The following studies have been focused on studying two catalytic DNA molecules, the 8-17 and bipartite deoxyribozymes; both of which cleave single-strand RNA molecules. A new technique was developed to study the 8-17 by correlating photo-induced oxidative damage to its structure and structure folding transitions. A detailed mechanistic study was performed on the bipartite deoxyribozyme. Detailed structural information of the bipartite deoxyribozyme was obtained by photo-induced crosslinking and detailed mutation analyses. The charge flow patterns within an intricately folded DNA complex, the 8-17 bound to a DNA pseudosubstrate, incorporating three helical elements and two catalytically relevant loops were extensively studied. The stacking preferences of the three constituent helices were studied and provided evidence for significant transitions within the complex's global geometry. The patterns further suggested varying levels of solvent exposure of the complex's constituent parts, and revealed that a catalytically relevant cytosine within the folded complex exists in an unusual structural/electronic environment. The bipartite deoxyribozyme was found to have a mechanism of significant complexity. A dissection of metal usage indicated the involvement of two catalytically relevant magnesium ions for optimal activity. The deoxyribozyme was able to utilize manganese(lI) as well as magnesium; however titration with hexaamminecobalt(III) chloride inhibited the activity of the bipartite; this suggests that it is a metalloenzyme that utilizes metal hydroXide as a general base. Overall, the bipartite deoxyribozyme appeared to be kinetically distinct not only from the self-cleaving ribozymes but also from other in vitro selected, RNA-cleaving deoxyribozymes. The catalytic core of the bipartite deoxyribozyme was studied by mutagenesis and photo-induced crosslinking. Mutation analyses of the catalytic core revealed that a stem structure is important for the catalytic activity of the deoxyribozyme and that four bases within both loop regions are possible candidates for the direct co-ordination with the catalytically relevant divalent metal ions. Thio-modified nucleotides were substituted throughout the bipartite bound to a DNA pseudosubstrate. The mapping of the crosslinked species and the mutagenesis data suggested the catalytic core of the bipartite folded in a way that positions a stem region of a hairpin close to active site of the enzyme.


The authors report on 50 cases of mitral commissurotomies in open heart surgery. The operations were performed during a short by-pass with hemodilution. The procedure involved the sub-valvular system in more than half the cases. There was no operative death. 41 patients were seen again regularly. The results were deemed excellent in 24 cases, good in 8, average in 6 and bad in one. On the basis of this experience, the authors think it preferable to perform commissurotomies by sight.


Developing new wave energy technologies is risky, costly and time-consuming. The large diversity of concepts, components and evaluation criteria creates a vast design space of potentially feasible solutions. This paper aims to introduce a novel methodology for the holistic assessment of wave energy capabilities in various market applications based on sound Systems Engineering methods. The methodology provides a consistent hierarchy of performance metrics relevant to the given system of reference, design activity and development stage under consideration as a means to scrutinise wave energy requirements. Full traceability of system requirements and performance metrics is then facilitated by multi-criteria decision tools and aggregation logic, respectively. The qualitative assessment in the case studies has resulted in very different rankings of System Drivers and Stakeholders for the two market applications considered. However, the Stakeholder Requirements and Functional Requirements present a small variation in the weights for the two application markets which results in a quantitative assessment with very similar Global Merit. Finally, the performance benchmark using the Commercial Attractiveness and Technical Achievability concepts enables a more objective comparison in the utility-scale and remote generation markets and a way to concentrate innovation efforts before proceeding to the next development stage.


This experiment was conducted at College of Agriculture, University of Sulaimany to study the effect of different levels of Flaxseed powder (FP) as a source of omega-3 on the on the weight muscles and Fat partitioning and distribution for carcasses of Karadi lambs.It used 20 male Karadi lambs, with an average live-weight of 28 ± 0.398 kg and 4-5 months. They were randomly distributed to 4 treatments. FP was supplemented at the levels of 3%, 6% and 9% compared with the control group for 88 days. At the end of the experiment 12 lambs were slaughtered after overnight fasting of feed. Carcasses were chilled for 24 h at 4°C. Then, several measurements of carcass characteristics were taken. The results showed: higher (p<0.05) weights of the individual weight muscles located in different carcass region (pelvic limb, dorsal region and thoracic limb) were observed in Flax seed powder supplementation treatments. There were significant differences (p<0.05) in the carcass fat, offal and total fat in half animal body partitioning and distribution among treatments. Also it is noticed that the results of these traits were various. It can be concluded that using Flax seed powder (FP) as a source of omega-3 supplementation was increased muscles weight and reduced of carcass fat . These results were led to improvement of efficiency of meat production in Karadi lambs.


Methylmalonyl CoA-oxalacetate transcarboxylase (EC 2. 1. 3. 1) from Propionibacterium shermanii is a biotin enzyme of 670,000 molecular weight containing 6 moles of biotin per mole of enzyme. The active enzyme dissociates spontaneously at low ionic strength and alkaline pH to a mixture of inactive subunits. One type of subunit contains all the biotin of the original molecule. The biotin unit has an S(20,w) = 1.3S and a molecular weight of approximately 12,000. It contains 1 mole of biotin and 1 half-cystine per mole. Qualitative dansyl techniques indicate that alanine is the amino terminal residue of the biotin subunit.


The time relationship between low serum cholesterol and the subsequent development of malignant neoplasms was examined in a case-control study of 100 cases of cancer death and 393 controls. The serum cholesterol levels were followed by repeated blood analysis over a 16-year period. An association between low serum cholesterol and cancer death was found particularly for malignant neoplasms of the large intestine and rectum. This relationship diminished 7-16 years prior to death suggesting that the low serum cholesterol levels were an effect of the cancer in an early stage and not vice versa.


This paper reports an information-theoretic analysis of the inter-scale, inter-orientation and inter-location dependencies that exist between curvelet coefficients. We show that the marginal statistics of these coefficients can be accurately modeled using generalized Gaussian density functions. Though generally decorrelated, we find that curvelets exhibit unusually high dependencies in intra-band local micro-neighborhoods, of a magnitude not found for instance in classical wavelets. Furthermore, dependencies are subject to and decrease with increasing orientation and location differences. Finally, we conclude that intra-band coefficient dependencies are stronger than either their inter-scale or inter-direction counterparts.


Background The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) was the first evaluation instrument developed for screening for the signs and symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and is currently still the most used worldwide. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ability of the LSAS - self-report version (LSAS-SR) to discriminate different Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) clinical groups. Method The sample was composed of Brazilians university students, allocated into three different groups, i.e., cases (C=118), non-cases (NC=95) and subclinical cases (SC=39). To achieve the aim, calculations of the ROC Curve and ANOVA were performed. Results The results found were excellent regardless of the technique used, highlighting the discriminatory capacity of the LSAS-SR. The score equal to or greater than 32 is suggested as a cutoff score for the Brazilian population, since this presented balance between the standards evaluated and the ability to differentiate both clinical and subclinical SAD cases from non-cases. Conclusion Despite the specific sample used in this study being composed only of university students, the use of the LSAS-SR can be indicated, in the Brazilian setting, for SAD screening in both clinical and research contexts.


The paper deeply analyzes a novel network-wide power management problem, called Power-Aware Routing and Network Design with Bundled Links (PARND-BL), which is able to take into account both the relationship between the power consumption and the traffic throughput of the nodes and to power off both the chassis and even the single Physical Interface Card (PIC) composing each link. The solutions of the PARND-BL model have been analyzed by taking into account different aspects associated with the actual applicability in real network scenarios: (i) the time for obtaining the solution, (ii) the deployed network topology and the resulting topology provided by the solution, (iii) the power behavior of the network elements, (iv) the traffic load, (v) the QoS requirement, and (vi) the number of paths to route each traffic demand. Among the most interesting and novel results, our analysis shows that the strategy of minimizing the number of powered-on network elements through the traffic consolidation does not always produce power savings, and the solution of this kind of problems, in some cases, can lead to spliting a single traffic demand into a high number of paths.


ABSTRACT We aimed to investigate the influence of 4-wk of fish oil (FO) supplementation on markers of muscle damage, inflammation, muscle soreness, and muscle function during acute recovery from eccentric exercise in moderately trained males. Sixteen moderately-trained males ingested 5 g/d of FO (n = 8) or soybean oil (placebo) capsules (n = 8) for 4-wk prior to- and 3-d following an acute eccentric exercise bout. Eccentric exercise consisted of 12 sets of isokinetic knee extension and knee flexion. Indices of muscle damage, soreness, function and inflammation were measured at baseline and during exercise recovery. Eccentric exercise elicited an increase in muscle soreness (p < 0.010) and thigh volume (p < 0.001), and reduced peak isometric torque by 31.7 ± 6.9%, (p < 0.05, 95% CI 10.6–52.8) during 3-d of recovery. Blood omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid concentration was 14.9 ± 2.4% higher in FO than PLA (p < 0.01, 95% CI 9.8–20.1). However, FO did not ameliorate the cumulative creatine kinase response (expressed as AUC; p = 0.368), inflammation (p = 0.400), muscle soreness (p > 0.140), or muscle function (p > 0.249) following eccentric exercise. FO supplementation confers no clear benefit in terms of ameliorating the degree of muscle damage, or facilitating the muscle repair process, during acute eccentric exercise recovery. These data suggest that FO supplementation does not provide an effective nutritional strategy to promote exercise recovery, at least in moderately-trained young men. Abbreviations: ANOVA: Analysis of variance; AUC: Area under curve; CI: Confidence interval; CK: Creatine kinase; CMJ: Countermovement jump; COX: Cyclooxygenase; CRP: C-reactive protein; DHA: Docosahexaenoic acid; DOMS: Delayed-onset muscle soreness; EIMD: Exercise-induced muscle damage; En%: Energy percent; EPA: Eicosapentaenoic acid; FO: Fish oil; IL-6: Interleukin-6; LDH: Lactate dehydrogenase; LOX: Lipoxygenase; Mb: Myoglobin; mTOR: Mechanistic target of rapamycin; PLA: Placebo; ROM: Range of motion; ROS: Reactive oxygen species; SD: Standard deviation; SEM: Standard error of the mean; TNF-α: Tumour necrosis factor alpha; VAS: Visual analogue scale; Ω3-PUFA: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids; Ω6-PUFA: Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids Highlights The anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, alongside their propensity to incorporate into the muscle phospholipid membrane underpins the idea that fish oil supplementation may attenuate muscle damage and promote muscle repair following eccentric-based exercise. Four weeks of high-dose (5 g/d) fish oil supplementation prior to eccentric exercise failed to attenuate the rise in creatine kinase concentration and muscle soreness during acute exercise recovery in physically-active young men. Future studies are warranted to investigate the efficacy of combining omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids with other nutrients (i.e. protein/amino acids) for the promotion of muscle recovery following eccentric-based damaging exercise.


The Authors present a case of synchronous double gastric carcinoma in a 75-year-old man. Synchronous multiple gastric carcinoma (SMGC) constitutes 4% to 10% of all gastric cancers. It exhibits several clinicopathological characteristics that differ from those of solitary cancers: SMGC occurs in older people (men more than women); early carcinoma is observed more frequently in SMGC than in solitary cancers; the rate of intestinal type lesions is higher in multiple than in single gastric carcinoma. With regard to the pathogenesis of multiple gastric cancer, the theory proposing a multicentric or independent origin rather than the local or distant spread of one cancer (multifocality) has been favored.


The primary astrophysical source of the rare-earth elements is the rapid neutron capture process (r process). The rare-earth peak that is seen in the solar r-process residuals has been proposed to originate as a pile-up of nuclei during the end of the r process. We introduce a new method utilizing Monte Carlo studies of nuclear masses in the rare-earth region, that includes self-consistently adjusting β-decay rates and neutron capture rates, to find the mass surfaces necessary for the formation of the rare-earth peak. We demonstrate our method with two types of astrophysical scenario, one corresponding to conditions typical of hot winds from core-collapse supernovae and stellar-mass accretion disks, and one corresponding to conditions typical of the ejection of the material from the tidal tails of neutron star mergers. In each type of astrophysical condition, this method successfully locates a region of enhanced stability in the mass surface that is responsible for the rare-earth peak. For each scenario, we find that the change in the mass surface has qualitatively different features, thus future measurements can shed light on the type of environment in which the r process occurred.


INTRODUCTION
Omental infarction describes ischemic torsion of the distal portion of the omentum and constitutes an infrequent cause of acute abdominal pain in childhood of which few cases are known. Objec tive: To analyze through a clinical case the characteristics and management of this pathology, to consider this entity in the differential diagnosis of acute abdominal pain.

CLINICAL CASE
An 11-year- old child consulted the emergency department due to a 48-hour history of continuous abdominal pain, which had progressively increased. On the physical examination, the patient presented pain in the right side of the abdomen and the epigastric area, with no signs of peritoneal irritation, and was overweight (BMI 91st percentile). Biochemical analysis showed a slight increase in c-reactive protein (CRP) 41.31 mg/L (reference value < 3.0 mg/L) without leukocytosis and normal ultrasound study, without visualization of the appendix. Due to persistent pain, increased CRP, and absence of appen dix visualization in the ultrasound, the study was completed with an abdomen and pelvis CT scan which showed trabeculation of the fat of the anterior right subhepatic space, thus diagnosing omental infarction. The patient was hospitalized for conservative management with analgesia, anti-inflamma tory drugs, and fluid therapy, presenting good evolution in the first 48 hours.

CONCLUSION
Omental infarction is an infrequent cause of acute abdominal pain in childhood. Imaging studies play a funda mental role in the differential diagnosis of this entity with other clinical conditions of similar course, thus avoiding unnecessary surgical interventions.


This paper studies the outage probability minimization problem for state estimation of linear dynamical systems using multiple sensors, where an estimation outage is defined as an event when the state estimation error exceeds a pre-determined threshold. The sensors amplify-and-forward their measurements (using uncoded analog transmission) to a remote fusion center over wireless fading channels. For stable systems, the resulting infinite horizon problem can be formulated as a constrained average cost Markov decision process (MDP) control problem. A suboptimal power allocation that is less computationally intensive is proposed and numerical results demonstrate very close performance to the power allocation obtained from the solution of the MDP based average cost optimality equation. Motivated by practical considerations, assuming that sensors can transmit with only a finite number of power levels, optimization of the values of these levels is also considered using a stochastic approximation technique. In the case of unstable systems, a finite horizon formulation of the estimation outage minization problem is presented and solved. An extension to the problem of minimization of the expected error covariance is also studied.


A microcalorimeter is studied for testing heat capacity of thin films. The microcalorimeter is a suspended membrane supported by six microbridges, which is fabricated by the front-side surface micromachining. Compared to the bulk micro-machined one, the microcalorimeter has excellent mechanical strength and precisely controlled pattern size as well as good thermal characteristics that are essential to a microcalorimeter. The heating rate of the microcalorimeter is up to 2×105 K/s with 4.5 mW heating power in vacuum, and the heat capacity of the corresponding empty microcalorimeter is about 23.4 nJ/K at 300 K. By a pulse calorimetry, the heat capacity of Al thin films with thickness of 40–1150 nm are measured in the temperature range from 300 K to 420 K in vacuum. The mass of each sample is evaluated and the specific heat capacity is calculated. The results show that specific heat capacity of the 1150-nm Al film agrees well with the data of bulk Al reported in the literature. For the thinner films, enhanced heat capacity is observed.


Abstract Helicobacter pylori infection plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of gastric extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT). However, the host response to this infection is also important in the development of the disease. In particular, NADPH oxidases (NOXs) which generate reactive oxygen species are known to induce cell damage possibly leading to carcinogenesis. We analyze for the first time NOX expression in a series of well characterized gastric MALT lymphoma (GML) patients in comparison with controls. Our observation leads to the hypothesis that NOX2 expression is significantly associated with GML.


The antioxidant effects of seafennel (Crithmum maritimum L.) essential oil and rose (Rosa canina) methanol extract at different concentrations were tested in natural olive oil stored at 60 (cid:176)C, by measuring peroxide values and free oil acidity after regular intervals. All concentrations of both plant extracts showed antioxidant effect compared with control in experiments. The most effective extracts were 0.4% level of rose. The 0.2% concentrations of rose extract and seafennel oil and 0.4% level of seafennel oil followed in a decreasing order, respectively. The 0.2% level of seafennel oil in olive oil had more effect than those of only 0.02% concentrations of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Acidity values of seafennel oil at the 0.4% concentration were high compared with its 0.2% level. Acidity values of both rose concentrations were found partly similar.


We present a model of flavor based on a discrete local symmetry that reproduces all fermion masses and mixing angles both in the quark and lepton sectors. The particle content of the model is that of the standard model plus an additional flavon field. All the fields propagate in a fifth universal extra dimension and the flavor scale is associated with the cutoff of the 5D theory which is ∼ 10 TeV. The Yukawa matrices as well as the Majorana mass matrix for the neutrinos are generated by higher dimension operators involving the flavon field. When the flavon field acquires a vacuum expectation value it breaks the flavor symmetry and thus generates the Yukawa couplings. The model is consistent with the nearly bimaximal solution to the solar and atmospheric neutrino deficits. email@example.com firstname.lastname@example.com


Introduction. Plasmid-mediated resistance to the glycopeptide antibiotics vancomycin and teicoplanin was first detected in 1986 (35, 53). It was rapidly shown that glycopeptide-resistant enterococci had a broad geographical distribution and were phenotypically and genotypically heterogeneous (Table 1). Strains displaying the VanA resistance phenotype have been studied extensively, leading to the first elucidation of a mechanism of resistance to glycopeptides and to an insight into the regulation and mode of dissemination of the corresponding genes. We review the experimental approaches used to characterize the molecular basis of VanA resistance and briefly discuss the similarities and differences between the VanA phenotype and other phenotypes. The clinical implications (19, 31) and the mechanism (59) of glycopeptide resistance have recently been reviewed. The VanA phenotpe. Inducible resistance to high levels of vancomycin and teicoplanin defines the VanA phenotype (18). This type of resistance reduces the activities of all glycopeptides to various extents, but there is no crossresistance with other cell wall inhibitors (35, 40). Vancomycin induces the synthesis of two proteins that are readily detectable in enterococcal membrane fractions: a 39-kDa protein (5, 41, 50), which was identified as the VanA ligase necessary for cell wall synthesis in the presence of glycopeptides (21), and a D,D-carboxypeptidase (4) that is not required for resistance (7). High-level resistance to glycopeptides is generally transferable to susceptible enterococci by conjugation and was shown, at least in certain strains, to be mediated by self-transferable plasmids (20, 28, 36, 41, 43, 50, 53). It has recently been shown (9) that the genes necessary and sufficient for expression of the VanA phenotype are carried by a transposon designated TnI546. Dissemination of this transposon appears to be responsible for the spread of high-level glycopeptide resistance among clinical isolates of enterococci (9). Overview of Tn1546. Originally detected on plasmid pIP816 from Enterococcus faecium BM4147 (9, 35), TnJS46 consists of 10,851 bp and encodes nine polypeptides (Fig. 1) that can be assigned to four functional groups (7-9): transposition functions (open reading frames [ORFs] ORF1 and ORF2), regulation of vancomycin resistance genes (VanR and VanS), resistance to glycopeptides by production of depsipeptides (VanH, VanA, and VanX), and accessory proteins that may be involved in peptidoglycan synthesis,


Abstract The effects of five colored soybean (blue, red, yellow, white, and black) varieties on the quality characteristics of soybean paste ( Doenjang ) were investigated for proximate composition, salt content, pH, color, organic acid content, amino acid content, and mineral content after 80 days of aging. Soybean paste ( Doenjang ) samples were divided into TDS (traditional Doenjang prepared with soybean) and TDM (traditional Doenjang prepared with mixed soybeans, kidney bean , black soybean , kind of small bean , sword bean , green bean , red bean , at a radio of 1:1:1:1:1(w/w)). Moisture content was 49.66% for TDM and 49.52% for TDM. Protein and salt contents of the TDS sample were higher than those of TDM. The "L" values of the TDB sample increased the aging period was decreased. In contrast, the "L" and "α" values of TDM did not show any significant differences. The main organic acids detected were malic acid > lactic acid > tartaric acid in the TDS and TDM samples. Glutamic acid contents were 2.83 g/100 g for the TDS sample and 2.15 g/100 g for the TDM. The levels of K, Mg, and Ca of the TDS sample were higher than those of TDM. No significant difference occurred between TDS and TDM regarding their quality characteristics after 80 days of aging.Further studies needed include sensory evaluation and functionality of soybean paste made from mixed soybean materials.


The characterization of extracellular space (ECS) architecture represents valuable information for the understanding of transport mechanisms occurring in brain parenchyma. ECS tortuosity reflects the hindrance imposed by cell membranes to molecular diffusion. Numerous strategies have been proposed to measure the diffusion through ECS and to estimate its tortuosity. The first method implies the perfusion for several hours of a radiotracer which effective diffusion coefficient D* is determined after post mortem processing. The most well-established techniques are real-time iontophoresis that measures the concentration of a specific ion at known distance from its release point, and integrative optical imaging that relies on acquiring microscopy images of macromolecules labelled with fluorophore. After presenting these methods, we focus on a recent Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-based technique that consists in acquiring concentration maps of a contrast agent diffusing within ECS. Thanks to MRI properties, molecular diffusion and tortuosity can be estimated in 3D for deep brain regions. To further discuss the reliability of this technique, we point out the influence of the delivery method on the estimation of D*. We compare the value of D* for a contrast agent intracerebrally injected, with its value when the agent is delivered to the brain after an ultrasound-induced blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeabilization. Several studies have already shown that tortuosity may be modified in pathological conditions. Therefore, we believe that MRI-based techniques could be useful in a clinical context for characterizing the diffusion properties of pathological ECS and thus predicting the drug biodistribution into the targeted area.


Macrocyclic lactone anthelmintics are widely used to control invertebrate pests in livestock, such as sheep. While anthelmintic effects on non-target animals, such as dung-dwelling insects, are well studied, effects on seed germination are largely unknown. Seeds can come into contact with anthelmintics either during passage through the gastro-intestinal tract of grazing animals or when anthelmintics are excreted with their dung into the environment, which may result in changed germination patterns. We used four commonly applied macrocyclic lactones to assess their effects on germination: moxidectin, ivermectin, abamectin and doramectin as pure substances; moxidectin and ivermectin also in formulated form. We tested these pharmaceuticals on 17 different temperate grassland species from five plant families. Seeds were exposed to three concentrations of macrocyclic lactones (0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 mg·l-1 ) under controlled conditions, and germination was assessed over a 6-week period. From these data, we calculated germination percentage, mean germination time and germination synchrony. Most of the tested species were significantly affected in germination percentage and/or mean germination time by at least one of the tested pharmaceuticals, with formulated moxidectin having the largest impact. In general, the effects found were species- and pharmaceutical-specific. While formulated substances generally reduced germination percentage and increased mean germination time, pure substances increased germination percentage. Synchrony showed less clear patterns in all pharmaceuticals. Although effect size and sign varied between species, our study shows that non-target effects of macrocyclic lactones commonly occur in terrestrial plants. This may impede successful seed exchange between habitats via sheep, and even translate into profound changes to grazed ecosystems.


Anime designers often paint actual sceneries to serve as background images based on photographs to complement characters. As painting background scenery is time consuming and cost ineffective, there is a high demand for techniques that can convert photographs into anime styled graphics. Previous approaches for this purpose, such as Image Quilting [Efros and Freeman 2001] transferred a source texture onto a target photograph. These methods synthesized corresponding source patches with the target elements in a photograph, and correspondence was achieved through nearest-neighbor search such as PatchMatch [Barnes et al. 2009]. However, the nearest-neighbor patch is not always the most suitable patch for anime transfer because photographs and anime background images differ in color and texture. For example, real-world color need to be converted into specific colors for anime; further, the type of brushwork required to realize an anime effect, is different for different photograph elements (e.g. sky, mountain, grass). Thus, to get the most suitable patch, we propose a method, wherein we establish global region correspondence before local patch match. In our proposed method, BGMaker, (1) we divide the real and anime images into regions; (2) then, we automatically acquire correspondence between each region on the basis of color and texture features, and (3) search and synthesize the most suitable patch within the corresponding region. Our primary contribution in this paper is a method for automatically acquiring correspondence between target regions and source regions of different color and texture, which allows us to generate an anime background image while preserving the details of the source image.


Objective To establish the standard basic flow values for normal postmenopausal women.Methods Transvaginal color Doppler was used to study the blood flow of uterine artery (UTA),aecuate artery(AA), radiate artery(RA),and spiral aryery(SA) in postmenopausal women, 66 normal reproductive women and 5 patients with endometrial carcinoma for control.Results There was no flow information on endometrium in normal postmenopausal women, and there was a positive correlation between resistance index (RI) values of UTA, RA and number of years since menopause.Conclusions The blood flow perfusion of postmenopausal uterus was gradnally decreased with increasing years of postmenopanse.


Poly(styrene-b-ethylene-co-butylene-b-styrene) (SEBS)/organophilic halloysite nanotube (Org-HNT) nanocomposites were prepared by solution mixing and then compression molded. Maleic anhydride grafted SEBS (SEBS-g-MA) was also used as a compatibilizer in preparation of SEBS/SEBS-g-MA/Org-HNT ternary nanocomposites. Surface morphologies and both static and dynamic mechanical analyses as well as thermal stabilities of the nanocomposites were carried out. Both the binary and ternary nanocomposites exhibited higher tensile moduli, tensile strength, and toughness values compared to neat SEBS. The elastic modulus was found to increase about 385% and 320% with addition of 3 and 5 phr Org-HNT into the SEBS matrix, respectively, while the maximum toughness was achieved via SEBS-5H composite with an increase of 45%. The ternary nanocomposite having 3 phr Org-HNT and 10 phr SEBS-g-MA (3H10SMA) gave about a 325% and 103% increase in the elastic modulus and toughness, respectively, together with a 75% increase in the tensile strength as the maximum value. This result was ascribed to interactions of the surface of the nanotubes with the maleic anhydride (MA) group of the compatibilizer. The same nanocomposite was also found to have two times higher dynamic storage modulus at 25°C than neat SEBS and almost the same damping value, which is an indication of improvement in the elastic character of SEBS without impairing its damping ability. Although a much higher damping value was obtained via use of 20 phr SEBS-g-MA with the same amount of nanotubes, the corresponding storage modulus decreased too much, close to that of neat SEBS. The enhanced tensile modulus, strength, and toughness of the 3H10SMA nanocomposite, which is consistent with its dynamic mechanical properties, indicate a good balance between the toughness/damping and stiffness. Moreover, all the nanocomposites exhibited better thermal stabilities than neat SEBS, showing higher midpoint degradation temperatures and peak maximum temperatures at which the maximum degradation occurs.


Breast Feeding promotes health for both mother and infant. Breast Feeding for longer years will make the infant to grow with better mental health. It is completely a natural way of feeding the baby. Due to anti-infective properties of the breast milk, breastfed babies tend to have less incidence of or less pronounced symptoms of ear infections, respiratory illness, allergies, diarrhea and vomiting. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is less in breast fed babies. The paper analyzes the information and the facilities available for the antenatal and postnatal women. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the socio-economic profile of the household, to assess the facility available for antenatal and postnatal care for the respondent and to examine the various patterns of antenatal and postnatal care in hospital The data for the study is primary in nature. The study was conducted in Sundakamuthur block in Coimbatore district with a structured questionnaire with the sample size of fifty. The target group of the study was the newly married women; couples without baby, pregnant women (either for first child or for the second child), and lactating mother were identified by the investigator. The findings of the study revealed that the most of the pregnant women and lactating mothers have registered during their pregnancy and they were comfortable about the place, frequency of medical checkup and the care given to them by ICDS functionaries and PHC and government Nurse and the Doctors.


The results of compressive high strain-rate experiments on compacted sand are presented. Experiments were conducted on a 60.3 mm split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). The experiments showed that the assumptions necessary for a valid SHPB experiment are satisfied when using compacted sand samples constrained to a nearly uniaxial strain state. Results show that the sample stress-strain response is governed principally by the initial sample gas porosity, and that no strain-rate dependence is exhibited at sample strains less than the initial gas porosity. Several stress-strain curves are presented for samples prepared at several combinations of moisture content and density with applied stresses and strain rates up to 520 MPa and 4000 sec/sup -1/, respectively.


The four classical methods of determining the mass of the moon are noted, and a new use of an artificial earth satellite is proposed. The procedure, based on Kepler's law, is outlined, but at present the uncertainties in the observed data preclude an improved estimate of the lunar mass.


Ghana has initiated various health sector reforms over the past decades aimed at strengthening institutions, improving the overall health system and increasing access to healthcare services by all groups of people. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) instituted in 2005, is an innovative system aimed at making health care more accessible to people who need it. Currently, there is a growing amount of concern about the capacity of the NHIS to make quality health care accessible to its clients. A number of studies have concentrated on the effect of health insurance status on demand for health services, but have been quiet on supply side issues. The main aim of this study is to examine the overall satisfaction with health care among the insured and uninsured under the NHIS. The second aim is to explore the relations between overall satisfaction and socio-demographic characteristics, health insurance and the various dimensions of quality of care. This study employs logistic regression using household survey data in three districts in Ghana covering the 3 ecological zones (coastal, forest and savannah). It identifies the service quality factors that are important to patients' satisfaction and examines their links to their health insurance status. The results indicate that a higher proportion of insured patients are satisfied with the overall quality of care compared to the uninsured. The key predictors of overall satisfaction are waiting time, friendliness of staff and satisfaction of the consultation process. These results highlight the importance of interpersonal care in health care facilities. Feedback from patients' perception of health services and satisfaction surveys improve the quality of care provided and therefore effort must be made to include these findings in future health policies.


There are advantages of using the concept of context in the area of Computer- Supported Cooperative Work. However, it was not the case until now. For example, the term awareness has never been used in this area with an explicit association to context. We discuss in this paper the interest to make context explicit in three case studies in the domain of collaborative works. In particular, we propose a framework to understand how context and awareness are related together and to other concepts used in group works, such as user interface and storage. The proposed framework is used to consider groupware systems presented in this paper from the context perspective and to eventually obtain some insight on possible improvements for users.


Two cases of optic nerve neuritis are reported. The first had typical clinical symptoms and the other had an atypical course. In the case of the first patient an astrocytoma was found in the right frontal lobe. The aetiology of the second case was a meningioma of the tuberculum sellae. The clinical findings in our cases are discussed with regard to 58 cases in the literature. In all cases of optic neuritis with typical and atypical course a tumor of the central nervous system must always be taken into consideration.


Background: In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction is rare. Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of LV systolic or diastolic dysfunction in patients with COPD. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital for a period of 2 years from January 2012 to December 2013. These patients underwent physical examination and standard two-dimensional (2D) echocardiographic views, and peak flow velocity of early diastolic filling [early filling velocity (E-Max)], peak flow velocity of late atrial filling [atrial filling velocity (A-Max)], and early flow velocity peak/late flow velocity peak [early to late (E/A)] ratio were measured according to the criteria of the American Society of Echocardiography. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS software. Results: A total of 102 patients diagnosed with COPD as per the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines were enrolled. Of the 102 COPD patients, the maximal A-Max increased and E-Max decreased in 76 patients (74.5%) (P < 0.001). The early flow velocity peak/late flow velocity peak (E/A) ratio also markedly decreased in these 76 patients (P < 0.001) indicating LV dysfunction. The atrial contribution to total left diastolic filling increased in patients with COPD. This was also observed in COPD patients with normal pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) (P < 0.001). Grade IV COPD (P - 0.000), the duration of illness (P < 0.001), and smoking >10 packs for years (P < 0.001) were the risk factors that were associated with the development of LV diastolic dysfunction in COPD patients. Conclusion: The prevalence of LV diastolic dysfunction was 74.5%. As the severity of COPD increased, the risk of LV diastolic dysfunction increased. The screening of severe COPD patients for LV function might improve the outcome.


In a study involving 12 diet combinations with 3 energy levels (2.6-3.0 Meal/ kg ME), 4 protein levels (14%-20%) and 12 calorie-protein ratios (13.13-19.68 Kcal/gm protein) layer chickens performed significantly better on a 3.0 Meal - 18.45% protein diet (E 3.0 P 18.45 ) than any other diet, in egg number, egg weight, feed efficiency, protein efficiency ratio, revenue-cost ratio and egg number feed cost ratio. Average daily feed consumption was 90g. Diets corresponding to N.R.C. levels of E 2.85 P 15 supported less than 280 Kcal ME or 16.55g protein daily intake, respectively, and were inferior to the E 3.0 P 18.45 diet.


Abstract The distribution of day-night temperature differences in the middle atmosphere determined by the Nimbus 7 LIMS experiment is described. Day-night differences maximize at and are approximately symmetric about the equator. Successive centers of opposite sign increase in amplitude with altitude, the pattern having a vertical wavelength of ∼25 km. Profiles of rocket meridional wind at Kwajalein (8.7°N) and Ascension Island (8.0°S) taken near local noon and averaged over the LIMS data period, exhibit maxima which support the tidal interpretation of the equatorial temperature pattern. These characteristics are in general agreement with previous observational and theoretical results for the solar driven diurnal tide. Substantial time variations in amplitude and in location of the temperature maxima are observed. The diurnal tide near the equatorial stratopause appears to be influenced by the phase of the semiannual oscillation.


Despite the efforts of the United Nations (UN), the world continues to hear news about UN peacekeepers committing crimes in the state where they are deployed. One of the reasons is that the responsibility of the troop-contributing states for the conduct of their peacekeepers is not sufficiently recognised. In order to address the issue, this article advocates for 'effective control' to be interpreted as a material ability of a national contingent commander (for troop-contributing states) or UN Force Commander (for the UN) to prevent particular conduct (criminal act). Although representing a minority of academic views, this approach derives from superior responsibility, the International Court of Justice's jurisprudence, is supported by the International Law Commission and in line with the UN's position and practice. Following this interpretation, the article concludes that in many instances unlawful conduct of peacekeepers will be attributed to the troop-contributing states and not only to the UN.


The constitutive 70  kDa heat-shock protein, HSPA8, has previously been shown to contribute to the long-term survival of spermatozoa inside the mammalian female reproductive tract. Here, we show that a recombinant form of HSPA8 rapidly promotes the viability of uncapacitated spermatozoa, the ability of spermatozoa to bind to oviductal epithelial cells, enhances IVF performance, and decreases sperm mitochondrial activity. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching revealed that the repair of membrane damage is achieved by an almost instantaneous increase in sperm membrane fluidity. The ability of HSPA8 to influence membrane stability and fluidity, as well as its conserved nature among mammalian species, supports the idea that this protein protects sperm survival through membrane repair mechanisms. Free Persian abstract A Persian translation of the abstract is freely available online at http://www.reproduction-online.org/content/147/5/719/suppl/DC1.


2014/12/9 Abstract Introduction: The evaluation of faculty teaching performance is often the most important factors in promotion and tenure decision at colleges and universities focused on teaching. The aim of this study was to compare students' evaluation of teaching and faculty members' self-evaluation for improving teaching Methods: This descriptive cross- sectional study was in health and nutrition school and 31 faculty members selected through census sampling method and 310 students who were selected randomly were participated in the study. Each of faculty members was evaluated by 10 students. The data gathering tool was two same questionnaires with point Likert scale and consisted teaching and demographic questions. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of faculty members' questionnaire was 0.87, students' questionnaire was 0.81, which shows the questionnaires' reliability. The data were analyzed by independent t-tests in SPSS-16. Results: The total mean and standard deviation of the faculty members' self-evaluation scores was 40.82±7.52 and the total mean and standard deviation of Faculty teaching evaluation scores by students was 40.07±4.13 findings show that the total mean scores of self-evaluation for faculty members was higher than the total mean scores of evaluation by students but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.38). Conclusion: To promote faculty members' instructional performance, faculty member self-evaluations, in addition to Student evaluation of faculty teaching effectiveness, have been recommended as a more holistic


The Pabdeh anticline belongs to the Zagros Mountains in the southwest Iran. This area is exposed in the karst region of Iran. Remote sensing and GIS are rapidly increasing role in the field of hydrology and water resources development. The Landsat ETM -7 data with path/row 167/038 dated September 2002 were used in conjunction to digital topographic maps in scale 1:25000 within GIS environment to study the development of ground water in the main watersheds of the Pabdeh. The area has been visually and digitally interpreted to delineate DEM, drainage network, drainage basin, karst landforms, lineaments and lithology for the development of ground water and favorable areas for exploration. Image elements are used during visual and digital interpretation. Extensive field works have been attempted using global positioning system (GPS) to collect water samples and to emphasis image interpretation. Water samples were chemically analyzed. The study shows that the ground water is controlled by geomorphology, chemical properties of water, lineament analysis, lithology and topography. The integration and combination of these parameters in geographic information system (GIS) environment reveals that the thick layer of alluvial, Asmari dolomite and limestone formation in the study area is suitable for ground water development. The study shows 10 suitable locations as potential zone. This study also shows the advantages of remote sensing and GIS techniques for Karst and water resources study. The study also suggests that for increasing the accuracy for exploration, geophysics methods should be applied.


Security of the information in the computer networks has been one of the most important research area. To preserve the secure condition it is essential to be aware of the behavior of the incoming data. Network Security is becoming an important issue for all the organizations, and with the increase in knowledge of hackers and intruders they have made many successful attempts to bring down high-pro le company networks and web service. The technology of artificial intelligence breaks a new way in the area of network security. Ant-colony optimization algorithm is an evolutionary learning algorithm which could be applied to solve the complex problems. Applying the idea of ant colony optimization into network vulnerability detection and enhancing security can improve the performance of network security management. This paper attempts to apply ACO Algorithm to find out vulnerabilities in the network and ensure its security.


After deposition as a coastal marine deposit, the Silurian Keefer Sandstone underwent an elaborate diagenetic sequence. In general, the processes were: quartz cementation, calcite cementation, dolomitization, and finally dedolomitization. Diagenesis in this formation, as interpreted from petrographic study, was complex because the composition of pore fluids changed throughout its postdepositional history. Quartz overgrowths precipitated early, most likely from marine connate brines. The second generation of cement, poikilotopic calcite, precipitated when meteoric-derived phreatic water percolated through the sand during a major regression of the sea. Clay minerals in the matrix favored dolomitization of calcite cement, fossils, and calcite mud by serving as sites of nucle tion or catalysts and perhaps by providing magnesium. Later, at a moderate burial depth, saline subsurface brines dedolomitized isolated dolomite crystals. Primary porosity in the Keefer (Big Six) of southwestern West Virginia was virtually occluded by these early cements. Most microscopically visible porosity is secondary and attributed to the volume reduction of carbonate material with dolomitization of local calcite. Several Silurian-Devonian sandstones are petrographically similar to the Keefer, and its postdepositional history, as interpreted here, may serve as an example of diagenesis in other dolomitic and calcareous quartzarenites of the Appalachian basin. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1289------------


The large-scale complex system of the practical engineering design always contains multiply optimization objectives and multiply disciplines. Aiming at the large-scale system Multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) design problem with the serious conflicts between the different design objectives, we describe the integration of Linear Physical Programming within Analytical Target Cascading framework in this paper. The proposed framework would enable designers to formulate multiple system-level objectives in terms of physically meaningful parameters, and would hierarchically decompose the multilevel system into several small and more manageable subsystems for saving computational cost. A mathematical example using MDO method demonstrated the proposed framework. Keywords-multi-objective optimization; MDO; linear physical programming;Analytical Target Cascading


Quantitative probing of the Cu(2+) ions naturally present in single living cells is accomplished by a probe made from a quantum-dot-embedded-nanowire waveguide. After inserting the active nanowire-based waveguide probe into single living cells, J. H. Je and co-workers directly observe photoluminescence (PL) quenching of the embedded quantum dots by the Cu(2+) ions diffused into the probe as described on page 4071. This results in quantitative measurement of intracellular Cu(2+) ions.


Fifty-eight fungal species related to twenty-six genera of Perenosporales and Saprolegniales (32 species, 7 genera, 671 colonies) and aquatic Hyphomycetes (26 species; 19 genera; 1038 colonies) were recovered from the surface water (zoosporic fungi) and submerged decaying leaves (aquatic Hyphomycetes ) samples collected monthly (10 samples each month) during the period of experiment (18 months). The richest samples in either zoosporic fungi or aquatic Hyphomycetes were those of comparatively low or moderate temperature, high contents of organic matter and dissolved oxygen. The pH volue and the total soluble salts did not show any regular monthly variations and did not exhibit any considerable influence on fungal population. Achlya racemosa , Dictyuchus sterile ( Saprolegniales ) and Alatospora acuminata , Trisclophorus monosporus (aquatic Hyphomycetes ) were the most prevalent species. Some fungal species showed their highest population in winter months whereas others in summer months. Moreover, some species were recovered throughout the year. One species of Saprolegniales ( Isoachlya toruloides ) and three species of aquatic Hyphomycetes ( Exophiala jeanselmei , Flabellospora Sp. and Varicosporium delicatum ) are new records to Egypt.


This paper summarizes the results of experimental observations and measurements of beam-beam interactions in DA/spl Phi/NE, the Frascati Phi-factory. The achieved results are reported with analysis of present limitations in both single and multibunch operation modes and compared with numerical simulations.


Pyrrothines like thiolutine and other bicyclic 1,2-dithioles of type 1 when unsubstituted in 3-position are marked by their CH acidity. In the presence of weak bases such as triethylamine the pyrrothine 4 degraded via its anion to a thioketene trapped as the 1,3-dithietane 5. The carbenoid anions of several compounds 1 reacted with elemental sulphur forming enthiolates whose alkylation led to the corresponding thioethers or, in the case of the thiolactam 9, to the bicyclic trithiones 10 and 11. In the same manner selenides can be obtained via intermediate selenolate ions. Introduction of an aryl- or heteroarylmercapto group into compounds 1 was achieved directly by reaction of the corresponding anions with suitable disulphides. Though there may be structural limitations, this sulphurization reaction can be extended to 3-unsubstituted trithiones. The new compounds exhibited significant activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the primary screening.


This paper addresses the problem of reducing the complexity involved in computing large discrete Hartley transforms with N-1 degrees of freedom, by first computing short-time transforms with M samples (M>N) and then using this to compute the full transform of length N samples. We present a solution to the problem as it relates to discrete Hartley transforms (DHTs). Short-time Hartley transforms are derived and simplified in terms of type-I DHTs for which efficient fast algorithms exist. We also give further simplifications of type-IV in terms of type-II, and type-III in terms of type-I DHTs.<<ETX>>


ABSTRACT Backround: The present study aimed to determine the frequency of spinal metastases, to evaluate the features of spinal metastases, and to reveal clues to shed light on the origin of spinal metastases with unknown primary. Methods: The data of patients who were followed up with the diagnosis of cancer in Istanbul Oncology Hospital between 2017 and 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. A total of 156 patients with spinal metastases and without visceral metastases were included in the study by applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. Clinical data, pathological diagnostic reports, and positron emission tomography-computed tomography results of 156 patients were evaluated. The groups were evaluated in terms of age, gender, number of spinal metastases (single focus, multiple focus), and localization of spinal metastasis. The spinal localization evaluation included both the main anatomical localizations and a detailed evaluation of each spine. Results: The most common metastasis region was the thoracic spine in respiratory system cancers (28.38%), the thoracic + lumbar spine in breast (42.42%), prostate (50.00%), and gynecologic (40.00%) cancers, and the lumbar spine in gastrointestinal (37.50%) and urinary (30.00%) tract cancers (P = .313). C5 spinal metastasis percentages were significantly higher in breast and gastrointestinal tract cancers than the others (P = .042). T5 spinal metastasis percentage was significantly higher in gynecologic tumors than in the other cancers (P = .002). T10 spinal metastasis percentages were significantly higher in prostate and gynecologic tumors than the others (P = .016). L1 spinal metastasis percentage was significantly higher in breast tumors (P = .009). L2 spinal metastasis percentages were significantly higher in breast, prostate, and gynecologic tumors (P = .011). L4 spinal metastasis percentages were significantly higher in breast and prostate tumors (P = .041). L5 spinal metastasis percentage was significantly higher in prostate tumors (P = .029) than the other cancers. Conclusions: It was observed that primary cancers were often prone to metastasis to nearby spine. The results obtained by detailed examination of spinal metastases may provide a clinical benefit by providing clues in investigation of primary unknown cancers. Level of Evidence: 3.


In this study, the effect of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber volume fraction on the pullout behavior of structural synthetic fiber in hybrid structural synthetic fiber and PVA fiber cement composites are presented. Pullout behavior of the hybrid fiber cement composites and structural synthetic fiber were determined by dog-bone bond tests. Test results found that the addition of PVA fiber can effectively enhance the structural synthetic fiber cement based composites pullout behavior, especially in fiber interface toughness. Pullout test results of the structural synthetic fiber showed the interface toughness between structural synthetic fiber and PVA fiber reinforced cement composites increases with the volume fraction of PVA fiber. The microstructural observation confirms the incorporation of PVA fiber can effectively enhance the interface toughness mechanism of structural synthetic fiber and PVA fiber reinforced cement composites.


Models are crucial in the engineering design process because they can be used for both the optimisation of design parameters and the prediction of performance. Thus, models can significantly reduce design, development and optimisation costs. This paper presents the construction process of a novel equivalent electrical model for Darrieus-type vertical axis wind turbines (DTVAWTs). Physical concepts and theoretical formulations underpinning the development of the model are addressed. The proposed model was built from the mechanical description given by the Paraschivoiu double-multiple streamtube model and is based on the analogy between mechanical and electrical circuits. After highlighting the working principle of the DTVAWT, the step-by-step development of the model is presented. For assessment purposes, simulations of aerodynamic characteristics and those of corresponding electrical components are performed and compared.


Background The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of pneumatic displacement combined with intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) with that of pneumatic displacement (PD) alone to treat massive submacular hemorrhage (SMH) secondary to polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). Methods Thirty-two eyes of 32 patients with massive SMH secondary to PCV were studied. Twenty-two eyes were treated with a combination of PD and 1.25 mg of intravitreal bevacizumab (PD + IVB group), and ten eyes with pneumatic displacement alone (PD group). Results Pretreatment, the differences in best-corrected visual acuity and size of the SMH between the two groups were not significant (P=0.59 and P=0.72, respectively). Complete displacement of the hemorrhage from under the fovea was achieved in 19 of 22 eyes (86.4%) in the PD + IVB group and in five of ten eyes (50%) in the PD group. The best-corrected visual acuity in the PD + IVB group was significantly better than that in the PD group at one, 3, and 6 months after treatment (P<0.001, P<0.001, and P<0.001, respectively). Improvement in best-corrected visual acuity by >0.3 logMAR units was obtained in 18 eyes (81.8%) in the PD + IVB group and two eyes (20%) in the PD group (P<0.001). The number of eyes that required additional treatments was significantly fewer in the PD + IVB group than in the PD group (P=0.0001). Conclusion The combination of PD and IVB may be a better therapeutic procedure for eyes with massive SMH due to PCV in the short term because of the better visual outcome and less need for additional treatments.


The results of 265 trochanteric fractures in the elderly treated between 1980 and 1983 have been analysed. Among them, 136 were treated by Ender's nailing, 110 by prostheses and 19 by internal fixation. In an earlier study, Ender's nailing had been used in 75 p. 100 of cases. The conclusions were that the increasing use of a prosthesis has brought about an improvement in the results-80 p. 100 satisfactory in the present series compared with 54 p. 100 in the preceding one. The mortality rate was comparable after Ender's nailing and prostheses. Ender's nailing is indicated in stable fractures and, in unstable fractures, internal fixation is indicated in very active persons, Ender's nailing in non-ambulatory patients and prostheses in elderly patients with sufficient walking ability.


Abstract Objective To analyse changes in the sensation of hunger and the sensation of well-being of young overweight/obese women following two hypoenergetic diets. Design, setting and subjects Fifty-seven women (BMI = 24–35 kg/m2) were randomly assigned to one of two hypoenergetic diets: diet V, in which the consumption of vegetables was increased; or diet C, in which the consumption of cereals (especially breakfast cereals) was increased. Dietetic and anthropometric data and an evaluation of the sensation of hunger and well-being were collected at the start and end of the study, 6 weeks later. Results The diets led to a reduction in weight and BMI in both groups. The sensation of hunger at the end of meals was higher at the end of the study than at the start in both groups. At 6 weeks, the sensation of well-being after breakfast, morning snack and lunch, as well as the mean sensation of well-being after all meals, was greater in diet C. Compared with that recorded at the beginning of the study, the capacity to experience satiety at the end of meals also increased with diet C, as did the capacity to experience well-being at 6 weeks (for breakfast, lunch, dinner and for the mean for all meals). This capacity to experience well-being was also greater in diet C than in diet V with respect to the mid-morning snack and lunch. Conclusion The more positive results obtained with diet C may contribute to the increased weight loss seen in that group and their lower withdrawal rate.


A 6-year-old, castrated male domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) was euthanized following progressive hind limb paresis and atonia of the bladder of 1-year duration. Neurological evaluation localized the lesion to the thoracolumbar spinal region, and magnetic resonance imaging showed a focal intramedullary spinal cord lesion. Histopathology revealed an extensive, unencapsulated, poorly demarcated mass within the thoracolumbar spinal cord, diagnosed as lymphosarcoma.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

Many studies have examined the relationship between polymorphisms in glutathione-S-transferase genes and cancer in people exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) such as benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), but results to date have been modest. Missing from these studies has been an exploration of the formation of the appropriate glutathione conjugates in humans. We previously addressed this question using the three ring bay region PAH phenanthrene as a model compound and found that, in human urine, the only detectable mercapturic acids which result from metabolic degradation of glutathione conjugates were formed from a reverse diol epoxide of phenanthrene (phenanthrene-3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide), not from the bay region diol epoxide (phenanthrene-1,2-diol-3,4-epoxide) which would be typical of those associated with PAH carcinogenicity. We obtained similar results when we incubated human hepatocytes with these diol epoxides of phenanthrene. In the study reported here, we extended our investigation to BaP, a prototypic PAH carcinogen. We incubated human hepatocytes from ten donors with 10 µM racemic BaP-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide, believed to be a major ultimate carcinogen of BaP, or with the non-carcinogenic reverse diol epoxide, racemic BaP-9,10-diol-7,8-epoxide. Incubations were carried out for 12 or 24h. We used high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry-selected reaction monitoring at m/z 464→317 to analyze the incubation mixtures for the mercapturic acid products which would result from glutathione conjugation followed by normal metabolic processing of the conjugates. The standard mercapturic acids were synthesized by reaction of racemic BaP-diol epoxides with N-acetylcysteine. Major products resulting from cis- and trans- addition to each diol epoxide were characterized by proton NMR and MS. A mercapturic acid derived from phenanthrene-3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide was used as an internal standard in the hepatocyte analyses. We obtained convincing evidence for time dependent mercapturic acid formation from the non-carcinogenic reverse diol epoxide BaP-9,10-diol-7,8-epoxide in all 10 samples. Levels ranged from 0.12 to 17 pmol/ml. However, we could detect mercapturic acids from the bay region diol epoxide BaP-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide in only 1 of 10 samples (0.05 pmol/ml). Taken together with our similar previous results of analyses of phenanthrene metabolites in human hepatocytes and human urine, the results of this study indicate that conjugation of BaP-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide with glutathione is a minor pathway in humans, suggesting that glutathione-S-transferase genotyping is not an effective method of assessing risk of PAH induced cancer in humans, at least with respect to the diol epoxide pathway of PAH carcinogenesis.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4698.


Importance
The optimal sequencing of immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapy for BRAF V600E/K-mutant melanoma is not well established.

Objective
To assess the association of BRAF wild-type (WT) or BRAF V600E/K-mutant status and BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi) with or without MEK inhibitor (MEKi) therapy with response to pembrolizumab.

Design, Setting, and Participants
This study is a post hoc subgroup analysis of pooled data from 3 multinational, multisite studies: KEYNOTE-001 (data cutoff September 1, 2017), KEYNOTE-002 (data cutoff May 30, 2018), and KEYNOTE-006 (data cutoff December 4, 2017). Patients included in this analysis were adults with advanced melanoma and known BRAF V600E/K tumor status who had received pembrolizumab.

Interventions
Patients received pembrolizumab in dosages of 2 mg/kg every 3 weeks, 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks, or 10 mg/kg every 3 weeks.

Main Outcomes and Measures
End points were objective response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival (PFS) assessed by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.1, and overall survival (OS). Objective response rates, 4-year PFS, and OS rates were compared in the following patient subgroups: BRAF WT vs BRAF V600E/K-mutant melanoma and BRAF V600E/K-mutant melanoma with vs without previous treatment with BRAFi with or without MEKi therapy.

Results
The overall study population (N = 1558) included 944 men (60.6%) and 614 women (39.4%). The mean (SD) age was 60.0 years (14.0). The ORR was 38.3% (596/1558), 4-year PFS rate was 22.0%, and 4-year OS rate was 36.9%. For patients with BRAF WT (n = 1124) and BRAF V600E/K-mutant melanoma (n = 434), ORR was 39.8% (n = 447) and 34.3% (n = 149), 4-year PFS rate was 22.9% and 19.8%, and 4-year OS rate was 37.5% and 35.1%, respectively. Patients with BRAF V600E/K-mutant melanoma who had (n = 271) vs had not (n = 163) previously received BRAFi with or without MEKi therapy had baseline characteristics with worse prognosis; ORR was 28.4% (n = 77) and 44.2% (n = 72), 4-year PFS rate was 15.2% and 27.8%, and 4-year OS rate was 26.9% and 49.3%, respectively.

Conclusions and Relevance
Results of this subgroup analysis support the use of pembrolizumab for treatment of advanced melanoma regardless of BRAF V600E/K mutation status or receipt of prior BRAFi with or without MEKi therapy.


This paper has three aims. First, to examine how the negative environmental consequences of intensive agriculture have driven China and the UK to shift away from narrowly focused farm output policies and adopt more holistic green development pathways. Second, to explore the policy objectives they have in common. Third, to assess the numerous opportunities for joint research and knowledge sharing through the Sustainable Agriculture Innovation Network and other existing institutional mechanisms. The intensification of agricultural production in the UK started several decades earlier than in China as did the negative environmental consequences of the farm practices. However, their strategies and policies for sustainable intensification and green development have much in common. These are set out in two main documents: the Chinese State Council guidelines for green agriculture and the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 25 Year Environment Plan. There are substantial mutual advantages from greater collaboration on problem identification and monitoring; the development of appropriate technological and management responses and the formulation of sound policies. To achieve this potential, it is recommended that further thought be given to how best to bring together all of the key stakeholders along the whole food chain.


BACKGROUND
person-centred care should be responsive to the needs of older adults in long-term care. It is central to collaborative and high-quality healthcare delivery.

AIM
to explore the perceptions of older Irish adults aged 65 years of age or more regarding the person-centred climate of the long-term care setting in which they live.

METHOD
a cross-sectional study design using the Person-centered Climate Questionnaire-Patient (PCQ-P) was used to survey 56 older adults in a long-term care setting.

RESULTS
overall, residents considered the setting to be hospitable, welcoming, clean and safe; the mean (SD) scale score was 5.39 (0.520). Psychosocial concerns about adapting to living in long-term care environments need to be addressed, particularly among the younger male residents when compared with older male residents (53.8% v 86.7%, P=0.018).

CONCLUSION
older people in long-term care may prioritise different facets of person-centredness to staff. Further research of approaches used in Irish older adult long-term person-centred care delivery is warranted.


Introduction The South African Department of Health has developed and implemented the Integrated Chronic Disease Management (ICDM) model to respond to the increased utilisation of primary healthcare services due to a surge of non-communicable diseases coexisting with a high prevalence of communicable diseases. However, some of the expected outcomes on implementing the ICDM model have not been achieved. The aims of this study are to assess if the observed suboptimal outcomes of the ICDM model implementation are due to lack of fidelity to the ICDM model, to examine the contextual factors associated with the implementation fidelity and to calculate implementation costs. Methods and analysis A process evaluation, mixed methods study in 16 pilot clinics from two health districts to assess the degree of fidelity to four major components of the ICDM model. Activity scores will be summed per component and overall fidelity score will be calculated by summing the various component scores and compared between components, facilities and districts. The association between contextual factors and the degree of fidelity will be asseseed by multivariate analysis, individual and team characteristics, facility features and organisational culture indicators will be included in the regression. Health system financial and economic costs of implementing the four components of the ICDM model will be calculated using an ingredient approach. The unit of implementation costs will be by activity of each of the major components of the ICDM model. Sensitivity analysis will be carried out using clinic size, degree of fidelity and different inflation situations. Ethics and dissemination The protocol has been approved by the University of Cape Town and University of the Witwatersrand Human Research ethics committees. The results of the study will be shared with the Department of Health, participating health facilities and through scientific publications and conference presentations.


Multilevel image segmentation is time-consuming and involves large computation. The Firefly Algorithm (FA) has been applied to enhancing the efficiency of multilevel image segmentation. Threshold values are the values chosen from the intensity values of the image ranges from 0 to 255. In this work OTSU based firefly algorithm is applied for the gray scale images. OTSU'S between-class variance function is maximized to obtain optimal threshold level for gray scale images. The existence Darwinian Particle Swarm Optimization (DPSO) gives small swarm size and few numbers of iterations. In FA, the performance assessment of the proposed algorithm is carried using prevailing parameters such as Objective function, Standard deviation, Peak-to-Signal Ratio (PSNR), and Best cost value and search time of CPU. The experimental results show that the proposed method can efficiently segment multilevel images and obtain better performance than DPSO.


We studied the effects of milrinone and its mechanism in nonfatigued and fatigued diaphragms in dogs.In Group Ia (n = 5), animals without fatigue, defined as the inability to sustain muscle force, received only maintenance fluids. In Group Ib (n = 5), dogs without fatigue were given a bolus injection (50 [micro sign]g/kg) followed by continuous infusion (0.5 [micro sign]g [center dot] kg-1 [center dot] min-1) of milrinone. In Groups IIa, IIb, and IIc (n = 8 in each), diaphragmatic fatigue was induced by intermittent supramaximal bilateral electrophrenic stimulation at a frequency of 20 Hz applied for 30 min. After producing fatigue, only maintenance fluids were administered (Group IIa); milrinone (50 [micro sign]g/kg loading dose plus 0.5 [micro sign]g [center dot] kg-1 [center dot] min-1 maintenance dose) was administered (Group IIb); or nicardipine 5 [micro sign]g [center dot] kg (-1) [center dot] min-1 was infused simultaneously with milrinone (Group IIc). Diaphragmatic contractility was assessed with transdiaphragmatic pressure (Pdi). No differences in Pdi were observed in Groups Ia and Ib. After the fatigue-producing period, Pdi at low-frequency (20-Hz) stimulation decreased from the prefatigued values in Groups IIa, IIb, and IIc (P < 0.05), whereas the decrease was minimal at high-frequency (100-Hz) stimulation. Compared with Group IIa, Pdi to each stimulus increased during milrinone infusion in Group IIb (P < 0.05). In Group IIc, the augmentation of Pdi in the fatigued diaphragm by milrinone was not abolished with an administration of nicardipine. In conclusion, milrinone improves contractility in the fatigued canine diaphragm but not via its effect on transmembrane calcium movement. Implications: Diaphragmatic fatigue may contribute to the development of respiratory failure. Milrinone increases contractility in the fatigued diaphragm and thereby may have an inotropic action on the improvement of diaphragmatic fatigue. (Anesth Analg 1998;87:1077-82)


Background Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is an inflammatory disease characterized by synovitis and pleurotic attacks. It is an autosomal recessive disorder, and the exact etiology is unknown. 7% of patients can have Henoch-Schönleinpurpura and polyarthritis nodosa. Objectives We aimed to determine microvascular abnormalities in FMF patients with nailfoldvideocapillaroscopy. Methods We included non-smoker 29 FMF patients and 30 healthy individuals. Patients were reviewed about smoking, Raynaud's phenomena and ischemic ulcers. Patients who had comorbidities including hypertension, smoking and Raynaud's phenomena were not included in this study. A computerized form including demographic, clinical and para-clinical features was used to collect data. We used videocapillaroscope (x200) for capillaroscopic evaluation. Patients were put to hand rest (protection from trauma) 2 weeks before the capillaroscopic procedure and hands were held in room temperature at least 20 minutes on the day of the procedure.8 fingers excluding thumbs (total of 32 fields of one millimeter right and left from each finger median line) were evaluated independently by 2 doctors, and signs were recorded to patient follow-up form. We evaluated capillary quantity, microhemorrhage, ectasied capillaries (neat-not neat), megacapillaries, avascular space, bushy capillaries, meandering capillaries, neovascularization and bizarre capillaries with nailfoldvideocapillaroscopy. Ectasied capillaries were defined as capillary diameter >0.02 nm, megacapillaries as >0.05 nm, and microhemorrhage was defined as hemorrhage determined in at least two fingers without trauma. Results Mean age of patients was 29.5±12 (16-60), disease starting age was 20.9±9.66 (7-49), and disease duration was 8.69±8 (1-33) years. We observed megacapillary and microhemorrage in one patient (3.44%), tortuosity in 11 patients (37.93%), and bizarre capillary in 7 patients (24.13%). No association was found between capillaryscopic pathologies and age, disease starting age, disease duration and clinical signs. Conclusions Except one patient with microhemorrage and megacapillary, all signs we observed in this study were nonspecific capillaroscopic findings and did not explain the importance of these in FMF patients. Further studies can be made to understand videocapillaroscopic signs with larger study group. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Clustering objects with respect to a given similarity or distance measure is a problem often encountered in computational biology. Several well-known clustering algorithms are based on transforming the input matrix into a weighted graph although the resulting WEIGHTED CLUSTER EDITING problem is computationally hard: here, we transform the input graph into a disjoint union of cliques such that the sum of weights of all modified edges is minimized. We present fixed-parameter algorithms for this problem which guarantee to find an optimal solution in provable worst-case running time. We introduce a new data reduction operation (merging vertices) that has no counterpart in the unweighted case and strongly cuts down running times in practice. We have applied our algorithms to both artificial and biological data. Despite the complexity of the problem, our method often allows exact computation of optimal solutions in reasonable running time.


In partnership with the NREL/DOE PV Manufacturing R&D Program, Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) has developed a comprehensive set of online diagnostic systems that allow real-time measurement of PV device characteristics in-situ during amorphous silicon (a-Si) deposition, prior to deposition of ITO, PV device characteristics measured include open-circuit voltage (V/sub oc/), charging rate (CR), and thickness (t) of each of the three cells in the triple-junction device. Measurements are made with an rms precision of about 0.05%, and at periods of 1 s to 1 min (1 cm to 1 m). The information from these systems is displayed real-time in the control room for online quality assurance (QA) and trouble-shooting. The diagnostics systems have been incorporated into software feedback loops to control film thicknesses. We are now beginning the development of programs for continuous online optimization.


To solve the weak capacity and low control accuracy of the robots which adapt to the complex working conditions, proposed that a path control method based on the driving experience and supervised learning. According to the slope road geometry characteristics, established the modeling study due to ramp pavement path control method and the control structure based on monitoring and self-learning. Made use of the Global Navigation Satellite System did the experiment. The test data illustrates that when the running speed is not greater than 5 m / s, the straight-line trajectory path transverse vertical deviation within 士20cm ,which proved that the control method has a high feasibility. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v11i12.3672


The purpose of this study is to investigate the different models on the factors that influence achievement of entrepreneurial competence and entrepreneurial intentions, between male and female students, which is mediated by attitudes and control perceptions of entrepreneurship. The participants of this study included 192 students who took entrepreneurship courses in various study programs at Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta in the even semester of 2015-2016 academic year. Entrepreneurial intentions, entrepreneurial attitudes, perceptions of entrepreneurial control, and achievement of entrepreneurial competencies data were obtained using questionnaires, while the student gender information was gathered from the university database. Data analysis was performed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) statistics through Partial Least Square (PLS) in multiple group analyses with the help of Smart PLS 3.1.7 software. The results stressed that the students' achievement of entrepreneurship, after completing entrepreneurship subject, did not have direct effect to their entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, the achievement of entrepreneurial competence had a significant positive effect on entrepreneurial intentions by mediating a combination of attitudes and perceptions of entrepreneurial control in male students with a t-statistic of 4.401, at p 0.05, which suggest that there is no significant difference in the model of the effect of achievement of entrepreneurial competence on entrepreneurial intentions, between male and female students, which is mediated by entrepreneurial attitudes and perceptions of entrepreneurial control.


: The uvea provides a suitable substrate for tumor cells because it is the most vascular portion of the eye. Most primary and metastatic ocular neoplasms involve the choroid, with the most common being malignant melanoma. We review the features of uveal melanomas seen on MRI and CT images and evaluate certain neoplastic and non-neoplastic intraocular lesions that may simulate uveal melanomas.


Bahya Ben Asher ibn Halawa (1255–1340) is one of Spain's renowned exegetes. His interpretation of the Torah was published in many editions and quoted by later commentators, so that his oeuvre became widely disseminated and highly influential. What makes his commentary unique is his innovation of combining it with traditions he was familiar with, including many legends. In his interpretation of Genesis 15:7, he takes an original approach, incorporating a medieval legend about our forefather Abraham that was generally quoted in non-canonic literary compositions. In this way, he contributed to the legend's acceptance in the mainstream exegetical canon, while at the same time developing its exegetic potential even further.


This paper presents the development of a wireless system for gait analysis. Nowadays, gait analysis becoming an important tool to diagnosis or evaluate certain diseases. It has a lot of improvements since the introduction of biomechanics and gait analysis has to be more precise. A lot of studies had been made to determine the measuring of the gait parameters. However, only a few of them specify the measurement of "heelstrike" and "toe-off" timing parameters. Even though there is a research center providing the stated quantitative information, it has been done in a highly accurate computer laboratory. This super computer method is very expensive and not affordable. While in the medical world, the gait parameters analyzed without any guarantee of the results obtained. Therefore, there is a need of the system that is not only low cost but also can produce a real-time feedback. The main objective of this new insole system is to design and implemented a low cost and wearable solution for "heel-strike" and "toe-off" timing parameters using the Force Sensing Resistor (FSR) sensor. The design of this new insole system consisting of six FSR sensors that will deliver a convenient result in the stated gait parameters and offer an additional function which is the gait symmetry observation. The advantage of this project is that it would be a great achievement in the new gait analysis system by introducing the concept of portable wireless and real time feedback device (self–monitor). In conclusion, the design of this new insole system is predicted to help clinician and researchers to develop a new model of gait analysis system.


On the basis of the notion of `strain shift induced by quenching' a continuum model is proposed to provide mechanistic insight into the formation of the residual stresses from quenching. An equation has been derived stating that for a homogeneous quenched body the residual elastic strain of each elemental volume is equal to the difference in the amount of plastic strain generated by the alternating odd and even strain shifts. Despite the widespread view, plastic yielding is neither necessary nor sufficient for the existence of residual stresses after quenching. The proposed model successfully rationalized the results from the computer simulations and the residual stress patterns after oil and water quenching of decarburized and non-decarburized cylindrical steel specimens. If the net plastic strain (the difference in the amount of plastic strain during the first and second strain shift) created in the thermal contraction region is greater than the net plastic strain created in the transformation region the axial residual stress at the surface of a quenched cylindrical specimen is compressive. The magnitude of the transformation stresses generated is inversely proportional to the width of the transformation temperature interval. It is established that the thermal stresses during quenching raise the martensite start temperature of the surface. An equation and a numerical model have been derived for determining the shift of the martensite start temperature caused by thermal stresses of large magnitude.


New Narratives of Urban Space in Republican Chinese Cities offers nine empirical studies to examine the social, legal and governance dimensions of the great urban transformation in Republican China pertaining to the cultural realm of the urban space.


The 10B(n,α0)7Li and 10B(n,αiγ)7Li angular distributions have been measured at the GELINA time-of-flight spectrometer in the incident neutron energy range from 0.1 keV to 1 MeV by means of a twin Frisch-grid ionization chamber. With this type of detector it is possible to measure the angular distribution of the charged reaction fragments in a close to 2×2π solid angle with ~100% efficiency and a clear separation of both reaction channels: emission to the 7Li ground state (α0) or to its first excited state (α1). A strong angular anisotropy was observed at ~ 520 keV. In order to extend the energy range up to 2.5−3 MeV and to measure, also, the reaction cross sections, a double twin Frisch-grid ionization chamber was constructed. It is loaded with two very thin 94% 10B-enriched samples, mounted back-to-back with 235U samples on the common cathodes. New data acquisition, visualization and analysis software is used in a new set of long-term measurements, which are still going on.


In this paper, a magnetic actuator composed of a magnet and a spiral structure could move wirelessly in phantom of silicone tube by applying a rotational magnetic field. The actuator needs neither battery nor wire for power supply. In addition, the possibility of the breakdown of the actuator is very weak because of its simple structure. The actuator has great potential for wireless operation of the capsule endoscope.


Debate continues to rage as to the veracity of evidence around the permanence of climate change. There is no doubt that changes are occurring across the world and that these changes are causing significant social hardship, including food and water insecurity and large-scale movements of people. What is also emerging in research across the world is that these social impacts and adaptations are highly gendered. This article draws on several years of research on the Australian drought and more recent research on declining water availability in the Murray–Darling Basin of Australia. It notes the significant social impacts, particularly in remote and irrigation areas, and draws out the gendered impacts of these changes. The article argues for more sensitive rights-based social policy to address people who are under extraordinary stress during times of unparalleled change. (Abstract from original source)


This study presents the preparation of short glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP/FG) composites using with waste (post-consumer) polypropylene composite containing long glass fiber (PP/LFG) obtained from the recycling of battery covers of trucks. Waste PP/LFG composite parts were mechanically grinded before adding to PP/FG composites. An injection molding machine was used to produce the PP/FG composite test samples loading with recycled waste PP/LFG composite in the range of 1-20% by weight. Effects of recycled waste PP/LFG content on the mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of the PP/FG composites were investigated. The following three different tests, at various waste PP/LFG ratios, were conducted: Izod/Charpy Impact test, bending test, and tensile test. Mechanical test results showed that mechanical strength of prepared PP/FG composites were not influenced by content of waste PP/LFG material up to 10 wt.%. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used for the evaluation of thermal parameters such as melting point and crystallization temperature of the polymer matrix in the composites studied. Furthermore, by analyzing the values of thermal effects determined using the DSC method, it was possible to determine the degree of crystallinity. The DSC results showed that crystallinity %, melting, and crystallization temperatures of PP/FG composites were not influenced to adding waste PP/LFG at different ratios. The morphology of composite materials was investigated by SEM analysis. Good fiber dispersion was observed in the PP matrix for PP/FG composites containing short glass fiber prepared with all ratios of recycled waste PP/LFG material containing long glass fiber.


Background It has previously been shown that the survival of anti-TNF drugs was lower in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than in other chronic arthritis. Objectives The objective of this study was to investigate the drug retention, as surrogate of effectiveness, of Golimumab (GOL) with axial Spondyloarthritis (AxSpA), Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and RA. Furthermore, predictors of drug retention were evaluated. Methods This is a multicenter prospective observational study of unselected patients with AxSpA, PsA and RA starting GOL because of their active disease despite prior treatment with conventional disease modifying drugs (DMARDs) or biological DMARDs (bDMARDs) in the settings of standard care from 11 rheumatologic centres of Apulia (Southern Italy). The primary endpoint was GOL drug retention at 2 years. Time to discontinuation was defined as the time between drug initiation and last administration plus one dispensation interval. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis was used to assess drug retention, and a Cox proportional regression model, adjusting for potential confounders, including prior bDMARD exposure, glucocorticoid or DMARD intake, patient demographics and disease characteristics, for the analysis of predictors. Clinical response was evaluated at 3,6,12 and 24 months. Results To date, 416 patients (PsA 180, RA 89, AxSpA 147) have been included in the study, 171 (41%) were biologic-naïve. Disease duration was 6.9 ±6 yrs for PsA, 8.1 ±8 for RA, and 7.4 ±7 for AxSpA, respectively. RF/ACPA were present in 72.5% of RA patients, and HLA-B27 in 43% of AxSpa. Within PsA 58 patients had also spinal involvement. At 2 years (Fig.1), the drug persistence rate was 74.5% (20.8±0.5 months) for AxSpa, 62.5% (19.5±0.8 months) for RA, and 63.9% (18.8±0.6) months for PsA, being the difference not statistically significant. For AxSpa patients, the chance of stopping GOL was associated with the female gender (hazard ratio (HR) 3.15 (95% CI 1.4–8.5), and the presence of extra-articular manifestation (HR 0.20 (95% CI 0.48–0.88). In RA the only predictor of GOL discontinuation was the achievement good EULAR response at 3 months (HR 0.36 ((95% CI 0.15–0.88), while no baseline factors correlating with drug persistence was detected for PsA. The percentage of AxSpa patients achieving BASDAI<4 was 63.4% at3 months, 69.3% at6 months, 77.5% at12 months, and 70.8% at24 months. In RA, DAS28 based remission was attained in 22.5% at3 months, 26.8% at6 months, 36.2% at12 months, and 43.9% at24 months. Finally for PsA DAS28 based remission was found in 27.5% at3 months, 33.2% at6 months, 42.1% at12 months, and 42.6% at24 months, while BASDAI<4 was 56.4% at 3 months, 73.1% at 6months, 76.2% at12 months, and 82.1% at24 months. Conclusions Unlike previous studies on TNF inhibitors, GOL seems to have similar drug survival in different chronic arthritides. Male sex and the presence of extra-articular manifestations were independently associated with GOL discontinuation in AxSpa. The achievement of good EULAR response at 3 months was the best predictor of continuing GOL in RA. Disclosure of Interest None declared


The purpose of this study was to examine the utility and acceptability of a modular computer-based training program on childhood cancer (eg, acute and late effects of treatment, intervention strategies) for teachers. A within-subjects design was implemented with 41 teachers and teachers in training. Participants completed tests of childhood cancer knowledge and application skills both before and after completing the web-based training. An acceptability questionnaire was completed after the training. Results indicated significant gains in knowledge and in case application, as well as high levels of acceptability of the training. It seems that a web-based training program can be accessed by teachers and in 2 to 4 hours can significantly increase cancer knowledge in an acceptable manner.


The study evaluated the affect of chronic cadmium (Cd) and monensin treatment on some hematological parameters and its relationship with the rheological variables. Adult male mice were subjected to chronic treatment with cadmium acetate [Cd(CH3COO)2 × 2H2O] (group 1), Cd(CH3COO)2 × 2H2O followed by treatment with low dose monensin (group 2) and Cd(CH3COO)2 × 2H2O followed by high dose monensin treatment (group 3). Cd(CH3COO)2 × 2H2O and deprotonated monensin were dissolved in distilled water and given daily to the experimental animals. Mice drinking distilled water served as a control group (group 4). Hematological parameters and erythrocyte morphology were evaluated in parallel with whole blood viscosity (WBV). Cd treatment reduced Hb and increased RDW. The addition of high dose monensin significantly improved erythrocytic indices compared to the control. Erythrocyte anisocytosis was observed in blood smears of Cd-treated mice corresponding to the increased RDW. WBV was significantly elevated in the experimental groups in the whole range of shear rates compared to the control group and in groups 2 and 3 was lower than in group 1 but remained higher compared to group 4. Correlations were found between WBV and RBC, Hb, Hct, MCV and RDW. The results suggest that hemorheological parameters such as WBV should be monitored in parallel with the hematological parameters when monensin is applied and heavy metal intoxication is suspected.


How do customers make selections from among millions of smartphone apps? In this study, we analyzed the relationship between icon attributes and choice of game apps. Based on the literature, 5 icon attributes were identified: active, balance, complexity, depth, and organic. 3 game types were selected: arcade, brain, and casual games. Explicit policy implications were exploited for icon design. For arcade games, icons should be active. For brain games, icons should be organic. For casual games, organic and depth are the preferred criteria for designs.


The prism coupling technique has been utilized to measure the refractive index in the near- and mid-IR spectral region of chalcogenide glasses in bulk and thin film form. A commercial system (Metricon model 2010) has been modified with additional laser sources, detectors, and a new GaP prism to allow the measurement of refractive index dispersion over the 1.5-10.6 μm range. The instrumental error was found to be ±0.001 refractive index units across the entire wavelength region examined. Measurements on thermally evaporated AMTIR2 thin films confirmed that (i) the film deposition process provides thin films with reduced index compared to that of the bulk glass used as a target, (ii) annealing of the films increases the refractive index of the film to the level of the bulk glass used as a target to create it, and (iii) it is possible to locally increase the refractive index of the chalcogenide glass using laser exposure at 632.8 nm.


Free radicals have at least one unpaired electron. Some of them have very high reactivity and harmful to cells and tissues. O2-. and HO. are generated during re-perfusion phase of shock. Both induce lipid peroxidation and this attack initiates auto-continuing injury of membrane lipid by lipid peroxide. This may result in damage of membrane function and permeability alteration. NO is an another type of free radical and huge amount of NO is generated by inducible NO synthase with variety of stimulation. NO decreases vascular tonus and may be related with hyperdynamic circulatory status in sepsis. NOx and ONOO- which are NO derivatives, deteriorate mitochondrial function. Free radicals are one of major agents which damages patients under surgical stress, however, they also have important rules in our defense system. In this sense, control rather than suppression may be important to ameliorate injury caused by surgical stress.