Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor that is latent but constitutively activated in many types of cancers. It is well known that STAT3 plays a key role in inflammation-associated tumorigenesis. Curcumin, a natural compound isolated from the traditional Indian spice turmeric (Curcuma longa.,Zingiberaceae), has anti-tumor, anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory properties. This compound has been extensively used in traditional herbal medicine over the centuries mainly due to its pronounced anti-inflammatory effects. Many studies suggest that curcumin regulates various cancer-related intracellular signaling pathways without damaging normal cells and tissues. Here, we report that curcumin effectively inhibits activation of STAT3 in dose- and time-dependent manners and causes apoptosis of H-Ras transformed breast epithelial cells (H-Ras MCF10A). Specific cysteine residues present in STAT3 appear to be critical for the activity as well as conformation of this transcription factor. We identified the cysteine residue 259 as a putative target of curcumin. We found that the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl moiety of curcumin appears to be essential in its direct binding to STAT3. Tetrahydrocurcumin that lacks the electrophilic α,β-unsaturated carbonyl moiety failed to inhibit STAT3 activation and to induce apoptosis in the same cell line. Taken together, our findings suggest that curcumin can abrogate persistently activated STAT3 signaling through direct interaction, thereby inhibiting STAT3-mediated mammary carcinogenesis. Citation Format: Young-Il Hahn, Su-Jung Kim, Bu-Young Choi, Hye-Kyung Na, Young-Joon Surh. Curcumin induces apoptosis in H- Ras transformed human mammary epithelial cells: Cysteine 259 of STAT3 as a putative target. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1892. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1892


For successful implementation of casing treatment designs in axial compressors, apart from the stall margin improvement benefits, aeroelasticity also plays a major role. This manuscript addresses the not often discussed aeroelastic aspects of a new discrete type of passive Self-Recirculating Casing Treatment (RCT) designed for a transonic axial compressor stage. Experiments are carefully designed for synchronized measurement of the unsteady fluidic disturbances and vibrations during rotating stall for compressor with baseline solid casing and Self-RCT. The modal characteristics of the axial compressor rotor-disk assembly are studied experimentally and numerically.
 Experimentally it is observed that the rotating stall cells excite the blades in their fundamental mode in a compressor with baseline solid casing at the stall flow condition. In contrast, there is no excitation of the blades in the compressor with self-recirculating casing treatment at the same solid casing stall flow condition. Also, the self-recirculating casing treatment compared to the solid casing can significantly reduce the overall vibration levels of the blades that are excited at the stall flow condition. The casing treatment is able to alter the flow field near the tip region of the rotor blade, and hence influencing the forcing function of the rotating cantilever blades to have the aeroelastic benefit.


We consider a variation of Voronoi diagram, or time-based Voronoi diagram, for a set S of points in the presence of transportation lines or highways in the plane. A shortest time-distance path from a query point to any given point in S is a path that takes the least travelling time. The travelling speeds and hence travelling times of the subpaths along the highways and in the plane are different. M. Abellanas et al. [1] gave a simple algorithm that runs in O(n log n) time, for computing the time-based Voronoi diagram for a set of n points in the presence of one highway in the plane. We consider a generalization of this problem to the case when there are two or more highways. We give a characterization of this problem and present an O(n log n) time algorithm for the problem where there are two highways. The algorithm can be easily extended to multiple highways if a certain intersection condition of highways holds.


As machine learning (ML) techniques are being increasingly used in many applications, their vulnerability to adversarial attacks becomes well-known. Test time attacks, usually launched by adding adversarial noise to test instances, have been shown effective against the deployed ML models. In practice, one test input may be leveraged by different ML models. Test time attacks targeting a single ML model often neglect their impact on other ML models. In this work, we empirically demonstrate that naively attacking the classifier learning one concept may negatively impact classifiers trained to learn other concepts. For example, for the online image classification scenario, when the Gender classifier is under attack, the (wearing) Glasses classifier is simultaneously attacked with the accuracy dropped from 98.69 to 88.42. This raises an interesting question: is it possible to attack one set of classifiers without impacting the other set that uses the same test instance? Answers to the above research question have interesting implications for protecting privacy against ML model misuse. Attacking ML models that pose unnecessary risks of privacy invasion can be an important tool for protecting individuals from harmful privacy exploitation. In this paper, we address the above research question by developing novel attack techniques that can simultaneously attack one set of ML models while preserving the accuracy of the other. In the case of linear classifiers, we provide a theoretical framework for finding an optimal solution to generate such adversarial examples. Using this theoretical framework, we develop a multi-concept attack strategy in the context of deep learning. Our results demonstrate that our techniques can successfully attack the target classes while protecting the protected classes in many different settings, which is not possible with the existing test-time attack-single strategies.


The preparation of zeolites X, Y and A enriched with Fe3+, Y3+, Cr3+, Co3+ and Tl+ and their sorptive properties towards carbon dioxide and ammonia are discussed. Adsorption is reversible and reproducible for all the systems and in zeolites X and Y the uptake of CO2 decreases with the degree of exchange; this is attributed to depopulation of supercage cation sites during the exchange process. Agreement between the experimental sorption data and theoretical isotherms is excellent for CO2 in zeolites X and Y; agreement is less favourable for zeolite A. From an analysis of the isosteric heats and sorption affinities it is concluded that the electrostatic fields generated by the M3+ cations were shielded from interaction with CO2 but there was evidence that the trivalent cations had limited interaction with the NH3 molecules.


Opioid use disorder (OUD) through prescription opioid misuse, heroin, and illicitly manufactured fentanyl use has increased dramatically in the past 20 years. Medications to treat opioid use disorder (MOUD) is considered the gold standard for treating opioid use disorders but uptake remains low. Recently, Madden has argued that in addition to the stigma assigned to substance use and people with SUD, MOUDs also are stigmatized, a process she labels intervention stigma to distinguish it from condition stigma (ie, stigma of SUD) . In this paper, we examine MOUD related stigma from the perspective of people who use opioids (PWUO) and key informants who play some role in providing or referring people to drug treatment. Providers and PWOU often viewed MOUD as one drug replacing another which discouraged providers from recommending and PWUO from accepting MOUD. MOUD stigma was also expressed by providers' exaggerated fear of MOUD diversion. The extent to which MOUD was accepted as a legitimate treatment varied and influenced treatment providers' perceptions of the goals of drug treatment and the length of time that MOUD should be used with many feeling that MOUD should only be used as a temporary tool while PWOU work on other treatment goals. This led to tapering off of MOUD after some time in treatment. Some providers also expressed mistrust of MOUD stemming from their previous experiences with the over-prescription of opioids for pain which led to the current crisis. Results from this study suggest that the proportion of PWUO on MOUD is unlikely to increase without addressing MOUD stigma among drug treatment providers and PWUO seeking treatment.


Full details are provided for the alternating copolymerization of acrylic esters with carbon monoxide (CO) catalyzed by palladium species bearing a phosphine-sulfonate bidentate ligand. The copolymer of methyl acrylate (MA) and CO had complete regioregularity with stereocenters that slowly epimerize in the presence of methanol. In the presence of ethylene, terpolymers of MA/ethylene/CO were also prepared. The glass transition temperatures of the co- and terpolymers were higher than that of the ethylene/CO copolymer. Both experimental and theoretical investigations were performed to clarify the superior nature of the palladium phosphine-sulfonate system compared to an unsuccessful conventional palladium diphosphine system: (i) The reversible insertion of CO was directly observed with the isolated alkylpalladium complexes, [{o-((o-MeOC(6)H(4))(2)P)C(6)H(4)SO(3)}PdCH(CO(2)Me)CH(2)COMe], whereas it was not observed with the corresponding complex bearing 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (DPPE). (ii) The transition state of the subsequent MA insertion, the rate-determining step of the catalytic cycle, was lower in energy in the phosphine-sulfonate system than in the DPPE system. This stabilization could be attributed to the less hindered sulfonate moiety as well as the stronger back-donation from palladium to the electron-deficient olefin, which is located trans to the sulfonate.


In this multicentre intervention study, we compared an integrated group treatment program which combines psychological and education methods into a more active training approach, with the traditional individual approach of physiotherapy and physical procedures for sub-chronic and chronic low back pain. Our 411 patients had a 4-week inpatient treatment: 243 patients in an experimental program and 168 in a traditional program. Outcomes of 283 patients were assessed 3 months and 1 year after entry. The dropout rate was 31.1%. Both conditions demonstrated favourable initial effects on functional and psychological parameters, but the integrated approach showed better long-term results for work rehabilitation than the traditional approach. The most successful patients (n = 58) were younger and had a higher educational level in comparison to the unsuccessful subgroup (n = 71). The main conclusion is that an integrated approach promoting self control and behaviour change through educational measures achieves better long-term results than the traditional individual physiotherapy approach.


Everyone wants to be beautiful. One's beauty can be enriched with proper nourishment, treatment and care. For that reason beauty parlors have been established in cities and towns. It's a flourishing business in service sector. This study attempts to measure customer satisfaction on parlors in Chittagong city. A structured questionnaire is developed on SERVQUAL model. The survey is conducted among 100 respondents in 5 most popular beauty parlors in Chittagong. The purpose of the study is to identify customer perception on tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy in beauty parlors in Chittagong and to evaluate the effect of service quality on customer satisfaction. The statistical tools SPSS is used to calculate the mean and linear regression analysis. The findings show that tangibility has the highest mean score among five factors. Moreover, tangibility factor has significant influence on customer satisfaction. Beauty parlors should consider these factors more to satisfy customer. Keywords: Customer Satisfaction, SERVQUAL Model, Beauty Parlors


Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, educational practices have been disrupted in a variety of ways affecting both students and teachers. Ample evidence among many others is the fact that students are required to switch their platforms of learning, from on-site to online learning. Research conveys that this alteration has significantly affected students in various aspects such as places to study, time management, and their health. This study therefore aims to identify problems that come from online learning encountered by students themselves through the means of survey. Thus, we had collected data from 171 high school students and school leavers, in 4 categories: 1) the level of stress, 2) the level of loneliness, 3) the level of motivation, 4) the average sleep hour during the online learning period, using an online survey. The results show that there are correlations as follows, 1) positive correlation between stress and loneliness, 2) negative correlation between stress and sleep hour, and 3) negative correlation between motivation and loneliness. Screen time affects stress levels which in turn increase the loneliness of students and decrease sleep hours. This study raises concerns to educators, teachers, and parents that their children need to be understood, and appropriate support can help them overcome challenges during this difficult time.


Intelligence is an whole aptitude which results in coordination of a person's lots of mental abilities. The last definition about the mental- impaired children was made by American Association Mental Retardation. According to this definiton, a mental- impaired person can't fulfill his/her mental function entirely and show his/her ability in social, conceptual and practical accordance skills. This disability begins before 18 years old. The World Health Organization expressed that there are 2 or 3% of mental impaired people in a society. The most outstanding feature of a mental- impaired child is that his/ her development is slower than his/her peers. This retardation is seen in all development stages. The etiologic factor of a major of mental impairment isn't known but it is thought that the external factors like infection, trauma and toxins, prenatal, perinatal or postnatal factors, birth problems and genetic factors cause the mental impairment. Mental impairment requires long term medical impairment and caring and caring at home provides children to feel themselves more comfortable, happier and more free. Among the health disciplines, in services of caring at home, the caring role is the duty of nursing profession. Lots of nursing enterprise must be carried out to raise the mental- impaired children's health levels. In addition to help child and his/her parents in daily life activities, nurses must improve the methods about coping with the protection and assimilation of their mental health in depression period.


in total GOAL, from mean (SD) 61.7 (18.1) to 63.8 (16.1) this corresponded to a decrease (improvement) in GPS from mean (SD) 12.8 (4.2)° to 10.7 (3.2)° which is 1.3 times the minimally clinically important difference (MCID) of the GPS. In the non-surgical group there was a small decrease in the total GOAL from mean (SD) 65.5 (15.6) to 64.6 (16.4) which corresponded to an increase in GPS, mean (SD) 10.6 (2.8) degrees to 11.5 (3.8)° indicating a slight decline in gait function. Correlation between change in total GOAL and GPS for all children was 0.42. The strongest correlation was 0.47 between the gait appearance domain and GPS. Conclusions/Significance: This study provides preliminary evidence that the GOAL is responsive to objectively measured changes in gait function of children with CP. The GOAL demonstrated both an improvement and decline in score corresponding to changes seen in gait function (GPS). The GOAL has already provided clinicians with an improved understanding of the child and family's aims and expectations related to their gait function and it, may provide a means to evaluate changes in these aims and expectations over time, which will complement the objective assessment from 3DGA. Further studies with larger numbers and longer-term follow up are required to study the responsiveness of the GOAL to changes in gait function after intervention and to determine the GOAL MCID.


ABSTRACT Bacterial 6S RNA regulates transcription via binding to the active site of RNA polymerase holoenzymes. 6S RNA has been identified in the majority of bacteria, in most cases encoded by a single gene. Firmicutes including Bacillus subtilis encode two 6S RNA paralogs, 6S-1 and 6S-2 RNA. Hypothesizing that the regulatory role of 6S RNAs may be particularly important under natural, constantly changing environmental conditions, we constructed 6S RNA deletion mutants of the undomesticated B. subtilis wild-type strain NCIB 3610. We observed a strong phenotype for the ∆6S-2 RNA strain that showed increased biofilm formation on solid media and the ability to form surface-attached biofilms in liquid culture. This phenotype remained undetected in derived laboratory strains (168, PY79) that are defective in biofilm formation. Quantitative RT-PCR data revealed transcriptional upregulation of biofilm marker genes such as tasA, epsA and bslA in the ∆6S-2 RNA strain, particularly during transition from exponential to stationary growth phase. Salt stress, which blocks sporulation at a very early stage, was found to override the derepressed biofilm phenotype of the ∆6S-2 RNA strain. Furthermore, the ∆6S-2 RNA strain showed retarded swarming activity and earlier spore formation. Finally, the ∆6S-1&2 RNA double deletion strain showed a prolonged lag phase of growth under oxidative, high salt and alkaline stress conditions, suggesting that the interplay of both 6S RNAs in B. subtilis optimizes and fine-tunes transcriptomic adaptations, thereby contributing to the fitness of B. subtilis under the unsteady and temporarily harsh conditions encountered in natural habitats.


In this paper a microstrip parasitic-dipole antenna is proposed and an array is constructed by the proposed antenna on conformal conical surface. The proposed antenna has a good impendence bandwidth, lower cross-polarization. The proposed array exhibits excellent impendence bandwidth of 28.5% and can scan its patterns with lower cross-polarization compared with a conventional conformal microsstrip patch array.


hoped that the Nurses at War Project's website might include audio recordings that would be helpful in gauging the extent of editing, but none of the fourteen interviewees featured in the book appeared on the project's website. Without access to the unrevised versions of these interviews, readers must rely on Rushton's edited narratives, which may or may not convey a true sense of each interviewee's words. Overall, the book would have benefitted from more careful copyediting, as there were numerous grammatical errors throughout the text. Of the seven references listed at the end of the book, none were referenced directly in the text, and none of the interviews were cited. The book also contains about twenty photos but none were credited. Another troublesome aspect was the frequent use of medical and military terminology and acronyms that were rarely defined or explained. After decades in the field of military nursing, Rushton must keep in mind that not all of her readers are as versed in these terminologies as she is. Although the subject matter of Gulf War Nurses is significant, Rushton has failed to either employ a solid methodology or to describe her methodology adequately, thus diminishing the scholarly importance and impact of these interviews. Going forward with the collection of interviews for the Nurses at War Project, she would surely benefit from further reading on oral history best practices. The accounts in Gulf War Nurses will still be of interest to those studying the history of nursing, medical care in wartime, women's roles in the military, and the Persian Gulf conflicts. However, those readers should be aware of the difficulty of using interviews like these that provide only a minimal amount of context. Erin M. Hess Louisiana State University, T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History doi:10.1093/ohr/ohs070 Advance Access publication 30 July 2012


The development of a captioning system that supports the real-time understanding of spoken monologue such as lectures and commentaries is required. In monologues, since a sentence tends to be long, each sentence is often displayed in multi lines on the screen, it is necessary to insert linefeeds into a text so that the text becomes easy to read. This paper proposes a technique for inserting linefeeds into a Japanese spoken monologue as an elemental technique to generate the readable captions. Our method appropriately inserts linefeeds into a sentence by machine learning, based on the information such as dependencies, clause boundaries and line length. An experiment using Japanese speech data has shown the effectiveness of our technique.


Before any hospital can be considered for intern training it needs to be a "registered hospital." This means that it must be a worthy institution free from even a suspicion of unethical practices. Admission to the Hospital Register, therefore, is the first step in the approval of a hospital by the American Medical Association, and approval for the training of interns is the next higher list for admission to which, also, further qualifications are essential. A third still higher group is made up of hospitals approved for residencies in the several specialties. With the great improvements brought about in medical schools during the last twenty-five years, the graduates have now obtained a far better training than formerly in the examination and care of patients under the supervision of their physician-teachers, so that the hospitals which provide internships need to have developed improved educational methods hereinafter outlined. The hospital internship is


Purpose To investigate the interreader and intermodality agreement for grading of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) atrophy lesion size in ABCA4-related retinopathy using green (GAF) and blue fundus autofluorescence (BAF) imaging. Methods In this cross-sectional case series, 97 eyes of 49 patients with RPE atrophy secondary to ABCA4-related retinopathy underwent GAF- (518 nm excitation light) and BAF- (488 nm excitation light) imaging using confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (Spectralis HRA, Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). Lesions with definitely decreased autofluorescence (DDAF) and questionably decreased autofluorescence (QDAF) in GAF and BAF imaging were analyzed separately by five independent readers using semiautomated software (RegionFinder, Heidelberg Engineering). Intermodality and interreader agreements were assessed for the square-root lesion size, lesion perimeter, and circularity. Results GAF- and BAF-based measurements of DDAF and QDAF showed high intermodality and interreader agreement concerning square-root lesion size, as well as shape descriptive parameters (perimeter and circularity). Interreader agreement of square-root lesion size was slightly, hence not significantly higher for GAF-based grading ([95% coefficients of repeatability, intraclass correlation coefficient] DDAF: 0.215 mm, 0.997; QDAF: 0.712 mm, 0.981) compared to BAF-based grading (DDAF: 0.232 mm, 0.997; QDAF: 0.764 mm, 0.978). However, DDAF-measurements revealed distinctly more reproducible results than QDAF-measurements. Foveal sparing did not interfere with intermodality agreement. Conclusions Both GAF- and BAF-based quantification of RPE atrophy showed very reliable results with possible superiority of GAF in the context of less energetic excitation light. Translational Relevance The high interreader agreement qualifies the use of DDAF progression in GAF and BAF imaging as potential morphologic outcome measure for interventional clinical trials and disease monitoring.


This paper presents a nonlinear differential model, for a three-bladed horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) suited for control applications. It is based on a 8-dofs, lumped parameters structural dynamics coupled with a quasi-steady sectional aerodynamics. In particular, using the Euler-Lagrange Equation (Energetic Variation approach), the authors derive, and successively validate, such model. For the derivation of the aerodynamic model, the Greenbergs theory, an extension of the theory proposed by Theodorsen to the case of thin airfoils undergoing pulsating flows, is used. Specifically, in this work, the authors restricted that theory under the hypothesis of low perturbation reduced frequency k, which causes the lift deficiency function C(k) to be real and equal to 1. Furthermore, the expressions of the aerodynamic loads are obtained using the quasi-steady strip theory (Hodges and Ormiston), as a function of the chordwise and normal components of relative velocity between flow and airfoil Ut, Up, their derivatives, and section angular velocity ε̇. For the validation of the proposed model, the authors carried out open and closed-loop simulations of a 5 MW HAWT, characterized by radius R =61.5 m and by mean chord c = 3 m, with a nominal angular velocity Ωn = 1.266rad/sec. The first analysis performed is the steady state solution, where a uniform wind Vw = 11.4 m/s is considered and a collective pitch angle θ = 0.88◦ is imposed. During this step, the authors noticed that the proposed model is intrinsically periodic due to the effect of the wind and of the gravitational force. In order to reject this periodic trend in the model dynamics, the authors propose a collective repetitive control algorithm coupled with a PD controller. In particular, when the reference command to be tracked and/or the disturbance to be rejected are periodic signals with a fixed period, the repetitive control strategies can be applied due to their high precision, simple implementation and little performance dependency on system parameters. The functional scheme of a repetitive controller is quite simple and, given a periodic reference command, is composed of a control block Crc(s) usually added to an existing feedback control system. The control block contains and a free time-delay system e in a positive feedback loop, and a low-pass filter q(s). It should be noticed that, while the time delay term reduces the stability margin, on the other hand the low pass filter is added to ensure stability. It is worth noting that, in this work, the authors propose a phase shifting for the controller and the delay system has been modified as e−(T−γk), where T is the period of the signal and γk is a phase shifting of k samples of the same periodic signal. It should be noticed that, the phase shifting technique is particularly useful in non-minimum phase systems, such as flexible structures. In fact, using the phase shifting, the iterative algorithm could reach the convergence also at high frequencies. Notice that, in our case study, the shifting of k samples depends both on the rotor angular velocity Ω and on the rotor azimuth angle Ψ: we refer to this controller as a spatial repetitive controller. The collective repetitive controller has also been coupled with a This work was not supported by any organization M. Gennaretti, S. Panzieri and J. Serafini are with Faculty of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Roma Tre University, 00146, Roma, Italy. R. Santini is with Faculty of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Roma Tre University, 00146, Roma, Italy (e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com). C(s) = PD(s), in order to dampen oscillations of the blades. The performance of the spatial repetitive controller is compared with an industrial PI controller. In particular, starting from wind speed velocity Vw = 11.4 m/s the controller is asked to maintain the nominal angular velocity Ωn = 1.266rad/s after an instantaneous increase of wind speed (Vw = 15 m/s). Then, a purely periodic external disturbance is introduced in order to stress the capabilities of the repetitive controller. The results of the simulations show that, contrary to a simple PI controller, the spatial repetitive-PD controller has the capability to reject both external disturbances and periodic trend in the model dynamics. Finally, the nominal value of the angular velocity is reached, in accordance with results obtained with commercial software for a turbine of the same type. Keywords—Wind turbines, aeroelasticity, repetitive control, periodic systems.


A sequence of ground-based radar reflectivity images sampled in the 17 hours prior to, and during the landfall of Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry (2006) are presented and analyzed using Fourier and wavelet analysis techniques. A range of mesoscale convective anomalies were detected, with characteristics and behavior consistent with vortex Rossby wave initiation. Cyclonically propagating eye-wall kinks, elongations and mesoscale reflectivity maxima were all observed throughout the sampling period, along with intense inner spiral bands. Various deep convective maxima propagated within the eye-wall at speeds consistent with predictions derived by linear barotropic wave theory. Three eye-wall breakdown episodes were observed during the study period, along with corresponding increases in storm-core asymmetric wave power and reductions in estimated storm intensity. Vortex Rossby wave initiated radial flows are also suggested by the presence of a possible mesovortex within a broken section of the eye-wall during landfall, and the outward ejection of filaments of deep convection from an adjacent inner spiral band. The possible influence of this wave activity upon the storm intensity and integrity is discussed.


Regulatory light chain (RLC) phosphorylation controls smooth muscle myosin's ability to act as a molecular motor. If thick filament-regulated myosins share a common structural basis for the "on-off" switch, then the interface between the RLC and essential light chain (ELC) should be as important in smooth muscle myosin as it is for calcium-dependent regulation in molluscan myosin (Xie, X., Harrison, D. H., Schlichting, I., Sweet, R. M., Kalabokis, V. N., Szent-Györgyi, A. G., and Cohen, C. (1994) Nature 368, 306-312). To test this hypothesis, a baculovirus expression system was used to obtain a truncated smooth muscle myosin that contained its native RLC and either smooth ELC, skeletal ELC, or no ELC. Movement of actin in a motility assay by heavy meromyosin (HMM) containing either skeletal or smooth ELC occurred at the same rate and in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. In contrast, substitution of skeletal RLC for smooth RLC produced an inactive molecule. HMM without an ELC moved actin at 25% the rate of control HMM, but the movement was phosphorylation-dependent even without an RLC/ELC interface. Poor regulation was observed, however, when the tail was truncated from 72 to 27 nm even though this species was primarily double-headed. These results suggest that the molecular changes induced at the active site by phosphorylation can occur independent of the ELC, but critically depend upon a stable coiled-coil tail that determines how the RLCs interact at the head/rod junction.


The calcium phosphate spherical material with a hierarchical structure has been used as a bone implantation material. To improve the properties of the implant material, the compositions of calcium phosphate, silicon, and titanium are crucial. The presence of silicon on the surface of the phosphate–calcium material accelerates the bonding of the implant with the bone (osseointegration). The aim of this work was to develop a sol–gel method to prepare spherical calcium-phosphate@TiO2–SiO2 biomaterials for bone implantation. The CaO@TiO2–SiO2 biomaterial with a core–shell structure was synthesized by the sol–gel method. The biological properties of the materials were studied with a simulated body fluid (SBF). The sample had a spherical shape. The sample exhibited bioactive properties because an increase in the content of calcium and phosphorus ions in the shell and the presence of precipitated ions from the solution were detected on the surface. The TiO2–SiO2 framework was uniformly fixed on the CaO core. Heat treatment of the hybrid mesostructure led to the formation of mesoporous materials with a specific regular structure in the nanometer size in the shell, which is necessary for the fixation of biological cells when the sample is introduced into the biological medium. The formation of a calcium–phosphate layer on the materials and the release of soluble silicon and calcium ions into the SBF are the key factors for the rapid connection of these materials with tissue. The results demonstrate that the CaO@TiO2–SiO2 biomaterial with a core–shell structure is a good candidate for bone implantation.


Among the techniques used to retrofit existing reinforced concrete structures, methods involving Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites (UHP-FRCC) are widely regarded. However, current practices make the use of this material for in-situ application expensive and complicated to perform. Accordingly, a new method to strengthen existing concrete beams by applying a precast UHP-FRCC layer on the bottom side are introduced and described herein. Two test campaigns are performed with the aim of defining the best conditions at the interface between the reinforcing layer and the existing beam and to reducing the environmental impact of UHP-FRCC mixtures. As a result, the eco-mechanical analysis reveals that the best performances are attained when the adhesion at interface is enhanced by means of steel nails on the upper surface of the UHP-FRCC layer, in which 20% of the cement is replaced by fly ash.


In this paper we present the first naturalistic (in-situ) exploratory study seeking to apply mixed-reality (MR) technologies within the industrial chemical laboratory (wet lab) domain with the aim of identifying opportunities and challenges for such applications. This research was conducted in partnership with Agilent Technologies (Agilent), an industry leader in the wet lab domain, which allowed us to draw on domain expert knowledge of actual work practices to inform the design of our system and its subsequent evaluation. This naturalistic approach is in stark contrast to most existing MR research, which usually involves tightly controlled experimental conditions. Despite this, designing and evaluating solutions insitu must be explored in order to better understand how these systems succeed or fail to meet user requirements in an industrial environment involving actual work practices. This approach enabled the discovery of a new construct which we term "physically embedded data". We conclude that existing process models need to be extended to facilitate the design of effective MR systems for knowledge work practices by explicitly incorporating this phenomenon. This understanding also forms the basis for further research opportunities into a new system design methodology for industrial MR support systems for knowledge work practices.


this paper presents a low-power soft error-hardened latch suitable for reliable circuits. The proposed circuit uses redundant feedback loop to protect latch circuit against soft error on the internal nodes and skewed CMOS to filter out transients resulting from particle hit on combinational logic. The proposed circuit has low power consumption, enhanced setup time and lower timing overhead. The HSPICE post-layout simulations in 90nm CMOS technology reveals that circuit is able to recover from single particle strike on internal nodes and tolerates input SETs up to 130ps of duration.


For many music teachers faced with developing a middle school general music class, the possibili-
ties for both musical content and pedagogical implementation may seem endless. The experiences
and preparation of teachers who teach this class and the students who enroll necessarily impact
the teaching and learning that occurs; yet, many teachers have complete autonomy when develop-
ing this learning experience. Through lived and told narratives of experience, this article explores
the perspectives and teaching practices of two music teachers who conceptualize musical learning
in middle school general music differently. Utilizing a dialectic perspective, the views of these
two teachers are placed in dialogue each other and with the practices of the researcher in order
to examine an important issue in music education: making and receiving or developing artistic
performance skills and aesthetic perception abilities. The discussion of these two teachers' practices
demonstrates the need for continued and ongoing discussion between music educators with differ-
ing views, a dialogue with potential to strengthen the purposes and content of general music for
middle school students.


PRETRIAL RELEASE IN VIRGINIA: INVESTIGATING THE INFLUENCE OF DEFENDANT CHARACTERISTICS AND COMMUNITY TYPE ON PRETRIAL OUTCOME Marie L. VanNostrand Old Dominion University, 2000 Chair: Dr. Wolfgang Pindur This study identified defendant characteristics that are related to pretrial outcome (success or failure pending trial) in Virginia. The study also investigated the potential differences in predictors across community types (Large Urban, Small Urban, Mixed, and Rural). Identification of factors that are predictors of outcome, as well as any differences across community types, can assist judicial officers in making the bail decision. The bail decision, to release or incarcerate a defendant pending trial, is a monumental one. Judicial officers must attempt to fairly and equitably balance the rights and needs of the defendant with those of the public at large. The successful identification of predictors of pretrial outcome, if used by judicial officers, can improve bail decisions and result in an increase to public safety, a reduction in the potential for disparity in bail decisions, the protection of the presumption o f innocence, and an improvement in the operation of the criminal justice system. The Beeley Theory o f Pretrial Risk Prediction guided this research. This theory states that individual defendant characteristics including current charge, criminal history, social history, and personal characteristics, are related to pretrial outcome and should be considered in the bail decision-making process. The research also tested the Assumption Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. of Community Differences for the first time. This assumption refers to the belief that the predictors of pretrial outcome are different depending on the community type in which a defendant resides. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services provided the database for this research. The database contained 1,971 valid cases with 1 dependent variable (outcome) and 50 independent variables that were measures o f demographics, health, community and general stability, criminal history, and community type. The cases were collected from seven Virginia localities representing the four community types. The data analysis consisted of descriptive, bivariate (Chi-Square and Mann-Whitney U), and multivariate (Binary Logistic Regression) statistics. The Beeley Theory of Pretrial Risk Prediction and the Assumption of Community Differences were both supported. Sixteen defendant characteristics were related to pretrial outcome. The best predictors of outcome varied across community types. Recommendations for public policy and future research are presented. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.


Researchers have been perplexed by the issue of unit nonresponse since the beginning of practicing survey research and have been attentive to the causes that lead to the occurrence of unit nonresponse as well as the impact of unit nonresponse. However, because researchers have little to no information regarding unit nonrespondents, it is unlikely that they are able to examine the differences between participants and nonrespondents to estimate the loss of representativeness in the final sample compared with the target population. Therefore, the lack of information regarding the absentees complicates addressing the unit nonresponse bias in a satisfactory manner. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the demographic characteristics and political attitudes of nonrespondents by relying on information provided by their spouses, which was obtained through a telephone survey conducted in Taiwan. It is found that demographic variables as well as political attitudes are related to the likelihood of an individual becoming a unit nonrespondent in telephone surveys.


We prospectively evaluated the frequency, cause, and outcome of hyponatremia (plasma sodium concentration, less than 130 meq/L), as well as the hormonal response to this condition, in hospitalized patients. Daily incidence and prevalence of hyponatremia averaged 0.97% and 2.48%, respectively. Two thirds of all hyponatremia was hospital acquired. Normovolemic states (so-called syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone) were the most commonly seen clinical setting of hyponatremia. The fatality rate for hyponatremic patients was 60-fold that for patients without documented hyponatremia. Nonosmotic secretion of vasopressin was present in 97% of hyponatremic patients in whom it was sought. In edematous and hypovolemic patients, plasma hormonal responses (increases in plasma renin activity and aldosterone and norepinephrine levels) were compatible with baroreceptor-mediated release of vasopressin. Hyponatremia is a common hospital-acquired electrolyte disturbance that is an indicator of poor prognosis. Nonosmotic secretion of arginine vasopressin is a major pathogenetic factor in this electrolyte disturbance.


possible to produce anaesthesia of these joints by a variety of means. Whilst it is reasonable to assume that rhizolysis performed using the Rees method3 is unlikely to produce denervation of the joint, this is certainly not the case when the more conventional approach described by Shealy4 is employed. Shealy4 aims to destroy the articular branch of the posterior primary ramus at the junction between the inter transverse ligament and the base of the transverse process and in consequence anaesthesia of the joint contributes to the good pain relief produced by the procedure. Recently the technique has been further improved by the production of two or more additional lesions over the superficial surface of the facetal joint. Dr Bogduk further suggests that rhizolysis is a potentially dangerous technique and, while I agree that no invasive procedure should be undertaken lightly, side effects such as the production of anaesthesia dolorosa or cutaneous sensory loss have not been observed in patients treated at the Oxford Regional Pain Relief Unit. Certainly rhizolysis i s not the initial therapy offered to patients with intractable back pain and only those who respond to a preliminary injection of long acting local analgesic are considered for the procedure. Rhizolysis like any other procedure should not be undertaken without a full understanding of the anatomical and physiological effects but, provided the lesion is produced by cryoanalgesia' rather than nerve section or radio frequency destruction, longterm side effects are unlikely to occur as nerve regeneration invariably occurs, and neuroma formation has not been reported.


455 Objectives: Genistein, a naturally occurring isoflavenoid abundant in soy products, has anti-neoplastic activity in multiple tumor types in vitro. There are several mechanisms reported for genistein's anti-neoplastic activity, including inhibition of tyrosine kinase activation, and induction of apoptosis. Constitutive activation of the tyrosine kinase Akt contributes towards inhibition of apoptosis and chemoresistance in ovarian cancer. Activation of Akt has also been shown to enhance aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells. The purpose of this study was to determine if genistein is cytotoxic to ovarian cancer cells, and if this occurs through inhibition of Akt activation and glucose uptake. Methods: Eight ovarian cancer cell lines were incubated with media containing glucose, genistein, or 2-deoxyglucose (2-DOG) in the presence or absence of zVAD (a generalized caspase inhibitor). Growth inhibition was determined using the sulforhodamine assay. Viability and apoptotic fraction were determined by propidium iodide permeability and sub Go analysis respectively. Caspase and Akt activation were determined by immunoblotting. Glucose uptake was analyzed with the 3H-2-DOG assay. Morphology was determined by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Autophagic vacuoles were visualized using monodansylcadaverine staining. Results: Genistein induced cell death in all eight ovarian cancer cell lines tested. Although genistein induced cell death in 50% of cells by 24 h, only 20% of cell death could be attributed to apoptosis as determined by PI permeability and SubGo analysis. Moreover, genistein induced cell death in the presence or absence of zVAD. Caspase-9 activation was seen following 48 h of treatment. Genistein treatment resulted in inhibition of glucose uptake and inhibition of Akt activation by 8 hours of treatment. Morphology was consistent with autophagic cell death. Conclusions: Constitutive activation of Akt confers resistance to chemotherapy induced apoptosis, and enhances aerobic glycolysis in ovarian cancer cells. We have shown that genistein inhibits Akt activation and glycolysis, and can induce both apoptotic and autophagic cell death in ovarian cancer cells. Most conventional chemotherapeutic agents induce apoptotic cell death. Because genistein can circumvent chemoresistance due to alterations in apoptotic signaling, it has the potential to be effective against chemoresistant disease.


The vestibulo-ocular reflex of 4 patients with periodic alternating nystagmus (PAN) was studied in detail. Rotational testing was used to investigate the horizontal semicircular canal-ocular reflex, canal-otolith interaction, and the dynamic otolith-ocular reflex. Results indicated abnormal gain and phase of the horizontal semicircular canal-ocular reflex during sinusoidal rotation and a variable rate of decay of postrotatory responses. Each patient had abnormal canal-otolith interaction. An enlarged modulation component of the dynamic otolith-ocular response was observed in each patient. This study supports the idea that PAN is caused by an instability in the velocity storage element, a hypothetical neural circuit that perseverates the eye movement response to both vestibular and optokinetic stimulation. Further, we postulate that PAN may be caused by lesions of the cerebellar uvula and nodulus or their connections with the brainstem vestibular nuclei.


Rural households in developing countries pursue multiple livelihood goals simultaneously, such as food security, income, and a healthy nutrition. These goals are often dynamically interconnected, meaning that development interventions targeted at improving one livelihood domain may cause concurrent losses in another. Researchers and policy-makers have answered calls for holistic, integrated development by formulating new paradigms, such as 'sustainable intensification', yet without prescribing concrete strategies. Hence, which innovations and practices lead to the desired changes in specific context remains to be determined. System modelling is a widespread strategy to integrate different livelihood domains, and make ex-ante predictions about the outcomes of specific technological or institutional interventions. But models are subject to uncertainty and incompleteness, and frequently suffer from narrowly defined system boundaries. These limitations make it difficult to derive concrete recommendations for rural development interventions. To support the selection of intervention strategies for holistic development, we propose an alternative approach. The "positive deviance" concept rests on the observation that, in many rural communities, some households achieve higher livelihood success than others, although facing similar resources, challenges, and trade-offs. These positive deviant households (PDs) likely do things differently, be it farm management, resource allocation, or off-farm activities. We suggest that involving PDs in empirical, qualitative research may reveal successful and potentially uncommon behaviours embedded in local context. These may be crucial inputs to meaningful development interventions. We designed a methodology for identifying PDs, using a lean data approach and based on household success in five key livelihood domains. We surveyed 521 rural households in Tanzania, identifying 54 PDs. Here, positive deviance chiefly stemmed from success in nutrition, income, and low environmental impact. Interventions in these domains are thus more promising than interventions for food security or gender equity. We also systematically selected 18 PDs for in-depth interviews and farm visits, revealing several onand off-farm success strategies, such as investments into crop storage, and meticulous allocation of labour resources during periods of land preparation and sowing. This pilot study demonstrates the potential of positive deviance analysis for rapid prioritisation of rural intervention options, grounded in the real-life experiences of the target population.


Tuberculosis (TB) poses a grave predicament to the world as it is not merely a scientific challenge but a socio-economic burden as well. A prime cause of mortality in human due to an infectious disease; the malady and its cause, Mycobacterium tuberculosis have remained an enigma with many questions that remain unanswered. The ability of the pathogen to survive and switch between varied physiological states necessitates a protracted therapeutic regimen that exerts an excessive strain on low-resource countries. To complicate things further, there has been a significant rise of antimicrobial resistance. Existing control measures, including treatment regimens have remained fairly uniform globally for at least half a century and require reinvention. Overcoming the societal and scientific challenges requires an increase in dialog to identify key regions that need attention and effective partners with whom successful collaborations can be fostered. In this report, we explore the discussions held at the International TB Summit 2015 hosted by EuroSciCon, which served as an excellent platform for researchers to share their recent findings. Ground-breaking results require outreach to affect policy design, governance and control of the disease. Hence, we feel it is important that meetings such as these reach a wider, global audience.


The first phases of the engineering design process, such as the problem definition, the information gathering and the idea generation phase, are commonly considered as important steps in product development, since the cost of a product is assumed to be largely determined within these design steps. Besides limiting the product costs, designers are nowadays forced to reduce the environmental impact and to optimize possible economic gains over the total product lifecycle. Therefore, within this paper a design method is presented to assist designers to take into account different End-of-Life (EoL) treatment strategies in the early stages of the design process. During the proposed design method, designers are first introduced to the existing EoL treatment options and thereafter encouraged to apply different design strategies, such as design for (active) disassembly. Also, the results of adopting the proposed design method within the Erasmus European Intensive Program (IP2012) 'Green products through a multicoloured approach', a multidisciplinary two week workshop that was held at Howest (University College of West-Flanders) in Belgium, are presented in this paper.


Abstract For each integer n ≥ 0, we give a distinct closed model category structure to the categories of spaces and of simplicial sets. Recall that a non-empty map is said to be a weak equivalence if it induces isomorphisms on the homotopy groups for any choice of base point. Putting the condition on dimensions ≥ n, we have the notion of a weak n-equivalence which is at the base of the nth closed model category structure given here.


In this paper we follow a new approach for particle creation by a localized strong gravitational field. The approach is based on a definition of the physical vacuum drawn from Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Using the fact that the gravitational field red-shifts the frequency modes of the vacuum, a condition on the minimum stregth of the gravitational field required to achieve real particle creation is derived. Application of this requirement on a Schwartzchid black hole resulted in deducing an upper limit on the region, outside the event horizon, where real particles can be created. Using this regional upper limit, and considering particle creation by black holes as a consequence of the Casimir effect, with the assumption that the created quanta are to be added to the initial energy, we deduce a natural power law for the development of the event horizon, and consequently a logarithmic law for the area spectrum of an inflating black hole. Application of the results on a cosmological model shows that if we start with a Planck-dimensional black hole, then through the process of particle creation we end up with a universe having the presently estimated critical density. Such a universe will be in a state of eternal inflation.


Abstract Proso millet, Panicum miliaceum (L.), is a warm‐season annual grass well adapted for grain production in the western Great Plains of the United States, where risk of hail injury is greater than any other region of the United States. Because adjustment procedures and loss equations are not available, proso millet producers in this region have had limited access to crop hail insurance as a risk management tool. Our research was conducted to assess impact of shoot reduction treatments imposed at different crop growth stages on grain yield loss of proso millet grown under several environments. Our goal was to provide information for development of crop insurance adjustment procedures. We also wanted to determine the impact of shoot reduction on various grain yield components. Treatments consisted of a control and three levels of shoot reduction (33,66, and 100% of full stand) applied at four growth stages (emergence, 4‐leaf, boot, and heading stages). The experiments were conducted at two locations (Akron, CO and Carrington, ND) during 1996 and 1997 to assess treatment impact on relative grain yield (RGY), expressed as percent of control. A significant shoot reduction χ growth stage interaction was observed for RGY, indicating yield loss from increasing shoot reduction varied with growth stage. A linear reduction in RGY to increasing levels of shoot reduction was observed for the 4‐leaf, boot and heading growth stages, while RGY displayed a segmented linear response to increasing shoot reduction at emergence. Variation in grain yield, induced by shoot reduction treatments, was more consistently correlated with variation in seed number than seed weight.


Several studies have been made on the conditions which determine the formation of pigments by microorganisms (Reid, 1936), their possible practical application (Beijerinck, 1913), their role in bacterial metabolism (Birkinshaw, 1937), their correlation with some morphological or physiological variations, and their chemical structures (Brazhnikova, 1946; Friedheim and Michaelis, 1931; Tobie, 1936; Waksman, 1950). The characteristic of pigment production seems to be more widely present in the actinomycetes than in any other of the bacterial groups and, as a consequence, there are many works tending to define the identity between the pigments formed and the bacteria producing them, for taxonomic purposes (Conn and Conn, 1941). The present paper deals with some of the factors which determine the production of a blue pigment by a Streptomyces coelicolor strain, indicating its purification and some of its more important characteristics.


The miniature autonomous submersible explorer (MASE) was designed as a vehicle for astrobiology science by Behar et al. . This paper focuses on the MASE concept and extrapolates a future design based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), multifunctional microsystems (MMS), and three-dimensional multichip modules (3-D-MCM). Miniaturization of the electronics increases the payload volumes and power capabilities significantly and this is the main rationale for pursuing extreme miniaturization. The original MASE vehicle accommodated 1-2 instruments while the MEMS enhanced miniature autonomous submersible explorer (MEMSEMASE) accommodates up to six instruments. It is shown that the occupied area of the electronics components is reduced eight times, and the volume 25 times. The vehicle is shaped as a tube with 5 cm in diameter and 20 cm in length and can support 8 W continuously over 5 h. The maximum range is 25 km while the typical onboard instrumentation is conductivity, temperature, depth (CTD), and a high resolution camera. An optical fiber is used for bidirectional communication with the vessel. The goal of this enriched concept is to present an extremely miniaturized submersible design. The vehicle volume is defined to fit inside host vehicles with the goal of future deployment on Europa, oceans on Earth, and bore holes. The paper will focus on showing how electronics can be densely packed into micromachined silicon modules and how these can be designed and interconnected theoretically.


This article discusses three theses that explore the public realm in the modern city. Firstly, constructing buildings and places is always a public issue because the level of change within the sociophysical environment always exceeds the simple physical act of building. Public space is a controversial concept in architecture, environmental psychology and also in geography. Although its area in reality is determined by its use and size, our thought system defines public space as a social space rather than a three-dimensional physical space. Second, according to studies, spaces created through a cooperation of architecture and environmental psychology are more gratifying from both a human and an environmental perspective. Lastly, from the shared viewpoint of environmental psychology and architecture, the water and waterside are outstanding environment-shaping factors and focal points for public issues.


AIM
Increased levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, have been observed in patients with cardiovascular risk factors and atherosclerosis and in patients with a history of stroke. The role of ADMA and its analogue symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) in acute ischemic stroke is yet unclear. We hypothesized that plasma dimethylarginine levels increase in the hyper-acute phase after ischemic stroke and that their time course is related to stroke outcome.

METHODS
Plasma dimethylarginines ADMA and SDMA and L-arginine levels were measured in 67 patients at 6, 12, 24 hours, as well as 3 and 7 days after stroke onset using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS-MS). Data were compared to control data from 32 age-adjusted healthy volunteers. Clinical outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 90 days after stroke.

RESULTS
At baseline, plasma ADMA levels were higher in stroke patients than in controls, whereas plasma SDMA and L-arginine levels did not differ from control subjects. The time courses of ADMA and SDMA were related to the clinical outcome. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that ADMA levels of ≥ 0.566 µmol/L at day 3, ≥ 0.530 µmol/L at day 7 and SDMA levels of ≥ 0.59 µmol/L at 24 hours predicted an unfavorable clinical outcome.

CONCLUSIONS
An increase of both ADMA and SDMA plasma levels within the first 72 hours after the onset of ischemic stroke predicts a poor outcome.


The trajectory of religious congregations of this study shows the constant process of change that takes place in religious life on her passage from conceptions and traditional ways of live, for her insertion in the modern world. Stand out in this passage the option for the poor and the relationship with the Church from gender awareness.


Background Congenital anatomic abnormalities of fallopian tubes and ovaries are rarely reported. Herein, we describe four cases of abnormal ovarian descent during laparoscopic surgery with abnormal anatomy of fallopian tube, without abnormal uterine development and urinary system abnormalities. These cases are analyzed by their clinical features and their effects on reproductive function. Case presentation For patients with undescended ovary, the upper part of the unilateral/bilateral ovary decline was much higher than that of the common iliac vessel bifurcation, and the fallopian tube on the same side opened in the para-colonic sulcus. Among four patients, two cases had primary infertility, one case had tubal pregnancy rupture and bleeding, and one case had uterine leiomyoma. The development of uterus was normal in all the four patients, and there was no abnormal development of urinary system. During the infertility examination, hysterosalpingography (HSG) suggestion of oviduct lift was a sign for possible undescended ovarian. The pelvic B-ultrasound examination was limited to discover ovarian maldescent. Conclusion Laparoscopy was the gold standard for the diagnosis of poor ovarian decline. When B-ultrasound prompts one-sided or double-sided "ovary display is unclear" or detects "shrinking small ovaries", it might be ovarian maldescent. When there is periodic post-sacral spinal pain, MRI positioning or HSG can be used for diagnosis.


In this document, followed by the idea mentioned in [1] and
subsequently updated in [2], an IGMP/MLD proxy with multiple upstream
interfaces called MUIIMP is proposed and analyzed. The MUIIMP inherits
the basic rule of the IGMP/MLD proxy but extends with multiple
upstream interfaces. To avoid data redundancy, each upstream interface
of an MUIIMP device MUST NOT send or subscribe to the same data
simultaneously.


Abstract : The report covers the technical studies accomplished during the first six months to design and develop a prototype moving base gravity gradiometer. The scope of work is limited to establishing the instrument and system design parameters during the time period covered by this report. The report presents preliminary designs, and summarizes advantages and disadvantages for three sensor vibration isolation concepts: rotating floated spherical sensor, two- axis mechanical gimbal ring sensor mount, and two axis air pad gimbal mount. A summary of tentative sensor parameters is presented. The report presents in detail, a system error budget that indicates errors reflected at the individual sensor output as well as at the individual gradient tensor element. Derivations of sensor error mechanisms are presented. Errors due to rotational field effects, arm mass unbalance and magnetic field interactions are derived. Design concepts and parameters for the various subsystems are presented. Sensor arm mass and inertia balance are discussed as are estimates for the sensor translational and angular vibration environment. The spin bearing performance characteristics, error mechanism and requirements are presented. Lastly, efforts to find and select suitable materials are documented.


Radio science activities covered by URSI (International Radio Science Union) are briefly reviewed. They encompasses the knowledge and study of all aspects of electromagnetic fields and waves in a wide frequency range running from micropulsation frequencies (i.e. from ~1 mHz) to Terahertz. The topics include: electromagnetic measurements and standards, electromagnetic theory and applications, radio-communication systems and signal processing, electronics and Photonics, electromagnetic environment and interference, wave propagation and remote sensing, ionospheric radio and propagation, waves in plasmas, radio astronomy, and electromagnetics in biology and medicine. A very preliminary analysis of potential radio science contribution to natural disaster management is presented. It is focussed on problems raised by radio communication and observation systems: before, during and after disasters. It points out the importance of a close collaboration between geoscience and engineering science: both to interpret observational data and to design new instruments. More elaborated analyses are needed to identify other challenges and collaborations. A call for collaborations between Scientific Unions as well as Research and Application organisms is launched.


An image stabilization control apparatus including a mechanism which causes a vibration when the mechanism moves is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a vibration correction unit configured to correct image shake occurring due to vibration applied to the image stabilization control apparatus. A correction value of an angular velocity of the vibration is calculated based on signals based on the angular velocity and an acceleration of the vibration, frequency bands of the signals are narrowed. During the mechanism is moving, the image shake is corrected by driving the vibration correction unit based on the angular velocity of the vibration which is corrected by the corrected value calculated before the mechanism moves.


A patient with atypical clinical signs had a thoracic schwannoma in the left paravertebral gutter. Rigorous analysis of the standard x-rays, computed tomography examination and magnetic resonance imaging gave the diagnosis and guided surgical resection. The pathology report confirmed the imaging findings.


In this article, we summarized the diagnoses of tonsillar focal infection and the enormous clinical results obtained by our department, focusing especially on the clinical effects of tonsillectomy. We proposed a general idea of complications related to tonsil-pustulosis palmaris et plantaris, certain skin diseases, bone joint diseases and IgA nephropathy. Considering the diagnosis of tonsillar focal infection and tonsillectomy result, we recognized that immunity was related with tonsillar focal infection. We also recognized the importance of careful clinical observation of the general disease, mainly focusing on the tonsil and its expanded clinical accumulations.


This work studies the numerical and experimental bending deflection of 3point test of the composite beam made of epoxy reinforced by glass fibers and carbon fibers at different volume fractions .The results show that the deflection decrease in nonlinear relationship with increase volume fraction for both glass fibers and carbon fibers .The maximum difference between the experimental results and the finite element results difference was (11 %) at load (=20 N) and fibers volume fraction (Vf= 10 %) for glass fibers reinforcement. Also the results indicated that the maximum deflection was (1.65mm) when reinforced by glass fibers at (Vf =10 %) and at load (= 20 N) experimentally, while the maximum value of deflection was (0.55mm) when reinforced at the same load and fibers volume fraction.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utilization of invasive and noninvasive tests and compare cost in patients presenting with chest pain to the emergency department (ED) who underwent either triple-rule-out computed tomography angiography (TRO-CTA) or standard of care. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective single-center analysis of 2156 ED patients who presented with acute chest pain with a negative initial troponin and electrocardiogram for myocardial injury. Patient cohorts matched by patient characteristics who had undergone TRO-CTA as a primary imaging test (n=1139) or standard of care without initial CTA imaging (n=1017) were included in the study. ED visits, utilization of tests, and costs during the initial episode of hospital care were compared. Results: No significant differences in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease, pulmonary embolism, or aortic dissection were observed. Median ED waiting time (4.5 vs. 7.0 h, P<0.001), median total length of hospital stay (5.0 vs. 32.0 h, P<0.001), hospital admission rate (12.6% vs. 54.2%, P<0.001), and ED return rate to our hospital within 30 days (3.5% vs. 14.6%, P<0.001) were significantly lower in the TRO-CTA group. Moreover, reduced rates of additional testing and invasive coronary angiography (4.9% vs. 22.7%, P<0.001), and ultimately lower total cost per patient (11,783$ vs. 19,073$, P<0.001) were observed in the TRO-CTA group. Conclusions: TRO-CTA as an initial imaging test in ED patients presenting with acute chest pain was associated with shorter ED and hospital length of stay, fewer return visits within 30 days, and ultimately lower ED and hospitalization costs.


2. The paper states that OLR is a proxy of cloud amount, a characterisation which is somewhat imprecise. The OLR is mainly modulated by high clouds (in particular convective clouds, as well as upper tropospheric humidity, see e.g. Schmetz et al., 1990), and is not very sensitive to low clouds. The findings of this paper would thus indicate a response of high-level clouds to solar variability, in contrast to Marsh and Svensmark (2000) who suggest a link with low-level cloud amount.


Many nurse practitioners are involved in providing care to patients who believe they have either been exposed to or contracted hepatitis. Discoveries and new developments in the field of viral hepatitis have made the diagnosis of hepatitis A and hepatitis B more definitive. Until recently viral hepatitis was simply classified as either infectious or serum hepatitis. This article will focus on recent developments and management of hepatitis A, hepatitis B and non-A and non-B.


Background: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in the tumor microenvironment are associated with different prognosis in various malignancies. However, their prognostic impact remains controversial in urothelial carcinoma of bladder (UCB). In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to investigate the prognostic value of TILs in UCB patients.Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed using Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane Library. Studies were eligible if they investigated the prognostic value of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, Foxp3+ lymphocytes or TILs in UCB patients, by time-to-event survival analysis. All studies were appraised for risk of bias using the Quality and Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) criteria. Hazard rations (HRs) with their 95% confidence interval (CIs) from each study were used to generate pooled HRs. Results: A total of 14 studies assessing the impact of TILs on prognostic outcomes in UCB patients were included in final analysis. The pooled analysis indicated a favorable role of CD3+ TILs (HR 0.74 (95% CI 0.62-0.88) for overall survival) and CD8+ TILs (HR 0.46 (95% CI 0.28-0.74) for OS) in the clinical outcomes of UCB, while Foxp3+ TILs were associated with worse survival (HR 2.21 (95% CI 1.47-3.32) for recurrence-free survival). Conclusions: This systematic review and meta-analysis confirmed the favorable prognostic impact of CD3+ and CD8+ tumor-infiltrating T cells in UCB patients and found the association between Foxp3+ TILs and worse survival. Future studies using large cohorts and standardized methodology with regard to tumor subsites, stages and treatment modalities are needed to incorporate TILs with clinical practice.


Mechanism design for a social utility being the sum of agents' utilities (SoU) is a well-studied problem. There are, however, a number of problems of theoretical and practical interest where a designer may have a different objective than maximization of the SoU. One motivation for this is the desire for more equitable allocation of resources among agents. A second, more subtle, motivation is the fact that a fairer allocation indirectly implies less variation in taxes which can be desirable in a situation where (implicit) individual agent budgetary constraints make payment of large taxes unrealistic. In this paper we study a family of social utilities that provide fair allocation (with SoU being subsumed as an extreme case) and derive conditions under which Bayesian and Dominant strategy implementation is possible. Furthermore, it is shown how a simple modification of the above mechanism can guarantee full Bayesian implementation. Through a numerical example it is shown that the proposed method can result in significant gains both in allocation fairness and tax reduction.


In this paper, the authors reflect on the potential of simulation games for teaching peace and conflict studies. Based on many years of practical experience in developing and facilitating simulation games both in academic
and non-academic contexts, the authors first assess the merits of simulation games as an active learning tool. In general, it is believed that students are more engaged in simulations and learn more effectively than in lectures and other traditional methods.
The paper posits that when developing or using simulation games it is imperative to decide first of all on the learning objectives in order to achieve the above mentioned advantages. Based on this premise, the authors
proceed to classify simulation games according to their primary learning objectives, distinguishing games geared primarily towards conveying knowledge from those aimed at training and soft skills. Games for generating
knowledge focus on teaching both processes and dynamics of conflicts and politics in general, factual knowledge about a given conflict or policy field, or institutional procedures. The second category concerns learning objectives such as training teamwork, communication, negotiation, as well as the ability to deal with crisis situations, and making decisions under stress. The relevance of these learning objectives for teaching peace and conflict studies is then assessed on the basis of four case studies describing different simulation game concepts. The authors conclude by arguing for a more extensive use of simulation games in academic teaching and with practical hints on how to choose the right game format or how to develop such a simulation.


In order to determine the status quo of PLS path modeling in international marketing research, we conducted an exhaustive literature review. An evaluation of double-blind reviewed journals through important academic publishing databases (e.g., ABI/Inform, Elsevier ScienceDirect, Emerald Insight, Google Scholar, PsycINFO, Swetswise) revealed that more than 30 academic articles in the domain of international marketing (in a broad sense) used PLS path modeling as means of statistical analysis. We assessed what the main motivation for the use of PLS was in respect of each article. Moreover, we checked for applications of PLS in combination with one or more additional methods, and whether the main reason for conducting any additional method(s) was mentioned.


A new optoelectronic package for interchip optical interconnections is presented. To make cost-effective IC-packaging and printed circuit board (PCB) assembly, we strongly emphasize the need for full compatibility with surface-mount technology (SMT). Based on the "OptoBump" interface, which couples the package and PCB by means of an array of wide, collimated beams, we developed two prototype packages: a transmitter package that contains a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array and a driver-IC, and a receiver package that contains a photodiode (PD) array and a receiver-IC. A microlens array is integrated with each package to counteract misalignments that occur in the SMT process. All three output signals, which are E/O (O/E)-converted in the each package, exhibit clear eye diagrams at 1.25 Gb/s after the packages are surface-mounted on a PCB. The influence of polymer encapsulation on a VCSEL and an evaluation of the optical interface provided by the three optical beams on a 500-/spl mu/m center-to-center spacing are also discussed.


The physiology of the cell cannot be fully understood unless we succeed in determining the constitution of its parts, and the relation which undoubtedly exists between its morphology and the distribution of its biochemical functions. Previous work (1-4) has shown that a number of morphological constituents of the cell can be isolated and prepared in relatively large quantities, so that certain aspects of their composition and activities can be investigated directly by current chemical and biochemical methods. In the present work liver suspensions, representing the cytoplasmic content of the hepatic cells (5), have been fractionated into three main portions, morphologically distinct, by means of differential centrifugation: (1) a large granule fraction, essentially composed of mitochondria and secretory granules; (2) a microsorae fraction composed of particulate elements of submicroscopic size; and (3) a supernate fraction containing the elements of relatively small size which remained in the extract after the two first fractions had been removed. The chemical composition of the constituents of these fractions has been investigated, and a preliminary account of the distribution of certain enzymatic activities among the three different fractions has been published (6). The method of preparation of suspensions from rat and guinea pig livers has been ddscribed in the first paper of this series (5). The paper also contains technical information dealing with the subsequent fractionation of the liver suspensions in the centrifuge, a matter which is the subject of the present paper. The fractionation experiments have been carried out with extracts derived from both unperfused rat livers (Table I), and perfused guinea pig livers (Table II). The procedure adopted in the fractionation of liver suspensions has been illustrated diagramatically in Text-fig. 1.


Background: Emesis gravidarum or better known as morning sickness is a symptom of nausea which is usually accompanied by vomiting which generally occurs in early pregnancy, usually in the first trimester. This condition is generally experienced by more than half of pregnant women due to hormonal changes. This study aimed to analyze the association between maternal age and gravidity and the event of gravidarum emesis in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara. Subjects and Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Tenau Auxiliary Community Health Center, Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara, from February to June 2019. Total of 60 pregnant women were enrolled in this study. The independent variables were maternal age and gravidity. The dependent variable was emesis gravidarum. The data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using the Chi-Square. Results: Total of 68.3% of pregnant women were experienced emesis. 92.7% aged 20-35 years and 7.3% aged <20 years. 84.2% of pregnant women did not experience emesis aged 20-35 years and aged> 35 years were 15.8%. Most of the pregnant women who experienced emesis were primigravida (51.2%) and multigravidas (48.8%). 84.2% of mothers did not experience multigravida emesis and did not experience primigravidas emesis (15.8%), and they were statistically significant. Conclusion: Maternal age and gravidity are positively relate to the incidence of emesis gravidarum among pregnant women. Keywords: age, gravidity, emesis gravidarum Correspondence: Dina Melanieka Sintikhe Henukh. Study Program of Midwifery, Universitas Citra Bangsa, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara. Jl. Bhakti Warga 34, East Nusa Tenggara. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com. Mobile +6285238629495 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26911/the7thicph.03.01


Photovoltaics modules are usually installed with a tilt angle to improve performance and to avoid water or dust accumulation. However, measured irradiance data on inclined surfaces are rarely available, since installing pyranometers with various tilt angles induces high costs. Estimating inclined irradiance of arbitrary orientations and tilt angles is important because the installation orientations and tilt angles might be different at different sites. The goal of this work is to propose a unified transfer model to obtain inclined solar irradiance of arbitrary tilt angles and orientations. Artificial neural networks (ANN) were utilized to construct the transfer model to estimate the differences between the horizontal irradiance and the inclined irradiance. Compared to ANNs that estimate the inclined irradiance directly, the experimental results have shown that the proposed ANNs with differential outputs can substantially improve the estimation accuracy. Moreover, the trained model can successfully estimate inclined irradiance with tilt angles and orientations not included in the training data.


New urbanism, an umbrella term which encompasses 'neotraditional development' as well as 'traditional neighbourhood design', lives by an unswerving belief in the ability of the built environment to create a 'sense of community'. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether the social doctrine of new urbanism can be successfully supported or at least integrated with the social science literature which deals with the question of community formation. Towards this goal, the paper first delineates the social doctrine of new urbanism, and then discusses the conceptual frameworks and empirical findings that either support or contradict the idea that a sense of community will follow the physical form of cities and neighbourhoods generally and new urbanist principles specifically. After laying this groundwork, the remainder of the paper presents an assessment of whether a reconciliation between research and doctrine may be possible, in light of various apparent contradictions between the social claims of new urbanists and the results of research by social scientists. It is concluded that new urbanists need to clarify the meaning of sense of community as it pertains to physical design. Further, it is maintained that while some research supports the idea that resident interaction and sense of community are related to environmental factors, the effectuation of this goal is usually only achieved via some intermediate variable. This latter point leaves open the question of whether any number of other design creeds could produce the same result via a different design philosophy. The need for further research is stressed; this should be focused on investigating the issue more directly.


The role of learning algorithms is to find a synaptic matrix Jij for which a set of given configurations are fixed points of the network dynamics. Below critical storage there are many matrices which satisfy this condition, but differ in several of their properties, in particular, in the distribution of the local stabilities. It is common to quote the typical distribution of local stabilities obtained by averaging over the space of all the possible solutions to the learning problem. We show that the learning algorithms, in general, lead to a restricted subspace of these solutions, which are determined by the initial conditions, and characterized by distributions of stabilities which are significantly different from the typical ones. These differences are reflected in the retrieval properties of the network, in particular by their effect on the size of the basins of attraction.


Serious Games (SGs) have experienced a tremendous outburst these last years. Video game companies have been producing fun, user-friendly SGs, but their educational value has yet to be proven. Meanwhile, cognition research scientist have been developing SGs in such a way as to guarantee an educational gain, but the fun and attractive characteristics featured often would not meet the public's expectations. The ideal SG must combine these two aspects while still being economically viable. In this article, we propose a production chain model to efficiently conceive and produce SGs that are certified for their educational gain and fun qualities. Each step of this chain will be described along with the human actors, the tools and the documents that intervene.


In item-response theory, if a latent-structure model has an ability variable, then elementary information theory may be employed to provide a criterion for evaluation of the information the test provides concerning ability. This criterion may be considered even in cases in which the latent-structure model is not valid, although interpretation of the criterion is more complex in this case. It is also possible to consider reliability results for inferences about the ability variable. Use of sampling to develop required parameter estimates is straightforward. Applications of the criterion in zero-, one-, and two-parameter logistic (0PL, 1PL, and 2PL) examples are provided.


ABSTRACT Ten children at our institution received single-infusion fecal microbiome transplant (FMT) using healthy, related screened donor stool to treat recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (RCDI) via nasogastric tube (2 patients) or colonoscopic delivery. Nine of the 10 (90%) children had resolution of their symptoms after a single-infusion FMT with follow-up of 1 month to 4 years. No concerning related adverse events were recognized during short- or long-term follow-up. Three of these children had concomitant inflammatory bowel disease and 2 of these 3 (66%) patients cleared RCDI with no clinical change in their underlying inflammatory bowel disease clinical activity as assessed by Physician's Global Assessment. All of the patients who had clinical improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms of RCDI while treated with antibiotics had lasting return of baseline health after FMT.


Generally speaking, spoken term detection system will degrade significantly because of mismatch between acoustic model and spontaneous speech. This paper presents an improved spoken term detection strategy, which integrated with a novel phoneme confusion matrix and an improved word-level minimum classification error (MCE) training method. The first technique is presented to improve spoken term detection rate while the second one is adopted to reject false accepts. On mandarin conversational telephone speech (CTS), the proposed methods reduce the equal error rate (EER) by 8.4% in relative.


The primary motor cortex (M1) plays a critical role in early aspects of motor skill learning. Given the notion of inter‐hemispheric competition, unilateral disruption of M1 may increase excitability of the unaffected motor cortex and thus improve motor learning with the ipsilateral hand. We applied slow‐frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) before the initiation of practice of a simple motor skill. Participants were randomly divided into three stimulation groups: (i) ipsilateral M1; (ii) contralateral M1; and (iii) Cz (control site). The mean execution time and error rate were recorded in four sessions distributed over 2 days. Disruption of M1 with rTMS slowed down skill acquisition with the contralateral hand, albeit non significantly, but paradoxically enhanced learning with the ipsilateral hand. This was evidenced by a significant decrease of execution time at the end of day 1 in the group that received rTMS over the ipsilateral M1 compared with both control groups (Cz and contralateral M1 stimulation). This supports the notion of inter‐hemispheric competition and provides novel insights that may be applicable to neurorehabilitation.


Introduction Developing new anti-cancer agents are crucial for cancer treatment. Antiproliferative activity of L1H as bis structured schiff base was subjected to preliminary research in eight different kinds of cell lines by cell viability method using different concentrations of it to determine their inhibitory concentration. L1H demonstrated the highest cytotoxicity in human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Material and methods In this perspective, the MCF-7 cell line was cultured for the examination of different molecular techniques including MTT, apoptosis analysis by ELISA, comet assay. Moreover, DNA ladder, AO/EB as another apoptotic cell analysis, markers of oxidative stress, and total antioxidant status, total thiol and GSH as non-enzymatic antioxidants assay were conducted. Results and discussions The above techniques have proven that L1H is a better anticancer drug when compared to cisplatin as a positive control in human breast cancer cells, especially those affected by L1H. The findings clearly show that L1H evaluated in MCF-7 cell lines cause to rising or induced apoptosis, DNA damage, diminished antioxidant status against the increase of oxidised protein, and prevent cell proliferation. Conclusion Manifold evidences supported our hypothesis that L1H has a potential therapeutically improved against the MCF-7 cell line, and then without doubt to be a suitable candidate drug for investigating cancers next.


Objective: Antibiotics play an essential role in the treatment and prevention of diseases in pig farms. However, the irrational use of antibiotics leads to the emergence of multi-drug resistance of bacteria, which poses a critical threat to the efficacy of antibiotic treatments. Therefore, the study is designed to analyze the drug resistance of pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from large-scale pig farms in East China, which provides a theoretical basis for precisely targeted clinical drugs in swine farms. Method: The pathogenic E. coli were isolated and identified from clinical samples of swine farms, and the drug resistance of pathogenic E. coli was detected by antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) and minimum inhibitory concentration test (MIC). Moreover, the prevalence of plasmid-mediated β-lactam resistance genes was analyzed by PCR. Results: A total of 67 pathogenic E. coli were isolated from 152 samples collected from 20 large-scale pig farms in East China. All isolated pathogenic E. coli are associated with severe drug resistance. Moreover, 70% of isolated pathogenic E. coli is resistant to more than four antibiotics. Besides, there were 19 serotypes including O2, O4, O5, O6, O14, O26, O38, O42, O49, O57, O92, O93, O95, O101, O121, O131, O143, O158, and O161, of which the O4 and O92 serotype were the main serotypes in swine farms. The main extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs)-encoding genes in East China were blaCTX−M, blaTEM, and blaOXA by the detection of the ESBLs encoding genes of porcine pathogenic E. coli. The conjugation assays showed that a total of 30 transconjugants were obtained by conjugation, which indicated that drug resistance genes could be transmitted horizontally through conjugative plasmids. Conclusion: The isolated pathogenic E. coli were all multi-drug resistant, and especially O4 and O92 were the main serotypes. The β-lactam resistance genes were prevalent in large-scale pig farms in East China, which provided a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of pig-derived pathogenic E. coli in the future.


In addition to printing techniques, there are various characteristics that affect the quality of printed products. Most frequently questioned features are line, dot, and text reproduction. In this paper it is investigated how different substrates, printed by the same printing technique, affect the quality parameters of printed samples. Print quality includes the process of obtaining the desired reproductions of color and image elements, important parameters of print quality are the quality of lines and dots, and the feature of the substrate that is significant for this work is the roughness of the substrate. This paper presents the testing of three different materials on to which the test form was printed by electrophotography, as a digital printing technique. The tests are based on analysis of line, dot and text reproduction, as well as analysis of the roughness of the substrate on samples printed in black. Based on the obtained results it can be concluded that the substrate affects the quality of printed products.


Mitochondrial mutations conferring erythromycin resistance (E R ) are available in Paramecium and it is possible to obtain (by conjugation and cytoplasmic exchange) exconjugant cells containing a majority of wild-type erythromycin-sensitive (E S ) mitochondria and a minority of E R ones. In the presence of erythromycin, such 'mixed' cells progressively become resistant. This process of acquisition of resistance has been studied cytologically (on thin sections of single cells) and genetically (by evaluating, on the basis of previous data, the proportion of E R /E S mitochondrial genomes at various times). While at early stages of the process of transformation the whole mitochondrial population appears rather homogeneous, at later stages, (i.e. when the cell has resumed growth in the antibiotic-containing medium) one finds, side by side, both resistant-looking mitochondria (structurally normal) and sensitive-looking ones, showing the typical alterations induced in Es cells by erythromycin. Conversely, a progressive decrease in the number of E S genomes can be demonstrated. The complete genetical and cytological transformation from erythromycin sensitivity to erythromycin resistance can occur after less than three fissions in erythromycin-containing medium. The results indicate that intensive selective multiplication of E R mitochondria occurs, under the pressure of erythromycin, virtually in the absence of cellular division. The possibility of dissociating mitochondrial division from cell division emphasizes the extent of mitochondrial autonomy.


The reformation of synaptic vesicles (SVs) during endocytosis is essential for the maintenance of neurotransmission in central nerve terminals. Newly formed SVs must be generated with the correct protein cargo in the correct stoichiometry to be functional for exocytosis. Classical clathrin adaptor protein complexes play a key role in sorting and clustering synaptic vesicle cargo in this regard. However it is becoming increasingly apparent that additional "fail-safe" mechanisms exist to ensure the accurate retrieval of essential cargo molecules. For example, the monomeric adaptor proteins AP180/CALM and stonin-2 are required for the efficient retrieval of synaptobrevin II (sybII) and synaptotagmin-1 respectively. Furthermore, recent studies have revealed that sybII and synaptotagmin-1 interact with other SV cargoes to ensure a high fidelity of retrieval. These cargoes are synaptophysin (for sybII) and SV2A (for synaptotagmin-1). In this review, we summarize current knowledge regarding the retrieval mechanisms for both sybII and synaptotagmin-1 during endocytosis. We also define and set criteria for a new functional group of SV molecules that facilitate the retrieval of their interaction partners. We have termed these molecules intrinsic trafficking partners (iTRAPs) and we discuss how the function of this group impacts on presynaptic performance in both health and disease.


A novel copper-catalyzed chemoselective reduction of a carbon–carbon double or triple bond to a carbon–carbon single bond in α,β-unsaturated ketones is developed. This reaction proceeds under hydrogen gas or stoichiometric metal hydride free conditions. Saturated ketones were obtained in good to excellent yields with a broad substrate scope. Mechanistic studies reveal that the two hydrogen atoms come from H2O in the system. Thus this reaction represents a highly efficient, and remarkably chemoselective strategy.


An ecosystem map for 14 local administrative units of Kwara state North Central Nigeria and Vitellaria paradoxa habitat in the broad Savanna region was produced using multi criteria and integrated GIS models as against the traditional single layer thematic approach. The criteria used in classifying and mapping the ecosystems are: climate (rainfall and temperature), physiography (slope, relief), vegetation/land cover and drainage system. The climate layer was extracted from WorldClim database using DIVA GIS, the topographic layer was produced from 90 m NASA/SRTM digital elevation model. NDVI was run on composite images to produce vegetation layers.All the inputdata layers were spatially modeled in ArcGIS to generate the 7 classes of ecosystems. The Georefrenced trees sample points from field survey was overlaid on classified images to producedistribution pattern of Vitellaria paradoxa and its habitat in Savanna wood land ecosystems.


: We present a complete and optimal set of observables for the exclusive 4-body ¯ B meson decay ¯ B d → ¯ K ∗ 0 ( → Kπ ) ℓ + ℓ − in the low dilepton mass region, that contains a maximal number of clean observables. This basis of observables is built in a systematic way. We show that all the previously defined observables and any observable that one can construct, can be expressed as a function of this basis. This set of observables contains all the information that can be extracted from the angular distribution in the cleanest possible way. We provide explicit expressions for the full and the uniangular distributions in terms of this basis. The conclusions presented here can be easily extended to the large- q 2 region. We study the sensitivity of the observables to right-handed currents and scalars. Finally, we present for the first time all the symmetries of the full distribution including massive terms and scalar contributions.


The dynamic model of an unmanned bicycle was presented with linear quadratic optimal controls. An unmanned bicycle uses a dynamic equilibrium model of gravity and centrifugal force in order to control its steering on the purpose to acceleration's control. The linear quadratic optimal controls have been designed based on linear control theory. The initial state responses from simulation for the camber angle and its estimator have shown that even they are started from difference initial conditions, but both of them have been reached the zero state rapidly. For the camber angle rate and its estimator, they reach to the zero state as well. Although, the oscillation in the transient response is occurred. Hence, it concludes that the Linear Quadratic Regulator can be replaced by Linear Quadratic Gaussian for economy.