PURPOSE
We study the effect of the secondary photon events on modeling the energy response functions of the In-depth photon counting X-ray detectors (PCXD) and the potential impact of the spectral distortion on material decompositions.

METHODS
Square-shape wafers of three potential PCXD materials were constructed (5-by-20-by-30 mm^3 for Si, 4-by-20-by-5 mm^3 for GaAs and 4-by-20-by-3 mm^3 for CdTe), with pixel size of 5-by-4 mm^2 for Si and 5-by-5 mm^2 for GaAs and CdTe. The depth direction (z-direction) was segmented into 5 layers with exponentially increasing thicknesses of each layer. X-rays from 10keV to 120keV with 20000 photons per keV bin was simulated to characterize the energy response function of each PCXD using Geant4. Secondary photons events were recorded and we omitted the photons exiting the detector. The Energy Response Functions (ERFs) from the Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were compared with those from a semi-ideal model developed earlier.

RESULTS
For Si, detection of secondary events in the center detector were minimal due to the long aspect ratio of the detector, which results in the agreement between the theoretical prediction and the MC simulation with and without the secondary photons. For CdTe, the secondary photons captured by the center pixel were important, leading to obvious disagreement between the analytical and the simulated ERF. After correction for secondary events, the two curves were more similar except for the escape peaks which are not correctly portrayed by the semi-ideal model. For GaAs, the behavior is in between Si and CdTe.

CONCLUSION
Given the complexity of the In-Depth PCXD's geometry, the uniform semi-ideal model does not fully characterize the ERF at each layer. Therefore, more realistic models need to be explored for better modeling of the spectral distortion.


The enhancement of associative synaptic plasticity often results in impaired rather than enhanced learning. Previously, we proposed that such learning impairments may result from saturation of the plasticity mechanism making it unavailable to be recruited at the appropriate synapses to support learning (Nguyen-Vu et al., 2017). This hypothesis was based on experimental results from mice lacking two class I major histocompatibility molecules, MHCI H2-Kb and H2-Db (MHCI KbDb−/−), which have enhanced associative long-term depression at the parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapses in the cerebellum (PF-Purkinje cell LTD). Here we extend this work by testing predictions of the saturation hypothesis in a second mouse line with enhanced PF-Purkinje cell LTD, the Fmr1 knockout mouse model of Fragile X syndrome (FXS). Mice lacking Fmr1 gene expression in cerebellar Purkinje cells (L7-Fmr1 KO) were selectively impaired on an oculomotor learning task in which PF-Purkinje cell LTD has been implicated, with no impairment on an LTD-independent oculomotor learning task. Consistent with the saturation hypothesis, behavioral pre-training designed to reverse LTD at the PF-Purkinje cell synapses eliminated the oculomotor learning deficit in the L7-Fmr1 KO mice, as previously reported in MHCI KbDb−/−mice. In addition, diazepam treatment to suppress neural activity and thereby limit the induction of associative LTD during the pre-training period also eliminated the learning deficit in L7-Fmr1 KO mice. These results support the hypothesis that the enhancement of synaptic plasticity can lead to its saturation in vivo and inability to support learning, providing a novel mechanistic perspective that could inform the development of new clinical approaches for autism and other disorders of the nervous system.


InAs1–xSbx with different compositions is grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (100)-oriented semi-insulating GaAs substrates. The increase of Sb content in the epilayer results in the deterioration of crystal quality and surface morphology. Hall measurements show that the carrier concentration increases with the composition of Sb. The electron mobility decreases initially, when Sb composition exceeds a certain value, and the mobility increases slightly. In this work, we emphasize the comparison of crystal quality, surface morphology and electrical properties of epilayers with different Sb compositions.


A general discrete-time Kalman filter (KF) for state matrix estimation using matrix measurements is presented. The new algorithm evaluates the state matrix estimate and the estimation error covariance matrix in terms of the original system matrices. The proposed algorithm naturally fits systems which are most conveniently described by matrix process and measurement equations. Its formulation uses a compact notation for aiding both intuition and mathematical manipulation. It is a straightforward extension of the classical KF, and includes as special cases other matrix filters that were developed in the past. Beyond the analytical value of the matrix filter, it is shown through various examples arising in engineering problems that this filter can be computationally more efficient than its vectorized version.


Positive displacement machines have been identified as appropriate expanders for small-scale power generation systems such as Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs). Screw expanders can operate with good efficiency in working fluids under both dry and two-phase conditions. Detailed understanding of the fluid expansion process is required to optimise the machine design and operation for specific applications, and accurate design tools are therefore essential. Using experimental data for air expansion, both CFD and chamber models have been applied to investigate the influence of port flow and leakage on the expansion process. Both models are shown to predict pressure variation and power output with good accuracy. The validated chamber model is then used to identify the optimal volume ratio and rotational speed for experimental conditions.


The use of marine controlled-source electromagnetic EM (CSEM) sounding to detect thin resistive layers at depths below the seafloor has been exploited recently to assess the resistivity of potential hydrocarbon reservoirs before drilling. We examine the sensitivity of the CSEM method to such layers with forward and inverse modeling in one and three dimensions. The 3D modeling demonstrates that if both source and receivers are over a tabular 3D target, 1D modeling predicts the observed response to very high accuracy. Experimental design can thus be based on 1D analysis in which hundreds of range and frequency combinations can be computed to find the optimal survey parameters for a given target structure. Modeling in three dimensions shows that the vertical electric-field response is largest over the edges of a 3D target. The 3D modeling also suggests that a target body needs to have a diameter twice the burial depth to be reliably seen by CSEM sounding. A simple air-wave model (energy propagating from source to receiver via the atmosphere) allows the effects of the target layer and atmosphere to be separated and shows where sensitivity to the target is diminished or lost because of finite water depth as a function of range, frequency, and seafloor resistivity. Unlike DC resistivity sounding, the marine CSEM method is not completely T-equivalent and, in principle, can resolve resistivity and thickness separately. Smooth inversion provides an estimate of the method's resolving power and highlights the fact that although the radial CSEM fields contain most of the sensitivity to the thin resistive target, inverted alone they produce only increasing resistivity with depth. Inclusion of the radial mode CSEM data forces the recovery of the thin resistor, but magnetotelluric data can be used more effectively to achieve the same result.


The purpose of this study was to identify factors affecting the purchases of well-being tea drinks based on the analysis of demographic characteristics, well-being oriented consumer behaviors, and consumer consciousness toward well-being tea drinks. The subjects of this study were undergraduates and graduate students in Seoul. The findings were summarized as follows: 1. Well-being oriented consumer behavior patterns were categorized in three factors; non-dietary life, selective dietary life, and regular/temperate behavior and consumer consciousness toward well-being tea drinks were categorized in two factors; habit/ familiarity and health/ economical efficiency. 2. Multiple regression analysis was used for finding out factors affecting the purchases of well-being tea drinks; independent variables were demographic characteristics(sex, monthly average family income and the amount of personal expenditure), well-being oriented consumer behavior factors and consumer consciousness factors toward well-being tea drinks. Weekly purchase frequency of well-being tea drinks was defined as a dependent variable. As a result, the purchases of well-being tea dinks were influenced in order of regular/temperate behavior, the consciousness of health/ economical efficiency, the amount of personal expenditure and the consciousness of habit/ familiarity. Especially, regular/temperate behavior negatively affected the purchases of well-being tea drinks.


With regard to the role of English in Indonesia that is mainly used for academic purpose, it is important to sharpen the two skills, reading and writing, more than the other two skills, listening and speaking. Based on that fact, this study focuses on reading skills, especially in reading comprehension skills. Reading comprehension skill is closely related to literacy levels that nowadays considered important by educational institution. The data was taken from reading comprehension questions in English USBN question sheet and the students' answer sheets. The participants are students of XII grade of SMK NU Ungaran that are randomly chosen. The result of this study showed that Out of 50 students, 59% of them are best cope with editing task, followed by 56% in dealing with reading comprehension task, 50% of gap-filling task, 48% with short answer task and the least is 22% in vocabulary task. This meant that the proficiency level of reading comprehension of students in XII grade SMK NU Ungaran still needs to elevate. They were still lack in term of vocabulary and understanding the ideas implicitly delivered in the text.


'Don't talk', 'don't trust', and 'don't feel', are the three cardinal rules which dominate households where addiction, abuse or other types of dysfunction are present. Growing up in this type of environment, children are likely to develop certain personality traits and behavioral patterns of survival. Low self esteem and deeply embedded feelings of shame may lead to alcoholism, drug abuse, other forms of dependency, and/or adult relationships marked by improvisation. Turning to the women in Australian women's prisons, one finds estimates that 80 to 85% are drug addicts, and a similar proportion are estimated to have been victims of incest or other types of abuse It is quite probable that a high percentage of the women in Australian prisons have grown up in families where the three cardinal rules operated. They are usually imprisoned for a crime related to their drug addiction. It is ironic that they are already in some respects socialized to prison life since the rules of 'don't talk', 'don't trust', and 'don't feel' are also principal values in the gaol culture. This article explores what these rules mean within the prison context and how they affect both the women inmates and the institutional environment. The research involved visiting eight women's prisons in Australia and interviewing 56 inmates.


It is well-known that the higher policyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) abundance, lower black
hole mass, higher accretion rate and lower luminosities are among the major characteristics of
Narrow-Line Seyfert galaxies (NLS1), when they are compared to Broad line Seyfert galax-
ies (BLS1). NLS1s may be normal Seyfert galaxies at an early stage of evolution, their black
holes may still be growing and/or they could be special for some other reason. In this work
we discuss the findings that NLS1s have most of line and continuum luminosities correlated with
FWHM(Hβ ), which may be the trace of their rapid black hole mass grow. BLS1 do not show such
trends. Also, PAHs may be destroyed as the black hole grows and the starbursts are removed, for
NLS1 objects.


A set of objective bar-classification methods have been appl ied to the Ohio State Bright Spiral Galaxy Survey (Eskridge et al. 2002). Bivaria te comparisons between methods show that all methods agree in a statistical se nse. Thus the distribution of bar strengths in a sample of galaxies can be robu stly determined. There are very substantial outliers in all bivariate compar isons. Examination of the outliers reveals that the scatter in the bivariate compa risons correlates with galaxy morphology. Thus multiple measures of bar strength p rovide a means of studying the range of physical properties of galaxy bars in a n objective statistical sense.


Phytophthora are parasitic fungi like species that attack the roots and stems of plants. Theheterothallic species of phytophthora consist of two mating types A1 and A2. A hormone alpha 1secreted by the A1 mating type induces the formation of sexual oospores in the A2 mating type. In 2005 by Ojika and coworkers reported the isolation and constitutional characterization of the hormone alpha 1. The absolute configuration of the hormone alpha 1 was later assigned by comparison ofthe hormonal activity of a synthetic sample with the natural sample. Assignment of absoluteconfiguration on the basis of hormonal activity can however be error prone because the activityof any particular sample will depend on its isomeric purity.In order to provide a spectroscopic method to assign the absolute configuration ofhormone alpha 1, we have synthesized eight stereoisomers of hormone alpha 1 by Fluorous MixtureSynthesis. During the FMS, stereoisomeric starting materials were tagged with different fluorous PMB groups and mixed together. The resulting mixture was taken through a series of steps to make the fluorous-tagged products, which were separated by fluorous HPLC followed byhydrogenolysis to provide pure products. The NMR spectra of the eight isomers of hormone alpha 1provided only limited information about their absolute configuration.The synthetic isomers of hormone alpha 1 were subsequently converted to the correspondingbis-R and S Mosher ester derivatives. By comparison of the 1H NMR spectra of the sixteen bis-Mosher ester derivatives with the bis-Mosher ester derivatives of the natural product, weconfirmed the partial configuration of hormone alpha 1 as (3R,7R,11R).


Abstract Although radiologists are likely familiar with basic fracture patterns around the shoulder, certain fracture types in this area have particularly relevant and controversial clinical management issues. These include proximal humeral fractures, in which conservative management is favored but some patients receive surgical treatment; glenoid fractures and Hill-Sachs lesions, in which surgery may be performed depending on the amount of bone loss; and distal clavicular fractures, in which certain displaced fractures have high rates of nonunion, but there is no clearly favored surgical technique. Knowledge of the different clinical issues and surgical options can aid the radiologist in identifying key imaging findings and creating a useful report.


A three-component reaction of 1-(2-allylaryl)thioureas, sulfur dioxide, and aryldiazonium tetrafluoroborates under mild conditions is realized, leading to sulfonated [3,1]-benzothiazepines in good yields. The reaction proceeds smoothly at room temperature in the absence of any catalysts or additives. A high efficiency is observed for this non-metallic transformation. Preliminary mechanistic investigation shows that a radical process is involved. This protocol represents an efficient and attractive strategy for the preparation of seven-membered heterocyclic compounds containing a sulfonyl group.


We welcome the fine paintings of Michael Healey - our first Scottish colourist, who follows in the footsteps of Cadell, Peploe, Fergusson and Hunter. They were all taught in France and knew first hand the French Post Impressionists and Fauves.

They brought this contemporary aspect of colourful painting back to Scotland before the First World War and the four art schools became imbedded in this tradition. Whistler and Sargent also had a huge influence. Thus we see a tradition of strong draughtmanship, behind an unlaboured painting technique, that relies often on atmospheric colour and light for its drama.


Over a period of two years thirty five renal allograft recipients & donors were evaluated to find out the aetiology of early renal allograft dysfunction, in the Department of Nephrology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh from March 2010 to February 2012. A comparison was made between dysfunction & functioning graft group. Mean age of recipients were (36.4±9.4) years, mean age of donors were (41.7±8.3) years, with a male and female ratio of 3:1. Fifty percent recipients showed one heliotype match, ninety percent recipients were anti CMV antibody IgG positive, few were anti CMV antibody IgM positive. All kidney transplant recipients received same immunosuppressive drugs. Primary disease of the renal allograft recipients demonstrates that majority 88.58% had glomerulonephritis, 5.72% had polycystic kidney disease, 2.85% had chronic pyelonephritis and another 2.85% had diabetic nephropathy. Among 35 renal allograft recipients 23(66%) showed early graft dysfunction, 12(34%) showed normal graft function. The etiology of early graft dysfunction showed, 50% developed acute rejection, 17% acute cyclosporine toxicity, 17% acute tubular necrosis, 8% had graft thrombosis and 8% developed recurrent glomerulonephritis. Sub-clinical rejection was detected in 20% cases. Comparison of donor characteristics between dysfunctioning and functioning graft groups revealed that age and sex were identically distributed between the groups (p=0.183 and p=0.087 respectively). The mean serum creatinine of donor was significantly higher in the graft dysfunction group than that in the functioning graft group (113.5±12.6 vs. 99.6±17.3; p=0.025), as well as the mean creatinine clearance rate was significantly less in the former group than that in the later group (82.1±13.5 vs. 93.9±18.6, p=0.040). The mean cyclosporine (C2) level on 7th POD were 1593.2±320.4ng/ml in graft dysfunction group and 1439.1±199.5ng/ml in the functioning graft group which decreased to 1364.8±263.7ng/ml and 1114.2±145.1ng/ml after three months in the dysfunction and the functioning graft groups respectively. There was no significant difference in the cyclosporine level between groups on 7th POD and 14th POD, 1st and 2nd month. However, at 3rd month the level of cyclosporine was higher in the dysfunction group than that in the function group. Proteinuria on 14th POD was almost similar between dysfunction and function graft groups (p=0.704). However, higher incidence of proteinuria was observed in subsequent months in the graft dysfunction group compared to the function graft group. All the postoperative variables like systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fever and tremor were higher in dysfunction group in comparison to functioning graft group. Per operative biopsy of donor kidney, some showed increased number of sclerotic glomeruli which is more common in dysfunction group. Among 35 recipients 2(16.7%) died due to infection in dysfunction group compared to 1(4.3%) in functioning graft group.


In this thesis we study the configuration space, F (Γ, 2), of two particles moving without collisions on a graph Γ with a view to calculating the Betti numbers of this space. We develop an intersection theory for cycles in graphs inspired by the classical intersection theory for cycles in manifolds and we use this to develop an algorithm to calculate the second Betti number of
F (Γ,2) for any graph Γ. We also use this intersection theory to provide a complete description of the cohomology algebra H ^*(F (Γ, 2), Q) for any planar graph Γ and to calculate explicit formulae for the Betti numbers of
F (Γ, 2) when Γ is a complete graph or a complete bipartite graph. We also investigate the generators of group H_2 (F (Γ, 2), Z) and show that for
any planar graph this group is entirely generated by tori induced by disjoint cycles in the graph. For non-planar graphs the situation is more complicated and we show that there can exist a generator of H_2 (F (Γ, 2), Z) which is not the fundamental class of a surface embedded in the space F (Γ, 2).


Introduction. The article is devoted to the issue of determining the role and place of the bar in the state. The urgency of this issue was a consequence of the adoption in June 2016 of the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine (regarding justice)" of 02.06.2016 № 1401-VIII.
Summary of the main research results. According to which the Constitution of Ukraine was supplemented by Article 131-2, which stipulates that the bar operates in Ukraine to provide professional legal assistance, and only a lawyer represents another person in court, as well as protection from criminal charges, except in certain cases. Thus, the bar, together with the prosecutor's office, was included in the justice system. Thus, the bar becomes one of the key elements of the justice system in Ukraine, as the most important constitutional function of the bar is to ensure the right to protection from criminal prosecution and representation of individuals and legal entities in court. By delegating the relevant function of the bar, the state must ensure a high level of professional legal assistance provided by lawyers, which, in turn, has a significant impact on the quality of justice and the exercise of the right to a fair trial. By delegating the relevant function of the bar, the state must ensure a high level of professional legal assistance provided by lawyers, which, in turn, has a significant impact on the quality of justice and the exercise of the right to a fair trial. At the same time, the Constitution of Ukraine provides for the independence of the bar, and the current Law of Ukraine "On Advocacy and Advocacy" generally indicates that the Bar of Ukraine is a non-governmental self-governing institution.
Conclusions. The Ukrainian Bar is a professional public association. The National Bar Association of Ukraine is recognized as a non-governmental non-profit professional organization. In turn, the bar is endowed with public law functions, and the inclusion of non-state actors in the system of public power is designed to create an effective mechanism of public control over the activities of the state.


This paper investigates the stability issues that might arise when incorporating transmission line switching into smart grid planning and operation. To demonstrate the feasibility of line switching, we use scenarios and dynamic simulations to demonstrate system security margin and online stability issues. Results show that proper line switching can resolve system emergency and boost system security margin, even though less transmission lines are used. Also it reveals that small signal instability can be triggered by line switching. It is necessary to apply sophisticated voltage controls and power system stabilizers (PSS) to avoid triggering rotor angle and voltage small signal instability for full benefits of line switching.


Abstract : Gaining a detailed tactical picture of the modern battle-space is vital to the success of any military operation. This picture is used to direct the movement of assets and material over rugged terrain during day and night in uncertain weather conditions, taking account of possible enemy locations and activity. To provide a timely and accurate picture of the battle-space, most modern command operations centers have access to a multitude of systems which provide information from many different sources including eye witness reports, aerial photographs, sonar, radar, synthetic aperture radar, multi-spectral imaging, hyper spectral imaging, foliage penetration radar, electro-optic, infrared and moving target imaging data. These disparate and sometimes conflicting sources must be combined together in a timely and accurate fashion to provide an overall view of the battle-space that is clear, concise, coherent, complete and accurate. In this MURI project, we have developed algorithms and systems to address the above problems as they relate to 3D and 4D modeling and visualization of battle-space. They include: 3D modeling of urban and suburban environments, updating the models, tracking and registration, visualizing and rendering large scale 3D models, mobile situational visualization, 4D modeling of dynamic scenes including the temporal dimension, augmented virtual environments merging stationary or temporal video data with 3D models, uncertainty processing and visualization, information fusion, and decision making under uncertainty. In doing so, we have developed the first fully automated 3D modeling system for urban environments capable of generating photorealistic views for walk-through, drive through and fly-throughs.


The seek speed of magneto-optical disk drives is greater than that of other optical disk drives. To design a high-speed seek servo system that will be an improvement over the traditional system, we must achieve following two goals. One is to drive the coarse-positioning actuator as fast as possible. The other is to restrain shift and vibration of the lens during the seek. We propose to apply two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) seek-velocity control and lens-shift restriction control. The 2-DOF seek-velocity control uses acceleration feedforward of the lens motion as well as target velocity signal of the lens velocity. This method can work the coarse actuator quickly. Further, the lens-shift restriction control uses the controlling input to cancel the inertial force that acts on the lens during the seek. By simulating this method, we discovered that such control systems provide the prospect of average seek time shorter than 19 ms.


THE patient has noticed a swelling of the right side of the face for six months.1 iThere has been no discharge from the nose and only bleedingjs on one occasion three weeks ago. There is no pain. There is no pus in the antrum. On transillumination there is a dark shadow on the right side, whilst the X-ray plate shows the region to be more opaque than the left side. There are no unerupted teeth. An exploratory incision was made in the labio-gingival fold and the periosteum raised over the swelling. The surface of the tumour was smooth and gradually shaded off into the maxilla, so that it was imnpossible to say which was tumour and which maxilla. Considerable portions were chiselled away and presented the appearance of rapidly growing bone. Microscopic sections show a condition of chronic osteitis with considerable rarefaction.


ABSTRACT Context. Biochar application not only remediates soils contaminated by heavy metals but also improves soil fertility and plant growth in salt-affected soils. Aims. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of water source salinity and biochar on soil properties and growth of a marigold (Tagetes erecta) crop. Methods. This pot study used a factorial completely randomised design with four levels of salinity of the water source (0.04, 2.01, 3.32 and 5.16 dS m−1) and five biochar doses (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 t ha−1). Salinity treatments contained different proportions of treated tannery effluent, and biochar was derived from water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). Soil physico-chemical properties, nutrient contents and enzyme activities, and plant biomass, were measured during crop growth and post-harvest. Key results. Water salinity level and biochar dose both had significant effects on soil properties. Higher salinity of water and biochar dose increased soil pH, whereas electrical conductivity decreased with biochar application in soils receiving higher salinity water. Soil organic carbon and available nutrients were significantly affected by salinity level and biochar dose. Irrespective of salinity level, biochar application at 10 t ha−1 increased soil organic carbon and available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by 40.5%, 23.1%, 15.2% and 30.5% in post-harvest soils. Enzyme activities and plant growth were significantly reduced at higher salt levels, whereas application of biochar improved these parameters. Conclusions. The results indicate that application of biochar at 10 t ha−1 significantly promotes nutrient availability and enzyme activities in soils with various levels of salinity. Biochar application enables plant growth primarily by trapping the soluble salts on the pore space available in its surface. Implications. Biochar application may help to mitigate nutrient deficiency and crop failure under salt-stress conditions.


We describe a new type of interferometer, the coupled spiral interferometer (CSPIN), which consists in a planar spiral-shaped waveguide with optical coupling between adjacent arms. We demonstrate through numerical simulations that when the arms are phase matched and contain straight parallel sections, a CSPIN supports strong slow-light resonances that are periodic in frequency and in the coupling coefficient of the arms. Compared to existing coupled resonator optical waveguides (CROWs), it presents the significant benefit of greater compactness (as 1/N, where N is the number of coupled resonators, or equivalently the number of arms). Being two dimensional, it is also easier to fabricate than a coil optical resonator (COR). We illustrate this concept with a spiral in the shape of a square with rounded corners and two arms. Resonant conditions in wavelength and coupling coefficient are shown to exist for which the group delay goes to infinity and the transmission goes to zero, as in a COR. The effective group delay (product of group delay and transmission), a useful figure of merit to quantify the efficacy with which light can be slowed down, is maximum on both sides of a wavelength resonance. For a square spiral ~70 mm in length made of a low-loss (0.16 m-1) silicon nitride waveguide, the maximum effective group delay is 15.9 ns (or a slow-down factor of 34.6). This value is independent of the number of arms (for a small loss), and it is the same value as for a COR with the same length and loss (for any N) and for a CROW with two resonators. This study shows that CSPINs offer a wide range of exciting new opportunities for implementing and utilizing slow light in numerous applications on a highly compact platform.


ONE OF the unusual and fascinating oddities of pathology is the occurrence in an ovarian tumor of any of a great number of tissues or organs. These tumors are generally referred to as dermoid cysts, but, as Blackwell and his coworkers have pointed out, more properly should be known as cystic teratomas. These authors and others * have discussed the etiology of these tumors and described the great variations in their composition. One such type of teratoma is made up, in part or completely, of thyroid tissue, and is called struma ovarii. In 1952 Sanders9estimated that there were approximately 180 reports of struma ovarii in the literature. In only about 17% of cases is the tissue entirely thyroid, without other elements of a teratoma.3In Blackwell's series of 100 cystic teratomas, 13% contained some thyroid tissue. As only about 5% of ovarian neoplasms are cystic teratomas, it follows that struma ovarii with other


The main objective of this research work was to evaluate the performance evaluation (removal efficiency) of the Suez Bay industrial wastewater treatment plant (SBIWTP) at the Ataqa region with respect to the removal of chemical and microbial pollutants to meet the prerequisite of Egyptian suggestions Law number 4 of 1994. Effluent water and sewage sludge from SBIWTP are suggested for agricultural usage. Therefore, the effluent waters have been evaluated for irrigation purposes relying on FAO regulations as well as the risk of heavy and trace elements was estimated in sewage sludge on the environment. Eighteen samples were gathered from influent and effluent waters during the 9 months of 2018. Samples were analyzed in terms of chemical, physical, and microbial parameters. Sewage sludge from SBIWTP was analyzed in accordance with the extraction method proposed by the Community Bureau of Reference (BCR). The most significant findings in this study, the influent wastewater discharged to the plant was highly contaminated with color, TSS, turbidity, NH3, COD, BOD, oil & grease, phenol, nitrate and phosphate levels. The efficiency of removal was estimated during 9 months to be 75%, 87%, 67%, 93%, 89%, 92%, 14%, 66%, 76%, and 74%, respectively. Relying on Egyptian Law, SBIWTP confirmed good performance for all contaminated parameters except for color. Concerning to FAO guidelines, it noticed that the effluent water can be used with slight to moderate restriction for eating non-cooked medium tolerant plants in coarse soils with good permeability. The trace and heavy elements in sewage sludge demonstrated safe to low risk on the environment. Further examinations ought to be carried out especially to study the reuse of Suez Bay industrial wastewater treatment plant (SBIWTP) effluent and sludge.


Birds and their population dynamics are often used to understand and document anthropogenic effects on biodiversity. Nest success is a critical component of the breeding output of birds in different environments; but to obtain the complete picture of how bird populations respond to perturbations, we also need an estimate of nest abundance or density. The problem is that raw counts generally underestimate actual nest numbers because detection is imperfect and because some nests may fail or fledge before being subjected to detection efforts. Here we develop a state-space superpopulation capture-recapture approach in which inference about detection probability is based on the age at first detection, as opposed to the sequence of re-detections in standard capture-recapture models. We apply the method to ducks in which (1) the age of the nests and their initiation dates can be determined upon detection and (2) the duration of the different stages of the breeding cycle is a priori known. We fit three model variants with or without assumptions about the phenology of nest initiation dates, and use simulations to evaluate the performance of the approach in challenging situations. In an application to Blue-winged Teal Anas discors breeding at study sites in North and South Dakota, USA, nesting stage (egg-laying or incubation) markedly influenced nest survival and detection probabilities. Two individual covariates, one binary covariate (presence of grazing cattle at the nest site), and one continuous covariate (Robel index of vegetation), had only weak effects. We estimated that 5-10% of the total number of nests were available for detection but were missed by field crews. An additional 6-15% were never available for detection. These percentages are expected to be larger in less intense, more typical sampling designs. User-friendly software nestAbund is provided to assist users in implementing the method.


Multifunctional structures (MFS) are an innovative concept that offer a new methodology for spacecraft design, eliminating chassis, cables and connectors, and integrating the electronics into the walls of the spacecraft. The MFS design consists of multilayer flexible circuit patches bonded onto a structural composite panel, and multichip modules (MCMs) performing specific functions are bonded onto the circuit patches which are interconnected via flexible circuit jumpers. Incorporation of the high power density two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) MCM's into smaller and more efficient packaging designs still has the fundamental requirement to maintain component temperatures within design limits. Higher component qualification temperatures, such as 393 K, can result in smaller spacecraft radiator areas that are consistent with efficient packaging schemes. During the MFS development effort, a structural radiator panel was fabricated using high thermal conductivity (Hi-K) composite facesheets, and several thermal management designs using combinations of Hi-K doublers (150-1500 W/m-K), Hi-K (150-700 W/m-K) corefill, and deployable radiators to maximize MCM's heat rejection. Results of the thermal vacuum tests and details of the thermal design methodology are presented in this paper.


A distal oblique osteotomy on the first metatarsal, with lateral displacement of the metatarsophalangeal joint and internal fixation with a compression screw, was performed. No splint or plaster was used. The operation is relatively simple and effective. Pain and discomfort during a short healing period are minimal. Forty-nine feet were operated on in 42 patients by eight surgeons. The patients were advised to bear full weight after six weeks. Return to unlimited work was possible after six weeks. The complications were superficial infection in one case and screws entering the metatarsophalangeal joint in two cases. One patient complained of metatarsalgia after the operation, but all other patients were satisfied after follow-up periods ranging from three months to six years.


: Introduction: Gangliogliomas are rare neuroepithelial tumours that account for only 0.4% of the CNS tumours hence no prospective studies are done regarding the management. This case report describes management of ganglioglioma and use of radiotherapy in the adjuvant setting. Case Description: An eight year old girl presented with complaints of seizures and after evaluation underwent craniotomy and decompression. Subsequently was considered for adjuvant radiotherapy as post-op histopathology revealed Anaplastic ganglioglioma grade 3. Post radiotherapy MRI whole brain scan at 9 months showed features of a porencephalic cyst in the treated area with enhancing wall and no significant solid component. A follow up MRI screening scan two years later showed mild decrease in the enhancement of the cyst wall and a neurosurgical opinion was taken where in the patient was advised to be on follow up. Conclusion: Anaplastic gangliogliomas are aggressive tumours which despite being dealt with surgery and radiotherapy have a propensity to recur thereby reiterating the fact of needing an insistent adjuvant therapy which has to be determined in future studies as the definitive treatment options for this tumour have not been elaborated as the tumour is very rare.


The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is closely related to the intraseasonal variability of surface temperature in East Asia. It has been shown that significant cold surface temperature anomalies are observed in East Asia during MJO phase 3. However, the cooling tendency develops prior to phase 3, suggesting that the cold surface anomalies in East Asia are a delayed and accumulated response to the MJO forcings prior to phase 3. Here, using a thermodynamic equation, it is shown that both meridional advection and adiabatic cooling terms associated with the MJO flow are the dominant contributors to the cooling tendency. The meridional cold advection initially manifests in East Asia in the form of northerly wind anomalies in the eastern part of anticyclonic circulation anomalies that are centered over eastern Europe and develop before the establishment of the cold anomalies. It is suggested that the enhanced convection in the western North Pacific Ocean is responsible for the anomalous anticyclonic flow over eastern Europe with about a 10-day lag via a meridionally propagating Rossby wave train. Further, cooling by the vertical wind component in East Asia is a result of adiabatic cooling interpreted as a reversed local overturning circulation, with downward motion in the tropics and upward motion in the subtropics. This anomalous meridional overturning circulation process initiated from suppressed convection spanning the tropical Indian Ocean to East Asia also takes about 10 days. Therefore, both the Rossby wave propagation and a local overturning circulation induced by the tropical convections play an important role in driving the lagged response of cold surface anomalies in East Asia. Interestingly, these tropical convection forcings are similar to the typical dipole pattern in convection during MJO phase 7, with suppressed Indian Ocean convection and enhanced western North Pacific convection. This implies that the dipole convective forcing during MJO phase 7 possibly leads to the cold anomalies in East Asia following phase 3.


In this paper, we evaluate determinants of some families of Toeplitz-Hessenberg matrices having tribonacci number entries. These determinant formulas may also be expressed equivalently as identities that involve sums of products of multinomial coefficients and tribonacci numbers. In particular, we establish a connection between the tribonacci and the Fibonacci and Padovan sequences via Toeplitz-Hessenberg determinants. We then obtain, by combinatorial arguments, extensions of our determinant formulas in terms of generalized tribonacci sequences satisfying an r-th order recurrence of a more general form with the appropriate initial conditions, where r>2 is arbitrary.


Biosorbent and unfertilizable flowering buds of mango plant, a local agrowaste in Multan, Pakistan known as battoor is used in this study. Efficacy of the biosorbent is tested in batch for Pb 2+ , Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ and Ni 2+ in single metal solution under control experimental conditions. The concentration of the biomass was 0.5 g. Metal ions were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer using its specific lamp for each metal at a specific wavelength. It was found that metal sorption increases when the equilibrium metal concentration is raised. Uptake sorption in single metal system (SMS) were 24.4 mg Pb 2+ , 22.506 mg Cu 2+ , 18.932 mg Zn 2+ and 17.618 mg Ni 2+ per gram for Mangifera sp. (mango) biomass at the highest experimental solution concentration, which is 150 mgl -1 . Removal of metal were 92% Pb 2+ , 86.84% Cu 2+ , 83.96% Zn 2+ , 82.29% Ni 2+ for Mangifera sp. (mango) biomass at the lowest experimental solution concentration, that is, 25 mgl -1 . Biosorption equilibrium isotherms were plotted for the metal uptake q against the residual metal concentrations in solution. The q versus Cf sorption isotherm relationship was mathematically expressed by linear Langmuir and Freundlich models. The values of separation factor or equilibrium parameter between 0 and 1 indicate the favorable sorption for four tested metal on the biosorbent. Values of surface coverage approach nearly 1 with the increasing solution concentration which indicate the effectiveness of the biosorbent under invesigation.The nonliving biomass of Mangifera sp. present comparable biosorption capacity for Pb 2+ , Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ and Ni 2+ ions with other types (sources) of biosorbent materials found in previous literature. Efficiency of the biomass indicates that they are effective in removing metal ions from single metal solutions as well as other co-ions with the main metal of solution. Key Words : Mangifera sp., biosorbent, intercationic, efficacy.


Currently great emphasis is given for seed metering that assist rigorous demands in relation to longitudinal distribution of seeds, as well as to the index of fails in spacing laws, breaks and double seeds. The evaluation of these variable demands much time and work of attainment of data and processing. The objective of this work went propose to use of graphs of normal probability, facilitating the treatment of the data and decreasing the time of processing. The evaluation methodology consists in the counting of broken seeds, fail spacing and double seeds through the measure of the spacing among seeds, preliminary experiments through combinations of treatments had been carried through whose factors of variation were the level of the reservoir of seeds, the leveling of the seed metering, the speed of displacement and dosage of seeds. The evaluation was carried through in two parts, first through preliminary experiments for elaboration of the graphs of normal probability and later in experiments with bigger sampling for evaluation of the influence of the factors most important. It was done the evaluation of seed metering of rotating internal ring, and the amount of necessary data for the evaluation was very decreased through of the graphs of normal probability that facilitated to prioritize only the significant factors. The dosage of seeds was factor that more important because factor (D) have greater significance.


The inhibitory effect of maleimide and ten its N-substituted mono- and bifunctional derivatives was studied in isolated rat liver mitochondria. It was found that all these compounds blocked protein and non-protein SH-groups and were the potent inhibitors of the respiratory chain. In the inhibitory activity of unsubstituted maleimide its alkylating properties play the dominant role. The introduction of some substitutors in the maleimide molecule lends the properties of hydrophobic inhibitors to these derivatives. A high toxicity of all compound studied was shown in in vivo experiments.


Past and present institutions (e.g., state and public hospitals, assisted living facilities, public nursing homes) have struggled with structural issues tied to patient care and neglect, which often manifests in the form of fracture trauma, and may explain why institutionalized individuals are at higher risk for this injury. Six hundred individuals from the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection born between 1822–1877 were examined to investigate hip fracture prevalence. Analysis of associated records and documentary data, including death, morgue, and census records, revealed that 36.3% (n = 218) of these individuals died in institutions such as the St. Louis State Hospital, City Infirmary, and Missouri State Hospital No. 4. Of the institutionalized individuals, 4.3% had evidence of hip fracture, significantly higher than the non-institutionalized (2.3%). Records revealed that many hip fractures were suffered around the time of death in state hospitals and were preventable, resulting from structural issues tied to understaffing and underfunding. Forensic and clinical literature, as well as current news media, indicate that structural violence in the forms of underfunding and understaffing continues to manifest as hip fractures harming institutionalized individuals today. This paper demonstrates how an anthropological perspective using paleopathological analysis sheds light on the chronicity and time depth of this issue, with the aim of driving public policy to entrench the equitable care of institutionalized people as a human right.


For a broad class of nonlinear continuous-time systems this paper addresses the problem of satisfying input and/or state hard constraints. The approach consists of adding to a primal compensated nonlinear system a Reference Governor (RG). This is a predictive discrete-time device which, taking into account the current value of the state, filters the desired reference trajectory in such a way that a nonlinear primal compensated control system can operate in a stable way with satisfactory tracking performance and no constraint violation. The resulting hybrid system is proved to fulfill the constraints, as well as stability and tracking requirements, and the related computational burden turns out to be moderate and executable with current computing hardware.


Many standardized tests are now administered via computer rather than paper-and-pencil format. In a computer-based testing environment, it is possible to record not only the test taker's response to each question (item) but also the amount of time spent by the test taker in considering and answering each item. Response times (RTs) provide information not only about the test taker's ability and response behavior but also about item and test characteristics. This study focuses on the use of RTs to detect aberrant test-taker responses. An example of such aberrance is a correct answer with a short RT on a difficult question. Such aberrance may be displayed when a test taker or test takers have preknowledge of the items. Another example is rapid guessing, wherein the test taker displays unusually short RTs for a series of items. When rapid guessing occurs at the end of a timed test, it often indicates that the test taker has run out of time before completing the test. In this study, Bayesian tests of significance for detecting various types of aberrant RT patterns are proposed and evaluated. In a simulation study, the tests were successful in identifying aberrant response patterns. A real data example is given to illustrate the use of the proposed person-fit tests for RTs.


Abstract Privacy preference signals are digital representations of how users want their personal data to be processed. Such signals must be adopted by both the sender (users) and intended recipients (data processors). Adoption represents a coordination problem that remains unsolved despite efforts dating back to the 1990s. Browsers implemented standards like the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) and Do Not Track (DNT), but vendors profiting from personal data faced few incentives to receive and respect the expressed wishes of data subjects. In the wake of recent privacy laws, a coalition of AdTech firms published the Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF), which defines an optin consent signal. This paper integrates post-GDPR developments into the wider history of privacy preference signals. Our main contribution is a high-frequency longitudinal study describing how TCF signal gained dominance as of February 2021. We explore which factors correlate with adoption at the website level. Both the number of third parties on a website and the presence of Google Ads are associated with higher adoption of TCF. Further, we show that vendors acted as early adopters of TCF 2.0 and provide two case-studies describing how Consent Management Providers shifted existing customers to TCF 2.0. We sketch ways forward for a pro-privacy signal.


s of Papers in English Dicluster stopping power of a two-dimensional electron gas at high velocities T. Vazifehshenas S. Saberi-Pouya Received: ... Accepted: ... Abstract In this paper, we calculate the dicluster stopping power of a two dimensional electron gas based on the dielectric function formalism at high velocities and temperatures. The dielectric function is derived by using the method of moments in which the effects of correlation have been included, and from that we obtain the dicluster stopping power in terms of the inter-ion spacing for different values of coupling coefficient, degeneracy parameter and velocity of projectile. The results show that with decreasing the coupling coefficient or increasing the degeneracy parameter, the Friedel oscillations appear at shorter inter-ion distances and quickly damped at higher velocities. Also, it is found out that the stopping power of the system is proportional to the inverse of the dicluster's velocity.In this paper, we calculate the dicluster stopping power of a two dimensional electron gas based on the dielectric function formalism at high velocities and temperatures. The dielectric function is derived by using the method of moments in which the effects of correlation have been included, and from that we obtain the dicluster stopping power in terms of the inter-ion spacing for different values of coupling coefficient, degeneracy parameter and velocity of projectile. The results show that with decreasing the coupling coefficient or increasing the degeneracy parameter, the Friedel oscillations appear at shorter inter-ion distances and quickly damped at higher velocities. Also, it is found out that the stopping power of the system is proportional to the inverse of the dicluster's velocity.


A method for separating into definite sets of a complex mixture of fragments obtained by DNA cleavage with IIS- or IIN-types of restriction endonucleases producing single-stranded termini of different sequences at the fragment ends has been developed. The method is based on the ligation of short double-stranded adapters with single-stranded termini complementary to the termini of a selected set of fragments followed by PCR-amplification with the primer which represents a strand of the adapters. Using endonucleases BcoKI and Bli7361 recognizing sequences CTCTTC and GGTCTC and producing three- and four-nucleotide 5'-termini, respectively, it has been shown that amplification of a set of fragments occurs only when the adapters are attached to DNA fragments with DNA-ligase. Several applications of the SAGF-method are suggested: for obtaining individual bands in DNA fingerprinting; for reducing the kinetic complexity of DNA in the representational difference analysis (RDA method) of complex genomes; for cataloguing DNA fragments, and for constructing physical genomic maps.


Compared to well-tolerated p3 fusion, the display of fast-folding proteins fused to the minor capsid p7 and the major capsid p8, as well as in vivo biotinylation of biotin acceptor peptide (AP) fused to p7, are found to be markedly inefficient using the filamentous phage. Here, to overcome such limitations, the effect of translocation pathways, amber mutation, and phage and phagemid display systems on p7 and p8 display of antibody-binding domains are examined, while comparing the level of in vivo biotinylation of AP fused to p7 or p3. Interestingly, the in vivo biotinylation of AP occurs only in p3 fusion and the fast-folding antibody-binding scaffolds fused to p7 and p8 are best displayed via a twin-arginine translocation pathway in TG1 cells. The lower the expression level of the wild-type p8 and the smaller the size of the guest protein, the better the display of Z-domain fused to the recombinant p8. The in vivo biotinylated multifunctional filamentous virus-like particles can be vertically immobilized on streptavidin (SAV)-coated microspheres to resemble cellular microvilli-like structures, which reportedly enhance protein-protein interactions due to dramatically expanded flexible surface area.


INTRODUCTION :
Stroke is defined as rapidly developing clinical signs of focal or global disturbance of cerebral function with symptoms lasting for 24 hours or more, it is the most common neurological disorder worldwide. Stroke is also known as Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA), derived from Greek word which means 'Struck Down with violence'.
AIMS :
This study is done to compare lipoprotein (a) level in Type II diabetic and non-diabetic patient with ischemic stroke, to know any significant association present with lipoprotein (a) levels and ischemic stroke, to identify whether diabetic patients have significantly high lipoprotein (a) value compared non diabetic and to evaluate whether lipoprotein (a) level can use as an early marker to assess severity of ischemic stroke.
STUDY METHODS :
This is a cross sectional study done on 100 patients with ischemic stroke who attended Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital over a period of 6 months from June 2013 to November 2013. Patients with age above 40 years were studied. Of the 100 patients studied 50 patients under group 1 were type II diabetic and 50 patients under group 2 were non diabetic. Diagnosis of stroke was made clinically and radiologically CT proven. Lipoprotein(a) levels were measured for all these patients.The disease morbidity was assessed using the Scandinavian scoring system.
RESULTS AND OBSERVATION :
33 patients under group 1(diabetic population) and 23 patients under group 2 (non-diabetic population) had lipoprotein levels in the high risk category [Lp(a)= 30 to 50 mg/dl]. There is a significant difference in the association of Lp(a) levels and ischemic stroke p value 0.044 and there is significant association between diabetic and non-diabetic population(p value=0.047). The rise in Lp(a) levels to assess the disease severity by Scandinavian scoring system was not significant(p value=0.099).
CONCLUSION :
High lipoprotein (a) level significantly associated with ischemic stroke. The Lp(a) levels were significantly higher inpatients with type II diabetes than those without diabetes. Lp(a) cannot be used as a marker to assess the severity of ischemic stroke.


The majority of dental procedures can be performed with an awake patient and the use of a local anesthetic, but when deep sedation and general anesthesia are needed, they typically are provided by those dentists with advanced training in anesthesiology, i.e., oral and maxillofacial surgeons and dentist anesthesiologists. Dental anesthesiology began with the discovery of anesthesia by a dentist in 1844 and has been recognized as a separate discipline in dentistry for nearly 70 years. Training over this time evolved from apprenticeships to one-year training programs, and in 2007, the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) began accrediting two-year dental anesthesiology training programs. Since 2015, in recognition of the increasing complexity of the discipline, training has required three years of postgraduate study. The number of dentist anesthesiologists has grown with the increasing demand for anesthesia services by both the public and the profession. However, the present number of dentist anesthesiologists is not sufficient to meet the demand, so additional programs and growth in current programs are needed. Another valuable aspect of this discipline is its role as a positive example of interdepartmental collaboration since dental anesthesiology faculty, as members of a support discipline, typically work across many of the other departments in a dental school. This article reviews the history of the discipline, describes the educational goals and CODA standards for dental anesthesiology programs, using one program as an example, and discusses the needs and challenges that will shape the discipline's development in the future.


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Background : Somatic gene mutations occur in the majority of MDS pts; specific mutations and high mutation frequency have prognostic relevance (Papaemmanuil et al. Blood. 2013;122:3616-27). Evaluation of somatic mutations may support the diagnosis of MDS and guide treatment (Tx) selection. The phase 3 randomized MDS-005 study compared LEN and placebo (PBO) Tx in red blood cell transfusion-dependent (RBC-TD) non-del(5q) lower-risk MDS pts ineligible for or refractory to ESAs. Deletions in chromosome 5q are associated with a high response rate to LEN in MDS pts; however, no mutations have been definitively associated with a predictable clinical response to LEN in non-del(5q) MDS.

Aim :To investigate the relationship between somatic gene mutations detected by targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) and response and overall survival (OS) in lower-risk non-del(5q) MDS pts treated with LEN in the MDS-005 study.

Methods : Eligible pts were: RBC-TD (≥ 2 units packed RBCs/28 days 112 days immediately prior to randomization) with International Prognostic Scoring System defined Low-/Intermediate-1-risk non-del(5q) MDS; ineligible for ESA Tx (serum erythropoietin > 500 mU/mL); or unresponsive or refractory to ESAs (RBC-TD despite ESA Tx with adequate dose and duration). 239 pts were randomized 2:1 to oral LEN 10 mg once daily (5 mg for pts with creatinine clearance 40-60 mL/min) or PBO. DNA was isolated from bone marrow mononuclear cells or whole blood collected at screening from a subset of pts who gave informed consent for this exploratory biomarker analysis and had adequate tissue for analysis. Targeted NGS of 56 genes was performed at Munich Leukemia Laboratory; average sequencing coverage was 2,000-5,000-foldand the variant allele frequency detection cutoff was 3%. Target regions varied by gene, including all exons to hotspots. For association tests, mutant variants (heterozygous or homozygous) were scored as 1 (mutant) or 0 (wildtype) for gene-level analyses. A Fisher exact test was used to test association of mutation status with response. Median OS was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were determined by a non-stratified Cox proportional hazards model. A log-rank test was used to test treatment effect with OS for single gene mutation status.

Results : The biomarker cohort included 198 of 239 pts (83%; LEN n = 130, PBO n = 68). At least 1 mutation was detected in 30/56 (54%) genes and 173/198 (87%) pts. The most frequently mutated genes were SF3B1 (59%), TET2 (33%), ASXL1 (23%), and DNMT3A (14%); the most frequent co-mutations were SF3B1/TET2 (23%), SF3B1/DNMT3A (10%), SF3B1/ASXL1 (10%), and TET2/ASXL1 (9%) (Figure). Of 116 pts with SF3B1 mutations, 115 (99%) had ≥ 5% ring sideroblasts. The 56-day RBC transfusion-independence (RBC-TI) response rate was significantly lower in LEN-treated ASXL1 mutant pts vs wildtype pts (10% vs 32%, respectively; P = 0.031). At 168 days, the RBC-TI response rate was still lower in LEN-treated ASXL1 mutant pts vs wildtype pts (7% vs 22%); however, the difference was not significant ( P = 0.101). LEN-treated DNMT3A mutant pts had a higher 56-day RBC-TI response rate vs wildtype pts (44% vs 25%); however, this difference did not reach significance ( P = 0.133) due to the small sample size. RBC-TI response rate with LEN was similar regardless of total number of mutations per pt. Higher numbers of mutations were significantly associated ( P = 0.0005) with worse median OS. Mutation in any of the genes associated with a negative prognosis reported by Bejar et al. (N Engl J Med. 2011;346:2496-506) was also significantly associated ( P = 0.0003) with worse median OS.However, OS was not significantly different in LEN- vs PBO-treated pts based on any single gene mutation status.

Conclusions : In this group of lower-risk RBC-TD non-del(5q) MDS pts, somatic mutations in genes recurrently mutated in myeloid cancers were detected in 87% of pts. SF3B1 mutations (alone or in combination) were most frequent and not associated with response to LEN. ASXL1 mutant pts had a significantly lower LEN response rate vs wildtype pts, whereas DNMT3A mutant pts had a trend for improved LEN response. Median OS was influenced by mutations, but not significantly modified by LEN. Determining predictive clinical markers for Tx response in non-del(5q) MDS pts remains challenging; nevertheless, there is a significant need to identify pt subsets who may be responsive to LEN Tx.

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Figure.

Disclosures Santini: Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Other: advisory board; Onconova: Other: advisory board; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Astex: Other: advisory board. Fenaux: Celgene, Janssen, Novartis, Astex, Teva: Research Funding; Celgene, Novartis, Teva: Honoraria. Giagounidis: Celgene Corporation: Consultancy. Platzbecker: Janssen-Cilag: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene Corporation: Honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria, Research Funding; TEVA Pharmaceutical Industries: Honoraria, Research Funding. Zhong: Celgene Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Wu: Celgene Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Mavrommatis: Discitis DX: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Beach: Celgene Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Hoenekopp: Celgene Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. MacBeth: Celgene Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding.

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Background and Aims A new additional protein supplement (Aptamil Protein+®/Milupa) was developed to meet special protein requirements of infants with a birthweight below 1000g (4.0–4.5 g protein/kg/day). So far it was unknown, how this new protein supplement influences osmolarity, which is known to be a risk factor for necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of fortification on the osmolarity of human milk (HM). Methods Osmolarity of breast milk was measured in native HM, in HM+ HMF (human milk fortifier; Aptamil FMS 4.3%®, Milupa) and in HM+ HMF+ Protein+ gaining in 0.5 g steps up to 4 g. Measurements were performed immediately after adding on fortifier and/or protein and after 24 hours. In addition, changes in osmolarity after adding therapeutic additives like iron (Ferrum Hausmann®, Vifor), multivitamine supplement (Protovit®, Bayer) and calcium-phosphorus capsules were measured. Results Osmolarity of native human milk (n=84) was 297mosm/l, (=Median, Range 278–348). Adding HMF increased osmolarity up to 436mosm/l (=Median; Range 386–486). Additional Protein+ supplementation increased osmolarity by 23.5mosm/l (Median) per 0.5g step, up to a maximum of 605 mosm/l (+4g). Osmolarity of HM/fortifier/Protein+ mixes remained stable for 24 hours. Multivitamin supplements increased osmolarity up to 842mosm/l. Discussion Additional Protein+ increased osmolarity of HM up to a critical cut off point (>400mosmol) and therefore might be a risk factor for developing NEC. Additional fortification of HM +HMF with Protein+ should not be applied together with multivitamins or other additives.


There has been devised a surgical treatment for hallux valgus, based on a conception rational in mechanism and pathology, which is technically facile and has been justified by its end results. It is not to be recommended to the surgeon who allows half an hour for the cure of bunions.


Horizontal records of ocean-bottom seismographs are usually noisy at low frequencies (< 0.1 Hz). The noise source is believed to be associated with ocean-bottom currents that may tilt the instrument. Currently horizontal records are mainly used to remove the coherent noise in vertical records, and there has been little literature that quantitatively discusses the mechanism and characteristics of low-frequency horizontal noise. In this article, we analyze in situ ocean-bottom measurements by rotating the data horizontally and evaluating the coherency between different channels. Results suggest that the horizontal noise consists of two components, random noise and principle noise whose direction barely changes in time. The amplitude and the direction of the latter are possibly related to the intensity and direction of ocean-bottom currents. Rotating the horizontal records to the direction of the principle noise can largely suppress the principle noise in the orthogonal horizontal channel. In addition, the horizontal noise is incoherent with pressure, indicating that the noise source is not ocean surface water waves (infragravity waves). At some stations in shallow waters (<300 m), horizontal noise around 0.07 Hz is found to be linearly proportional to the temporal derivative of pressure, which is explained by forces of added mass due to infragravity waves.


Conversion of CO2 for the synthesis of chemicals by photosynthetic organisms is an attractive target for establishing independence from fossil reserves. However, synthetic pathway construction in cyanobacteria is still in its infancy compared with model fermentative organisms. Here we systematically developed the 2,3-butanediol (23BD) biosynthetic pathway in Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942 as a model system to establish design methods for efficient exogenous chemical production in cyanobacteria. We identified 23BD as a target chemical with low host toxicity, and designed an oxygen-insensitive, cofactor-matched biosynthetic pathway coupled with irreversible enzymatic steps to create a driving force toward the target. Production of 23BD from CO2 reached 2.38 g/L, which is a significant increase for chemical production from exogenous pathways in cyanobacteria. This work demonstrates that developing strong design methods can continue to increase chemical production in cyanobacteria.


Program comments have long been used as a common practice for improving inter-programmer communication and code readability, by explicitly specifying programmers' intentions and assumptions. Unfortunately, comments are not used to their maximum potential, as since most comments are written in natural language, it is very difficult to automatically analyze them. Furthermore, unlike source code, comments cannot be tested. As a result, incorrect or obsolete comments can mislead programmers and introduce new bugs later.

This position paper takes an initiative to investigate how to explore comments beyond their current usage. Specifically, we study the feasibility and benefits of automatically analyzing comments to detect software bugs and bad comments. Our feasibility and benefit analysis is conducted from three aspects using Linux as a demonstration case. First, we study comments' characteristics and found that a significant percentage of comments are about "hot topics" such as synchronization and memory allocation, indicating that the comment analysis may first focus on hot topics instead of trying to "understand" any arbitrary comments. Second, we conduct a preliminary analysis that uses heuristics (i.e. keyword searches) with the assistance of natural language processing techniques to extract information from lock-related comments and then check against source code for inconsistencies. Our preliminary method has found 12 new bugs in the latest version of Linux with 2 already confirmed by the Linux Kernel developers. Third, we examine several open source bug databases and find that bad or inconsistent comments have introduced bugs, indicating the importance of maintaining comments and detecting inconsistent comments.


The problem of explaining deep learning models, and model predictions generally, has attracted intensive interest recently. Many successful approaches forgo global approximations in order to provide more faithful local interpretations of the model's behavior. LIME develops multiple interpretable models, each approximating a large neural network on a small region of the data manifold, and SP-LIME aggregates the local models to form a global interpretation. Extending this line of research, we propose a simple yet effective method, NormLIME, for aggregating local models into global and class-specific interpretations. A human user study strongly favored class-specific interpretations created by NormLIME to other feature importance metrics. Numerical experiments employing Keep And Retrain (KAR) based feature ablation across various baselines (Random, Gradient-based, LIME, SHAP) confirms NormLIME's effectiveness for recognizing important features.


We measure strong magnetic field intensities in a subwavelength gap separating two dielectric resonators. This dimer magnetic antenna is characterized in the GHz spectral regime when considering three conditions of illumination. We detail the different magneto-electric couplings involved in the enhancement of the near magnetic field and derive the analytical expression of the magnetic field intensities. The results reported here in the GHz domain can be extended to other spectral domains since they are obtained with a dielectric permittivity 16 that can be observed in a very broad spectrum ranging from optics to radio-frequencies.


Abstract For many decades most researchers, planners and local authorities have been focusing almost exclusively on urban growth and its socio-economic and spatial consequences. However, in the current debate concerning the future of cities and regions in Europe the process of their shrinkage starts to attract more attention. In the conditions of a declining population, urban governance is an important challenge for local authorities, being usually much more difficult than during the periods of population growth. The experience of cities affected by shrinkage shows that there is no simple method of counteracting negative consequences of this process. Regeneration strategies vary a lot, depending mostly on the way the problem is perceived by both central and local governments. The strategies can either choose an adaptive approach (the acceptance of shrinkage and adjustment to it), or attempt to renew growth (shrinkage is treated as just a temporary phenomenon). Quite often the problem is ignored and no action is taken at all. In the paper the authors discuss the conditions and consequences of different approaches towards the process of shrinkage and present examples of regeneration strategies (together with their assessment). They conclude with recommendations for future urban policies.


Utopianism provides a radical perspective of the future, designed to show how much better it can be than the present. The problem is that what is a dream of perfection for some may well be a nightmare for others. Thus, in the case of London, views of the city's future can be represented in one of three contrasting models. There is first, the Utopia of metropolis, an idealization of the large modern city – a source of enthusiasm for some but anathema for others. A second model is the Utopia of anti‐urbanism, envisaging the disintegration of the metropolis in favour of small settlements in the countryside. Finally, there is a model of suburban idyll, enjoying the benefits of the city centre yet, importantly, cherishing the bucolic delights of leafy avenues. This paper presents the main features of each of these models, from the end of the nineteenth century until the present, showing how each, in turn, evokes its own opposition as well as advocacy. It sees merit in Utopian perspectives but also pitfalls.


This paper describes an experimental and theoretical investigation of laminar boundary layer response to harmonic oscillations in velocity associated with a travelling wave imposed on an otherwise constant freestream velocity and convected in the freestream direction. An oscillatory flow wind tunnel and recording system were set up to produce and measure laminar boundary layer velocity profiles over frequencies of 2–10 Hz for freestream amplitudes of up to 14 % of the mean velocity. An analysis on the lines of Lighthill's theory but applying for any travelling wave convection velocity has been developed for both the low and high frequency cases. The experiments show that for a wide range of amplitude and frequency of oscillation the mean flow characteristics are the same as those of steady flow. This supports a major assumption of the theory which is linear in terms of the oscillating perturbations. Comparisons between theory and experiment show satisfactory agreement although the experimental results are largely for frequencies between the extreme ranges of the theories and they display features which are special to that intermediate frequency range. It is found that the boundary layer response is predominantly affected by the travelling wave convection velocity and frequency. In the experiments the freestream oscillation amplitudes increased with downstream distance but the effects of this increase are shown to be negligible.


For the problem to maximize spectral efficiency of OFDMA-TDD systems while satisfying bandwidth demands and the average bit error rate (BER) constraints of users, a resource allocation algorithm based on bandwidth demands of users is proposed. The user weights are introduced and the Max weighted-SNR scheduling strategy based on bandwidth demands of users is proposed. Based on this strategy,the closed expression of average BER with channel estimation error and Channel Quality Information (CQI) delay is achieved, and above problem is decomposed into the subchannel allocation problem and the problem of rate adaptation threshold vector optimization. The proposed Max weighted-SNR scheduling strategy is used to allocate subchannel to satisfy bandwidth demands of users. By Lagrange multiplier approach, this (J-1) dimensional optimization problem of rate adaptation threshold vector is transformed into one-dimensional optimization problem, resulting in optimal solution. This algorithm not only can satisfy bandwidth demands of users,but also adapt to the change of Imperfect Channel Quality Information (ICQI) accuracy and provides the corresponding optimal rate adaptation threshold vector so as to maximize spectral efficiency while satisfying the average BER constraints of users. Copyright © 2014 IFSA Publishing, S. L.


UNLABELLED
The aim of this study was to assess whether an in vitro preparation of force-generating human atrial trabeculae driven by external electrical stimulation is a suitable model for determining myocardial uptake of cardiotropic radiopharmaceuticals.

METHODS
Human atrial trabeculae were excised from specimens removed during cardiac surgery for insertion of heart-lung apparatus. Preparations were kept under physiologic conditions in a chamber continuously perfused by Tyrode's solution at 37 degrees C under permanent oxygenation. Electrical stimulation was performed at a frequency of 1 Hz. Contractile response was continuously measured by a force transducer and registered by a lineacorder. The optimum length of the trabeculae was achieved by stepwise increases of 0.1 mm muscle length. A premixed solution containing 1.92-4.06 MBq 201TI-TICI was added to the perfusate of the chamber. After 10, 30, and 60 min, respectively, of incubation with 201TI-TICI, the atrial trabeculae were removed from the chamber and their activity was measured by a gamma counter. These experiments were repeated with nonviable trabeculae pretreated by potassium cyanide (KCN). Myocardial uptake values were measured as cts/min, normalized to cts/min/mg, and expressed as percentages of cts/mL/min in the perfusate (RUP).

RESULTS
Thallium uptake was found to be dependent on the functional integrity of the tissue preparations and increased over time in intact atrial trabeculae. RUP was 325% +/- 108% after 10 min of incubation and rose to 838% +/- 160% and 1196% +/- 493%, respectively, at 30 and 60 min of incubation (P < 0.01). After 30 min of incubation, RUP was significantly higher in viable than in nonviable trabeculae (838% +/- 160% versus 90% +/- 65%; P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION
These preliminary results indicate that the model proposed is suitable for studying the mechanisms of uptake of cardiotropic radiopharmaceuticals by human myocardial tissue.


High-power single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) lasers are crucial for applications such as LIGO, sodium guide stars, isotope separation and atom cooling, but are challenging due to gain profile inhomogeneities and spatial hole burning. This work shows that a SLM 620 nm laser is firstly achieved using a standing-wave diamond Raman resonator with intracavity second harmonic generation (SHG). In addition to the benefits of the spatial hole burning-free gain medium [1], SHG provides a valuable additional mechanism for increasing gain competition and therefore enhancing SLM stability. Nascent secondary modes experience double the nonlinear loss in the SHG crystal due to the role of sum frequency generation with the primary mode [2]. A further feature of the current external standing-wave cavity design is that the cavity is non-resonant at the pump frequency, thereby allowing the laser to be pumped without mutual control of the wavelength and cavity length and by using multi-longitudinal-mode (MLM) lasers with a spacing different to the free-spectral-range of the diamond Raman laser.


This paper examines the impact of college education on workers' subsequent careers, based on a direct role of college graduation on the revelation of workers' individual ability. Using NLSY79, we document a positive relationship between ability and signaling behavior for high school graduates and a non-positive relationship for college graduates. Moreover, we show active job mobility for high ability high school graduates. We argue that these patterns are the result of post-schooling signaling of high school graduates whose individual ability, unlike college graduates, is not observed in the beginning of their careers.


Achieving higher levels of transparency and accountability in education systems is essential for attaining an adequate distribution of educational opportunities. Studies of corruption in education systems are important since they can contribute to increasing public awareness of the harmful effects of corruption and promote political support for the implementation of anti-corruption initiatives in education. This paper describes a typology of corrupt practices and develops a classification for the findings reported in the literature on corruption in education, such as causes, consequences and recommendations, as well as a classification of the methodologies applied to the study of corrupt practices. Finally, it describes the possible implications of these findings for policymakers.


A post-collision interaction (PCI) is considered in resonant processes of an excitation of an autoionizing (AI) state by a positive projectile followed by its decay. The general analytical formulae for an amplitude and a cross section are obtained for the case when PCI yields the production of the bound state of the pair: projectile-AI electron. The partial sigma n,l and total sigma n cross sections of the bound-state creation are investigated. The specific examples of the reactions e+He and p+Ar are calculated in the resonant region of energies.


The present study was conducted to develop a new animal model of neuropathic pain employing injury to the distal sciatic nerve branches. Under halothane anesthesia, the tibial, sural, and/or common peroneal nerves were injured and neuropathic pain behaviors were compared among different groups of rats. Different types of injury produced different levels of neuropathic pain. Rats with injury to the tibial and sural nerves showed the most vigorous mechanical allodynia, cold allodynia, and spontaneous pain. These neuropathic pain behaviors were not relieved by functional sympathectomy using guanethidine. The results suggested that injury to the tibial and sural nerves, while leaving the common peroneal nerve intact, can be used as a new animal model of neuropathic pain and that this model represents sympathetically independent pain (SIP). The present animal model is very simple to produce injury and can produce profound and reliable pain behaviors. These features enable the new animal model to be a useful tool in elucidating the mechanisms of neuropathic pain, especially SIP.


To understand the beneficial interaction of sugarcane rhizosphere actinobacteria in promoting plant growth and managing plant diseases, this study investigated the potential role of sugarcane rhizospheric actinobacteria in promoting plant growth and antagonizing plant pathogens. We isolated 58 actinobacteria from the sugarcane rhizosphere, conducted plant growth-promoting (PGP) characteristics research, and tested the pathogenic fungi in vitro. Results showed that BTU6 (Streptomyces griseorubiginosus), the most representative strain, regulates plant defense enzyme activity and significantly enhances sugarcane smut resistance by regulating stress resistance-related enzyme (substances (POD, PAL, PPO, TP) in sugarcane) activity in sugarcane. The genomic evaluation indicated that BTU6 has the ability to biosynthesize chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, and various secondary metabolites and plays an essential role in the growth of sugarcane plants under biotic stress. Potential mechanisms of the strain in improving the disease resistance of sugarcane plants and its potential in biodegrading exogenous chemicals were also revealed. This study showed the importance of sugarcane rhizosphere actinobacteria in microbial ecology and plant growth promotion.


Many studies have documented the safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of long-acting opioids (L-AOs), such as methadone and buprenorphine, in the treatment of heroin addiction. This article reviews the pharmacological differences between L-AO medications and short-acting opioids (heroin) in terms of reinforcing properties, pharmacokinetics, effects on the endocrine and immune systems. Given their specific pharmacological profile, L-AOs contribute to control addictive behavior, reduce craving, and restore the balance of disrupted endocrine function. The use of the term "substitution," referring to the fact that methadone or buprenorphine replace heroin in binding to brain opioid receptors, has been generalized to consider L-AOs as simple replacement of street drugs, thus contributing to the widespread misunderstanding of this treatment approach.


The international literature on minimum wage greatly lacks empirical evidence from developing countries. Brazil's minimum wage policy is a distinctive and central feature of the economy. Not only are minimum wage increases large and frequent but also they have been used as anti-inflation policy, in addition to social policy. This study estimates the effects of the minimum wage on wages, employment and prices using panel data techniques and monthly household data from 1982 to 2000. Robust results indicate that minimum wage increases strongly compress the wage distribution, has moderately small adverse effects on employment, and raises overall prices in Brazil. This evidence is consistent with a rapid wage-price spiral and an inelastic labour demand curve. On the one hand, the compression effect vanishes away because of the wage-price spiral that follows. On the other hand, employment effects are small because firms anticipate the spiral and do not adjust employment to avoid incurring adjustment costs. In summary, the minimum wage temporarily increases the wages of low paid workers, does not destroy too many jobs and causes some price inflation in Brazil.


Abstract In 1995, the construction of a medium wave vector spinecho spectrometer MUSES started at the guide Glbis of the Orphée reactor. This new instrument was a joint venture between TU München and LLB. The first echo was reported in 1996 [l]. In 1998, it was the first spectrometer using the neutron resonance principle (NRSE) [2] for spin-echo measurements to be open to external users[3]. Since that time, there were several attempts to use it in the field of dynamics of biological systems. We report here on two different studies dealing, on one hand, with the diffusion mechanisms of proteins in concentrated solutions and, on the other hand, with internal dynamics in proteins.


The aim of this paper is to assess the reliability of the government deficit and debt figures reported to the European Commission by Member States. Reliability is one of the several dimensions of quality in statistics; it refers to the magnitudes of data revisions after the publication of the first outcomes. The measurement of the data reliability and inference about potential future revisions are particularly relevant for fiscal surveillance in the EU since statistical institutes take a long time - usually four years - to provide final data, while the decisions on the Stability and Growth Pact context are taken on the basis of the first estimates available shortly after the end of each year. The paper shows that there are very significant differences in reliability among Member States and indicates the margins of uncertainty in relation to the most recent years' data. It also compares the reliability of deficit and debt figures; checks that the shift from ESA79 to ESA95 did not generally harm the reliability of data and suggests that the size of deficits may have an impact on the way statistical offices revise data.


The control and protection of a user data is a very important aspect in the design and deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT). In this paper we propose a security-based modelling language for IoT systems, which explicitly represents data access controls. The language leverages the analysis of potential security failures resulting from a series of interactions between heterogeneous components of a system. We implemented a tool that automatically transforms IoT models into BIP models, which can then be simulated and analyzed for security guarantees. We illustrate the features of our language with a use-case inspired by an industrial scenario.


In multi-actor governance systems, experimenting is believed to be essential to enhance the adaptive capacity by learning about alternatives. 'Show that it works' is an essential step en route to 'make it happen'. The key challenge for innovators then becomes finding opportunities to show that it works.
Building with nature is an innovative strategy for designing and developing projects at the interface between land and water. Its goal is to reconcile social-economic and ecological goals of water infrastructure project and especially to make productive use of the natural processes like wind, tide, current, waves as well as the interaction between the biotic and abiotic systems.
The Ecoshape Building with Nature program organized several pilot projects in the Eastern Scheldt, South Holland coast and lake IJssel in the Netherlands as well as abroad to show that building with nature works. These experiments all came with substantial and uncertain impacts on the physical environment and/or were embedded in political sensitive plans and are- as. So connecting to the relevant agendas, finding support, concerting actors and resources present key issues for success.


A Monte Carlo simulation is presented which represents the effects of gas scattering and mask design on the deposition profile of optical thin films. The results verify that gas scattering can be a primary cause of the convex profile seen on multilayer dielectric coatings. The model also predicts shifts in wavelength centering which can be seen in real optics. The fit of the theory to data is qualitatively good, but the model tends to underestimate the amount of real curvature. This difference may be attributed to the simplicity of the assumptions used in the calculations.


ABSTRACT A 25,441-bp transposon was recovered from a Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolate. While the transposition module was >99% identical to sequence of Tn1403, the element had been subject to rearrangements, with two In70.2-like class 1 integrons inserted into it in an unusual "tail-to-tail" configuration. One cassette array was the same as that in In70.2; however, the second was different, generating a transposon that collectively includes six resistance cassettes.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the factors associated with the occurrence of transplant renal artery stenosis (TRAS).

METHODS
A retrospective analysis was conducted in 26 recipients who developed TRAS and 40 concurrent renal recipients without TRAS. We also conducted a nested case-control study in 14 patients with TRAS (TRAS-SD group) and another 14 non-TRAS recipients who received the allograft from the same donor (non-TRAS-SD group).

RESULTS
Compared with those in the concurrent recipients without TRAS, acute rejection (AR) occurred at a significantly higher incidence (P=0.004) and the warm ischemia time (WIT) was significantly longer (P=0.015) and the level of high?density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL--C) significantly lower (P=0.009) in the recipients with TRAS. Logistic regression analysis suggested that AR (P=0.007) and prolonged WIT (P=0.046) were risk factors of TRAS while HDL-C (P=0.022) was the protective factor against TRAS. In recent years early diagnosis of TRAS had been made in increasing cases, the interval from transplantation to TRAS diagnosis became shortened steadily, and the recipients tended to have higher estimated glomerular filtration rate at the time of TRAS diagnosis.

CONCLUSION
Apart from the surgical technique, AR and prolonged WIT are also risk factors of TRAS while a high HDL-C level is the protective factor against TRAS. The improvement of the diagnostic accuracy by ultrasound is the primary factor contributing to the increased rate of early TRAS diagnosis in recent years.


Although numerous attempts have been made to forecast outcomes for prostate cancer after therapy using clinical and histological variables, the ability to accurately predict an individual's response to a specific treatment remains elusive. Recently, major advances in the field of genomics have made possible the near-comprehensive assessment of the genetic status of tumor genomes, with major concentration on predicting an individual's response to a specific treatment. Genomic approaches to treatment response include, but are not limited to, detection of gene rearrangements, DNA copy-number aberrations, single-nucleotide polymorphisms, epigenetic changes and differential gene-expression patterns. These approaches have been used to predict response to treatment for local and systemic disease in multiple small cohorts. Further study with larger cohorts and longer follow-up should result in more concordance among genomic approaches, and will enable physicians to gain insight into the heterogeneity of supposedly 'similar' cancers and help tailor treatments accordingly.


Background: Solus One Listeria is designed to accurately detect Listeria species (Listeria grayi, L. innocua, L. ivanovii, L. marthii, L. monocytogenes, L. seeligeri, and L. welshimeri) from stainless steel and plastic environmental surface matrixes using an antibody-based technology test system paired with proprietary SOLO+ media and combined with manual or automated sample preparation method. Objective: Solus One Listeria was evaluated for inclusivity and exclusivity and a matrix comparison study for two environmental surfaces. Methods: Solus One Listeria was compared with the following reference method for the method comparison study: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Bacteriological Analytical Manual Chapter 10 from stainless steel and plastic environmental surfaces. Both the manual and automated preparation methods were performed for stainless steel and plastic environmental surfaces. Results: For the inclusivity and exclusivity evaluation, Solus One Listeria correctly identified all 50 target organism isolates and correctly excluded all 30 nontarget strains that were analyzed. In the method comparison study, both Solus One Listeria manual and automated preparation methods demonstrated no significant differences based on probability of detection statistical analysis between presumptive and confirmed results or between candidate and reference method results for two environmental surfaces after 22-30 h of enrichment time. Probability of detection analysis of Solus One Listeria method robustness, product consistency (lot-to-lot), and stability studies using the automated preparation method demonstrated no statistically significant differences. Conclusions: The data from the study support the product claims of Solus One Listeria for the accurate detection of Listeria species, using both the manual and automated methods (using the Dynex DS2 instrument), on both environmental surfaces analyzed.


Advance equipment of a second generation is developed to investigate the formation process of bioceramic coatings on titanium surface by pulsed microplasma processes. The new equipment allows to record the voltammetric characteristics of the pulsed microplasma processes in electrolytic solutions keeping the solvable component such as hydroxyapatite and calcium phosphate. It is shown that the voltammetric characteristics depends on a nature of the electrode, composition of electrolyte, time of process,and polarization potential. The morphology of the obtained bioceramic coating was investigated. The analysis of the voltammetric dependencies shows, that the registration voltammetry curves allows to supervise the process of formation of bioceramic coatings and to construct bioceramic coatings with given properties.


This article documents a recent project translating COVID-19 information into Yiddish for the benefit of the Hasidic Jewish communities in London's Stamford Hill and in Manchester in the UK. The translation work developed as a response to the urgent need for Yiddish-language resources specifically designed for the Hasidic community near the beginning of the pandemic. The translations were undertaken by a team consisting of linguists and native speakers of Hasidic Yiddish and took place within the framework of a research project funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, dedicated to linguistic and sociolinguistic analysis of contemporary Hasidic Yiddish worldwide. In this article we discuss the sociolinguistic background to the translations and investigate the reasons why they were so urgently needed, before going on to address the issues encountered during the course of the translation process and the decisions taken in order to resolve them. These issues include the type of Yiddish chosen for the translations, the translation of medical terminology, gender-based linguistic differences affecting the translations, and specific cultural considerations that needed to be taken into account.


Background Although the implant success rate of left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) has increased and complications have decreased over time, there are still anatomically and technically complicated cases where novel LAA occluders may simplify the procedure and thus might potentially improve the clinical outcome. Objectives This study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of the newly designed device with isogenous barbs in LAAC. Methods Eight centers in China participated in this prospective study from July 2016 to April 2018. Peri- and post-procedural safety and efficacy were evaluated through scheduled follow-ups and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Results A total of 175 patients with a mean age of 68.4 ± 9.2 years old, a mean CHA2DS2-VASc score of 4.7 ± 1.8, and a mean HAS-BLED score of 3.2 ± 1.3, were included. The device was successfully implanted in 173 patients (98.9%). The device size ranged from 18 to 34 mm. Clinically relevant pericardial effusion (PEF) in the perioperative period, occurred in 3 patients (1.7%). TEE follow-up was available in 167 (96.5%) patients at 12-month. During follow-up, 9 patients suffered serious adverse event: 4 death (2.3%), 1 ischemic stroke (0.6%), and 2 gastro-intestinal bleeding (1.2%) and 2 device-related thrombus (DRT) (1.2%). Estimated annual thromboembolism rate reduced by 90% and estimated annual major bleeding rate reduced by 81% after LAAC with the newly designed device. Conclusion The newly designed device with isogenous barbs for LAAC could be performed effectively with a low incidence of adverse events and a high incidence of anatomic closure.