Purpose: To develop a robust quality assurance procedure for 4DCT process using ET gating phantom (ET-GPS), to optimize 4DCT scan protocols, and to investigate practical solutions for patients who have difficulties to be scanned with 4DCT. Methods: ET-GPS (BrainLab AB) in conjunction with the marker block is used to test the motion tracking of 4DCT imaging and Real-time Position Management (RPM) system (Varian). Several standard sinusoidal motion profiles as respiratory simulation were used as reference. A maximal motion range of 2.5mm to 16.5mm for horizontal motion (HM) and 6.4mm to 38.0mm for vertical motion (VM), with breathing period time (T) of 3s, 5s, and 7s, were applied to ET-GPS, respectively. 4DCT images were acquired by LightSpeed 16-slice CT simulator (GE Medical System), using our general 4DCT chest imaging protocol (cine, 120kVp, 350mA, 0.8s) with scan thicknesses of 1.25mm and 2.5mm, respectively. Maximal motion ranges obtained from 4DCT imaging were analyzed and compared to the references. Furthermore, acquired trajectory profiles from RPM system were played back to the ETGPS, agreement between 2nd acquired trajectories and reference sinusoidal profiles were analyzed quantitatively. Results: Test results of maximal horizontal motion ranges from 4DCT image agree well with the physical measurement (<3%) when the scan thickness is 1.25mm and with T = 5s or 7s. Motion range discrepancy is up to 13.5% for HM when 2.5mm thick is applied. The VM differences are less than 7%. ET-GPS can reproduce the patient motion profiles very well. Conclusion and discussion: The developed method using ET-GPS is a feasible and efficient way for quality assurance of 4DCT process. Imaging protocols can be further optimized when agreement is out of the expected. Further 4DCT QA procedure with different HU inserts and customized patient breathing profile will be investigated.


Background: This case report of a patient with a an avulsion brachial plexus injury demonstrates the effectiveness of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) integrated into hand therapy following a pedicled latissimus dorsi (LD) musculocutaneous flap transfer for elbow and fingers extension.
Methods: A 29-year-old right-hand dominant male suffered from high-energy crushing and avulsion injury at the workplace. He presented with pain (5/10), numbness over right upper limb, shoulder strength weakness (2/5), and brachial plexus injury including median, radial and ulnar nerve palsies. A pedicled LD musculocutaneous flap was performed to reconstruct the elbow and hand function simultaneously in the primary stage. The treatment program was divided into three phases: (1) immobilization phase (within 4 weeks after surgery), (2) facilitation phase (4 to 8 weeks after surgery), (3) strengthening phase (8 weeks after surgery). Application of PNF principles (manual contact, visual input and verbal instructions) and techniques (rhythmic initiation, repeated stretch, combination of isotonics and irradiation with D1 extension) were guided in the facilitation phase and early stage of strengthening phase to facilitate active control of elbow and finger extension.
Results: The patient could actively move the elbow and finger extensors after 2-weeks of PNF therapy. Up to 4 months after reconstructive surgery, the patient's elbow and fingers extensor reached strength of M4 and M3. In the next months, several palliative surgeries (e.g. elbow joint arthroplasty, thumb and wrist extension reconstruction) were performed. The patient returned to his original job as a manufactory worker 2 years after the accident.
Conclusion: PNF may be an effective and specific component of rehabilitation in the recovery of function in the early phase post injury for a patient with a major upper arm traction avulsion amputation reconstructed by a pedicled latissimus dorsi muscle.


Results of a survey of the resident-selection procedures for oral surgery graduate programs have been reported. Data on the application process, interview mechanisms, decision process, and a retrospective view of past resident selections have been presented. Seventy-one percent of the respondents were satisfied with their current interview process. Eighty-two percent of the residents viewed retrospectively were considered worthy of reselection.


Polytype inclusions and triangular stacking faults are observed in layers of 4H-SiC grown by sublimation epitaxy on off-oriented 4H-SiC substrates. The inclusions are of the 3C-SiC polytype. Low-temperature photoluminescence measurements indicate that the polytype inclusions are strained. The inclusions do not significantly affect the material quality of the layer polytype inherited from the substrate. The triangular defects seem to be given by formation of a (0001) surface and two-dimensional nucleation at the initial stages of growth but subsequently overgrown by 4H-SiC.


This paper, endorsing the dialogical perspective in psychotherapy, provides a synopsis of the PHD psychotherapy method, based on the integration of phenomenology, hermeneutics and psychodynamics. The first section covers the background knowledge required for PHD psychotherapy, consolidating and extending three basic concepts: life-world (the originary domain of a person's experience), dialectical principle (psychopathological symptoms are the result of a disproportion between the occurrence of alterity and the person's capacity to make sense of it), dialogical principle (individual human consciousness is inherently dialogical since it is formed in the dynamic interrelation of self and other). The second section describes the know-how or practical implementation of these principles, including (1) the phenomenological unfolding (P) of the patient's experiences, which equips the clinician and patient with a systematic knowledge of the abnormal phenomena that affect the patient and are part of her life-world; (2) the hermeneutic moment (H), which focuses on the patient's default interpretation of her experiences and then encourages her to actively take a different perspective towards her experiences, aiming at the resignification of these experiences in order to restore a sense of agency or responsibility; (3) the (psycho-)dynamic moment (D), which aims to contextualize the patient's psychopathological experiences and position-taking within the personal life-history in which they are embedded, and to trace back psychopathological symptoms to the limit-situation from which they emerge. The final section discusses the "something more" or knowing how-to-be that is required of a clinician who aims to apply this therapeutic method; it includes a concise discussion of how psychotherapeutic dialogue is a kind of practice that moves in unpredictable directions to experience something new for both partners.


Background and Aims:  Ripe rot of grapes is widespread in subtropical vineyards of south-eastern Australia. We aimed to re-evaluate the causative agent(s), berry susceptibility, fungicide sensitivity and differences in histopathology.

Methods and Results:  Both Colletotrichum acutatum and C. gloeosporioides were shown to be responsible for ripe rot in three vineyards surveyed in the Hastings Valley, NSW in 2007 and 2009. Observation on detached berries of Vitis vinifera (cv. Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay) revealed that C. acutatum had a faster infection rate than C. gloeosporioides. C. acutatum also formed appressoria and penetrated grape tissue faster than C. gloeosporioides, which produced longer hyphae on the berry surface before penetration. Both C. acutatum and C. gloeosporioides produced acervuli 48 h after inoculation. In contrast, spore germination rates and growth rates on potato dextrose agar were greater for C. gloeosporioides. The two species differed in their sensitivity to the fungicides benomyl, captan and triadimenol. C. acutatum was significantly more sensitive to captan and triadimenol, whereas C. gloeosporioides was more sensitive to benomyl.

Conclusions:  Both C. acutatum and C. gloeosporioides cause ripe rot of wine grapes in Australia. Subtle differences in the infection process may explain the relative prevalence of the two species.

Significance of the Study:  This study confirms the involvement of C. acutatum and C. gloeosporioides in ripe rot of grapes in Australia. Knowledge of growth characteristics and fungicide sensitivity of ripe rot pathogens should aid disease management strategies.


In recent years, there has been a dynamic shift in the role of the university student through the creation and promotion of experiential learning opportunities on campuses across the country. Many post-secondary programs now include co-op placements, practicums, or internships where students can apply theoretical knowledge to real-world settings. However, in this article, we have chosen to focus on more "altruistic" forms of experiential learning – volunteerism, development work, and service-learning – which have gained increased focus in recent years but are often used, we feel, without appropriately reflecting on their meaning. In this article, we draw upon our experiences as student leaders to define each of these roles, outline what we see as the benefits of experiential learning for students, and provide recommendations for how these learning opportunities can continue to be improved. Moreover, we identify privilege, ethics, and responsibility as complexities related to experiential learning and discuss each of these topics in more detail. We end our discussion by addressing the role of experiential learning in helping to define the value of a post-secondary education.


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

The mechanisms involved in tumor dissemination and metastasis are potential targets for therapeutic intervention. In this study, we used a subtractive immunization approach to generate monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against proteins preferentially expressed by the highly metastatic human cell line, M4A4. In vitro selection assays selected an antibody that significantly inhibited the migration of this cell line. This antibody was used to immunopurify, and identify the specific target as heat shock 70kDa protein 8 (HSPA8/ HSc70).

Protein expression levels of HSPA8 correlated with different cell clones metastatic ability. Fluorescent immunocytochemistry revealed a cell surface location of HSPA8. The migratory potential of M4A4 cells was similarly reduced by knocking down HSPA8 using siRNA technology, confirming a potential role for this protein in an aggressive tumor cell phenotype. Analysis of gene expression profiles of several clones with reduced HSPA8 expression revealed approximately 200 genes as being regulated by HSPA8, including several that code for putative metastatic factors.

Heat shock proteins are primarily implicated in a cytoprotective role when cells are exposed to stressful stimuli. They are intracellular molecular chaperones but are also found in the surface of embryonic stem cells and a variety of tumor cells.

HSPA8 is moderately induced by heat shock, in response to which it translocates from the cytosol to the nucleus. Immune modulators (like IFN-γ and IL-10) stimulate the release of intracellular HSPA8 from tumors. Extracellular heat shock proteins have recently been shown to mediate a range of powerful effects in inflammatory, neuronal and immune cells through a number of cell surface receptors. The mechanism by which blocking cell surface HSPA8 protein inhibits tumor cell migration and influences the invasive phenotype is currently under investigation.

Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 because the presenter was unable to attend.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 436.


Clearance of inulin (CIn) and para-aminohippuric acid (CPAH), cardiac output, oxygen uptake, and arterial blood pressure were measured in five healthy subjects at rest and during supine exercise on a bicycle ergometer before and after injection of a bacterial pyrogen (purified lipopolysaccharide, Pyrexal). CPAH was 45–145% higher at rest during the flush phase than in the normal condition. The increase in CIn, was less. Cardiac output increased also. The renal fraction of the cardiac output was larger than in the normal condition. During moderate exercise in the flush phase, CPAH decreased from the values before work. This decrease was usually larger than in the normal condition. The pyrogen-induced increase in cardiac output was less during exercise than at rest. A pronounced renal vasoconstriction during exercise is demonstrated even after the injection of bacterial pyrogen.

clearance of inulin and para-aminohippuric acid; cardiac output; extraction ratio

Submitted on May 4, 1964


Midwives are often the lead providers of maternity care for women. To provide the variety of care required by women, they need to be confident in their role and practice. To date, only limited evidence exists in relation to confidence as experienced by midwives. This thesis aims to explore the phenomena of confidence through the lived experience of midwives. In particular, this will encompass confidence in the context of the intrapartum care setting. The theoretical basis for the study was hermeneutic phenomenology, guided by the work of Heidegger and Gadamer. Midwives were recruited from three clinical settings to obtain a diversity of views and experiences. Rich data from diaries and in-depth interviews, from twelve participants, provided insight into the phenomena of confidence and the factors midwives encountered that affected their confidence. The phenomena of confidence consisted of a dynamic balance, between the cognitive and affective elements of knowledge, experience and emotion. This balance was fragile and easily lost, leading to a loss of confidence. Confidence was viewed as vital to midwifery practice by the participants of the study; however, maintaining their confidence was often likened to a battle. A number of cultural and contextual factors were identified as affecting confidence within the working environment, including trust, collegial relationships and organisational influences. Midwives also described various coping strategies they utilised to maintain their confidence in the workplace environment.This study provides unique insight into the phenomena of confidence for midwives working in intrapartum care, resulting in a number of recommendations. These highlight the importance of leadership, education and support for midwives in the clinical environment in enabling them to develop and maintain confidence in practice.


The Liberating Revolution, which took place on September 16th 1955, put an end to the second government of General Peron. The Chief of the revolutionary movement, General (RE) Eduardo Lonardi, after taking on the provisional presidency, adopted a conciliatory attitude towards peronism. These politics provoked deep irritation in tougher anti-peronist environments or gorillas, who managed to displace General Lonardi after almost two years, and General Aramburu took over the presidency in his place. His main objective was to suppress the peronist system from national politics. For this reason the revolutionary government adopted a series of measures of persecutory nature. Facing this, peronist bases organized all throughout the country what was called resistance. This brief study tries to reconstruct the organization and actions of resistance in Mendoza, between 1955 and 1960, basing not only upon the traditional method of


To attain a good control performance of automatic gantry crane system, sensors are indispensable instrument for feedback signals. However, sensing the payload motion of a real gantry crane, particularly swing motion, is not easy and sometimes costly. Therefore, a sensorless automatic gantry crane system is developed and proposed in this paper. A soft sensor based on artificial neural network is introduced to eliminate the real sensor. Instead, a sensor measuring armature current of DC motor driving the cart is used to provide dynamic information for the soft sensor. A simulation study using dynamic model of lab-scale automatic gantry crane is carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed soft sensor. The results show that the soft sensor can estimate effectively the unmeasured state. Moreover, the proposed method has robustness to deal with parameter variations


The restoration potential of Sweetgrass (Anthoxanthum nitens (Weber) Y. Schouten & Veldkamp) was evaluated through a field experiment conducted on Kanatsiohareke, a Mohawk farm, and at the LaFayette Experiment Station near Syracuse, New York. The effects of competition reduction and two cover crops on Sweetgrass reestablishment success were examined. Sweetgrass was planted under four treatments: Sweetgrass alone; with existing, old‐field vegetation; with a cover crop of Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa); and with a cover crop of Annual (Italian) ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum). The experiment consisted of five replicates of the four treatments at both LaFayette and Kanatsiohareke. Sweetgrass biomass, height, reproduction rate, and survivorship were greatest in plots that were weeded to eliminate competition and in plots with Hairy vetch as a cover crop. A cover crop of Annual ryegrass resulted in reduced Sweetgrass growth and reproduction. The results of this field experiment indicate that there is great restoration potential for Sweetgrass because it is easily transplanted and reproduces vigorously. For 2.25‐m2 plots, Hairy vetch is an effective cover crop for Sweetgrass. Planting the Sweetgrass with Hairy vetch generated properties of the grass that are desired by basketmakers, such as abundance and tall blades. This technique also allowed for a relatively non–labor intensive method of cultivation. Reestablishment of Sweetgrass offers the members and visitors of Kanatsiohareke the means to continue to use the plant, strengthen traditional practices associated with Sweetgrass, and benefit economically by selling baskets and medicine made with Sweetgrass.


Across three studies, I investigate the distinct effects of multiple identity conflict and enhancement within people on two crucial aspects of resolving problems with others: integrative behavior and openness. The results of two studies support the hypotheses that multiple identity conflict is negatively related to integrative thinking while multiple identity enhancement is positively related to attitudes of openness to others. In a third study, I conducted an interpersonal dyadic negotiation experiment with business school students and found that, as predicted, these effects replicated and extended to integrative outcomes and open behaviors. This research shows that there are both harmful and helpful effects of multiple identities on interpersonal problem solving depending on whether those identities are enhancing or conflicting: multiple identity conflict shuts down integrative thought and behavior and multiple identity enhancement opens us up to other people.


After six weeks participation in the rehabilitation program, D.K. was ready for discharge. He was receiving medications for symptomatic treatment: fluorocortisone acetate, cortisone acetate, and cimetidine. Rehabilitation goals were met to some degree; his strength was increased significantly and both motor control and balance were slightly better than at admission. He and his family recognized the need for ongoing care and agreed to be seen for follow-up treatment at the rehabilitation center.


Excitonic processes in the band edge regime determine the optical properties of II–VI bulk and novel epitaxial materials. The interdependences of excitonic systems (i.e. free and bound excitons), high-density systems (e.g. biexcitons) and the transition into the electron-hole plasma state are of high complexity and depend sensitively on sample quality and purity, dopant concentration, excitation condition and density, etc. Resonant excitation spectroscopy and time-resolved analysis of creation and decay processes provide valuable experimental access to clarification of the above-mentioned mutual interactions. In this paper recent results obtained using these methods are surveyed.

In the first part the development of luminescence and resonant excitation of bound exciton systems is treated under various excitation densities, for high excitation levels accompanied by biexciton formation and exciton–exciton collision processes. The specific properties observable when using heteroepitaxial structures instead of conventional bulk samples are discussed.

In the second part the time characteristics of excitonic transitions are evaluated for various impurities, dopants and dopant concentrations, excitation via particular resonant excitation channels, and various excitation densities. Relaxation and conversion channels between excitonic systems are analysed, in particular in strained heteroepitaxial systems which show splitting effects of the bands from which the carriers stem. Time-resolved analysis is demonstrated to be extremely helpful for the analysis of unknown excitonic systems and transitions. Methods of varying the characteristic time constants are discussed, in particular with regard to intentional changes in impurity contents and excitation densities which are interesting for any application.


PURPOSE
The purpose was to observe the changing MR appearance of stable anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) grafts on oblique axial images.

METHOD
Fifty-five knees in 44 patients were studied with MRI 1-54 months after arthroscopic ACL reconstruction with double-looped autogenous semitendinosus and gracilis tendons. Knees with poor stability were excluded from this study. Examinations were performed at 0.2 T with SE proton density and T2-weighted sagittal and oblique axial images.

RESULTS
High signal intensity areas covered the grafts 1-3 months after surgery. The high signal subsequently extended into the intertendinous bundles. The entire graft gradually became a low signal intensity bundle again after 12 months. Grafts were classified by their appearance on the oblique axial images.

CONCLUSION
We conclude that high signal intensity can be seen within stable ACL grafts.


The examination of competitiveness – thanks to its many definitions and the applied research methods – is a complex task, and this is especially true in the case of agricultural products. The competitiveness of Hungarian agricultural product has to this day been examined by several foreign and Hungarian experts and the results of their examinations have been made public. At the same time very little special literature deals with the different explanations and interpretations of the concept of competitiveness, and the analysis of the suitability of the measurement methods. In my essay I attempt to show the locatable definitions of competitiveness, and to show without aiming for completeness, the measurement methods which are deemed acceptable in special literature.


Left-ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) was determined from ECG-gated images of the cardiac blood pool, by computing the relative change in net LV counts occurring in these images during systole. EFs obtained with this method gave satisfactory interobserver agreement in 20 studies reviewed by three independent observers (average r = 0.95) and also compared favorably with EFs obtained by contrast ventriculography in 39 patients (r = 0.92). The technique appears suitable for use in the evaluation of systolic function in patients with heart disease.


The cellular uptake and dissolution of trigonal silver nanoprisms (edge length 42 ± 15 nm, thickness 8 ± 1 nm) and mostly spherical silver nanoparticles (diameter 70 ± 25 nm) in human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC's) and human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) were investigated. Both particles are stabilized by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), with the prisms additionally stabilized by citrate. The nanoprisms dissolved slightly in pure water but strongly in isotonic saline or at pH 4, corresponding to the lowest limit for the pH during cellular uptake. The tips of the prisms became rounded within minutes due to their high surface energy. Afterward, the dissolution process slowed down due to the presence of both PVP stabilizing Ag{100} sites and citrate blocking Ag{111} sites. On the contrary, nanospheres, solely stabilized by PVP, dissolved within 24 h. These results correlate with the finding that particles in both cell types have lost >90% of their volume within 24 h. hMSC's took up significantly more Ag from nanoprisms than from nanospheres, whereas HaCaT cells showed no preference for one particle shape. This can be rationalized by the large cellular interaction area of the plateletlike nanoprisms and the bending stiffness of the cell membranes. hMSC's have a highly flexible cell membrane, resulting in an increased uptake of plateletlike particles. HaCaT cells have a membrane with a 3 orders of magnitude higher Young's modulus than for hMSC. Hence, the energy gain due to the larger interaction area of the nanoprisms is compensated for by the higher energy needed for cell membrane deformation compared to that for spheres, leading to no shape preference.


Private equity transactions are basically takeovers of all or a part of the shares in a non-listed company by an investor (often an investment company) that intends to resell these shares later for a profit. There are several legal issues that play a role in these transactions. Ten of those issues are discussed here.


The Internet has more and more evolved from an information pool used by individuals for information gathering towards a medium that is being used by groups for information sharing and exchange. Today's Internet applications include local community networks as well as global business-to-business communication. The more the Internet is becoming a major part of our daily communication infrastructure, the more demands of effective tools for cooperation support arise. We have developed a Web-based groupware system-the BSCW shared workspace system-which aims to satisfy these demands. In this paper we describe a Java-based extension of the BSCW system that has been designed to improve usability of the system. As a consequence of limitations experienced from HTML-based user interfaces we have extended BSCW by a new JBrowser applet that uses XML as a data description language and provides a graphical representation of the user's shared workspaces. It can be seen as an example of how XML and Java can leverage from each other, how XML structures can be incorporated as objects in traditional applications, and how XML can be used to build a communication bridge between object repositories.


Background: Off-Pump CABG or "beating heart" surgery possess a challenge to the anesthesiologist. Main goals are provision of safe anesthesia with maximum myocardial protection and maintenance of hemodynamics with various manipulation of heart during in order to visualize and graft the coronary arteries. Anesthetic regimen and ionotropic support influences postoperative myocardial function and outcome in coronary bypass surgery patients.Objective:  To compare and assess haemodynamic effects of  Levosimendan and Milrinone in patient undergoing off pump coronary artery bypass grafting with compromised cardiac function (NYHA III,IV) and pre-operative, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 45%.Subjects and Methods:Patients were randomly allocated to 2 groups (64 patients in each group). Levosimendan Group (Group A) received infusion of Inj. Levosimendan 0.1µg/kg/min after loading dose of 12μg/kg over 10 mins. While Milrinone Group (Group B) received infusion of inj. Milrinone 0.5µg/kg/min after loading dose of 50 μg/kg over 10 mins. HR, MAP, CVP, CI, SVRI, lactate levels were  monitored at baseline, after induction, after sternotomy, at 30mins ,thereafter  6, 12, and 24 hours using Flo-Trac sensor (Edwards Life sciences).Results:Heart Rate, CI was significantly higher in Levosimendan group while MAP, SVRI and lactate levels were lower in Levosimendan group as compared to Milrinone group. Need of other inotropic support is more in Milrinone group.Conclusion:Levosimendan maintained the haemodynamic parameters better as compared to Milrinone in off pump CABG patients with low preoperative ejection fraction and also better end organ perfusion represented by lower lactate levels.


We propose laconic classification as a novel way to understand and compare the performance of diverse image classifiers. The goal in this setting is to minimise the amount of information (aka. entropy) required in individual test images to maintain correct classification. Given a classifier and a test image, we compute an approximate minimal-entropy positive image for which the classifier provides a correct classification, becoming incorrect upon any further reduction. The notion of entropy offers a unifying metric that allows to combine and compare the effects of various types of reductions (e.g., crop, colour reduction, resolution reduction) on classification performance, in turn generalising similar methods explored in previous works. Proposing two complementary frameworks for computing the minimal-entropy positive images of both human and machine classifiers, in experiments over the ILSVRC test-set, we find that machine classifiers are more sensitive entropy-wise to reduced resolution (versus cropping or reduced colour for machines, as well as reduced resolution for humans), supporting recent results suggesting a texture bias in the ILSVRC-trained models used. We also find, in the evaluated setting, that humans classify the minimal-entropy positive images of machine models with higher precision than machines classify those of humans.


Obesity among children is a global public health issue and its prevalence is rising worldwide regardless of the economic status of the individual country. The current study describes the factors associated with childhood obesity in Sri Lanka with a view to modifying or developing policies and guidelines to prevent childhood obesity. A cross-sectional study and a qualitative study were conducted among adolescents, their mothers, teachers and health care professionals (HCPs) in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka. Birth weight higher than 3500g, reduced physical activity, high calorie intake and consumption of fast food were associated with obesity among adolescents. According to stakeholders, there is a need to review, revise and reactivate the current policies and develop new strategies to prevent and control obesity among children. A multi–disciplinary approach and advocacy are necessary at the level of policy making to prevent and control childhood obesity in Sri Lanka. Keywords: Adolescent health, obesity, health policies, Sri Lanka


OBJECTIVE
This study investigated patterns of self-reported weight gain following smoking cessation among overweight individuals with and without binge eating.

METHOD
Participants were 103 overweight (BMI ≥ 25) community volunteers who completed a battery of questionnaires online. Key items queried smoking cessation history and weight gain in the year following cessation. Participants were classified as nonbinge eating overweight (NBO, n = 56) or binge eating disorder (BED, n = 47).

RESULTS
BED participants were significantly more likely to report weight gain in the year following smoking cessation than NBO participants. After controlling for current BMI, the amount of self-reported weight gain following smoking cessation differed significantly between groups, with the NBO group reporting an average gain of 5.0 kg and the BED group reporting 11.2-kg gain.

DISCUSSION
Since many individuals resume smoking due to cessation-associated weight gain, these findings highlight the need for targeted interventions for overweight individuals particularly those who also binge eat.


Pekan Bandar Diraja is an area where all the old buildings, streets and monuments are conserved by the Museum Pahang State Board. Rapid development has changed the livelihoods of the local community and all the values brought abut by development has not integrated with the local community. Furthermore, rapid development in Pekan has left many old building in a poor condition, often redundant. Taking an initiative to highlight the needs of an appropriate conservation management, this study will present a preliminary evaluation of a questionnaire intended to examine the perception of residents in Pekan, Pahang towards conservation practice in their areas. Data collection is based on questionnaires submit to the residents of Pekan. The objectives of this study are (a) to have an in depth study on how to conserve a building and an area by taking into consideration all important and related aspect, (b) the understanding in conservation management in Pekan, Pahang in order to know how they conserve the building and maintain the building conservation at that area and (c) also identify perception of residents in Pekan, Pahang towards conservation practice in Pekan, Pahang. As the findings, it was show that the residents at Bandar Diraja Pekan, Pahang were not really concern about conservation in their area because lack of knowledge, budget, not good in planning, hard to maintain the building, higher cost in maintenance and less of promotion but they really think that it is important to conserve the building so that our history and culture will be preserve.The following recommendations were made:
1. Establish in g a pro p e r co n servation department under the Federal Authorities specifically to manage, control and regulates
guidelines for conservation works in Malaysia
2. The most essential change is perhaps changing the perception of the government officers. The current situation in Malaysia proves that conservation is not a priority for the government
3. A specific Conservation Act should be regulated for the purpose of conserving the buildings and sites in Malaysia. All the legislations on conservation and preservation need to be compiled, standardized and analysed before regulating a new one.


3817 Malignant progression involves increased expression of oncogenic proteins, therefore, targeting such proteins may provide an effective approach to therapy. Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are characterized by an increased expression of cyclin D1 (CCND1), which has been shown to stimulate cell cycle progression and transform squamous epithelial cells. In this study we used small interfering RNA (siRNA) to silence the expression of this oncogenic protein in HNSCC UMSCC22B cells. Transfection of CCND1 siRNA decreased the level of the targeted protein specifically and effectively. These effects were accompanied by a decreased growth and colony forming ability and inhibition of cell cycle progression at a G1/S checkpoint. siRNA-mediated down-regulation of CCND1 has led to subsequent decreases in the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor. Combination of CCND1 siRNA and the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin showed more than additive effects on inhibition of colony formation. These results demonstrate that siRNA-mediated silencing of CCND1 inhibits the growth of HNSCC cells and suggest that the siRNA alone or combined with conventional cytotoxic agents may be useful for therapy of HNSCCs.


We implemented POPeye (Probe of Performance+eye), a system analysis simulator to evaluate DRAM performance in a personal computer environment. When running any real-life application programs such as Microsoft Office and Paint Shop Pro on Windows OS, POPeye simulates detailed transactions between a CPU and a memory system. Using this tool, we comparatively analyzed the performance of a DDR-SDRAM, a D-RDRAM, and a DDR-FCRAM.


Objective: The objective of this research was to study the permeation of zidovudine using permeation enhancers. Methodology: Transdermal patches were formulated using permeation enhancer namely T-Anethole. Zidovudine patches were prepared by solvent casting method. Results: The prepared patches were evaluated for drug content, thickness and weight variation folding endurance, moisture uptake, water vapor transmission, ex-vivo permeation study and skin irritation study. Fourier Transform Infrared revealed no interaction among the drug, polymers and terpene used in the present study. Different formulations were prepared and variations in drug release profiles were observed. About 67.42% of drug release was observed for TPS control patch (without permeation enhancer) whereas for TPS4 patch containing t-anethole as permeation enhancer, drug release at the end of 8h was found to be 93.21%. The ex vivo permeation studies were performed in 7.4 phosphate buffer saline using a Franz diffusion cell. The skin irritation test was performed on rabbits and these results suggested that both placebo and drug-loaded films produced negligible erythema. Ex vivo studies indicated that formulation TPS4 shown better release of zidovudine for 8 hrs with flux 614.05μg/cm2/hr. Conclusion: The transdermal patches of zidovudine using permeation enhancers done successfully. Key words: Zidovudine, Permeation, Anethole, Permeation enhancer, Flux.


The paper considers some problems of learning Historical Space, which is one of the modern historical knowledge's directions. In the mid-twentieth century, F. Brodel foregrounded matter of Historical Space social component. Understanding of different globalization's scope, correlation between national and supranational, special features of developing different nations becomes more and more demanding in modern social, humanitarian knowledge. In methodology topic geographical space is limited by social interaction, and in certain way, transforming into historical space. Subject field of Historical Space anyway is sociocultural and defines features of social community's existence. Boarders of community forms chains of interaction, also forms limits of real individuals' behaviour and their interpersonal relationships. Nature of Historical Space's subject produces the problem of correlation between sociological and anthropological approach. The importance of anthropological episteme, the profound unconscious basis of social practises, is more and more visibly in modern historical knowledge (I.M Savelieva). Lack of attention to such basis became an object of criticism Brodel's «geohistory» and his irrecognition of history of mentalities as a subject defining main directions of social development. With specific examples, P.U. Uvarov considers the process of establishment medieval civilization in the context of epoch different social communities' interactions. Relocation of nomadic civilizations from East and Central Asia to the West led to fundamental changes in landowner's society in the West of Eurasia. In this area were formed circumstances, that provided effective interaction between individual and society in space of parish and manor, these two centers of power and influence, in the condition of weak government. Way of thinking in the region guaranteed creative potential of social contradictions. Spain's loss of power and wealth by the end of XVI century was analyzed through perception of the world so-called picaro, the peninsula citizen, disrupted his entire routine, the keeper of social negative attitudes of mind and behavior, by I.U. Nikolaeva. Time and space perspectives of learning Historical Study with appropriate multidisciplinary approach gain new heuristic potential.


An analytical method has been developed for the determination of trace levels of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), an atmospheric breakdown product of several of the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) replacements for the chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants, in water and air. TFA is derivatized to the volatile methyl trifluoroacetate (MTFA) and determined by automated headspace gas chromatography (HSGC) with electron-capture detection or manual HSGC using GC/MS in the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The method is based on the reaction of an aqueous sample containing TFA with dimethyl sulfate (DMS) in concentrated sulfuric acid in a sealed headspace vial under conditions favoring distribution of MTFA to the vapor phase. Water samples are prepared by evaporative concentration, during which TFA is retained as the anion, followed by extraction with diethyl ether of the acidified sample and then back-extraction of TFA (as the anion) in aqueous bicarbonate solution. The extraction step is required for samples with a relatively high background of other salts and organic materials. Air samples are collected in sodium bicarbonate-glycerin-coated glass denuder tubes and prepared by rinsing the denuder contents with water to form an aqueous sample for derivatization and analysis. Recoveries of TFA from spiked water, with and without evaporative concentration, and from spiked air were quantitative, with estimated detection limits of 10 ng/mL (unconcentrated) and 25 pg/mL (concentrated 250 mL:1 mL) for water and 1 ng/m(3) (72 h at 5 L/min) for air. Several environmental air, fogwater, rainwater, and surface water samples were successfully analyzed; many showed the presence of TFA.


ABSTRACT Microrespirometry showed that several organic and inorganic electron donors stimulated oxygen consumption in two ∼80°C springs. Sediment and planktonic communities were structurally and functionally distinct, and quantitative PCR revealed catabolically distinct subpopulations of Thermocrinis. This study suggests that a variety of chemolithotrophic metabolisms operate simultaneously in these springs.


Males affected by hypogonadotropic hypogonadism can be treated with androgen replacement therapy, if they do not wish fertility. In order to limit or avoid androgen toxicity on the liver, it is possible to use testosterone undecanoate (which is absorbed in the gut by lymphatic system) at the dose of 160-240 mg/die or testosterone esters administered intramuscolarly at the dose of 250 mg/month. Estradiol and DHT derived from testosterone catabolism can be in excess therefore they can be provoke toxic phenomena, even if slight, such as gynecomastia or prostatic diseases. If patients wish fertility, they must be treated with gonadotropins or pulsatile LHRH. Therapeutic effects are very different depending on the different origin of the hypogonadism. In postpubertal onset hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, the response is constant and rapid; sperm count normalization can be reached within 6 months with the only hCG. Prepubertal onset hypogonadotropic hypogonadal men need hu-FSH too and longer treatment (18-24 months); sperm count normalization can be reached in less than half case. Nevertheless fertility can be reached even in oligozoospermic stage. Negative prognostic factors are: pan-hypopituitarism, cryptorchidism, how old are the patients at the beginning of the treatment and small testis volume. It is not yet clear if pulsatile LHRH therapy is profitable in terms of therapeutic results.


The auditory system uses various signal properties to separate a target signal from background noise. When a target tone is preceded by a noise, the threshold for target detection can be increased or decreased depending on the type of a preceding masker. The effect of the preceding masker on the following sound can be interpreted as stream formation. The effect of stream formation is assumed to be either the result of adaptation at a low-level or high-level auditory processing. In an attempt to disentangle these, we investigated the time constant of the underlying process of adaptation by varying the length of the preceding masker. We designed stimuli consisting of the preceding masker and the following masked tone. Each stimulus induces various stream formation, affecting following target detection or masking release. Target tone was presented in comodulated masking noise and with interaural phase difference (IPD), inducing comodulation masking release (CMR) and binaural masking level difference (BMLD), respectively. We measured CMR and BMLD when the length of preceding maskers varied from 0 (no preceding masker) to 500 ms. We postulate that if the adaptation is dominated by high-level auditory processing, both CMR and BMLD will be affected by an increase in the length of the preceding masker. Results showed that CMR was more affected with longer preceding maskers from 100 ms to 500 ms compared to shorter maskers. On the contrary, the preceding masker did not affect the BMLD. Based on the results, we suggest that the adaptation to a preceding masking sound may arise from a low-level (e.g., cochlear nucleus, CN) rather than the temporal integration by the high-level auditory processing.


PurposeProcess mining (PM) specialises in extracting insights from event logs to facilitate the improvement of an organisation's business processes. Industry trends show the proliferation and continued growth of PM techniques. To address the minimal attention given to developing empirically supported frameworks to assess the nature of impact in the PM domain, this study proposes a framework that identifies the key categories of PM impacts and their interrelationships.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitatively derived framework is built, re-specified and validated from a diverse collection of 62 PM case reports. With multiple rounds of coding supported by coder corroborations, inductively extracted concepts relating to impact from a first set of 12 case reports were grouped into themes and sub-themes to derive an a-priori framework by adopting the balanced scorecard as a theoretical lens. Concepts from the remaining 50 case reports were deductively grouped to re-specify and validate the proposed PM impacts framework. Further analysis identified interrelationships between impacts, which extends our understanding of the identified PM impacts.FindingsThe proposed framework captures PM impacts in four main categories: (a) impact on the process, (b) customer impact, (c) financial impact, and (d) impact on innovation and learning. The authors extended this analysis to identify the interrelationships between these categories, which vividly demonstrates how impact on the process mediates the attainment of the other three impact types.Originality/valueThe need for a deeper understanding of PM impacts within the context of contemporary PM practice is addressed by this work. The PM impacts framework provides a classification of PM impacts into four categories with 19 subcategories. It also identifies direct, moderating and mediating relationships between categories and subcategories whilst highlighting the role of impact on the process as a precursor to the other types of PM impact.


This paper addresses the schedule of cost of goods manufactured and the income statement of Lyman Mills (LM) for the year 1917. They were prepared by CPAs at the request of LM, based on the books of account and its accounting system dating from the 1850s. This system was described, but not perfectly enough, in Johnson and Kaplan's Relevance Lost [1987]. This paper compares the schedule of cost of goods manufactured and income statement prepared by CPAs with the accounts in LM's ledger summarizing its costs and performance. It leads to the conclusion that the traditional accounting system of LM was a complete accounting system different from but comparable to today's accounting systems.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Introduction: Encouraging clinical responses have been observed through various strategies designed to harness T-cells for their anti-tumor properties, including immune checkpoint inhibition, chimeric antigen receptor-expressing T-cells or bispecific molecules designed to co-engage T-cells and cancer cells. Furthermore, a positive correlation has been observed in colorectal cancer between the degree and type of T-cell infiltration and prognosis suggesting that T-cell recruitment strategies may be particularly advantageous in this type of cancer. We have developed MGD007, a Dual-Affinity Re-Targeting (DART®) protein designed to redirect T-cells to target gpA33 expressing colon cancer. MGD007 has enhanced pharmacokinetic properties via incorporation of a neonatal FcR-binding Fc domain. The gpA33 target was selected based on its ubiquitous expression in colorectal cancer including reactivity with putative cancer stem cell populations (Li 2013, AACR #3763). To enable preclinical toxicokinetics and dose optimization, MGD007 was designed to cross-react with non-human primates. Methods: MGD007 was stably expressed in CHO cells and purified to homogeneity via a standard antibody-purification platform; in vitro functional studies were performed with a range of colorectal cancer cell lines and primary human T-cells; tumor growth inhibition studies were performed in NOD-SCID mice co-implanted with Colo205 and human T-cells (1:1 E:T ratio) and treated IV with MGD007; pharmacokinetic analyses were performed in cynomolgus monkeys. Results: MGD007 displays the anticipated bispecific binding properties and mediates potent lysis of gpA33-positive - but not gpA33-negative cancer cell lines through recruitment of either human or cynomolgus monkey T-cells. Concomitant with CTL activity, both T-cell activation and expansion are observed in a gpA33-dependent manner. No cytokine activation was observed with human PBMC alone, consistent with the absence of gpA33 expression on peripheral blood cell populations. Both CD8 and CD4 T-cells mediated lysis of gpA33-expressing tumor cells, with activity accompanied by increases in granzyme levels. Xenograft studies showed tumor growth inhibition at doses as low as 4ug/kg. In cynomologus monkeys, 4 weekly doses of 200ug/kg were well tolerated, with prolonged PK consistent with that of an Fc-containing molecule. Conclusions: MGD007 displays potent activity against colorectal cancer cells consistent with a mechanism of action endowed in its design. Furthermore it displays favorable PK in cynomolgus monkeys supporting convenient dosing. Taken together, these data support further investigation of MGD007 as a potential novel therapeutic treatment for colorectal cancer.

Citation Format: Paul A. Moore, Ralph Alderson, Kalpana Shah, Yinhua Yang, Steve Burke, Hua Li, Valentine Ciccarone, Ezio Bonvini, Syd Johnson. Development of MGD007, a gpA33 x CD3 bi-specific DART for T-cell immunotherapy of metastatic colorectal cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 669. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-669


The ECAT High Resolution Research Tomograph (HRRT) (CTI PET Systems, Knoxville, TN, USA) is a milestone positron emission tomography scanner in nuclear medicine imaging field. The gantry port of the HRRT is constructed by eight detector panels each of which is separated by 17 mm gaps from its neighboring detector panels. The existence of the gaps results in the missing parts in the acquired projection data. Consequently, the quantification of the reconstructed images is degraded if a method which requires complete dataset, such as Fourier rebinning or filtered backprojection (FBP), is applied without estimation of the missing data.


A feedforward trajectory command shaping algorithm is proposed to simultaneously reduce the contouring errors and avoid structural vibrations in five-axis CNC machine tools. Trajectory shaping is used to avoid the excitation of the transient, inertial vibrations but at the expense of distorting the reference path due to added delay. The contouring error caused by both trajectory shaping and limited bandwidth of servo drives is predicted based on the trajectory parameters and machine dynamics. The shaped axis commands are then corrected to precompensate the predicted contour errors. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is verified experimentally on a five-axis CNC machining center.


AIM
To examine the influence of hospital culture and authentic leadership on the effects of quality improvement practices on patient satisfaction.

BACKGROUND
Nurses in formal leadership roles shape and are shaped by organizational culture to achieve high performance standards to influence quality of care.

DESIGN
Using structural equation modelling, we tested a model on quality improvement practices across three participant groups that differed based on authentic leadership and hospital culture.

METHODS
We used survey data from a cross-sectional study conducted in 2015 measuring nurse. Managers' perceptions of authentic leadership, implementation of quality improvement, and organizational culture in Canadian hospitals.

RESULTS
226 nurse managers participated. Our model estimations fit for the high-relational group and mixed group. Our model explained 50.7% and 39.5% variance in our outcome variable of patient satisfaction for the high-relational group and mixed group, respectively. Our model failed to fit the low-relational group.

CONCLUSION
Authentic leadership and developmental/group hospital cultures improve quality management practices, quality of care and patient satisfaction. In organizations with low authentic leadership and hierarchical/rational cultures, strategies should target increasing authentic leadership and shifting to developmental cultures. Organizations with high authentic leadership and/or developmental/group cultures should target employee engagement, autonomy and teamwork.

IMPACT
We examined how different combinations of authentic leadership and hospital culture influence the effects of quality management practices on quality improvement and patient satisfaction. Findings demonstrate that having both high authentic leadership and developmental or group hospital cultures are essential for quality improvement practices to enhance the quality of care and patient satisfaction. These organizations would benefit the most from systemic programs aimed at standardizing quality management practices as they have the culture and leadership to support these practices. For hospitals with hierarchical/rational cultures and/or low authentic leadership, enhancing hospital culture and leadership through leadership training and accreditation programs is critically needed.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION
The College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta contributed to this study by facilitating data collection and supporting the conduct of the study through messaging to its members.


The composition of new string quartets in Spain from the end of the 1950s undertook a path of renewal that strove toward modernity through the use of serial and aleatory techniques or new conceptions of timbre. This was in spite of the relatively scarce experience for Spanish composers of international examples of the genre. This essay offers a brief insight into the aesthetic diversity to be found in string quartets composed in Spain from 1950 up to the present, and stresses their openness toward newer hybrid perspectives of intertextuality and narrativity.


Limonium vulgare Mill. (sea lavender) is a saltmarsh plant in whose leaves are embedded multicellular glands for the excretion of salt. Physiological studies have shown that the basis of the salt secretion mechanism appears to be salt-inducible, ATP-powered pumping of chloride ions out of gland cells. We have been investigating a \`chloride-stimulated' ATPase activity of solubilized Limonium leaf microsomes, which we thought was almost certainly part of a chloride pump involved in salt secretion because the properties of the enzyme activity correlated so well with the characteristics of salt secretion. Methods of purifying this activity on hexyl agarose and by selective solubilization with low concentrations of neutral detergent are presented. These and other results have made it necessary to revise our understanding of earlier findings on the purification of the \`Cl $^-$ -stimulated' ATPase on Sepharose-N-caproyl galactosamine. Recent results indicate that the apparent \`stimulation' by chloride can be accounted for by an inhibition of salt-inducible ATPase activity by the \`control', non-Cl $^-$ , monovalent anion, benzene sulphonate, adopted because it resembles chloride yet did not support salt-secretion. Our results demonstrate some of the dangers in interpreting measurements of ion-stimulated ATPase activity, and make an instructive `cautionary tale'.


The ILC damping rings should provide beams with very low natural emittances for the linear collider to reach the required luminosity, and at the same time, the damping rings also need to have a large acceptance to ensure good injection efficiency for high emittance, high energy spread beam from the positron source. Meeting the above requirements is a real challenge for the ILC damping ring lattice design. In order to reduce the cost for ILC damping rings, an alternative lattice different from the baseline configuration design has been done with modified FODO cells, and the total quadrupole number has been reduced by half. The new lattice has been optimised to have good dynamic apertures.


Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) can be used as a method to assess environmental impact of pathogen contamination in several stages. This paper attempts to determine the characterization factor (CF) for microbial contamination from livestock emission in surface water on a global scale. CF was defined as the change in Disability Adjusted Life Years (dDALY in yr) due to a marginal change in emission of a pathogen (dOocyst/day). This CF consists of intake fraction, effect factor and damage factor. The average intake fraction per river basin specific is 0.003, meaning that 0.3% of the emitted oocysts is emitted by the human population via drinking water and swimming. The effect factor value has a range from 0.0022-0736 case/oocyst, with the average 0.29 case/oocyst. The final characterization factor has a range between 0 to 1.2 x 10-5 DALY/oocyst in a river basin scale. In this study, CFs was determined for pathogen contamination for the first time. It was shown how these can be derived for Cryptosporidium and other pathogen with similar cause-impact pathways.


Purpose

The current study seeks to expand the deception detection literature by using real-world pre-interrogative interviews to discern differences in how novices (students) versus experts (police officers) make judgments about truths and lies.

Methods

Videotapes of routine traffic stops depicting either liars (incriminating evidence was found in the car) or truth-tellers (no evidence was found in the car) were edited so the final car search was cut out. Novices and experts watched the tapes and made truth or lie judgments about the subject in each video.

Results

Overall accuracy of detecting truths and lies for students was 63%, while overall accuracy for police was 60%. The difference between the groups was not significant. These results were then compared with previously published rates (Bond & DePaulo, 2006). Students' overall accuracy rates in this study were higher than previously published accuracy rates. However, police officers' accuracy rates were not higher than previously published accuracy rates.

Conclusions

Realistic stimulus materials seem to increase overall accuracy rates for students. However, despite differences in experience, there was no difference between novice and expert truth and lie accuracy.


The ascorbic acid levels of normal organs of six strains of mice were compared. The concentration in the spleens of C57 mice and in related strains appeared to be higher than in DBA or C3H mice. The concentration of ascorbic acid in the adrenals of C57BL mice was the highest of the six strains examined. The concentration of ascorbic acid in the kidneys of DBA mice was lower than in the five other strains. The amounts in blood, liver, and brain were similar in all six strains.

Increases of varying degrees were observed in the ascorbic acid concentrations in kidneys and livers of DBA and C3H mice bearing transplants of a mouse bronchogenic carcinoma, the Brown-Pearce rabbit carcinoma, or a human hypernephroma. Adrenals as well as kidneys of C3H mice bearing spontaneous mammary carcinomas possessed significantly increased amounts of ascorbic acid. In C57BL mice, transplants of mammary carcinoma 755 induced decreases in tissue ascorbic acid levels.


Having been requested to show the members of our society some of the fossil crustaceans which I found whilst working among the Silurian rocks of Logan Water, and to make a few remarks upon them, it may not be out of place to preface the subject by a few introductory remarks to those who may be unacquainted with the classic ground, to geologists, of the Lesmahagow district. The parish of Lesmahagow is a very important one as regards its geology, its palæontology, and its archæology. It contains about 65 square miles according to the Ordnance Survey. On the Douglas, Muirkirk, and Strathavon borders the hills are of considerable height—Nutberry, 1712 feet, on the south-west, the source of the Nethan Water; Priesthill, 1655 feet, on the Ayrshire march; Mickle Auchensilloch, 1609 feet, and Little Auchensilloch, 1479 feet, on the Douglas border; Auchengilloch, 1514 feet, east of Strathavon and at the head of the Kype Water; Auchrobert Snout, 1193 feet; Dunside Rigg, 1308 feet, and one of the sources of the Logan Water; the Law, 1376 feet, near the head waters of the Poneil Water; Dillerhill, 1017 feet; and a lower range of heights upwards from the Clyde to the watershed of Nethan Water. The parish is chiefly drained by the Nethan Water, which from Nutberry Hill to the Clyde has a course northeastward of about 13 miles, including its windings. The Logan Water is next in importance, but is scarcely half the length of the former stream, into which it flows This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract


The results of investigations with pentathletes and a few observations on airplane pilots up until the present, showed that during visuomanual control tasks, specific vigilance changes may be assessed by computer assisted EEG. This is the case with task - related, topographical (lateralisation and polarity) changes. It seems justifiable to speak of strain - specific, regionally differentiated vigilance dynamics during visuomanual, cerebral integrative functions.


Dairy calves in the U.K. are currently reared on 'least cost' principles, with minimal milk feeding and early weaning to solid foods. This has been described as maintaining the calf in 'a state of chronic hunger'. As well as repercussions on calf health, growth and welfare, human studies suggest that underfeeding the newborn is a major risk factor for metabolic disease in the adult. The aims of this study were to determine current dairy calf rearing practices across the U.K., to investigate the performance of Holstein heifer calves fed increased milk replacer (MR) compared to restricted volumes, and to determine the impact of this on key performance indicators (KPIs) of these animals as calves and growing heifers.
A postal questionnaire was offered to one thousand U.K. dairy farmers to determine current calf rearing practices. The response rate was 72% and revealed that housing and feeding practices were variable between farms. The majority of farmers (93%) fed restricted volumes of milk or milk replacer to their pre-weaned calves.
The body weight, withers and loin height, heart and belly girth, crown to rump length, hock-fetlock length and body condition score (BCS) were recorded weekly from birth to 12 weeks and monthly from 12 weeks until conception in two groups of Holstein heifer calves on one commercial dairy farm in the north-west of England, U.K. Calves were assigned to a restricted, Group R (n = 50) or ad libitum, Group A (n = 50) MR feeding strategy from birth until weaning. Growth rates were greater for Group A (0.72kg/day) from birth until 3 weeks than Group R (0.17kg/day). Body condition score increased for Group A during this period (0.1 points) while it decreased for Group R (0.3 points). Thereafter, growth rates were similar between dietary groups although no catch-up growth was observed for Group R animals. Changes in morphometric measures were greater for Group A calves than Group R from birth to 12 weeks. From 12 weeks of age onwards, dietary group differences in morphometric measures disappeared but body weight differences remained until conception.
The glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity of a subset of heifer calves (n = 6 Group A, n = 6 Group R) was investigated at 3, 12 and 39 weeks of age and was shown not to be affected by dietary group. The carcass composition of Holstein bull calves assigned to one of the two dietary groups was assessed. Calves were studied at birth (n = 3), 3 weeks, 9 weeks or 12 weeks (n = 3 per dietary group at each age). Carcass composition was assessed using spiral CT technologies. Group A calves had greater internal adipose deposition at all ages but there was no difference in carcass associated adipose tissue.
The age at puberty, first service and conception was between 2 and 3 weeks lower for Group A animals than for Group R. Increased MR feeding of Holstein heifers allows for greater growth rates and earlier entry into the milking herd.


ABSTRACT Purpose Different approaches like providing augmented feedback (aF), applying an external focus of attention (EF), or rewarding participants with money (RE) have been shown to instantly enhance motor performance. So far, these approaches have been tested either in separate studies or directly against each other. However, there is no study that combined aF, EF, and/or RE to test whether this provokes additional benefits. The aim of the present study was therefore to identify the most powerful combination. Methods Eighteen participants performed maximal countermovement jumps in six different conditions: neutral (NE), aF, RE, aF + EF, aF + RE, and aF + EF + RE. Results Participants demonstrated the highest jump heights with aF + EF, followed by aF + EF + RE, aF + RE, aF, RE, and finally, NE. Activity of the M. rectus femoris differed significantly between conditions resulting in lower muscular activity in aF + EF and aF + EF + RE compared with NE. All other parameters, such as ground reaction forces and joint angles, were comparable across conditions. Conclusions This is the first study showing superior performance when combining aF with EF. As reduced muscular activity was found only in conditions with EF, it is argued in line with the constrained action hypothesis that adopting an EF improves movement efficiency. In contrast, aF seems to rather enhance (intrinsic) motivation. However, monetary reward did not further amplify performance.


The dynamics of cell cycle and proliferating kinetics are characterized by the state equations, which are linear difference matrix equations with their state vectors consisting of variables representing cells in a particular compartment for cell-age, cell-size, and cell-DNA content. The transformation required from the cell-age distribution to the cell-size and DNA distributions in this discrete-time model under various assumptions is derived. The asymptotic behavior (as the time approaches infinity) of the cell age, cell size, and cell DNA is studied. The time course of the cell-size distribution of labeled cells under flash labeling is investigated by computer simulation and favorably evaluated with the experimental results obtained for spontaneous AKR leukemia-cell population.


Calcium imaging is a common technique that is useful for measuring calcium signals in cultured cells. Calcium imaging techniques take advantage of calcium indicator dyes, which are BAPTA-based organic molecules that change their spectral properties in response to the binding of Ca2+ ions. Calcium indicator dyes fall into two categories, ratio-metric dyes like Fura-2 and Indo-1 and single-wavelength dyes like Fluo-4. Ratio-metric dyes change either their excitation or their emission spectra in response to calcium, allowing the concentration of intracellular calcium to be determined from the ratio of fluorescence emission or excitation at distinct wavelengths. The main advantage of using ratio-metric dyes over single wavelength probes is that the ratio signal is independent of the dye concentration, illumination intensity, and optical path length allowing the concentration of intracellular calcium to be determined independently of these artifacts. One of the most common calcium indicators is Fura-2, which has an emission peak at 505 nM and changes its excitation peak from 340 nm to 380 nm in response to calcium binding. Here we describe the use of Fura-2 to measure intracellular calcium elevations in neurons and other excitable cells.


Experimental hydrogen isotherms on several metal-organic frameworks (IRMOF-1, IRMOF-3, IRMOF-9, ZIF-7, ZIF-8, ZIF-9, ZIF-11, ZIF-12, ZIF-CoNIm, MIL-101 (Cr), NH 2 -MIL-101 (Cr), NH 2 -MIL-101 (Al), UiO-66, UiO-67 and HKUST-1) synthesized in-house and measured at 77 K and pressures up to 18 MPa are presented, along with N 2 adsorption characterization. The experimental isotherms together with literature high pressure hydrogen data were analysed in order to search for relationships between structural properties of the materials and their hydrogen uptakes. The total hydrogen capacity of the materials was calculated from the excess adsorption assuming a constant density for the adsorbed hydrogen. The surface area, pore volumes and pore sizes of the materials were related to their maximum hydrogen excess and total hydrogen capacities. Results also show that ZIF-7 and ZIF-9 (SOD topology) have unusual hydrogen isotherm shapes at relatively low pressures, which is indicative of "breathing", a phase transition in which the pore space increases due to adsorption. This work presents novel correlations using the modelled total hydrogen capacities of several MOFs. and volume capacities of on-board storage systems. Such design tools will allow hydrogen to be used as an energy vector for sustainable mobile applications such as transport, or for providing supplementary power to the grid in times of high demand.


While extant passion research has predominantly highlighted the benefits of work passion, such passion may also have a dark side and provoke negative behaviors that harm others. This work examines abusive supervision as an outcome of leaders' obsessive work passion, and explores leaders' importance of performance to self-esteem (IPSE) as an antecedent of such passion. We test our predictions across two studies. In an initial test of whether leaders' obsessive passion (OP) is predicted by their IPSE and predicts abusive supervision, Study 1 employs a time-lagged sample of leader-subordinate dyads and examines abusive supervision as reported by subordinates. Study 2 expands on the model by incorporating two components of burnout, exhaustion, and disengagement, as explanatory mechanisms linking leader OP to abusive supervision as reported by supervisors. Overall, we find that high-IPSE leaders are more likely than their low-IPSE counterparts to develop obsessive work passion, which then contributes to their exhaustion and disengagement, ultimately resulting in higher abusive supervision. Implications for work passion research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).


Age-related changes in the human brain functioning crucially affect the motor system, causing increased reaction time, low ability to control and execute movements, difficulties in learning new motor skills. The lifestyle and lowered daily activity of elderly adults, along with the deficit of motor and cognitive brain functions, might lead to the developed ambidexterity, i.e. the loss of dominant limb advances. Despite the broad knowledge about the changes in cortical activity directly related to the motor execution, less is known about age-related differences in the motor initiation phase. We hypothesize that the latter strongly influences the behavioral characteristics, such as reaction time, the accuracy of motor performance, etc. Here, we compare the neuronal processes underlying the motor planning of fine motor tasks between elderly and young subjects. We demonstrate that aging significantly reduces the speed of motor initiation in the dominant hand task due to the different motor planning strategies employed by elderly and young adults. Based on the results of the whole-scalp electroencephalography (EEG) analysis, we suggest that young adults tend to use the efficient and fast mechanism of motor working memory. In contrast, elderly adults involve a more demanding sensorimotor integration process similar to the non-dominant hand task.


BACKGROUND
Adolescent and young adult cancer patients (AYACPs) experience a high incidence of psychological distress. However, the effect of psychological distress on the functional connectivity between the hemispheres in AYACPs remains unknown. Voxel-mirrored homotopy connectivity detection is an effective way to explore the effects of psychological distress on functional connectivity throughout the brain in AYACPs.

METHODS
Twenty-four AYACPs underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging.

RESULTS
Voxel-mirrored homotopy connectivity in the psychological distress group was significantly lower in the superior parietal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus (orbital part), superior frontal gyrus (dorsolateral), superior occipital gyrus, precuneus, lingual gyrus, calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex than in the non-psychological distress group, while in the inferior temporal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus (orbital part), voxel-mirrored homotopy connectivity was significantly higher (p < 0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the decrease in voxel-mirrored homotopy connectivity in the following brain regions was helpful in distinguishing the psychological distress group from the non-psychological distress group: left superior frontal gyrus (dorsolateral), left calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex, right postcentral gyrus, and left precuneus.

CONCLUSIONS
Activity imbalances in multiple brain regions exist in AYACPs with psychological distress. Voxel-mirrored homotopy connectivity detection is an effective way to explore the potential neural mechanisms of mental disorders in AYACPs and optimize the treatment of mental disorders.


Flight has always fascinated human minds, but until a century ago it remained a dream - the exclusive domain of birds, gods, and mythological heroes. From the myths of the ancients to the poetry of Pindar and Yeats, "Winged Words" traces the imprint of the human impulse to fly from premodern times up to the age of terrorism in both literature and history. Piero Boitani begins his analysis with an account of how the myths of Pegasus and Icarus have persisted from classical to twentieth-century politics and literature. He then takes up the figure of Hermes; the roles of halcyons and eagles in classical, biblical, and later literatures; and literary responses to Pieter Brueghel's "The Fall of Icarus". Homing in on modern figures and concerns, Boitani also offers a fascinating discussion of author - pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupery and concludes with a meditation on the flight of the hijacked airliners on 9/11. Throughout, "Winged Words" brings a remarkable range of men of action, politicians, theologians, writers, and artists into dialogue with each other: Shakespeare with T. S. Eliot, Horace with Ovid, Leonardo with Milton, Leopardi with Mallarme, Saint-Exupery with Faulkner and Rilke, and the Ulysses of Homer with the Ulysses of Dante. Ultimately, by showing how writers and fliers have looked to the ancients for inspiration, Boitani testifies to the modern relevance of poetry and the classics.


The Sichuan Basin located in the western region of the Yangtze block was a stable craton basin in the Permian. The structural differentiation caused by the Dongwu movement and the Emei rifting activity controlled the sedimentary system and the Permian carbonate gas reservoirs in the Sichuan Basin. In this study, we have investigated the stratigraphic characteristics of each Permian formation, studied the depositional systems of each period of the Permian stage, and discussed the overall tectono-sedimentary evolution of the sedimentary basin. During the Permian, the Sichuan Basin experienced an intense tectonic activity, controlling the variations of the sedimentary environments occurring in the basin. The depositional systems of the basin were controlled by the tectonic setting of the intra-cratonic depression and marginal rifts during the period. Therefore, this is an important period in the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the study area, which can be divided into the following stages: (1) From the Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian, the Sichuan Basin was dominated by tectonic uplift and denudation. In the Middle Permian, a regional transgression occurred in the whole upper Yangtze region, and the sedimentary environments of the Sichuan Basin and its adjacent areas gradually changed to the carbonate platform. (2) In the early phase of the Late Permian (the Wujiaping period), being influenced by the Emei rift, the Sichuan Basin and its adjacent areas formed a complex pattern of structural highs and adjacent depressions, controlled by a differential subsidence. (3) In the late phase of the Late Permian (the Changxing period), with the cessation of the volcanic activity and the enhancement of the regional extension, the pattern of structural highs and depressions is more obvious, and the relatively calm structural environment makes the carbonate sedimentary environment tending to dominate.


AbstractSexual violence is a pervasive problem worldwide. Anogenital injuries are one type of injury that may be present because of sexual violence. A review of the forensic literature yielded 13 published studies from 6 countries between 1987 and 2011 that met the inclusion/exclusion criteria, illustrating that anogenital (anal and/or genital) trauma is observed in 16% to 77% of sexual assault victims. Establishing the reliability of the conclusions of these studies is difficult due to a lack of uniformity in methodology to include detection of injury, injury definition, victim age, time window for examination, injury from consensual sex, and training of examiners. Each one of these factors can change the rate of injury observed. The evaluated studies show a disparity due to a lack of uniformity in examination protocols, injury classification, and examiner qualifications. A current, state of the science, evidence-based standardized protocol should be constructed that promotes objective and accurate parameters including the use of colposcopy, staining techniques, digital photography, and adequate training for examiners of sexual assault victims who present with anogenital injury.


Manufacturing is one of the few activities in an economy that generates real wealth (as opposed to shuffling existing wealth around). Research on ways to do it better is of the utmost social interest, and advanced techniques of machine intelligence have much to offer this agenda. So this volume's title generates great expectations. Readers deserve chapters outlining path-breaking research contributions in industrial-strength machine intelligence, and discussions of how existing AI techniques can be translated into the nitty-gritty domain of real-world application. Several articles in this volume of contributed essays do satisfy these expectations, but most fall short, either because they do not use computational techniques that one would recognize as "intelligent," apply established AI techniques to toy problems of little practical concern in industry, or both.


CARMA1 is a central regulator of NF-kappaB activation in lymphocytes. CARMA1 and Bcl10 functionally interact and control NF-kappaB signaling downstream of the T-cell receptor (TCR). Computational analysis of expression neighborhoods of CARMA1-Bcl10MALT 1 for enrichment in kinases identified calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) as an important component of this pathway. Here we report that Ca(2+)/CaMKII is redistributed to the immune synapse following T-cell activation and that CaMKII is critical for NF-kappaB activation induced by TCR stimulation. Furthermore, CaMKII enhances CARMA1-induced NF-kappaB activation. Moreover, we have shown that CaMKII phosphorylates CARMA1 on Ser109 and that the phosphorylation facilitates the interaction between CARMA1 and Bcl10. These results provide a novel function for CaMKII in TCR signaling and CARMA1-induced NF-kappaB activation.


The 't Hooft model (two-dimensional QCD in the limit of a large number of colors) is used as a laboratory for exploring various aspects of heavy quark expansion in the nonleptonic and semileptonic decays of heavy flavors. We perform a complete operator analysis and construct the operator product expansion (OPE) up to terms $\mathcal{O}{(1/m}_{Q}^{4}),$ inclusively. The OPE-based predictions for the inclusive widths are then confronted with the ``phenomenological'' results, obtained by summation of all open exclusive decay channels, one by one. The summation is carried out analytically, by virtue of the 't Hooft equation. The two alternative expressions for the total widths match. We comment on the recent claim in the literature of a ${1/m}_{Q}$ correction to the total width which would be in clear conflict with the OPE result. The issue of duality violations both in the simplified setting of the 't Hooft model and in actual QCD is discussed. The amplitude of oscillating terms is estimated.


This book contains deeply personal dialogues with Jewish American writers, from Mark Krupnick in his final work. When he learned he had ALS and roughly two years to live, literary critic Mark Krupnick returned to the writers who had been his lifelong conversation partners and asked with renewed intensity: how do you live as a Jew, when, mostly, you live in your head? The evocative and sinuous essays collected here are the products of this inquiry. In his search for durable principles, Krupnick follows Lionel Trilling, Cynthia Ozick, Geoffrey Hartman, Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, and others into the elemental matters of life and death, sex and gender, power and vulnerability. The editors - Krupnick's wife, Jean K. Carney, and literary critic Mark Shechner - have also included earlier essays and introductions that link Krupnick's work with the "deep places" of his own imagination.


There is evidence to suggest that airborne droplets play an important role in the transmission of respiratory diseases. The highest risk of exposure to these pathogens is in indoor environments, where airflow control has been recognized as one of the most effective engineering means to combat its spread. However, this can contribute to a significant increase in energy costs, as conventional ventilation is often not designed to remove contaminants efficiently. In this study, Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations were used to analyze how a novel ventilation approach, called Personalized Displacement Ventilation (PerDiVent), can simultaneously reduce both pathogenic airborne transmission and reduce energy costs in an open office. In addition, thermal comfort and noise were investigated to assess the practicality of the concept. PerDiVent was found to reduce the risk of cross infection by a factor of 1.08–2.0 compared to mixing ventilation in the worst and best case scenarios analyzed, and lead to savings in mechanical power of at least 30%. Furthermore, there is great potential to further improve the system and to increase the stated numbers substantially with relatively simple alterations to the design. Tools that can be used to great advantage for such optimization are also proposed in this work. These include a simple integral model and analytical metrics to estimate the reduction in cross-infection risk and energy savings as a function of PerDiVent's effectiveness in removing contaminants. Finally, the system has a modular and highly flexible arrangement, which makes it suitable for retrofitting purposes in various indoor environments and integration with current ventilation systems. The concept shows great promise for the future, where ventilation is required to create healthier and more sustainable environments.


Studying the influence of thermal departures from equilibrium in SF6 circuit-breakers, we develop a two-temperature kinetic model to calculate the composition. Such a kinetic approach has not been adopted until now for SF6 plasma because of the complexity of chemical processes. Our model takes into account the collisional mechanisms responsible for the creation and disappearance of atoms and molecules through 19 species linked by 66 chemical reactions. To solve the conservation equations, the model uses the direct rates of reactions, that mainly proceed from the literature, and reverse rates, that are computed by two-temperature micro-reversibility laws. Thus, we point out the importance of the choice of the expression of Saha law, comparing Potapov and van de Sanden formulations of this law. We then discuss the impact of thermal departures from equilibrium on plasma composition, on `mean path' of molecules before dissociation in the plasma, and on the reactions that govern the disappearance of electrons.


Background Cortisol has a main role in stress response and high stress can affect the psychological and physical performance in the elderly. Aim To determine the acute response of serum cortisol to different intensities of resisted exercise in the elderly. Patients and methods A total of 60 elderly patients from both sexes (60–70 years) were equally and randomly assigned to three resistive training bouts: low-intensity (group A, 30% of 1RM), moderate-intensity (group B, 50% of 1RM), and high-intensity (group C, 80% of 1RM) with a 90–120 s rest period between sets. Blood samples that were analyzed included serum cortisol hormone before and 15 min postintervention. Results There was a statistically significant decrease in serum cortisol level in groups A and B at postintervention when compared with the preintervention value, while group C showed an insignificant difference. Conclusion In a sample of elderly patients undergoing three bouts of different intensities of resisted exercise, a low to moderate resisted exercise was superior to high intensity in decreasing the serum cortisol and consequently less stress post-exercise.


| The 2,3,7,8 Tetrachlorine Dibenzo-P-Dioxin (TCDD) were found as product of industrial or agricultural waste could cause abnormalities in the male reproductive organs. Kebar grass were a typical plant in Papua which were rich in Vitamin E as an antioxidant can reduce the effects of free radicals produced by TCDD. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of ethanol extract of Kebar Grass on the number of spermatogenic cells of male mice induced TCDD. 30 male mice were divided into five groups, each group consisted of 6 replications. Group C(-) was given aquadest, group C(+) was given TCDD 0.14 μg each mice for once. T1 group was given TCDD 0.14 μg each mices for once and given Kebar grass extract 0.045mg/g BW/day. T2 group was given TCDD 0.14 μg each mices for once and given Kebar grass extract 0.080 mg/g BW/day, and T3 group was given TCDD 0,14μg each mices for once and given Kebar Grass extract 0.135mg/g BW/day. All treatment given for 53 days and testes were taken to be made as histopathology preparation to calculate the average number of spermatogenic cells. The results of this study indicate that there were significant differences (p<0.05) between group. But there's no significant differences (p>0.05) treatment of group average spermatogenia cells, administration of Kebar Grass extract can maintain the number of cells primary spermatocyte and spermatid cell counts. The treatment group with 0.135 mg/g dose showed the best dose to increase primary spermatocyte and spermatid cell counts.


The results of over 13,500 serological reactions performed in about 3,400 human sera collected from patients with various forms of cancer and from apparently healthy subjects have shown that the humoral immune reactivity of cancer patients as regards their viral antibody response is similar to that of apparently healthy subjects (blood donors or workers exposed to the risk of occupational contact with animal tumor viruses). The authors also remark the presence in the population of antibodies to some viruses with oncogenic potential proved so far only for mammals (adenovirus, SV-40, RSV) or to ubiquitous viruses (e.g. herpes virus) whose transforming activity has been demonstrated for several cell types in vitro and is suspected for some human tumors in vivo.


Al2O3 insulator layer was deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique on p-type Si 〈111〉 and the Al/Al2O3/p-Si metal/insulator/semiconductor (MIS) structures were fabricated. The current–voltage (I−V) characteristics of these structures were investigated in two different temperatures. The main electrical parameters such as the ideality factor (n), zero bias barrier height (ΦBo(I−V)), and series resistance (Rs) values were found for 300 and 400K. The energy density distribution profiles of the interface state density (Nss) were determined from the I−V characteristics. In addition, the capacitance–voltage (C−V) and conductance–voltage (G/w−V) characteristics of devices were investigated in the frequency range 50–1000kHz at room temperature. Frequency-dependent electrical characteristics such as doping acceptor concentration (NA), energy difference between the valance band edge and bulk Fermi level (EF), diffusion potential (VD), barrier height (ΦB(C−V)), the image force barrier lowering (ΔΦB), maximum electric field (Em), and Rs values were determined using C−V and G/w−V plots. In addition, the Nss values were performed using Hill–Coleman method. According to experimental results, the locations of Nss and Rs have an important effect on I−V, C−V and G/w−V plots of MIS structure.


Green building rating tools developed to assess the impact of buildings on the environment may not have all the appropriate methods and criteria for different environmental, economic, social and cultural conditions in the world. Assessment tools should be developed to meet minimum green building standards and aspirations. The challenge in developing countries like Zambia is that there is limited access to green building rating tools and a lack of technology and resources to have local tools. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to select methods and criteria for assessing green low-cost housing in Zambia from literature review and interviews with building practitioners. The 11 Sustainable Development Goal was part of literature review and some strategies were adopted as part of the criteria for green building assessment. A sequential mixed-method design was used to collect and analyze data through interviews and an online AHP evaluation of preferred criteria and methods. The results from the study suggest that the most preferred method of green building assessment is a Local Based Assessment, with local strategies and materials. Energy, water, health and wellbeing were determined to be the most preferred criteria for green building assessment. The proposed criteria could be used for guiding designers and planners in housing projects and for reviewing current building bye-laws.


Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is a genetically and clinically heterogeneous subtype of familial diabetes mellitus characterized by early onset, autosomal dominant inheritance and primary defects of insulin secretion. Mutations in six genes cause most of the MODY cases. These genes encode the enzyme glucokinase and the transcription factors hepatocyte nuclear factor 4·, hepatocyte nuclear factor 1·, insulin promoter factor-1, hepatocyte nuclear factor 1ß and neuroD1. Additional MODY genes remain to be identified. The study of families with MODY has shown that the different MODY subtypes present different metabolic and clinical


Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between coagulopathy during the perioperative period (before the operation and on the first day after the operation) and the long-term survival of TBI patients undergoing surgery, as well as to explore the predisposing risk factors that may cause perioperative coagulopathy.Methods: This retrospective study included 447 TBI patients who underwent surgery from January 1, 2015 to April 25, 2019. Clinical parameters, including patient demographic characteristics, biochemical tests, perioperative coagulation function tests (before the operation and on the first day after the operation) and intraoperative factors were collected. Log-rank univariate analysis and Cox regression models were conducted to assess the relationship between perioperative coagulopathy and the long-term survival of TBI patients. Furthermore, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the underlying risk factors for perioperative coagulopathy.Results: Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified age, AIS(head) = 5, GCS ≤ 8, systolic pressure at admission < 90 mmHg and postoperative coagulopathy (all P < 0.05) as independent risk factors for survival following TBI; we were the first to identify postoperative coagulopathy as an independent risk factor. According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, for the first time, abnormal ALT and RBC at admission, preoperative coagulopathy, infusion of colloidal solution > 1100 mL and intraoperative bleeding > 950 mL (all P < 0.005) were identified as independent risk factors for postoperative coagulation following surgery after TBI.Conclusions: Those who suffered from postoperative coagulopathy due to TBI had a higher hazard for poor prognosis than those who did not. Closer attention should be paid to postoperative coagulopathy and more emphasis should be placed on managing the underlying risk factors.


Staggered adoption of policies by different units at different times creates promising opportunities for observational causal inference. Estimation remains challenging, however, and common regression methods can give misleading results. A promising alternative is the synthetic control method (SCM), which finds a weighted average of control units that closely balances the treated unit's pre‐treatment outcomes. In this paper, we generalize SCM, originally designed to study a single treated unit, to the staggered adoption setting. We first bound the error for the average effect and show that it depends on both the imbalance for each treated unit separately and the imbalance for the average of the treated units. We then propose 'partially pooled' SCM weights to minimize a weighted combination of these measures; approaches that focus only on balancing one of the two components can lead to bias. We extend this approach to incorporate unit‐level intercept shifts and auxiliary covariates. We assess the performance of the proposed method via extensive simulations and apply our results to the question of whether teacher collective bargaining leads to higher school spending, finding minimal impacts. We implement the proposed method in the augsynth R package.


The role of telomerase as a critical enzyme for immortalization and oncogenic transformation has attracted efforts to develop molecules that specifically inhibit the activity of this enzyme and interfere with the growth of many types of cancer. The potential implications of the unique dynamics of telomerase function and the impact on the development of inhibitory drugs are discussed.


The aim of this work is the stydy of the functional changes of normal and leukemic cells exposed to X radiation. Normal mononuclear cells and two human leukemia cell lines (Jurkat and K562) were used for this study. The cells have been grown in the same medium and same conditions. To irradiate the human cells cultures, different doses were used. The process of programmed cell death, apoptosis, has been analyzed using the flow cytometry technique at 3, 24, 48 and 72 hours from irradiation. After 72 hours after the irradiation, the cells show the characteristic signs of apoptosis.


Introduction CD8+ T cells infiltrate virtually every tissue to find and destroy infected or mutated cells. They often traverse varying oxygen levels and nutrient-deprived microenvironments. High glycolytic activity in local tissues can result in significant exposure of cytotoxic T cells to the lactate metabolite. Lactate has been known to act as an immunosuppressor, at least in part due to its association with tissue acidosis. Methods To dissect the role of the lactate anion, independently of pH, we performed phenotypical and metabolic assays, high-throughput RNA sequencing, and mass spectrometry, on primary cultures of murine or human CD8+ T cells exposed to high doses of pH-neutral sodium lactate. Results The lactate anion is well tolerated by CD8+ T cells in pH neutral conditions. We describe how lactate is taken up by activated CD8+ T cells and can displace glucose as a carbon source. Activation in the presence of sodium lactate significantly alters the CD8+ T cell transcriptome, including the expression key effector differentiation markers such as granzyme B and interferon-gamma. Discussion Our studies reveal novel metabolic features of lactate utilization by activated CD8+ T cells, and highlight the importance of lactate in shaping the differentiation and activity of cytotoxic T cells.