The Bible was written and interpreted in a context, but is timeless and powerful in offering us wisdom and hope. In times of suffering, we can experience the therapeutic nature of the Bible in offering us strength and promise. I revisited my personal experience of my son suffering from a rare under-reported genetic disease in relation to my churchmate's unconditional regard for me, demonstrated through biblical letters during the 3 months following my son's diagnosis. The first letter will be shown and a discussion presented according to four themes: (a) helpful events while writing and reading the letter; (b) serving as a means of womanly social support; (c) being a way of reciprocal helping; and (d) adopting a perspective of strength while getting closer to God. This article ends by highlighting the importance of biblical letters as a means of counseling and as a prayer for God's love.


A detailed study of the small-signal response of III-Nitride quantum well (QW) light-emitting diodes is presented, in which the electrical and optical responses are simultaneously measured. A complete transport-recombination model is introduced to account for measurements. This allows for a proper evaluation of the recombination lifetime and for the accurate quantification of thermionic carrier escape from the QW. Further, a yet-unreported carrier capture mechanism is identified and quantified; it increases with the carrier density in the QW and bears the signature of a Coulomb in-scattering process.


The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis states that the intrauterine environment influences postnatal health and adult disease susceptibility. In the United States, over 30% of women of childbearing age are obese, in part due to Western Style Diet (WSD) consumption. Previous data from our group using a Japanese macaque model, revealed that maternal overnutrition increases the β:α cell ratio in the islets of offspring. WSD-exposed offspring islets also exhibit inappropriate hypersecretion of insulin in response to glucose at 1 and 3 years of age. We hypothesize that fetal exposure to WSD induces a compensatory increase in β-cell fuel metabolism resulting in an inappropriate increase in insulin secretion by offspring islets. When we assessed the effect of maternal diet on mitochondrial respiration in offspring islets, we found that spare respiratory capacity is increased in islets of one year old WSD-exposed male offspring, suggesting an increased capacity to adapt to increased metabolic demand. This could be due to increased mitochondrial abundance; however, maternal overnutrition does not appear to increase β cell mitochondrial density when analyzed via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) . Insulin granule density is increased in male offspring islets in TEM micrographs, implying that insulin production is increased in response to intrauterine WSD exposure. Transcripts for CACNA1C (voltage gated calcium channel subunit) , ABCC8 (ATP-sensitive potassium channel subunit) , and VAMP2 (vesicle fusion) are increased in response to maternal WSD exposure in offspring islets. Thus, our data suggest that increases in insulin secretion in offspring exposed to maternal overnutrition result from changes in metabolic and secretion pathways. Importantly, these mechanisms could potentiate hyperinsulinism which may predispose offspring to insulin resistance and beta cell failure in adulthood.

 D.T. Carroll: None. V.F. Ricciardi: None. J.C. Dunn: None. S.R. Lindsley: None. T. Dean: None. M. Kirigiti: None. S.R. Wesolowski: None. C.E. McCurdy: None. P. Kievit: Research Support; Novo Nordisk A/S. J.E. Friedman: None. M. Gannon: None.

 NIH-NIDDK (5T32 DK7563-30, R24DK090964-06, 1R01DK128187)


AI methods for fault handling in Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS) such as production plants and tank systems are an emerging research topic. In the last years many methods for the detection of anomalies and faults, the diagnosis of the root cause and the automated repair have been developed. However, most of the methods are barely evaluated using a wide range of systems but applicability is shown using single use cases. In this paper, an ensemble of simulated benchmark systems is presented, which allows for a broad evaluation of AI methods for fault handling. The ensemble consists of seven different tank systems from process engineering with varying sizes and complexities and is made publicly available on Github. The suitability of the ensemble is shown using AI methods for fault handling such as anomaly detection, diagnosis and reconfiguration.


The nature and extent of the regional lithosphere-asthenosphere interaction beneath Ireland and Britain remains unclear. Although it has been established that ancient Caledonian signatures pervade the lithosphere, tertiary structure related to the Iceland plume has been inferred to dominate the asthenosphere. To address this apparent contradiction in the literature, we image the 3-D lithospheric and deeper upper-mantle structure beneath Ireland via non-linear, iterative joint teleseismic-gravity inversion using data from the ISLE (Irish Seismic Lithospheric Experiment), ISUME (Irish Seismic Upper Mantle Experiment) and GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) experiments. The inversion combines teleseismic relative arrival time residuals with the GRACE long wavelength satellite derived gravity anomaly by assuming a depth-dependent quasilinear velocity-density relationship. We argue that anomalies imaged at lithospheric depths probably reflect compositional contrasts, either due to terrane accretion associated with Iapetus Ocean closure, frozen decompressional melt that was generated by plate stretching during the opening of the north Atlantic Ocean, frozen Iceland plume related magmatic intrusions, or a combination thereof. The continuation of the anomalous structure across the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary is interpreted as possibly reflecting sub-lithospheric small-scale convection initiated by the lithospheric compositional contrasts. Our hypothesis thus reconciles the disparity which exists between lithospheric and asthenospheric structure beneath this region of the north Atlantic rifted margin.


We examined the effect of benidipine, a 1,4-dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, on depolarizing stimulation-induced increases of intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in cultured mouse hippocampal neurons in comparison with those of nicardipine and nilvadipine. Benidipine (0.1-10 microM) inhibited the [Ca2+]i increase compared with the no drug control response. This effect was stronger than those of nicardipine and nilvadipine. The inhibitory effect of benidipine lasted even after washing out the drug for 125 min, while those of nicardipine and nilvadipine disappeared more rapidly. This is the first report that demonstrates that benidipine inhibits the [Ca2+]i increase in the neuron itself.


Data acquisition and recording in the form of databases are routine operations. The process of collecting data, however, may experience irregularities, resulting in databases with missing data. Missing entries might alter analysis efficiency and, consequently, the associated decision-making process. This paper focuses on databases collecting information related to the natural environment. Given the broad spectrum of recorded activities, these databases typically are of mixed nature. It is therefore relevant to evaluate the performance of missing data processing methods considering this characteristic. In this paper we investigate the performances of several missing data imputation methods and their application to the problem of missing data in environment. A computational study was performed to compare the method missForest (MF) with two other imputation methods, namely Multivariate Imputation by Chained Equations (MICE) and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN). Tests were made on 10 pretreated datasets of various types. Results revealed that MF generally outperformed MICE and KNN in terms of imputation errors, with a more pronounced performance gap for mixed typed databases where MF reduced the imputation error up to 150%, when compared to the other methods. KNN was usually the fastest method. MF was then successfully applied to a case study on Quebec wastewater treatment plants performance monitoring. We believe that the present study demonstrates the pertinence of using MF as imputation method when dealing with missing environmental data.


The. review gives data on the prognostic value of genetic markers when analyzing the risk of chronic kidney disease in diabetes mellitus, those on new possibilities of early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy using urinary biomarkers (nephrinuria, podocinuria) and proteomic urinalysis at the stage of normoalbuminuria. The interpretation of the index mrcroalbuminuria in type 2 diabetesis critically analyzed. The nephroprotective properties of novel classes of glucose-lowering drugs, such as incretins and gliflozins, are considered.


Magnetic compression anastomosis or magnetic recanalization technique is a revolutionary minimally invasive method to perform re-anastomosis in patients with alimentary strictures. We conduct magnetic recanalization for the treatment of severe alimentary strictures that cannot be treated by conventional methods. Data are analysed retrospectively in order to investigate the safety and efficiency of this method. From 2012 January to 2019 October, 17 patients with alimentary stricture after operation were enrolled in the first affiliated hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University and the Chinese PLA General Hospital. The ages were 47±16.8 years, and 11 cases were men. 17 cases include 14 benign biliary strictures, two esophageal strictures and one colorectal anastomosis strictures. 14 cases are complete strictures, and the others are refractory one. Strictures are found 0–120 months after the last operation. All the patients have undergone 2–8 times unsuccessful standard treatments, including endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage (PTCD) or endoscopic balloon dilation. Magnetic recanalization technique (MRT) is proposed. The MRT device consists of two identical, nickel-plated NdFeB magnets (rating, N45) termed the parent magnet and the daughter magnet. Each magnet shapes like a cylinder or annular. The daughter and parent magnet are delivered to the proximal and distal end of stricture respectively via different routes. The attraction force between the two magnets leads to necrosis of the fibrotic stricture tissue and the creation of a new transmural anastomosis. Thereafter, stent deployment or balloon dilation is performed to the new anastomosis. Data about stricture length, recanalization time, side effects in 30 days, time to remove the biliary stent and stricture recurrence are collected. All the patients are followed-up to 2019 December by telephone or outpatients service. After the MRT, 1 case fails. Magnets can couple stably in 16 patients (successful rate 94.1%), including 10 cases of choledocho-choledochostomy, 3 cases of bilio-enteric anastomosis, 1 case of esophago-esophagostomy, 1 case of esophago-gastrostomy and 1 case of colo-proctostomy. The delivery routes are per-PTCD/per-ERCP, per-PTCD or drainage tube sinus/per-gastroscope, per-gastroscope/per-gastroscope, per-gastroscope/per-operation and per-enterostomy/per-anus respectively. The daughter and parent magnets detach from each other in 3 patients after days post-MRT. The magnets couple automatically in 2 patients without any interventions. In the other patient, another daughter magnet is added through PTCD, and the magnets are again tightly approximated. Three adverse events are found (cholangitis, 1 patient; biliary bleeding, 1 patient; colon leakage, 1 patient), but are resolved with conservative treatment. The stricture length is 2–7.1 (4±1.9) mm in successful cases, and recanalization occurs after 7–50 (15.5±10.6) days. Biliary multiple plastic stents (4 patients), biliary fully covered self-expandable metallic stent (5 patients), percutaneous trans-hepatic cholangiodrainage catheter (4 patients), balloon dilation plus metallic stent (2 patients), or balloon dilation alone (1 patient) is used after recanalization. Stents are retrieved after 6.9±4.0 months in 14 patients, and 1 patient is still in stent period. During 3–70 months of stent-free follow-up, no stenosis is found in 13 biliary stricture patients, but 2 cases are found biliary stones and cured by endoscopic treatment. Two of three patients with esophageal or colorectal anastomosis stricture experience recurrence in follow up, and are still managed by endoscopic ways. In conclusion, magnetic recanalization technique is a minimally invasive, effective and safe method to complicated alimentary stricture, and can serve as a remedial method when conventional ways fail.


With the emergence of social media and the availability of big data, there has been much interest in mining the digital footprints left by users to predict personality traits (e.g., introvert and idealistic) and gain a deeper understanding of individuals. While such understanding will enable hyper-personalized computing, such as personality-based marketing, the use of this technology will have far-reaching social implications that could affect almost every aspect of our lives. For example, personality traits mined from social media could be used to guide hiring and promotion decisions or decide who is admitted into top academic programs. The risks of using derived personality traits are potentially high, particular due to factors such as the veracity of data collected from social media, imperfections in prediction algorithms, and a lack of control over how, when, and to whom anyone's personality traits might be exposed. We will use this panel to bring together experts from the fields of Psychology, Social Science, Computer Science, along with the CHI community, to discuss and debate the opportunities and risks of personality discovery from social media and the implications on technical communities and our society at large.


ABSTRACT The manufacturing tolerances of rib turbulators lead to variations in the cooling of internal ribbed passages because the manufacturing tolerances cause the actual geometry to differ some from the design which affects the flow structure as well as the coolant mass flow rate. Such variations may significantly affect the system cooling performance, and may lead to the failure of hot components. Thus, it is necessary to determine the effects of manufacturing tolerances on the cooling performance for such variations in rib turbulators in internal passages. This study numerically investigates the cooling of internal rib turbulated passages using the relationship between the geometric parameters and the coolant mass flow rate using the three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations for various rib heights, rib widths, wall thicknesses, and coolant mass flow rates. Correlations are developed to predict the cooling performance in response to geometric variations of the internal passages due to manufacturing tolerances. The variations in the design parameters of the internal rib turbulated cooling system has differing effects on the cooling performance, even within the same range of manufacturing tolerances.


We perform a phase-space analysis of strong-field enhanced ionisation in molecules, with emphasis on quantum-interference effects. Using Wigner quasi-probability distributions and the quantum Liouville equation, we show that the momentum gates reported in a previous publication (Takemoto and Becker 2011 Phys. Rev. A 84 023401) may occur for static driving fields, and even for no external field at all. Their primary cause is an interference-induced bridging mechanism that occurs if both wells in the molecule are populated. In the phase-space regions for which quantum bridges occur, the Wigner functions perform a clockwise rotation whose period is intrinsic to the molecule. This evolution is essentially non-classical and non-adiabatic, as it does not follow equienergy curves or field gradients. Quasi-probability transfer via quantum bridges is favoured if the electron's initial state is either spatially delocalised, or situated at the upfield molecular well. Enhanced ionisation results from the interplay of this cyclic motion, adiabatic tunnel ionisation and population trapping. Optimal conditions require minimising population trapping and using the bridging mechanism to feed into ionisation pathways along the field gradient.


Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the strategic governance of the digital transformation of the accounting environment in cultural organizations, with a specific focus on practices of social responsibility and stakeholder engagement in virtual museums.

Design/Methodology/Approach
By adopting a multiple case study approach, this study investigated five Italian virtual museums and their digitalization processes. Data were collected and triangulated from multiple sources, including documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with 16 key informants.

Findings
Considering the digitalization of the accounting environment as a paradigmatic change, the authors identify three key transitions for its strategic governance: from the static, technical and physical to the relational, emotional and digital; from bureaucratic managerialism to value cocreation; and from traditional CSR to integrated external engagement. Moreover, the authors found that social responsibility and stakeholder engagement practices are used in a limited way, and that the use of social media appears to be increasingly important and to be carried out through an emergent rather than a deliberate strategy.

Research Limitations/Implications
The paper draws from a limited sample of case studies in one country and is based on exploratory research. This paper calls for more comparative studies using a longitudinal approach to investigate the impacts of digitalization on the accounting environment of cultural organizations.

Originality/Value
This study is one of the few studies concentrating on the effects of digitalization on the accounting environment of cultural organizations.


In the paper the results of the research on the complete automation of the relative orientation of a stereo pair is presented. The theoretical background needed for understanding this topic is described and the results of testing the algorithms with real data are presented. In general, the relative orientation procedure consists of three phases: input data acquisition, computation of relative orientation parameters and estimation of observation errors. In the process of the complete relative orientation automation, the key step is the automation of homologous points acquisition in the stereo area. In the tests presented, the homologous points were acquired with different methods: manually, semi-automatically and fully automatically. The results of the computed relative orientation parameters have been compared. It has been concluded that the automation of the relative orientation procedure is successful and reliable if the control of the observation errors estimation is built into the procedure, and, especially, we get the results faster than with the manual or semi-automated method.


Nowadays, denim is in trend. To achieve visually appealing results, various washing processes are applied to denim. For washing denim, a variety of methods are available, and they all produce distinct kinds of waste. These methods have various environmental effects. This study aims to examine the environmental impact of various denim washing effluents. Here, six different washes desizing, enzyme, stone, bleach, acid, and random wash are performed. In order to compare how washing affects both the environment and the fabric, effluent tests are carried out. Since enzymes are unique by nature, enzyme wash demonstrated the greatest GSM. They don't affect the fibre composition; they just break down the color that is on the surface of the cellulose. Shrinkage is the cause of the general rise in GSM. However, the thickness, pilling, and elongation % of the cloth were unaffected by the washing. Due to the alkaline nature of the washing procedure, which results in minimal harm to the cloth, the enzyme and desize wash exhibit high strength. The fabric's rigidity decreases when stone, bleach, and acid wash damage it, which raises the angle at which the crease recovers. Due to the use of enzyme and desize wash produces effluent with a reduced TDS. In these procedures, the indigo hue on the denim surface is diminished, which causes the fading to occur. This process results in less polluted water that is simpler for wastewater treatment plants to process.


In the fundamental quest of etiology in nonaccommodative and nonparalytic horizontal strabismus, recent electromyographic (EMG) or electro-oculographic (EOG) studies have begun to separate—with a new index of reliability—the so-called innervational squints from those of possibly mechanical origin. Scobee's extensive works emphasized the etiologic role of structural anomalies in the check ligaments, muscle insertions, and other soft tissues of the orbit. Neither students of strabismus nor pure orbital anatomists, however, have extensively analyzed the angulations of the bony orbital walls in relation to the position of the globes. The purposes of this study are (1) to establish normal radiographic values for the angulations of the orbital walls in orthophoric persons of different sex, age, and race and (2) to analyze such bony orbital angles in relation to various horizontal imbalances. Accommodative, paralytic, and vertical heterotropias are excluded. Background The classical studies of orbital angles are those of Felix Lagrange (1903), Emil


Abstract Despite the growth of mixed methods, little attention has focused on the specific challenges of conducting mixed methods research on sexual experience and perceptions of sexuality. This paper's purpose is to discuss the exploratory sequential design of, and methodological considerations originally arising from, a mixed methods pilot project that explored the possibility of updating components of Alfred Kinsey's mid-20th century research on US men and women. This pilot project consisted of three phases: (1) cognitive interviews, (2) two modalities of computer-based surveys conducted in two settings with two samples, and (3) debriefing interviews with selected survey participants from phase two coupled with ethnographic observations. We describe the phases, focusing on how multiple methods facilitated the design and assessment of our pilot project. We end by highlighting methodological considerations relevant to our mixed methods approach – phase timing, research environment, longitudinal design, data security and privacy, and cost – and their implications for sexuality researchers.


The purpose of the study was to evaluate the relationship among planning target volumes (PTVs) and organs at risk (OARs) based on four different radiotherapy treatment plans for high-risk prostate cancer patients. CT scans were obtained in supine position with knee and ankle support (KAS) and in prone position with belly-board (BB) both with full bladder (FB) and empty bladder (EB). Overlapping volumes of the delineated PTVs and OARs on four different setup combinations (KAS-FB; BB-FB; KAS-EB; BB-EB) were analyzed according to the patient position, bladder filling and circumference of abdomen (CA). Overlapping (∩) was significantly smaller with FB than with EB at the bowels and bladder: PTVpel∩bladder: p=0.0069, PTVpvs∩bladder: p<0.001, PTVp∩bladder: p<0.001, PTVpel∩bowels: p=0.0055. Comparison according to small and large CA resulted in significantly smaller overlapping of PTVs and OARs for large CA patients at: KAS-FB: PTVpel∩rectum: p=0.0255, PTVpvs∩rectum: p=0.0179, PTVp∩rectum: p=0.0386, PTVpel∩bladder: p=0.0355. KAS-EB: PTVpvs∩bladder: p=0.0184, PTVp∩bladder: p=0.0107. BB-EB: PTVpvs∩bladder: p=0.0464, PTVp∩bladder: p=0.0077. The exception was PTVpel∩rectum at KAS-FB where the overlapping were smaller for small CA (p=0.0255). According to our results we recommend to deliver radiotherapy treatment for high-risk prostate cancer patients in supine position with KAS immobilization and full bladder. The overlapping volumes of PTVs and OARs were smaller practically at all patients with larger circumference of abdomen.


This paper describes the design and realization of 7th order Ku-band bandpass filter. This filter is a part of pre-filter required for desired frequency spectrum selection in a communication satellite. The filter is realized with rectangular waveguide WR75 in TE101 mode; because it can give optimum size with high unloaded quality factor and wide spurious free window. The engineering model of the filter is realized with Aluminum material. Temperature variations cause the volumetric thermal expansion of the filter and the equivalent linear frequency drift is incorporated at the synthesis stage of the filter. Tolerance analysis of the filter is also performed to compensate the manufacturing errors. Semi-miniaturized SMA to waveguide transformers were also developed for testing of the filter. Filter is synthesized using indigenously developed software tool. Utilizing the coupling matrix; each inter-resonator coupling iris and input/output iris is designed separately. There is a good overlap of the tested and the simulated responses.


Fixture composed of 304 stainless steel (SUS304) and 440C stainless steel (SUS440C) was employed for inducing the thermal stress to 316L stainless steel and oxygen free copper (SUS316L/OFC) cylinders to achieve diffusion bonding. For comparison, the same combination was bonded using the conventional diffusion bonding method, i.e. heating in vacuum under constant pressure. Although the thermal stress-based diffusion bonding is conducted in charcoal-reformed air, the bonding starts from 673K. This temperature is relatively low as compared with the conventional method (873K). Furthermore, the joint fabricated using the thermal stress-based method exhibits higher joint efficiency than one prepared using the conventional method. The highest tensile strength is attained at 1073K and comparable to one of OFC. The bonding deformation of the thermal stress-based method is smaller than with the conventional method, since the fixture does not apply excess pressure to the diffusion couple. Thus the thermal stress-based diffusion bonding method is a promising and may be superior to the conventional method from view points of simplicity and bondability. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.M2015197]


Learning informative representations (aka. embeddings) of users and items is the core of modern recommender systems. Previous works exploit user-item relationships of one-hop neighbors in the user-item interaction graph to improve the quality of representation. Recently, the research of Graph Neural Network (GNN) for recommendation considers the implicit collaborative information of multi-hop neighbors to enrich the representation. However, most works of GNN for recommendation systems do not consider the relational information which implies the expression differences of different neighbors in the neighborhood explicitly. The influence of each neighboring item to the representation of the user's preference can be represented by the correlation between the item and neighboring items of the user. Symmetrically, for a given item, the correlation between one neighboring user and neighboring users can reflect the strength of signal about the item's characteristic. To modeling the implicit correlations of neighbors in graph embedding aggregating, we propose a Neighbor-Aware Graph Attention Network for recommendation task, termed NGAT4Rec. It employs a novel neighbor-aware graph attention layer that assigns different neighbor-aware attention coefficients to different neighbors of a given node by computing the attention among these neighbors pairwisely. Then NGAT4Rec aggregates the embeddings of neighbors according to the corresponding neighbor-aware attention coefficients to generate next layer embedding for every node. Furthermore, we combine more neighbor-aware graph attention layer to gather the influential signals from multi-hop neighbors. We remove feature transformation and nonlinear activation that proved to be useless on collaborative filtering. Extensive experiments on three benchmark datasets show that our model outperforms various state-of-the-art models consistently.


A case of osteogenic sarcoma of the skull in a patient with a long-standing Paget's disease is reported. Osteogenic sarcoma arising within the skull is rare in Paget's disease, although the recent literature emphasizes that it is more common than was realized previously. Intraparenchymal brain invasion, which is rare and present usually only as a preterminal event, was found in this patient who presented initially with minimal neurological findings. Rapid neurological deterioration in this patient was due to macroscopic hemorrhage into tumor. Although microscopic hemorrhage is characteristic of this tumor, gross hemorrhage into osteosarcoma of the skull as a cause of sudden neurological deterioration has not been reported previously. Radical resection is the treatment of choice, although the prognosis for this tumor remains dismal.


The events that occurred on 11 September 2001 in two of the largest urban centres in the
US, and subsequent developments, have brought to the fore the lingering friction between
tolerable action against terrorism and the sustainability of human rights observance. It
remains somewhat unfortunate that old debates around enduring concepts and controversial
issues persist. The most recent African multilateral initiative is the 1999 Algiers Convention
which attempts to reconcile these often conflicting policy objectives.


Oxytocin, vasopressin, cortisol and testosterone levels in the plasma were measured by radioimmunoassay in intact male goats as well as in prepubertally castrated goats injected daily, for 2 weeks, with oil vehicle and then, for 4 weeks, with testosterone propionate in oil to study the influence of gonadal steroids on posterior pituitary hormones. Packed cell volume, plasma osmolality and sodium concentration were also measured in all blood samples. Plasma levels of oxytocin, vasopressin and cortisol were similar in the intact and oil-injected castrated goats. Testosterone treatment significantly increased plasma levels of oxytocin (P less than 0.01) in castrated goats but the increased levels were similar to those seen in the intact goats at the same time of year. Plasma levels of cortisol and vasopressin were unaffected by testosterone propionate treatment, whereas packed cell volume was significantly decreased (P less than 0.01). Testosterone treatment of castrated male goats appears not to have any action on pituitary hormones and oxytocin increases in the spring in both intact and castrated male goats.


Re: Delayed diagnosis, due to the associated radiological abnormalities, of spontaneous intracranial hypotension caused by cerebrospinal fluid leakage at C1–2. The site of the CSF leak merits localization, should direct repair be necessary. The spinal imaging must be interpreted with caution, however. There are many reports of CSF hypotension syndromes with false localizing appearances of fluid collections posterior to C1–2. The leak is more commonly found in the cervicothoracic junction or thoracic spine. We have reported on a patient with a lumbar stab injury and delayed presentation of CSF hypotension, with spinal CSF collections most prominent at C1–2 on MRI. We suggest that the posterior aspect of C1–2 is simply a place where epidural CSF collections may be more prominent, due to deficiencies in the posterior ligamentous structures that allow increased range of motion at this level. Other authors have even postulated that these collections reflect venous transudates from the epidural venous plexus, rather than CSF; this would, however, be at odds with the myelographic contrast accumulation in the present case at C1–2. Patients with C1–2 CSF collections and spontaneous CSF hypotension have been treated successfully with blood patches delivered variably to the lumbar spine, cervicothoracic junction and high cervical spine, with the aim of treating a leak at the C1–2 level. We believe that delivery of a blood patch to the C1–2 region on the basis of this false localizing sign is not warranted. The presented images do show contrast accumulation during the CT myelogram accumulated at C1–2; however accurately, to diagnose the leak at this level would require a time-resolved sequence showing contrast accumulation at this level before other epidural areas in the spine. Joo et al. also present the unenhanced CT scan of the patient at presentation, leading the patient on to angiographic evaluation for aneurysmal SAH. The CT scan shows loss of CSF volume overall and this finding together with high density in the basal cisterns is suggestive of pseudosubarachnoid haemorrhage, due to apposition of adjacent pial and subarachnoid planes. This is seen in conditions causing brain swelling and raised intracranial pressure with attendant smaller CSF spaces, such as anoxic brain injury, but has also been noted in CSF hypotension.


The house dust mite (HDM) is considered to be the most common indoor allergen associated with bronchial asthma. In this study, we investigated whether crude extract of the HDM Dermatophagoides farinae could activate human eosinophilic leukemic cells (EoL-1) to induce upregulation of cell-surface adhesion molecules. When EoL-1 cells were incubated with D. farinae extract, expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) significantly increased on the cell surfaces compared to cells incubated with medium alone. In contrast, surface expression of CD11b and CD49d in EoL-1 cells was not affected by D. farinae extract. In addition, pretreatment of cells with NF-κB inhibitor (MG-132) or JNK inhibitor (SP600125) significantly inhibited ICAM-1 expression promoted by HDM extract. However, neither p38 MAP kinase inhibitor nor MEK inhibitor prevented HDM-induced ICAM-1 expression in EoL-1 cells. These results suggest that crude extract of D. farinae induces ICAM-1 expression in EoL-1 cells through signaling pathways involving both NF-κB and JNK.


The toxicity of CuO nanoparticles (CuO NPs) to human hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) cells was investigated in this study. CuO NPs (1 40 mg/L) had significant toxicity to HepG2 cells. The antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) significantly reduces the cytotoxicity induced by the CuO NPs, supporting the hypothesis that oxidative stress contributes to the cytotoxicity of CuO NPs. To further explore the oxidative mechanisms of cytotoxicity, we examined CuO NPs-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in HepG2 cells. CuO NPs generated intracellular ROS in HepG2 cells in a concentration-dependent manner.


The basic computer network testbed facility centralized core distributed inner core (CCDIC) simulation protocol characteristics are an emulation of real time, heavy load, simultaneous, synchronous and asynchronous parallel inputs in a deadlock and livelock free, contention resolved manner. The centralized distributed stars topology representation of the testbed configuration enables network growth with a topology comfortable to congestion prevention and control at various levels of service. The CCDIC protocol, a congestion-controlled, buffer management protocol, prevents the throughput degradation which is allowed to occur in the discrete event simulation illustrated in the performance comparison. A neural network forecaster protocol, within the CCDIC simulation framework, enables intelligent decision processes. The geometric CCDIC protocol structure enforces optimal Ada CCDIC software implementation for execution of message operation on processors and connectivity between analyzer resources.<<ETX>>


Classifying network traffic is important for traffic shaping and monitoring. In the last two decades, with the emergence of privacy concerns, the importance of privacy-preserving technologies has risen. The Tor network, which provides anonymity to its users and supports anonymous services known as Onion Services, is a popular way to achieve online anonymity. However, this anonymity (especially with Onion Services) is frequently misused, encouraging governments and law enforcement agencies to de-anonymise them. Therefore, in this paper, we try to identify the classifiability of Onion Service traffic, focusing on three main contributions. First, we try to identify Onion Service traffic from other Tor traffic. The techniques we have used can identify Onion Service traffic with >99% accuracy. However, there are several modifications that can be done to the Tor traffic to obfuscate its information leakage. In our second contribution, we evaluate how our techniques perform when such modifications have been done to the Tor traffic. Our experimental results show that these conditions make the Onion Service traffic less distinguishable (in some cases, the accuracy drops by more than 15%.) In our final contribution, we identify the most influential feature combinations for our classification problem and evaluate their impact.


In electrokinetically-driven microfluidic applications, reservoirs are indispensable and have finite sizes. During operation processes, as the liquid level difference in reservoirs keeps changing as time elapses, the flow characteristics in a microchannel exhibit a combination of the electroosmotic flow and the time-dependent induced backpressure-driven flow. In this work, an assessment of the finite reservoir size effect on electroosmotic flows is presented theoretically and experimentally. A model is developed to describe the timedependent electrokinetic flow with finite reservoir size effects. The theoretical analysis shows that under certain conditions the finite reservoir size effect is significant. The important parameters that describe the effect of finite reservoir size on the flow characteristics are discussed. A new concept denoted as ''effective pumping period'' is introduced to characterize the reservoir size effect. The proposed model clearly identifies the mechanisms of the finitereservoir size effects and is further confirmed by using micro-PIV technique. The results of this study can be used for facilitating the design of microfluidic devices.


Spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs) were measured longitudinally for durations up to 19.5 years. Initial ages of the subjects ranged from 6 to 41 years. The most compelling finding was a decrease in frequency of all emissions in all subjects, which was approximately linear in %/year and averaged 0.25%/year. SOAE levels also tended to decrease with age, a trend that was significant, but not consistent across emissions, either within or across subjects. Levels of individual SOAEs might decrease, increase, or remain relatively constant with age. Several types of frequency/level instabilities were noted in which some SOAEs within an ear interacted such that their levels were negatively correlated. These instabilities often persisted for many years. SOAEs were also measured in two females over the course of their pregnancies. No changes in SOAE levels or frequencies were seen, that were larger than have been reported in females over a menstrual cycle, suggesting that levels of female gonadal hormones do not have a significant direct effect on SOAE frequencies or levels.


This article discusses the effectiveness of system level environmental tests conducted on satellites in reducing failures that could occur in early flight, and relates the flight failures potentially avoided to the types of test and the time expended. The results indicate that environmental testing of satellites reduces early flight failures appreciably. The information compiled and analyzed allows cost-benefit correlations of environmental tests for more effective future test planning.


This article aims to review the current practice of recurrence prevention and intervention of adolescent depressive disorder in Thailand. In particular, we assess the Clinical Practice Guideline of Major Depressive Disorder for General Practitioners (CPG-MDD-GP) for Thailand, which is now the official guideline for all depressive patients who are children, adolescents, and adults in Thailand. Although this current Thai clinical guideline was developed and derived from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) of the United Kingdom and the recommendations and the practice parameters of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), it differs from these guidelines in a number of ways. Specifically, the main tool for the primary assessment of the Thai CPG-MDD-GP is called 9Q which categorizes the severity and follow-up of depressive symptoms by health care providers in a hospital setting, whereas the NICE guideline for depression in children and adolescents is based mainly on the community setting, and the AACAP parameter assesses patients by a direct interview method. Additionally, the Thai CPG-MDD-GP has no premise intervention for recurrence prevention of depression and lacks details regarding the importance of treatment engagement by family and community.


The main aim of this action research is to determine relationships between usefulness of feedback, learning flexibility, attitude towards online assessments and intention to use online assessments. Another aim of the study is to establish relationships between the independent variables, actual use of online assessments and students' achievements. The respondents are 160 students registered in Business Research Method during semester September 2013. Results of the study show that there are significant relationships between the three selected variables and intention to use online assessments. Significant relationships are also found between the selected variables and actual use of online assessments. Attitude towards online assessments is found to be the most significant predictor variable affecting both intention and actual use. No significant relationship is found between any of the selected predictor variable and students' achievements in the subject.


This article critically examines some of the recent works in Swiss national history. It argues that many of these works suffer, albeit in different ways, from a too narrowly construed, Eurocentric perspective. Consequently, they fail to offer an understanding of how Switzerland both shaped and was shaped by processes of imperial globalization since the 1500s. The article goes on to argue for a 'post-patriotic' conception of Swiss national history that seeks to uncover how Swiss global entanglements fed into various hierarchies between gender groups, social classes, races and religious communities. The article ends with a historical example from 16th century Basel and Geneva, where book printers published books on the Spanish conquests of the Americas. The example illustrates how the historical beginnings of a Swiss nation and the beginnings of imperial globalization in the 1500s were closely intertwined processes – and how the trajectories of Swiss history and the history of the world have remained intertwined ever since.


The objective of this study was to perform a systematic review to examine the effectiveness of tobacco dependence education versus usual or no tobacco dependence education on entry-level health professional student practice and client smoking cessation. Sixteen published databases, seven grey literature databases/websites, publishers' websites, books, and pertinent reference lists were searched. Studies from 16 health professional programs yielded 28 RCTs with data on 4343 healthcare students and 3122 patients. Two researchers independently assessed articles and abstracted data about student knowledge, self-efficacy, performance of tobacco cessation interventions, and patient smoking cessation. All forms of tobacco were included. We did not find separate interventions for different kinds of tobacco such as pipes or flavoured tobacco. We computed effect sizes using a random-effects model and applied meta-analytic procedures to 13 RCTs that provided data for meta-analysis. Students' counseling skills increased significantly following the 5As model (SMD = 1.03; 95% CI 0.07, 1.98; p < 0.00001, I2 94%; p = 0.04) or motivational interviewing approach (SMD = 0.90, 95% CI 0.59, 1.21; p = 0.68, I2 0%; p < 0.00001). With tobacco dependence counseling, 78 more patients per 1000 (than control) reported quitting at 6 months (OR 2.02; 95% CI 1.49, 2.74, I2 = 0%, p = 0.76; p < 0.00001), although the strength of evidence was moderate or low. Student tobacco cessation counseling improved guided by the above models, active learning strategies, and practice with standardized patients.


A patient on systemic amphotericin B therapy developed polyuria with low osmolarity of the urine probably due to nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. This rarely reported side effect of amphotericin B appears not to necessitate discontinuation of the treatment provided adequate fluid intake can be guaranteed. The diabetes insipidus is reversible in 2-6 months after cessation of the treatment: in our patient the polyuria and the low urine osmolarity disappeared within a few days.


Drought stress is the major constraint in cowpea grown on stored soil moisture conditions especially during the pod formation period. The long term sustainable and environmentally desirable solution is development of new varieties with drought tolerance. To generate information on the effect of receding soil moisture on physiological traits and yields would be helpful in identifying and developing drought-tolerant cowpea genotypes. A field experiment was conducted on 25 diverse genotypes of cowpea at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar.The genotypes were grouped on the basis of flowering initiation and the physiological observations were recorded during the flowering stage. Highly significant genotypic differences were detected between and within the group for physiological traits, biomass, yield attributes and seed yield. The early flowering genotypes (Group-I) showed lower leaf water potential (LWP), higher leaf water content (RWC), canopy temperature depression (CTD) and photosynthetic rate (PN) compared to medium (Group-II) and late (Group III) flowering genotypes. RWC and CTD were significantly associated with seed yield. RWC was also correlated with PN Therefore, the traits RWC and CTD, which are simple to measure, could be used for screening cowpea germplasm for drought tolerance.


Quantum random access code (QRAC) serves the communication task to encode a long message into a quantum system and allow the receiver to decode the initial information with a higher success probability than classical random access code (RAC). Here, we present an experimental demonstration of sequential 3 → 1 QRAC in the prepare-transform-measure scenario with one sender and three independent receivers. The experimental results show that, in the 3 → 1 QRAC scenario, three receivers can independently decode the initial information with an average success probability higher than the classical RAC.


The author proposes a systematic and phenomenological approach to investigate the electrodynamics of moving superconductors and of superconductors under the influence of external forces. The approach is applied for various cases.


Abstract Objective. To analyze whether gender, self-reported bruxism, and variations in dental occlusion predicted incidence and persistence of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) during a 2-year period. Material and methods. The study population comprised 280 dental students at Umeå University in Sweden. The study design was that of a case-control study within a 2-year prospective cohort. The investigation comprised a questionnaire and a clinical examination at enrolment and at 12 and 24 months. Cases (incidence) and controls (no incidence) were identified among those without signs and symptoms of TMD at the start of the study. Cases with 2-year persistence of signs and symptoms of TMD were those with such signs and symptoms at all three examinations. Clinical registrations of baseline variables were used as independent variables. Odds ratio estimates and 95% confidence intervals of the relative risks of being a case or control in relation to baseline registrations were calculated using logistic regression analyses. Results. The analyses revealed that self-reported bruxism and crossbite, respectively increased the risk of the 2-year cumulative incidence and duration of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) signs or symptoms. Female gender was related to an increased risk of developing and maintaining myofascial pain. Signs of mandibular instability increased the risk of maintained TMD signs and symptoms during the observation period. Conclusion. This 2-year prospective observational study indicated that self-reported bruxism and variations in dental occlusion were linked to the incidence and persistence of TMJ signs and symptoms to a higher extent than to myofascial pain.


This study evaluates the effectiveness of graded physical exercise on self-efficacy and exercise tolerance among a group of cardiac patients (N = 43). These patients were aged from 41 years to 82 years (mean age = 63.5 years, SD = 10.0 years). Results of the study show that efficacy of physical activity was significantly associated with exercise tolerance. After a 3-month rehabilitation with graded physical exercise, both efficacy of activity and exercise tolerance were significantly enhanced. The enhancement was relatively independent of patients' gender, age, education, and diagnostic category. Limitations of the study are discussed and future research suggested.


THE most important new information in this area of rheumatology is ... the name of the disease (e.g. spondyloarthritis). It has been recognized that the term spondyloarthritis preceded by both the main clinical presentation of the disease (e.g. axial versus peripheral) and for both presentation by the presence or not of radiological structural damage (the current proposal is to use the term "radiographic" in case of demonstration of sacroiliac structural changes [e.g. sub-chondral bone osteosclerosis, joint erosions or fusion] for the axial presentation and the term of "erosive" in case of peripheral presentation). Therefore, in 2012, for example, axial radiographic spondyloarthritis should replace the non appropriate one of "ankylosing spondylitis". Several advances have been achieved recently in the field of spondyloarthritis in terms of either recognition of the disease, physiopathology or treatment. The recently proposed ASAS criteria for both the axial and peripheral presentation of the disease have been evaluated in different sets of patients. All these studies have confirmed the relevance of such sets of criteria and, in particular, have emphasized the relative high frequency of non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis mainly at an early stage of the disease despite the fact that, at this stage, the burden of the disease is at a similar magnitude than in patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis. In terms of physiopathology, improvement has been achieved in a better knowledge of the role of environmental factors not only in terms of microbial environment but also in terms of smoking habits. The still remaining question is whether ossification is a phenomenon resulting from inflammation or whether inflammation and ossification are two independent processes observed in this disease. In terms of therapy, there is the debate of the exact role of physiotherapy (which one? Which "route of administration" [e.g. home exercises versus groups of patients supervised by a physiotherapist ...]). There is also the debate of the mode of administration of NSAID (e.g. on demand) based on the level of the patients symptoms versus continuously whatever the level of patients' symptoms. In case of active disease despite optimal NSAID therapy, TNF blockers have confirmed their short term and long term utility. The possibility to taper or discontinue a TNF blocker in case of persistent remission of the disease is still debated. Finally, drugs with a different mechanism of action (e.g. bisphosphonates, IL6 inhibitors) have failed to demonstrate their utility. At variance, the drugs such as IL17 inhibitors are very promising. In conclusion, dramatic improvements have been achieved in the field of spondyloarthritis coming from the recognition of the disease, the physiopathology to the management of the diseases. Disclosure of Interest M. Dougados Grant/Research support from: Abbott, Pfizer, UCB, Lilly,..., Consultant for: Abbott, Pfizer, UCB, Lilly,...


Reducing power consumption is one of the important design goals for circuit designers. Power optimization techniques for bulk CMOS-based circuit designs have been extensively studied. As technology scales, FinFET has been proposed as an alternative for bulk CMOS when technology scales beyond 32 nm technology (E.J. Nowak et al., 2004). In this paper, we propose a power optimization framework for FinFET based circuit design, based on genetic algorithms. We exploit the unique feature of independent gate (IG) controls for FinFET devices to reduce the power consumption, and combine with other low power techniques such as multi-Vdd and gate sizing to achieve power optimization for FinFET-based circuits. We use 32 nm PTM FinFET device model (W. Zhao and Y. Cao, 2006) and conduct experiments on ISCAS benchmarks. The experimental results show that our methodology can achieve over 80% power reduction while satisfying the same performance constraints, comparing to the case that all the FinFET transistors are tuned to be the fastest ones.


Multi-Processor System-on-Chips (MPSoCs) are extensively deployed in modern Internet-of-Things based Smart City (IoT-SC) applications to fulfill the ever growing computation demands. The Sensor Nodes (SNs) in IoT-SC are energy constrained and normally powered by a battery source with limited residual energy. Therefore, reduction in energy consumption is one of the challenging technological aspect for IoTSC. In this paper we investigate the problem of scheduling set of tasks with precedence and deadline constraints on Networkon-Chip (NoC) based heterogeneous MPSoCs. Unlike other energy-aware scheduling approaches that separately perform task ordering and voltage assignment from the task mapping, our proposed approach deals with it in an integrated way while explicitly considering the contentions between communications. Moreover, our approach shares the available slack between tasks and communications. We have proposed Energy-aware Integrated Task Mapping, Scheduling and Voltage Scaling (EIMSVS) algorithm. The EIMSVS algorithm uses Earliest Latest Finish Time First (ELFTF) strategy to order the tasks and communications in time. At each optimization step EIMSVS algorithm selects a task or a communication to remap it to a processor and or a voltage level that minimizes total energy consumption. The experiments are conducted on synthetic as well as real-world TGs adopted from Embedded Systems Synthesis Benchmarks (E3S). The experimental results are compared with state of the art approach. The results illustrates that our proposed approach achieves average energy improvement and maximum energy improvement of ~ 21% and ~ 59% respectively.


OBJECTIVES
This study evaluated the relationships between health insurance and welfare status and the health and medical care of children with asthma.

METHODS
Parents of children with asthma aged 2 to 12 years were interviewed at 6 urban clinical sites and 2 welfare offices.

RESULTS
Children whose families had applied for but were denied welfare had more asthma symptoms than did children whose families had had no contact with the welfare system. Poorer mental health in parents was associated with more asthma symptoms and higher rates of health care use in their children. Parents of uninsured and transiently insured children identified more barriers to health care than did parents whose children were insured.

CONCLUSIONS
Children whose families have applied for welfare and children who are uninsured are at high risk medically and may require additional services to improve health outcomes.


By using principle component analysis (PCA) and partial least square (PLS) regression, this paper studied the distribution characters and their affecting factors of Al(i)/(Ca + Mg) molar ratio in acid forest soils in southern and southwestern China. The monitoring data from 2000 to 2002 showed that in most cases, the Al(i)/(Ca + Mg) molar ratio in soil moisture was lower than assumed critical value 1.0, indicating that significant aluminum toxicity to vegetation was not occurred in the study regions. PLS regression suggested that soil aluminum saturation (AlS) was the dominant factor affecting the Al(i)/(Ca + Mg) molar ratio in soil A horizon. Higher AlS led to a higher Al(i)/ (Ca + Mg) molar ratio in soil moisture. Despite of its lower acid deposition, Liuxihe basin had a higher Al(i)/(Ca + Mg) molar ratio in soil A horizon than other catchments, mainly due to its higher AIS. In deeper soil horizons (B1, B2 and BC), the inorganic aluminum (Al(i)) in soil moisture was the main factor affecting Al(i)/(Ca + Mg) molar ratio. Higher inorganic aluminum concentration resulted in higher Al(i)/(Ca + Mg) molar ratio. In each of study catchments, the vertical distribution of Al(i)/(Ca + Mg) molar ratio was basically identical with the distribution of inorganic aluminum (Al(i)) through soil profile. It was concluded that soil aluminum saturation was the main factor controlling the regional variation of Al(i)/(Ca + Mg) molar ratio in soil moisture, and the vertical distribution of soil Al(i)/(Ca + Mg) molar ratio in each site was mainly due to the vertical change of inorganic aluminum in soil moisture.


Conservative numerical methods are often used for simulations of fluid flows involving shocks and other jumps with the understanding that conservation guarantees reasonable treatment near discontinuities. This is true in that convergent conservative approximations converge to weak solutions and thus have the correct shock locations. However, correct shock location results from any discretizationwhose violation of conservation approaches zero as the mesh is refined. Here we investigate the case of the Euler equations for a single gas using the Jones-Wilkins-Lee (JWL) equa- tion of state. We show that a quasi-conservative method can lead to physically realistic solutions which are devoid of spurious pressure oscillations. Furthermore, we demon- strate that under certain conditions, a quasi-conservative method can exhibit higher rates of convergence near shocks than a strictly conservative counterpart of the same formal order. AMS subject classifications: 65N08, 35L60, 35L65, 76N15


Aims To investigate the distribution of diabetic retinopathy (DR) by sex in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a twelve-province cross-sectional study in China. Methods Patients with T2DM, whose ages were ≥18 years, were recruited from 76 cities/counties in 12 provinces in mainland China between January 2015 and December 2018. All participants received a standardized interview, eye examinations, and digital fundus photography. The presence and severity of DR were diagnosed and classified by retina specialists according to the DR domestic typing method. Results A total of 12,766 participants (5963 males and 6803 females) were eligible for this study. The total prevalence of DR was 30.1%. Females exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of DR than males (31.1% vs. 29.0%, P = 0.011). A multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that female sex was an independent predictor for a higher prevalence of DR after adjusting for age, the duration of diabetes, economic status, and the presence of hypertension (OR: 1.096, 95% CI: 1.013-1.186, P = 0.023). Even after stratification by the diabetic duration, age, and economic status, female sex was still independently associated with the presence of DR in patients whose T2DM history was more than 10 years, whose ages were over 60 years, or who were in a relatively intermediate economic area. Conclusion Females had a higher prevalence of DR than males in T2DM patients with a diabetic history of more than 10 years, ages over 60 years, or a relatively intermediate economic status.


A computer simulation technique for the synthesis and harmonic analysis of PWM waveforms is developed to investigate a wide range of operating modes using both time and frequency-domain analysis. The model can be combined with an electrical machine model to represent variable-speed drive systems or, alternatively, combined with a filter-load model and feedback control to simulate voltage regulating systems. An efficient modulation technique is achieved by an asymmetric PWM strategy and implemented using a Motorola 68020 microprocessor to give real-time control and generation of PWM waveforms.


Abstract The article assesses well-being in the Czech Republic compared to other Visegrad countries (Slovakia, Hungary, Poland) and neighbouring Germany and Austria. By employing various approaches designed by several international organisations it takes an aggregate perspective to assess both the current well-being and its sustainability into the future. All employed indicators that relate to current well-being evaluate the well-being in the Czech Republic as moderate among the OECD countries. The results indicate that the position in well-being rankings improves with the growing number of dimensions or subjective factors included in the well-being measure, mainly due to the reduction in relative importance of income dimension and higher emphasis on the multidimensionality and complexity of well-being. In the case of sustainability, large differences can be identified in evaluation stemming from Happy Planet Index and Sustainable Society Index perspective. Although both of them agree on unfavourable situation as regards environmental sustainability in the Czech Republic, different accent on economic area alters the final result substantially. The analysis shows that for any well-being assessment, the choice of indicators is crucial and a large portion of caution is necessary when interpreting these.


Remote sensing data and geographic information systems are widely used for land suitability analysis for crops such as coffee and corn. This study aims to analyze and map suitable land for the plant known locally as ciplukan (Physalis angulata L.).  As the cultivation of this plant is expected to be developed by the Institute of Technology of Sumatra, analysis of this type is needed. The parameters used in this study were slope, land use, rainfall and soil type. Information extraction from remote sensing data was carried out via visual interpretation of aerial photography used to create land-cover maps. Shuttle RADAR Topographic Mission (SRTM) data was converted from digital surface model (DSM) to digital terrain model (DTM) to provide elevation information. Land suitability analysis was performed using a scoring method and overlay analysis. The results obtained from the analysis identified several classes of land suitability for Physalis angulata L., categorized as suitable, less suitable, and not suitable. The less suitable class, scored at 9 to 11, comprised a total area of 180.96 ha, while the suitable area, scored at 12, comprised a total area of 49.1 ha.


Cutaneous cryptococcosis is classified either as primary or secondary based on the route of infection. The disease can also be classified either as localized cutaneous cryptococcosis or cutaneous manifestations of disseminated cryptococcosis. However, from a physician's point of view, whether lesions are localized to the skin or are disseminated/systemic is more important than the route of infection. The Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Cryptococcosis, which was established in 2019 by the Japanese Society for Medical Mycology, adopted the latter classification. Localized cutaneous cryptococcosis is defined as a condition in which lesions are confined within a limited part of the skin, not systemically disseminated at the same time, and are associated with neither cryptococcal fungemia nor antigenemia. This type of cutaneous cryptococcosis is uncommon in Japan. Only 65 cases were reported during the 50-year study period from 1968 to August 2018, with the patients divided into two groups: immunocompromised patients (n=44, 68%) and immunocompetent patients (n=21, 32%). None of the patients were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Localized cutaneous cryptococcosis can also occur in non-HIV-infected patients and well-appearing individuals, therefore, it is considered an important infection in routine dermatology practice. Here, we outline the classification, diagnosis, and treatment of cutaneous cryptococcosis and present a summary of cutaneous cryptococcosis cases reported in Japan.


This paper analyzes how images are used in (N=41) Physics textbooks of three different educational levels. It is discussed to what extent the use of external images could contribute to the comprehension of the physical phenomena and the building of proper mental representations. It is considered how certain conceptions on the internal images would seem to influence on the way the external images are used. A classification is carried out to get a typology, using multivaried analysis techniques. The results indicate that the level decides the image use, being scarce the interaction with the text. In textbooks for EGB 3 in particular, it is identified a use very linked to the ideas derived from the "picture metaphor". An image use that considers its further internal representation is not identified. These results allow to establish some interesting questions for Teaching and Research in Science Teaching. Key-words: images; physics textbooks; physics education.


The design and fabrication is described of the prototype IR detector for the SCUBA-2 80×80 pixel array (Submillimetre Common User Bolometer Array), which is to be mounted on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii. The detector technology is based on silicon micromachining, with transition edge sensors (TES) being used to detect incoming radiation with wavelengths of 450 and 850 μm. Each TES is located on a λ/4 silicon brick suspended on a silicon nitride membrane and supported by a silicon micromachined waffle. Low-temperature indium bump bonding connects each TES to a SQUID multiplexer chip. The paper details the design considerations and the technology used to fabricate the detector wafer.


Using the ground-based neutron monitor data of Deep River we have studied the lowand high-amplitude anisotropic wave train events (LAE/HAE) in cosmic-ray intensity for different latitudes. The investigation has been made for both LAE and HAE during the period 1981–1994. It has been observed that the phase of diurnal anisotropy in the majority of HAE/LAE cases remains in the same co-rotational direction, but has shifted to later hours in some HAE cases and to early hours in some LAE cases. Further, for majority of HAE/LAE cases, the amplitude of semi-diurnal anisotropy remains statistically the same, while the phase for all HAE cases shifted to later hours. The HAE appears dominant during the declining phase of solar activity, whereas LAE appears dominant during minimum solar activity.


Concrete dams and other large civil structures utilize steel cable anchors to improve strength and stability. Reflectometry methods that have been used for location of faults in electrical systems are examined as a possible method for location and quantization of possible deterioration on concrete anchors. This paper explores the feasibility of using electrical reflectometry methods for fault location on concrete anchors. Anchors must be electrically isolated from the surrounding structure, and the best results are obtained when tests can be made in situ over the lifespan of the anchor. Tests on 200' long anchors buried in wet sand confirm the possibility of using spectral time domain reflectometry (STDR) for location of full or perhaps partial anchor damage.


The authors show that the coefficients in a second-order differential equation can be determined from the positions of the nodes for the eigenfunctions. They prove uniqueness results, derive approximate solutions, give error bounds and present numerical experiments.


Packet reservation multiple access (PRMA) protocol is an implicit reservation MAC protocol. It is initially designed for voice packets in the cellular networks [2, 3] but it is currently also used for data packets in OFDM based fixed wireless access networks [8, 9], When it is applied for data packets, the system throughput depends on the size of packets and the number of consecutive packets. From the statistics of existent wireless data networks using PRMA protocol, it shows that the system throughput is quite low because of the inconsecutive small packets. In order to improve the throughput, packet aggregation scheme is considered to be applied in PRMA. Before designing packet aggregation algorithm, it is worth investigating the effect of packet aggregation scheme on the performance of throughput and delay. In this paper we develop a generic Markov chain model for PRMA with packet aggregation. Based on this model the throughput and delay are derived and analyzed. A numerical example is calculated, which illustrates the effect of packet aggregation on the throughput and delay with varying packet arrival rate. The results of the paper are valuable inputs for designing optimal packet aggregation algorithm, considering the tradeoff between throughput and delay.


Hemoglobin vesicles (HbV), a type of liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin (LEH), have been recently developed as an artificial oxygen carrier. The efficacy of HbV has been demonstrated in the transfusion of HbV into rodent models of hemorrhagic shock. It is important to evaluate the compatibility of HbV with human blood cells. We examined the effects of HbV on human platelet activation in vitro by estimating the platelet release reaction and expression of platelet surface activation markers in the presence or absence of agonists. HbV concentration in the reaction volume was prepared at 20% or 40%. Preincubation of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with HbV had no adverse effects on RANTES or serotonin release from platelets. Preincubation of whole blood with HbV also had no effects on exposure of P-selectin on platelets. However, binding of PAC-1, a monoclonal antibody that detects the activation-dependent conformational change of αIIbβ3 to platelets, was amplified by preincubation of whole blood with HbV in the presence of relatively low concentration of ADP. These results suggest that HbV enhances the binding of PAC-1 to platelets. The clinical meaning of this increased binding of PAC-1 needs to be addressed.


We report the discovery of a peculiar L dwarf from the United Kingdom Infrared Deep Sky Survey Large Area Survey, ULAS J222711−004547. The very red infrared photometry (MKO J − K = 2.79 ± 0.06, WISE W1−W2 = 0.65 ± 0.05) of ULAS J222711−004547 makes it one of the reddest brown dwarfs discovered so far. We obtained a moderate resolution spectrum of this target using the XSHOOTER spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope, and we classify it as L7pec, confirming its very red nature. Comparison to theoretical models suggests that the object could be a low-gravity L dwarf with a solar or higher than solar metallicity. Nonetheless, the match of such fits to the spectral energy distribution is rather poor, and this and other less red peculiar L dwarfs pose new challenges for the modelling of ultracool atmospheres, especially to the understanding of the effects of condensates and their sensitivity to gravity and metallicity. We determined the proper motion of ULAS J222711−004547 using the data available in the literature, and we find that its kinematics do not suggest membership of any of the known young associations. We show that applying a simple de-reddening curve to its spectrum allows it to resemble the spectra of the L7 spectroscopic standards without any spectral features that distinguish it as a low-metallicity or low-gravity dwarf. Given the negligible interstellar reddening of the field containing our target, we conclude that the reddening of the spectrum is mostly due to an excess of dust in the photosphere of the target. De-reddening the spectrum using extinction curves for different dust species gives surprisingly good results and suggests a characteristic grain size of ∼0.5 μm. We show that by increasing the optical depth, the same extinction curves allow the spectrum of ULAS J222711−004547 to resemble the spectra of unusually blue L dwarfs and even slightly metal-poor L dwarfs. Grains of similar size also yield very good fits when de-reddening other unusually red L dwarfs in the L5–L7.5 range. These results suggest that the diversity in near-infrared colours and spectra seen in late L dwarfs could be due to differences in the optical thickness of the dust cloud deck.


Influence of microorganism for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) sorption on surface sediments and soils in Yellow River Delta was studied. The results indicated that phenanthrene and benzo[a]pyrene could be adsorbed or biodegraded by Bacillus subtilis, and 98% phenanthrene and 85% benzo[a]pyrene was eliminated by microorganism in adsorption process. Sorption isotherms of soils and sediments with and without microorganism were described by linear isotherm equation. Adsorption capacity of samples with microorganism increased about 35 times than that of without microorganism, but benzo[a] pyrene adsorption capacity decreased about 2/3. In desorption process, samples with microorganism desorbed less phenanthrene than without microorganism, but more benzo[a]pyrene. Microorganism plays an important role in adsorption process.


With the continued expansion in the implementation of heat pump systems in buildings there is a strong need to better characterize their energy performance at different operating conditions. However, for the case of fixedcapacity water-to-water heat pumps, existing rating methods to determine systems performance at part load have not been assessed for their validity to represent efficiency at real operating conditions. An improved method is proposed in the present study for the characterization of the part load performance of fixed-capacity heat pumps based on reduced experimentation. The methodology is based on the performance of one experiment at stand-by and another at intermediate part load conditions, combined with the use of a partial load factor theoretical equation, in order to determine the degradation coefficients for start-up and stand-by efficiency losses. The method is compared with current methodologies in technical standards and is shown to improve the predictions of part load performance over previous techniques. A black-box empirical model for the heat pump under study is developed and validated with experimental data, demonstrating the potential of using computationally simple methods to model the transient behavior of fixed-capacity heat pump systems, including all energy parasitic losses. © 2017 Stichting HPC 2017. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the organizers of the 12th IEA Heat Pump Conference 2017.


The accuracy of noninvasive blood pressure (BP) measurement with any method is affected by cuff width. Measurement with a too narrow cuff overestimates BP and measurement with a too wide cuff underestimates BP. Automatic wrist cuff BP monitors use permanently attached narrow cuffs with bladders about 6 cm wide. Such narrow cuffs should result in under-cuffing for wrist circumferences larger than 15 cm. The objective of this qualitative study was to show that a narrow wrist cuff results in increased BP values when a cuff pulse amplitude ratio algorithm is used. According to the algorithm used in this study, systolic pressure (SBP) corresponds to the point of 50% of maximal amplitude; for diastolic pressure (DBP) the ratio is 70%. Data were acquired from 12 volunteers in the sitting position. The mean wrist circumference was 18 cm. The acquired cuff pulse data were used to compute SBP, mean pressure (MAP) and DBP. The mean values for a 6 cm cuff were SBP = 144 mmHg, MAP = 104 mmHg and DBP = 88 mmHg. The values for a 10 cm cuff were SBP = 128 mmHg, MAP = 93 mmHg and DBP = 78 mmHg. The reference BP values were SBP = 132 mmHg, MAP = 96 mmHg and DBP = 80 mmHg. All narrow (6 cm) cuff BP values were higher than wide (10 cm) cuff or reference BP values. The results indicate that wider wrist cuffs may be desirable for more accurate and reliable BP measurement with wrist monitors.


The behavior of pervasive applications should depend not only on their internal state and user interactions but also on the context sensed during their execution. In this paper, we propose an ontology-based generic context management (GCoM) model. The GCoM model facilitates context reasoning by providing structure for contexts, rules and their semantics. Context and context semantics in GCoM model are represented using the upper and the lower level ontology. Rules are represented using ontology compatible rule languages. Even though ontology data has static nature, GCoM model is designed to be dynamic and reusable in multiple domains of pervasive applications where resource limitation is a key issue. Initial prototype of the use of the model is created and the result obtained is promising


As previously presented, reducing industrial noise emission utilizing jacketed pipe insulation is critical to reducing noise in industrial spaces. The ISO 15665 standard defines a testing process for measurement of the acoustical performance of installed and jacketed pipe insulation
 systems. To provide a cost-effective method for evaluating various types of multilayered jacketed pipe insulation a model was developed. The model accurately estimates the performance of single, and multilayered, jacketed pipe insulation. Validating the use of the model to very large pipe
 diameters is highly desirable as the cost to test is significantly higher than testing the medium or small diameter pipe insulation. The estimated insertion loss result from the model is compared to validation testing results for large diameter jacketed pipe insulation are reported herein.


Four independent real-time programmable switched-capacitor filters have been fabricated on a single NMOS chip. The filters are second-order sections with digitally programmable Q and center frequency. Either low-pass or bandpass functions are available by selecting the appropriate input. The device is microprocessor compatible and includes permanent programming capability as well as an on-chip oscillator. The circuit implementation, programming capability, and operation are described.


Belowground interactions can affect plants either directly or indirectly via their associated mycorrhizal fungi. However, few studies have experimentally examined the consequences of interspecific root interactions for these important mutualists in the field. We used a trenching experiment to examine how belowground interactions between pinyon pine and one-seed juniper affected the ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungal communities of pinyon pine. Three major findings emerged: (1) pinyons responded to the reduction of juniper roots with a near doubling of fine root biomass in just two years, (2) this increase in pinyon roots translated into a potential two-fold increase in EM abundance, and (3) the EM fungal communities of trenched trees differed significantly from controls largely due to a decrease in ascomycete fungi. Because species of EM fungi vary in the benefits they provide, changes in EM communities could have long-term consequences for host-plant establishment, growth, and survival. Belowground interactions with juniper may contribute to the high mortality of pinyons and the reduced diversity of EM fungi associated with recent droughts.


A study is presented of the thickness and load-supporting capacity of fluid wedge-shaped films entrapped between the peripheral surfaces of rotating circular disks which are vibrated transversely, causing the wedge-shaped film to become alternately thin, then thick at moderately high frequencies. This nonsteady-state loading of the wedge is accomplished by mounting circular disks, Fig. 1, on parallel shafts with centers at d and d', then transversely vibrating the beam which supports the complete lower-shaft assembly, consisting of bearings, bearing hangers, etc., see Fig. 4. Part 1 (see Fig. 1) is devoted to a theoretical analysis of the thickness and load-steady-state problem has yielded solutions which have not been obtainable by theoretical studies, except for cases involving assumptions which greatly alter the true results. It is found that the normal approach vibratory motion of the surfaces bounding the film is responsible for a much greater part of its load-supporting action than is the steady-state rotational motion.


We use ultra-deep ultraviolet VLT/VIMOS intermediate-band and VLT/FORS1 narrowband imaging in the GOODS Southern field to derive limits on the distribution of the escape fraction (fesc) of ionizing radiation for L ⩾ L*z=3 Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) at redshift 3.4–4.5. Only one LBG, at redshift z = 3.795, is detected in its Lyman continuum (LyC; S/N ≃ 5.5), the highest redshift galaxy currently known with a direct detection. Its ultraviolet morphology is quite compact (Reff = 0.8 kpc physical). Three out of seven active galactic nuclei are also detected in their LyC, including one at redshift z = 3.951 and z850 = 26.1. From stacked data (LBGs), we set an upper limit to the average fesc in the range 5%–20%, depending on how the data are selected (e.g., by magnitude and/or redshift). We undertake extensive Monte Carlo simulations that take into account intergalactic attenuation, stellar population synthesis models, dust extinction, and photometric noise in order to explore the moments of the distribution of the escaping radiation. Various distributions (exponential, log-normal, and Gaussian) are explored. We find that the median fesc is lower than ≃6% with an 84% percentile limit not larger than 20%. If this result remains valid for fainter LBGs down to current observational limits, then the LBG population might be not sufficient to account for the entire photoionization budget at the redshifts considered here, with the exact details dependent upon the assumed ionizing background and QSO contribution thereto. It is possible that fesc depends on the UV luminosity of the galaxies, with fainter galaxies having higher fesc, and estimates of fesc from a sample of faint LBGs from HUDF (i775 ⩽28.5) are in broad quantitative agreement with such a scenario.


With the development of network technology, network resources have become an important part of teaching resources. Some problems such as resource shortage,learning inefficiency, duplication of resources appeared in the process of network resources construction. Combined with the problems existing in the process of educational resources construction, this paper proposed a resources construction solutions based on virtualization technology and implemented.


A new design for disc transducers with good efficiency and large bandwidth is presented here. The design method is based on the use of quarter-wave matching layers between the piezoelectric ceramic and the load, and the use of a quarter-wave unmatching layer between the same ceramic and its high acoustic impedance backing. Experimental and theoretical results are presented.


An Adaptive Cruise Controller (ACC) is an extension of an ordinary cruise controller. In addition to maintaining a desired set speed, an ACC can also maintain a desired time gap to the vehicle ahead. For this end, both the engine and the brakes are controlled. The interest in the MPC-controller as a solution to the problem was to achieve automatic actuator switching, thus with no explicitly defined switch points. The MPC-controller is based on a model of the system including bounds on the control signals and on linear combinations of the states. Using this knowledge, the MPC-controller will choose the correct actuator for the current driving situation. Among the drawbacks, it can be mentioned that the variant of MPC, used in this paper, is too complex to implement in the control system currently used in trucks.


Abstract A numerical study of the $d$-dimensional eddy damped quasi-normal Markovian equations is performed to investigate the dependence on spatial dimension of homogeneous isotropic fluid turbulence. Relationships between structure functions and energy and transfer spectra are derived for the $d$-dimensional case. Additionally, an equation for the $d$-dimensional enstrophy analogue is derived and related to the velocity derivative skewness. Comparisons are made to recent four-dimensional direct numerical simulation results. Measured energy spectra show a magnified bottleneck effect which grows with dimension whilst transfer spectra show a varying peak in the nonlinear energy transfer as the dimension is increased. These results are consistent with an increased forward energy transfer at higher dimensions, further evidenced by measurements of a larger asymptotic dissipation rate with growing dimension. The enstrophy production term, related to the velocity derivative skewness, is seen to reach a maximum at around five dimensions and may reach zero in the limit of infinite dimensions, raising interesting questions about the nature of turbulence in this limit.


Summary Background Syncope is aetiologically diverse and associated with adverse outcomes; in older people, there is clinical overlap with complex falls presentations (i.e. recurrent, unexplained and/or injurious). Aim To formulate an index to predict future risk of syncope and falls in the Irish longitudinal study on ageing (TILDA). Design/Methods Using the frailty index methodology, we selected, from TILDA Wave 1 (2010), 40 deficits that might increase risk of syncope and falls. This syncope-falls index (SYFI) was applied to TILDA Wave 1 participants aged 65 and over, who were divided into three risk groups (low, intermediate and high) based on SYFI tertiles. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate, controlling for age and sex, how SYFI groups predicted incident syncope, complex falls and simple falls occurring up to Wave 4 of the study (2016). Results At Wave 1, there were 3499 participants (mean age 73, 53% women). By Wave 4, of the remaining 2907 participants, 185 (6.4%) had reported new syncope, 1077 (37.0%) complex falls and 218 (7.5%) simple falls. The risk of both syncope and complex falls increased along the SYFI groups (high risk group: odds ratio 1.88 [1.26–2.80], P = 0.002 for syncope; 2.22 [1.82–2.72], P < 0.001 for complex falls). No significant relationship was identified between SYFI and simple falls. Conclusion The 6-year incidences of falls and syncope were high in this cohort. SYFI could help identify older adults at risk of syncope and complex falls, and thus facilitate early referral to specialist clinics to improve outcomes.


Background: Children with autism/Asperger are grouped into the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It remains uncertain whether children with ASD and scoliosis have radiographic and clinical outcomes similar to idiopathic scoliosis (IS) patients. Methods: A single-center, retrospective review of a prospective scoliosis registry evaluated patients who had a posterior spinal fusion±Anterior Spinal Fusion and an underlying diagnosis of ASD between 1990 and 2021. A 2:1 match with AIS patients by age and sex was compared using demographic, radiographic, intraoperative, and SRS-22/30 variables. Results: Thirty patients with ASD (63% male, mean age at surgery 14.6±2.5 y) met inclusion criteria, with a follow-up of 2.46±1.00 years. Despite no differences in curve magnitude preoperatively, patients with ASD had a higher percent correction at 2-year follow-up (66% vs. 57%, P=0.01) and improved mean curve magnitude (20±10 degrees) at 2-year follow-up compared with IS patients (27±11 degrees, P<0.01). ASD patients had less lumbar lordosis preoperatively (40±12 vs. 53±14, P<0.01), but there were no significant differences in sagittal parameters at 2-year follow-up. There were no significant differences in the rate of complications at 2-year follow-up between ASD and AIS cohorts. Conclusions: Although patients with ASD exhibited decreased lordosis compared with IS patients preoperatively, their radiographic outcomes at 2-year follow-up were the same. In addition, ASD patients maintained greater curve correction than IS patients at 2 years follow-up. Level of Evidence: Prognostic retrospective study.


Mutations in TP53 occur in 50% of all cancers but are far less common in hematological malignancies. The activity of wild-type p53 (wt-p53) is frequently compromised in lymphomas by overexpression of MDM2. Small-molecule inhibitors (SMIs) that can disrupt the MDM2-p53 interaction and restore p53 function may be an attractive therapeutic strategy. Although response to MDM2 inhibition has previously been determined to greatly depend on p53 status, p53 functional consequences are not fully understood in the presence of MDM2 SMIs. We recently demonstrated striking growth inhibition of two different classes of MDM2 SMIs: Nutlin-3; a cis-imadiazole and MI-219; a spiro-oxindole. Growth inhibition was seen in wt-, but not mutant-, p53 lymphoma cells and did not affect MDM2 E3 ligase activity. In this study, we report that MDM2 inhibition exerts differential molecular effects in wt-p53 lymphoma cells. We found that wt-p53 cell lines, FSCCL and KM-H2, are sensitive to MDM2 inhibition in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Moreover, MI-219 showed greater potency compared to analogous concentrations of Nutlin-3. MI-219 caused more pronounced cell cycle arrest of both cell lines in G0/G1 over a 72 hour time period. Treatment stabilized and activated p53 as well as upregulated p21 and MDM2 protein levels. MG132 and cycloheximide treatments were performed in the presence or absence of MI-219 to determine whether the increase in p53 was due to dissociation from MDM2 and not increased degradation or stabilization. Co-immunoprecipitation confirmed MDM2 SMI disruption of the MDM2-p53 interaction. There was clear evidence of apoptosis in FSCCL, but surprisingly not in KM-H2, as indicated by TUNEL/PI staining (54.39% ± 4.78 vs. 1.32% ± 0.52 after 24 hours). Additionally, apoptosis markers were induced at both mRNA (p53AIP1) and protein levels (caspase-3 and PARP cleavage) after exposure to MI-219 in FSCCL compared to KM-H2. The molecular mechanisms by which MDM2 SMIs exert this differential effect are currently under investigation. Our data presents the preclinical structure for further exploration of MI-219 as a therapeutic approach in the treatment of wt-p53 lymphomas. However, based on our findings, we conclude that additional insights to p53 biology are necessary to maximize their therapeutic potential from preclinical to clinical development. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 594. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-594


The use of a peritoneal catheter enhances diagnosis using arthroscopy by affording a clear visibility of the knee joint. The accuracy in diagnosis is significantly enhanced using this method of irrigation. No better method of irrigation is available for cases of acute knee joint injuries.


We demonstrate an ultrafast and low-power all-optical gate in pump-probe configuration based on free-carrier- induced refractive index modulation in a 5-μm radius InP-InGaAsP microdisk heterogeneously integrated onto a silicon-on-insulator waveguide circuit. High-speed gating is obtained by extracting the carriers from the microdisk active layer by applying a reverse bias. Measured transient responses show that this gate is capable of working up to 20 GHz.


This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed at neuropsychiatric institutions in Buenos Aires Province. A randomized sample was selected of 384 20- to 65-year-old adults: 56 with mental disorders and undergoing a process of deinstitutionalization (DG), 220 institutionalized (IG) and 108 ambulatory adults with no diagnosis of mental disorder considered as the control group (CG). Inclusion criterion was receiving oral healthcare at the same dentistry facility. To estimate the endogenous variable (oral health) we used DMFT Löe y Silness plaque index and gingival index (PI - GI). Diagnosed mental conditions were classified according to DSM IV criteria. Mean DMFT was 18.75 +/- 6.19 for DG and 19.67 +/- 8.24 for IG. The difference between groups DG and IG was not significant (P = 0.7818). For CG the value was 14.54 +/- 5.96. The correlation analysis between DMFT and age showed significant association and the values were: DG r = 0.4423, IG r = 0.5056 and CG r = 0.3372. Missing teeth account for 80% in DG 81.12% in IG and 48.76% in CG. Mean PI-GI values were 1.66 +/- 0.72, 1.12 +/- 0.52 in GD; 2.13 +/- 0.55, 1.76 +/- 0.47 in IG and 1.51 +/- 0.52, 1.02 +/- 0.38 in CG. The discrepancy between IP means for DG and IG were not significant (P > 0.05), whereas the GI values for both groups differed significantly at 5% (P < 0.05). Data analysis describes the loss of teeth as a residual consequence of oral disease, and the need to include rehabilitation in a healthcare model for the deinstitutionalization process in psychiatric adults.


Quiescent state of lymphocyte is a critical mechanism for immunity homeostasis. Until recently it has been recognized that quiescent state is not a passive default mode which also needs many signal molecular and transcriptional factors involvement. However, the mechanism of T cell quiescence remains incompletely understood. In quiescent cell, KLF3 is a highly expressed transcriptional factor, but once T lymphocyte is activated, KLF3 expression is reduced to an undetectable level. The Src homology 2 domain tyrosine phosphatase (SHP-1) is mainly expressed in hematopoietic cells and has been known to plays a negative effect on T cell activation. SHP-1 mutant mice (SHP-1me/me) exhibits multiple hematopoietic cells proliferation disorder and systemic inflammation. Compare to SHP-1me/me mice, KLF3 knock-out mice shows a myeloproliferative disorder and systematic inflammatory responses likewise. Accumulating evidence indicates KLF3 is a crucial transcription factor in T cell quiescent. Based on similarity between SHP-1me/me mice and KLF3 knock-out mice, we explore whether KLF3 cooperate with SHP-1 to maintain cell quiescence. SHP-1 consists two promoter regions that one locates upstream of exon1, mainly expressed in epithelial cell and the other one locates in intron 1 which mainly serves for hematopoietic cell. According to literature, the core promoter element which plays a critical role in SHP-1 gene regulation locates upstream 120bp of transcriptional site. Two cacc boxes (59---caccc----39) were found among the core promoter elements. We constructed a reporter gene vector named pGL3-SHP1-luci1 which consist two cacc boxes. We also constructed another three vectors based on pGL3-SHP1-luci1. (figure1 left). We process dual-luciferase assay at 72h post transfection (figure1 right). when the proximal cacc box is mutated, the promoter activity is 1.7 times as high as the promoter activity of normal promoter sequence (luci1 vector) (p We prepare two dioxin-labelled probes based on cacc box motif to verify the binding activities between KLF3 and SHP-1. The probe I is consist of the distal cacc box and the probe II possesses the proximal cacc box. Two specific bands (A,B)were observed when probe target I or target II was adding into DNA-protein mixture (Figure2, lane2, 5). This band specifically disappeared by the addition of excess unlabeled target as a competitor (Figure2, lane 3, 6) which indicates probe can be a target of nuclear proteins from Jurkat cell. To verify KLF3 is the transcription factor involving in the interaction with labelled-probe, we added anti-KLF3 antibody to the EMSA binding reaction. The results show band A disappeared in the presence of target I and it became weaker in the presence of target II, but band B were still present after addition of anti-KLF3 antibody to the mixture (Figure2, lane4, 8). The band A, but not band B, disappeared or become weaken in the presence of anti-KLF3 antibody, indicates KLF3 interacts with SHP-1 P2 promoter. To test the ability of KLF3 binding to SHP-1 promoter 2 (P2) in vivo, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis using antibodies for KLF3 and compared it with the IgG-negative control. We design one promoter primer targeting a region from -135bp to 53bp which contains a potential KLF3 binding site and one SHP-1 exon15 promoter as a control for antibody enriched DNA analysis. By promoter primer or exon15 primer, specific DNA bands were observed in input. However, only anti-KLF3 enriched DNA can amplify a specific band with promoter primer. By contrast, the IgG negative control enriched DNA fail to amplify positive bands with promoter primer. And for the exon15 primer, it hardly amplified positive bands neither from anti-KLF3-enriched DNA nor from IgG negative control-enriched DNA (figure3). These data demonstrates that KLF3 proteins directly regulate SHP-1 expression. Our study suggests KLF3, as the candidate of programing T cell quiescence, can regulate SHP-1 to maintain quiescent phenotype. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


The dielectric function for solid C60 is calculated within local-density-functional theory. The screened Coulomb interaction shows a remarkable orientation and position dependence. Inter-molecular screening is stronger than intra-molecular screening and screening increases with inter-molecular separation. Some of the inequivalent on-site atomic screened Coulomb integrals are comparable to the nearest-neighbour terms and the second-nearest-neighbour terms are smaller than the third-nearest-neighbour terms. The screened on-site molecular Coulomb integral U0 is found to be approximately 2.1 eV and the local multiplet splitting for three electrons in the t1u is approximately 0.12 eV. suggesting that electrons in the derived band should be highly correlated.