Centella asiatica L. as a traditional medicinal plant is popular in several Asian countries and characterized by the presence of phytochemicals, such as phenolics and flavonoids. Soil salinity can affect the growth and phytochemical composition in this plant species. In this study, the effects of incremental soil salinity (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mM NaCl) on growth, physiological characteristics, total phenolic and total flavonoid contents, including the antioxidant activity of Centella asiatica L., were evaluated under greenhouse conditions. Salinity stress reduced growth, biomass production, and total chlorophyll contents, while increasing electrolyte leakage, Na+ and Cl− contents in the shoots and roots. With the increase of salt concentration, total phenolic, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activities were increased. The results showed that centella can tolerate saline conditions up to 100 mM NaCl. Na+ exclusion from the roots, and that increases of phytochemical content in the shoots were related to the salt tolerance of this species.


With the growing demands for accessing mobile applications, the cellular network is currently overloaded. Recent work has proposed to exploit opportunistic networks to offload cellular traffic for mobile content dissemination services. The basic idea is to distribute the content object to only part of subscribers (called initial sources) via the cellular network, and allow initial sources to propagate the object through opportunistic communications. The preliminary study focused on selecting a given number of initial sources only based on the probability of encounters between users. However, without consideration of social relationships between users, the selected sources might not be able to propagate the object across different social communities opportunistically. In addition, there exists a dilemma of selecting a suitable number of sources to take the trade-off between offloading cellular traffic and reducing the latency. Hence, in this paper, we propose community-based opportunistic dissemination, which automatically selects a sufficient number of initial sources to propagate the object across disjointed communities in parallel. The trace-based evaluation shows that, compared to encounter-based dissemination, our community-based scheme improves the amount of offloaded cellular traffic up to 29%. In addition, users experience a significantly shorter latency.


Objective: To find the association of co-morbidities with mortality among infected population in District Bajaur. Materials and Methods: The data were collected from patients by face to face interviews and both verbal and written informed consent was collected. The nasal swabs were collected from symptomatic patients for confirmatory test and were confirmed by rRT-PCR test. Results: A total of 860 individual were enrolled in this study with means age score of 32.6±1.5, 159 (82.4%) were male and 34 (17.6%) were female. Among co-morbidities patients, 16 (8.3%) were suffering from cardiovascular diseases like hypertension, 1 (0.5%) with Chronic Lung Disease, 6 (3.1%) with Diabetes. Conclusion: There was positive correlation between comorbidities and patient outcome status (P<0.001). Mortality ratio was more in aged group people. There was increase mortality rate with co-morbidities patients.


Love has been a recurring theme through history and literature, and its relevance to health, well‐being and quality of life has been widely acknowledged. However, the scientific study of love has not yet reached people with learning disabilities. The study reported here was based on research with 376 people with learning disabilities in Spain, and aimed to analyse their appraisal of love, loving relationships and related issues (global evaluation, satisfaction, role of the family and self‐determination). A Likert‐type measure was developed, and the outcomes indicate that the measures have satisfactory psychometric characteristics. It is also evident that the theoretical model of love for people without disabilities can be applied to individuals with disabilities, and includes three key factors ('commitment, stability and idealisation', 'passion and physiological arousal' and 'intimacy and romanticism'). It also indicates that the perceptions of love in people with learning disabilities are relatively idealised and influenced by context, and interference from family and self‐determination are key issues.


In this paper we develop a surgical system using the da Vinci research kit (dVRK) that is capable of autonomously searching for tumors and dynamically displaying the tumor location using augmented reality. Such a system has the potential to quickly reveal the location and shape of tumors and visually overlay that information to reduce the cognitive overload of the surgeon. To the best of our knowledge, our approach is one of the first to incorporate state-of-the-art methods in registration, force sensing and tumor localization into a unified surgical system. First, the preoperative model is registered to the intra-operative scene using a Bingham distribution-based filtering approach. An active level set estimation is then used to find the location and the shape of the tumors. We use a recently developed miniature force sensor to perform the palpation. The estimated stiffness map is then dynamically overlaid onto the registered preoperative model of the organ. We demonstrate the efficacy of our system by performing experiments on phantom prostate models with embedded stiff inclusions.


Labors are facing problems in their personal as well as professional life the present research sought to address the exploitation health issues of brick kiln labors. The researcher conducts her research on following hypotheses. "The predominant use of coal as fuel in brick kilns leads to lung problems among brick kiln labors." The second hypothesis is "The extremely long working hours of brick kiln labors leave them no time for rest and recreation in turn leads to psychosomatic diseases." The third hypothesis is "The total absence of social security measures for brick kiln labors allows the owner to exploit them in form of debt bondage." The researcher has used number of qualitative and quantitative method for conducting the research e.g. case study, census form, interview, non-participants observation and key informant.The researcher has collected these data for her study from Maskeenabad and brick kilns of Baba Lahori. The size of her sample was 44. The researcher has chosen this sample through the Purposive Sampling Method.


In nitrate vulnerable zones application of animal manure to land is limited. Digestate from anaerobic digestion plants competes with manure for nutrient disposal on arable land, which forms a serious hinder for the biogas sector to develop in these regions. Hence, one of its biggest challenges is to find cost-effective and sustainable ways for digestate processing or disposal. Furthermore, primary phosphorus resources are becoming scarce and expensive and will be depleted within a certain time. This urges the need to recycle P from secondary sources, like digestate or manure. From a sustainability point of view, it seems therefore no more than logical that digestate processing techniques switched their focus to nutrient recovery rather than nutrient removal.
This paper gives an overview of digestate processing techniques, with a special focus on nutrient recovery techniques. In this paper nutrient recovery techniques are delineated as techniques that (1) create an end-product with higher nutrient concentrations than the raw digestate or (2) separate the envisaged nutrients from organic compounds that are undesirable in the end-product, with the aim to produce an end-product that is fit for use in chemical or fertiliser industry or as a mineral fertiliser replacement.
Various nutrient recovery techniques are described, with attention for some technical bottlenecks and the current state of development. Where possible, physicochemical characteristics of the endproducts are given.


Transcriptional pausing underpins regulation of cellular RNA biogenesis. A consensus pause sequence that acts on RNA polymerases (RNAPs) from bacteria to mammals halts RNAP in an elemental paused state from which longer-lived pauses can arise. Although the structural foundations of pauses prolonged by backtracking or nascent RNA hairpins are recognized, the fundamental mechanism of the elemental pause is less well-defined. Here we report a mechanistic dissection that establishes the elemental pause signal (i) is multipartite; (ii) causes a modest conformational shift that puts RNAP in an off-pathway state in which template base loading but not RNA translocation is inhibited; and (iii) can easily enter pretranslocated and one-base-pair backtracked states despite principally occupying the half-translocated state observed in cryo-EM structures of paused RNAPs. Our findings provide a mechanistic basis for the elemental pause and a framework to understand how pausing is modulated by sequence, cellular conditions, and regulators.


This thesis deals with mid-term production planning problems, i.e., master planning, that arise in semiconductor manufacturing. Given the specifics of semiconductor manufacturing networks, the development of enterprise-wide planning approaches that are computationally tractable and address the uncertainties typically encountered in this industry remains particularly challenging.
The purpose of production planning is to allocate limited resources to competing demands over time with respect to often conflicting economic objectives. Depending on the nature of the considered problems, production planning models may require the usage of integer-valued variables. Such models may be difficult to solve in a reasonable amount of time for large-scale instances as usually encountered in enterprise-wide planning environments. Therefore, efficient optimization approaches have to be used to reduce the computational effort while achieving optimal, or near optimal, problem solutions.
The performance of the designed optimization algorithms is assessed, at first, using single problem instances. However, given the uncertainty that is typical for the semiconductor industry, there is a need for incorporating different sources of environment- and system-related disruptions into the evaluation of the planning approaches. For this purpose, a simulation model appears to adequately mimic the stochastic behavior of a semiconductor manufacturing network. In real-world situations, the planning activities occur on a regular basis; it allows for replanning the production plan by taking the current state of the input parameters into account. The investigation of the obtained rolling plans provides further insights into the performance of the planning approach used, which is usually not achievable when considering single problem instances.
Production planning is complicated by the interaction between lead time and resource utilization. It is known from queueing theory that the cycle time increases nonlinearly with the utilization of the resources. However, the utilization is a result of the release schedule used. This leads to circularity in production planning. On the one hand, the planning approach determines the release schedule based on a prescribed lead time. On the other hand, the cycle time depends on the release schedule. The models presented previously in this thesis assume a fixed product lead time as an exogenous parameter of the planning approach. Although this assumption makes sense for highly aggregated strategic planning problems, it is not desirable for mid-term production planning decisions. Among other approaches, the iterations between a planning approach that determines the releases of production quantities based on a prescribed lead time and a simulation model that uses these production quantities to calculate cycle time estimates seem to adequately tackle the circularity in production planning.


As an economist and policymaker, I appreciate hearing the perspectives of market and business economists. Just as the different views expressed by my colleagues around the monetary policy table help to inform my own policy views, the insights of economists like you help to shape my own economic outlook. The chance to hear perspectives from this side of the Pacific is particularly welcome at this time because we live in a global economy. Today, I will focus my remarks on the U.S. economy and monetary policy. To help put the discussion into context, I will start with a brief overview of the Federal Reserve System. I should note that the views I?ll present today are my own and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve System or my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee.


The aim of this study is to evaluate the therapeutic effect of the antimicrobial agents, fosfomycin (FOM), minocycline (MINO), kanamycin (KM) and norfloxacin (NFLX) in the enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) infected mouse model which we established previously (Infect. Immun. 62 (1994) 3447-3453). Each of the antimicrobial agents, 1/16 LD(50), was given to the mice per os (p.o. ) or intraperitoneally (i.p.) for 3 days after bacterial inoculation and then we observed their mortality rate for 2 weeks. The mortality rates of mice administered with MINO (p.o./i.p.), KM (p.o.), NFLX (p. o./i.p.) were significantly lower than those of the control group. Both the bacterial number and VT2c level in the feces of the FOM group were lower than those of the NFLX group on day 1, but reversed on day 3. In an in vitro experiment, each of the four drugs in combination with mitomycin C (MMC) caused a more significant decrease in the bacterial number than sole MMC, and they consequently indicated the suppressive effect on the release of VT2c.


The article analyzes issues related to the latest conditions for the maintenance of railway vehicles. Basic legal acts regulating the maintenance process on a European scale and in Polish conditions were discussed. Maintenance management system (MMS) and maintenance system documentation have been characterized. Examples of rail vehicles maintenance plans were also presented


This entry outlines the historical development and current status of library and information systems and services in Tanzania. It places emphasis on the Tanzania Library Services Board, which includes the National Central Library and which constitutes a hub of the library system in the country, and its key players in that evolution. It also covers academic libraries; school and children's libraries; special libraries and specialized information services and agencies; archival systems; museums; botanical gardens, zoos and herbaria; professional development and associations; and scholarly publishing. Finally, the entry touches on policy initiatives related to information and communications technology-enhanced information services and learning for national development. The majority of libraries in Tanzania were created immediately after that country's independence in 1961, with the exception of a few libraries that were established and run by private bodies or by colonial government-sponsored associations to cater to their members. Therefore, most of the existing libraries developed out of not only the Government's need to exercise its responsibility for developing a literate society but also its recognition of the fact that libraries and similar institutions are important elements of a nation's cultural heritage. It is because of this that libraries and other agencies covered in this entry were created as central institutions for preserving and disseminating information resources and providing information systems to support learning and research for national development. The Tanzanian government and its agencies provide funds for most library and related operations


The year 2020 has been challenging for businesses worldwide with COVID-19 leading to the disruption of the global economy. The unprecedented circumstances led by this pandemic, inter alia, raise concerns pertinent to the liability for failure to fulfil contractual obligations in international commercial contracts due to COVID-19. United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG or Vienna Convention) performs a significant role in the spectrum of international sales. Article 79 of the CISG reflects the legal concept of force majeure, which provides a defence for non-performance of contractual obligations in certain enumerated circumstances beyond the parties' control. In this respect, the current research, through the doctrinal research methodology, reviews the application of force majeure to grant relief for non-performance of contractual obligations due to COVID-19 where a contract is governed by the CISG. The research concludes that COVID-19 is likely to be considered an impediment beyond the control of the parties under Article 79 of the CISG even though the likelihood of successful invocation of the article will vary depending on the circumstances of each case.


This study attempts to verify the pollution haven hypothesis by investigating the impact of environmental regulations on foreign direct investment (FDI). It uses Korean outward FDI data covering the manufacturing sector for the period 2009–15. This study not only considers the stringency when measuring the degree of the host country's environmental regulations but also the enforcement of these environmental regulations. Since the pollution haven's effects indicate moving the polluting production stages from the home country to other (host) countries, we differentiate between investments in the 'production' part from those in the non-production part using location information about the host country. The main results of a FDI's model estimation show that the stricter the regulations in host countries in Asia, the lower the FDI both intensively and extensively in these countries. This supports the prevalence of the effects of a pollution haven. However, before we separate FDI into the production and non-production parts, the effects of environmental regulations on FDI are hindered by FDI in the non-production part. The results indicate that while environmental regulations are determinants of FDI in the production part, they do not have a significant effect on FDI decisions when the entire FDI is considered.


Non-uniform light distribution problems often arise in the real world images taken by digital device. In this paper, we propose a fast and efficient technique for color image enhancement using fast and adaptive bi-dimensional empirical mode decomposition. This method removes non-uniform light information from the illumination plane of color image efficiently. And then, we apply a brightness correction method to compensate the light information. The experimental results show that the proposed approach can effectively enhance the color image. Besides, this method requires less computing resource and is well suitable for implementing on the real-time system.


Through the application of cryogenic cooling via liquid nitrogen (LN2), the power consumption of a CPU was substantially reduced. Using a digitally controlled solenoid valve and an additively manufactured cold plate, the manual process of LN2 cooling was automated for precise control of cold plate temperature. The power consumption and frequency relationship of the processor were established across three different thermal solutions to demonstrate the effect of temperature on this relationship. It was found that power consumption of the processor decreased at lower temperatures due to a reduction in current leakage and the core voltage necessary for stable operation. This culminated in a reduction of up to 10.7% in processor power consumption for the automated solution and 21.5% for the manual LN2 solution when compared to the air-cooled baseline. Due to the binary nature of the solenoid valve used, flow rate was tuned via an in-line needle valve to increase thermal stability. It was found that for lower flow rates, approximately 5.0 g/s, temperatures oscillated within a range of ±11.5 °C while for higher flow rates of 10–12 g/s, generated amplitudes are as small as ±3.5 °C. Additionally, several tests measured the rate of LN2 consumption and found that the automated solution used 230%–280% more coolant than the manual thermal solution, implying there is room for improvement in the cold plate geometry, LN2 vapor exhaust design, and coolant delivery optimization.


Introduction. The article presents data of the quantitative mercury determination in an aqueous solution of the pharmaceutical substance protamine sulfate by stripping voltammetry on graphite electrodes modified with a gold-polymer composition. The existing method to determine the mercury impurity in protamine sulfate according to the European Pharmacopoeia – multistage titration with dithizone – is laborious and does not allow to achieve repeatability. Aim. Analyzing the content of bioaccumulative mercury impurities in a protamine sulfate solution by stripping voltammetry. Materials and methods. Protamine Sulfate Substance (Manufacturer Alps Pharmaceutical Industry Co.Ltd). Experimental data were obtained on a TA-4 semi-automatic analyzer (LLC NPP Tomianalit, Tomsk) with VALabTx software. Results and discussion. We adapted the method for mercury determination in water and presented the results of its testing on protamine sulfate solution. The results of testing the electrode operation using the «entered-found» method are given, the results of a single mercury analysis were included in the interval 0, 0038–0,0063 mg/l, which confirms their readiness for work. This interval is registered in the methodology and means the limits of permissible deviations. The limits of detection of mercury on the device are 10 -6 –10 -10 mol/l. We prepared a solution with concentrations of 10 mg/m from the protamine sulfate substance and measured it on prepared electrodes. The mercury content in the test sample was 0.00034 mg/l. According to the certificate of protamine sulfate, the mercury content should be ≤10 ppm. We studied the effect in changing of accumulation time. The optimal accumulation time was 80 seconds, because under standard conditions, not all mercury concentrates on the electrode surface, and above 80 seconds there is no significant increase in mercury content. Conclusion. The proposed method for mercury determination in water by stripping voltammetry on graphite electrodes modified with a gold-polymer composition can be adapted to determine bioaccumulative mercury in the pharmaceutical substance protamine sulfate. The findings suggest that this method can be used in quality control of medicines, as an alternative express method for mercury impurities determination to the existing multistage titration method with dithizone.


Abstract The identification of the members of the Culex pipiens L. complex in arbovirus surveillance programs relies heavily on the use of morphology. In this work, we studied Cx. pipiens complex male mosquitoes collected from nine different locations, from northern, southern, and the hybrid zone sites in North America; Cairo, Egypt; and Nairobi, Kenya. Specimens were identified using DV/D ratio and also using amplification of the acetylcholinesterase (ACE.2) gene by both conventional and real-time polymerase chain reaction, and examination of the CQ11 locus. Consistent with previous findings, the morphological and molecular identifications did not always agree, particularly in regions of extensive introgression. There was an increased frequency of hybrid forms in late summer and early fall in Champaign Co., IL, that is north of the previously described Cx. pipiens complex hybrid zone. This represents an expansion of the North American hybrid zone. The biological and epidemiological relevance of the high degree of introgression and the late season increase in the proportion of intermediate forms is discussed.


SPANX (Sperm protein associated with the nucleus, X-linked) gene family has been found higher expression in many cancers, such as testicular germ tumor, melanoma, glioblastoma and hematologic malignancies. However, in our previous study, the gene expression array analysis showed that the expression of SPANX family member A1 (SPANXA1) was higher in lower invasive lung cancer cells, CL 1-0, than in higher invasive cells, CL 1-5. Real-time PCR was used to confirm that mRNA expression of SPANXA1 was 8 times higher in CL 1-0 than CL 1-5. In vitro assays showed that migration and invasion abilities of CL 1-5 stable transfectants were decreased in a dose-depended manner. Interestingly, cell morphology dramatically changed from mesenchymal-like to epithelial-like in CL 1-5 SPANXA1 stable transfectants, which was consistent to its decreased invasive ability in vitro. Therefore, we demonstrated metastasis ability of CL 1-5 SPANXA1 stable transfectants would be down-regulated in vivo, which was performed in mouse metastasis model by tail-vein injection. Next, we set up CL 1-0 lentiviral-base shRNA knockdown clones, and the cell mobility and invasion ability were increased. Because SPANXA1 could induce the cell morphology change, we evaluate the effect of SPANXA1 on the expression of EMT markers. We found up-regulation of E-cadherin, an epithelial marker, and down-regulation of vimentin and N-cadherin, which were known as mesenchymal markers in presence of SPANXA1. Finally, to identify the underlying mechanism of SPANXA1, we carried out gene expression array and 3 of top 10 pathways are EMT-related. Furthermore, quantitative RT-PCR validation showed WNT pathway is involved in SPANXA1-repressed metastasis indicated that SPANXA1 might provide a new treatment in lung cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3990. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3990


BACKGROUND
A body of biochemical evidence suggests that abnormal phospholipid metabolism may play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia, and possibly, other psychiatric and neurological diseases. Niacin, a B-complex vitamin, induces prostaglandin synthesis, vasodilatation, and skin flushing when applied as a solution on the skin or taken orally. In schizophrenia, diminished or absent skin response to niacin represents a robust finding.

RESULTS
Attenuated niacin skin-flush response has been analysed as a potential biochemical marker of impaired prostaglandin signaling in schizophrenia. Diminished skin redness after topical application of niacin might be caused by a reduced level of the precursor arachidonic acid in the peripheral membranes, increased activity of the enzyme phospholipase A2, abnormal expression of niacin or prostaglandin receptors, or poor vasomotor activity of cutaneous capillary walls. Heritability estimates established in several studies support niacin skin flush response as a vulnerability trait for the development of psychosis. However, the exact mechanism of a reduced skin flush, the possible influence of the long-term use of antipsychotics, and the usefulness of the test for diagnostic purpose are not clear yet.

CONCLUSIONS
Niacin skin flush test is a simple, non-invasive and easily replicable method in the research of schizophrenia. The studies investigating niacin flushing in schizophrenia are numerous but incoherent regarding methods of niacin application and evaluation of the results. New studies, controlling adequately for age, sex, drug abuse, diet, as well as genetic factors that may influence the intensity and reaction time, are necessary to clarify the usefulness of niacin testing in psychiatry.


A concise, yet objective overview of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) treatment in 2006 with an intent to transplant is presented. The most significant variables impacting on the use of hepatic transplantation as therapy for primary liver cancer are developed under the headings of: Staging Criteria; Organ allocation; Transplant dropout minimization therapies; and Effects on the HCC general population. The pertinent medical literature and update of an ongoing intent‐to‐treat HCC with transplant single center randomized control trial are reviewed. J. Surg. Oncol. 2007;95:674–679. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Glycals are highly versatile and useful building blocks in the chemistry of carbohydrate and natural products. However, the practical synthesis of glycals remains a long-standing and mostly unsolved problem in synthetic chemistry. Herein, we present an unprecedented approach to make a variety of glycals using phosphonium hydrolysis-induced, P(v) intermediate-mediated E1cB elimination. The method provides a highly efficient, practical and scalable strategy for the synthesis of glycals with good generality and excellent yields. Furthermore, the strategy was successfully applied to late-stage modification of complex drug-like molecules. Additionally, the corresponding 1-deuterium-glycals were produced easily by simple tBuONa/D2O-hydrolysis–elimination. Mechanistic investigations indicated that the oxaphosphorane intermediate-mediated E1cB mechanism is responsible for the elimination reaction.


The aim of the study was to evaluate the extent to which corporate travellers can influence and value the environmental performance of hotels. Crucial features of this aim included a definition of a corporate traveller, examination of classification of environmental performing hotels, decision making in favour of such hotels and recommendations for improving environmental performance. A literature review was conducted. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. Five face to face in depth interviews were completed. Random and systematic sampling produced 32 responses by use of a questionnaire. Selected quotations from interviews are used to illustrate key findings of the study. Findings from the questionnaires are displayed in bar graphs, pie charts and other visual methods. The findings show price, location and the importance of short term gains are of prime importance to the corporate traveller. Recommendations are made which highlight responsibilities of the corporate traveller, hotels and the government in order to increase usage of environmentally performing hotels. The study indicates that further research should be conducted to standardise and legislate for the hotel sector in order for corporate travellers to make more use of environmentally performing hotels.


To present and discuss the outcomes of the mini asymmetric radial keratotomy (MARK) and corneal cross-linking (CXL) combined intervention, also known as the "Rome protocol", for patients with progressive stage I, II, and III keratoconus (KC) and contact lens intolerance (CLI).

Retrospective, observational study.

The postoperative outcomes of 48 eyes (35 patients) were selected and retrospectively analyzed, with an average follow-up of 3.8 years. To assess the efficacy of the MARK plus CXL combined protocol, mean keratometry, mean pachymetry, and best spectacle-corrected visual acuity were evaluated.

Mean keratometry improved in 90% of cases (from 48.3 D to 45 D), mean pachymetry improved in 83% of cases (from 439 to 460 μm), and best spectacle-corrected visual acuity improved in all cases (from +0.4 to +0.15 logMAR).

The MARK plus CXL intervention effectively halted the KC progression and improved the visual acuity, which suggests that this combined procedure should be taken into account when considering refractive procedures combined with corneal cross-linking (CXL plus), if the relevant inclusion criteria can be satisfied.

Abbondanza M, Abbondanza G, De Felice V. Mini Asymmetric Radial Keratotomy and Corneal Cross-linking for the Treatment and the Optical Rehabilitation of Keratoconus. Int J Kerat Ect Cor Dis 2019;8(2):35–39.


Rats were exposed to 2 different sources of high power microwaves (HPM). This study shows small behavioural effects, some biochemical changes after an acute exposure (GFAP increase), and an increased cancer incidence after chronic exposure. If the observed increased risk of cancer is not due to residual X-rays, this study suggests that behavioural tests are not helpful to detect long-term effects of a chronic exposure, maybe with the exception of rotarod, performance of which is paradoxically improved


This study desires to identify the level of job burnout among health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and examine the impact of organizational health in reducing this feeling. A random sample of 400 individuals distributed among doctors and nurses working in hospitals in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan was selected to achieve this goal. The questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection. The number of returned questionnaires was 318 (79.5%). The study confirmed the existence of an average level of organizational health application within the hospitals under study, which needs to raise awareness of the importance of organizational health. The study also confirmed the presence of high levels of burnout among the medical staff which explains the professional pressures that the medical staff were exposed during COVID-19. Also, the statistical results confirmed that organizational health has a significant positive effect on reducing job burnout. Accordingly, a comprehensive implementation plan was prepared that explains how to apply the dimensions of organizational health within hospitals in a way that contributes to creating an appropriate healthy organizational environment that improves the performance of health workers and reduces their sense of pressure and job burnout.


Trastuzumab plus chemotherapy is the standard of care for the first-line treatment of patients with HER2+ advanced esophagogastric (EG) cancer. Nevertheless, patients frequently develop resistance. In preclinical models, we identified the overexpression of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor (FGFR) 3 as a mechanism potentially involved in trastuzumab-acquired resistance. FGFR inhibition could be a potential mechanism as a second-line treatment. In this Simon's two-stage phase 2, single arm study, patients with advanced EG cancer refractory to trastuzumab-containing therapies received pemigatinib, an inhibitor of FGFR. The primary end point was the 12-week progression-free survival rate. Translational analyses were performed on tissue and plasma samples. Eight patients were enrolled in the first stage. Although the 6-week disease control rate was 25%, only one patient achieved a stable disease after 12 weeks of treatment. The trial was discontinued before the second stage. Two out of six evaluable tumor samples expressed FGFR3. No FGFRs amplification was detected. HER2 amplification was lost in three out of eight patients. Three patients had an high Tumor Mutational Burden, and two of them are significantly long-term survivors. These results do not support the therapeutic efficacy of targeting FGFR in unselected patients with advanced EG cancer, who are refractory to trastuzumab-containing therapies.


Department of Paediatric Haematology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St Mary's Hospital, London, UK Department of Paediatrics, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St Mary's Hospital, London, UK Blood Sciences, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St Mary's Hospital, London, UK Centre for Haematology, St Mary's Hospital Campus of Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, London, UK


This paper analyzes the effects of stator resistance on rotor position estimation accuracy in carrier signal injection based sensorless control of PMSM. Carrier current expressions are derived for both rotating and pulsating voltage injection method when the stator resistance is taken into account. Position estimation errors resulted from stator resistance are analyzed theoretically and investigated by simulation. It is shown that the influences of stator resistance on above two injection methods are quite different. The stator resistance will result in a position estimation error in the rotating voltage injection method. But it does not affect the position estimation accuracy in the pulsating voltage injection method as long as a suitable signal extracting method is used.


Urban mobility and sustainable development, subjects of great impact on the life quality and population's social well-being, they are correlated to the motorized transport discussion, since the conventional paradigm for people and goods displacement are based on fossil fuels , makes use of a non-renewable source of energy and, in addition, is responsible for the emission of harmful gases, which contaminate the atmospheric air, mainly in the great urban centers with great population density, potentializing the damages caused by them. In this context, it is intended to develop, with the project proposed here, an alternative based on a renewable energy, applied to an agile and efficient means of transport for urban displacement, the reason why it was decided to build an electric bicycle, which, associated to a low cost when compared to others transport alternatives for the same application, represents a viable and economically accessible alternative for urban transport.


Neuro-endocrine cells are a recognised component of prostatic ducts and acini. Half of all clinically manifest cancers show neuro-endocrine differentiation. Occult carcinomas have a lower incidence of such differentiation. Neuro-endocrine cells are of major prognostic importance and appear more reliable in predicting patients' survival than do conventional histological grading systems.


1. A seasonal variation of the oxygen consumption of the limpet Ancylus fluviatilis occurs in populations both from a lake and from a stream. In spring and early summer the oxygen consumption is higher than at other seasons of the year. 2. The increased oxygen consumption in spring and early summer is most probably caused by reproductive activity. 3. A decrease of the growth rate in spring and early summer, computed on the basis of Hunter9s observations (1953), must also be regarded as caused by reproductive activity. 4. Partial starvation appears to have considerable influence on the rate of respiration. A comparatively high, but not constant oxygen consumption occurs during the first hours after collection, then, in consequence of partial starvation, a distinct decrease of the oxygen consumption follows, and finally, 50 hr. after collection, a slighter decrease. 5. During partial starvation the decrease of the oxygen consumption is greater at high than at low temperatures. When the partial starvation is severe the decrease of the oxygen consumption commences earlier than under somewhat better food conditions. 6. The oxygen consumption of limpets which had the opportunity of taking food from alga-covered stones in an aquarium decreased after 3 days, but the decrease seems to be less than in the case of partial starvation. 7. The oxygen consumption of the limpets which starved completely decreased rapidly during the period 0-20 hr. after the start of the series of experiments. There was no time at the beginning of the starvation period in which the animals had a nearly constant oxygen consumption. After the period 0-20 hr. the decrease continued, but apparently in diminishing degree; 96 hr. after the beginning of the starvation the oxygen consumption had declined to about three-fifths of the initial value. The oxygen consumption of animals first starved for 96 hr. and then given food when placed on alga-covered stones in the river for 3 days again increased considerably, but not to the initial value. 8. The oxygen consumption in relation to the temperature was found in the main to follow the so-called Krogh9s curve from 11 to 18° C. after a gradual temperature increase ( c . 1° C. per hour), but not after an abrupt increase. The first result confirms earlier observations (Berg, 1952). It does not always seem certain, how ever, that the increase of oxygen consumption in experiment will follow Krogh9s curve completely, even if the temperature increases slowly. 9. Experiments with limpets which may be regarded as adapted to different temperatures in nature show that their oxygen consumption in relation to temperature in October to February, i.e. outside the reproduction period, varies according to Krogh9s curve. 10. In shaken bottles the oxygen consumption appears to be greater than in still bottles. 11. The slope of the regression line, tan α, showing the oxygen consumption in relation to weight in a logarithmic co-ordinate system, tends towards 0.70-0.75 when the correlation coefficient, which expresses the dependence of the respiration on weight, increases towards 1 (Fig. 15, p. 67). On the basis of twenty-two experiments the slope of the regression lines has been calculated to be 0.716 ± 0.034.


PURPOSE. To use the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25) to evaluate vision-related quality of life (VR-QOL) in patients with pituitary adenoma who undergo transsphenoidal surgery. METHODS. The VFQ-25 was self-administered by 74 patients with pituitary adenoma before and 3 months after surgery. Pre- and postoperative clinical data were collected, including age, sex, tumor type and size, logarithm of minimum angle of resolution best corrected visual acuity (logMAR BCVA), critical flicker fusion frequency, static perimetry scores (mean deviation [MD] and corrected pattern SD [CPSD]), duration of ocular symptoms, and number of systemic comorbidities. RESULTS. Seventy-four patients with a mean age of 48.2 years were studied. Transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenoma significantly improved logMAR BCVA and critical fusion flicker frequency in the worse-seeing eye and MD and CPSD scores in both the better- and worse-seeing eyes (P < 0.001). The VFQ-25 composite score and all subscale scores, except those for the general health and color vision subscales, improved significantly (P < 0.05). A multivariate regression analysis revealed that the preoperative VFQ-25 composite score and the preoperative MD and CPSD scores in the better-seeing eye were related to the postoperative VFQ-25 composite score (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS. This study quantitatively demonstrated that transsphenoidal surgery can dramatically improve VR-QOL in pituitary adenoma and that the preoperative VFQ-25 composite score and visual field disturbance in the better-seeing eye are particularly important predictors associated with the postoperative VR-QOL. The use of VFQ-25 provides a more comprehensive overview of the effectiveness of transsphenoidal surgery.


This study aimed at testing whether 12 rather than 26 plasma glucose and insulin determinations can be used to calculate the indices of insulin sensitivity and of glucose effectiveness using Bergman's minimal model during a simple intravenous glucose tolerance test performed without tolbutamide injection. Two intravenous glucose tolerance tests (separated by 1 week) were performed in 7 lean normal subjects and a single test was performed in 9 severely obese non-diabetic subjects. Intra-subject reproducibility of insulin sensitivity was not significantly different when 26 or 12 time-points were analyzed (CV = 16.8 +/- 3.4 versus 18.9 +/- 3.8% respectively). Compared with the insulin sensitivity of the lean subjects, that of obese subjects was significantly (P < 0.001) and similarly reduced when using 12 (2.14 +/- 0.34 versus 7.97 +/- 1.29 10(-4)min-1/mU.1-1) rather than 26 determinations (2.13 +/- 0.42 versus 6.95 +/- 1.12 10(-4) min-1/mU.1-1) respectively. Glucose effectiveness was less reproducible than insulin sensitivity and was slightly diminished by the reduction of blood samples (relative error: -9.7 +/- 4.4%; P < 0.05). Finally, glucose effectiveness tended to be slightly lower in the morbidly obese subjects than in the lean controls with both modes of calculation. In conclusion, in non-diabetic subjects, the insulin sensitivity index can be accurately measured during a simple intravenous glucose tolerance test, without tolbutamide injection and with only 12 blood samples. The possibility of performing a simplified test should contribute to increase the use of the minimal model method for estimating insulin sensitivity in clinical practice.


The systems of complex analytic second order ordinary differential equations whose solutions close up to become rational curves (after analytic continuation) are characterized by the vanishing of an explicit differential invariant, and turn out to provide an infinite dimensional family of integrable systems.


A new experiment to determine the thermonuclear cross section of the 12C(α, γ)16O reaction has been performed in regular kinematics using an intense α-particle beam of up to 340 μA from the Stuttgart DYNAMITRON. For the first time a 4π-Germanium-detector setup has been used to measure the angular distribution of the γ-rays at all angles simultaneously. It consisted of an array of 9 EUROGAM HPGe detectors in close geometry, actively shielded individually with BGO crystals. The 12C targets were isotopically enriched by magnetic separation during implantation. The depth profiles of the implanted carbon in the 12C targets have been determined by Rutherford backscattering for purposes of cross section normalization and absolute determination of the E1and E2-S-factors. Angular distributions of the gamma decay to the 16O ground state have been measured in the energy range Ec.m. = 1.30 – 2.78 MeV and in the angular range (lab.) 30 – 130 . From these distributions, astrophysical E1and E2-S-factor functions vs. energy have been calculated, both of which are indispensable for the modeling of this reaction and the extrapolation towards lower energies. The separation of the E1and E2-capture channels has been done both by taking the phase value φ12 as a free parameter and by fixing it using the results of elastic α-particle scattering on 12C in the same energy range. PACS numbers: 25.55.-e; 24.30.-v; 26.20.+f; 27.20.+n


A computational simulation for the separation of red blood cells (RBCs) is presented. The deformability of RBCs is expressed by the spring network model, which is based on the minimum energy principle. In the computation of the fluid flow, the lattice Boltzmann method is used to solve the Navier—Stokes equations. Coupling of the fluid-membrane interaction is carried out by using the immersed boundary method. To verify our method, the motions of RBCs in shear flow are simulated. Typical motions of RBCs observed in the experiments are reproduced, including tank-treading, swinging and tumbling. The motions of 8 RBCs at the bifurcation are simulated when the two daughter vessels have different ratios. The results indicate that when the ratio of the daughter vessel diameter becomes smaller, the distribution of RBCs in the two vessels becomes more non-uniform.


In the Hawaiian Archipelago, shelter-dependent juvenile stages of many reef fishes and their coral habitats are increasingly put at risk by multiple anthropogenic stressors (e.g. overfishing and habitat loss, coral bleaching and sedimentation, respectively). We assessed coral bleaching (to identify relative susceptibility among growth forms) and the use v. availability of structurally complex and simple corals by juvenile reef fishes in Hawai'i. We use these data in a model that identifies habitats and resource species for managing reef fisheries and conserving coral habitats. Many juvenile reef fishes preferentially inhabit rugose corals. The economic and ecological importance of these fishes varies from those with little value to others, such as highly prized parrotfishes that also serve as ecological engineers. Coral species also differ in their relative susceptibility to anthropogenic and natural stressors - more structurally complex corals tend to be more susceptible to stressors. Our model relates the economic and ecological valuations of fish resources with specific preferences of fish juveniles for corals of varying susceptibility, testing the prediction that risk should co-vary among species of corals and fishes. Managers should use such a model when prioritising habitats and resource species for conservation.


In our attempts to scale FETs to the 10 nm length, alternatives to conventional Si CMOS are sought on the grounds that: (1) Si seems to have reached its technological and performance limits and (2) the use of alternative high-mobility channel materials will provide the missing performance. With the help of numerical simulations here we establish the reasons why indeed Si seems to have hit an intrinsic performance barrier and whether or not high mobility semiconductors can indeed grant us our wishes. The role of long-and short-range electron-electron interactions are revisited together with a recent analysis of the historical performance trends. The density-of-states (DOS) bottleneck and source starvation issues are also reviewed to see what advantage alternative substrates may bring us. Finally, the well-known 'virtual source model' is analyzed to assess whether it can be used as a quantitative tool to guide us to the 10 nm gate length.


This paper presents the design and development of an enhanced inertial navigation system that is to be integrated into the Morpheus autonomous underwater vehicle at Florida Atlantic University. The inertial measurement unit is based on the off-the-shelf Honeywell HG1700-AG25 3-axis ring-laser gyros and three-axis accelerometers and is aided with ground speed measurements obtained using an RDI Doppler-velocity-log sonar. An extended Kalman filter has been developed, which fuses together asynchronously the inertial and Doppler data, as well as the differential Global Positioning System positional fixes whenever they are available. A complementary filter was implemented to provide a much smoother and stable attitude estimate. Thus far, preliminary study has been made on characterizing the inertial navigation system-based navigation system performance, and the corresponding results and analyzes are provided.


[I]f there is a man, the statement whereby we say that there is a man is true, and reciprocally—since if the statement whereby we say that there is a man is true, there is a man. And whereas the true statement is in no way the cause of the actual thing's existence, the actual thing does seem in some way the cause of the statement's being true: it is because the actual thing exists or does not that the statement is called true or false. (Categories 14b15–22; 1984: 22)


Xylan is the major hemicellulose present in both primary and secondary cell walls of rice vegetative tissues. Since xylan is one of the factors contributing to biomass recalcitrance, understanding how xylan is synthesized in rice will potentially provide tools to modify grass biomass composition better suited for biofuel production. Studies of xylan biosynthesis in Arabidopsis have revealed that family GT43 glycosyltransferases, which form 2 functionally nonredundant groups, IRX9/IRX9 homolog and IRX14/IRX14 homolog, are required for xylan backbone elongation. The rice genome harbors 10 genes encoding family GT43 members and it is currently unknown whether they are all involved in xylan biosynthesis. In this report, we performed biochemical analysis of xylan xylosyltransferase activity in rice stem microsomes and investigated the roles of 4 representative rice GT43 members, OsGT43A (LOC_Os05 g03174), OsGT43E (LOC_Os05 g48600), OsGT43H (LOC_Os04 g01280), and OsGT43J (LOC_Os06 g47340), in xylan biosynthesis. OsGT43 proteins were shown to be localized in the Golgi, where xylan biosynthesis occurs. Complementation analysis by expression of OsGT43s in Arabidopsis irx9 and irx14 mutants demonstrated that OsGT43A and OsGT43E but not OsGT43H and OsGT43J were able to rescue the mutant phenotypes conferred by the irx9 mutation, including defective stem mechanical strength, vessel morphology, xylan content, GlcA side chains, xylan chain length, and xylosyltransferase activity. On the other hand, OsGT43J but not OsGT43A, OsGT43E, and OsGT43H restored the defective xylan phenotype in the irx14 mutant. These results indicate that the rice GT43 family evolved to retain the involvement of 2 functionally nonredundant groups, OsGT43A and OsGT43E (IRX9 homologs) vs. OsGT43J (an IRX14 homolog), in xylan backbone biosynthesis.


We investigate the inference problems due to functional dependencies (FD) and multi-valued dependencies (hND) in a multilevel relational database (MDB) with attribute and record classification schemes, respectively. For FDs, we show that, to prevent compromise, the security levels of attributes must be assigned by using the knowledge of functional dependencies. Under the assumption that all the attributes in the database have been assigned classification levels according to real world requirements, we first determine the set of functional dependencies to be taken into account. Then, we prove that changing the minimum number of attribute levels to prevent compromise is an NP-complete problem. However, assuming that the number of functional dependencies involved in inference is low, we give an exact algorithm to adjust the minimum number of attribute levels so that no compromise due to functional dependencies occurs. For NfVDs, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for compromise due to a single MVD, and then propose an algorithm to prevent single MVD inferences.


We present a commented taxonomic list of the reptiles found during herpetological surveys carried out in an isolated fragment of tropical dry forest located in the municipality of San Francisco, Zulia state, northwestern Venezuela between January-December 2011. We report a total of 24 species belonging to the order Squamata, distributed in 12 families and 21 genera. Colubridae is the most diverse family with six species, followed by Dipsadidae (four species), Boidae, Gymnophthalmidae, Phyllodactylidae and Teiidae with two species each, and finally Dactyloidae, Iguanidae, Elapidae, Gekkonidae, Sphaerodactylidae and Viperidae with a single species each. The species composition at this site matches what would be expected in a tropical dry forest in the region. Our study suggests that this isolated tropical dry forest fragment is the last refuge of the herpetofauna that once occupied much of the dry forests of the northern Maracaibo basin and should therefore be considered for conservation purposes.


Background The role of timing and diversity of allergenic food introduction in the development of childhood allergic sensitization and atopic diseases is controversial. Objective To examine whether timing and diversity of allergenic food introduction are associated with allergic sensitization, allergy and eczema in children until age 10 years. Materials and methods This study among 5,202 children was performed in a population-based prospective cohort. Timing (age ≤6 months vs. >6 months) and diversity (0, 1, 2 and ≥3 foods) of allergenic food (cow's milk, hen's egg, peanut, tree nuts, soy and gluten) introduction were assessed by questionnaires at ages 6 and 12 months. At age 10 years, inhalant and food allergic sensitization were measured by skin prick tests, and physician-diagnosed inhalant and food allergy by questionnaire. Data on parental-reported physician-diagnosed eczema were obtained from birth until age 10 years. Results Children introduced to gluten at age ≤6 months had a decreased risk of eczema (aOR (95% CI): 0.84 (0.72, 0.99)), compared with children introduced to gluten at age >6 months. However, timing of allergenic food introduction was not associated with allergic sensitization or physician-diagnosed allergy. Children introduced to ≥3 allergenic foods at age ≤6 months had a decreased risk of physician-diagnosed inhalant allergy (0.64 (0.42, 0.98)), compared with children not introduced to any allergenic food at age ≤6 months. However, diversity of allergenic food introduction was not associated with allergic sensitization, physician-diagnosed food allergy or eczema. Conclusion Neither timing nor diversity of allergenic food introduction was consistently associated with childhood allergic sensitization, allergy or eczema.


The Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire (AEBQ) is a tool developed in the UK, used in the investigation of appetitive traits in adults and adolescents, and later validated in a number of countries. To date, the validity of the AEBQ has not been tested on Portuguese-speaking popula-tions. The aim of this study was to validate the AEBQ in a sample of Portuguese adolescents. Participants were 4483 13-year-olds enrolled in the population-based cohort study Generation XXI. Appetitive traits were self-reported by adolescents through the AEBQ and parents also reported adolescent eating behaviors. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were conducted. Construct validity was tested through correlations between AEBQ subscales and parent-reported eating behaviors, and linear regressions between AEBQ subscales and adolescent body mass index z-scores were performed. Adequate internal consistency and several associations with parent-reported eating behaviors and measured adolescent body mass index z-scores were found. This study supports the validity of a five-factor AEBQ (Food Responsiveness and Enjoyment of Food; Slowness in Eating; Food Fussiness; Emotional Over- and Undereating) to measure appetitive traits among Portuguese adolescents and provides a convenient and easy-to-use tool to be used in large-scale research.


A 72-year-old woman underwent mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection for left breast cancer at the age of 43 years, and was diagnosed with breast cancer metastasis to the pleura at the age of 68 years. She had been sequentially treated with hormonal therapies, but complained of a cough and dyspnea after 4 years. Chest radiography showed right pleural effusion, and cytological examination of the pleural effusion revealed adenocarcinoma cells. Biweekly paclitaxel and bevacizumab therapy was administered. Two months later, the pleural effusion had disappeared. Biweekly paclitaxel and bevacizumab therapy was continued without any severe adverse events. After 30 months, the patient has remained free of carcinomatous pleurisy recurrence. Therefore, biweekly paclitaxel and bevacizumab therapy can be safely and effectively administered to elderly patients with carcinomatous pleurisy.


The development of a water-based polymer system that could be photocrosslinked during the drilling of fragile formations could be of a great interest. In this context, aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) were photocrosslinked by ultraviolet radiation in the presence of benzophenone (BP). The photochemical crosslinking reaction showed a rate constant of 1 × 1012 L mol−1 s−1, indicating the formation of a complex between the reactants. The crosslinked PEO was fully characterized showing an yield dependency on the irradiation time, concentration of benzophenone, and on the presence of oxygen. During the study of the effect of BP concentration, it was observed that low concentrations and the presence of oxygen favor chain scission, while crosslinking was the dominant effect at higher BP concentrations. The storage modulus (G′) value for some of the materials was found to be higher than the loss module (G″) suggesting a predominantly elastic solid-like behavior which was corroborated by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2458–2467, 2013


As of October 2021, SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported among 512,613 children and adolescents in Israel (~33% of all COVID-19 cases). The 5–11-year age group accounted for about 43% (223,850) of affected children and adolescents. In light of the availability of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine against COVID-19 for children aged 5–11 years, we aimed to write a position paper for pediatricians, policymakers and families regarding the clinical aspects of COVID-19 and the vaccination of children against COVID-19. The first objective of this review was to describe the diverse facets of the burden of COVID-19 in children, including the direct effects of hospitalization during the acute phase of the disease, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, long COVID and the indirect effects of social isolation and interruption in education. In addition, we aimed to provide an update regarding the efficacy and safety of childhood mRNA COVID-19 vaccination and to instill confidence in pediatricians regarding the benefits of vaccinating children against COVID-19. We reviewed up-to-date Israeli and international epidemiological data and literature regarding COVID-19 morbidity and its sequelae in children, vaccine efficacy in reducing COVID-19-related morbidity and SARS-CoV-2 transmission and vaccine safety data. We conducted a risk–benefit analysis regarding the vaccination of children and adolescents. We concluded that vaccines are safe and effective and are recommended for all children aged 5 to 11 years to protect them from COVID-19 and its complications and to reduce community transmissions. Based on these data, after weighing the benefits of vaccination versus the harm, the Israeli Ministry of Health decided to recommend vaccination for children aged 5–11 years.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the number, outcome, survival time, and causes of death of patients with severe arterial hypertension who were admitted to the Department of Medicine at Landspitalinn (National Hospital) in Reykjavik during the years 1957 to 1971. During this period 117 patients were found to have severe arterial hypertension (12.6% of all cases of hypertension diagnosed) according to the grading of Keith and Wagener, 20 patients with grade IV retinopathy and 97 patients with grade III. The case histories were analysed according to age and sex distribution, blood urea, electrocardiographic changes, heart size by X-ray at the time of diagnosis and final outcome. The survival calculations were done by the decrement method (life tables) and aim taken from patient age 65 years and less. Relatively fewer patients with severe arterial hypertension were admitted during the last five year period (1967-1971) than during the two previous five year periods. The main causes of death were cerebrovascular accidents (26.6%), myocardial infarctions (22.8%), and renal failure (22.8%). Approximately 50% of the men and 60% of the women survived five years. Elevated blood urea values and signs of left ventricular hypertrophy on ECG at the time of diagnosis carried a more sinister prognosis.


Abstract: The glial reaction is generally considered to be a consequence of neuronal death in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease. In Parkinson's disease, postmortem examination reveals a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra associated with a massive astrogliosis and the presence of activated microglial cells. Recent evidence suggests that the disease may progress even when the initial cause of neuronal degeneration has disappeared, suggesting that toxic substances released by the glial cells may be involved in the propagation and perpetuation of neuronal degeneration. Glial cells can release deleterious compounds such as proinflammatory cytokines (TNF‐α, Il‐1β, IFN‐γ), which may act by stimulating nitric oxide production in glial cells, or which may exert a more direct deleterious effect on dopaminergic neurons by activating receptors that contain intracytoplasmic death domains involved in apoptosis. In line with this possibility, an activation of proteases such as caspase‐3 and caspase‐8, which are known effectors of apoptosis, has been reported in Parkinson's disease. Yet, caspase inhibitors or invalidation of TNF‐α receptors does not protect dopaminergic neurons against degeneration in experimental models of the disease, suggesting that manipulation of a single signaling pathway may not be sufficient to protect dopaminergic neurons. In contrast, the antiinflammatory drugs pioglitazone, a PPAR‐γ agonist, and the tetracycline derivative minocycline have been shown to reduce glial activation and protect the substantia nigra in an animal model of the disease. Inhibition of the glial reaction and the inflammatory processes may thus represent a therapeutic target to reduce neuronal degeneration in Parkinson's disease.


Abstract On 26 September 2003 a megathrust earthquake of M  8.1 occurred at the Kurile trench, Northern Japan. We used accelerograms recorded on more than 300 K-NET stations, ranging in distance from 40 to 500 km, to determine source, attenuation, and site effects for the mainshock and four aftershocks with M  7.3, 6.4, 5.9, and 5.5. The analyses are based on linear regression applied to the Fourier spectra data of each event. The ground-motion attenuation for all the events can be modeled using an assumed geometric spreading coefficient b 1 =-1.0 with an associated anelastic attenuation model given by an apparent Q =135 f 0.76 . By using dummy variables in the regression, site amplifications relative to National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) C sites are determined for D and E sites. Nonlinear site amplification was investigated for the M  8.1 data but was not significant in determining the overall amplification factors. Fourier spectra data were corrected to a reference near-source distance and site condition (hard rock). The source spectrum for each event was compared to that of the theoretical Brune-model spectrum, in order to compute seismic moment and stress drop. Seismic moments obtained in this manner agree with those of other studies. Stress drops range from 100 to 200 bars with no apparent dependence on magnitude. The mainshock stress drop was 120 bars. A similar value (100 bars) was calculated for an interface aftershock. Events with the highest stress drops (near 200 bars) may have been in-slab events.


Background Many cells communicate through the production of diffusible signaling molecules that accumulate and once a critical concentration has been reached, can activate or repress a number of target genes in a process termed quorum sensing (QS). In the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum, QS plays an important role during development. However little is known about its effect on cell migration especially in the growth phase. Methods and Findings To investigate the role of cell density on cell migration in the growth phase, we use multisite timelapse microscopy and automated cell tracking. This analysis reveals a high heterogeneity within a given cell population, and the necessity to use large data sets to draw reliable conclusions on cell motion. In average, motion is persistent for short periods of time (), but normal diffusive behavior is recovered over longer time periods. The persistence times are positively correlated with the migrated distances. Interestingly, the migrated distance decreases as well with cell density. The adaptation of cell migration to cell density highlights the role of a secreted quorum sensing factor (QSF) on cell migration. Using a simple model describing the balance between the rate of QSF generation and the rate of QSF dilution, we were able to gather all experimental results into a single master curve, showing a sharp cell transition between high and low motile behaviors with increasing QSF. Conclusion This study unambiguously demonstrates the central role played by QSF on amoeboid motion in the growth phase.


In today's competitive market, most companies develop manufacturing systems that can help in cost reduction and maximum quality. Human issues are an important part of manufacturing systems, yet most companies ignore their effects on production performance. This paper aims to developing an integrated workforce planning system that incorporates the human being. Therefore, a multi-objective mixed integer nonlinear programming model is developed to determine the amount of hiring, firing, training, overtime for each worker type. This paper considers a workforce planning model including human aspects such as skills, training, workers' personalities, capacity, motivation, and learning rates. This model helps to minimize the hiring, firing, training and overtime costs, and maximize the workers' performance. The results indicate that the workers' differences should be considered in workforce scheduling to generate realistic plans with minimum costs. This paper also investigates the effects of human learning rates on the performance of the production systems. Keywords—Human Factors, Learning Curves, Workers' Differences, Workforce Scheduling


Low‐vagility organisms that specialize on transitory successional habitats may be especially dependent upon habitat connectivity to maintain population viability. We analyzed the theoretical intrinsic connectivity of successional landscapes (i.e., the natural juxtaposition of similar habitats that allows dispersal) as a function of patch geometry coupled with the disperser's habitat specificity. Habitat specialists living in poorly connected landscapes (approximating hexagonal patches) have only a 26.5% chance of colonizing a new site when their resident patch becomes unsuitable. In contrast, generalists living in well connected landscapes can virtually always colonize a new site when needed. We infer from our simulation that for some habitat specialists, such as the rare, endemic Florida scrub lizard (Sceloporus woodi), anthropogenic control of successional dynamics for commercial logging may significantly reduce intrinsic connectivity. Lizard population viability may now depend upon the extrinsic connectivity provided by artificial corridors. However, the use of corridors will not serve as a general solution to the problem of anthropogenically reduced intrinsic connectivity until key logistical design problems have been resolved. Moreover, efforts to enhance intrinsic connectivity by modifying patch geometry may produce undesirable edge effects and conflict with old‐growth preservation. Future research should focus on developing spatially explicit corridor models, documenting natural levels of intrinsic connectivity, quantifying anthropogenic disruption of natural connectivity, and describing species‐specific mechanisms of inter‐patch dispersal.


This study presents quantum dynamical simulations, using the Gaussian-based multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree (G-MCTDH) method, of time-resolved coherent Raman four-wave-mixing spectroscopic experiments for the iodine molecule embedded in a cryogenic crystal krypton matrix [D. Picconi et al., J. Chem. Phys. 150, 064111 (2019)]. These experiments monitor the time-evolving vibrational coherence between two wave packets created in a quantum superposition (i.e., a "Schrödinger cat state") by a pair of pump pulses which induce electronic B Πu30+⟵XΣg+1 transitions. A theoretical description of the spectroscopic measurement is developed, which elucidates the connection between the nonlinear signals and the wave packet coherence. The analysis provides an effective means to simulate the spectra for several different optical conditions with a minimum number of quantum dynamical propagations. The G-MCTDH method is used to calculate and interpret the time-resolved coherent Raman spectra of two selected initial superpositions for a I2Kr18 cluster embedded in a frozen Kr cage. The time- and frequency-dependent signals carry information about the molecular mechanisms of dissipation and decoherence, which involve vibrational energy transfer to the stretching mode of the four "belt" Kr atoms. The details of these processes and the number of active solvent modes depend in a non-trivial way on the specific initial superposition.


Women experience a series of specific transitions in their reproductive function with age. Shortening of the menstrual cycle begins in the mid to late 30s and is regarded as the first sign of reproductive aging. Other early changes include elevation and increased variance of serum FSH levels, increased incidences of oocyte spindle aberrations and aneuploidy, and declining fertility. The goal of this study was to investigate whether the mouse strain senescence-accelerated mouse-prone-8 (SAMP8) is a suitable model for the study of these midlife reproductive aging characteristics. Midlife SAMP8 mice aged 6.5-7.85 months (midlife SAMP8) exhibited shortened estrous cycles compared with SAMP8 mice aged 2-3 months (young SAMP8, P = .0040). Midlife SAMP8 mice had high FSH levels compared with young SAMP8 mice, and mice with a single day of high FSH exhibited statistically elevated FSH throughout the cycle, ranging from 1.8- to 3.6-fold elevation on the days of proestrus, estrus, metestrus, and diestrus (P < .05). Midlife SAMP8 mice displayed more variance in FSH than young SAMP8 mice (P = .01). Midlife SAMP8 ovulated fewer oocytes (P = .0155). SAMP8 oocytes stained with fluorescently labeled antitubulin antibodies and scored in fluorescence microscopy exhibited increased incidence of meiotic spindle aberrations with age, from 2/126 (1.59%) in young SAMP8 to 38/139 (27.3%) in midlife SAMP8 (17.2-fold increase, P < .0001). Finally, SAMP8 exhibited declining fertility from 8.9 pups/litter in young SAMP8 to 3.5 pups/litter in midlife SAMP8 mice (P < .0001). The age at which these changes occur is younger than for most mouse strains, and their simultaneous occurrence within a single strain has not been described previously. We propose that SAMP8 mice are a model of midlife human female reproductive aging.


Computer support for design as cooperative work is the subject of our discussion in the context of our research program on Computer Support in Cooperative Design and Communication. We outline our theoretical perspective on design as cooperative work, and we exemplify our approach with reflections from a project on computer support for envisionment in design --- the APLEX and its use. We see envisionment facilities as support for both experiments with and communication about the future use situation. As a background we sketch the historical roots of our program --- the Scandinavian collective resource approach to design and use of computer artifacts, and make some critical reflections on the rationality of computer support for cooperative work.


Tracking tasks known to facilitate or interfere with one another were investigated under various sequences of alternation. Double and treble alternating sequences of 2 tasks were used. 6 groups of 12 Ss practiced for 20 10-sec. trials, with 50-sec. intertrial intervals. Trend analyses were employed in comparing the results of the double and treble alternating sequences with the single alternating sequence and postshift trials of the previous study (Laszlo & Pritchard, 1969). The results showed that facilitation or interference lost with single alternation was recovered with double or treble alternating sequences. Rate and degree of recovery appeared to depend upon the degree of transfer between tasks and strategies employed by S. These results were discussed in terms of motor program consolidation.


Exercise exerts heterogeneous effects on TSH secretion. Whereas TSH is rapidly stimulated by physical exercise within minutes, and these effects are well supported by careful experiments, the results of studies concerning intermediate and long−term re− sponse of TSH release to exercise remain unclear, and the under− lying mechanism for both is still open to speculation


This study was conducted out to determine of walnut genotypes with high fruit bearing and fruit quality within seedling population in Dicle, Hani, Egil and Kocakoy townships of Diyarbakir province and their villages during years 2004 and 2005. During this research, firstly 800 walnut trees were surveyed and 110 genotypes of them were marked and evaluated. Based on the results of these evaluations, 10 walnut genotypes were selected. Kernel ratio, fruit weight and kernel weight of the selected genotypes changed between 57.2-39.1%, 13.2-9.7 g and 7.13-5.62 g, respectively. The protein, the oil, the moisture, the ash the other matter contents of the genotypes changed between 20.0-13.7%, 66.2-57.8%, 4.9-1.8%, 2.98-1.76% and 20.2-9.0%, respectively. The protandrous, the protogynous and the homogymous of these genotypes were determined to be 5, 4 and 1, respectively. In addition, first leafing time, first bud breaking, fruit bearing in the lateral shoots and harvest time of them were found to be 2-6 April, 6-18 April, 75-90% and 15 September - 10 October, respectively. Keywords: Walnut, Selection, Fruit and tree properties, Diyarbakor


Vibrational Raman optical activity (ROA) spectra, predicted using an ab initio VROA method, are presented. Agreement between the predicted and experimental VROA spectra for amino acids is generally satisfactory. The predictions obtained for different conformers of N-acetyl-N′-methyl-L-alaninamide are used as model peptide spectra and are compared with the experimental VROA spectra of L-alanyl-L-alanyl-L-alanine, α-chymotrypsin and poly(L-lysine) whose structures are established in the literature. It appears that most of the VROA sign patterns in these molecules are determined by the relative orientations of the peptide groups.


ions rather than empirical observation. His defection thus exposed a hollowing out of the ideological framework that had informed the postwar policy settlement. But if Horn's study does much to locate Prentice within a broader period, it might also have benefited from a wider frame of reference. Prentice may have been the only Labor MP to cross the floor of the House of Commons, but many other social democrats, including John Vaizey, Hugh Thomas, and Paul Johnson, made rightward turns following Thatcher's acquisition of the party leadership. And by locating Prentice in relation to them, Horn might have identified a more comprehensive formation that was bound together by a shared diagnosis of Britain's economic and social crises. It would have also been profitable for Horn to explore the relationship between British social democracy and the Conservative tradition with which it competed. Prentice did not fit neatly within either camp, yet he was committed to beliefs and values that were shared by both. His story can thus be used to trace the permeable boundary that separated the ideologies of the Labor and Conservative parties. Yet Horn's account, despite making occasional references to Prentice's respect for the rule of law and his preference for evolutionary change, does not pursue this line of enquiry. These omissions do not detract from the overall quality of Horn's analysis; they do, however, suggest that more work needs to be done to explain the full significance of the political reconfigurations that his account describes. As well as illuminating the Labor party's internal struggles, Horn also captures the turbulence and uncertainty that marked the intellectual politics of the late 1970s. By tracing Prentice's growing disillusionment with the orthodoxies of postwar Laborism, his work exposes the profound shock that the crises of the period exerted upon the intellectual foundations of the postwar consensus. And by untangling the reasoning that informed Prentice's decision to join the Conservatives, it reminds us that politicians of the center, as well as those of the left and right, were prepared to think the unthinkable in their efforts to resolve the problems that they observed. Prentice and other moderates may have been attempting to preserve a set of values and beliefs, but in doing so, they jettisoned many of their older assumptions and commitments. Horn's study performs two important functions: it adds considerable depth to our understanding of the political reconfigurations of the 1970s, and by weaving Prentice into a much broader narrative about the fate of postwar social democracy, it reminds us that political biography remains a powerful historiographical tool. Dean Blackburn, University of Nottingham PHILIP HOWELL. At Home and Astray. The Domestic Dog in Victorian Britain. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015. Pp. 264. $39.50 (cloth). doi: 10.1017/jbr.2016.163 Adding to a recent surge of scholarship on human-animal relationships, Philip Howell investigates the problematic material and symbolical place of the dog in British society and its 202 ▪ Book Reviews


Temporal action segmentation tags action labels for every frame in an input untrimmed video containing multiple actions in a sequence. For the task of temporal action segmentation, we propose an encoder-decoder style architecture named C2F-TCN featuring a "coarse-to-fine" ensemble of decoder outputs. The C2F-TCN framework is enhanced with a novel model agnostic temporal feature augmentation strategy formed by the computationally inexpensive strategy of the stochastic max-pooling of segments. It produces more accurate and well-calibrated supervised results on three benchmark action segmentation datasets. We show that the architecture is flexible for both supervised and representation learning. In line with this, we present a novel unsupervised way to learn frame-wise representation from C2F-TCN. Our unsupervised learning approach hinges on the clustering capabilities of the input features and the formation of multi-resolution features from the decoder's implicit structure. Further, we provide first semi-supervised temporal action segmentation results by merging representation learning with conventional supervised learning. Our semi-supervised learning scheme, called "Iterative-Contrastive-Classify (ICC)", progressively improves in performance with more labeled data. The ICC semi-supervised learning in C2F-TCN, with 40% labeled videos, performs similar to fully supervised counterparts.


During the course of mammalian evolution, there has been a close relationship between microbes residing in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the mammalian host. Although the host provides the microbes with a warm environment and nutrients, they, in turn, undergo various metabolic processes that aid the host. The host has developed weapons against microbes that are considered foreign, as well as mechanisms to tolerate and live synergistically with most of the microbes in the GI tract. This relationship is proving to be important not only in the neonatal period and during infancy, but it is becoming increasingly evident that microbial colonization in early life may affect the individual's health throughout life. Here we will review this relationship in terms of health and disease, with a focus on the aspects of this relationship during maturation of the host.


We present PDDLGym, a framework that automatically constructs OpenAI Gym environments from PDDL domains and problems. Observations and actions in PDDLGym are relational, making the framework particularly well-suited for research in relational reinforcement learning and relational sequential decision-making. PDDLGym is also useful as a generic framework for rapidly building numerous, diverse benchmarks from a concise and familiar specification language. We discuss design decisions and implementation details, and also illustrate empirical variations between the 15 built-in environments in terms of planning and model-learning difficulty. We hope that PDDLGym will facilitate bridge-building between the reinforcement learning community (from which Gym emerged) and the AI planning community (which produced PDDL). We look forward to gathering feedback from all those interested and expanding the set of available environments and features accordingly. Code: this https URL


Absorption and luminescence spectra and optical amplification in bismuth-doped germanate silicate glass were investigated. Two kinds of bismuth ion valence states could exist in the glass. One is Bi2+, which has shown red luminescence, another might be Bi+, which is the active center for infrared luminescence. The infrared luminescence excited at 700, 800, and 980 nm should be ascribed to the electronic transition 3P1 --> 3P0 of Bi+ ions in three distinct sites. The shifting, broadening, and multiple configuration of the luminescence could be due to the randomly disorder of local environment and multiple sites of the active centers. In this glass, obvious optical amplification was realized at 1300 nm wavelength when excited at 808 and 980 nm, respectively.


For historical epistemology to succeed, it must adopt a defensible set of categories to characterise scientific activity over time. In historically orientated philosophy of science during the twentieth century, the original categories of theory and observation were supplemented or replaced by categories like paradigm, research program and research tradition. Underlying all three proposals was talk about conceptual systems and conceptual structures, attributed to individual scientists or to research communities, however there has been little general agreement on the nature of these structures. Recent experimental research in cognitive science has considerably refined the theory of concepts. Drawing upon the results of that research, philosophers can construct more concrete and empirically defensible representations of conceptual systems. I will suggest that this research supports a modest and useful sense of both normal and revolutionary science, not as epistemological continuities or discontinuities, but as particular patterns of conceptual change.


Doppler echocardiography was performed in 83 patients, 13-26 (median 19) years after repair of tetralogy of Fallot. Median age at repair was 7 years (range 9 months-42 years). An outflow patch restricted to the right ventricle was used in 29%, a transannular patch in 27% and the right ventricle was closed without a patch in 44%. Ninety-six percent of the patients were asymptomatic at follow-up. Patients with a transannular patch were younger, had a larger right ventricle and a higher right ventricle to pulmonary artery pressure difference than those without a patch. The average end-diastolic diameter of the right ventricle was larger than normal regardless of type of repair. The thickness of the right ventricular wall was increased in 50%. In 43% of the patients there was persistent hypertrophy of the right ventricular wall despite normalized systolic pressure. The average size and function of the left ventricle were normal although fractional shortening was reduced in 30% of the patients. The aortic root was abnormally large in 48%. Thirty-four percent had moderate or severe pulmonary valve regurgitation. Symptom-limited work capacity was 87% of predicted and was inversely related to age, systolic pressure in the right ventricle. E/A ratio of the left ventricle and use of the transannular patch. We conclude that right ventricular dysfunction and right ventricular outflow obstruction and/or incompetence were common even in asymptomatic long-term survivors after repair of tetralogy of Fallot.


Corporate credit scoring is important for investors and banks in risk management. However, the high dimensional data available from public financial statements make credit analysis difficult. To address the problem, dimensionality reduction is a key step to enhance scoring accuracy. By using semi-supervised discriminant analysis (SSDA) and support vector machines (SVMs), this study develops a novel system for credit scoring, where SSDA transforms high dimensional data space (over 50 financial variables) to a perfect low dimensional representative subspace with maximal discriminating power. Constructing SVM classifier in the new space effectively reduces overfitting and enhances classification accuracy. Empirical results indicate that SSDA is better than traditional dimensionality reduction schemes, and it significant improves SVM performance. More importantly, the new classification system substantially outperforms conventional classifiers. The new decision support system can help corporate bond investors make good assessments on their risks and substantially reduce their losses.

 Key words: Semi-supervised discriminant analysis, dimensionality reduction, credit scoring, support vector machine, risk management.


ABSTRACT Background The hours immediately following a traumatic event may present a window of opportunity to interrupt the consolidation of memories of the traumatic event, and this may prevent PTSD development. This theory has been validated in a series of analogue studies, showing that a visuo-spatial task reduces intrusive memories, however clinical studies are scarce. Objective This pilot RCT examined the use of a semi-immersive Virtual Reality visuospatial task, as an intervention to interrupt memory consolidation, in the Emergency Department (ED) in the immediate hours following a traumatic event. We hypothesised that participants who had received the intervention would present with lower levels of PTSD symptoms than the control group who received no intervention. Method Seventy-seven adult survivors of traumatic events, meeting study criteria, were recruited in the ED of a Level III Trauma Centre. Survivors arrived at the ED less than one hour, on average, after the trauma. After signing informed consent, participants were randomized to the SnowWorld intervention or control group. Both groups completed self-report questionnaires, and the intervention group used SnowWorld for up to 10 minutes. Results No significant differences between the intervention and control groups were found regarding PTSD symptom levels two weeks and six months following the traumatic event. Conclusions These results add to the growing literature examining the use of a concurrent task to reduce intrusions following a traumatic event. In contrast to previous clinical studies, this study did not show significant group differences; however, it replicates an analogue study that used a specifically developed app. Further studies are needed to elucidate possible reasons for these conflicting results.


The causes of the strong U.S. productivity resurgence have been extensively discussed. A growing body of research points out that the U.S. acceleration in productivity growth reflects underlying technology acceleration. The findings of this research stream, along with considerable anecdotal and microeconomic evidence, suggest that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have played a substantial role.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this research was to conduct the first stages of a user-centered design of a smartphone app designed to improve health behaviors among participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Texas.

METHODS
Focus groups explored facilitators and barriers to health behaviors, current use of apps, and desired features in a WIC app.

RESULTS
Facilitators to improve health behaviors included access to information, support from healthcare practitioners and family, and implementation of strategies. Current app use themes included texting/chatting, accessing information, tracking/locating, planning/scheduling, sharing, and gaming. Frequencies of key themes within and across groups were used to inform app prototype design. Mock-ups of 15 prototype features were developed based on themes of facilitators and currently used app features. Participants agreed that having all features combined into a single WIC app would be convenient and provide trustworthy information from WIC.

CONCLUSIONS
The enthusiasm of focus group participants for a comprehensive WIC app suggests that this initiative is timely, and that an app has potential to improve health behaviors. Future research should continue the user-centered design process through further evaluation of prototype features, incorporating cultural preferences at every step.


Introduction: IDMPS is an international, observational study to assess care practices and clinical profiles of people with diabetes in developing countries. Treatment non-adherence is a major barrier to treatment effectiveness. Open-ended self-reported reasons for omitting or adhering to glucose-lowering drugs in people with T2D were analyzed.
 Methods: NLP and clustering methods were used to analyze responses on omitting medications (Q1) , not taking medications as prescribed (Q2) , and methods to improve adherence (Q3) , with Q1+2 responses merged as reasons for 'omission'.
 Results: Of 2475 participants from 13 countries (mean ± SD age 58 ± 12 years, 49% male, diabetes duration ± 8 years, 43% on insulin) , 85%, 79%, and 37% had responses for Q1-3 respectively. Of these, 36% had responses indicative of non-adherence, 62% of adherence, and 2% uncertain responses (Q1+2) . Non-adherent patients were younger (55 ± 12 vs. 60 ± 12 years) , had shorter diabetes duration (± 8 vs. 12 ± 9 years) , and higher HbA1c (8.3 ± 1.9 vs. 7.9 ± 1.8 %) vs. adherent patients (all p<0.001) . Patient responses for adherence/non-adherence are shown in Figure.
 Conclusions: Conflicts with daily routine are the main barrier to therapy adherence, while planning and habit formation can improve adherence.

 J.C.Chan: Board Member; Asia Diabetes Foundation, Consultant; Bayer AG, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Celltrion, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Roche Diabetes Care, Viatris Inc., Research Support; Applied Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, Hua Medicine, Servier Laboratories, Stock/Shareholder; GemVCare Ltd. J.Chantelot: Employee; Sanofi, Stock/Shareholder; Sanofi. P.Aschner: Advisory Panel; Merck & Co., Inc., Sanofi, Speaker's Bureau; AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Novo Nordisk. J.J.Gagliardino: None. H.M.Ilkova: Advisory Panel; Novo Nordisk. A.Ramachandran: None. J.Mbanya: Advisory Panel; Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Servier Laboratories. M.V.Shestakova: None. M.Rollot: Other Relationship; Sanofi. M.Blanchon: Other Relationship; Sanofi. P.Hayat: Other Relationship; Sanofi.

 Sanofi


By retrospective analysis of 1415 bicycle ergometer exercise stress tests, 108 patients were selected for coronary angiography and left ventriculograms at least 3 months after acute anterior wall myocardial infarction. The ECG of 55/108 showed elevation of the ST-segment of 1 mm or more during exercise. 82% displayed an aneurysm defined by diastolic and/or systolic bulge (dyskinesis) of the anterior ventricular wall: sensitivity 82%, specificity 96%, positive predictive value 97%. The bicycle exercise stress test is a strong, noninvasive predictor of left ventricular aneurysm.


A conjecture of the first two authors is that   $n$ matchings of size $n$ in any graph have a rainbow matching of size $n-1$.  We prove a lower bound of $\frac{2}{3}n-1$, improving on the trivial $\frac{1}{2}n$, and an analogous result for hypergraphs. For $\{C_3,C_5\}$-free graphs and for disjoint matchings we obtain a lower bound of $\frac{3n}{4}-O(1)$. We also discuss a conjecture on rainbow alternating paths, that if true would yield a lower bound of $n-\sqrt{2n}$. We prove the non-alternating (ordinary paths) version of this conjecture.


A transition-metal-free direct oxidative trifluoromethylation of unsymmetrical biaryls has been achieved by the simple combination of trifluoromethanesulfinate and phenyliodine bis(trifluoroacetate). The trifluoromethylation is selectively observed in the electron-rich arenes.


In Vol.2, No.1, 2014, Journal of Medical Microbiology and Infection Diseases a paper entitled "Rabies in Iran: Past, Present and Future" was published. We are grateful to Dr. Alireza Gholami and colleagues for this fascinating paper. We read the paper with a great interest but there is one point that should be taken into consideration. The authors have claimed that the discovery of rabies goes back to 2300 BC, when the Greek philosophers and physicians described it as a dangerous disease caused by a mad dog biting [1]. However, there is no mention of the contribution of the Iranian or Islamic traditional medicine to this discovery. Many of the historical evidence suggest that the treatment of many infectious diseases, like rabies was based on research carried out by Iranian scientists. One of these leading (Persian) scholars was Avicenna (980-1037 AD), who had a great dominance in the treatment of infectious diseases such as rabies. The Canon of Medicine (Al-Qanunphi-al-Tibb) which is one of the most important textbooks used in many medical specialties depict Avicenna's research on rabies as well as his attempts to prevent the disease [2].


GitHub contains millions of repositories among which many are similar with one another (i.e., having similar source codes or implementing similar functionalities). Finding similar repositories on GitHub can be helpful for software engineers as it can help them reuse source code, build prototypes, identify alternative implementations, explore related projects, find projects to contribute to, and discover code theft and plagiarism. Previous studies have proposed techniques to detect similar applications by analyzing API usage patterns and software tags. However, these prior studies either only make use of a limited source of information or use information not available for projects on GitHub. In this paper, we propose a novel approach that can effectively detect similar repositories on GitHub. Our approach is designed based on three heuristics leveraging two data sources (i.e., GitHub stars and readme files) which are not considered in previous works. The three heuristics are: repositories whose readme files contain similar contents are likely to be similar with one another, repositories starred by users of similar interests are likely to be similar, and repositories starred together within a short period of time by the same user are likely to be similar. Based on these three heuristics, we compute three relevance scores (i.e., readme-based relevance, stargazer-based relevance, and time-based relevance) to assess the similarity between two repositories. By integrating the three relevance scores, we build a recommendation system called RepoPal to detect similar repositories. We compare RepoPal to a prior state-of-the-art approach CLAN using one thousand Java repositories on GitHub. Our empirical evaluation demonstrates that RepoPal achieves a higher success rate, precision and confidence over CLAN.