A population of newts from a pond near Crail, Fife, was found to contain neotenic and goitrous specimens of Triturus helveticus in 1951 and 1952 but not in 1953 and 1954. This is a unique record of goitre among amphibians. The thyroid glands of normal adult and neotenic non-goitrous T. helveticus are paired spheroidal or ellipsoidal bodies whose longest dimension varies between 300 and 700 µ They consist of a few large follicles. The thyroid glands of the goitrous neotenic specimens may be as much as 4 mm. long. They are extremely hyperplastic and hyperaemic and for the most part consist of follicles smaller than those characteristic of normal newt thyroids. These goitrous thyroids produce major displacement of other structures in the throat region but do not invade other tissues. It is suggested that the goitres result from the exposure of overwintering newt larvae to the 'brassica factor' carried to the pond in the faeces of rabbits feeding on turnips and kale in neighbouring fields.


The Cu-type and (Cu-Fe)-type film catalysts have been successfully prepared by the electroless plating on ZnO nanorods/stainless steel substrates. The microstructure features of the (Cu-Fe)-type films are high porosity and plate-type grains. The addition of iron into Cu-type film can improve the reducibility and the stability of the film catalysts. The reduction temperature of the (Cu-Fe)-type film catalysts decreases with increasing the addition of Fe. For Cu-5 at% Fe film, the reduction temperature is in the range of 195°C to 216°C as comparison in the range of 208°C to 233°C of the Cu-type film catalysts.


Background: Adherence plays an essential role in the clinical outcome of patients with chronic diseases including sickle cell disease (SCD). Poor drug adherence in SCD patients increases their susceptibility to anaemia, infection, sickle cell crises, increased health care cost and death. In view of the fact that SCD patients take daily medications to prevent complications of the disease therefore assessing drug adherence in these patients is an essential component of patients' care and could enhance the formulation of strategies that can be implemented in daily practice to improve their care worldwide.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study. Two hundred and seventeen (217) consenting sickle cell disease respondents completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire over a period of four months. Information obtained included Sociodemographic characteristics, Medical history and Adherence history using Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS). Data were analyzed using descripitive and inferential statistic.Results: The age range of the respondents was from 1 to 50 years with a mean age (SD) of 14.3 ±8 .7 years and median of 14years. Majority of the respondents (72.4%) were less than 18 years. There were 118 (54.4%) males and 99 (45.6%) females. 198 (91.2%) of the respondents were single. More than four-fifths of the respondents 182 (83.9%) were students and 188 (86.6%) were dependants with no source of income. The mean age at commencement of treatment was 5.92 years. About two-thirds (67.7%) of respondents had poor drug adherence common among the adults, married and unemployed. The significant factors identified included age of respondents, educational status and age at commencement of treatment.Conclusion: Poor drug adherence among sickle cell disease respondents in our facility is high, a major concern for health care providers. There is a need for policy makers to look into the identified factors responsible.


Models work best when they are optimized taking into account the evaluation criteria that people care about. For topic models, people often care about interpretability, which can be approximated using measures of lexical association. We integrate lexical association into topic optimization using tree priors, which provide a flexible framework that can take advantage of both first order word associations and the higher-order associations captured by word embeddings. Tree priors improve topic interpretability without hurting extrinsic performance.


College sports fans number almost 175 million strong, and each has a loyalty to their team and the traditions they share. From the crazy and eccentric to the touching and meaningful, these traditions connect fans and athletes across generations. College Sports Traditions details not only the well-known traditions of major universities, but also the obscure customs of smaller schools. Approximately 1,000 traditions are captured in this volume, covering hundreds of universities and colleges and almost every college sport. Featuring 75 photos that bring many of these events to life, College Sports Traditions will be an entertaining read for every sports fan.


From the viewpoint of Shannon?s information theory, image coding and image encryption both aim at reducing the correlations of pixels. However, current image encoding methods did not take the confidentiality into account. In this paper, a novel chaotic image encryption scheme integrated with the SPIHT wavelet image coding is proposed. Comparing with the existing image encryption schemes, the new method has three prominent advantages: first, only sensitive bits in the coding stream are encrypted, which introduces small overheads to the image codec; second, by introducing a cipher-text feedback mechanism, the scheme can effectively resist the known-plain-text attack; third, by using chaotic pseudo-random bits to mask the SPIHT encoded bitstream, the scheme can truncate the output stream at any position while keeping the image recoverable with different visual qualities. Cryptanalysis and various experiments have been carried out and the results were reported in this paper, which demonstrate the feasibility and flexibility of the proposed scheme.


Mother's Milk Companion (MPASI) is a nutritious food or drink given to babies or children aged 6-24 months to meet their nutritional needs. The aim is to identify the provision of complementary feeding of breast milk (MP-ASI). This research method used analytical research with cross sectional approach. The population in this study were all mothers with infants aged 0-6 monthsIn community Health centersof Batulicin Batulicin Tanah Bumbu. Primary data obtained through questionnaire while secondary data obtained from KMS book. The result of statistical test using Chi-Square test with 5% significance level (0,05) got pvalue equal to 0,162. The results of Chi-Square test analysis of this study obtained no significant relationship between the Provision of MP-ASI Too Early with Growth. The conclusion of this research is found that there is no relation of giving milk companion food too early with baby growth 0-6 month in Batulicin Puskesmas Batulicin Subdistrict Tanah Bumbu Regency. Hopefully mother not give MP-ASI too early


: During classes, students' mastery of knowledge points is reflected in their facial expressions. Teachers usually judge their degrees of understanding through the expressions and then adjust the teaching schedule. However, at least 30 students are in a class, and it is impossible for the teachers to take care of each student at all times in a classroom. As a result, teachers can not fully understand each student's mastery of knowledge points, thus affecting the quality of teaching. To solve this problem, this study introduces a classroom teaching feedback system based on facial expression recognition, which can analyze the facial expression of each student in the classroom and demonstrate their mastery of knowledge points from the expressions. On that basis, it can help teachers understand the real-time learning effect of each student in the classroom, thereby improving teaching quality.


Abstract Chaouachi, A, Chtara, M, Hammami, R, Chtara, H, Turki, O, and Castagna, C. Multidirectional sprints and small-sided games training effect on agility and change of direction abilities in youth soccer. J Strength Cond Res 28(11): 3126–3132, 2014—The aim of this study was to compare the training effects of a small-sided game (SSG) and multidirectional sprint intervention on agility and change of direction (COD) ability in young male soccer players. Thirty-six soccer players (age: 14.2 ± 0.9 years; height: 167.2 ± 5.7 cm; body mass: 54.1 ± 6.3 kg, body fat: 12.5 ± 2.2%) participated in a short-term (6 weeks) randomized parallel fully controlled training study, with pre-to-post measurements. Players were randomly assigned to 2 experimental groups: training with preplanned COD drills (CODG, n = 12) or using SSGs (SSGG, n = 12) and to a control group (CONG, n = 12). Pre- and post-training players completed a test battery involving linear sprinting (15- and 30-m sprint), COD sprinting (COD: 15 m, ball: 15 m, 10-8-8-10 m, zigzag: 20 m), reactive agility test (RAT, RAT-ball), and vertical and horizontal jumping (countermovement jump and 5-jump, respectively). A significant (p ⩽ 0.05) group × time effect was detected for all variables in CODG and SSGG. Improvements in sprint, agility without ball, COD, and jumping performances, were higher in CODG than in the other groups. The SSGG improved significantly more (p ⩽ 0.05) than other groups in agility tests with the ball. The CONG showed significant improvements (p ⩽ 0.05) on linear sprinting over a distance longer than 10 m and in all the agility and COD tests used in this study. It is concluded that in young male soccer players, agility can be improved either using purpose-built SSG or preplanned COD sprints. However, the use of specifically designed SSG may provide superior results in match-relevant variables.


Leigh syndrome is a neurodegenerative disorder with an incidence of 1 : 40,000 live births. The clinical presentation of LS is highly variable with heterogeneity in the disease-associated symptoms of cerebellar, motor, and extrapyramidal dysfunction and common infections. There is no effective treatment for this condition; as such, the prognosis of this condition is very poor with death occurring within the first few years of life. In this study, we report the first LS case in Latvia with SURF1 pathogenic variants in two siblings. The difficulties encountered establishing a diagnosis for the first proband and the effective prenatal diagnosis for the second offspring that led to termination of the pregnancy are discussed.


Roughly once a year, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, the US treasury secretary and in some cases the finance ministers of other G-7 countries will get a call from the finance minister of a large emerging market economy. The emerging market finance minister will indicate that the country is rapidly running out of foreign reserves, that it has lost access to international capital markets and, perhaps, that is has lost the confidence of its own citizens. Without a rescue loan, it will be forced to devalue its currency and default either on its government debt or on loans to the country's banks that the government has guaranteed. This book looks at these situations and the options available to alleviate the problem. It argues for a policy that recognizes that every crisis is different and that different cases need to be handled within a framework that provides consistency and predictability to borrowing countries as well as those who invest in their debt.


An apparatus, program product and method dynamically select a physical network interface for use by an application running on a networked computer in a manner that attempts to minimize bandwidth contention between application-related operations and any operating system critical storage operations that may be initiated by an operating system resident on the same networked computer. The dynamic selection prioritizes at least one physical network interface that does not handle operating system critical storage operations over at least one physical network interface that does handle operating system critical storage operations, thus minimizing the likelihood of the application causing poor performance and/or failure of the operating system due to contention over limited network resources.


The present paper explores lesson preparation and planning on a daily basis from an empirical point of view. 316 Greek teachers of primary and secondary education participated in the questionnaire study. Some of the main issues examined were the frequency of teachers' preparation for next day's lessons and the amount of time they spend, the benefits of lesson preparation, the questions they pose to themselves while preparing the teaching procedure, the difficulties they face during preparation and the ways they overcome them, the collaboration with other teachers while making lesson plans and their satisfaction with their preparation. Frequency analysis of all the variables and a cross-tabulation between the independent and dependent variables were performed with the use of the SPSS. The findings of the research indicated, among others, that teachers enquired spend much time on lesson preparation and that it enhances teachers' confidence.


Work is important for people with disabilities, and fosters their career development and quality of life. Findings from social cognitive theory suggest that transition to work and work inclusion processes should be based on opportunities to explore the world of work, awareness of professional options (of which people with an intellectual disability (ID) frequently have little knowledge), and consideration of career interests and self-efficacy beliefs. The present study was aimed at verifying whether people with ID present interests and self-efficacy beliefs in less complex occupations, and whether self-efficacy beliefs can predict career interests, similar to results observed with individuals without ID. The study also investigated differences associated with ID level and with gender. One hundred and twenty-nine young adults with ID were interviewed about their interests in and self-efficacy beliefs concerning occupations in six different occupational areas (e.g., realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional). Results showed that participants with ID tended to be interested in, and have higher self-efficacy belief levels, in low-to-mid-complexity occupations and also showed the predictive role of self-efficacy beliefs. Contrary to our expectations, however, no ID level or gender effects were observed. The findings underscore the importance of very early vocational guidance activities that emphasize these aspects in helping persons with ID set their professional goals.


Connected health is the convergence of medical devices, security devices, and communication technologies. It enables patients to be monitored and treated remotely from their home or primary care facility rather than attend outpatient clinics or be admitted to hospital. Patients' data and medical records within a connected health system should be securely transmitted and saved for further analysis and diagnosis. This paper presents a reconfigurable wireless system for electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring which can be deployed in a connected health environment. Efficient field programmable gate array (FPGA) implementation for the ECG encryption block has been carried out on the RC10 prototyping board using the advanced encryption standard (AES) algorithm. Results presented have shown that the proposed AES implementation outperforms the existing FPGA-based systems in different key performance metrics and that ECG signals acquired using the VitalSens device can be encrypted/decrypted in real-time. A software based evaluation approach has been also performed to validate the proposed hardware implementation. The proposed solution can be deployed for electronic archiving of health records information systems and health monitoring technologies in personalized medicine.


The recent growth in sponsorship expenditure has been marked with football being a major recipient, particularly through shirt sponsorship programmes. The relationship between football club and shirt sponsor is an important one for both parties leading them to routinely profess their
commitment to one another. Common notions of commitment are often associated with long-term relationships, although evidence from the sponsorship literature contradicts this. Many football shirt sponsorship deals are short-term, often accompanied by a low rate of contract renewal. In this context, the study therefore sets out to identify determinants of commitment in the dyadic relationship between English professional football clubs and their shirt sponsors.

A review of printed and electronic media is initially undertaken to confirm the relevance of the study. This forms the basis for a subsequent examination of critical incident interview data which leads to the development of a questionnaire which was despatched to clubs and sponsors,
achieving a response rate of 60.4%. Returns have been analysed using factor and multiple regression analyses in order to identify statistically significant determinants of commitment. A final research stage involving structured face-to-face interviews within six sponsorship dyads is
presented to establish the generalisability and validity of findings.

Following the review of printed and electronic media,used term in shirt sponsorship programmes and the critical incident interviews highlight nine determinants of commitment. The analysis of questionnaire returns indicates three variables (shared values, perceived benefits and opportunistic behavior) are statistically significant
determinants of sponsorship commitment. Further analysis of dyadic interview data results in the development of a typology which highlights the nature and characteristics of four sponsorship commitment types (Calculators and Commercials, Cynics and Short-Termers, Carers and
Communals, and Innocents and Indifferents). In the light of these findings, the study concludes by examining issues and implications for academics, practitioners and researchers.


Objectives: The clinical outcome of isolated tricuspid valve replacement is not well de®ned because this procedure is usually performed concomitantly with other valve surgery. Methods: We retrospectively studied the short and long-term outcome of 15 consecutive patients (six men and nine women, aged 61 ^ 3 years) undergoing isolated tricuspid valve replacement from 1984 to 1996. The cause of valve dysfunction was rheumatic heart disease in 12 patients, healed endocarditis in two patients, and sarcoidosis in one patient. The tricuspid valve was stenotic in one patient, regurgitant in eight patients, and both stenotic and regurgitant in six patients. A St. Jude Medical prosthesis was placed in eight patients, Carpentier±Edwards in ®ve patients, and BjoÈrk±Shiley and Starr±Edwards in one patient each. Results: The median survival was only 1.2 years. Three patients (20%) died #30 days after the surgery or before discharge, and six other patients (40%) died within 3 years of surgery. Anasarca was the only predictor of short-term mortality (P ˆ 0:03), while the predictors of long-term mortality were anemia (P ˆ 0:01), rheumatic heart disease (P ˆ 0:04), previous stroke (P ˆ 0:04), and previous mitral valve surgery (P ˆ 0:04). Conclusions: Isolated tricuspid valve replacement is characterized by a poor short and long-term outcome. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.


This paper analyses first and foremost the micro-regional (NUTS-IV) level changes of the past 15 years in Hungary, adopting the method of multivariate factor and cluster analysis as its fundamental approach. Accepting the popular view that Hungary is a "highly rural" country, this study first provides an overview of academic and political debates over the definition of rurality, then it goes on to examine the principal geographic factors of rural areas, namely the natural environment, agriculture and other economic activities, accessibility, infrastructure, settlement networks as well as local society and culture, assessing these factors on a nation-wide scale. Secondly, this study examines the interaction between the above-mentioned quantifiable factors and the strength of these changes, with the help of a statistical (factor) analysis performed for various chronological times. Finally, for the purpose of a comprehensive and integrated rural development, we identify, using the method of cluster analysis, the individual settlement types with various characteristics and evaluate them as well as the typical spatial processes taking place in these settlements.


Orbital motion under a continuous outward radial acceleration as a function of the distance from the central body is investigated analytically. The attainable maximum radial distance is given as a function of the radial acceleration, and numerical experiments are carried out showing some periodic orbits under radial acceleration. Three representative cases are treated: constant radial acceleration; radial acceleration proportional to inverse radial distance; and radial acceleration inversely proportional to square of radial distance. This paper focuses on the second case, which has not been reported in the literature. The results are applicable for mini-magnetospheric plasma propulsion.


This paper introduces imperfect information, learning, and risk aversion in a two sided matching model. The model provides a theoretical framework for the commonly occurring phenomenon of cohabitation followed by marriage, and is consistent with empirical findings on these institutions. The paper has three major results. First, individuals set higher standards for marriage than for cohabitation. When the true worth of a cohabiting partner is revealed, some cohabiting unions are converted into marriage while others are not. Second, individuals cohabit within classes. Third, the premium that compensates individuals for the higher risk involved in marriage over a cohabiting partnership is derived. This premium can be decomposed into two parts. The first part is a function of the individual's level of risk aversion, while the second part is a function of the difference in risk between marriage and cohabitation.


The subject of the philosophy of religion is religion. This sentence seems to be obvious. However, it loses its obviousness when we ask how we must comprehend religion. More directly: how can one maintain the critical vocation of philosophical inquires and, at the same time, listen to religion in what it has of specific? Philosophy of religion is deadlocked: or misses its object by reducing it to the subjectivity, or if it pays close attention to its subject, it should deny its claims to knowledge, recognizing itself as an impossible task. Although they belong to different philosophical traditions, this question is put is posed by Paul Tillich and by French phenomenologist Jean-Luc Marion. The article explores how both authors have the similar problematic (seeking a non-reductionist understanding of religion), follow different paths (while Tillich seeks a synthesis between philosophy and religion, Marion insists on the distinction) but, at the end, they appeal to theology in order to sustain the specificity of religion.


In this paper, the intelligent techniques are applied to enhance the quality control precision in the steel strip cold rolling production. Firstly a new control scheme is proposed, establishing the classifier of the steel strip cross-sectional profiles is the core of the system. The fuzzy clustering algorithm is used to establish the classifier. Secondly, a novel fuzzy clustering algorithm is proposed and used in the real application. The results, under the comparisons with the results obtained by the conventional fuzzy clustering algorithm, show the new algorithm is robust and efficient and it can not only get better clustering prototypes, which are used as the classifier, but also easily and effectively detect the outliers; it does great help in improving the performances of the new system. Finally, it is pointed out that the new algorithm's efficiency is mainly due to the introduction of a set of adaptive operators which allow for treating the different influences of data objects on the clustering operations; and in nature, the new fuzzy algorithm is the generalized version of the existing fuzzy clustering algorithm.


Mass-transport complexes (MTCs) in sedimentary basins reflect the gravitational transport of sediments from the shelf edge to the abyssal plain. Megaclasts, large sedimentary blocks of hundreds of meters long within MTCs, can record kinematic and sedimentary information deemed essential to understanding source-to-sink systems. Yet, deformation structures in such megaclasts remain poorly understood. This study uses high-quality, three-dimensional (3-D) seismic reflection data from the deep-water Taranaki Basin offshore New Zealand to analyze the morphological character of 123 megaclasts and propose a new classification scheme based on their morphometric properties. The megaclasts are up to 400 m tall, 1900 m long, and 1200 m wide. In the study area, they are high- to moderate-amplitude features owing to their different lithologies and continuous-to-contorted seismic facies. The megaclasts can be classified as undeformed, rotated, deformed, and highly deformed based on their internal deformational styles. Two different kinds of morphological depressions observed on their basal shear zones further indicate whether the megaclasts are transported or formed in situ. Our study demonstrates that quantitative parameterization of the megaclasts provides important information about their deformational processes and a more complete understanding of megaclast emplacement along continental margins.


In the United States, 50-60 individuals suffer a cardiac arrest each hour, amounting to approximately 250,000 deaths every year. In the first five minutes of a cardiac arrest, ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation are the most frequent cardiac arrhythmias encountered. Despite emergency medical response systems, the long-term survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest remains poor in most US cities. Paramount to achieving successful resuscitation of a cardiac arrest victim is providing early defibrillation. This issue of "Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinics" covers a full spectrum of issues related to sudden cardiac death, including the epidemiology of sudden cardiac death, advances in CPR, the implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD), and VT ablation.


ABSTRACT Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) and histiocytofibroma (HF) are two rare fibrohistiocytic tumors, with some overlapping pathologic features. Immunohistochemistry is very useful in these cases. CD34 is a commonly used marker. However, the increasing cases of CD34 negative DFSP make it pressing to test other immunohistochemical markers that could help in the differential diagnosis. DFSP is known to harbor COL1A1-PDGFB rearrangement. Tumors in the differential diagnosis of DFSP usually lack this molecular signature. Recent studies suggested the interaction of PDGFB and PDGF receptor b with various signaling pathways, including the Akt-mTOR pathway. Cyclin D1, one of the oncoproteins activated in this pathway, may represent a promising useful biomarker in the differential diagnosis. On the other hand, CD10 expression in specialized mesenchymal skin cells, and especially in fibrohistiocytic skin tumors has been reported, which raises the interest of using this biomarker in HF and DFSP. In this study, we aimed to compare the expression of CD10 and cyclin D1 in 15 cases of DFSP and 15 cases of HF and discuss their potential contribution in the differential diagnosis.


Title: GONNA: a Gene Ontology Nearest Neighbor Approach for the functional prediction of P.falciparum orphan genes Plasmodium falciparum, the pathogenic agent responsible for malaria, causes close to 3 millions human deaths each year in the world. Its genome, published in 2002, remains poorly understood. Among its ~5000 genes, ~3000 have a totally unknown biological function. Several reasons explain this situation, the first one being a totally atypical genome composition which renders ineffective the usual methods of functional annotation based on sequence comparison (alignment) with homologous genes in nearby organisms. Non-homology methods are thus needed to obtain functional clues for the orphan genes. Notably, transcriptomic analysis using DNA microarrays have been proposed. These approaches are based on the hypothesis that uncharacterized genes may potentially share functional roles with annotated genes of similar transcriptomic profile, a principle known as "Guilt by Association" (GBA). Interestingly, this intra-species principle can also be apply to other type of available postgenomic data, such as proteomic data or protein interaction data. The GO Consortium (http://www.geneontology.org) has developed a systematic and standardized nomenclature for annotating genes in various organisms, including P.falciparum. The GO annotation is a hierarchical structure describing generalization relationships between hundreds of terms. So each gene can have several associated GO terms, due to the hierarchical structure of the ontology, and of the existence of multi-functional genes. Here, we propose a low computing time method that allows the application of the GBA principle on the Gene Ontology in a very extensive way, and for several postgenomic data. Notably, it allows intensive used of a "cross-validation" procedure to provide high quality assessment of the predictions of the method for each GO term individually. The result is an assessed functional draft of the P.falciparum orphan genes. This draft has been integrated in a database available on the web and that can be accessed in different ways. A global view allows to rapidly inspect the branches of the ontology that are more suitable for the GBA principle using the considered type of data (transcriptome, proteome, and protein interaction data). Moreover, user can query the database to search for the potential GO terms of one particular gene, or to search for all the genes that potentially belong to a given GO term.


This Perspective provides an overview of transition metal-catalyzed cross coupling reactions of polyfluoroarenes. When appropriate, stoichiometric C-F activation and subsequent reaction are briefly covered.


The desire for higher engine efficiency has resulted in the evolution of aircraft gas turbine engines from turbojets, to low bypass ratio, first generation turbofans, to today's high bypass ratio turbofans. It is possible that future designs will continue this trend, leading to very-high or ultra-high bypass ratio (UHB) engines. Although increased bypass ratio has clear benefits in terms of propulsion system metrics such as specific fuel consumption, these benefits may not translate into aircraft system level benefits due to integration penalties. In this study, the design trade space for advanced turbofan engines applied to a single-aisle transport (737/A320 class aircraft) is explored. The benefits of increased bypass ratio and associated enabling technologies such as geared fan drive are found to depend on the primary metrics of interest. For example, bypass ratios at which fuel consumption is minimized may not require geared fan technology. However, geared fan drive does enable higher bypass ratio designs which result in lower noise. Regardless of the engine architecture chosen, the results of this study indicate the potential for the advanced aircraft to realize substantial improvements in fuel efficiency, emissions, and noise compared to the current vehicles in this size class.


The Rocky Mountains have intrigued researchers and explorationists ever since the gold rush days. These mountains are a tectonic puzzle because of their complex history and their distance from plate margins that usually make driving mechanisms evident. From a petroleum exploration point of view, the formation of the ancestral Rocky Mountains, the Laramide orogeny, and late Cenozoic extension and uplift are of primary interest. There has been an increasing emphasis on gravity and magnetic data in studies of this region, and these data have been particularly effective when used in an integrated fashion with seismic and drilling data. Rifting during the late Precambrian and Cambrian affected large areas of the southwest and created sedimentary basins that have in many cases survived to the present. In at least some cases, these strata contain both source and reservoir rocks. Thus, there is frontier defined by stratigraphic depth. In addition, younger structures such as those associated with the ancestral Rocky Mountains have often been affected by older rift structures preserving Cambrian and older strata. Gravity and magnetic data have played a major role in studies that reveal the deep manifestation of ancestral Rocky Mountain structures, including the deep basin structure and anomalies structure of the uplifts, and these data show that the scale of these structures is impressive in a global context. The structures extending across Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle into New Mexico have been referred to as the Southern Oklahoma or Wichita aulacogen, which can be interpreted to extend along this trend as far northwest as the Uncompahgre uplift in Utah. The deformation that formed the Ancestral Rocky Mountains is a massive inversion of these rift structures and is due to a plate collision in the late Paleozoic. These structures form one of North America's major petroleum provinces. The Laramide orogeny also produced considerable crustal scale deformation in the form of large basement uplifts and deep productive basins. Finally, late Cenozoic uplift and extension formed a series of basins that gravity and magnetic data show are deep and complex. ■


MicroRNAs (miRs, miRNAs) are regulatory small noncoding RNAs, with their roles already confirmed to be important for post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression affecting cell physiology and disease development. Upregulation of a cancer-causing miRNA, known as oncogenic miRNA, has been found in many types of cancers and, therefore, represents a potential new class of targets for therapeutic inhibition. Several strategies have been developed in recent years to inhibit oncogenic miRNAs. Among them is a direct approach that targets mature oncogenic miRNA with an antisense sequence known as antimiR, which could be an oligonucleotide or miRNA sponge. In contrast, an indirect approach is to block the biogenesis of miRNA by genome editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 system or a small molecule inhibitor. The development of these inhibitors is straightforward but involves significant scientific and therapeutic challenges that need to be resolved. In this review, we summarize recent relevant studies on the development of miRNA inhibitors against cancer.


The equilibrium configuration of very small magnetic flux tubes in an intergranular environment automatically produces kilogauss magnetic field strengths. We argue that such a process takes place in the Sun and complements the convective collapse (CC), which is traditionally invoked to explain the formation of kilogauss magnetic concentrations in the solar photosphere. In particular, it can concentrate the very weak magnetic fluxes revealed by the new IR spectropolarimeters, for which the operation of the CC may have difficulty. As part of the argument, we show the existence of solar magnetic features of very weak fluxes yet concentrated magnetic fields (some 3 × 1016 Mx and 1500 G).


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess the frequency and type of minor physical anomalies in schizophrenic patients and their normal siblings.

METHOD
Sixty adult patients with schizophrenia, 21 siblings of these patients, and 75 normal comparison subjects were assessed through use of an extended scale consisting of the Waldrop scale and 23 other minor physical anomalies.

RESULTS
Patients had significantly more minor physical anomalies than comparison subjects in all body areas tested and also more minor physical anomalies in total than their siblings. Hand, eye, and mouth minor physical anomalies best discriminated patients from comparison subjects. Siblings had significantly more minor physical anomalies than normal comparison subjects. Sixty percent of the patients and 38% of the siblings, but only 5% of the comparison subjects, had a higher rate of minor physical anomalies (i.e., six or more). With the exception of ear minor physical anomalies, no association was found between minor physical anomalies in the patient and sibling in the same family.

CONCLUSIONS
Higher levels of minor physical anomalies (especially in the eye, mouth, and hand/foot regions) characterize both schizophrenic patients and their normal siblings, but there is little similarity in these anomalies between patients and siblings in the same family. Thus, one or more genetic or shared environmental factors may increase the risk for development of both minor physical anomalies and schizophrenia in these families at large. Minor physical anomalies associated with schizophrenia are frequently found in, but are clearly not limited to, the head or facial region. The Waldrop scale identifies minor physical anomalies strongly associated with schizophrenia. Nevertheless, assessment of the new items clearly indicates that many additional minor physical anomalies are found in schizophrenic patients.


An improved weighted scale-free network, which has two evolution mechanisms: topological growth and strength dynamics, has been introduced. The topology structure of the model will be explored in details in this work. The evolution driven mechanism of Olami?Feder?Christensen (OFC) model is added to our model to study the self-organized criticality and the dynamical behavior. We also consider attack mechanism and the study of the model with attack is also investigated in this paper. We find there are differences between the model with attack and without attack.


Purpose

This paper aims to explore the factors that influence Generation Y's positive or negative electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) behavior via social media and mobile technology in the foodservice sector. Three types of dining experiences were examined: positive and negative customer experiences and negative customer service followed by a satisfactory recovery package.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was adopted to test the factors posited to influence Generation Y consumers in these service contexts. Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk , and multi-group structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the data.

Findings

Active use of social media and peer influence had a sweeping influence on Generation Y's intentions to engage in eWOM about their service experiences. Technological sophistication with mobile technology influenced Generation Y to spread positive or negative service experiences, rather than satisfactory recovery experiences. Family influence had a mixed influence on Generation Y subgroups (21-24 years old vs 25-35 years old) to engage in eWOM about their satisfactory or poor service experiences. In satisfactory recovery experiences, family influence showed no significant influence on Generation Y's eWOM behaviors.

Research limitations/implications

This study enriches online reviews and eWOM marketing theories, adds to service failure and recovery literature and enhances understanding of consumer behavior expressed by Generation Y through the empirical investigation of Generation Y consumers' behavioral motivations to engage in eWOM through social media and mobile technology.

Practical implications

Engaging Generation Y consumers with social media campaigns and mobile technology development is not merely sufficient in eWOM marketing strategies. Instead, it is essential to create integrative peer communities to motivate Generation Y consumers to engage in eWOM marketing. Marketers need to pay attention to the mixed effects of family influences on the eWOM behaviors of subgroups of Generation Y in positive or negative service experiences.

Originality/value

Given the scarcity of consumer behavior research into Generation Y as an emerging market segment, this paper makes an incremental contribution by developing and validating a model of factors that influence Generation Y consumers' eWOM intentions through social networking and mobile technologies in three major service contexts: positive, negative and recovery following a service failure.


An important requirement in the design of data transmission filters is the minimization of intersymbol interference, which is zero if the overall impulse response (transmit filter, channel and receive filter) satisfies the first Nyquist criterion. In this context, an important class of transfer functions, satisfying the Nyquist criterion, is the raised-cosine filter family. In order to guarantee low interference between adjacent channels, the transmit and receive filters must have a high value of stopband attenuation, so as to reduce the interchannel interference as much as possible. In this paper, a design method for finding the coefficients of a pair of linear-phase transmit/receive FIR filters, that when cascaded have raised-cosine frequency response, is presented. The design is based on Frequency Sampling techniques, and the filter parameters are chosen in order to obtain maximum stopband attenuation and low intersymbol interference. The filter coefficients can be easily evaluated and the optimal filter parameters can be obtained with tables or equations. The design method is very simple, completely automatic and suited for non-filter-oriented users. Look-up table techniques can be used for automatic re-design of the transmit and receive filters, making the proposed solution well suited to programmable computing platforms (FPGA—Field Programmable Gate Arrays- and PLD---Programmable Logic Devices-based platforms), or for applications where the design must be performed without any user intervention. The proposed filter design technique is quite simple and the results obtained often match the performance of filter designed using computationally more complex and conceptually more difficult methods. Copyright © 2003 AEI.


OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that there is no difference in the number of occlusal contacts in centric occlusion in patients treated with bonded and removable retention procedures and a control group during a 1-year retention period.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty-five patients received a removable Hawley retainer, and 25 patients received maxillary and mandibular bonded retainers. The retainer patients were compared with 20 control subjects with normal occlusions. Silicone-based impression bites were used to record occlusal contacts. Paired-sample t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey tests were used to evaluate intragroup and intergroup differences.

RESULTS
An increased number of occlusal contacts were recorded in total-arch and posterior combined (actual/near) teeth during the retention period as compared with the control group. In the Hawley group, actual and total contacts on the first and second molar and actual contacts on the premolar and canine showed statistically significant increases. In the bonded retainer group, near and total contacts on the first and second molars and premolars showed statistically significant increases. Slight occlusal changes were seen in the control sample during the observation period, presumably from growth and development. ANOVA comparisons of total contacts of anterior and posterior teeth indicated statistically significant differences in the three groups on posterior segments.

CONCLUSIONS
The hypothesis is rejected. Both retention procedures allowed relative vertical movement of the posterior teeth, but the number of contacts on the posterior segment was increased more in the bonded retainer group than in the Hawley and control groups at the end of retention.


This document outlines discussions from the Expert meeting for the Safe Passages to Adulthood programme, where researchers, practitioners and policy makers explored the potential of education to protect against HIV/AIDS, as well as the possible changes needed to enable the education system to respond more adequately. This programme, co-ordinated jointly by the University of Southampton, University of London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicine, researches young people's sexual and reproductive health in poorer country settings. The good practice guide explores the challenges facing practitioners and policy-makers in resource-constrained countries who are trying to develop educational initiatives aimed at promoting the sexual and reproductive health of young people. The resource sets out good practice guidelines for work in school settings, out-of-school contexts and in higher education. These guidelines are illustrated by examples of innovative practice from across the world. After review of the objectives, design, implementation and results from programmes that span three continents, conclusions on important factors in running successful programmes are outlined. These included sharing of ideas and responsibility, active involvement of young people in the programmes, starting from a clear values base, supporting adults in their work, planning for sustainability and acknowledging and incorporating the importance of context when designing and implementing educational programmes.


BACKGROUND
Racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes and risk factors are well documented, but few data have evaluated population differences in CVD knowledge, preventive action, and barriers to prevention.

METHODS
A nationally representative sample of 1008 women (17% Hispanic, 22% black, 61% white/other) selected through random digit dialing were given a standardized questionnaire about knowledge of healthy risk factor levels, recent preventive actions, and barriers to prevention. Analysis focused on predictors of knowledge and preventive action in the past year and proportion reporting select barriers to prevention. Logistic regression was used to determine if race/ethnicity was independently associated with knowledge and preventive action after adjustment.

RESULTS
No racial/ethnic differences in risk factor knowledge were identified except Hispanic women were 44% less likely than white/others to know the optimal high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level (odds ratio [OR] 0.56,95% confidence interval [CI] 0.35-0.91). Knowledge of blood pressure goal was lower among those with less than a college education (OR 0.59,95% CI 0.44-0.79). Hispanics were twice as likely as white/others to help someone else lose weight (OR 1.78,95% CI 1.17-2.71) or add physical activity (OR 1.95,95% CI 1.18-3.22) in the past year. Blacks were more likely than whites/others to report decreased unhealthy food consumption (OR 1.77,95% CI 1.08-2.93), trying to lose weight (OR 1.62,95% CI 1.06-2.47), and taking action when they experienced CVD symptoms (30% vs. 23%,p = 0.03). Physician encouragement was cited as the reason for taking preventive action more often by black (59%,p = 0.002) and Hispanic (54%,p = 0.03) women than whites/others (43%).

CONCLUSIONS
Continued initiatives to improve and translate knowledge into preventive action are needed, especially among less educated and Hispanic women who may activate others to reduce risk.


The humoral immune response of transplant recipients to influenza vaccination has been studied in detail. In contrast, the hemagglutinin inhibiting (HI) antibody response evoked by natural influenza infection and its impact on viral kinetics is unknown. In this prospective, multicenter, cohort study of natural influenza infection in transplant recipients, we measured HI antibody titers at presentation and 4 weeks later. Serial nasopharyngeal viral loads were determined using a quantitative influenza A polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We analyzed 196 transplant recipients with influenza infection. In the cohort of organ transplant patients with influenza A (n = 116), seropositivity rates for strain‐specific antibodies were 44.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 31.5‐53.2%) at diagnosis and 64.7% (95% CI 55.4‐72.9%) 4 weeks postinfection. Seroconversion was observed in 32.8% (95% CI 24.7‐41.9%) of the cases. Lung transplant recipients were more likely to seroconvert (P = .002) and vaccine recipients were less likely to seroconvert (P = .024). A subset of patients (n = 30) who were unresponsive to prior vaccination were also unresponsive to natural infection. There was no correlation between viral kinetics and antibody response. This study provides novel data on the seroresponse to influenza infection in transplant patients and its relationship to a number of parameters including a prior vaccination status, virologic measures, and clinical variables.


The objectives of this research were to determine the optimum quantity of feed stocked or ordered which gave the most economic efficiency in daily management practices of poultry- shop. The case study was conducted at Rajawali poultry shop, located in Lubuk Begalung sub district, Padang city. Data or information collected included: kind of feed stocked; volume and time schedule of feed ordered; procedures and cost of feed ordering, handling, storage and distribution. The data were statistically analyzed by using Economic Order Quantity Method. The results showed that the poultry shop was applied good stock management practices. The quantity and frequency of feed ordered of 69,784 kg for every 2 days was found the most optimum management practices which might save cost of about Rp. 9,064,874 for the year of 2006.


Instruction compression technique overcomes the drawbacks of traditional VLIW architectures with low density in the instruction cache. However, the separated long instruction word was arranged into two cache line. It comes to be a bottleneck problem for VLIW architecture processor performance because these split long instruction word can not be fetched and issued simultaneously. A novel two-level instruction issue window mechanism is proposed in this paper. It solves the instruction fetch and issue problem in separating instruction words. It provides more effective and continuous instruction flow, and stores one iteration of the loop body to support software pipeline technique, which improves VLIW DSP processor performance effectively. Proposed machanism was synthesized to evaluate its overall costs, and the performance speedup result for DSP/IMG library bencharks using the cycle accurate simulator are presented.


Crystalline 3C-SiC thin films were successfully grown on (100) and (111) Si substrates by using ArF pulsed laser ablation from a SiC ceramic target combined with a vacuum annealing process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were employed to study the effect of annealing on the structure of thin films deposited at 800°C. It was demonstrated that vacuum annealing could transform the amorphous SiC films into crystalline phase and that the crystallinity was strongly dependent on the annealing temperature. For the samples deposited on (100) and (111) Si, the optimum annealing temperatures were 980 and 920°C, respectively. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs exhibited different characteristic microstructure for the (100) and (111) Si cases, similar to that observed for the carbonization layer initially formed in chemical vapor deposition of SiC films on Si. This also showed the presence of the epitaxial relationship of 3C-SiC[100]//Si[100] and 3C-SiC[111]//Si[111] in the direction of growth.


In the article the issue of the day of selection in Ukraine of right of health protection is considered in the separate field of law, as it is done in the USA, countries of European Union and Russia. At the same time author not supporter of selection of pharmaceutical right in separate industry, and suggests to examine a medical and pharmaceutical right as subindustries of the system of right for a health protection are in Ukraine.


The concentration of oestradiol was measured by radioimmunoassay in ovarian venous plasma collected from ewes of three breeds (Finnish Landrace, Scottish Blackface and Tasmanian Merino) on Day 9 of the oestrous cycle and in jugular venous plasma collected daily around oestrus in two of these breeds. The mean +/- s.e.m. concentration in the ovarian venous plasma of the Merino (44.1 +/- 7.6 pg/ml) was lower than that in Blackface (72.2 +/- 10.2 pg/ml) and Finn ewes (66.8 +/- 10.2 pg/ml). The overall fitted mean concentration in peripheral venous plasma was 1.7 pg oestradiol-17beta/ml, with no difference between the Finn and Blackface ewes, in which the highest preovulatory values were 3.9 +/- 0.5 and 3.4 +/- 0.5 pg/ml respectively.


One of the important roles of the PBL is to transportmoisture from the surface to the cloud layer. However, how this transport process can be accounted for in cloud-resolvingmodels (CRMs) is not sufficiently clear and has rarely been examined. A typical CRM can resolve the bulk feature of large convection systems but not the small-scale convection and turbulence motions that carry a large portion of the moisture fluxes. This study uses a large-eddy simulation of a tropical deep-convection system as a benchmark to examine the subgridscale (SGS) moisture transport into a cloud system. It is shown that most of the PBLmoisture transport to the cloud layer occurs in the areas under low-level updrafts, with rain, or under cloudy skies, although these PBL regimes may cover only a small fraction of the entire cloud-system domain. To develop SGS parameterizations to represent the spatial distribution of this moisture transport in CRMs, three models are proposed and tested. An updraft–downdraft model performs exceptionally well, while a statistical-closure model and a local-gradient model are less satisfactory but still perform adequately. Each of these models, however, has its own closure issues to be addressed. The updraft–downdraft model requires a scheme to estimate the mean SGS updraft– downdraft properties, the statistical-closure model needs a scheme to predict both SGS vertical-velocity and moisture variances, while the local-gradient model requires estimation of the SGS vertical-velocity variance.


In order to understand a drug's full profile in the post-marketing environment, information is needed regarding utilization patterns, beneficial effects, ADRs and economic value. China, the most populated country in the world, has the largest number of people who are taking medications. To begin to appreciate the impact of these medications, a multifunctional evaluation and surveillance system was developed, the Shanghai Drug Monitoring and Evaluative System (SDMES). Set up by the Shanghai Center for Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring in 2001, the SDMES contains three databases: a population health data base of middle aged and elderly persons; hospital patient medical records; and a spontaneous ADR reporting database. Each person has a unique identification and Medicare number, which permits record-linkage within and between these three databases. After more than three years in development, the population health database has comprehensive data for more than 320,000 residents. The hospital database has two years of inpatient medical records from five major hospitals, and will be increasing to 10 hospitals in 2007. The spontaneous reporting ADR database has collected 20,205 cases since 2001 from approximately 295 sources, including hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, drug wholesalers and pharmacies. The SDMES has the potential to become an important national and international pharmacoepidemiology resource for drug evaluation.


The last imported case of yellow fever seen in this country was in 1924. We report a case of yellow fever acquired by an American tourist who visited the jungles of Brazil along the Rio Negro and Amazon Rivers. The patient died 6 days after hospital admission and 10 days after his first symptoms appeared. Yellow fever virus was recovered from clinical specimens, and the isolate was genetically similar to the E genotype IIB of South American yellow fever viruses. This patient's illness represents a case of vaccine-preventable death since he failed to be immunized with a recommended preexposure yellow fever vaccine.


Measurements of quality of life within specific rehabilitation populations lack validity and reliability, preventing an accurate and comprehensive rehabilitation program. The objectives of this study were to describe the quality of life (QOL) and social outcomes of a sample of elderly individuals after hip fracture and to examine the relation between them. A prospective study was conducted on 32 elderly patients between 1 and 2 years following hip surgery. Self report with two instruments was used: the QOL and the Social Provision Scale (SPS). The results showed that the mean QOL rating was moderate to average (54 out of 80). The standardized measures had satisfactory reliability. The subjects had significantly moderate QOL and social support compared with the standardization of non-disabled subjects. Regression analyses indicated that social support and provision make a significant contribution to the QOL. Our findings indicate that the overall QOL among aged individuals who had undergone hip surgery was good, and the major factors associated with good QOL are social integration and support.


Russell McCutcheon's Manufacturing Religion and David Chidester's Savage Systems give us two potentially complementary ways of imagining pivotal issues pertaining to the study of religion and its history. McCutcheon's predominant concern is to show that many of the classical theorists who have helped shape a field of religion have failed to locate themselves and their work adequately within their own subjective contexts, thus unconsciously advancing arguments that treat religion as, in McCutcheon's words, a "sui generis" phenomenon. By contrast, Chidester's study is more concerned with establishing the wider historical context of the field of religion, rather than with isolating particular texts and their authors and pointing out tacit assumptions inhering in the way they develop the concept "religion". While differing greatly in emphasis, both of these approaches are necessary in establishing the study of religion as a credible academic discipline. This article uses these two studies to place textual (McCutcheon) and contextual (Chidester) approaches to the study of religion and its history in relationship to one another. It argues that the contextual approach has been a minority tradition and that more attention now needs to be paid to history itself rather than to the analysis of prominent texts in reconstructing the history and parameters of the discipline.


Over 9 yr, bandane (polychlorodicyclopentadiene isomers) at 67 kg/ha, bensulide [O,O-diisopropyl phosphorodithioate S-ester with N-(2-mercaptoethyl)benzenesulfonamide] at 11 and 22 kg/ha, DCPA (dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate) at 22 kg/ha, and terbutol (2,6-di-tert-butyl-p-tolyl methylcarbamate) at 22 kg/ha applied preemergence controlled 94 to 100% of large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. # DIGSP] in a lawn of common bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. # CYNDA]. Control from benefin (N-butyl-N-ethyl-α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-p-toluidine) at 5 kg/ha, DCPA at 11 kg/ha, simazine [2-chloro-4,6-bis(ethylamino)-s-triazine] at 5 kg/ha, and terbutol at 11 kg/ha was 90 to 99%. Bandane and bensulide persisted in soil to control large crabgrass a year after treatment.


The development and implementation of an e-cadastre, called Project Vulindlela, is underway in South Africa yet there is little literature/research to guide e-cadastral development and implementation globally. Also, the meanings of the terms 'e-cadastre' and 'e-cadastral system' are unclear. This paper seeks to address these limitations. We begin with a look at definitions of key terms in the field of cadastral development. Then an understanding of what constitutes an e-cadastral system is formed through an exploration of: good governance as related to cadastral development, e-government and e-governance, and a study of global cadastral and land administration trends and 'future cadastres'. The e-cadastral system is thereafter defined as an electronic, parcel-based land tenure information system (LTIS) that combines the roles of the agencies in control of surveys and mapping, land registration, land valuation and land use / development in a manner that aims to broadly satisfy e-governance outcomes as related to cadastral systems development. Finally, the implied goals of the e-cadastral system are described. It is hoped that this exploration will stimulate further development of the concepts of e-cadastral systems such that formal critique of these systems will be possible in the future.


Background: The transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) cation channels function as broadly-tuned sensors of noxious chemicals in many species. Recent studies identified four functional TRPA1 isoforms in Drosophila melanogaster (dTRPA1(A) to (D)), but their responses to non-electrophilic chemicals are yet to be fully characterized. Methods: We determined the behavioral responses of adult flies to the mammalian TRPA1 non-electrophilic activators citronellal and menthol, and characterized the effects of these compounds on all four dTRPA1 channel isoforms using intracellular Ca2+ imaging and whole-cell patch-clamp recordings. Results: Wild type flies avoided citronellal and menthol in an olfactory test and this behavior was reduced in dTrpA1 mutant flies. Both compounds activate all dTRPA1 isoforms in the heterologous expression system HEK293T, with the following sensitivity series: dTRPA1(C) = dTRPA1(D) > dTRPA1(A) ≫ dTRPA1(B) for citronellal and dTRPA1(A) > dTRPA1(D) > dTRPA1(C) > dTRPA1(B) for menthol. Conclusions: dTrpA1 was required for the normal avoidance of Drosophila melanogaster towards citronellal and menthol. All dTRPA1 isoforms are activated by both compounds, but the dTRPA1(B) is consistently the least sensitive. We discuss how these findings may guide further studies on the physiological roles and the structural bases of chemical sensitivity of TRPA1 channels.


Context In Iceland there are long standing concerns about high dropout rates from upper secondary schools. According to new information from Statistics Iceland, only 44% of students who started secondary schools in 2003 graduated within the normal four years of study, while the average rate within OECD was 68%. Two years on the OECD average had risen to 81% but was 58% in Iceland, the lowest of 11 countries with comparable statistics (Hagstofa Islands, 2012a, 2102b). Log um framhaldsskola (The Upper Secondary Act, nr. 92/2008) entitles students access to schooling until the age of 18. Upper secondary schools are also authorised to establish short, workplace-based programmes and grant students an upper secondary diploma when they have completed 52 credits of the 140 credits required for the matriculation exam. In many European countries, such as Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Norway and Sweden, there is a rich tradition for vocational education with a strong connection with workplaces, and many of those countries are pursuing such educational programmes as a means of preventing dropout (European Commission, Education and Training, 2012a, 2012b; European Parliament, 2009; Hoffman, 2011; Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2009.) The study Akureyri Comprehensive College (VMA) has for a number of years offered a programme of study within its Department of General Studies (DGS) for students without the required prerequisites. Even though this programme has been successful for some students, it does not seem to have met the needs of the students that are most at risk of dropping out of school. In an attempt to improve provisions for students who are thought to be unlikely to graduate without special measures to meet their needs, the school has responded to new opportunities opened in the Upper Secondary Act of 2008 to grant students an upper secondary diploma after having completed 52 credits and engaged in a workplace-based programme of study aimed at these students. The aim of the current study was to investigate the progress and outcomes of a development project that commenced in the school year 2011–2012 and continued in the school year 2012–2013. Twelve and six students in each year respectively were offered to participate in a workplace-based programme aimed at enabling them to complete the 52 credits, required for the upper secondary diploma, in two years. The main emphasis was on the views and experiences of the participating students (cf. Fielding, 2006; Fletcher, 2005) and three teachers who led the development project. To this end, group interviews were conducted with each group of students in the beginning of the school year, followed by individual semi-structured interviews in the middle of the spring term. The interviews were supplemented by an analysis of the students' diaries. In-depth interviews were also conducted with the head of the DGS, who was in charge in the school year 2011–2012, a new head appointed for the school year 2012–2013, and the teacher in charge of the workplace programme in both years. Findings and discussion When the individual interviews with the students in the first year were conducted in the middle of the spring term, five students had dropped out, but the remaining seven had all confirmed their enrolment for the coming school year of 2012– 2013. In the second year, all six students who had entered the programme in the preceding autumn term were still active. The high dropout rate in the first year was disappointing but all students in both years who finished the two terms commended the workplace programme, and thought that its mixture of work placement and in-school studies had suited them well. However, despite their determination to stay in the school for the coming school year, they had no clear plans for the kind of vocation they would like to pursue. All of them had attended both their work training and in-school studies regularly; they were generally happy with their workplace training and the content and organisation of the inschool studies, and maintained that they had acquired new and useful knowledge and skills. The heads of the DGS and the teacher in charge also maintained that despite the disappointing dropout of five students from the programme in the first year, the remaining students had gained from it and were unlikely to have stayed in school in the traditional DGS programme, let alone decided to enroll for another year. However, they pointed out that it would be a challenge for the school to find suitable future learning opportunities for these students, and there were limits as to how far the school would be able to reach, e.g. in terms of funding and other resources, to fulfil their individual needs. Even though the small-scale nature of the current study makes generalisations difficult, the study nevertheless does seem to indicate that schools such as VMA have the potential to establish programmes that meet students' needs and work against their dropping out. After all, despite the disappointing dropout of five students from the first year programme, to a large extent the programme did meet the needs of those who remained. This should encourage VMA and other similar schools to maintain momentum in developing programmes of study that enable students to leave schools as "winners".


This article reviews interventions that are effective in changing behaviours in ways that enhance financial capability. Traditionally, behavior change has been seen through the lens of "changing minds": if we can change the way people think—their beliefs, attitudes, and goals—then we can change the way they behave. More recent developments in behavioral theory show that "changing contexts" can have a powerful effect on behavior: we can change behavior by sometimes quite subtle changes to the environment or context within which decisions are made. We focus largely on the influence of context and provide examples from current UK banks that have changed the "choice architecture" of their products.


Three structurally and antigenically similar capsular polysaccharides, two derived from group C Neisseria meningitidis (O-acetyl-positive and O-acetyl-negative variants) and one from Escherichia coli K92, which cross-reacts with polysaccharide from group C N. meningitidis, were compared for their ability to induce anticapsular and bactericidal antibodies to group C N. meningitidis in adult volunteers. All three vaccines elicited group C-specific serum antibodies. The vaccine derived from the O-acetyl-negative variant was the most immunogenic of the three vaccines. With use of radiolabeled O-acetyl-positive group C N. meningitidis polysaccharide antigen, the geometric mean titers of antibody in serum were 41.7 microgram/ml to the O-acetyl-negative variant, 22.8 microgram/ml to the O-acetyl-positive variant, and 7.1 microgram/ml to E. coli K92. Antibodies induced by all three vaccines were bactericidal for both of the group C N. meningitidis polysaccharide variants. An inverse relation between the comparative immunogenicity of the O-acetyl-negative polysaccharide and the virulence of group C N. meningitidis was found.


Multilineage differentiation of human fetal bone marrow CD34+ cell subsets was examined using a single-cell liquid culture assay. Four CD34+ cell populations, ie, (1) CD38-, HLA-DR+, (2) CD38-, HLA-DR-, (3) CD38+, HLA-DR-, and (4) CD38+, HLA-DR+ cells, were sorted as single cells into 96-well flat-bottom culture plates containing long-term culture medium supplemented with interleukin-3, interleukin-6, stem cell factor (SCF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, erythropoietin, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Single CD34+, CD38-, HLA-DR+ cells had the highest replating efficiency as well as the highest replating efficiency. The cellular composition of the single-cell progeny was studied by morphologic and/or flow cytometric examination. Only the progeny of single CD34+ cells that lacked CD38 could give rise to each of the hematopoietic cell lineages. The expansion of the progeny of single CD34+, CD38-, HLA-DR+ cells was examined in more detail and showed three clearly distinguishable growth patterns: 28% (SD, +/- 10%; n = 14) of the single cells formed cell clusters/colonies; 9% (SD, +/- 4%; n = 14) formed dispersed cells; and 11% (SD, +/- 6%; n = 14) gave rise to a mixture of cell clusters and dispersed cells. The dispersed cell growth pattern was reduced when SCF or bFGF and IGF-1 was absent in the growth factor cocktail. The replating ability of the dispersed cells was considerably larger than that of cells with other growth patterns, in that 76% of the cells that gave rise to dispersed cells and 54% of the cells that gave rise to dispersed cells as well as cell clusters gave rise to a second generation, but only 7% of the cells that gave rise to cell clusters gave rise to a second generation. The second generation of cells continued to produce third and fourth generations after repetitive replating, except for the replated cells from cell clusters. In contrast with the first-generation progeny, SCF did not have an influence on the replating ability of the cells. Only in the progeny of single CD34+, CD38-, HLA-DR+ cells that gave rise to dispersed cells was each of the hematopoietic cell lineages found, ie, B lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, macrophages, osteoclasts, basophils/mast cells, eosinophils, erythrocytes, megakaryocytes, and platelets.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


The C–H indolation of heteroarenes was realized using the benziodoxolone hypervalent iodine reagents indoleBXs. Functionalization of the C–H bond in bipyridinones and quinoline N-oxides catalyzed by a rhodium complex allowed to incorporate indole rings into aza-heteroaromatic compounds. These new transformations displayed complete regioselectivity for the C-6 position of bipyridinones and the C-8 position of quinoline N-oxides and tolerated a broad range of functionalities, such as halogens, ethers, or trifluoromethyl groups.


Recent advances in computing, communication, and sensor technology are pushing the development of many new applications. This trend is especially evident in pervasive computing, sensor networks, and embedded systems. Smart cameras, one example of this innovation, are equipped with a high-performance onboard computing and communication infrastructure, combining video sensing, processing, and communications in a single embedded device. By providing access to many views through cooperation among individual cameras, networks of embedded cameras can potentially support more complex and challenging applications - including smart rooms, surveillance, tracking, and motion analysis - than a single camera. We designed our smart camera as a fully embedded system, focusing on power consumption, QoS management, and limited resources. The camera is a scalable, embedded, high-performance, multiprocessor platform consisting of a network processor and a variable number of digital signal processors (DSPs). Using the implemented software framework, our embedded cameras offer system-level services such as dynamic load distribution and task reconfiguration. In addition, we combined several smart cameras to form a distributed embedded surveillance system that supports cooperation and communication among cameras.


This report describes the design process of a sailing yacht with improvement
of the space perception. The assignment is carried out at yacht
designer Satellite Yacht Design. The company would like to introduce
innovative ideas to a rather monotonous market. Therefore they offered
an internship to a non-yacht designer.
In preliminary talks to the contract, it was determined that the focus of
the assignment would be on small yachts (7 to 9 m) and on the perception
of space on board. Before the design phase, several analyzes have
been made to find out what is currently on the market and what target
groups are interesting to focus on with this new design. Three target
groups are most interesting: Rental, 50+ and wealthy thirties. A list of
wishes and demands is established for the target groups. It is being
substantiated by a questionnaire and an interview with a yacht builder.
At this point it became clear these target groups don't have enough
overlap to be united in one design.
The rental is disengaged because the group is too complicated to focus
on and less suited for innovations. The design is decided to be partly
modular, buying this yacht is like buying a car: buyers get to pick colors
and features. A design brief is drawn from the demands for the remaining
target groups. The 4 goals of the redesign are: improvement of
space perception, ease of operation, appearance and comfort. Several
concepts for the interior design are generated in several areas, redesign
of: the galley, sitting in- and outside and opening. These concepts are
valued and chosen based on the 4 goals.
Suitable parts and systems are designed for the interior design. When
the interior design is established it automatically generates demands
for the exterior design. The next step is designing the exterior. After this
process styling of the practical design is done, the rental group is being
re-engaged because adapting the design for rental turned out to be
fairly easy.
The design is well suited for the purpose it is designed for, not all parts
are new but the innovations concern several important areas of the
boat.


The paper is devoted to the problem of medical errors in diagnosing. With the Siberian clinical school taken as an example, the theory of formation of clinical experience from the gradual accumulation of experience by the school founders to the active formation of clinical thinking through the use of the theory of diagnosing is presented.


The authors present in a simple and illustrative way the main points of extended irreversible thermodynamics as applied to heat conduction. A comparison with kinetic theory is carried out.


Background: Different intracanal medicaments are being used in endodontics but little attention is paid to their cytotoxicity. The aim of this research was to assess the cytotoxic effect of the traditionally used intracanal medicaments and compare them with 2% acetic acid. Materials and Methods: Different intracanal medicaments and 2% acetic acid were inoculated in the tibia bone of white albino rabbits for 3, 7, 14 and 28 days. After the incubation time, the animals were sacrificed and the inoculated areas were assessed histopathologically. Results: Two percent acetic acid induced an inflammatory reaction comparable to that of normal saline, and calcium hydroxide that subsided after 14 days. The formaldehyde containing agents, and CMCP induced a more severe inflammatory reaction, with tricresol formalin showing a reaction even after 28 days. Conclusions: Two percent acetic acid was more biocompatible than the other tested root canal medicaments.


We compared the degree to which Escherichia coli phase variants which do (T1P+ E. coli) or do not (T1P- E. coli) express type 1 pili (T1P) stimulate human polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) oxidative activity. Unopsonized T1P+ E. coli stimulated the release of 0.20 to 0.24 nmol of H2O2 per 10(6) PMN per min and the consumption of 1.4 to 4.0 nmol of O2 per 10(6) PMN per min; no measurable PMN oxidative activity was stimulated by unopsonized T1P- E. coli. In the presence of serum opsonins, T1P+ E. coli stimulated the release of 1.12 to 1.16 nmol of H2O2 per 10(6) PMN per min and the consumption of 5.0 to 6.0 nmol of O2 per 10(6) PMN per min, whereas T1P- E. coli stimulated the release of 0.42 to 0.43 nmol of H2O2 per 10(6) PMN per min and the consumption of 0.6 to 2.0 nmol of O2 per 10(6) PMN per min. Although unaggregated T1P did not stimulate PMN, latex beads coated with T1P (T1P-latex) stimulated alpha-methylmannoside-inhibitable, opsonin-independent PMN oxidative activity. The activity stimulated by either T1P+ E. coli or T1P-latex was susceptible to inhibition by cytochalasin B. Latex particles coated with bovine serum albumin or mannose-resistant pili did not stimulate PMN. These data indicate that T1P+ E. coli stimulate PMN oxidative metabolism more effectively than do T1P- E. coli and that a similar PMN oxidative response follows cellular stimulation by either unopsonized T1P+ or opsonized T1P- E. coli. Furthermore, T1P-latex faithfully mimics the ability of T1P+ E. coli to stimulate PMN oxidative metabolism. Such particles may be useful in further analyses of cellular responses to T1P+ E. coli.


The Geography textbook for the 8th grade has been drawn up based on the program of the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, in different years, with the aim that the students acquire geographical knowledge, reinforces this knowledge in everyday life situations, integrating the cause-effect relationships of natural and human phenomena and processes with geographical research methods. According to the content of the curriculum, regional geography and other eco-continents will be taught in the eighth grade, as well as the submission of questions is covered at the end of each topic in the text. This text deals with interesting issues for several continents, countries, and we will analyse the approaches of the authors, the clearest elaboration for the student on the topics and the questions posed to the students with the goal; remembering, understanding, and applying. A special care and attention has been shown to preserve the right ratios between informative and non-formative material, theoretical and factual, historical and contemporary, respecting the scientific and didactic criteria. We will base the research on Bloom's taxonomy, beginning with knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation, with the aim of better reflecting the state, analyse the revised taxonomy and we will also present the students' recollection, understanding and application in everyday life.


Abstract : This report summarizes the technical progress made at NGES during the HiFIVE program developing a 50 W, 220 GHz amplifier based on vacuum electronics technology. Two configurations were investigated: A multi-beam amplifier in a planar magnet and a single-beam device in a cylindrical magnet with radial access. Precision micro-fabrication techniques were used to achieve the stringent specifications for the folded waveguide circuit dimensions and tolerances. We demonstrated high power and good transmission with a five-beam configuration during 2012. Peak output powers up to 31 W were measured at 219 GHz. Even higher powers (55 W) were produced at 214 GHz because of the higher gain at lower frequencies. A power-bandwidth of 247 W-GHz was measured at 214 GHz, and the overall gain was 28.5 dB. We also achieved a beam transmission efficiency of 75% through the RF circuit to the collector. The multi-beam amplifier is relatively complex, and typically results in a larger and heavier device. We also investigated an alternate concept based a compact single-beam 220 GHz amplifier as part of the HiFIVE program. A prototype was fabricated in 2013, and RF testing resulted in powers up to 19.4 W at 212 GHz with a beam transmission efficiency of 99.5%.


Agricultural intensification is central to the Green Revolution (GR) programme. This initiative, which dates back to early 1940s, revolves around the development of high yielding and disease resistant seed varieties that aims at bringing about an efficient food production and security. The paper thus presents a brief genesis and thrust of the GR. Focusing on Nigeria as a typical African case, the discourse addresses the political economy of the Nigerian agriculture, outlines the features of the Nigerian GR as a pro-poor development strategy. It also analyses the political and bureaucratic lapses associated with the introduction and implementation of the reform. Although wary of some of the issues surrounding the production of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) and high external inputs (HEIs) in the push for a new African GR, the paper reports the proceedings of the Salzburg conference as a likely platform for the formulation of new pro-poor policies in the context of the African GR. If sincerely and properly implemented, the article argues that an African-oriented GR framework is conceived as a possible policy window to address the challenges of the continent"s poor majority.


An intermolecular nickel-catalyzed addition reaction has been developed where N-arylphthalimides react with alkynes to afford substituted isoquinolones. A mechanistic rationale is proposed, implying nucleophilic attack of Ni(0) to an amide as the primary step of the catalytic cycle.


Two Pseudomonas isolates, named ES-1 and ES-2, were shown to possess a wide degradative spectrum for haloalkanes in general and bromoalkanes in particular but did not degrade nonsubstituted alkanes. The utilization of water-insoluble haloalkanes, such as 1-bromooctane, appeared to consist of three phases: (i) extracellular emulsification by a constitutively excreted, broad-spectrum surface-active agent, (ii) dehalogenation by an inducible hydrolytic dehalogenase (possibly periplasmic), and (iii) intracellular degradation of the residual carbon skeleton. Several observations suggest the existence of more than one dehalogenase in strain ES-2.


Background Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive fibrotic lung disease for which there are no effective treatments. As a result the prognosis is poor, with a median survival of 3 years from the onset of symptoms. The key feature of IPF is formation of 'fibroblastic foci', accumulations of highly active, proliferative fibroblasts and myofibroblasts that lay down vast quantities of collagen and other extracellular matrix proteins. Lysyl oxidase (LOX) is a secreted enzyme involved in cross-linking of collagen and implicated in several fibrotic conditions. Increased cross-linking due to LOX upregulation in IPF may contribute to decreased lung compliance. Further, LOX may represent a biomarker that can be used to detect early responses or 'proof-of-mechanism' in clinical trials for new IPF drugs. We hypothesized that levels of LOX protein were higher in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from IPF patients compared to healthy controls. Methods BAL fluid was collected from patients with IPF or volunteers following ethical approval and informed consent. A quantity of BAL fluid determined to contain 20μg protein was concentrated with Strataclean resin and resuspended in 2x sample buffer. LOX protein content was determined by SDS-PAGE and western blotting followed by densitometry. Results LOX can be detected in BAL fluid from patients with IPF. Both pro and active forms of the LOX enzyme are significantly elevated in IPF compared to healthy controls, with active LOX detected in 12/25 IPF patients compared to 1/9 healthy controls. Conclusions There is increasing evidence for a role of LOX in fibrosis. Here we suggest LOX may be involved in IPF pathogenesis, and demonstrate that it is possible to detect secreted LOX in BAL fluid from patients with this condition. LOX may therefore represent a biomarker that could be used in clinical trials for IPF . Further work would be required to validate and optimise assays for clinical use.


A case report on the nephrotoxic effect of cyclosporine in a 9-year-old boy with a kidney transplant is presented. Nephrotoxicity was present even at low trough cyclosporine concentration. The literature on the range of cyclosporine nephrotoxicity is reviewed. Cyclosporine (CsA), a fungal decapeptide first introduced in 1983, has significantly improved the outcome of renal transplantation, and remains the first line immunosupressant for pediatric recipients. CsA has a narrow therapeutic range because of the fine line between adequate immunosuppression and the risk of drug-induced side effects. Furthermore, considerable inter- and intrapatient variability does exist [Filler et al. 1999]. The pre-dose trough concentration is routinely used for therapeutic drug monitoring [Bunchman et al. 1998]. The most significant side effect is nephrotoxicity, which may present differently at different times after transplantation. Renal vasoconstriction, especially involving the afferent renal arterioles, has been strongly implicated as a primary factor in acute reversible CsA nephrotoxicity. Alpha-adrenergic and calcium channel blockade with either verapamil or nifedipine ameliorates vasospasm and impairment of renal function that accompany CsA toxicity. Because of this vasoconstrictive effect, CsA may increase ischemic graft damage in the early posttransplant period. CsA side effects can be eliminated by reducing the dosage of the drug. We present an unusual case of nephrotoxicity and impaired renal function with a very low CsA blood trough concentration (50 ng/ml) on posttransplant treatment. The side effects subsided only after the discontinuation of CsA.


In order to duplicate, cells need to faithfully replicate their DNA followed by the coordinated transfer of duplicated chromosomes to the future daughter cells. To ensure correct segregation, sister chromatids are paired by the cohesin complex from the moment of their synthesis until their separation in mitosis. Defects in cohesin function and mutations in cohesin genes are associated with cancer and are the cause of developmental disorders called cohesinopathies. In this thesis, we aimed to enhance the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying sister chromatid cohesion biology to gain insights relevant for cohesinopathies and cancer. By studying Warsaw Breakage Syndrome patient derived mutant DDX11, we reveal that sister chromatid cohesion establishment and DNA replication stress response depend on the helicase function of DDX11. Interestingly, the all studied patients have decreased, but residual, functional DDX11. Together with the finding that DDX11 loss leads to P53 dependent proliferation defects and mice with helicase defective DDX11 are inviable, this suggests complete loss of functional DDX11 is not compatible with life. In addition, we show that cancer cells of various origins often exhibit cohesion defects. In untransformed cells induction of DNA replication stress is sufficient to trigger sister chromatid cohesion loss. Furthermore, we unveil that the cohesin antagonist WAPL is necessary to deal with replication stress by promoting the repair of broken replication forks. Our data suggests WAPL-dependent cohesin removal at stalled replication forks may contribute to sister chromatid cohesion defects in cancer cells. Both the requirement for WAPL and the cohesion loss phenotype may provide specific vulnerabilities of cancer cells that may be targeted. To expose vulnerabilities of cells with cohesion defects and identify novel genes involved in sister chromatid cohesion, we performed genome-wide CRISPR screens in cohesion defective cells. This revealed multiple synthetic lethal interactions, enriched in genes involved in DNA replication and mitosis. Among these, we identify a role for MMS22L-TONSL in sister chromatid cohesion establishment. Furthermore, we identify a novel regulator of cohesin occupancy on chromatin, the PAXIP1-PAGR1 heterodimer. PAXIP1 co-localizes with cohesin on multiple genomic loci, including at active promoters and enhancers, thereby likely contributing to multiple cohesin related functions. Together, our work increases the understanding of the molecular pathways contributing to sister chromatid cohesion establishment. These findings may have implications for the development of therapeutic strategies for cancer and provide insight in the etiology of cohesinopathies.


Landfilling is the main disposal technology for municipal solid wastes (MSW) in Colombia. Currently, about 50% of the landfill systems are close to the end of their useful life. It is necessary to evaluate alternative of disposal and treatment for MSW. Municipal solid wastes generated in Colombia contain a high proportion of organic material, which contributes to the generation of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in landfills. In this regard, anaerobic digestion is an alternative technology for waste treatment. Additionally, the produced methane (CH4) could be used as an energy source. This paper seeks to make a direct comparison between GHG emissions produced in landfills and the anaerobic digestion process as options for the disposal and treatment of municipal organic wastes in Colombia. The emissions of GHG were calculated considering a study case in the landfill disposal of garden wastes in the city of Manizales, Colombia. Theoretical models were used to quantify the emissions of methane and carbon dioxide. The calculation methodologies applied in this study showed considerable differences in its results, mainly for the assessment of anaerobic digestion by emission factors. However, it was possible to estimate that about 50 tons of methane and 1200 tons of carbon dioxide, would be avoided annually in the city of Manizales if the anaerobic digestion was used as an alternative to the current green waste disposal technology.


Exploring electrochemically chapped graphite/graphene composites derived from the bulk carbon rod of the spent Zn/carbon primary cell is for the advanced high-capacity lithium-ion battery anode. It is found that the synthesized graphitic carbon has grain boundary defects with multilayered exfoliation. Such material exhibits an average specific capacity of 458 mA h g–1 at 0.2 C, which is higher than the theoretical specific capacity (372 mA h g–1) of graphite. The differential specific capacity calculations also show no significant difference in lithiation and delithiation potentials for the exfoliated sample at the low voltage. However, two additional plateaus have also been observed at ∼1.2 and 2.5 V, which confirms the formation of the LiC3 phase similar to lithiation of graphene. Hence, the superior lithiation ability and thecycling stability of defected graphite/graphene flakes may be useful for the sustainable development of next-generation high energy lithium-ion batteries. Also, waste recovery tends to reduce the risk of environmental pollution and the cost of raw materials.


A time domain simulation tool for manoeuvring purposes based on body forces has been developed, integrating the major features of the propulsion control system. Simulations for different propulsion concepts and ship types are compared with full-scale trial data. The characteristics of the nautical manoeuvres and the behaviour of the plant can be well reproduced. It is also possible to predict the system performance before going to the trial trip with sufficient accuracy even in off-design conditions.


We present photoelectron angular distributions (PAD) in two-photon double ionization of helium for photon energies in the range of 45 eV, where the direct double ejection is unequivocally distinguishable from the sequential. Through an approach that allows us to explore the role of correlation, we obtain conditions under which the two electrons have the tendency to be emitted in the same direction. Relevant experiments should be feasible either using high-order harmonic generation or the upcoming short-wavelength free electron laser sources.


Radiographic testing is a nondestructive inspection technique which uses penetrating radiation. The Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Section at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has a broad spectrum of equipment and techniques for radiographic testing. These resources include low-energy vacuum systems, low- and mid-energy cabinet and cell radiographic systems, high-energy linear accelerators, portable x-ray machines and radioisotopes for radiographic inspections. For diagnostic testing the NDE Section also has real-time and flash radiographic equipment.


Aim: A genetic variant has recently reached genome-wide significance for association with TNF-inhibitor response in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Here we undertake a replication study in a UK Caucasian population to test for association with TNF-inhibitor response. Materials & methods: The genetic variant, rs3794271, located within the PDE3A–SLCO1C1 locus was analyzed for correlation with treatment response using both the EULAR classification criteria and absolute change in (Δ)DAS28 scores as outcome measures. Results: Genotype data were available from 1750 TNF-inhibitor treated individuals. However, no evidence for association was observed (EULAR: p = 0.91 and ΔDAS28: p = 0.93). Furthermore, no significant associations were observed upon stratification by the anti-TNF received (p > 0.05). Conclusion: In the largest replication cohort conducted to date, no evidence for association was observed.


A series of mullite SmMn2O5 oxides were prepared by citric acid (CA), hydrothermal (HT) and co-precipitation (CP) and combustion of ethylene glycol and methanol solutions (EG&M) methods, and tested for NOx-assisted soot combustion. The catalyst performance tests were conducted under "loose" contact conditions and the physical and chemical properties characterized by XRD, FTIR, BET, SEM, XPS, and O2-TPD and H2-TPR measurements. The SmMn2O5-EG&M catalyst possessed a distinct morphology with slabs separated by interconnected macropores, and exhibited the overall highest catalytic activity for soot combustion. The corresponding T10, T50, and T90 were 283 °C, 368 °C, and 420 °C, respectively, and the CO2 selectivity was 99.6%. The soot combustion activation energy for the SmMn2O5-EG&M catalyst is 65 kJ mol−1. O2-TPD and H2-TPR measurements demonstrated higher mobility and better reducibility of surface adsorbed oxygen for the EG&M sample. The soot combustion is greatly accelerated by the NO2-assisted mechanism under a NO + O2 atmosphere and further enhanced by the interconnected macropores of the catalyst, facilitating an intimate contact between the soot and the catalyst. Our study reveals that SmMn2O5 mullite is an effective catalyst for NOx-assisted soot combustion.


Subcutaneous fat provides excellent contrast for water density tissue. Five patients with subcutaneous metastases visualized on computed tomography (CT) scans are presented. In some cases, CT proved to be the optimal diagnostic modality for visualizing these lesions and documenting their response to therapy.