reveals students' generally favourable view of PhD tutors and bolsters the view that PhD tutors are engaging in effective teaching practices. The respondents indicated that, in their experience, PhD tutors communicate clearly, employ novel teaching techniques, help them prepare for exams and set high academic expectations while being enthusiastic, approachable and relatable. While this research primarily draws on the experience of law students at the University of Leicester, the findings are applicable to similar institutions and to all current PhD tutors and PhD students who are considering teaching.


Objective This study determined the occurrence and distribution of Extended Spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL) genotypes of E. coli isolates in Ho Teaching Hospital, Ghana. Design A cross-sectional study. Setting A single centre study was conducted at Ho Teaching Hospital of Ghana. Participants Patients who visited Ho Teaching Hospital Laboratory with the request for culture and susceptibility testing. Main outcome measure Escherichia coli were isolated, and Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase genes were detected. Results Of the 135 isolates, 56(41.5%,95% CI: 33.1% – 50.3%) were ESBL producers. More males, 14(58.3%), produced ESBL than females, 42(37.8%). The ESBL prevalence was highest among the elderly who were 80 years and above 3(100.0%), with the least prevalence among patients within 50–59 years and 0–9 years age bracket, representing 4(25.0%) and 3(27.3%), respectively. The total prevalence of ESBL was marginally higher among out-patients (41.8% 95% CI: 31.9% – 52.2%) compared to in-patients [40.5% 95% CI: 24.8% – 57.9]. BlaTEM-1 was the predominant ESBL genotype obtained from 83.9% (47/56) of the confirmed ESBL producing isolates, with the least being TOHO-1 4(7.1%). The co-existence of 2 different ESBL genes occurred in 19(33.9%) of the isolates. The single and quadruple carriage were 16(28.6%) and 3(5.4%), respectively. The highest co-existence of the ESBL genotypes was recorded for blaTEM-1 and blaCTXM-1 15(26.8%), followed by blaTEM-1, blaCTXM-1 and blaSHV-73 [12(21.4%)]. Conclusion The high prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli isolates with multiple resistant gene carriage is a threat to healthcare in the study area. Funding This research received no external funding.


Human immunodeficiency virus-associated nephropathy (HIVAN) in children has not been reported in India. In a single centre study, we analyzed 8 children diagnosed with HIVAN from 2007 to 2010. There were 6 boys and 2 girls with a male to female ratio of 3:1. Their ages ranged between 5 yrs to 11 yrs with a peak age of 8 years. The routes of HIV transmission were vertical in 5, blood transfusion in 2 and unknown in one. The presentation included generalized edema 100%, hypertension 2/8 (25%) and macroscopic hematuria 1/8 (12.5%). On evaluation by urine dipstick, all children had proteinuria and urine PCR showed nephrotic proteinuria (>3). 5/8 (62.5%) had extra renal involvement: 2 children had hepatosplenomegaly and 3/8 (37.5%) children had pulmonary tuberculosis and were on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and antituberculous treatment (ATT). Renal disease was the presenting problem in 4/8 (50%) and the remaining 4 (50%) were referred from the HIV clinic. The duration of HIV infection to the development of HIVAN was unknown in 4/8 (50%) nephrotic patients but in those referred from HIV clinic, it ranged between 5 months to 2 yrs. CD4 count ranged from 700 to 2465/mm 3 . All the children had enlarged kidneys bilaterally, except for one child who had normal sized kidneys with increased echogenicity and loss of corticomedullary distinction. He was not biopsied and he progressed to renal failure. Renal biopsy in other 7 children showed FSGS in 4 (57%) and collapsing FSGS in 2 (28.5%), and early segmental sclerosis with IgA deposits in one child (14.2%). 7/8 who had nephrotic proteinuria were initiated on steroids.


This paper aims to contribute to elucidating the notion of congruence in code-switching with particular reference to Welsh–English data. It has been suggested that a sufficient degree of congruence or equivalence between the constituents of one language and another is necessary in order for code-switching to take place. We shall distinguish between paradigmatic and syntagmatic congruence in relation to the grammatical categories of the two languages, focusing on the insertion of English nouns and noun phrases, adjectives, verbs and participles in otherwise Welsh utterances. We shall demonstrate how differing degrees of congruence between grammatical categories in the two languages are reflected in different code-switching outcomes.


Tyrosine deprotonation in peptides yields preferential electron detachment upon NETD or UVPD, resulting in prominent N-Cα bond cleavage N-terminal to the tyrosine residue. UVPD of iodo-tyrosine-modified peptides was used to generate localized radicals on neutral tyrosine side chains by homolytic cleavage of the C-I bond. Subsequent collisional activation of the radical species yielded the same preferential cleavage of the adjacent N-terminal N-Cα bond. LC-MS/MS analysis of a tryptic digest of BSA demonstrated that these cleavages are regularly observed for peptides when using high-pH mobile phases.


More than a century ago, Emil Kraepelin proposed the concept of schizophrenia as dementia praecox, or premature dementia, in order to capture the young age of onset and inevitable decline into a state of dementia which he observed to be characteristic of this population. In the modern age, Kraepelin's dementia praecox may correspond to a small group of severely-unwell and treatment-resistant patients with chronic schizophrenia. This subtype of schizophrenia has been termed Kraepelinian schizophrenia. Compared to the broader community-dwelling chronic schizophrenia group, this poorly-functioning subpopulation may be subjected to recurrent hospitalisations and dependency on others in daily living. Carer reports of functional and cognitive decline often raise the suspicion of an underlying dementia. In the research literature, parallels have been drawn between the clinical, cognitive, and neuroimaging profiles of patients with schizophrenia and patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (FTD). However, no study has comprehensively compared neurocognition and social cognition in these two patient populations, particularly between hospitalised patients with schizophrenia who are chronically and severely unwell (i.e., the Kraepelinian schizophrenia subtype) and FTD. The overall aim of this thesis was to compare patients with severe chronic schizophrenia and patients with FTD in a number of neurocognitive and social cognitive domains in a series of three studies. In the first study, retrospective neuropsychological data was compared between 26 inpatients with severe chronic schizophrenia and 34 inpatients with FTD. Out of 16 cognitive domains, group differences were significant only in the executive function subdomain of set-shifting,with a 45% overlap in score distributions between groups. Differences in several domains were associated with small-to-moderate effect sizes and less than 85% overlap. In the second study, 7 inpatients with severe chronic schizophrenia, 13 outpatients with chronic schizophrenia who maintained community-living, 12 patients with FTD, and 18 healthy controls were administered a battery of neuropsychological measures. Across 16 cognitive domains, the inpatient schizophrenia-FTD groups were found to share more similar profiles than the outpatient schizophrenia-FTD groups. Differences between the inpatient schizophrenia and FTD groups were not significant, although medium and large effect sizes were observed in several domains. In the third study, the same groups from the second study were administered a social cognition battery consisting of measures for emotion recognition, theory of mind, and empathy. The FTD group demonstrated pervasive deficits across social cognitive domains, the inpatient schizophrenia group was similarly impaired but to a lesser degree, and the outpatient schizophrenia group showed more circumscribed deficits. The studies here are the only ones to have comprehensively investigated various domains of cognition in the two disorders. There are several important clinical and research implications of the current findings. Taken together, the findings demonstrate that hospitalised chronic schizophrenia patients and patients with FTD share more similarities than differences in their cognitive profiles. The findings support the Kraepelinian-non-Kraepelinian dichotomy and highlight the value of adopting a subtyping approach in schizophrenia research.


Objectives This study aims at evaluating how MRI-related risks are addressed in health care and research workplaces in The Netherlands. Concordance of current prevention protocols with expert recommendations was also evaluated. Methods In the context of an inventory of the population of workers exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMF) around MRI scanners, a questionnaire was sent to all hospitals, clinics, animal clinics and research institutions with an MRI scanner in 2009. Respondents were asked about exposure to EMF of MRI-scanners and about general safety protocols for health risks, and in particular concerning pregnant workers. Types of protocols were compared with regard to organisation, size of departments and presence of workers around scanners during image acquisition. Results Overall response rate was high at 95% (145 departments). Most departments reported having no protocol for pregnant workers. Among 56 locations having a protocol, 44% were concordant with Dutch recommendations. Hospitals were more likely than other organisations to have a protocol for pregnant workers. Other MRI-related risks, especially safety risks of ferromagnetic objects attraction, distortion of electric devices, and risk of hearing impairment, appeared to be better addressed. Conclusions The observed situation reflects current lack of knowledge and authority regarding MRI and pregnancy safety issues. For other more established risks, protocols or standardised instructions are more common. A field survey would be necessary to know how protocols are actually applied, and to establish if appropriate measures are taken where risks really stand.


The Class-Featuring Information Compression (CLAFIC) is a pattern classification method which uses a linear subspace for each class. In order to apply the CLAFIC method to image recognition problems, 2D image matrices must be transformed into 1D vectors. In this paper, we propose new subspace classifiers to apply the conventional CLAFIC method directly to the image matrices. The proposed methods yield easier evaluation of correlation and covariance matrices, which in turn speeds up the training and testing phases. Moreover, experimental results on the AR and the ORL face databases also show that recognition performances of the proposed methods are typically better than recognition performances of other subspace classifiers given in the paper.


ABSTRACT Partial crania of two fossil species of koala (family Phascolarctidae) from Oligo-Miocene deposits in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, one referable to Litokoala kutjamarpensis and another to Nimiokoala greystanesi, are described. Comparison with the extant koala Phascolarctos cinereus and other diprotodontian marsupials reveals a high degree of similarity in basicranial morphology between fossil and modern phascolarctids but substantial differences in the architecture of the masticatory system. Key specialisations present in Phascolarctos but absent in both Litokoala and Nimiokoala include forward displacement of the palate, enlargement of the occlusal surface of the molar teeth, thickening of the maxillae above the toothrow with resultant lowering of the occlusal plane of the cheekteeth relative to the glenoid fossa, and a decrease in the size of the pterygoid fossae. These extreme aspects of the cranial morphology of Phacolarctos probably reflect its dependence on eucalypt leaves, a nutrient-poor food resource that became increasingly abundant in the Australian environment through the Neogene. Derived similarities in basicranial structure, notably the large size of the auditory bulla, between the fossil and modern phascolarctids raises the possibility that two distinctive behavioural characteristics of the modern koala, sedentism and vociferousness, may have developed relatively early during phascolarctid evolution.


The aim of this study is to identify the factors that comprise farmer attitudes toward dairy cows and jobs in Japan, and examine the relationship between these attitudes and dairy productivity. At first, we executed a questionnaire survey to determine factors that comprise attitudes of farmers toward their jobs and dairy cows, and three factors were extracted. These were named as 'Positive beliefs to cows', 'Negative beliefs to cows' and 'Job satisfaction', respectively. Second, we examined the relationships between attitude and dairy productivity in 35 dairy farms. The positive beliefs scores correlated positively both with milk yield and milk urea nitrogen concentration. We found there to be three farm groups by cluster analysis using three attitude score. The group B farms showed significantly higher positive beliefs scores and job satisfaction scores; on the other hand, the group C farms showed significantly lower positive beliefs scores and higher negative belief scores. The milk yield in group B was significantly higher than that in group C. This study showed that Japanese farmers' attitudes toward cows considerably resemble those seen in previous studies in Western cultures. Positive attitudes toward cows could enhance stockmanship, and could improving animal welfare and productivity.


PURPOSE
To determine whether elapsed radiation therapy treatment time relates to survival in patients with head and neck cancer treated sequentially with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
From 1981 to 1988, 76 adult patients with bulky stage II-IV head and neck cancer received induction chemotherapy (fluorouracil and cisplatin). Those with a complete or partial response (n = 46) received full-dose definitive radiation therapy (range, 64.0-77.5 Gy; median, 70 Gy). Those with less than a partial response (n = 21) underwent surgery and postoperative radiation therapy (n = 15), palliative radiation therapy (n = 4), or palliative chemotherapy (n = 2). Nine patients refused to undergo radiation therapy after induction chemotherapy.

RESULTS
The 5-year overall survival rates were as follows: 32% in all patients, 38% in patients who underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and 27% in patients who underwent chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy. The number of days between radiation therapy treatments was highly predictive of overall survival. In the groups with treatments less than 55 days apart, 56-65 days apart, and more than 66 days apart, the 5-year survival rates were 56%, 46%, and 15%, respectively (P = .02).

CONCLUSION
The time between radiation therapy treatments is strongly predictive of survival in patients undergoing sequential chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The use of induction chemotherapy does not negate the need to avoid treatment interruptions during definitive radiation therapy.


Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) is detected in the plasma of approximately 40% of patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and sporadically causes encephalitis in this population. The effect of HHV-6 reactivation on central nervous system function has not been fully characterized. This prospective study aimed to evaluate associations between HHV-6 reactivation and central nervous system dysfunction after allogeneic HCT. Patients were enrolled before HCT. Plasma samples were tested for HHV-6 at baseline and twice weekly after transplantation until day 84. Delirium was assessed at baseline, 3 times weekly until day 56, and weekly on days 56 to 84 using a validated instrument. Neurocognitive testing was performed at baseline and at approximately day 84. HHV-6 was detected in 111 (35%) of the 315 included patients. Patients with HHV-6 were more likely to develop delirium (adjusted odds ratio = 2.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-5.3) and demonstrate neurocognitive decline (adjusted odds ratio = 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-6.2) in the first 84 days after HCT. Cord blood and unrelated transplantation increased risk of HHV-6 reactivation. These data provide the basis to conduct a randomized clinical trial to determine whether prevention of HHV-6 reactivation will reduce neurocognitive morbidity in HCT recipients.


We report on the attainment of quantum degeneracy of 40K by means of efficient thermal collisions with the evaporatively cooled 87Rb atoms. In a quadrupole-Ioffe configuration trap, potassium atoms are cooled to 0.5 times the Fermi temperature. We obtain up to 7.59 × 105 degenerate fermions 40K.


We propose BareSkinNet, a novel method that simultaneously removes makeup and lighting influences from the face image. Our method leverages a 3D morphable model and does not require a reference clean face image or a specified light condition. By combining the process of 3D face reconstruction, we can easily obtain 3D geometry and coarse 3D textures. Using this information, we can infer normalized 3D face texture maps (diffuse, normal, roughness, and specular) by an image‐translation network. Consequently, reconstructed 3D face textures without undesirable information will significantly benefit subsequent processes, such as re‐lighting or re‐makeup. In experiments, we show that BareSkinNet outperforms state‐of‐the‐art makeup removal methods. In addition, our method is remarkably helpful in removing makeup to generate consistent high‐fidelity texture maps, which makes it extendable to many realistic face generation applications. It can also automatically build graphic assets of face makeup images before and after with corresponding 3D data. This will assist artists in accelerating their work, such as 3D makeup avatar creation.


1.
Every manager must assess and prioritize anthropogenic impacts on their management area from a long list of threats, but data which allow comparison of the relative ecological impacts of threats for decision-making is often unavailable.

2.
This study employed a systematic and standardized method to collect and quantitatively synthesize expert opinion on the ecological effects of anthropogenic threats to the world's largest marine protected area: the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (MNM) in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI).

3.
In contrast to most threat ranking exercises, the method provides detail on the reasons behind a particular ranking of threats to an area and why the ranking may vary across the ecological landscape.

4.
Survey results from 25 experts allowed the comparison of the vulnerability of eight NWHI ecozones to 24 anthropogenic threats in a quantitative manner.

5.
Ecozones tended to have distinct top threats: sea-level rise was identified as the top threat to rocky intertidal, beach and terrestrial ecozones; sea temperature rise was the top threat to the coral reef ecozones; bottom fishing was the top threat to the deep reef/bank ecozone; and pelagic fishing in the wider Pacific was the top threat to the pelagic ecozone owing to impacts on bird, turtle and fish fauna that forage outside the Papahānaumokuākea MNM boundaries.

6.
Many of these top threats are difficult for local managers to control because they arise from activities outside the Papahānaumokuākea MNM boundaries, indicating that additional work is needed to preserve the NWHI despite its highly protected status. The analysis indicates where inter-agency cooperation in removing and mitigating threats should be focused.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Introduction: Exercising with herbal supplements is recommended as an important way to control and prevent obesity. The aim of the study was to evaluate 8 weeks moderate intensity rhythmicaerobic exercise with green tea supplementation on some of metabolic and body composition indices of obese women.Materials and Methods: In the semi-experimental study, 30 inactive obese women, purposefully, based on body mass index (BMI) were randomly divided into 3 groups of 10 people. They were rhythmic aerobic exercise with green tea supplement group (Experimental1, BMI:35.69±2.28 kg/m2), rhythmic aerobic exercise group (Experimental2, BMI:36.18±2.25 kg/m2) and control group (BMI:34.65±3.02 kg/m2). The rhythmic aerobic exercise protocol was performed 8 weeks and 3 sessions per week for both experimental groups. The supplement group received one capsule containing 500 mg of green tea daily. Metabolic and body composition indices were measured in pre-test and post-test stages. Paired t-tests, covariance analysis and bonferroni post hoc test were used for data analysis (p<0.05).Results: Eight weeks of rhythmicaerobic exercise with and without green tea supplement led to significant decrease (p<0.05) in body weight and BMI (both of them respectivly 3%,2%), waist circumference(respectivly 4%,1%), serum glucose(respectively 7%,5%), triglyceride (respectively 11%,4%) and malondialdehyde (MDA) (respectivly 25%,9%).Conclusions: However, rhythmic aerobic exercise improved body composition and serum levels of triglycerides, glucose and MDA in obese women; rhythmic aerobic exercise with green tea supplement had a more significant effect on the waist circumference, serum levels of triglyceride and MDA.


This paper reports a welfare rights intervention for carers of dying people through seminars to help them organise family finances to deal with additional costs of the final illness, funeral costs and reconstruction of family finances after death. Seminars on financial affairs were provided to 103 carers and service users, and were evaluated by questionnaires. The seminars were very positively received by attenders, who felt better informed, but were not necessarily more confident in dealing with financial problems. The positive response was maintained for several months after the seminars. A number of features of the educational, business-like approach were potentially empowering, but this strategy needs to be part of a wider strategy of information-giving and support to meet the needs of carers for whom such an approach is not suitable.


BACKGROUND
Recent studies suggest a role for luteinizing hormone and human chorionic gonadotrophin receptor (LH/hCGR) signalling in the regulation of the oocyte-cumulus oophorus cell interplay. The present study aimed at assessing the LH/hCGR gene expression in cumulus cells (CCs) surrounding oocytes in patients undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COS) before ICSI and to relate the LH/hCGR expression to other COS quality parameters.

METHODS
CCs from single oocytes of normal responder patients were analysed by DNA microarrays. Concomitantly, estradiol levels on the day of hCG administration, CC morphology, total collected oocyte and metaphase II oocyte number were assessed in relation to LH/hCGR gene expression in CC.

RESULTS
The transcriptome analysis of CC indicated a variable expression of LH/hCGR among the patients and intra-patients. LH/hCGR mRNA expression was negatively correlated with serum estradiol level on the day of hCG administration. Eighty-five genes were significantly modulated between CCs from patients with a high and a low LH/hCGR expression. These genes are involved principally in steroid metabolism and in the ovulation process and include TNFAIP6, a gene expressed during CC-oocyte complex (COC) expansion. There were no significant differences in LH/hCGR gene expression profile between COS protocols.

CONCLUSIONS
LH/hCGR is expressed in CC under COS conditions. LH/hCGR expression level is associated with TNFAIP6 gene expression and negatively correlated with serum estradiol level on the day of hCG administration.


Londa Schiebinger's adventure in scholarly sleuthing discovers the hidden, finds the lost, and celebrates the forgotten women in medicine and science in Western Europe and America from the 16th through the 19th centuries. This important, intellectually powerful book is often very funny in relating historical reasons why there are so few women scientists. Seventeenth-century pundits, imitating Aristotle, asserted that women's brains were too cold and too soft to sustain rigorous thought. Some 18th-century theorists thought that female cranial cavities were too small to encompass powerful scientific brains. A common 19th-century belief was that vigorous exercise of a woman's brain shriveled her ovaries. And the great philosopher Hegel thought that women should study botany because the mind of a woman is as placid as a plant. Beyond comedic virtues, this book's true power lies in its revelation of women's scientific achievements and its recasting of the question at hand: why are


Studies in the 1980s, including one from central Norway, in most cases showed that the incidence of hip fractures was increasing. In the 1990s, however, studies from Sweden and the United States indicated that the increase may have stopped. We report the current incidence of hip fractures in subjects in central Norway and compare it with that previously reported. The number of cervical and trochanteric fractures in a defined region of Central Norway in 1992 to 1993 and in 1997 to 1998 was found by a thorough search and collation of the hand written surgery reports, the reports from radiology departments, and hospital discharge reports. One thousand three hundred twelve hip fractures were sustained during 1997 to 1998, 10% more than in the preceding period. This was almost entirely attributable to aging of the population. In contrast to the highly statistically significant increase in the actual incidence of 2% per year previously reported between 1972 to 1973 and 1983 to 1984, there was no statistically significant increase in incidence between 1983 to 1984 and 1997 to 1998 (0.55% per year). The incidence of hip fractures was 18% higher in subjects in urban areas than in subjects in rural areas in 1992 to 1993, and 33% higher in 1997 to 1998. Whereas the proportion of trochanteric fractures was 32% in 1972 to 1973 and in 1983 to 1984, it increased to 44% in 1992 to 1993 and to 68% in 1997 to 1998. There has been an insignificant increase in hip fracture incidence since 1983 to 1984. The lower incidence of hip fractures in subjects in rural areas persists, and there has been a dramatic increase in the proportion of trochanteric fractures.


A separable potential with tensor plus central terms is introduced to describe the low-energy neutron-proton final-state interaction in the break-up reaction pd to ppn. The inclusion of the D-wave terms improves significantly the agreement with data at 1 GeV on the cross section and asymmetry at high spectator momenta. The spectator momentum distribution for fixed momentum transfer also provides a strong signal of the importance of the final-state interaction which is confirmed experimentally.


Considering the importance to adapt with the climate change, it results surprising the fact that little reflection was dedicated to the development of the measures of valuation of the different options of adaptation. No matter the measures that we take to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions effect, it is inevitable that some impacts of the climatic change can occur. This paper is a first attempt to present a methodology able to value the costs of the impacts of the climatic changes. It is based on the elaborated study set for the United Kingdom Climatic Impacts Program. In addition to that, the study is being promoted among the agents so that they can use it when taking strategic decisions about the adaptation of the climatic change. The methodology centers on the fundamental techniques of costs valuation, which were developed at the environmental economy level.


Received: October 10, 2019 Accepted: January 29, 2020 Published online: February 28, 2020 Time of flight laser photoionization has been used to study the response of some molecules of biological interest under laser radiation. One of the questions of great interest today is the effect of radiation on DNA and RNA molecules. Damage to these molecules can be caused directly by radiation or indirectly by secondary electrons created by radiation. As response of the radiation field fragmentation process can occur producing different ions with kinetic energies of a few electron volts. In this paper we present the results of the interaction of 355nm laser with the nitrogen bases adenine(A) and uracil(U) using time-of-flight spectrometry and the comparison of experimental results on the effects of laser radiation in (A) and (U) belonging to two different ring groups, purines and pyrimidines respectively, which are linked to form the AU pair of the RNA.


A review of the scattering of fast charged particles by crystal lattices in terms of both classical and quantum mechanics is presented and a contrast and comparison of the two approaches is made. The anomalous transmission and absorption phenomena of the Borrmann effect of diffraction are analogs of channeling and blocking, which appear as classical mechanical effects in a mass independent limit. For conditions which correspond to localization of a wave packet in the crystal, accompanied by the elimination of observable diffraction effects, all features of the quantal model become analogous features of the classical model. The patterns seen in reflection, and in transmission with either thin or thick crystals, are then dominated by mass independent critical angles, commensurate with the disappearance of Planck's quantum of action and with the appearance of the laws of geometrical optics. An experimental study of the transmission of low energy protons through single crystals of gold is described and the different effects obtained for thin and thick specimens, analogous to those obtained in diffraction, are discussed. A consequence of the replacement of the extinction distance and the Bragg angle by a continuum of values for the orbital wavelength and critical angle respectively is that of a new phenomenon, referred to as quasi-channeling, which violates continuum potential concepts. It is proposed that quasi-channeling can give rise, in the best circumstances, to an oscillatory Rutherford scattering yield with depth in the `shadow' behind a crystal surface, analogous to the Pendellosung effects of diffraction, and to an additional yield due to scattering in the wake of point or clustered crystal defects.


Objectives: The study was conducted to determine the knowledge, preventive behaviours and perception of risk related to Covid-19 among the medical students who are the front line workers and are more susceptible to be infected.
Methodology: This analytical cross sectional study was conducted in medical students of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year MBBS of various medical institutions of Rawalpindi. Study duration was 5 months (March 2020 to July 2020). The sample size was 425. Age ranging from 18 to 21 and 273 (64.2%) comprised of females. The inclusion criteria were those students who gave consent and filled out the questionnaire and the exclusion criteria was who didn't concede. The data was analysed on SPSS. Confidence interval was set to be 95% with 5% margin of error.
Results: Most of the students were aware of the basic Covid-19 related knowledge like common symptoms, incubation period, transmission and the basic preventive measures which was on average higher than the previous studies conducted on medical students and on health care workers. Students were also having high level of performance in preventive behaviours in perspective of Covid-19 but risk perception is of moderate level.
Conclusion: Participants were found to have high levels of knowledge related to Covid-19 except use of N95 masks and use of anti-viral drugs for treatment. Among self-reported preventive behaviours section, lowest score is related to frequency of cleaning and disinfecting items that can be easily touched with hands (i.e. door handles and surfaces). Participants had moderate risk perception despite having high levels of knowledge and high performance in self-reported behaviours.
Keywords: Covid-19, medical students, risk perception


Advanced atherosclerosis is often associated with dystrophic calcification, which may contribute to plaque rupture and thrombosis. In this work, the localization and association of the noncollagenous bone matrix proteins osteonectin, osteopontin, and osteocalcin with calcification, lipoproteins, thrombus/hemorrhage (T/H), and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in human carotid arteries from endarterectomy samples have been determined. According to the recent American Heart Association classification, 6 of the advanced lesions studied were type V (fibroatheroma) and 16 type VI (complicated). Osteonectin, osteocalcin, and osteopontin were identified by monoclonal antibodies IIIA(3)A(8), G12, and MPIIIB10(1) and antiserum LF-123. Apolipoprotein (apo) AI, B, and E; lipoprotein(a); fibrinogen; fibrin; fragment D/D-dimer; MMP-2 (gelatinase A); and MMP-3 (stromelysin-1) were identified with previously characterized antibodies. Calcium phosphate deposits (von Kossa's stain) were present in 82% of samples (3 type V and 15 type VI). Osteonectin was localized in endothelial cells, SMCs, and macrophages and was associated with calcium deposits in 33% of type V and 88% of type VI lesions. Osteopontin was distributed similarly to osteonectin and was associated with calcium deposits in 50% of type V and 94% of type VI lesions. Osteocalcin was localized in large calcified areas only (in 17% of type V and 38% of type VI lesions). ApoB colocalized with cholesterol crystals and calcium deposits. Lipoprotein(a) was localized in the intima, subintima, and plaque shoulder. Fibrin (T/H) colocalized with bone matrix proteins in 33% of type V and 69% of type VI lesions. MMP-3 was cytoplasmic in most cells and colocalized with calcium and fibrin deposits. MMP-2 was less often associated with calcification. The results of this study show that osteonectin, osteopontin, and osteocalcin colocalized with calcium deposits with apoB, fibrin, and MMP-3 in advanced, symptomatic carotid lesions. These data suggest that the occurrence of T/H might contribute to dystrophic arterial calcification in the progression and complications of atherosclerosis.


Herein, we report the use of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VA-CNTs) with controlled structure and morphology as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The tailored surface structure and open-end morphology of VA-CNTs made by ion milling and transfer processes increases the accessibility of Li ions, and allows Li ions to diffuse inside as well as on the surface of the CNTs through the generated surface defects, leading to the significantly improved lithium ion storage capacity compared to as-grown close-end VA-CNTs. The irreversible discharge capacity of the modified VA-CNTs anode reaches up to 2350 mA h g−1 at 2 C in the first cycle and the reversible capacity is in the range of 1200–557 mA h g−1 for the 2nd–20th cycles. The second insertion capacity of the modified CNTs electrode was 4 times higher than that of the as-grown CNTs and 3.2 times higher than that of a previously reported CNTs electrode for a commercial graphite device.


The historic Penouta mine in northwest Spain is the focus of efforts to extract tantalum from tin mining waste. This paper describes the characterisation of the tantalum mineralogy of waste material from the deposit. Characterisation was realised using quantitative mineralogy and geochemistry. This paper further identifies other phases of interest and investigates the potential for extraction using gravity separation techniques. The gravity concentrate obtained through these tests was analysed using quantitative mineralogy and electron probe microanalysis. Following characterisation of the sample material to identify the key Ta-bearing mineral phases and assess liberation, a series of gravity separation trials were conducted using Heavy Liquid Separation (HLS), Mozley table, Knelson concentrator separation and shaking table. The laboratory shaking table used to conduct a rougher test and a rougher/cleaner test to simulate a spiral-table circuit using the Penouta material. Mass balance calculations were carried out to calculate the contained metal content of the feed material and concentrate products in order to assess recovery rates for Ta, Sn and Nb across a range of grains sizes. Ta was found to be present predominantly in the solid-solution columbite-group mineral, along with minor Ta present as microlite and as impurities within cassiterite. It was found that over 70% of the Ta is contained within the −125 μm fraction, with the Ta-bearing minerals tantalite and microlite being closely associated with quartz. Mozley table separation resulted in recoveries of 89% Ta and 85% Nb for the −125 μm fraction. The Knelson Concentrator trial was carried out on the −625 μm size fraction, thereby eliminating low grade material found in the coarsest fractions. Size analysis of the recovery rate for each product, shows that the Knelson concentrator is most efficient for recovery of −125 μm particles.


Perceived value is a subjective and dynamic construct that varies among different customers and cultures. Although perceived customer value has been studied by many researchers, no research has been done into the measurement of Muslim Tourist Perceived Value (MTPV) where Muslim tourist evaluates both traditional and religious aspects of value. By means of a multidimensional procedure, the authors developed a scale of measurement of MTPV through 24 items grouped into six dimensions: quality, price, emotional, social, Islamic physical attributes, and Islamic nonphysical attributes. The importance of the proposed constructs was theoretically justified. Using a sample of 537 Muslim tourists, the constructs were tested and validated. The results supply tourism companies with a number of operative factors that may be essential if they are to remain competitive in the dynamic marketplace. This study is probably the first to provide an integrative perspective of MTPV constructs in the hospitality and tourism industry.


frontal planes at the moment of maximum reach distance in the anterior (Ant), posterolateral (PL), and posteromedial (PM) directions were collected. Each reach distance was measured and a composite score (CS) was calculated. A 2-way mixed ANOVA (2 groups * 4 conditions) was performed to examine differences across treatments (baseline [BL], TT, FRT, KT). RESULTS: Significant interactions were not found. However, a significant decrease in PM reach distance was found across all tape applications for both groups (F(1.97,51.16) = 55.58, p < .05, η2 = .68). KT and FRT resulted in significant improvement in the modified YBT CS compared with TT (Healthy: KT = 92.24 ± 5.72%, p < .05, TT = 89.76 ± 5.97%; p < .05, FRT = 91.83 ± 6.53%; p < .05; CAI: KT = 90.01 ± 6.49%; p < .05, TT = 86.63 ± 6.83%; p < .05, FRT = 87.88 ± 8.39%; p < .05). The CS was also significantly increased when comparing KT to BL (Healthy: BL = 90.91 ± 7.28%; p < .01, KT = 92.24 ± 5.72%, p < .05; CAI: BL = 87.47 ± 6.62%; p < .05, KT = 90.01 ± 6.49%). Analysis of kinematic data revealed a significant increase in dorsiflexion during the PM reach when KT was applied (F(2.26,58.66) = 3.89, p < .05, η2 = .13). CONCLUSIONS: Even though PM reach distance significantly decreased after applying any of the tape conditions, only KT significantly increased DF and an improved YBT CS compared to BL. The findings suggest KT might enhance dynamic postural control more than the other tape applications. Further research is necessary to explain the mechanism for these changes after KT application.


The brain interacts with the immune system in a highly regulated and restricted manner. Immune signals initiate pro- and anti-inflammatory activity in most body tissues in response to disease states and injury. An accumulation of inflammatory insults can disrupt immune metabolic homeostasis and give rise to pathology in sensitive areas. Here, we provide an overview of interactions between immune metabolism and the brain, with an emphasis on immune homeostatic regulation. We propose that an imbalance in immune activity can have a dose and time dependent effect on susceptible tissues. In the brain, this can contribute to neuronal injury and subsequent decline in function. We also discuss a specific pathology application involving the inflammation model of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). AD exemplifies the complexities of a disease etiology with multiple contributing factors, which has complicated the development of effective therapies. Patients could thus benefit from an individualized risk assessment and prevention approach that focuses on preservation of function and minimization of immune metabolic damage.


Elucidating taste sensing systems in chickens is an important step toward understanding poultry nutrition. Amino acid taste receptors, type 1 taste receptors 1 and 3 (T1R1 and T1R3, respectively), are expressed in chicken taste cells, and chicken T1R1/T1R3 is activated by L-alanine (L-Ala) and L-serine (L-Ser), but not by L-proline (L-Pro). However, it is not clear whether chickens have a gustatory perception of L-amino acids. Here, we found that chickens conditioned to avoid either L-Ala, L-Ser, or L-Pro solutions could successfully learn to avoid the corresponding L-amino acid solution in the conditioned taste aversion (CTA) test. Because CTA is a well-established learning paradigm generated specifically by pairing gustatory perception and gastrointestinal malaise, the present study suggests that chickens can sense L-amino acids by gustatory perception. In addition, we found that the expression of the T1R1 and T1R3 genes was significantly downregulated in response to chronic exposure to L-Ala solution, but not to acute oral stimulation. Taken together, the present study suggests that chickens have a gustatory perception of L-amino acids, and the expression of T1R1/T1R3 mRNAs in the oral cavity can be regulated by L-amino acid intake. Since chickens can detect L-Pro solutions, additional amino acid receptors, other than T1R1/T1R3, may be involved in L-amino acid taste detection in chickens.


The Songkhla area has been selected for geological barrier investigation due to its being the most fast-growing region of the southern Thailand. Geographic Information System (GIS) was applied to integrate several kinds of data and information involved for landfill site investigation. We subdivided our methodology into 3 steps starting with the construction of lithological barrier maps by analyzing from Lithology using space-borne image interpretation. The next step involved the making of a clay barrier map. Well data from 540 sites, and the lithological records form boreholes were queried to analyze in area of high potential barrier properties. The last step included the overlay of the clay barrier map with the lithological map to render a map of various potential geological barriers. The geological barrier map together with survey indicated 25 places in Songkhla area that have good potential geological barriers. Comparison among four existing landfill sites in the study suggests that two landfills are situated on the non-qualified geological barriers, namely, the Songkhla and the Sadao municipalities. One site in the Ban Pru municipality is located upon the medium-qualified geological barrier and the other in the Hat Yai municipality resting on the high qualified geological barrier. In this study, we also further subdivided high potential areas on the basis of slope characteristic. Then the most appropriate sites for landfills were selected including the areas in Hat Yai to Sadao and south of Saba Yoi city where good-qualified geological barriers lay underneath.


As a multiethnic nation, the diverse composition of the Nigerian nation poses a big challenge to the coexistence of the citizens. As a result, intergroup relations in the country are characterized by intermittent bloody ethnic and inter communal conflicts which have led to large scale internal population displacement. Among the internally displaced population, the youths and the children are the worst hit; because often times, they had to discontinue schooling, the children automatically lose their childhood and the normal developmental circle. The females turn into prostitution and the males are often times used as political thugs. Most of them are generally very bitter and develop aggressive lifestyle. These negative life styles have led thousands of youths who are supposed to be the leaders of tomorrow to lose their lives. This is a dilemma and should be of great concern to the nation. This paper argues that there is an urgent need for the government , Psychologist and other stake holders to design an adequate mentoring programme, which will aid in the rehabilitation, empowerment and integration of the youths back in their communities to make more positive life choices and become great citizens.


Alpha-amylase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, synthesized in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae without substitution of the signal sequence, is efficiently secreted from yeast cells: 60-70% of the overall amount of the enzyme is found in the culture fluid. In contrast to many yeast secretory proteins, which accumulate in the periplasmic space and in the cell wall, intracellular alpha-amylase is localized mainly in the cytoplasm. Obviously, transfer across the cell wall is not a rate-limiting step in alpha-amylase export from the cell. The glycosylated forms of proteins are predominantly found both inside the cell and in the culture medium.