Fast adaptive transmission has been recently identified as a key technology for exploiting potential system diversity and improving power-spectral efficiency in wireless communication systems. An adaptive resource-allocation approach, which jointly adapts subcarrier allocation, power distribution, and bit distribution according to instantaneous channel conditions, is proposed for multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)/orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing systems. The resultant scheme is able to: 1) optimize the power efficiency; 2) guarantee each user's quality of service requirements, including bit-error rate and data rate; 3) ensure fairness to all the active users; and 4) be applied to systems with various types of multiuser-detection schemes at the receiver. For practical implementation, a reduced-complexity allocation algorithm is developed. This algorithm decouples the complex multiuser joint resource-allocation problem into simple single-user optimization problems by controlling the subcarrier sharing according to the users' spatial separability. Numerical results show that significant power and diversity gains are achievable, compared with nonadaptive systems. It is also demonstrated that the MIMO system is able to multiplex several users without sacrificing antenna diversity by using the proposed algorithm.


8 patients suffering from malignant melanoma have been found to have various degrees of hypomelanoses of the skin. Depigmentation of the skin and/or hair associated with malignant melanoma may take several forms. Schematically six clinical types are described: - vitiligo-like hypomelanoses distant from cutaneous tumors; - vitiligo-like depigmentation associated with uveitis (incomplete Vogt-Koyanagi); - hypomelanoses in the primary tumor and/or its metastases; - "halo melanoma" in which the hypomelanoses encircles the primary tumor and/or its metastases; - halo nevi around preexisting benign nevocellular nevi; - "non-specific depigmentary phenomen" distant from the primary tumor or its metastases. Histological and ultrastructural studies of the depigmented skin show an absence of melanocytes. The association of hypomelanoses of the skin with malignant melanoma is probably not coincidental. Various hypothesis are discussed as well as the prognostic significance of such an association.


Our dynamic graph-based relational mining approach has been developed to learn structural patterns in biological networks as they change over time. The analysis of dynamic networks is important not only to understand life at the system-level, but also to discover novel patterns in other structural data. Most current graph-based data mining approaches overlook dynamic features of biological networks, because they are focused on only static graphs. Our approach analyzes a sequence of graphs and discovers rules that capture the changes that occur between pairs of graphs in the sequence. These rules represent the graph rewrite rules that the first graph must go through to be isomorphic to the second graph. Then, our approach feeds the graph rewrite rules into a machine learning system that learns general transformation rules describing the types of changes that occur for a class of dynamic biological networks. The discovered graph-rewriting rules show how biological networks change over time, and the transformation rules show the repeated patterns in the structural changes. In this paper, we apply our approach to biological networks to evaluate our approach and to understand how the biosystems change over time. We evaluate our results using coverage and prediction metrics, and compare to biological literature.


In living subjects electromagnetic signals are generated which can be measured electrically with electrodes and normal amplifiers or magnetically, by means of SQUID-magnetometers. The former technique is called EEG (electro-encephalography), the latter MEG (magneto-encephalography). Since the electromagnetic field patterns are dependent on physiological processes inside the body, a study of the electromagnetic field can help to understand these physiological processes. Some theoretical problems which are posed by such a study are considered. The way in which the electromagnetic field is generated is discussed. At a microscopic level, there are different physical mechanisms responsible for the generation of the electromagnetic field. Inside the brain, there are the synaptic interactions of neurons which produce the EEG and MEG. Cardiac potentials and cardiac magnetic induction are generated by the synchronous polarization of cardiac muscle cells.


The story of how historians of women and gender do class—the neglected component of intersectionality—takes the form of a return narrative. Connected to trends in the global political economy, class has reemerged as a category of analysis, with interpretative returns that are worth it. But what constitutes class and its boundaries is not so apparent. Here I reflect on three broad arenas: First, how do we define class: is women's class the same as men's? Second, what constitutes class formation: How has gender functioned in understandings of class and class mobilization? Third, what is meant by labor: how has women's history expanded definitions of work and worker and how has such scholarship understood the significance of reproductive labor for the overall political economy? Commodities, we have learned, can be gendered and indeed have a sex, even if women's class remains determined differently than men's.


In this paper, we show that there are measurable differences between the language use of different small (Dutch) Twitter communities. We measured distances between n-gram probability distributions in 1,000-word samples of tweets by about 13,000 Twitter user communities ranging from 4 to 51 participants, discussing one of five selected broad topic areas, in which strong content-bearing words were masked. We found that the language use is more similar in users from the same community than in users from different communities. This was to be expected for discussions of the same topic, where the community might focus on specific subtopics, but the effect was also found across-topic.


Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.), is called "beles" in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where it is used for multiple purposes, such as food, fodder, and fences; however, in recent years the introduction of the cochineal (Dactylopius coccus Costa) to this region has caused it to become a plague that has affected thousands of hectares, causing an economic and social problem. Six cultivars: three from Opuntia ficus-indica ('Atlixco', 'Chicomostoc', and 'Rojo Pelón') and three others O. cochenillifera ('Nopalea' and 'Bioplástico') and O. robusta ('Robusta') were tested for resistance to D. coccus in completely randomized design (CRD) experiment with six replications under greenhouse conditions, for two seasons (cycles). Matured cladodes were infested by attaching a paper bag with ten ovipositing female D. coccus. The number of insects at different stages and yields were recorded, log transformed (insect count data), and subjected to statistical analysis. The number of nymphs (stages I and II) was significantly different in both cycles (P=0.0000). The insects died at the nymph I stage at 'Rojo Pelón' and 'Robusta', in contrast, they completed their life cycle at 'Atlixco', 'Chicomostoc', and 'Nopalea' cultivars. Insects at 'Bioplástico' cultivar remained in the nymph I stage the whole experimental period; the molting was hampered. Although some crawlers started settling (nymph I) at 'Rojo Pelón', they couldn't survive and developed, and this confirms that this O. ficus-indica cultivar is resistant to D. coccus.


Given the important role of the shoulder sensorimotor system in shoulder stability, its assessment appears of interest. Force platform monitoring of centre of pressure (CoP) in upper‐limb weight‐bearing positions is of interest as it allows integration of all aspects of shoulder sensorimotor control. This study aimed to determine the feasibility and reliability of shoulder sensorimotor control assessment by force platform. Forty‐five healthy subjects performed two sessions of CoP measurement using Win‐Posturo® Medicapteurs force platform in an upper‐limb weight‐bearing position with the lower limbs resting on a table to either the anterior superior iliac spines (P1) or upper patellar poles (P2). Four different conditions were tested in each position in random order: eyes open or eyes closed with trunk supported by both hands and eyes open with trunk supported on the dominant or non‐dominant side. P1 reliability values were globally moderate to high for CoP length, CoP velocity and CoP standard deviation (SD), standard error of measurement ranged from 6·0% to 26·5%, except for CoP area. P2 reliability values were globally low and not clinically acceptable. Our results suggest that shoulder sensorimotor control assessment by force platform is feasible and has good reliability in upper‐limb weight‐bearing positions when the lower limbs are resting on a table to the anterior superior iliac spines. CoP length, CoP velocity and CoP SD velocity appear to be the most reliable variables.


In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a region of 1,243,463 inhabitants, a total of 1,629 first implants have been carried out since the first patient was treated with permanent cardiac pacing (P.C.P.) early in 1692. This patient is still alive. In the last four years, the annual rate of implants was 185 per million inhabitants. The average age of patients is 72.9. The most frequent indication for pacing is the a-v block (64.5%), followed by the fascicular blocks (10.8%) and the sick sinus syndrome. No asinchronous fixed rate generators are implanted at present; lithium batteries are the power source of choice to-day. There have been 1,120 replacements in the Region, mainly due to battery depletion (89.9% of cases). A total of 442 patient deaths have occurred in 10 years due to neoplasms (17%), cerebrovascular accidents (15.6%), respiratory infections (15%), myocardial infarction (8%) and other causes. In 8.8% of cases the death was sudden. There are 1,179 patients in follow-up in the Region (948 per million inhabitants). A computer system, described elsewhere in these proceedings, allows a close follow-up of these patients along with the evaluation of long term pacing on a reliable statistical basis.


The performance of the Duke storage ring based light sources, the Duke storage ring FEL and High Intensity Gamma-ray Source (HIGS), has been greatly improved since 2007 as the result of operating a new full-energy, top-off booster injector (0.18 1.2 GeV) [1], allowing fixed energy operation of the storage ring (0.25 1.2 GeV). The injection/extraction kicker system is one of the key components of the accelerator facility which determines efficiency and reliability of the light source operation. Pseudo-Spark Switches (PSS), also known as cold cathode thyratrons, are the critical components of the high voltage pulse generators for kickers. More than six years of operation has allowed us to study the lifetime issue for the 10 kA class devices. Recently, we have tested the next generation cold cathode thyratron, with one installed in our storage ring kicker high voltage generators. In the paper we present preliminary test results for this new thyratron, and the required modifications of its triggering driver, to improve its performance.


Natural zeolite reserves are spread in Indonesia, but they are not yet used optimally. Generally, natural zeolite have poor crystalline, various pore size, low catalytic activity, and high contaminant. Natural zeolite need to be activated and modified before it can be used. The objectives of this research were to activite the natural zeolite that already got acid and thermal treatments and to characterize it and catalytic activity was tested in interesterification reaction. Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectra showed that the structure of natural zeolite activated by acid and thermal (NZAT) treatments were damaged. While, natural zeolite structure activated with acid (natural zeolite acid /NZA) did not show significant different to natural zeolite (NZ). Result of Si/Al ratio analysis showed that Si/Al ratio NZA higer than Si/Al ratio NZAT. The result of cation analysis by atomic absorption spectroscopy shoed that the general content of Na, K, Fe and Ca in the catalyst decreased because of acid and thermal treatments. Surface area and pore volume increased by the treatments. Catalytic activity of NZA in interesterification reaction gave a white cork product and in yield 35.78 %.


The study utilize anatomical method and environmental scanning electron microscope to compare the jaw mor-phology of three species in Whitmania Blanchard including Whitmania laevis ( Baird,1869) ,Whitmania pigra ( Whitman, 1884) and Whitmania acranulata ( Whitman,1886) . The result showed that the jaws of W. pigra are advanced with two lines of blunt and regular tooth plates on the surface; the jaws of W. laevis are degraded with no tooth plates; and the jaws of W. acranulata are degraded with two lines of blunt and irregular tooth plates on the surface. This study provides a new morphological characteristic for the taxonomic study of leeches based on morphological structure of jaw.


Robots have primarily been developed for warfare, yet they also serve peaceful purposes. Their use in Ecology is in its infancy, but they may soon become essential tools in a broad variety of eco-logical sub-disciplines. Autonomous robots, in particular drones sent to previously inaccessi-ble areas, have revolutionized data acquisition, not only for abiotic parameters, but also for re-cording the behavior of undisturbed animals and collecting biological material. Robots will also play an essential role in population Ecology, as they will allow for automatic census of indi-viduals through image processing, or via detec-tion of animals marked electronically. These new technologies will enable automated experimen-tation for increasingly large sample sizes, both in the laboratory and in the field. Finally, inter-active robots and cyborgs are becoming major players in modern studies of animal behavior. Such rapid progress nonetheless raises ethical, environmental, and security issues.


In this paper a new Steganography approach for Arabic texts is reported. The approach hides secret information bits within Arabic letters benefiting from the redundant extension character "-" known as Kashida. To note the specific letters holding encoded secret bits, the method considers the number of the extension character inserted after any letter that can hold it. This paper introduces this new approach and discusses the additional features it possesses like bits optimization using mapping tables and dynamic assignment of letter codes. This approach is found attractive and can be modified to enhance the security and the capacity features in Arabic and other languages having similar texts such as Urdu and Persian.


Family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities experience disproportionately higher levels of distress compared to family members who are not in a caregiving role. Role-related stressors often tax caregivers' abilities to effectively confront and solve problems and increase caregivers' risk for anxiety, depression, and compromised physical health. Problem-solving interventions effectively alleviate caregiver distress and help caregivers learn useful coping skills. In this article, we will discuss the use of telecommunication technology in Project FOCUS, an active, home-based intervention designed to teach family caregivers effective


The thermal wave resonator cavity (TWRC) was used to measure the thermal properties of vegetable oils. The thermal diffusivity of six commercial vegetable oils (olive, corn, soybean, canola, peanut, and sunflower) was measured by means of this device. A linear relation between both the amplitude and phase as functions of the cavity length for the TWRC was observed and used for the measurements. Three significant figure precisions were obtained. A clear distinction between extra virgin olive oil and other oils in terms of thermal diffusivity was shown. The high measurement precision of the TWRC highlights the potential of this relatively new technique for assessing the quality of this kind of fluids in terms of their thermophysical properties.


FDA approval of multiple drugs differing in chemical structures but targeting the same protein raises the question whether such drugs have sufficiently similar mechanisms of action to be considered functionally equivalent. In this paper we compare three recently approved inhibitors of the cyclin-dependent kinases CDK4/6 – palbociclib, ribociclib, and abemaciclib – that are becoming important therapies for the treatment of hormone-receptor positive breast and potentially other cancers. We find that transcriptional and proteomic changes induced by the three drugs differ significantly and that abemaciclib has unique cellular activities including induction of cell death (even in pRb-deficient cells), arrest in the G2 phase of the cell cycle, and reduced drug adaptation. These activities appear to arise from inhibition of kinases other than CDK4/6 including CDK2/Cyclin A/E and CDK1/Cyclin B. SIGNIFICANCE The target profiles of most drugs are established relatively early in their development and are not systematically revisited at the time of approval. Scattered reports suggest that palbociclib, ribociclib, and abemaciclib differ in pharmacokinetics, dosing, and adverse effects but the three drugs are generally regarded as similar. Our finding that the drugs differ substantially in mechanism of action – abemaciclib retains activities of the earlier-generation drug alvocidib – suggests the potential for different uses in the clinic: in particular, abemaciclib may show activity in patients progressing on palbociclib or ribociclib. More generally, our approach relying on data from five distinct phenotypic and biochemical assays strongly suggests that a multi-faceted approach is necessary to get a reliable picture the target spectrum of kinase inhibitors.


Actinomycosis is a common treatable disease caused by Actinomyces, and generally has a good prognosis. However, we report a fatal case of actinomycosis of the nasal cavity. A 54-year-old man, reporting of left nasal obstruction, swelling and sharp pain around the root of the nose, was referred to our hospital. Histopathological examinations led to a definitive diagnosis of actinomycosis, and oral antibiotics were administered in an outpatient setting. However, the patient discontinued follow-up at the outpatient clinic because of the adverse effects of intravenous delivery, and poor compliance with oral antibiotic therapy led to him receiving a less than adequate dose. Thus, in the absence of sufficient antibiotic treatment, necrosis gradually progressed in the lesion, and the patient died of multiple organ failure and disseminated intravascular coagulation caused by local infection.


Thymocyte-expressed, positive selection-associated 1 (Tespa1) plays an important role in both T cell receptor (TCR)-driven thymocyte development and in the FcεRI-mediated activation of mast cells. Herein, we show that lack of Tespa1 does not impair B cell development but dampens the in vitro activation and proliferation of B cells induced by T cell-dependent (TD) antigens, significantly reduces serum antibody concentrations in vivo, and impairs germinal center formation in both aged and TD antigen-immunized mice. We also provide evidence that dysregulated signaling in Tespa1-deficient B cells may be linked to CD40-induced TRAF6 degradation, and subsequent effects on 1-phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate phosphodiesterase gamma-2 (PLCγ2) phosphorylation, MAPK activation, and calcium influx. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Tespa1 plays a critical role in pathogenic B cells, since Tespa1-deficient chimeric mice showed a lower incidence and clinical disease severity of collagen-induced arthritis. Overall, our study demonstrates that Tespa1 is essential for TD B cell responses, and suggests an important role for Tespa1 during the development of autoimmune arthritis.


There is no question that libraries of all sizes, no matter how small, have an important role to play in preserving and facilitating the discovery of government publications. This is especially true for documents issued at the state and local level, precisely because they are less-well known nationally and therefore less likely to be included in larger national digitization projects. By focusing on what might as well be called small government publications, little libraries and small selective depository libraries can enter the digitization arena by undertaking small-scale digitization projects that, despite their diminutive scale, can achieve digital preservation successes in the range of minor to major. For inspiration, we should recall the hero of Robert Walser's now celebrated novel from 1909, Jakob von Gunten, who adopts the motto "To be small and to stay small."


We investigated the effect of the Cr content on the magnetic properties of ZnCrO thin films (Cr: 1.0 - 12.5 at.%). Regardless of the Cr concentration, all of the films exhibited clear ferromagnetism even at temperatures above 350 K. For the dependence of spontaneous magnetization on the Cr concentration, however, the magnitude of effective magnetic moment (per Cr ion) was observed to exponentially decrease with increasing Cr content. We attributed the decreased spontaneous magnetization to the degraded crystal magnetic anisotropy. Namely, we found that, in a magnetic-ion-doped thin film, the high concentration of magnetic ions caused a lattice distortion and consequently degraded the ferromagnetic channeling in the solid-state material system.


AbstractNew and published experimental data on hydrothermally treated (2-kbar water pressure, 300–400°C natural clay minerals is used to construct phase diagrams in composition and pressure-temperature space which define the phase relations of mixed layering solid solution in dioctahedral (illite-montmorillonite) and trioctahedral expanding chlorite and corrensite-like minerals. Three major relations are established:
(1)The R3+, i.e. Al13+ and/or Fe3+, content of the assemblage will control whether or not an expanding chlorite or corrensite phase will appear. These minerals are R3+-rich in composition as well as R2+ (Mg and Fe2+)-rich.(2)Temperature-pressure variables control the type and composition of the mixed layered illite-montmorillonite mineral which is stable with aluminous phases. A sequence of different types of mixed layered ordering can be established which might be correlated with diagenetic or epimetamorphic grade.(3)The presence of 'metamorphic' trioctahedral phyllosilicate phases, i.e. those due to the effects of earliest metamorphism, is correlated with the P-T-X variables. These phases include 7 Å chlorite (iron-rich), 14 Å chlorite and the expanding chlorite and corrensite-like minerals.
It is not possible to give absolute temperatures for the different reactions implied by the phase diagram due to the slow rate of crystallization in the experiments. However, the general sequence of assemblages and the phase relations proposed should correspond to those which are encountered in nature when pressure and temperature vary.


Direct numerical simulations are conducted to investigate in detail the effect of Mach number on vortex pairing in a mixing layer. The pairing process is found to be delayed at higher Mach numbers and the paths followed by the vortices change. To investigate the effect of the initial shape of the vortices a simple vortex dynamical model of pairing is constructed which accurately models pairing at low Mach numbers. Results from the model suggest that a variation in the initial shape of the vortices is not sufficient to explain the changes in the pairing process due to Mach number. Further simulations are conducted for isolated vortex pairs. There is little departure from the expected rotation rate as Mach number is increased, but strong core effects. Overall, changes in the pairing process reflect changes in the evolution of the primary instability, with vortex trajectories becoming more elongated as the Mach number is increased.


Temperature critically affects the performance, life and safety of lithium-ion batteries. Therefore, it is essential to understand heat generation and dissipation within individual battery cells and battery packs to plan a proper thermal management strategy. One of the key challenges is that interfacial heat transfer of a battery unit is difficult to quantify. The steady-state absolute method and the transient laser-flash-diffusivity method were employed to measure heat conductivities of battery layer stacks and individual battery layer separately. Results show flash diffusivity method gives higher thermal conductivity at both cross-plane and in-plane directions. The difference is primarily caused by interfacial thermal resistance so that it can be estimated by steady-state and transient measurements.
 To investigate the effects of interfacial thermal transport beyond individual cell level, a multiphysics battery model is used. The model is built upon a multi-scale multi-domain modeling framework for battery packs that accounts for the interplay across multiple physical phenomena. Benefits of a battery module using thermal management materials are quantified through numerical experiments. During a thermal runaway event, it is found interfacial thermal resistance can mitigate thermal runaway in a battery module by significantly reducing heat transfer between cells.


Inappropriate behaviors of healthcare workers can threaten the delivery of safe, quality care. The purpose of this research was to develop a research instrument specific to the construct of horizontal violence and conduct foundational psychometric testing of the newly developed instrument. The overall findings on the fit indices suggest that this model does adequately measure the underlying construct of horizontal violence. The instrument can be used as a way to determine the existence and extent of horizontal violence in practice settings and used to augment the study of the work environment, particularly in relation to healthy work environments.


DIMOND, S.J. The Social Behaviour of Animals. London: Batsford. 1970. Pp. 256. 42.50. Animal social behaviour is one of the topics in psychology which has attracted wide general interest. Hardly a month goes by without the appearance of a new popular book reinterpreting the nature of aggression or social co-operation in humans in the light of what is known of animal social behaviour; and at a more scholarly level there are numerous books, conference procedings and sets of readings treating the same topic. Most of these books are concerned with the findings of field studies or of ethological observations, and there is an important range of studies of social behaviour in animals which has been relatively neglected-those involving more controlled environmental conditions and much of the traditional armoury of the animal psychologist. Dr Dimond's book aims to correct this bias by emphasising this type of work. Thus the reader is introduced to operant conditioning and the Skinner box on the very first page and throughout the book there is an emphasis on the importance of learning in social behaviour and on the development of social rewards. In a short and semi-popular book it is inevitable that the treatment of many of the topics is fairly brief and some topics are rather skimpily treated, for example, imprinting is covered in a mere four pages and the effects of isolation in infancy receive rather scant attention. But in general Dr Dimond achieves brevity without superficiality. In particular he adopts the strategy of describing a fairly small number of representative experiments in reasonable detail, which is likely both to maintain the reader's interest and to avoid the indigestable piles of references which mar many books which review a large literature. The book is perhaps rather too non-committal in its approach; the author gives a balanced and intelligent appraisal of the topics that he deals with, but there is not much feeling of a personal viewpoint or an integrating set of ideas. However, the book is an interesting and useful one and does something to redress the balance in favour of the experimental investigation of animal social behaviour. M. S. HALLIDAY


Abstract:Organized in the slave-holding city of Baltimore, Maryland in 1828, the Oblate Sisters of Providence dedicated themselves as "a Religious society of Coloured Women … [who] renounce the world to consecrate themselves to God, and to the Christian education of young girls of color." Early in the sisterhood's existence Oblate co-foundress Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange had explicitly articulated their consciousness of their exceptionalism as "persons of color and religious at the same time" who nevertheless sought "the respect which is due to the state we have embraced and the holy habit which we have the honor to wear" in a racist society. This essay examines the leadership of Mother Mary Louisa Noel (1817–1885), the longest serving Oblate Superior in the nineteenth century (1844–1851, 1861–1885), who guided the community through antebellum crises, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and its aftermath. She deftly negotiated uncharted waters as the internal authority to the sisterhood as it expanded its mission both in territory and ministry and the external representative of the community to both an institutional church and a general public often dubious of the possibility of black female virtue and agency—very real qualities which Noel embodied.


We summarize activities concerning the Fermilab polarized beams. They include a brief description of the polarized-beam facility, measurements of beam polarization by polarimeters, asymmetry measurements in the {pi}{degree} production at high p{sub {perpendicular}} and in the {Lambda} ({Sigma}{degree}), {pi}{sup {plus minus}}, {pi}{degree} production at large x{sub F}, and {Delta}{sigma}{sub L}(pp, {bar p}p) measurements. 18 refs.


Point cloud completion aims to recover the complete shape based on a partial observation. Existing methods require either complete point clouds or multiple partial observations of the same object for learning. In contrast to previous approaches, we present Partial2Complete (P2C), the first self-supervised framework that completes point cloud objects using training samples consisting of only a single incomplete point cloud per object. Specifically, our framework groups incomplete point clouds into local patches as input and predicts masked patches by learning prior information from different partial objects. We also propose Region-Aware Chamfer Distance to regularize shape mismatch without limiting completion capability, and devise the Normal Consistency Constraint to incorporate a local planarity assumption, encouraging the recovered shape surface to be continuous and complete. In this way, P2C no longer needs multiple observations or complete point clouds as ground truth. Instead, structural cues are learned from a category-specific dataset to complete partial point clouds of objects. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach on both synthetic ShapeNet data and real-world ScanNet data, showing that P2C produces comparable results to methods trained with complete shapes, and outperforms methods learned with multiple partial observations. Code is available at https://github.com/CuiRuikai/Partial2Complete.


This article investigates the role of public funds in ensuring that primary schools in India have at least a certain minimum number of instructional days. Using data on primary schools from three districts, we first document that the distribution of instructional days may reasonably be thought of as a binary variable where a school is either functional (Le., with more than 201 instructional days) or is not (i.e., has less than 201 instructional days). Secondly, we show that receiving any public funds is important for schools to be functional; however, the marginal effect of doses of public funding diminishes with larger amounts of funding. Finally, monitoring schools in terms of the number of academic visits, visits by BR.C and CRC coordinators as well as the presence of head teachers are important in ensuring that primary schools are functional in the sense that we have defined. These findings seem to point to important ways to improve the quality of primary schooling in India.


Objective: Polycythemia vera (PV) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm primarily characterized by erythrocytosis. There is limited data on frequency and pathogenic mechanism of HT in patients with PV. Therefore the aim of the study is to present a selected clinical, neuro-humoral and hemodynamic characteristics of HT in patients with PV. Design and method: In the on-going study we included 20 consecutive patients (13F, 7 M, mean age 62 ± 9 years) with PV diagnosed (according to the WHO criteria) in one clinical center and 10 age, gender, body mass index, blood pressure (BP) and number of medication (p > 0.05) matched patients with essential HT (EHT). All patients underwent detailed clinical investigation which included among others: office and ambulatory BP measurements (ABPM), hormonal evaluations (renin, aldosterone and plasma metanephrines) and Doppler duplex ultrasound examination of renal arteries (resistive index [RI] was evaluated). Retinal microperfusion (RCF) and retinal arterioles were assessed using scanning laser Doppler flowmetry (SLDF). The parameters of retinal morphology were determined by automatic full-field perfusion imaging analysis (AFFPIA V.4.011). Muscle sympathetic nervous activity (MSNA) was evaluated by microneurography. Results: Hypertension on office or ABPM was present in 15 patients with PV (75%). Patients with PV as compared with EHT patients were characterized by less pronounced BP fall at night. There were: a trend towards lower serum aldosterone concentration and significantly lower plasma free epinephrine levels (25.9 ± 8.5 vs 36.8 ± 12.7 pg/mL; p = 0.048) in patients with PV. Patients with PV were characterized by lower 24 h heart rate on ABPM (63 ± 7 vs 75 ± 11 beats/min; p = 0.006) and lower MSNA as compared with EHT patients. RCF was lower in patients with PV (245 ± 51 vs 306 ± 49; p = 0.032) and it correlated significantly with red blood cell count in this group (r = -0.44; p = 0.012). There were no differences in parameters of retinal morphology between the groups. There was a significant difference in renal RI between PV and EHT groups (0.67 ± 0.06 vs 0.61 ± 0.07; p = 0.033). Conclusions: Patients with PV were characterized by lower indices of sympathetic nervous system activity and a tendency towards lower serum aldosterone concentrations. Alterations of retinal and renal perfusion in PV were also observed.


Classical guitar is an instrument characterized by the diversity of its timbral possibilities. Professional guitarists are able to convey a lot of nuances when playing a musical piece. This specific characteristic of classical guitar makes the automatic analysis of commercial recordings difficult. For instance, the quasi constant side-to-side finger oscillations in melodic phrasing, complicate the automatic analysis of guitar vibrato. In this paper we propose a method to automatically determine where and how vibrato is applied. The method has been incorporated in a system able to automatically identify expressive resources in the context of real classical guitar recordings. We show the difficulty of vibrato detection using different commercial recordings of Villa Lobos Prelude Number 4 and report the experiments conducted with our proposal.


ABSTRACT Knowledge about the spatial variation of boreal forest soil carbon (C) stocks is limited, but crucial for establishing management practices that prevent losses of soil C. Here, we quantified the surface soil C stocks across small spatial scales, and aim to contribute to an improved understanding of the drivers involved in boreal forest soil C accumulation. Our study is based on C analyses of 192 soil cores, positioned and recorded systematically within a forest area of 11 ha. The study area is a south-central Norwegian boreal forest landscape, where the fire history for the past 650 years has been reconstructed. Soil C stocks ranged from 1.3 to 96.7 kg m−2 and were related to fire frequency, ecosystem productivity, vegetation attributes, and hydro-topography. Soil C stocks increased with soil nitrogen concentration, soil water content, Sphagnum- and litter-dominated forest floor vegetation, and proportion of silt in the mineral soil, and decreased with fire frequency in site 1, feathermoss- and lichen-dominated forest floor vegetation and increasing slope. Our results emphasize that boreal forest surface soil C stocks are highly variable in size across fine spatial scales, shaped by an interplay between historical forest fires, ecosystem productivity, forest floor vegetation, and hydro-topography.


Karyological characteristics are among the traits underpinning the invasion success of vascular plants. Using 11 049 species, we tested the effects of genome size and ploidy levels on plant naturalization (species forming self-sustaining populations where they are not native) and invasion (naturalized species spreading rapidly and having environmental impact). The probability that a species naturalized anywhere in the world decreased with increasing monoploid genome size (DNA content of a single chromosome set). Naturalized or invasive species with intermediate monoploid genomes were reported from many regions, but those with either small or large genomes occurred in fewer regions. By contrast, large holoploid genome sizes (DNA content of the unreplicated gametic nucleus) constrained naturalization but favoured invasion. We suggest that a small genome is an advantage during naturalization, being linked to traits favouring adaptation to local conditions, but for invasive spread, traits associated with a large holoploid genome, where the impact of polyploidy may act, facilitate long-distance dispersal and competition with other species.


did_multipleGT can be used in DID designs with multiple groups and periods, and where all units in the same group and period have the same treatment (sharp designs), as is for instance the case when the treatment is a county- or state-level variable. It computes the Wald-TC estimator of the instantaneous treatment effect among switchers introduced in Section 3.3 of Chaisemartin and D'Haultfoeuille (2018). It also computes placebo estimators that can be used to assess the plausibility of the common trends assumption underlying the Wald-TC estimator (see Section 3.3 of Chaisemartin and D'Haultfoeuille, 2018). Finally, in staggered adoption designs where treatment is binary and where groups' treatment is weakly increasing with time, it computes Wald-TC estimators of the dynamic treatement effects among switchers (see Section 5.2 of Chaisemartin and D'Haultfoeuille, 2018).


The paper introduces a new modular action language, ALM, and illustrates the methodology of its use. It is based on the approach of Gelfond and Lifschitz (1993; 1998) in which a high-level action language is used as a front end for a logic programming system description. The resulting logic programming representation is used to perform various computational tasks. The methodology based on existing action languages works well for small and even medium size systems, but is not meant to deal with larger systems that require structuring of knowledge. ALM is meant to remedy this problem. Structuring of knowledge in ALM is supported by the concepts of module (a formal description of a specific piece of knowledge packaged as a unit), module hierarchy, and library, and by the division of a system description of ALM into two parts: theory and structure. A theory consists of one or more modules with a common theme, possibly organized into a module hierarchy based on a dependency relation. It contains declarations of sorts, attributes, and properties of the domain together with axioms describing them. Structures are used to describe the domain's objects. These features, together with the means for defining classes of a domain as special cases of previously defined ones, facilitate the stepwise development, testing, and readability of a knowledge base, as well as the creation of knowledge representation libraries. To appear in Theory and Practice of Logic Programming (TPLP).


Purpose : To assess knowledge of and intervention for malaria in pregnancy among immediate postpartum women, as well as the impact of malaria on some specific birth outcomes. Methods : A cross-sectional study in which 358 immediate postpartum women were recruited in the labour and maternity wards of University Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. Information on demographics, knowledge of malaria, and utilization of malaria interventions were assessed. Immediately after expulsion of placentae, both maternal and placental blood samples were collected from a subset (236) of the study group for parasitaemia and haematocrit determination. Results : The mean age of the women was 29.5 ± 4.55 years. Poor knowledge of adverse effects of malaria during pregnancy was observed. Using an arbitrary scale, low, average and high knowledge of malaria were recorded in 22.4, 50.3 and 27.3 % of the respondents, respectively. Use of insecticidetreated net (ITN) was reported by 48.9, 19.1 and 14.3 % of women with high, average and low knowledge of malaria respectively (p = 0.004) while there was no statistical difference in the use of sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) among the different levels of knowledge of malaria as its practice was reported by 61, 70 and 78.7 % of women with high, average, and low knowledge of malaria, respectively, (p = 0.078). Incidence rates of parasitaemia of 4.0, 1.6 and 6.25 % were obtained using peripheral microscopy, placental microscopy and peripheral rapid diagnostic test (RDT), respectively. Maternal infection was significantly associated with low birth weight (p = 0.020, peripheral microscopy; p = 0.020, placental microscopy) and maternal anaemia (p = 0.009, peripheral microscopy; p = 0.000, peripheral RDT). Conclusion : Knowledge gap still exists with regard to malaria and its interventions among mothers. Knowledge of malaria significantly influences the use of insecticide-treated bed nets. The negative impact of malaria infection during pregnancy is maternal anaemia and low birth weight infants. Keywords : Insecticide-treated bed nets, Low birth weight, Malaria in pregnancy, Maternal anaemia.


Abstract. Knowledge about muon tomography has spread in recent years in the
geoscientific community and several collaborations between geologists and
physicists have been founded. As the data analysis is still mostly done by
particle physicists, much of the know-how is concentrated in particle
physics and specialised geophysics institutes. SMAUG (Simulation for Muons
and their Applications UnderGround), a toolbox consisting
of several modules that cover the various aspects of data analysis in a muon
tomographic experiment, aims at providing access to a structured data
analysis framework. The goal of this contribution is to make muon tomography
more accessible to a broader geoscientific audience. In this study, we show
how a comprehensive geophysical model can be built from basic physics
equations. The emerging uncertainties are dealt with by a probabilistic
formulation of the inverse problem, which is finally solved by a Monte Carlo
Markov chain algorithm. Finally, we benchmark the SMAUG results against
those of a recent study, which, however, have been established with an
approach that is not easily accessible to the geoscientific community. We
show that they reach identical results with the same level of accuracy and
precision.


While Kohn-Sham theory uses the quantum-mechanical operator for kinetic energy, Thomas-Fermi theory replaces this with an effective local potential. If both theories are based on the exact universal density functional defined by Hohenberg-Kohn theory, it is an interesting question whether they should give the same results for $N$-electron ground states. This question is examined and answered in the negative. The inconsistency is resolved only by extending the definition of functional derivatives to encompass linear operators. An exact theory must incorporate one-electron energies and occupation numbers derived from Kohn-Sham theory.


Background : Osteomyelitis is painful condition for patients and frustrating their doctors.  The key to successful management is early diagnosis, including bone sampling for microbiological and pathological examination to allow targeted and long-lasting antimicrobial therapy.  Sometime we can not find the causative organism from the tissue culture and require clinical data to select the empirical antibiotics. Purpose : To report the incidence of causative organism of osteomyelitis and determine such risk factors as well as clinical features of gram negative osteomyelitis in the Northeast region of Thailand. Materials and Methods : Between January 1999 and December 2004, 135 patients were diagnosed with musculoskeletal infection at Sakolnakorn Hospital, Sakolnakorn, Thailand.  Eighty-seven patients were excluded from the study, leaving forty-eight, who made up the study population.  Thirteen patients were diagnosed with gram-negative Osteomyelitis on the basis of gram stain or culture of bone from OPD or IPD records.  The signs and symptoms, the bone that were involved, the patient occupation, the duration of symptoms, and any concurrent disease were recorded. Study design : Descriptive analytic study Setting : Sakolnakorn Hospital, Sakolnakorn, Thailand Results : Seven men and nine women had gram-negative osteomyelitis.  The mean age (and standard deviation) was 53.75±14.18 years in the group with gram-negative osteomyelitis and 31.17±26.15 years in the group with gram-positive osteomyelitis.  The most common gram-negative organism was Pseudomonas auriginosa (5/16).  The most common gram-positive organism was Staphylococcus aureus .  The odds of a patients having gram-negative osteomyelitis was 6.9 times greater when he or she had concurrent diabetes mellitus than when he or she did not.  Six (37.5%) of the patients with gram-negative osteomyelitis and 3 (9%) of the patients with gram-positive osteomyelitis had involved the bone of foot, so the odds ratio that an infection in the bone of foot was caused by gram-negative organism was 5.3 (95% confidence interval, 1.54 to 35.73; P=0.02). Discussion and Conclusion : In conclusion, we have shown that diabetes mellitus and involvement of bone of foot were the risk factors of gram-negative osteomyelitis.  The physician should select the empirical antibiotic that covered gram-negative organism in this group of patients and pay attention in the patients who are old age with concurrent disease. Key words : risk factors; osteomyelitis


Objectives: Although many cities have adopted Healthy Cities approach in Republic of Korea, few studies have been reported about city health profile. So we report a case of city health profile made of subjective indexes and objective indicators using available recent evidence. Methods: To assess subjective city health indexes, questionnaire survey was implemented to public officers and citizen adapting the 'Signs of progress, signs of caution of 12 stage tool from Ontario Healthy Community Coalition. Based on recent literature objective city health indicators were collected for time-series comparison and for the comparison with those of larger province mainly using Korean Statistical Information Service. Results: Subjective city health indexes were successfully constructed in four areas including human health, environment, social and economic area. The score was especially low in environmental area. Specific items in each area for improvement were identified. Objective city health indicators were collected for three year time-series comparison and for the compared with those of larger province. Conclusions: City health profile comprised of subjective city health indexes and objective city health indicators could successfully be made from primary survey and secondary data in a medium-sized Korean city. That City health profile was useful in subsequent city health planning through participatory process.


This paper presents a wide dynamic-range CMOS rectifier with high efficiency and high sensitivity for RF energy harvesting. A new adaptive-biasing scheme is implemented using stacking diodes with dynamic threshold voltage to mitigate the reverse-leakage current of the NMOS rectifying devices at high RF power levels. The proposed design employs the adaptive-biasing technique to control the conduction of the PMOS rectifying devices with self-bulk biasing of the feedback diodes to minimize the leakage current. The proposed novel techniques extend the dynamic range of the RF-to-DC power converter with high efficiency, which is 17 times better than a conventional cross-coupled rectifier. The prototype is implemented using a standard 65 nm CMOS technology and occupies a 0.0093 mm2 active area. The proposed design achieves a peak power conversion efficiency (peak PCE) of 73%, −18.8 dBm 1-V sensitivity, and a superb dynamic range of 17.3 dB with efficiency greater than 80% of its peak PCE, which outperforms the state-of-the-art RF CMOS rectifiers, when operating at UHF 900 MHz with a 100-KΩ load.


Constructivism first appeared as a theory of economy by Carl Marx and then the linguists such as De Saussure and Focou. Furthermore, the development of the theory Originated from the works and views of the Russian Formalists, Prague Ring and New Criticism. The study is under the title of "Occupied Home in Kazhal Ahmed's poem 'Khasa Pigeon' and 'Rahimawa'" from a constructivist point of view. One of the most apparent basics of the theory is to work on the text itself rather than the author's life and his psychological, social, historical and ideological state. It only sheds light on the text, which caused the invention of 'The Author's Death'. Apart from the introduction and conclusion, the paper consists of two parts. In the first part, the term of constructivism, its definition and terminology are introduced as well as the theory's basics, principles, and resources. The second part is specified to the practical study of the poem through a constructivist theory. In conclusion, the result of the study is pinpointed and the list of the resources are given.


The study aimed at the analyzing of the temporal dynamics of visual priming in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study involved 20 children with typical development (5 girls and 15 boys, age 6.4±0.4 years), 20 children with mild form of ASD (all boys, age 6.7±0.3 years), 20 children with medium form of ASD (18 boys and 2 girls, age 6.6±0.4 years), 20 children with hard ASD (17 boys and 3 girls, age 6.8±0.2 years). The priming paradigm was used as a research model. Targets were in the form of gratings of horizontal and vertical lines with a repetition rate of 10 cycles per degree. A prime in the form of a vertical grating with a repetition rate of 2 cycles per degree was presented ahead of the target stimulus by 50–600 ms. In the course of the study, it was found that, in contrast to the typical development, in all children with ASD, the effect of prime is absent at interstimulus intervals (ISI) of 50÷150 ms. The response time decreases to congruent and incongruent targets with ISI 200–600 ms with light and medium ASD and with ISI 200–300 ms with hard ASD. The results indicate that changes in the mechanisms of interaction between the prime and targets and the switching of attention between them are manifested in different time intervals after the prime, depending on the severity of ASD.


As the title suggests, changing rhythmic patterns are an outstanding feature of this duet for the teacher and pupil. Although the latter needs only the third position, the teacher's part extends into ninth position. In the three principal sections of moderato, lento, and moderato the players take turns with similar rhythms. This is an excellent composition for acquainting the student with somewhat modem treatment of rhythm and tonality. There is a mixture of intervals both between the two parts and in double stops with a few perfect fifths, seconds, and sevenths. Gr. 5 & 7. C.P.


Pre-breakdown phenomena in liquid nitrogen (LN2), often referred as streamers, are the precursor of total breakdown due to the more conductive nature of density-change channels compared to the liquid. The paper characterizes streamer behavior in LN2 under AC voltages using ultra high frequency (UHF) and radio frequency current transformer (RFCT) measurements. The aim is to further understand the role of LN2 as insulation as well as the application of non-conventional partial discharge (PD) detection techniques in condition monitoring of future HTS devices. An experiment has been developed to measure PD events in LN2 using narrowband and wideband methods simultaneously. PD detection following IEC 60270 standards allows measurement of the amount of charge transferred at the terminals while the use of a UHF senor with a bandwidth up to 3 GHz can provide better resolution in the time domain. Results from the UHF sensor show that PD in LN2 appears in the form of multiple pulses which are suggested to be due to the expansion and collapse of the gaseous channels. The pulse burst phenomenon was not observed by the narrowband detection. Instead, a slowly damped signal was measured, which may result from the integration of multiple individual events. The experiment also allows correlation of PD measurements with images of pre-breakdown streamers using shadow photography. The characteristics of streamers in LN2 are discussed based on the observation of the density-change channels together with the corresponding discharge signature.


In this paper, we introduce and investigate an interesting subclass Jα(h) of analytic and close-to-convex function in the open unit disk D. several coefficient inequalities, growth, and distortion theorem for this class are proved. The various results presented here would generalize many know results.


This study was carried out to develop a new application field of traditional Hanji and obtain the basic data for producing functional Hanji using sawdust ceramics and rice-husk ceramics as an architectural material. The results measuring water vapor permeance and water vapor absorption for using window materials and wallpapers are as follows. Hanji wallpaper has good things in controlling indoor space comfortably. Particularly, ability of controlling humidity of Hanji wallpaper affects indoor space comfort and human health. In the case indoor humidity is higher than outdoor humidity, according to the addition of ceramics, Hanji wallpapers maintain the humidity by retaining water vapor molecules in the pores of ceramics. Thus the Hanji wallpapers with ceramics, in particular rice-husk cermaics, make it superior to non-cermics Hanji wallpapers in maintaining the humidity indoors.


PURPOSE
to study risk factors of arterial hypertension (AH), their significance for AH pathogenesis in atomic power plants employees occupationally exposed to long-term ionizing radiation in a "low" dose range (cumulative external radiation doses in the range up 1 Sv). The case-control study was carried in the cohort of workers aged 40-50 ever employed at the Siberian Group of Chemical Enterprises (SGCE) between 2003-2005. 970 persons were examined by standardized epidemiological methods. "Case" (n = 359) was found to be a recent AH case (less than 3 years) in SGCE employees whose average length of service is 3 years. "Control" (n = 611) - healthy men of the same age, length of service and working conditions. Risk of AH development (odds ratio (OR) = 1.6 (1.1; 2.37) was found to be higher in radiation workers in comparison with non-radiation ones without any linear dependence of risk upon cumulative external gamma-radiation dose in the range under study (OR in a cumulative external radiation dose range 7.3-21.3 mSv = 1.6 (0.96; 2.51); OR in a cumulative external radiation dose range 21.4-68.5 mSv = 1.7 (1.04; 2.67); OR in a cumulative external radiation dose range 68.6-864 mSv = 1.6 (1.01; 2.57). Not only traditional risk factors such as: obesity (OR = 7.1 (5.06; 10.1), frequent alcohol usage (OR = 1.3 (1.06; 1.63)), dyslipidemia (OR = 2.1 (1.61; 2.08)); hyperhomocisteinemia (OR = 1.4 (1.09; 1.72)); psychoemotional (OR = 1.4(1.11; 1.89)), hereditary aggravation (OR = 2.2 (1.75; 2.9)) in SGCE personnel, but also technogenic explosion descriptions are related to AH development. The long-term occupational external gamma-radiation in a dose range up 1 Sv potentiates a negative influence of CVD traditional risk factors (for hypercholesterinemia OR = 1.9 (1.3; 2.9), for AH OR = 3.1 (2.2; 4.6)) that leads to increase in risk coefficients for 30-60% in persons exposed to traditional and technogenic factors impact (for hypercholesterinemia and ionizing radiation OR = 2.5 (1.7; 3.2); for AH and IR OR = 3.9 (2.8; 5.2)) in comparison with non-radiation personnel.


In January 2005, a blended approach using various educational technologies was adopted for the new MSc programme in Emergency Medicine at the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies. This part-time programme was developed in response to the needs for specialist training in Trinidad and Tobago. Modalities for course delivery included traditional didactic lectures and tutorials, and more contemporary and interactive learning approaches of problem-based learning, journal clubs, computer-based tutorials, case-based training exercises and case presentations. Clinical skills training included using simulated patients. This paper describes the blended approach to learning adopted for this course, and explores the following themes from the candidates' perspectives: the educational experience; relevance of materials presented; scope of information presented and applicability to current practice. Overall, candidates found the methods and materials accessible and acceptable. Areas for improvement include the better integration of skills training with real clinical practice and ensuring that all candidates are comfortable with the IT systems. The modular course format is ideally suited to distance learning, and may provide a solution to Emergency Medicine training in smaller countries that can neither support formal full-time residency programmes, nor allow their doctors to leave their posts to pursue graduate training.


Programmable quantum devices are now able to probe wave functions at unprecedented levels. This is based on the ability to project the many-body state of atom and qubit arrays onto a measurement basis which produces snapshots of the system wave function. Extracting and processing information from such observations remains, however, an open quest. One often resorts to analyzing low-order correlation functions - i.e., discarding most of the available information content. Here, we introduce wave function networks - a mathematical framework to describe wave function snapshots based on network theory. For many-body systems, these networks can become scale free - a mathematical structure that has found tremendous success in a broad set of fields, ranging from biology to epidemics to internet science. We demonstrate the potential of applying these techniques to quantum science by introducing protocols to extract the Kolmogorov complexity corresponding to the output of a quantum simulator, and implementing tools for fully scalable cross-platform certification based on similarity tests between networks. We demonstrate the emergence of scale-free networks analyzing data from Rydberg quantum simulators manipulating up to 100 atoms. We illustrate how, upon crossing a phase transition, the system complexity decreases while correlation length increases - a direct signature of build up of universal behavior in data space. Comparing experiments with numerical simulations, we achieve cross-certification at the wave-function level up to timescales of 4 $\mu$ s with a confidence level of 90%, and determine experimental calibration intervals with unprecedented accuracy. Our framework is generically applicable to the output of quantum computers and simulators with in situ access to the system wave function, and requires probing accuracy and repetition rates accessible to most currently available platforms.


High hydrostatic pressure has an adverse influence in organisms that inhabit atmospheric pressure environments. In yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, pressure in the range of 15-25 MPa markedly impairs the uptake of tryptophan, and thereby it limits growth of tryptophan auxotrophic strains. The susceptibility of tryptophan import is attributable to the dynamic structural change in tryptophan permease in the plasma membrane. Studies of mutants capable of growth at high pressure reveal that tryptophan permeases Tat1 and Tat2 undergo ubiquitin-dependent degradation when cells are exposed to high pressure. We suggest that hydrostatic pressure is a unique tool for probing the dynamic function and regulation of amino acid permeases in living yeast cells.


The objective of this work is to enhance the pace of learning occupational skills by developing multimedia enriched computerized vocational training programs targeted towards the illiterate and neo-literate sections of a society. This is achieved by developing virtual computer based vocational training environments. The experience of these environments is enriched with touch and gesture based technology. This paper talks about the creation of virtual vocational training scenario of a fabric painting application. We have successfully created a working prototype which brings out the real experience of fabric painting to the end user. Emphasis is placed on human-computer interactions that will allow simplistic interface for illiterate or neo-literate individuals. This approach of 'virtual' computer-based vocational training environment has great potential that stimulates self-learning processes of these vocational skills to a diverse audience with varying skill sets.


OBJECTIVES
The objective of the study was to determine the seasonal changes in the initiation of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) and methotrexate (MTX) using big claims data.

METHODS
We counted the monthly number of initial administrations of each bDMARD and MTX in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) between April 2010 and March 2017. Data were collected from the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan (NDB). This database covers more than 95% of Japanese citizens. Seasonal changes in the number of initiations were determined. Patient claims were also classified according to drugs, districts, gender and ages.

RESULTS
The initiation of bDMARDs and MTX administration varied according to the season in a sine curve shape, with the highest numbers in May to July and the lowest numbers in November to January. The same changing pattern was observed among each bDMARD, district, gender and age groups particularly when the number was on the higher side.

CONCLUSION
We noted an apparent seasonal change in the number of bDMARDs initiated, with a peak during spring, suggesting an exacerbation of RA in the spring in Japan. These changes are overlooked in daily practice and are only visible using big data.


Alpha-methyl CoA racemase (AMACR) is overexpressed in several human cancers, most notably colon and prostate. AMACR expression in the prostate has been investigated primarily in patients, in an older age group, treated for prostatic carcinoma and benign prostatic hypertrophy. No studies have assessed the age distribution of AMACR expression in normal men. Archival paraffin-embedded prostate tissue from 41 organ donor men (age range, 13-63 years) with no evidence of prostate neoplasia was stained with a monoclonal antibody for AMACR. Intensity was graded on a scale of 0 to 3. Semi-quantitative analysis of staining in acinar cells was used to generate a composite score (CS) [Σ(% area × intensity)] for each case. Nondonor cases with foci of prostate cancer and high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) were used as external positive controls for AMACR. These sections were also stained for Ki-67, to assess proliferative index. The 41 cases encompassed different age groups (13-20 years, N = 11; 20-45 years, N = 17; >45 years, N = 13). Acinar cells showed granular cytoplasmic staining. Focal positive staining was also seen in the prostatic urethra and the periurethral glands. There was wide variation in the level of expression within each age group. The level of expression seen in subjects younger than 45 years was higher (mean CS = 41.3; median CS = 22.5) than that seen in subjects older than 45 years (mean CS = 8.8; median CS = 9.0) with a P value of 0.01. Most cases in the control set of prostatic adenocarcinoma cases showed moderate to strong staining. A negative correlation was seen evaluating CS and age in subjects 20 years of age and older (r = −0.47). Ki-67 staining was variable. 1) AMACR expression can be seen in benign prostatic glandular epithelium, across all age groups. However, it is age-related, with significantly lower expression in subjects younger than 45 years. This could account for the negative staining reported in benign glands, due to biased sampling of the older population. 2) Focal positive staining is seen in the prostatic urethra and periurethral glands in 71% of the cases, with no age correlation. This is of concern because this epithelium could potentially be misinterpreted as foci of PIN. 3) The low expression of AMACR in benign glands in the older age group makes this marker useful in detecting malignancy. However, AMACR staining should be interpreted with caution and the diagnosis of PIN or prostate cancer should be rendered only with convincing histologic evidence. 4) Ki-67 staining was very variable and showed no correlation with age and AMACR expression levels. AMACR expression had no correlation with proliferative index.


We study the dynamics of a neural network in function space when optimizing the mean squared error via gradient flow. We show that in the underparameterized regime the network learns eigenfunctions of an integral operator TK∞ determined by the Neural Tangent Kernel (NTK) at rates corresponding to their eigenvalues. For example, for uniformly distributed data on the sphere Sd−1 and rotation invariant weight distributions, the eigenfunctions of TK∞ are the spherical harmonics. Our results can be understood as describing a spectral bias in the underparameterized regime. The proofs use the concept of "Damped Deviations", where deviations of the NTK matter less for eigendirections with large eigenvalues due to the occurence of a damping factor. Aside from the underparameterized regime, the damped deviations point-of-view can be used to track the dynamics of the empirical risk in the overparameterized setting, allowing us to extend certain results in the literature. We conclude that damped deviations offers a simple and unifying perspective of the dynamics when optimizing the squared error.


Network virtualization techniques allow for the coexistence of many virtual networks (VNs) jointly sharing the resources of an underlying substrate network. The Virtual Network Embedding problem (VNE) arises when looking for the most profitable set of VNs to embed onto the substrate. In this paper, we address the offline version of the problem. We propose a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming formulation to solve it to optimality which accounts for acceptance and rejection of virtual network requests, allowing for both splittable and unsplittable (single path) routing schemes. Our formulation also considers a Rent-at-Bulk (RaB) model for the rental of substrate capacities where economies of scale apply. To better emphasize the importance of RaB, we also compare our method to a baseline one which only takes RaB into account a posteriori, once a solution to VNE, oblivious to RaB, has been found. Computational experiments show the viability of our approach, stressing the relevance of addressing RaB directly with an exact formulation.


Medical research workers, whether in the clinic, the laboratory, or the community, need a sound knowledge of statistical methods. There are several introductory texts available, but between them and the more specialized statistical literature there is an awkward hiatus. Among statisticians, too, there is a need for a book which reviews the techniques which have been developed specifically in the medical context. Professor Armitage seeks to bridge both gaps, calling upon his wide experience at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The book begins with the practical problems of collecting and handling data and the production of descriptive statistics. Algebraic notation is introduced early and is used freely throughout the book, though supplemented by numerical examples. It is perhaps in this regard that the work differs from previous texts aimed at doctors. The change is timely. In statistics, as in all mathematical work, good notation is half the battle. Prior knowledge of mathematics beyond ordinary level is not assumed and theoretical proofs are avoided. Chapters 2-5 introduce the concepts of probability, sampling, and statistical inference. The probability of an event is conceived as the long-term relative frequency of its occurrence in repeated trials, and statistical inference is interpreted in terms of hypothesis testing and estimation procedures of the Neyman-Pearson type. However, other modes of inference are briefly described and a nice balance is struck between the different methods. After a chapter on simple regression and correlation four chapters are devoted to the design of experiments, analysis of variance and co-variance, and the analogous methods for qualitative data. It is perhaps this part of the book which will be most helpful to research workers seeking to extend the scope of their statistical technique. The problems of sample size and multiple comparisons are very clearly dealt with. Multiple and polynomial regression and linear discriminant analysis are described in detail. The algebra necessarily becomes heavier. In practice most people would implement these techniques, if at all, by making use of statistical computer packages, but a knowledge of the processes involved is essential and the examples given in the text provide the necessary insight. A useful chapter on transforming and editing data is followed by a review of the less elementary methods of analysing qualitative data. This leads naturally to the standardization procedures used in vital statistics and survey work, and to a chapter on non-parametric tests. Of particular interest to epidemiologists will be the chapters on life-table techniques and relative risk. Rather out of place between these topics is wedged a short chapter on sequential methods which is clearly intended to supplement, rather than supplant, the author's earlier monograph. It is here that the difference between classical and other methods of inference is most marked and some account is taken of this. The final chapter comprises a compact description of the analysis of bioassay. Statistical tables are appended including a set of random numbers together with instructions on their use in the experimental allocation of treatments. There is an extensive bibliography and a good index. Professor Armitage has compressed a lot into 500 pages. That this has been achieved without making the book unreadable or skimpy is a tribute to his clear and concise style. There is no doubt that this book will become a standard text on medical statistics and an invaluable aid to medical research.


During 2020, the National Seismological Center (CSN) implemented an earthquake early warning system (EEWS) for northern Chile. From a seismological point of view, this area is considered to be one of the largest seismic gaps in Chile, where an Mw∼9.0 earthquake is expected in a region with a population of more than 1.4 million people. From an economical perspective, this region holds 90% of the copper mining companies in Chile, with more than 15% of the Gross National Product coming from the mining industry. Antofagasta Minerals funded an EEWS prototype for this region with the purpose of keeping both the population and the mining industry safe; 25 new seismic stations have been added to the CSN permanent network to develop an EEWS capable of issuing strong shaking alerts, which could potentially save lives and support critical mining operations in the region. During a 20 month period, we successfully detected, located, and calculated the magnitude of 1774 earthquakes (0–300 km depth) using ElarmS-3, an earthquake early warning algorithm from the University of California, Berkeley. The alert time, or the time between when an earthquake alert is issued and the S-wave arrival at the location, is on average ∼24 s, and 96% of shallow and intermediate depth earthquakes (0–150 km) with M ≥5.0 were alerted. We obtained errors of 0.52 ± 0.43 in magnitude, 30.4 ± 42.72 km in location, 43.5 ± 50.0 km in depth, and 6.6 ± 10.6 s in origin time.


This paper presents a framework grounded on convex optimization and economics ideas to solve by index policies problems of optimal dynamic allocation of effort to a discrete-state (finite or countable) binary-action (work/rest) semi-Markov restless bandit project, elucidating issues raised by previous work. Its contributions include: (i) the concept of a restless bandits marginal productivity index (MPI), characterizing optimal policies relative to general cost and work measures; (ii) the characterization of indexable restless bandits as those satisfying diminishing marginal returns to work, consistently with a nested family of threshold policies; (iii) sufficient indexability conditions via partial conservation laws (PCLs); (iv) the characterization of the MPI as an optimal marginal productivity rate relative to feasible active-state sets; (v) application to semi-Markov bandits under several criteria, including a new mixed average-bias criterion; and (vi) PCL-indexability analyses and MPIs for optimal service control of make-to-order/make-to-stock queues with convex holding costs, under discounted and average-bias criteria.


Outlining a theory of "urban design from below," this essay considers how so-called users have reshaped space at the urban scale, as I trace the history of immigrants' transformations of a Swedish modernist new town neighborhood. Here a peripheral green strip that government planners of the 1960s classified as a buffer zone has slowly become a center of social and commercial life for Syriac Christians, a group that arrived en masse in the 1970s. Since then, this "blank" space has been gradually but significantly altered through Syriac architectural projects, including an Orthodox church, banquet halls, a soccer stadium, and a television station. Current portrayals of urban design offer dystopian views of the field's "end" or emphasize informal, reactive processes. Instead, urban design from below occurs through action and accumulation: Syriac projects have altered the physical shape and function of a large swath of urban space, building by building. Critically, these structures were made through official site planning and building permits, even as they emerged out of the frictions between the prevailing logics of Swedish planning — emphasizing formal uniformity to achieve social equality — and a Syriac spatial practice of urbanism that has commissioned material difference. If the "from above" is typically assumed to be the plans and practices of professionals, and the "from below" is usually portrayed as grassroots activism with no lasting physical effects, I investigate how Syriac buildings have transformed not only individual sites but also the city at large.


In surgical repair for heart or vascular disease, it is often necessary to implant conduits or correct tissue defects. The most commonly used graft materials to date are (a) artificial grafts; (b) autologous tissues, such as pericardium and saphenous vein; (c) allografts; and (d) xenografts. However, none of these four options offer growth potential, and all are associated with varying levels of thrombogenicity and susceptibility to infection. The lack of growth potential of these four options is particularly important in pediatric cardiac surgery, where patients will often outgrow their vascular grafts and require additional operations. Thus, developing a material with sufficient durability and growth potential that will function as the child grows older will eliminate the need for reoperation and significantly reduce morbidity and mortality of some types of congenital heart defects. Vascular tissue engineering is a relatively new field that has undergone enormous growth over the last decade. The goal of vascular tissue engineering is to produce neovessels and neo‐organ tissue from autologous cells using a biodegradable polymer as a scaffold. The most important advantage of tissue‐engineered implants is that these tissues can grow, remodel, rebuild, and respond to injury. Once the seeded autologous cells have deposited an extracellular matrix and the original scaffold is biodegraded, the tissue resembles and behaves as native tissue. When tissue‐engineered vascular grafts are eventually put to use in the clinical arena, the quality of life in patients after surgery will be drastically improved.


This paper describes a supersonic separation of air-launching rocket from the mother plane. Three dimensional Euler equations were numerically solved to analyze steady/unsteady state fluid flows. The results of simulation clearly demonstrate effect of shock-expansion wave interaction between the rocket and the mother plane. Moreover, important influential factors at separating stage of the rocket were extracted with a comprehensive analysis. Finally, from the consideration of supersonic-separation, a guideline to safety-separation is given to the design of supersonic air-launching rocket.


Background: In preschool children, attacks of wheeze are usually triggered by viral colds. The inflammatory substrate in preschool viral wheeze (PVW) is unclear, but epidemiological data suggest that most PVW is not caused by allergic inflammation. We therefore speculated that the neutrophils are an important effector cell. Systemic neutrophil activation is the first stage for the development of pulmonary neutrophilia. Markers of neutrophil activation are shedding of the adhesion molecule L-selectin from the cell surface, upregulation of Mac-1 expression, and an increase in serum soluble L-selectin. Aims: To obtain evidence for systemic neutrophil activation during PVW. Methods: Preschool children (1–5 years) admitted to hospital with acute PVW (n = 20) and normal controls (n = 18) were studied. Adhesion molecule expression on CD16 positive neutrophils was determined in both groups and expressed as molecules of equivalent fluorochrome (MEF). Serum soluble L-selectin was analysed by ELISA. Results: Compared with controls, children with PVW had reduced neutrophil L-selectin expression (median MEF (IQR): 69 (11 to 96) units versus 136 (109 to 163) units, p < 0.001) and higher serum soluble L-selectin (2.8 (2.3 to 3.1) versus 2.4 (2.2 to 2.6) μg/ml, p = 0.04). There was no significant difference in neutrophil Mac-1 expression. Conclusion: Systemic neutrophil activation is associated with acute PVW.


The use of customary trade disinfectants lead to occupational disease no. 80 in many employers of public health. For that reason our aim is to improve the skin compatibility of this disinfectants. Its possible to achieve a pH-shift to a more physiological level eighter by buffer salt addition or by neutralization. Following this, disinfectants were investigated in a microbiological test.


PURPOSE
To introduce a minimally invasive and more effective technique of inferior alveolar nerve block.

METHODS
Two hundred and six patients who needed extraction of the impacted mandibular third molar were divided randomly into 2 groups: the experimental group (105 cases) with modified Gow-Gates technique (modified Gow-Gates group) and the control group (101 cases) with Halstead technique (Halstead group). The anesthetic success rates, effects and complications were recorded and analyzed with SPSS17.0 software package.

RESULTS
The anesthetic success rate was 97.15% in modified Gow-Gates group and 89.10% in Halstead group with significant difference between the 2 groups (P=0.038<0.05); In comparing the anesthesia grade, the ration of grade A and B accounted for 90.48% in modified Gow-Gates group and 87.13% in Halstead group (P=0.446>0.05). Modified Gow-Gates group had much fewer of complications than Halstead group (P=0.014<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Modified Gow-Gates technique is a minimally invasive and more effective technique for inferior alveolar nerve block anesthesia. Supported by Science and Technology Planning Project of Yueqing City (2014y027).


The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain–like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a molecular platform that induces caspase-1 activation and subsequent IL-1β maturation, and is implicated in inflammatory diseases; however, little is known about the negative regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome activation. In this article, we identified an E3 ligase, Ariadne homolog 2 (ARIH2), as a posttranslational negative regulator of NLRP3 inflammasome activity in macrophages. ARIH2 interacted with NLRP3 via its NACHT domain (aa 220–575) in the NLRP3 inflammasome complex. In particular, we found that while using mutants of ARIH2 and ubiquitin, the really interesting new gene 2 domain of ARIH2 was required for NLRP3 ubiquitination linked through K48 and K63. Deletion of endogenous ARIH2 using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing inhibited NLRP3 ubiquitination and promoted NLRP3 inflammasome activation, resulting in apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain oligomerization, pro–IL-1β processing, and IL-1β production. Conversely, ARIH2 overexpression promoted NLRP3 ubiquitination and inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism of ubiquitination-dependent negative regulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome by ARIH2 and highlight ARIH2 as a potential therapeutic target for inflammatory diseases.


We propose the use of Rydberg interactions and ensembles of cold atoms in mixed state for the implementation of a protocol for deterministic quantum computation with one quantum bit that can be readily operated in high dimensional Hilbert spaces. We propose an experimental test for the scalability of the protocol and to study the physics of discord. Furthermore, we explore the possibility of extending to non-trivial unitaries, such as those associated to many-body physics. Finally develop a scheme to add control to cold atom unitaries in order to facilitate their implementation in our proposal.


Musician's dystonia is a task‐specific movement disorder that causes twisting or repetitive abnormal finger postures and movements, which tend to occur only while playing musical instruments. Such a movement disorder will probably lead to termination of the careers of affected professional musicians. Most of the currently available treatments have yet to provide consistent and satisfactory results. We present the long‐term follow‐up results of ventro‐oral thalamotomy for 15 patients with musician's dystonia.


The black soil region of Northeast China is one of the most important food production bases and commodity grain bases in China. However, the continual loss and degradation of precious black soil resources has led to direct threats to national food security and regional sustainable development. Therefore, it is necessary to summarize integrated prevention and control experience of small watersheds in black soil region of Northeast China. Tongshuang small watershed, a typical watershed in rolling hills of typical black soil areas in Northeast China, is selected as the study area. Based on nearly 50 years' experience in prevention and control of soil and water loss, the structures and overall benefits of an integrated prevention and control system for soil and water loss are investigated. Then, the 'three defense lines' tri-dimensional protection system with reasonable allocation of different types of soil and water control measures from the hill top to gully is systematically analyzed. The first line on the top hill can weaken and block uphill runoff and sediment, hold water resources and improve soil property. The second line on the hill can truncate slope length, slow down the runoff velocity and reduce erosion energy. The third line in the gully is mainly composed of waterfall engineering, which can inhibit soil erosion and restore land resources. The 'three defense lines' system is feasible for soil and water loss control of small watersheds in the typical black soil region of Northeast China. Through the application of the in Tongshuang small watershed, There are effective improvements in ecological conditions in Tongshuang small watershed after the application of 'three defense lines' soil and water control system. Moreover, the integrated treatment paradigm for soil and water loss in typical black soil region is compared with that in loess region. The results of this study could offer references and experiences for other small watersheds in typical black soil region of Northeast China.


Purpose: Few studies have focused on the aging changes in the upper eyelid. This study evaluated the differential changes in the nasal and central fat pads of the upper eyelid associated with aging. Methods: In this retrospective, consecutive series, the medical records and photographs of 77 patients were reviewed. The patients were grouped in 7 categories according to decade of life. Using a standardized scale, the volume grade of the nasal and central fat pads was graded from 0 to 3. Statistical evaluation correlating age with central and nasal fat pad change was performed. Results: With aging, the central fat pad volume appeared to diminish, with relative sparing of the nasal fat pad. There was a positive correlation of the volume grade of the nasal fat pad with age and a negative correlation of the central fat pad with age. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference between the volume grades of the nasal and central fat pads in the groups 70 years and older. Conclusions: With aging, there appears to be a pattern of differential fat pad alteration. This study shows that in the upper eyelids of patients >70 years of age, the medial fat pad becomes prominent whereas the central fat pad atrophies. Teleologically, the relative preservation of nasal fat may be due to its higher abundance of neural-crest progenitor cells. Clinically, this finding has implications in esthetic and functional upper eyelid blepharoplasty.


ABSTRACT Increasing cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fiber weight per seed in some genotypes has the potential to increase micronaire values to levels that trigger price discounts. Strategies need to be developed that limit cell wall deposition. Seed weight decreases as the number of seeds per boll increases. Characterization of the relationship between seed weight, fibers per seed and fiber properties will supply basic information for strategy development. Stoneville 474 and FiberMax 832 were grown under irrigated conditions in 1998 and 1999. First position flowers were harvested on the day of anthesis for fiber density and perimeter analysis. Remaining first position bolls were harvested after boll opening and bolls were individually analyzed for weight and fiber properties. Initial fiber densities were similar for both cultivars. Mean fiber length and cell wall thickness were positively correlated with final seed weight. Fiber length variability decreased as seed weight increased. The decrease in length variability paralleled an increase in fiber cell wall thickness. Strategies to increase the number of seeds per boll may reduce micronaire values but increase length variability.


A cellular material based on the kagome lattice is an ideal candidate for a multifunctional material. With its superior mechanical performance under external loads, it has been considered to possess optimal stability when it is used for structural applications. In previous studies, the analyses of the kagome structures have mostly addressed its static stability under constant loads. However, evaluations of the dynamic characteristics of kagome materials under time-varying loads would be essential for its more general applications. In this paper, we present a numerical simulation method to investigate the mechanical performance and the structural stability of kagome structures under dynamic external loads. Vibration spectra and defect sensitivities of the dynamic responses were obtained by using an eigenmode analysis and a dynamic network analysis.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss integrative environmental assessments applicable to estuarine sediments, including the advantages and limitations of different lines of evidence that could form part of such assessments and their application to ecosystem services. Design/methodology/approach – Weight of evident framework integrating multiple lines of evidence for sediment quality assessment. Findings – Integrative environmental assessments are required to fully address the risks to resident fauna of anthropogenic contaminants deposited in estuarine sediments. Originality/value – The paper presents an updated discussion of the methodologies for environmental assessments of contaminated estuarine sediments.


This paper reports the results of a study of dentists' recommendations regarding the appropriate health action of elders in response to certain oral common symptoms and problems. Previous studies have found that elders most commonly respond to oral symptoms by using nonprofessional means. This study found that, without exception, the recommendation to consult a dentist was the primary mode of response favored by dentists, even in response to symptoms and problems that are most often trivial and rarely indicative of serious health problems. The results of this pilot study suggest that the need exists for dentists to reach a more realistic consensus regarding alternatives to professional consultation in response to some symptoms and problems.


The pictures of the Stoa of Attalos do nothing to mitigate this reviewer's regret at its projected restoration. To its other hateful features, all only too well attested, must now be added its ridge-pole and the segmental arch at either end of its interior. It represents, on the whole, the nadir of Ancient Architecture. The Romans had not yet taught the Greeks how to combine the Orders with confidence on Exteriors, thereby recovering the sureness of proportion and appropriateness of detail for which Classical work is generally so remarkable. It is a thousand pities that the average visitor to Athens will now derive his notions of a completed Classical building from an example of such singular depravity.


BACKGROUND: Asthmatic airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC) proliferate faster and secrete more CXCL10 when compared to non-asthmatic ASMC, in vitro. This pathology may be due to the earlier observed faulty mRNA translation control in asthmatic ASMC. A key player in translational control is the eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF)-4E, which is directly phosphorylated by the MAP kinase interacting kinases (MNK)-1, downstream of MAPK p38 and ERK. In this study we investigated whether ASMC proliferation and CXCL10 expression is regulated by the MAPK/MNK-1/eIF4E pathway in asthmatic and non-asthmatic ASMC. METHODS: ASMC were pre-treated with MNK-1 inhibitor CGP57380 (1-20 μM), ERK inhibitor PD98059 (30 μM) or p38 inhibitor SB203580 (10 μM) before stimulation with TNF-α (10 ng/ml) or FCS (5%). Total cell lysates and cell supernatants were collected and analyzed by immunoblotting or ELISA. Cell proliferation was measured by direct cell counting. RESULTS: FCS-induced proliferation and TNF-α stimulated CXCL10 secretion was dose-dependently inhibited by CGP57380 (≥ 5 μM) in both asthmatic and non-asthmatic ASMC. TNF-α induced the phosphorylation of MNK-1 after 15-30 min and that of eIF-4E after 15-60 min, which was inhibited by pre-treatment with CGP57380 (5-20 μM), PD98059 or SB203580. Similarly, FCS induced eIF-4E phosphorylation after 15-120 min. CONCLUSION: For the first time, we show that ASMC proliferation and CXCL10 expression depend on the activation of the MAPK/MNK-1/eIF4E pathway in asthmatic and non-asthmatic ASMC. These novel findings may offer new targets for asthma therapy to limit airway remodeling and inflammation in asthma.


The effect of methylene blue on brain oxidative stress and neuronal damage after toluene poisoning in rats was investigated. Rats were treated intraperitoneally with toluene at 900 mg/kg either alone or in combination with methylene blue at 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg daily for 6 days. The levels of malondialdehyde, nitrite, and reduced glutathione (GSH), and the activity of paraoxonase-1 (PON1) were evaluated in the brain and serum. We also measured serum butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity, brain derived neurorophic factor (BDNF), and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-kB). Histopathological examination and immunohistochemical staining for caspase-3 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the brain were performed. Toluene-treated rats exhibited increased lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde) and nitrite levels in the brain and serum and reduced brain GSH level. There were also decreased PON1 and BChE activities, decreased BDNF level, and increased NF-kB level in the serum after toluene exposure. Neurodegeneration, cerebral edema, and marked degeneration of Purkinje cells were observed. There was increased caspase-3 immmunostaining, but decreased immmunostaining for GFAP in glial cells. Methylene blue induced a significant decrease in the levels of malondialdehyde and nitrite in the brain and serum of toluene-exposed rats. The GSH level did not change, but PON1 activity in the brain and serum increased. Methylene blue also decreased NF-kB level, increased BChE activity, and increased BDNF level in a dose-dependent manner. Methylene blue protected against the neuronal damaging effects of toluene, decreased caspase-3 immunoreactivity, and restored GFAP positivity. These findings indicate a neuroprotective effect for methylene blue against the brain damage induced by toluene. This protection is likely to involve the inhibition of nitric oxide, NF-kB, and caspase-3 by methylene blue treatment.


The author provides an overview of the many consequences that the arrival of electroacoustic music has produced on musical material and discusses the advantages of an interaction between manifest instrumental and "subjacent" electroacoustic writing. By writing, the author means the compositional processes themselves, His discussion ranges from the use of particular harmonic techniques to the revolutionary role that time expansion plays in obtaining a deeper perception and evaluation of the sound phenomena. The author uses some of his works to exemplify the compositional aspects discussed.


Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors play an important role in inducing growth arrest, differentiation, and/or apoptosis in cancer cells. Given their ability to disrupt critical biological processes in cancer cells, these agents are emerging as potential therapeutics for cancer. Recently, it has been identified that HDAC inhibitors can also efficiently enhance the radiation sensitivity of cells, both in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we investigated whether the potent HDAC inhibitor, Trichostatin A, modulates the radiation sensitivity of the human cervical carcinoma cell line Hela under hypoxic conditions. We concluded that TSA could significantly inhibit the proliferation of Hela cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Hypoxia resulted in the cervical carcinoma Hela cells resistant to TSA. The findings from clonogenic survival assays indicate that incubation with TSA for 24 hours prior to irradiation enhances the radiation sensitivity of Hela cells under hypoxic conditions. More generally, we found Hela cells under hypoxic conditions treated with TSA could significantly down-regulate the expressions of HIF-1alpha and VEGF proteins. Taken together, our results demonstrated that TSA acts as a powerful radiosensitizer in Hela cells under hypoxic conditions probably by down-regulated expression of HIF-1alpha and VEGF proteins.