The Invention of a Nation: Zionist Thought and the Making of Modern Israel, by Alain Dieckhoff, translated from the French by Jonathan Derrick. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. 297 pp. $30.00. Israel is one of the few states to be founded on the basis of an idea. Precisely because the Jewish nation did not live in its traditional homeland for nearly two millennia, it was necessary to invent the idea of the state. That process required commitment to what was a revolutionary concept over 100 years ago and to the organizational structure that would do the political work. An understanding of contemporary Israel requires knowledge of the ideas that motivated the builders of the state and of the political process leading up to 1948. Alain Dieckhoff admirably provides a guide to the former. Actually Dieckhoff combines two books into one. The first is basically an intellectual history of Zionism and Zionist thought up to 1948. It is a worthy successor to earlier efforts of this genre, notably those by Arthur Hertzberg and Shlomo Avineri, as well as those by Walter Laqueur, David Vital, and Ben Halpern. Is there a need for another book like this? It should be especially valuable to readers of the original French version, but fills a need for English readers as well. Dieckhoff most impressively incorporates modern scholarship from diverse disciplines into his erudite analysis of Zionist ideas. As a result he presents much more than a routine recital of the giants of Zionist thought. The second book is much shorter, just the two final chapters. In it he analyzes the state of contemporary Zionist ideology in an attempt to relate today's Israeli politics to the great debates of the Zionist past. This part, while warranting our attention, would be more valuable were it more fully developed. It is certainly a project that deserves fuller treatment. The first part of the book reflects careful and thorough scholarship and deep knowledge of both major and minor works of Zionist thought. Throughour this part, the author stresses both historical and intellectual context in order to assist the reader in understanding how and why Zionist ideas developed. There is not much that is radically new here, but his synthesis is both valuable and effective. Moreover, he simplifies the subject (though his work is hardly simplistic) by collapsing categories in order to facilitate comparisons between the various thinkers and to explicate the connections to contemporary political concerns. Thus he has fewer chapters than the earlier books on the subject, limiting himself to the more general political Zionism of Herzl and then the three specific types: socialist, religious, and nationalist Zionism. He adds a valuable chapter on the significance of the Hebrew language, which is not typical in books of this type, stressing the critical role that the revival of Hebrew played in the development of Zionism during the decades leading up to independence. Dieckhoff's approach facilitates the understanding of Israeli politics since 1948 because the intellectual origins of all three political camps are treated in depth. …


Background: 50% of children worldwide are exposed to second-hand smoking (SHS) or passive smoking, which is difficult to influence. We hypothesised that an effective intervention is possible by means of an individualized tailored program with repeated contacts, motivational interviewing, attention for barriers and needs of parents, and feedback on the children's urine cotinine levels and lung function.

Objectives: 1) to assess the prevalence of SHS in children; 2) to study the feasibility of the innovative intervention towards stopping of SHS in children.

Methods: 1) 10.000 families with children ≤13 years received a questionnaire about smoking and respiratory symptoms; 2) 11 families were recruited for the pilot study during two months which was given by two trained counsellors and evaluated with a questionnaire.

Results: Response rate for the initial questionnaire was 1075 (9.3%). Smoking by 1 or more parents was reported in 244 (22.7%) families, with 142 (58.2%) thereof smoking in the presence of their children at home. Among these exposed children, 56 (41.2%) are at risk for asthma. 11 parents participated in the pilot study. Before the intervention, 6 (54.5%) parents fully agreed that stopping SHS exposure to their children is of great importance, 2 (33.3%) reported that it would be easy to accomplish. Already after two counselling sessions, 10 (90.9%) parents were planning to stop SHS exposure to their children.

Conclusion: These results show that SHS exposure in children is still an important problem in our society. The pilot study demonstrates good feasibility of the new intervention program. The intervention will be further tested in a one year follow-up randomised control trial.


Abstract Objective To analyze the differences of corneal astigmatism in different age groups. Methods The clinical data of the patients from the outpatient Department of Ophthalmology of the Tengzhou Central People's Hospital from April 2014 to June 2014 was screened and statistically analyzed. The corneal curvature was measured by three different instruments: Keratometer, IOL Master and Sirius corneal topography. The changes of the corneal astigmatism in different groups were evalutaed in the study. Results Corneal astigmatism of different groups showed no statistical difference and the average corneal astigmatism of 70˜79 age group were higher than younger groups. As the age grew, the with-the-rule astigmatism gradually reduced from 85.8% ( A Group) to 31.0% (F Group). The against-the-rule astigmatism increased from 6.7% ( A Group ) to 45.0% (F Group). Conclusion The proportion of the with-the-rule astigmatism gradually reduced with the growth of age. The proportion of the against-the-rule astigmatism increased significantly. The oblique astigmatism had no obvious change before the age of 40. The proportion of oblique astigmatism increased obviously at the 40˜49 group and tended to be stable. After the age of 60, the proportion of different types of astigmatism tended to be stable.


The key to improve the efficiency of SSCL (solid state cathodoluminescence) is to improve the injection and acceleration of electrons in the accelerating layer. The electron acceleration ability of SiO is better than that of ZnS,while the latter is better than the former in the ability of injecting charges. So our attention was turned to the complex accelerating layer SiO 2 /ZnS,and prepared two kinds of devices to see whether the short peak occurrs. One of them is the low voltage mono-side recombination device, the othe the high voltage impacted two-side device. In result,under low voltage,the performance of the complex accelerating layer is superior to that of SiO 2 and inferior to that of ZnS. Under high voltage,the complex accelerating layer is the best of all devices. Meanwhile,SiO 2 was still found to be the main accelerating layer,yet ZnS is very useful for improving the performance in electron injection of SSCL device.


OBJECTIVES
To describe data sources that are relevant to violence in NSW and recommend strategies for improving data collection and dissemination.

METHODS
Literature review, interviews with stakeholders and a survey of data custodians within NSW Health.

RESULTS
Data sources were mapped using a conceptual framework developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. We found that current data sources are only partially effective at characterising the burden of violence in NSW and there are inadequate mechanisms for data review and dissemination.

CONCLUSIONS
Improving data collection and dissemination is the first step in the public health contribution towards reducing the burden of violence on society.


Frank Chodorov profoundly influenced the intellectual development of the post -- World War II libertarian/conservative movement. These essays have been assembled for the first time from Chodorov's writings in magazines, newspapers, books, and pamphlets. They sparkle with his individualistic perspective on politics, human rights, socialism, capitalism, education, and foreign affairs.


Monoclonal immunoglobulins have been implicated in the development of C3 glomerulonephritis (C3GN) and Proliferative glomerulonephritis with monoclonal IgG deposits (PGNMID). We report a 58-year-old female who showed a switch from C3GN to PGNMID. She presented with mild proteinuria and normal renal function for the first time. Her renal biopsy showed a severe mesangial proliferation with isolated C3 deposits, thus being diagnosed as C3GN. Two years later, her condition became serious. Repeat renal biopsy showed a membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis with deposition of the κ light chain of IgG3 in the glomeruli. She was diagnosed with proliferative glomerulonephritis with monoclonal IgG deposits (IgG3-κ). This case demonstrates that there are several types of monoclonal gammopathy (MGP)-associated glomerulonephritis, and they can switch among each other in some patients.


Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies, as detected by indirect immunofluorescence, have limited diagnostic significance as they occur in a variety of inflammatory disorders. The presence of antibodies to defined target antigens of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies, that is proteinase 3 and myeloperoxidase, is, however, highly specific for one of the systemic vasculitides, in particular Wegener's granulomatosis, microscopic polyangiitis, Churg-Strauss syndrome, and idiopathic pauci-immune necrotizing crescentic glomerulonephritis. In general, anti-proteinase-3-positive patients show more widespread organ involvement, more granuloma formation, and a more severe initial course of their renal lesions than anti-myeloperoxidase-positive patients; however, there is considerable overlap, and either antibody specificity may be found in the different clinical syndromes. In vitro, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies are able further to activate pre-activated neutrophils and monocytes, which can result in endothelial damage. A direct activating effect of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies on endothelial cells has been suggested, but those studies should be confirmed. In vivo, experimental data support a pathogenetic role for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies, particularly anti-myeloperoxidase, but besides anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies a second pro-inflammatory stimulus seems to be required to induce lesions. Whether anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies can be a direct target for treatment has still to be proved. Current immunosuppressive treatment regimens for the anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitides are, however, unsatisfactory because of side-effects, that is opportunistic infections and malignancies. New treatment regimens, based on new pathogenetic concepts, are currently being tested.


Purpose A proposed reason for the unacceptably high rate of medical errors in today's hospitals is that fatigued resident physicians make more mental mistakes. In part because of this concern, the ACGME has imposed duty hours restrictions on all residents. Little is known about how stress impacts patient care. We hypothesized that residents with greater stress would more frequently report suboptimal patient care. Methods For two consecutive years (2004 and 2005), research assistants surveyed residents working on our internal medicine inpatient teams following morning attending rounds. Both residents and interns were asked to complete a brief questionnaire, which included four questions to rate their current stress level (eg, this has been a stressful day, 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree) and three questions to assess the impact of stress on their life and work (eg, indicate how fatigue has interfered with your work, 0 = does not interfere and 10 = completely interferes). Further, residents were asked if any patient care issues were not completed on that day, whether any medical errors affected a patient, and whether any of those resulted in suboptimal care. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and simple correlations to assess the association of stress ratings with the patient care variables. Summary A total of 271 resident surveys were returned from 163 inpatient team days. The mean stress level across all four stress statements was 2.6 6 1.1 and the mean impact of that stress was 5.2 6 2.2 across the three impact of stress on life and work statements. Overall, 21% reported that they had omitted some aspect of patient care, 20% reported a medical error affected a patient on their team, and 8% reported resultant suboptimal care. Resident stress correlated highly with medical errors affecting patient care (p = .007) and marginally with suboptimal care (p = .09). Stress impacting life and work correlated highly with omitting certain patient care duties (p = .03), medical errors affecting patient care (p = .04), and suboptimal care (p = .04). Conclusions Resident stress ratings are negatively associated with important patient care variables (omissions in patient care, medical errors, and suboptimal care). Perhaps more important than stress levels is the impact of that stress on an individual's life. With current ACGME regulations, some have suggested that resident stress and workload will increase given similar work duties but less available time. The impact of duty hours regulations must be closely monitored in our teaching hospitals in order to ensure a high level of patient care.


Abstract Contemporary British counter-terrorist legislation is dominated by 'counter-law' in Richard Ericson's terms: by using law against law, it systematically undermines the rule of law. This paper supports this proposition by developing a detailed 'archetypal' account of the rule of law considered as a critical ideal, drawing on Fuller's 'morality of law'. The rule of law is identified with four tendencies in law – towards greater universality, knowability, followability and justifiability – and 'counter-law' with tendencies to block or reverse all of these. Counter-law tendencies in contemporary counter-terrorist legislation are discussed in detail, with particular reference to the proliferation of inchoate, preparatory and situational offences. This critique is also related to contemporary debates on law and counter-law; it is argued that critiques which relativise or historicise the liberal model of the rule of law fall short by failing to engage with it on its own terms, thereby undervaluing its utility as a normative resource. The paper concludes by discussing the range, significance and gravity of the departures from the rule of law that have been identified, considering some counter-arguments and drawing conclusions for policy-makers and legal scholars.


The direct and inverse spectral problem for the periodic relativistic Toda lattice is solved. The time evolution of the spectral variables can be calculated explicitly. A set of new canonically conjugated variables is constructed, in terms of which the motion is completely separated.


Binocular data typically arise in ophthalmology where pairs of eyes are evaluated, through some diagnostic procedure, for the presence of certain diseases or pathologies. Treating eyes as independent and adopting the usual approach in estimating the sensitivity and specificity of a diagnostic test ignores the correlation between eyes. This may consequently yield incorrect estimates, especially of the standard errors. The paper proposes a likelihood‐based method of accounting for the correlations between eyes and estimating sensitivity and specificity using a model for binocular or paired binary outcomes. Estimation of model parameters via maximum likelihood is outlined and approximate tests are provided. The efficiency of the estimates is assessed in a simulation study. An extension of the methodology to the case of several diagnostic tests, or the same test measured on several occasions, which arises in multi‐reader studies, is given. A further extension to the case of multiple diseases is outlined as well. Data from a study on diabetic retinopathy are analysed to illustrate the methodology. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


It has been widely claimed that the language abilities in individuals with Williams Syndrome
(WS) provide evidence for dissociations between verbal and non-verbal cognitive processes,
thereby supporting the modularity hypothesis. Although previous research has delineated a
variety of skills and weaknesses in the WS profile, the reported results have been conflicting
and inconsistent. It has also been claimed that WS is the 'opposite' of Specific Language
Impairment (SLI), that is, that, in contrast to SLI, individuals with WS have relatively well
preserved linguistic abilities in the face of cognitive deficits. However there have not been any
studies that have directly compared the two populations on verbal and non-verbal tasks.
The aims of the present thesis are: to investigate whether individuals with WS show
superior verbal abilities in comparison to their non-verbal cognitive functioning; to investigate
whether the individuals with WS show the 'opposite' profile to that of individuals with SLI; and
to address the question of whether WS offers support for modular views of language.
Case study series of five participants with WS and five participants with SLI were
carried out. The study not only gathered information from a range of standardised verbal and
non-verbal tests but, most importantly, combined these results with analysis of conversational
interaction and narrative discourse, which has not been done previously. The results suggest
there is a wide variability among individuals with WS (and those with SLI), and that the
linguistic abilities of individuals with WS can often be severely impaired, sometimes being even
inferior to those of children with SLI. Furthermore, there seems to be no statistically significant
difference between the WS and the SLI profile with regard to their linguistic abilities, although
the two profiles are clearly distinct regarding their non-verbal abilities.
The results are discussed in light of the relevant literature and the current theoretical
debates on modularity.


Groundwater is an important component of the freshwater system and its role is becoming even more prominent as the more accessible surface water resources become increasingly exploited to support increasing populations and development. Yet despite its significance, there has been comparatively little research conducted on groundwater relative to surface water resources, particularly in the context of climate change impact assessment. This focus issue has therefore been assembled to expand upon the currently limited knowledge of groundwater systems and their links with climate. Many of the papers included here explore the interrelated issues of groundwater resources, climate-related changes and vulnerabilities at a regional scale in different continents and globally. See the PDF for the full text of the editorial. Focus on Groundwater Resources, Climate and Vulnerability Contents Groundwater: from mystery to management T N Narasimhan Simulated response of groundwater to predicted recharge in a semi-arid region using a scenario of modelled climate change M W Toews and D M Allen Long-term climatic change and sustainable ground water resources management Hugo A Loáiciga Climate change and groundwater: India's opportunities for mitigation and adaptation Tushaar Shah Vulnerability to the impact of climate change on renewable groundwater resources: a global-scale assessment Petra Döll Influence of soil heterogeneity on evapotranspiration under shallow water table conditions: transient, stochastic simulations Stefan J Kollet Nutrient cycling and N2O emissions in a changing climate: the subsurface water system role Georgia Destouni and Amélie Darracq Rainfall intensity and groundwater recharge: empirical evidence from the Upper Nile Basin M Owor, R G Taylor, C Tindimugaya and D Mwesigwa


Numerical analyses on the aerodynamic characteristics of a counter rotating axial flow fan were conducted for the development of an axial type in-line duct fan The counter rotating fan has a front rotor and a rear rotor which are counter rotating each other. Blade design of the counter rotating fan was done by extension of design method for axial flow fan which consists of rotor and stator blades. Through flow analysis was performed using matrix method which is applied for flow fields prediction of compressors or turbines. Aerodynamic characteristics and characteristic curves of the counter rotating fan were analyzed by expansion of the frequency domain panel method with duct modeling. Pressure losses were higher at leading edge and hub region of rotor blades. Characteristic curve of the counter rotating fan was overpredicted without consideration of viscous effect.


Experimental detection of non-spherical particles has been realized in pure water and in a substantial background of mono-dispersed spheres or poly-dispersed random shaped particles. This novel measurement method is based on statistical analysis of fluctuations in two polarization states of scattered light by an ensemble of particles. A statistical method of analysis and a simple model of the measurement are discussed.


A monolithic 12-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) using thin-film resistors is described. A primary feature is the capability of trimming for linearity after packaging using selective shorting of Zener diodes. Error measurement and trimming algorithms are discussed and an analysis of fundamental error sources is given.


Despite the importance of a theoretical framework in research, researchers face several challenges when selecting a theoretical framework for their study among which are a lack of agreement as to what constitutes a theory, a lack of a single theoretical framework that applies to all social science research, and selection based on personal conviction and interest rather than on the suitability of the theory to the research problem and the paradigmatic orientation of the chosen theory, which takes account of the epistemological assumptions. This study, therefore, aims to develop a model capable of enhancing the researcher's knowledge towards selecting an appropriate theoretical framework. The article is conceptual and dependent on logical arguments by presenting four paradigms alongside their epistemological standpoints. I argued the epistemology of research paradigms and their theoretical lensing using conceptual analysis to analyse the concepts and make sense of them. The study concludes that hypothesis, statistical/mathematical postulations, projections via research questions, and models are better to underpin studies under the positivist/post-positivist paradigm. Descriptive and analytic theories are better used when working within the interpretive paradigm. While transformative paradigm is best to be underpinned within critical theory, postcolonial theories and postcolonial indigenous paradigms are dependent on Indigenous Knowledge System.


Purpose To evaluate anatomical differences between laser (VICTUS) and manual constructed phacoemulsification incisions. Setting Study was conducted at the Hospital de Olhos Paulista, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Design This is a prospective, observational, consecutive nonrandomized cohort. Patients and methods Sixteen patients (18 eyes) had phacoemulsification surgery, nine eyes had manual incisions and nine eyes had femtosecond incisions. All incisions were performed by the same surgeon. All incisions were evaluated at the 1st and 30th postoperative day with anterior segment optical coherence tomography to evaluate anatomical features. Inclusion criterion was presence of low visual acuity due to cataract. Exclusion criteria were other ocular pathologies, previous trauma, or corneal wound healing disease, as any intra or postoperative complication. Three different corneal specialists analyzed wound architecture features (epithelial or endothelial gap, incision edema, number of planes, Descemet's detachment, and loss of wound sealing) at both visits. ImageJ (National Institutes of Health) software was also used to analyze anatomical features of incisions. Results Almost all incisions had edema at the first postoperative day. All femto incisions were triplanar, as intended, unlike manual incisions, which showed two uniplanar incisions (P=0.009). All laser incisions presented partial loss of wound sealing, while five keratome incisions had no loss of wound sealing at the first postoperative day (P=0.03). Conclusion These findings support the hypothesis that laser constructed incisions are more precisely constructed than manual, although corneal wound healing was similar between the two groups at the 30th postoperative day, with a tendency to a faster anatomical improvement in the keratome group.


In gynandromorphs of Drosophila, a detailed examination was made of the association between male courtship behavior and the chromosomal genotype of various parts of the central nervous system. Mosaic flies that behave as males repeatedly show a shorter courtship than normal males. If there is to be male behavior, the posterior dorsal brain must be haplo-X on at least one side for occurrence of the early courtship events. Tapping, following of females and wing extension. Licking (proboscis extension) has nearly the same focus but is submissive; that is, male tissue must be present in both left and right dorsal brain. The next courtship step, attempted copulation, has a focus (especially for actual genital contact) located in the thoracic ganglia, though apparently not in a discrete region. Attempted copulation, which can occur even in mosaics with a gravid abdomen, may be correlated with the presence of sex combs. The role of courtship foci are interpreted in terms of known sensory inputs to and functions of the major insect ganglia.


The environmental impacts of sport events have been growing during the last decades, which has led to the organizing associations developing adequate countermeasures to both reduce carbon emissions due to construction and operational stages compensate for the emissions. This work aims at proposing an approach to stadiums energy enhancement that includes strategies largely recognized as effective and applicable to several building typologies (residential, commercial, academic, etc.). The selected case study is the Dacia Arena in northern Italy that has been recently refurbished and renovated. The proposed workflow has as a goal minimizing the increment of the operational emissions, caused by new heated areas in the stadium. Firstly, the energy consumption was estimated in dynamic state for Scenario 0 (current state) and Scenario 1 (refurbished state) to quantify the new plant's energy demand. Secondly, two hypothetical system layouts were proposed and evaluated. In the first, the power for lighting, cooling and heating is supplied by a system that couples photovoltaic panels with heat pump. In the second, the same photovoltaic plant is integrated with a biomass plant and an absorption chiller. The comparison highlights the suitability of those interventions and the environmental advantages deriving from their exploitation.


Histogram Equalization (HE) has been an essential addition to the Image Enhancement world. Enhancement techniques like Classical Histogram Equalization(CHE),Adaptive Histogram Equalization (AHE), Bi-Histogram Equalization (BHE) and Recursive Mean Separate Histogram Equalization (RMSHE) methods enhance contrast, brightness is not well preserved, which gives an unpleasant look to the final image obtained. Thus, we introduce a novel technique Multi-Decomposition Histogram Equalization (MDHE) to eliminate the drawbacks of the earlier methods. In MDHE, we have decomposed the input image using a unique logic, applied CHE in each of the sub-images and then finally interpolated them in correct order. The final image after MDHE gives us the best results based on contrast enhancement and brightness preservation aspect compared to all other techniques mentioned above. We have calculated the various parameters like PSNR, SNR, RMSE, MSE, etc. for every technique. Our results are well supported by bar graphs, histograms and the parameter calculations at the end.


In the last six years I have seen 11 patients 1 with more or less complete duplex anomalies of the uterovaginal tract, each of whom has had one or more pregnancies (a total of thirty-two). The present discussion applies strictly to the association of the two conditions; no attempt is made to present embryologic or purely gynecologic considerations, and my approach is from the clinical rather than from the academic side. Briefly, duplex anomalies of the uterovaginal tract are due to (1) irregularities of fusion involving the normal junction of the mullerian ducts to form the symmetrical halves of the corpus of the uterus and (2) irregularities in canalization involving the urogenital sinus or lower uterine and vaginal tracts. The most common anomaly is simple uterus arcuatus, departing little from the normal contours and hence not as often important clinically. I have not included such cases. The misfortunes that occur


The antimicrobial effect of a cream containing extracts of African geranium (Pelargonium sidoides DC.), black elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.), and St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) in colloidal nanosilver (AgNPs) at a concentration of 30 ppm, denoted as SILVER STOP® cream (SS® cream), was examined in vitro. The research was performed with Escherichia coli (ATCC and two clinical isolates), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC and two clinical strains), and Candida albicans (ATCC and two clinical isolates). The agar-gel diffusion method and suspension tests for determination of the time of antimicrobial action of SS® cream were used. SS® cream showed significant antimicrobial activity. The Gram-negative microorganisms tested died in a much shorter time than the Gram-positive ones. In suspension with a density of 104 cells·mL−1, E. coli died for 1 min, the oval fungus C. albicans—after 10 min and S. aureus—after 60 min of exposure to SS® cream. The highest sensitivity was found in E. coli. The curative effect of SILVER STOP® cream was also examined in vivo in dogs with different skin diseases. The results showed successful healing of the diseases and a very good curative effect of the cream.


The prognosis for patients with multiple myeloma has improved substantially over the past decade with the development of new, more effective chemotherapeutic agents and regimens, and improved management of toxicities. Treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma represents a vital aspect of the overall care for patients with multiple myeloma and a critical area of ongoing biologic and clinical research. The choice of regimen at relapse is usually based on the prior response, toxicities, assessment of prognostic factors, age and comorbidities of individual patients, their somatic condition and expected effectiveness and tolerability. The new drugs, such as ixazomib, carfilzomib, pomalidomide, daratumumab and elotuzumab in combinations in doublet or triplet regimens, have greatly increased the treatment armory against myeloma. Long-term continuous therapies as a new strategy for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma have been shown to provide an eradicating of minimal residual disease and deep prolong responses, with the goal of improving progression-free survival and overall survival. The integration of novel agents into the treatment paradigm has shifted the perception of multiple myeloma from an incurable fatal disease to a manageable chronic one. This review discusses the most recent and effective regimens for the relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma treatment, based on the results of recently published phase II and III clinical trials. Analyses the current clinical trial data discussed with a focus on lenalidomide or bortezomib as a basis of new treatment regimens.


Introduction: Adequate health literacy is needed for transplant recipients, however according to our knowledge no studies have examined health literacy among patient with chronic kidney disease in Hungary. The aim of the study is to examine the health literacy of chronic kidney patients in the EastHungarian region and to identify the factors that may influence it. Materials and Methods: A total of 255 renal patients aged 18 to 75 years from 8 dialysis centres in the East-Hungarian region participated in our study. We used the Single Item Literacy Screener (SILS) to measure health literacy. Factors influencing health literacy were evaluated using a multivariate logistic regression model which was adjusted for nine explanatory variables as gender, age, education level, ethnicity, previous kidney transplant status, current transplant status, and modality of the dialysis. Results and Discussion: According to the multivariate regression analysis results, significant differences were observed between health literacy and education level. Patients with tertiary (OR=7.49; p=0.006) and secondary education (OR=3.70; p=0.022) were more likely to have adequate health literacy compared to those with primary education. Moreover previous kidney transplantation seemed to be a borderline-significant factor regarding health literacy. It seems that patients who undergone a previous kidney transplant were more likely to have adequate health literacy compared to those patients who were without it (OR=0.44; p=0.067). Conclusion: Limited health literacy was associated with lower education level and it seems to have an association with reduced access to kidney transplantation. Further research is required to better understand the relationship between health literacy and access to kidney transplantation in the Hungarian aspect. However if the relationship exists, it suggest that the improvement in the level of health literacy should increase the number of patients on the waiting list and the kidney transplants rates in Hungary as well.


BACKGROUND
Patients requiring emergent endotracheal intubation often require a rapid sequence induction intubation (RSI) technique to protect against gastric aspiration, to facilitate intubation, or to protect against increased intracranial pressure. Succinylcholine is the most common muscle relaxant used because it has a fast onset and a short duration. Unfortunately it can have serious side effects as a result of it's membrane depolarizing effect and release of potassium. Rocuronium has been suggested to create intubating conditions similar to succinylcholine. Previous studies have been underpowered to determine equivalence and there has been no previous meta-analysis performed.

OBJECTIVES
To determine if rocuronium creates comparable intubating conditions to succinylcholine during RSI intubation. Comparisons were made with succinylcholine based on the dose of rocuronium, use of a narcotic, emergent versus elective intubation, age group and the induction agent used. The primary outcome was excellent intubation conditions. A secondary outcome of clinically acceptable conditions was also performed. These were all dichotomous outcomes using cutpoints from a four point scale by Goldberg to evaluate intubation conditions.

SEARCH STRATEGY
We searched MEDLINE (1966-March 2000), EMBASE (1988-March 2000) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENRAL) (March 2000) for randomized controlled trials (RCT) or controlled clinical trials (CCT) relating to the use of rocuronium and succinylcholine. Foreign language journals were included. References of identified studies were hand-searched for citations missed by the electronic searches.

SELECTION CRITERIA
All trials meeting the inclusion criteria (comparison of rocuronium and succinylcholine, one of study's main outcomes was scoring of intubation conditions) were included.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Data were extracted and methodological quality was assessed independently by two reviewers for allocation concealment. The outcomes were combined using MetaView 4.1 with risk differences for all categories and RR for the excellent outcomes with a random effects model.

MAIN RESULTS
40 studies were identified; 26 were combined for analysis. Overall, rocuronium was inferior to succinylcholine, with a RR=0.87 (95%CI = 0.81 to 0.94) (N=1606). In the group that used propofol for induction of anaesthesia, the intubation conditions were similar, with a RR=0.96 (95%CI = 0.87 to 1.06) (N=640). No major adverse events were reported.

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS
Succinylcholine created superior intubation conditions to rocuronium when comparing excellent intubation conditions. Using the less stringent outcome, clinically acceptable intubation conditions, the two agents were not statistically different. Intubation conditions were not statistically different between succinylcholine and rocuronium when propofol was used.


N-Monoalkyl and N,N-dialkyl carbamate prodrugs of naltrexone (NTX), an opioid antagonist, were synthesized and their in vitro permeation across human skin was determined. Relevant physicochemical properties were also determined. Most prodrugs exhibited lower melting points, lower aqueous solubilities, and higher oil solubilities than NTX. The flux values from N-monoalkyl carbamate prodrugs were significantly higher than those from NTX and N,N-dialkyl carbamates. The melting points of N-monoalkyl carbamate prodrugs were quite low compared to the N,N-dialkyl carbamate prodrugs and NTX. Heats of fusion for the N,N-dialkyl carbamate prodrugs were higher than that for NTX. N-Monoalkyl carbamate prodrugs had higher stratum corneum/vehicle partition coefficients than their N,N-dialkyl counterparts. Higher percent prodrug bioconversion to NTX in skin appeared to be related to increased skin flux. N,N-Dialkyl carbamate prodrugs were more stable in buffer and in plasma than N-monoalkyl carbamate prodrugs. In conclusion, N-monoalkyl carbamate prodrugs of NTX improved the systemic delivery of NTX across human skin in vitro. N,N-Dialkyl substitution in the prodrug moiety decreased skin permeation and plasma hydrolysis to the parent drug. The cross-sectional area of the carbamate head group was the major determinant of flux of the N-monoalkyl and N,N-dialkyl carbamate prodrugs of NTX.


The distribution of parasite populations in their hosts has been the subject of a number of mathematical analyses and it has been found that these distributions are generally nonrandom and overdispersed. Data on the recovery of Trichinella spiralis in the laboratory from 371 outbred rabbits were examined. The distribution of their parasite burden was overdispersed and best fit by a negative binomial frequency distribution. The intensity of the infections was almost totally independent of the dose of inoculation, the duration of the infection, and the weight of the animals; the variations within the replicate counts were small and normally distributed about their means. These results indicate that nonrandom overdispersion may be a characteristic of even carefully controlled laboratory infections, and susceptibility factors should be considered seriously in mathematical models of parasites.


We investigate the enhancement of Kerr nonlinearity in an asymmetric GaAs double quantum well via Fano interference, which is caused by tunneling from the excited subband to the continuum. In our structure, owing to Fano interference, the Kerr nonlinearity can be enhanced by appropriately choosing the values of the detunings and the intensity of the pump field, while cancel the linear and nonlinear absorptions.


Although researchers and policy-makers acknowledge the importance of E-Government (EGOV) and Government E-Participation (GEP) in fostering Good Governance (GGOV) practices, little is known regarding the mechanism to achieve the same. This study is an initial step to explore the EGOV-GEP complementarity in achieving GGOV. We have linked the antecedents of GEP (viz. EGOV development parameters), the mediator GEP, and the final impact (i.e., GGOV) within a single empirical framework using ICT for Development value chain concept. The model provides an end-to-end process view of the EGOV-GGOV transition via the mediating role played by GEP, and the interdependencies among the phases therein. Our results demonstrate the positive effect of the said complementarity in lowering corruption in the short-term, and subsequently improving GGOV practices in the medium to long-term. We, therefore, uncover evidence of EGOV effectiveness in fostering GGOV, which enables us to draw implications for theory and practice.


The performance characteristics of InGaAs-GaAsP-InGaP strain compensated laser emitting near 1 /spl mu/m are reported. The ridge waveguide lasers have room temperature threshold current of 18 mA and differential quantum efficiency of 0.45 W/A/facet. The linewidth enhancement factor is smaller and gain coefficient is larger for these strain compensated lasers compared to that for conventional strained layer laser. This may be due to higher effective compressive strain in the light emitting layer of these devices which reduces the effective mass. The observed larger gain coefficient is consistent with the measured larger relaxation oscillation frequency of these lasers compared to that for a conventional strained layer laser.


JP-10 is a potential endothermic hydrocarbon fuel (EHF) with a high energy density for the regenerative cooling technology of advanced aircrafts. In this work, pyrolysis and coking of JP-10 were experimentally studied using an electrically heated tube as a flowing reactor under supercritical conditions (4.5 MPa, 550–735 °C). For the supercritical pyrolysis, dicyclopentadiene, exo-TCD4e, and indane/indene were observed with relatively higher selectivity at low conversion, and the selectivities of typical products (ethene, propene, CPD, cyclopentene, and benzene) were lower compared with that under atmospheric pressure, possibly because of the enhanced bimolecular reactions. The heat sink of JP-10 was approximately 2.5 MJ/kg ascribed to the severe coke formation during the pyrolysis. Further characterizations on cokes indicated that the coke in the bulk fluid was about 70–170 times higher than that deposited on the wall, attributed to rapid formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of pyrolysis products rather than the wall catalysis.


Use of Hotelling's T2 charts with high breakdown robust estimates to monitor multivariate individual observations are the recent trend in the control chart methodology. Vargas (J. Qual. Tech. 2003; 35: 367‐376) introduced Hotelling's T2 charts based on the minimum volume ellipsoid (MVE) and the minimum covariance determinant (MCD) estimates to identify outliers in Phase I data. Studies carried out by Jensen et al. (Qual. Rel. Eng. Int. 2007; 23: 615‐629) indicated that the performance of these charts heavily depends on the sample size, amount of outliers and the dimensionality of the Phase I data. Chenouri et al. (J. Qual. Tech. 2009; 41: 259‐271) recently proposed robust Hotelling's T2 control charts for monitoring Phase II data based on the reweighted MCD (RMCD) estimates of the mean vector and covariance matrix from Phase I. They showed that Phase II RMCD charts have better performance compared with Phase II standard Hotelling's T2 charts based on outlier free Phase I data, where the outlier free Phase I data were obtained by applying MCD and MVE T2 charts to historical data. Reweighted MVE (RMVE) and S‐estimators are two competitors of the RMCD estimators and it is a natural question whether the performance of Phase II Hotelling's T2 charts with RMCD and RMVE estimates exhibits similar pattern observed by Jensen et al. (Qual. Rel. Eng. Int. 2007; 23: 615‐629) in the case of MCD and MVE‐based Phase I Hotelling's T2 charts. In this paper, we conduct a comparative study to assess the performance of Hotelling's T2 charts with RMCD, RMVE and S‐estimators using large number of Monte Carlo simulations by considering different data scenarios. Our results are generally in favor of the RMCD‐based charts irrespective of sample size, outliers and dimensionality of Phase I data. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The utility of EEG-fMRI is limited by the large artefact voltages produced in EEG recordings made during concurrent fMRI. Novel approaches for reducing the magnitude and variability of the artefacts are, therefore, required. One such approach involves using an EEG cap incorporating a reference layer (RL), which has similar conductivity to biological tissue and is electrically isolated from the scalp. The RL carries a secondary set of electrodes and leads that precisely overlay on the scalp electrodes so that similar voltages are anticipated to induce at the RL and scalp electrodes in the presence of static and time-varying magnetic fields. RL artefact subtraction (RLAS), which involves taking the difference of the voltages at the two electrodes, should, therefore, attenuate artefacts while leaving neuronal voltages unaffected. Previous experimental work has demonstrated the potential of the RLAS system in removing different types of EEG artefact. However, to get the best performance from the RLAS system, it is important to verify the underlying assumptions of RLAS and to optimize the RLAS system based on electromagnetic simulations. In this paper, electromagnetic modeling was used to simulate the voltages induced in a hemispherical RL and a spherical volume conductor (VC) under the influence of a static magnetic field and time-varying magnetic field gradient. By evaluating the differences in the voltages produced in the RL and VC, as the RL geometry is varied, the efficacy of the RLAS approach is tested and an optimal RL design is identified. The simulations performed accounted for realistic rotations, shifts, nodding, and shaking of the RLAS system with respect to the gradient isocentre, thus giving insight into the optimum RLAS set-up and the potential for improved EEG cap design for an RLAS system.


This article presents a reinforcement learning‐based approach to generate animation in which two agents use a rope to collaboratively transport a block. The challenge is that the agents need to master several skills, including approaching the block, using the rope to wrap around it, and then moving the block to a predefined goal position. We propose several reward terms to learn the transportation policy and the adjustment policy that govern the skills of the agents. Experiment results showed that the proposed approach was able to generate various animations in different settings, including rope lengths, block sizes, and block shapes. An ablation test revealed the effects of the reward terms. We also investigated factors that affected the performance of the two policies.


Background: Almost a quarter of young people are so dependent on their smartphones that it has become an addiction. Mobile phone addiction is a sum effect of phubbing, internet addiction, or social media intrusion. Self-controlling behaviour is a necessity to avoid addiction.  The study aims to find the gender differentials for the effect of predictors of mobile phone addiction and its effect on self-control via Smart phone addiction through SEM in two CBSE schools of Meerut, contributing a sample size of 400.
Methods: Data Collection was done in part (1) Demographic information, Part (2) 5 structured scales: (i) The Phubbing Scale (ii) Adapted Mobile Phone Use Habits scale (iii) The Facebook Intrusion Questionnaire (iv) Internet Addiction Scale and (v) The Brief Self-Control Scale. Results: Male students are more phubbed (53%) than female students (25%), but the use of internet addiction is more in female students (48%) than male (33%). Self-control overall was 31%, more in males (35%) than female students (25%).
Conclusion: Male students have a tendency to be more phubbed, and female students are more internet addicted. Self-controlling behaviour was less in females than their counterparts' male students and so, were more addicted to Smart phone.


Papillomaviruses induce benign and malignant epithelial tumors in vertebrates through the action of virally encoded oncoproteins such as E6. Recent studies of human and animal E6 proteins determined the three-dimensional structure of E6 when bound to LXXLL peptides derived from E6-targeted cellular proteins. The interaction between diverse E6 proteins and their different cellular targets has revealed a commonality that is surprising and puzzling. E6 proteins that are divergent in evolution have conserved overall structures that bind to similar cellular peptides; these interactions target strikingly different cellular pathways to facilitate analogous viral replication life cycles.


Designing multitarget drugs remains a significant challenge in current antitumor drug discovery. Because of the synergistic effect between topoisomerase and HDAC inhibitors, the present study reported the first-in-class triple inhibitors of topoisomerase I/II and HDAC. On the basis of 3-amino-10-hydroxylevodiamine and SAHA, a series of hybrid molecules was successfully designed and synthesized. In particular, compound 8c was proven to be a potent inhibitor of topoisomerase I/II and HDAC with good antiproliferative and apoptotic activities. This proof-of-concept study also validated the effectiveness of discovering triple topoisomerase I/II and HDAC inhibitors as novel antitumor agents.


Market theories permeate the consciousness of those involved in the markets, as with most things everyone has an opinion, and as with most things many people are wrong. The study of whether markets function efficiently or inefficiently is timeless; to say only the people change isn't even an accurate observation because the pervasiveness of irrationality and inefficiency is one that transcends time. I intend to present the basis for both arguments, and then add my own sauce (if you will).


A pharmacogenetic mouse model was utilized to determine the role of Cyp1a1 expression on the formation of Ki-ras mutations in lung tumors following transplacental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A backcross between Ah responsive male B6D2F1 mice and nonresponsive female DBA mice resulted in a litter in which both responsive and nonresponsive fetuses resided in the same nonresponsive maternal environment. Pregnant mothers received a single i.p. injection of either 10 or 30 mg/kg of 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) or olive oil vehicle on day 17 of gestation. At the higher dose of MC, the responsive offspring of both sexes had significantly (P < 0.05) higher incidences of lung tumors than their nonresponsive littermates. The male responsive mice also exhibited a significantly increased liver tumor incidence over the nonresponsive mice at the P < 0.05 level. Administration of 10 mg/kg of MC caused a very low incidence of lung tumors and did not result in the appearance of macroscopically visible liver tumors. Exons 1 and 2 of the Ki-ras gene were amplified from paraffin-embedded tissue samples. The PCR products were screened by allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization (ASO). Thirteen of 16 lung tumors (81%) screened exhibited point mutations in the 12th or 13th codon, including seven tumors that contained GGT-->GTT (GLY12-->VAL12) transversions, four which exhibited GGT-->TGT (GLY12-->CYS12) transversions, and two which contained GGC-->CGC (GLY13-->ARG13) transversions. None of the tumors had mutations at codon 61. The results obtained by ASO were confirmed by cloning and sequence analysis of the PCR products from four of these tumors. Within the subset of 16 tumors examined in this study, the same types of mutations in the Ki-ras gene were generally present in both responsive and nonresponsive mice, although G-->C transversions were found in two tumors from a single responsive female mouse. Interestingly, while both males and females exhibited the GGT-->GTT mutations at codon 12, the GGT-->TGT transversion was only found in male mice. These results are consistent with a key role for Cyp1a1 in modulating individual susceptibility to cancer formation through the formation of reactive intermediates that bind to DNA and result in activating mutations in key regulatory molecules.


The future of the field of entrepreneurship is bright primarily because of the many research opportunities to make a difference. However, as scholars how can we find these opportunities and choose the ones most likely to contribute to the literature? This essay introduces me-search and a special issue of research-agenda papers from leading scholars as tools for blazing new trails in entrepreneurship research. Me-search and the agenda papers point to the importance of solving a practical problem; problematizing, contextualizing, and abstracting entrepreneurship research; and using empirical theorizing to explore entrepreneurial phenomena.


We study the link between a compact hypersurface in $\P^{n+1}$ and the set of all its tangent planes. In this context, we identify $\P^{n+1}$ to the set of linear subspaces of codimension one by orthogonal complementarity. This gives rise to a kind of duality which has already been studied Bruce and Romerro-Fuster, and relates a hypersurface to the set of its tangent planes. But in these papers the dual, in this sense, of the set of tangent planes of a hypersurface was not defined and iteration of the procedure was not possible. Therefore we extend this type of duality to more general sets and achieve a procedure which can be iterated and gives in fact an involution.


A multidisciplinary meeting was held by the radiation oncology department of South Western Sydney Area Cancer Services in March 2003. This meeting was advertised in all radiation oncology departments in Australia and New Zealand. As a precursor to this meeting, a survey was undertaken on the use of radiotherapy for treating lung cancer. All departments in Australia and New Zealand were asked to participate. The survey considered planning techniques, delivery set-up and prescription doses for non-small-cell and small-cell lung cancer and palliative and radical treatments. A wide range in the techniques used was seen across departments, particularly when prescription doses and fractionation were considered.


Most are familiar with the biblical warnings about false prophets presenting as the wolf in sheep's clothing, but in this issue of Blood, Mansoor and colleagues expose a sheep in wolf's clothing by shining a bright light on a newly described benign disease previously pretending to be a very bad malignancy, and doing so quite convincingly.


ABSTRACT Physical education has become more than a superficial exposure to a range of motor skills and movement challenges through the emergence of a myriad of educationally-focused initiatives, models and theoretical approaches. Such proliferation of ideas has been positioned within the literature as both a strength and a weakness. While ideas can be strengthened through focused and inward-looking practice, an increasing array of foundational ideas with disparate language, can make the territory of physical education increasingly more difficult to navigate across divided discourses leading to a potentially shallow base. This research articulates a deliberate process of border crossing that we undertook as a way to seek a convergence (where possible) between two related frameworks for understanding and progressing physical education. We acknowledge this exchange of ideas is something that happens frequently and informally between different educators and researchers. Yet we suggest that there is room for those willing to undertake a more deliberate transformational approach to border crossing with the potential to yield innovative outcomes through the integration of ideas from different fields. Opportunities can emerge for educational developments as a consequence of working at these borders/boundaries. To better understand deliberate approaches to border crossing, we draw largely upon ideas from transdisciplinary research, concept analysis, boundary crossing and threshold concepts to reflexively interrogate our own uncertain, at times messy and iterative approach of reconciliation from either side of the globe. The paper offers insights and guidance for others who wish to more formerly seek out synergies through a process of disciplinary border crossing.


Rodents are widely used to mimic human diseases to improve understanding of the causes and progression of disease symptoms and to test potential therapeutic interventions. Chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension, together known as the metabolic syndrome, are causing increasing morbidity and mortality. To control these diseases, research in rodent models that closely mimic the changes in humans is essential. This review will examine the adequacy of the many rodent models of metabolic syndrome to mimic the causes and progression of the disease in humans. The primary criterion will be whether a rodent model initiates all of the signs, especially obesity, diabetes, hypertension and dysfunction of the heart, blood vessels, liver and kidney, primarily by diet since these are the diet-induced signs in humans with metabolic syndrome. We conclude that the model that comes closest to fulfilling this criterion is the high carbohydrate, high fat-fed male rodent.


In this article we revisit a number of disputes regarding significance logics—i.e., inferential frameworks capable of handling meaningless, although grammatical, sentences—that took place in a series of articles most of which appeared in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy between 1966 and 1978. These debates concern (i) the way in which logical consequence ought to be approached in the context of a significance logic, and (ii) the way in which the logical vocabulary has to be modified (either by restricting some notions, or by adding some vocabulary) to keep as much of Classical Logic as possible. Our aim is to show that the divisions arising from these disputes can be dissolved in the context of a novel and intuitive proposal that we put forward.


Objective: To establish a methodology for developing a user-friendly, environmentally specific nursing intensity measurement tool. Background: Nursing intensity measurement systems assess the demand for nursing care in a given setting and must adapt to changes in technology, patient populations, and treatment profiles. Nowhere is this more evident than in a clinical research setting where demands for nursing care are driven by changing patient populations and new biomedical research protocols. This article traces the extension of an adult oncology ambulatory nursing intensity system at the Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, into 3 day hospitals: medical surgical, pediatrics, and hematology/oncology. Methods: A team of stakeholders including nurse managers, clinical nurse specialists, and senior clinical research nurses was assembled. Descriptions of clinical research care for each day hospital were developed and organized into 6 levels with their associated time frames. Descriptions were reviewed by 2 content specialists, and a content validity index quantified the extent of their agreement. A weighted &kgr; statistic was used to measure interrater reliability. Results: A content validity index of .87 indicated a high level of agreement between specialists. The weighted &kgr; statistic was .80, demonstrating substantial agreement between 2 raters. Conclusion: This ambulatory nursing intensity tool proved to be adaptable to heterogeneous patient populations.


Increased power-dissipation in upcoming generation digital systems are limited by supply voltage reductions. For such systems, transistors with lower Subthreshold Slopes are needed. Tunnel Field Effect Transistors (TFET), which works on the principle of band-to-band tunnelling, are supposed to be the possible solution for this problem. TFETs ON-current (I ON ) is usually very low, with the use of semiconductors with indirect and large bandgap, and high effective mass as silicon, where tunnelling probability is depressed. One solution to this problem is the use of III-V semiconductors like InAs, GaSb, GaAsSb, In x Ga 1-x As etc. and structure of gate is another important factor. Double gate instead of a single gate structure will provide improvement in I ON . Work function of the gate material also has a great impact. In this paper, a study of the impact of In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As channel material, gate structure, work function and high-k dielectric for gate for TFET using Cogenda VTCAD is presented.


Purpose
Unlike most empirical investigations that have tested the relationship between abusive supervision and subordinate's workplace deviance in a large and formal organizational setup, this study investigates the effect of abusive behavior of owner-manager of small entrepreneurial establishments on subordinate's workplace deviance. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it explores the moderating effect of intention to quit on the relationship between abusive supervision and organizational as well as interpersonal deviance; and second, it investigates whether the moderating effect between abusive supervision and intention to quit will be stronger for organizational deviance (supervisor directed) than for interpersonal deviance (others directed).

Design/methodology/approach
The participants of this study were 240 restaurant and hotel employees working in three small entrepreneurial organizations in the eastern state of India. The authors have collected data on the predictor and criterion variables at two time points with a separation of three to four weeks for reducing common method bias (Podsakoff et al., 2012). At Time 1, participants completed measures of the perception of their owner-manager's abusiveness and their intention to quit. At Time 2, participants responded to organizational deviance and interpersonal deviance.

Findings
The findings of the study is in line with previous research studies (Tepper et al., 2007; Thau et al., 2009) that reported intention to quit will moderate the positive relationship between abusive supervision and organizational deviance and interpersonal deviance such that the relationship will be stronger when intention to quit is high rather than low. The finding of the study also corroborates the prediction that the interactive effect between abusive supervision and intention to quit will be stronger for organizational deviance (supervisor directed) than for interpersonal deviance (aimed at other members of the organization) when intention to quit is higher.

Originality/value
This study is among the very few empirical research studies that have investigated the effect of abusiveness of owner-manager on subordinate's workplace deviance in small organizations. Another unique aspect of the study is that it is one of few to propose and test, how (whether organizational deviance or/and interpersonal deviance) and to what extent (more organizational or supervisor directed than interpersonal or others directed deviance) subordinates of abusive supervisor retaliate by engaging in workplace deviant behaviors.


Nietzsche's aesthetics,which broke the silence of the Western rationalism philosophy tradition,measured again the ethic value by using the bright life consciousness.It showed the perfect match between soul and art spirit and greatly affected modern Western aesthetics.


The leading hypothesis for the cause of the very high confinement observed during VH mode in DIII-D is that a spontaneous increase in the core flow shear suppresses microturbulence which reduces transport loss and, for example, further increases flow, in a positive feedback cycle. This is confirmed by using 'magnetic braking' as an independent control of the toroidal rotation contribution to the flow; when the toroidal rotation shear of a VH mode discharge is reduced, the turbulence and transport increase back to the level observed during 'standard' H mode


Directed energy deposition (DED) provides a promising additive manufacturing method to fabricate and repair large metallic parts. However, it may suffer from excessive heat accumulation due to a high build rate, particularly during a wire feeding-type DED process. The implementation of interpass time in between two depositions of beads plays an important process role to passively control the interpass temperature. In this study, a method to estimate the proper interpass time using regression analysis from heat transfer finite element analysis is proposed for maintaining the interpass temperature during a wire feeding-type DED deposition of a planar layer. The overlapping beads of a planar layer are estimated using a polygonal-shaped bead profile in the finite element model. From the estimated proper interpass time, a selected proper interpass time scheme (PITS) is suggested for practical implementation. The selected PITS is applied in a thermo-mechanical finite element model to evaluate the temperature distribution and its effects on the depth of the melt pool, the depth of the heat-affected zone (HAZ), displacement, and residual stresses. By comparing the predicted results with those using a constant interpass time scheme (CITS), the selected PITS shows better control in reducing the depths of the melt pool and HAZ without severely inducing large displacement and residual stresses.


Background Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) is known to interfere NF-κB signaling pathway and effectively promotes apoptosis in tumor cells by a variety of mechanisms. Objectives Due to the pivotal roles of NF-κB activation and apoptosis resistance of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we postulated that IGFBP-3 could have anti-arthritic effects. Methods RA and osteoarthritis (OA) patients were recruited and IGFBP-3 levels were compared in the serum and synovial fluid. An adenovirus containing IGFBP-3 cDNA (Ad-IGFBP-3) or IGFBP-3 mutant devoid of IGF binding affinity but retains IGFBP-3 receptor binding ability (Ad-mtIGFBP-3) was used to deliver IGFBP-3. The regulatory roles of IGFBP-3 against inflammation and bone destruction were defined in mice with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Results IGFBP-3 levels were higher in RA patients than OA, and much higher in active RA patients. Ad-IGFBP-3 suppressed NF-κB activation, chemokine production, and matrix metalloproteinase secretion induced by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in RA-FLS. Ad-IGFBP-3 sensitized TNF-α-induced apoptosis of RA-FLS in vitro and also significantly increased apoptosis in vivo model of Matrigel implants engrafted into immunodeficient mice. Ad-IGFBP-3-injected CIA mice had an attenuated arthritis severity and reduced radiological and pathological abnormalities. Moreover, Ad-IGFBP-3 down-regulated local and systemic levels of NF-κB-targeted proinflammatory cytokines. Importantly, RA-FLS and CIA mice treated with Ad-mtIGFBP-3 exhibited similar effects as Ad-IGFBP3 did. Conclusions These results suggest that blocking of NF-κB activation and induction of apoptosis in RA-FLS by IGFBP-3 reduce both inflammatory response and bone destruction. Therefore, IGFBP-3 may have a new therapeutic potential for the treatment of RA. References Feldmann M, Brennan FM, Maini RN. Rheumatoid arthritis. Cell 1996;85(3):307-10. Muller-Ladner U, Pap T, Gay RE, Neidhart M, Gay S. Mechanisms of disease: the molecular and cellular basis of joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis. Nat Clin Pract Rheumatol 2005;1(2):102-10. Bartok B, Firestein GS. Fibroblast-like synoviocytes: key effector cells in rheumatoid arthritis. Immunol Rev2010;233(1):233-55. Noss EH, Brenner MB. The role and therapeutic implications of fibroblast-like synoviocytes in inflammation and cartilage erosion in rheumatoid arthritis. Immunol Rev2008;223:252-70. Baier A, Meineckel I, Gay S, Pap T. Apoptosis in rheumatoid arthritis. Curr Opin Rheumatol 2003;15(3):274-9. Hah YS, Lee YR, Jun JS, Lim HS, Kim HO, Jeong YG, et al. A20 suppresses inflammatory responses and bone destruction in human fibroblast-like synoviocytes and in mice with collagen-induced arthritis. Arthritis Rheum2010;62(8):2313-21. Acknowledgements This work was supported by a grant from the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Korean government (No. 2012-0009319). Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Social insects can be used as bioindicators of environmental quality. The trace metals, heavy metals, radioactivity, pesticides, environmental pollutants have been monitored by using social wasps. The species of Polistinae build up their nest in nature by collecting various organic and inorganic materials from surrounding areas. The idea of this study was to detect the accumulation of copper as environmental pollutant on native species. The nest materials belonging to two species  Polistes nimpha  and  Polistes dominulus  were collected from Adana in Cukurova Region that is one of the very important agriculture areas in Turkey and analyzed through flame atomic absorption spectrometric methods. The amount of copper was found in the nests of  P. nimpha  and  P. dominulus  which was changed from 2.03 to 6.68µg.g -1 . It is believed that this accumulation is due to applications of copper-containing pesticides. Overall analyses of findings indicated that composition of the nests of  Polistes  might be evaluated as biomonitor for copper pollution.


Laboratory physical simulation test with similar materials is an effective tool to study the practical problems in mining and civil engineering. This paper conducted an orthogonal study on low-strength similar materials comprising sand, fly ash and plaster, and analyzed the sensitivity of the materials. It has been found that the mechanical properties of the similar materials extremely depend on the proportioning ratio, and they satisfy the requirements of different laboratory physical simulation tests with similar materials. In addition, the compression strength and elastic modulus of the similar material decrease as the sand–binder ratio or cement ratio increases. The relation between the sand–binder ratio and compression strength of the material and that between the sand–binder ratio and elastic modulus are linear. Meanwhile, the relation between the cement ratio and compression strength and that between the cement ratio and elastic modulus are both exponential. Sensitivity analysis using the range method shows that the effects of the cement ratio on the compression strength and elastic modulus are more significant than the effects of the sand–binder ratio. Finally, one of these similar materials was used in a simulation test on coal backfill mining effectively.


Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and pattern of intraventricular conduction blocks in adult Nigerians with newly diagnosed essential hypertension and to determine the relationship between microalbuminuria and intraventricular conduction blocks. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study with nested case control. Ninety six patients were consecutively enrolled and compared with age- and sex-matched ninety six healthy normotensive individuals. Pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection. The data collected was doubly entry into SPSS 20.0 software and analysed. P value < 0.05 was accepted as significance. Results: There were 52 (54.2%) male and 46 (45.8%) female hypertensive patients. Twenty one patients (21.9%) had intraventricular conduction blocks compared with 4 (4.2%) among the normotensive controls (21.9% versus 4.2%, P = 0.001) and left anterior fascicular block was the most frequent (38.1%). The prevalence of microalbuminuria was 32.3% in the hypertensive patients. Intraventricular blocks were significantly more common in hypertensive patients with microalbuminuria than in those without it (32.3% versus 16.9%, P=0.01). Conclusion: This study reveals that there is a high prevalence of intraventricular conduction blocks in adult Nigerians with newly diagnosed essential hypertension and left anterior fascicular block is the most common type. It also shows that the subset of hypertensive patients with microalbuminuria is more likely to have intraventricular blocks than those without it.


This short piece discusses the (alleged) manner in which the Department of Defense (DoD) conducted the disappointed offeror's post-award debriefing following the award of the $10 billion, $10-year Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud computing contracting opportunity. While the quality of DoD's debriefing is unlikely to alter the outcome in the pending protest litigation, it seems inconsistent with policy, the current trend favoring greater transparency, and the recent Congressional mandate for "enhanced debriefings."

The piece suggests that, consistent with decades of study and experience, debriefings make sense, but only if they are informative or, more to the point, responsive. Conversely, formalistic debriefings serve no purpose, waste government resources, and frustrate private sector offerors that invested valuable resources preparing lengthy proposals.


Over the past few years, the concept of carbonates, as the salts of MCO3 or composition with [CO3] triangles in the crystal structures, was sufficiently extended. In addition to carbonates, crystal structures with stoichiometry M3CO5, M2CO4 and MC2O5 were predicted and successfully synthesized. In the present study, based on density functional theory and crystal structure prediction algorithms, we found a novel structure of CaC2O5, namely Ca-pyrocarbonate with monoclinic symmetry Cc, which is one of the possible agents of the global carbon cycle. This structure is characterized by the isolated [C2O5] groups consisting of two [CO3] triangles connected through a common oxygen atom. The thermodynamic stability field of Ca-pyrocarbonate with respect to the decomposition reaction into calcium carbonate and carbon dioxide begins at a pressure of 10 GPa. As the pressure increases to 21 GPa, the structure of Ca-pyrocarbonate transforms into the recently synthesized tetragonal modification I4̄2d, in the structure of which carbon is in the sp3-hybridized state and [CO4] tetrahedra form isolated pyramidal [C4O10] anionic groups. At 59 GPa in the temperature range of 0-2500 K, CaC2O5-I4̄2d undergoes a phase transition to CaC2O5-Fdd2, with the framework structure of [CO4] tetrahedra. On further compression to about 80 GPa, the framework structure transforms into layered ones, C2 and Pc. In addition, we estimated the thermodynamic stability of CaC2O5 with respect to the minerals of the Earth's mantle. We found that CaC2O5 can coexist with bridgmanite up to pressures of 54 GPa at 300 K, where it reacts with the formation of a Ca-perovskite, magnesite, and solid CO2-V.


The basic action mechanism of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor is to lower the glucose burden by excreting the glucose filtered by the kidney into the urine. Although SGLT2 inhibitors are primarily indicated as glucose-lowering agents, they have a broad range of effects on renal function and plasma volume homeostasis, as well as on adiposity and energy metabolism across the entire body. That might be why SGLT2 inhibition causes spill-over of sodium and glucose beyond the proximal tubule, triggering dynamic and reversible realignment of energy metabolism, renal filtration, and plasma volume. A better understanding of SGLT2 inhibition in the kidney and the entire body will lead to more benefits in people with and without diabetes.


We take new algebraic and geometric perspectives on the old subject of SQCD. We count chiral gauge invariant operators using generating functions, or Hilbert series, derived from the plethystic programme and the Molien–Weyl formula. Using the character expansion technique, we also see how the global symmetries are encoded in the generating functions. Equipped with these methods and techniques of algorithmic algebraic geometry, we obtain the character expansions for theories with arbitrary numbers of colours and flavours. Moreover, computational algebraic geometry allows us to systematically study the classical vacuum moduli space of SQCD and investigate such structures as its irreducible components, degree and syzygies. We find the vacuum manifolds of SQCD to be affine Calabi–Yau cones over weighted projective varieties. firstname.lastname@example.com email@example.com email@example.com email@example.com firstname.lastname@example.com 1


Videos are consider in these time an important way to record our life moments. Nowadays and with the widespread of using Internet, videos can be shared easily between different countries and between peoples around the world. Now due the ease of using computer and internet any one easily by pushing a button can download a video from the internet which can evolves good or bad contents (harmful or useful) and this contents may have impact specially on children and minors, so effective filtering of videos is of paramount importance in an video filtering solutions. Videos consists of set of numerous frames (set of images) which are viewed in sequence which result which result video. This paper represent a new effective system for Filtering pornography videos based on skin recognition technique. Nevertheless, the results of our experiments show that this approach is indeed able to provide good recognition rates for pornography detection at the frame level. KeywordsSkin recognition, pornography detection, Video snapshots, Internet Download Managers.


Android is a linux based operating system which uses linux kernel. In this paper we will see how the boot up process of android is different from linux and how the different applications in an Android System communicate with each other. As an Android Application is made up of different activities so through this paper we will also come to know about how the activity changes their states and the whole lifecycle of an activity.


INTRODUCTION:
As early as 400 B.C. when Hippocrates wrote about epilepsy till the present day when medical sciences have reached the heights of sophistication with various investigations like Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Positron Emission Tomography, epilepsy – a common neurological disorder, remains an enigma.
Epilepsy is a clinical state, or syndrome, whereby a person is liable to recurrent epileptic seizures. Epilepsy may arise from a constitutional predisposition or as a consequence of acquired pathology and isolated seizures may be precipitated by a wide range of transient metabolic disturbances. A constitutional predisposition most commonly presents with so called primary generalized epilepsy whereas acquired pathology often produces focal epilepsy.
The physician's approach to a patient with epilepsy necessitates that he or she should first define the nature or type of the patient's seizures, then if possible, determine the site in the brain from which they are arising and finally specify the nature of the underlying pathology or pathophysiology.
This idea, which cannot always be achieved in full, is particularly applicable to patients with focal epilepsy.
In the past, a large number of cases were labeled as epilepsy of unknown origin. Advances in imaging have revolutionized the ability to visualize the lesions in the brain that cause neurologic dysfunction. The introduction of computed tomographic scan (CT scan) particularly, has really helped to sort out the causes of epilepsy. It easily picks up focal calcifications, mass lesions, vascular lesions, abscesses, ring or disc enhancing lesions and other various innumerable abnormalities. Thus, the CT scan, one of the modern noninvasive investigation is a valuable tool in detecting intracranial abnormalities in patients with focal seizures.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:
1. To detect various CT-scan abnormalities in patients with focal seizures.
2. Study the value of CT-scan Brain in diagnosing the etiological factor of focal seizures.
3. Correlation between clinical features and CT scan findings.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Thirty five patients with focal seizures who were admitted in the Neurology ward and General medical wards of Stanley Medical College Government Hospital during the period of Oct. 2006 to Oct. 2007, were enrolled for the study and was followed up.
Patients with simple partial seizures, complex partial seizures and secondary generalized seizures were included in the study. Patients with recent head-injury, doubtful history, mental retardation and children below 12 yrs were not included in this study.
A detailed history was recorded in each case (from the patient and intelligent attenders) regarding the age, number of episodes of seizures and parts of the body involved in the seizure have been recorded. Total duration of the seizure with shortest and longest interval between attacks and time of occurrence of fits in relationship with food and lunar cycles were also recorded. Important past history like ear discharge, psychosis, ECT, congenital, ischemic valvular heart disease, malignancy, exposure to STD, Pet rearing etc., were elicited and recorded. Dietary history regarding vegetarian and non-vegetarian was also taken. A thorough clinical examination was performed to detect any abnormality in CNS and screen for systemmic diseases with special attention to TB and cysticercosis.
Once a clinical diagnosis of focal seizure was made, patients were subjected to relevant investigations, besides the routine investigations. Focal seizures due to Metabolic cause was ruled out. Both Plain CT-scan and Contrast enhanced CT-scan of brain was done in patients to look for any abnormalities which could have caused the seizure. In CT-scan structural abnormalities like calcification, granulomatous lesions, tumors, vascular anomalies, infarcts, bleed, infections and inflammations was studied and the pattern of contrast enhancement was also studied. Follow up CT scan was done in cases which showed curable lesion like TB and Cysticercosis and the changes noted.
EEG was recorded in patients with normal CT scan or obvious metabolic abnormality to account for the seizure. A chest X-Ray was done in all cases to look for any supporting evidence of tuberculosis.
All patients were started on anticonvulsant medications and specific treatments were given for different disorders after establishing the diagnosis.
Patients in whom no specific etiology could be identified received only Anti epileptic drugs and they underwent a repeat CT-scan after a period of 12 – 16 weeks duration.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
1. 80% of patients with focal seizures showed structural lesions on CT scan.
2. The highest incidence of partial seizures was in 31-40 age group.
3. Male to Female ratio 3:1.
4. Tuberculoma of the brain is the commonest cause of Partial Seizures present in 31.42% of our patients.
5. The next common cause was Neuricysticercosis in 14.28% of patients.
6. The most common site of involvement of tuberculoma are parietal and frontal lobes and no infratentonal lesions were observed.
7. Since Neuro-imaging alone will not help in exactly delineating between Tuberculoma and Neurocysticercosis. Other corroborative clinical evidence must be taken into account while arriving at a conclusion.
8. Patients with Single Solitary Lesions on CT scan with no clinical / investigational back-up to diagnosis can be put on AED & wait and watch policy adopted and repeat a CT - scan after 12 - 17 weeks.
9. Though MRI is more specific and sensitive, given the socio-economic set up of our country, CT scan still remains to be the most valuable tool in making the etiological diagnosis of partial seizures.


There is a worldwide increase of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). In 1996, the Danish population‐based registry was initiated including all newly diagnosed children aged 0–15 yr. This is the report of incidence and seasonal variation for the first 10 yr of the registry. The data was analyzed using Poisson's regression analysis. A total of 2166 children with diabetes were diagnosed before the age of 15 yr between 1996 and 2005. In this period, the annual increase in childhood T1DM was 3.43% (95% confidence interval: 1.91–4.97), which was unaffected by age and gender. Seasonal variation in incidence rates varied by year but not by age and gender. In conclusion, there is a steep increase in incidence of childhood T1DM in Denmark; the increase is comparable with the increase seen in other European countries. There is a significant seasonal variation that changes on a year‐to‐year basis. The observed variations in cadence rates may be associated with viral epidemics, sunshine exposure, or vitamin D levels and suggest further exploration of these relations.


The paper begins with the human being's unavoidable need to choose between two or more realities and to opt for one of them in order to carry out any voluntary act, regardless of how trivial or momentous it might be. The rush to reduce or abolish the right of conscientious objection is the culmination of a policy that ignores the intrinsic dignity of the human being. Every human being is a person. This policy tries to impose adherence to the rules or norms of the State, which are dictated by any official agency to ensure observance of the "law" above and beyond conscience, thereby obliging a person to become a criminal or an accomplice in matters such as abortion, euthanasia and the like.


The Peschiera Spring slope (Central Apennines, Italy), which hosts the tunnels of the main drainage plant of Rome aqueducts, is involved in a gravity-induced slope deformation. An average aquifer discharge of about 18 m/s is responsible for an intense limestone dissolution corresponding to the main kinematic elements that dislodge the jointed rock mass. Since 2008 a seismometric network was installed within the tunnels of the drainage plant for detecting local underground instabilities consisting of failures and collapses. About 1000 signals due to instabilities were recorded up to now. A control index (CI), based on both the frequency of occurrence and the cumulative energy of the recorded local instabilities was tested for providing three levels of alert. During the 2014 a total of 32 collapse crises were recorded, that caused several "emergency" states of the plant.


Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease is characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissues, leading to fragility fractures. The number of patients with osteoporosis is steadily increasing due to the aging of society. Osteoporosis is an extremely common disease: it affects more than 200 million people worldwide and causes more than 8.9 million fractures. In Russia, among people aged 50 years and older, osteoporosis is diagnosed in 34% of women and 27% of men. The social significance of osteoporosis is determined by its consequences: fractures of bones of the peripheral skeleton and vertebral body fractures, leading to high material costs and causing a high level of disability and mortality. The normal physiological process of bone remodeling involves a balance between bone resorption and bone formation. In osteoporosis, this process becomes unbalanced, resulting in gradual losses of bone mass and density due to enhanced bone resorption and/or inadequate bone formation. Several signaling pathways underlying primary osteoporosis have been identified, such as the osteoprotegerin/receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (RANK) / RANK ligand (RANKL), bone morphogenetic proteins, canonical Wnt-signaling pathway. In addition, genetic disorders are involved in the development of the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. To identify osteoporosis, WHO recommends the use of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, which allows you to study the quantitative characteristics of bone tissue. Currently, there are various methods for evaluation of the quality of bone (microarchitectonics, the ability of bone tissue to be resistant to fracture), but these methods have limitations such as high cost and limited availability for their widespread using. The study of markers of bone remodeling normally and in pathology helps to assess the quality of bone tissue indirectly, gives prospects in the selection of targeted therapy and improvement of early diagnosis of osteoporosis.


Physiological responses and changes in growth of dwarf bamboo under drought stress are essential for establishing an evidence-based management system to maintain soil moisture for optimal growth. In this study, the responses of chlorophyll fluorescence, moisture content, and biomass accumulation of nine dwarf bamboo species placed in a drought stress environment were investigated. The species with large leaves, such as Indocalamus decorus Q. H. Dai and Sasaella glabra (Nakai) Koidz. f. albo-striata Muroi, had higher initial photosynthetic efficiency indexes than species with small leaves, such as Sasa fortunei (Van Houtte ex Munro) Fiori and Sasa pygmaea (Miq.) Rehder, but their initial light protection indexes were lower. As drought stress increased, photosynthetic efficiency indexes of large-leaved bamboo species dropped more than those of small-leaved species. In contrast, light protection indexes of large-leaved bamboo species dropped less than those of small-leaved species. The average stem and rhizome moisture content of all the bamboo species decreased tardily. However, the average moisture content of the leaf and root decreased abruptly. The initial biomass accumulation ratios of the large-leaved bamboos were higher than those of the small-leaved species. As the drought stress increased, the biomass accumulation ratio of large-leaved bamboo species declined rapidly, even falling below that of the small-leaved species, which did not decline as much. In conclusion, the biomass productivity of small-leafed dwarf bamboo species was found to be higher than that of large-leaved species under prolonged drought stress.


In early October of 1993, an oil shipment of about 1 million barrels was made from the Bayou Choctaw Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage facility to St. James Terminal. During the shipment, oil temperatures and soil temperatures along the pipeline were recorded. The field data were used to make estimations of soil thermal properties, thermal conductivity and specific heat. These data were also used to validate and calibrate a heat transfer code, OILPIP, which has been used to calculate pipeline cooling of oil during a drawdown.


The chemistry of sweet compounds has been an ideal training ground for researchers in the field of taste for a very long time. Sweeteners have a huge importance in the food and pharmaceutical industries, but they have also attracted much interest in connection with their biological function and the general mechanism of action of sweet compounds. Several factors contributed to a large and varied production of scientific data in this field: among these the existence of several active compounds in the plant kingdom, the diversity of structural, stereochemical and conformational hallmarks, the intriguing aspects related to their modulation, inhibition and synergy. Among all molecules that have been isolated and synthesized, only a few have successfully reached the final goal of commercial development while some have been used to derive models and structure–activity relationships. Nevertheless, there is a number of very interesting compounds of natural or synthetic origin that – after a short period of popularity – were apparently lost or forgotten, without any further development. The article will give an overview on some of these compounds and discuss, in the light of current knowledge, the contribution that chemistry still could give in the sweeteners area. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This paper describes how to improve the technical reading skills. In order to become a better technical reader first consider how you do your reading now. Identify the conditions that would help you to focus on the task without distraction. As much as possible you choose a time of day or night when you are alert. Once you identified all these physical conditions should be chosen to optimize your concentration. University like Texas A&M refers to inspectional reading as class 2 reading, which involves concentration on a paper's structure and main points. Some authors like Simonson and Gouveau illustrated sound reading in the context of passage on probability. Linear reading is conquered with conscious reading as well as by considering cross-references to vocabulary, notation and earlier points. However, thirty minutes is the quite reasonable time to digest up to three lines of mathematical or technical article. After reading the articles fix your way of learning like, outlining, creating a short summary sheet. Thus at last you can see effective, efficient reading not only empowers the reader, it also mobilizes the inner writer to better clarity of expression.


This study tested whether inducible pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy could effectively protect kidney from acute ischemia (1 h) - reperfusion (5 day) injury (IRI). Male-adult SD-rats (n = 24) were equally categorized into groups 1 (sham-control), 2 [sham-control + iPSC-MSC (1.2 × 106 cells/rat)], 3 (IR only) and 4 (IR + iPSC-MSC). Blood urine nitrogen/creatinine levels and ratio of urine protein to creatinine, kidney weight and expressions of inflammation (TNF-α/NF-κB), oxidative-stress (NOX-1/NOX-2/oxidized protein) and apoptosis (mitochondrial-Bax/cleaved caspase-3/PARP) were significantly higher in group 3 than in groups 1, 2 and 4 and significantly higher in group 4 than in groups 1 and 2 (all P<0.0001), but showed no differences between groups 1 and 2, whereas the protein expressions of anti-inflammation (IL-4/IL-10) and endothelial (CD31/vWF) markers exhibited an opposite pattern to inflammation among the four groups (all P<0.0001). Protein expressions of angiogenesis (VEGF/CXCR4/SDF-1α) markers progressively increased from groups 1 to 4 (all P<0.0001). Cellular expressions of kidney injury score/DNA-damage (γ-H2AX)/apoptotic nuclei and glomerulus-tubular-damage (KIM/FSP-1) displayed an identical pattern to inflammation, whereas the cellular expressions of glomerulus-tubular-integrity (dystroglycan/podocin/p-cadherin/synaptopodin/ZO-1/fibronectin) revealed an opposite pattern to inflammation among the four groups (all P<0.0001). In conclusion, iPSC-derived MSC therapy effectively protected kidney against IRI.


In this paper, for the first time, the tensile strength of water is directly measured using an optofluidic chip based on the displacement of air-water interface deformation with homogeneous nucleation. When water in a microchannel is stretched dynamically via laser-induced shock reflection at the air-water interface, the shock pressures are determined by measuring the displacements of the deformed interface. Observation of the vapor bubbles is used as a probe to identify the cavitation threshold with a critical distance, and the tensile strength of water at 20 °C is measured to be -33.3 ± 2.8 MPa. This method can be extended to investigate the tensile strength of other soft materials such as glycerol, which is measured to be -59.8 ± 10.7 MPa at 20 °C.


Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) bring the convenience for daily access and infrastructure construction. To improve the throughput of WMN, more than one Internet gateway can be deployed to a WMN and the network throughput can be improved via well deployment of Internet gateways. Although the route redirection and the dynamic routing metrics can be used to improve the performance of WMNs, more available network bandwidth will be consumed for control message exchanging. In this paper, we proposed a capacity-aware and multipath supported traffic control framework in wireless mesh networks. The proposed traffic control framework can be used to dispatch the data traffic in multipath manner and improve the utilization of wireless links and forwarding latency. A multi-level queue framework is proposed to classify traffic and monitor capacity of the links and Internet gateways without any message exchanging. Our traffic control strategy consists of two phases to automatically adapt the utilization of the links and the Internet gateways. In the first phase, the incoming packets are dispatched to the lower level queues according to the capacity of Internet gateways. In the second phase, the packets are dispatched to the related links. Both of the phases are based on the local minimization of the forwarding latency. Therefore, the proposed architecture can control the forwarding latency with an approximate minimum delay time.


The key features of the blockchain databases, such as decentralization, distribution, security, and record of the history of all transactions, create significant prospects for their application in the field of cadastre and real estate registration activities, including creation of the global real estate cadastre infrastructure, which will be able to go beyond national legal systems and jurisdictions. The conceptual approach to registration of land plots as spatial objects using blockchain technology is proposed. The land plot should be considered as a combination of smart contracts between landowners, surveyors, appraisers, notaries and other persons. The subject of such contracts will be the description and establishment of spatial (plot boundaries, territorial zones, etc.) and other (property rights and encumbrances, monetary valuation, soil bonitet, etc.) characteristics of land plots. The classification of such smart contracts reliability is also presented.