This work differs from the familiar Leunis in that it is a descriptive catalogue, incomplete in some of the smaller or more difficult forms, of all the animals within a certain geographical territory, with analytical keys of families, genera, and, in most cases, of species as well. The illustrations (process cuts), though small, are in most cases. characteristic. While intended for France, American students will frequently find this volume of value because of the similarity of genera in many instances on the two continents and their seas. K.


BACKGROUND
Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is a goal for the U.K. Therefore, the effectiveness of a fruit and vegetable voucher scheme coupled with key 'five-a-day' consumption messages as a brief intervention in primary care consultations was assessed in the present study.

METHODS
One thousand one hundred and eighty-eight vouchers as a prescription for fruits and vegetables were routinely distributed to patients attending a primary healthcare centre in a deprived area, and 124 volunteer patients routinely attending the centre were included. Telephone-based questionnaires were used to examine changes in consumption over the short and medium term. Other key aspects assessed in the evaluation related to fruit and vegetable purchasing behaviour, knowledge relating to what constitutes a portion size, the relationship between food and health, and barriers to consumption.

RESULTS
Although 76.2% of participants used the prescription vouchers when purchasing fruits and vegetables, a significant change in the consumption or purchasing behaviour was not observed (P > 0.05). Participants' level of knowledge relating to the number of portions recommended and the portion size of different fruits and vegetables showed a moderate increase from baseline over the short and medium term. The primary barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption were reported as 'the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables' and 'the money available to spend on food'.

CONCLUSIONS
The use of 'the fruit and vegetable on prescription' scheme was an effective method of engaging participants in improving awareness of key diet-related health messages. However, further intervention is required to produce a significant impact on the actual behaviour change.


To study phosphorylation of D. melanogaster nuclear lamins in vivo, we used Kc tissue culture cells. Kc cells contain products of both lamin genes, the lamin Dm0 gene encoding constitutive polypeptides expressed in almost all cell types and the developmentally regulated lamin C gene. We grew Kc cells in low phosphate medium and labelled them with (32P(H3PO4. To obtain mitotic cells we used vinblastine to arrest cells in metaphase. Cells were collected, washed, lysed and resultant extracts fractionated in the presence of protein phosphatase inhibitors. D. melanogaster proteins were then denatured by boiling in SDS plus DTT, followed by immunoaffinity chromatography and SDS-PAGE purification. As anticipated, we found that a CNBr fragment derived from the N-terminal part of lamin Dm0-derivatives (amino acid residues 2-158; fragment A) was phosphorylated during both interphase and mitosis. Interphase but not mitotic phosphorylation was found on an internal CNBr fragment (derived from the end of the central rod domain and the first part of the C-terminal lamin tail; amino acid residues 385-548; fragment D). Interphase only phosphorylation was also detected on another CNBr fragment derived from the extreme C-terminal portion of lamin Dm0-derivatives (amino acid residues 549-622; fragment E). To supplement these data, we used 2-D tryptic peptide mapping followed by phosphorImager analysis. We routinely detected at least seven 'spots' derived from interphase lamins but only a single mitotic lamin phosphopeptide.


SUMMARY: The ciliate population of the large intestine of the horse shows large, daily variations. The ventral colon is the site where the ciliate fauna varies most. Two species, Cycloposthium edentatum and C. dentiferum, became established in the large intestine after passage through the stomach and small intestine. The introduction of new species into the ventral colon caused significant changes in the fauna of that part of the gut.


Departmental papers are usually focused on a specific economic topic, country, or region. They are prepared in a timely way to support the outreach needs of the IMF's area and functional departments.


BACKGROUND
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's new duty-hour standards limit interns' shifts to 16 hours and night float to 6 consecutive nights. Protected sleep time (that is, "nap") is strongly encouraged. As duty-hour reforms are implemented, examination of the quality and outcomes of the relevant literature is important.

PURPOSE
To systematically review the literature examining shift length, protected sleep time, and night float.

DATA SOURCES
MEDLINE, PREMEDLINE, and EMBASE from January 1989 through May 2010.

STUDY SELECTION
Studies examined the associations of shift length, protected sleep time, or night float with patient care, resident health, and education outcomes among residents in practice settings.

DATA EXTRACTION
Study quality was measured by using the validated Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force criteria. Two investigators independently rated study quality, and interrater agreement was calculated.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Sixty-four studies met inclusion criteria. Most studies used single-group cross-sectional (19 studies [29.7%]) or pre-post (41 studies [64.1%]) designs, and 4 (6.3%) were randomized, controlled trials. Five studies (7.8%) were multi-institutional. Twenty-four of 33 (72.7%) studies examining shift length reported that shorter shifts were associated with decreased medical errors, motor vehicle crashes, and percutaneous injuries. Only 2 studies assessed protected sleep time and reported that residents' adherence to naps was poor. Night floats described in 33 studies involved 5 to 7 consecutive nights.

LIMITATIONS
Most studies used single-institution, observational designs. Publication bias is likely but difficult to assess in this methodologically weak and heterogeneous body of evidence.

CONCLUSION
For the limited outcomes measured, most studies supported reducing shift length but did not adequately address the optimal shift duration. Studies had numerous methodological limitations and unclear generalizability for most outcomes. Specific recommendations about shift length, protected sleep time, and night float should acknowledge the limitations of this evidence.

PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.


Millions of people suffer from end-stage refractory diseases. The ideal treatment option for terminally ill patients is organ transplantation. However, donor organs are in absolute shortage, and sadly, most patients die while waiting for a donor organ. To date, no technology has achieved long-term sustainable patient-derived organ generation. In this regard, emerging technologies of chimeric human organ production via blastocyst complementation (BC) holds great promise. To take human organ generation via BC and transplantation to the next step, we reviewed current emerging organ generation technologies and the associated efficiency of chimera formation in human cells from the standpoint of developmental biology.


BACKGROUND
Hematopoietic colony-stimulating factors are a diverse group of cytokines now commercially available through recombinant technology. The colony-stimulating factors have proven utility in a wide spectrum of cytopenic states, and their use is now common-place. Unlike many cytokines, the colony-stimulating factors are usually well tolerated. We present a dramatic case of pyoderma gangrenosum arising during granulocyte colony-stimulating factor therapy. Additionally, the relevant literature regarding cutaneous complications of colony-stimulating factor therapy is summarized.

OBSERVATIONS
Including our case, two reported patients developed pyoderma gangrenosum while under colony-stimulating factor therapy. Sweet's syndrome presented in an additional three patients, and necrotizing vasculitis was precipitated in three others. The eruptions consistently developed after 1 to 2 weeks of colony-stimulating factor therapy and were apparently unrelated to the underlying systemic illness. Although most reactions developed de novo, three were superimposed on a preexisting inflammatory process.

CONCLUSIONS
Serious cutaneous adverse effects of colony-stimulating factors are distinctly rare but include neutrophilic dermatoses and necrotizing vasculitis. Upregulation of neutrophilic function and secondary release of cytokines may induce these complications. Early recognition and cessation of colony-stimulating factor therapy will limit the morbidity of these adverse events.


Objectives: SNCG is a novel prognostic biomarker in UPSC. We have shown that its overexpression correlates with aggressive cellular properties and resistance to paclitaxel in a UPSC cell line (SPEC2) as well as poor prognosis in a pilot set of UPSC patients. The goal of this study was to determine the mechanism of SNCG-associated taxane resistance by evaluating the effect of SNCG on the mitotic checkpoint and its propensity to modulate extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2) signaling pathways. Methods: A stably transfected SPEC2 cell line was created using shSNCG versus shControl oligonucleotides. Similarly, Ishikawa cells were transiently transfected with an SNCG expression vector versus empty vector. Differences in cell proliferation were measured using a cell viability assay and BrdU incorporation assay after treatment with paclitaxel. Cell cycle analysis was used to study the effect of SNCG on the mitotic checkpoint. Differences in expression of the checkpoint kinase BubR1 due to SNCG were studied using real time PCR, Western blot, 26S ubiquitin-proteasome inhibition, and siRNA to BubR1. ERK and phospho-ERK levels were measured in SPEC2 cells with and without SNCG expression by Western blot. SPEC2 cells were treated with paclitaxel with and without the MEK inhibitor UO126 and apoptosis was measured using cleaved PARP analysis. Results: SNCG overexpression lead to acquired, reversible paclitaxel resistance in endometrial cancer cell lines. SNCG was noted to interfere with mitotic checkpoint function by causing degradation of the critical checkpoint protein BubR1 thereby allowing cells to escape paclitaxel-induced mitotic arrest. SPEC2 cells exhibited sustained activation of ERK which was attenuated by silencing SNCG. When SPEC2 cells were exposed to paclitaxel combined with the MEK inhibitor UO126, decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis was noted compared to either agent alone. SNCG knockdown further enhanced paclitaxel and UO126 sensitivity. Cell cycle analysis revealed that silencing SNCG in SPEC2 cells and adding UO126 acted synergistically in overcoming paclitaxel resistance. Conclusions: SNCG overexpression in UPSC leads to taxane resistance by interacting with the mitotic checkpoint kinase BubR1 causing its degradation. SNCG is also associated with sustained ERK activation. Targeting SNCG in conjunction with MEK inhibition may represent a novel therapeutic strategy to overcome taxane resistance in these cells. 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 3548.


This paper presents results from a study investigating the influence of gender and country-of-origin effects on individual level student processes occurring within clearly divisible academic student team projects. The study was exploratory in nature and aimed at unravelling 'possibilities' rather than reaching definitive conclusions. While a number of variables were researched, statistically significant results were found in a few areas. One was in relation to gender and measures exploring social approval and the 'sucker effect', which is when team member performance is detrimentally affected by perceived lack of effort by other team members. Statistical significance also emerged between overseas-born students and Australian-born students on social approval, as well as self-efficacy (or students' own confidence) in completing team projects. The paper discusses the implications of this research for the management of student team projects and outlines directions for future research. The overall conclusion arising from this study is that effective management of gender and country-of-origin effects in student projects is linked to improvement in students' interpersonal skills. This concurs with a conclusion reached in a broader study of individual level student processes occurring in academic student team projects (Caspersz, Wu & Skene: 2002).


We report a case of sarcoidosis with an unusual radiological appearance. The patient was a 41-year-old asymptomatic woman who presented for a baseline screening mammogram, which revealed an asymmetric, slightly increased density in the upper outer quadrant of her left breast. Ultrasonography failed to demonstrate any mass. Her past medical history was remarkable for sarcoidosis. Stereotactic core biopsy revealed sarcoidosis diffusely infiltrating the breast parenchyma.


Background: Venous cannulation is a painful procedure that is associated with anxiety, distress and discomfort. But pain is frequently overlooked in adults. Aims and Objective: We compared the efficacy of 5% EMLA cream and 10% lidocaine cream in attenuating pain associated with peripheral venous cannulation. Methods: This prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 102 ASA I and II adults scheduled for elective surgery. They were randomly allocated by blind balloting to one of three groups: group E had 1.5 mL of EMLA cream, group L 1.5 mL of 10% lidocaine cream, and group P 1.5 mL KY gel. All cream was applied over a visible vein for 60 min with occlusive dressing. Pain was evaluated using visual analogue scale (VAS) and verbal rating scale (VRS). Results: The mean VAS score was significantly lower with either EMLA cream (2.62±1.76 cm) or 10% lidocaine cream (1.85±1.58 cm) than with placebo (4.78 ±1.88 cm), p<0.001. Most patients who received EMLA cream (76.5%) or 10% lidocaine cream (70.6%) compared with placebo (55.9%) had mild pain during cannulation using VRS. Conclusion: The eutectic mixture of local anesthetic cream and lidocaine cream attenuated pain associated with peripheral venous cannulation to varying degrees. Keywords: Venous cannulation pain, 10% lidocaine, EMLA, VAS, VRS, Side effects


Proceedings: AACR 107th Annual Meeting 2016; April 16-20, 2016; New Orleans, LA

Primary tumors grow and invade into surrounding tissues/stroma, frequently resulting in metastasis to distant organs. Tumor cell-stroma crosstalk plays a crucial, but incompletely understood role during tumor progression and metastasis. For example, increased stromal matrix density and/or rigidity correlates with poor prognosis in human breast cancer patients. Previous studies have implicated Hic-5, a focal adhesion scaffold protein, in tumor cell invasion, proliferation and metastasis. To investigate the role of Hic-5 in mammary tumor progression, Hic-5 -/- mice were generated and crossed with mice expressing Polyoma Middle T Antigen (PyMT) driven by the MMTV promoter. The PyMT mouse is a well-established model for human breast cancer progression. Tumors from the Hic-5 -/- PyMT mice demonstrated an increased latency and had reduced growth as compared to Hic-5 +/- PyMT controls. The absence of Hic-5 did not affect the progression of the tumor to a carcinoma stage, but there was a decrease in metastasis to the lungs. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that Hic-5 is primarily expressed in the cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and the Hic-5 -/- PyMT tumor stroma exhibits reduced extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. Furthermore, 3D cell-derived matrices (CDM) generated in vitro using isolated CAFs, confirmed that Hic-5 -/- PyMT CAFs do not efficiently deposit and organize ECM. The organization of the stromal matrix has been shown previously to increase the rigidity of the tumor, which in turn promotes FAK Y397 phosphorylation in the tumor cells to promote cell invasion and proliferation. Accordingly, the Hic-5 -/- PyMT tumors exhibited a reduction in FAK phospho-Y397 staining and attenuation of downstream ERK activation, suggesting that their stromal matrix is not optimally organized for tumor cell signaling. Taken together, these data demonstrate that Hic-5 expression in CAFs is important for stromal matrix organization/remodeling during tumor progression and that the loss of the organization of the ECM in the Hic-5 -/- tumor stroma may contribute to the reduced tumor growth and metastasis observed in these animals.

Supported by NIH CA163296 to CET, NS066071 to EO and Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Fund to CET.

Citation Format: Gregory J. Goreczny, Jessica Ouderkirk, Eric Olson, Mira Krendel, Christopher Turner. Hic-5 modulation of the stromal matrix is required for mammary tumor progression. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 5095.


Vehicular communication systems represent one of the most desirable technologies when the safety, efficiency and comfort of everyday road travel need to be improved. The main advantage is the absence of an infrastructure, typical of centralized networks, that makes them very scalable and adequate for highly-variable network topologies. Vehicular Ad-hoc NETworks (VANETs) are able to provide wireless networking capability in situations where no fixed infrastructure exists and the communication among nodes can be either direct or made via relaying nodes, as in the classical ad-hoc networks. In this paper, the attention is focused mainly on the network layer of VANETs, proposing a novel approach to reduce the interference level during mobile transmission, also considering the minimization of path lengths. We propose an interference aware routing scheme for multi-radio vehicular networks and a new metric is also proposed, based both on the maximization of the average Signal to Interference level and on the minimization of the path length of the connection between source and destination. Our solution has been integrated with the AODV routing protocol to design a new MIMO Distance Vector Protocol. NS-2 has been used for implementing and testing the proposed idea, and significant performance improvements have been obtained.


A rapid in situ capacitive immunoassay is presented herein. Conventional immunoassay typically relies on diffusion for transport of analytes in many cases causing long detection time and lack of sensitivity. By integrating alternating current electrokinetics (ACEK) and impedance sensing, this work provides a rapid in situ capacitive affinity biosensing. ACEK induces both fluid flow and particle motion, conveying target molecules toward electrodes immobilized with probes, resulting in rapid enrichment of target molecules and a capacitance change at the ''electrode‐fluid'' interface. The benefit of ACEK enhanced immunoassay was demonstrated using the antigen and antibody from Johne's disease (JD) as an example. To clarify the importance of DEP and ACET effects for binding reaction, two different electrode pattern designs for capacitive immunoassay are studied. The asymmetric array and symmetric electrodes exhibit very similar response at lower electric field due to DEP effects, while asymmetric array has remarkable higher response at high‐electric field because the convection becomes more important at high field. The disease positive and negative serum samples are distinguished in few minutes.


This paper is devoted to design adaptive sliding-mode controllers for the Takagi-Sugeno (T--S) fuzzy system with mismatched uncertainties and exogenous disturbances. The uncertainties in state matrices are mismatched and norm-bounded, while the exogenous disturbances are assumed to be bounded with an unknown bound, which is estimated by a simple and effective adaptive approach. Both state- and static-output-feedback sliding-mode-control problems are considered. In terms of linear-matrix inequalities (LMIs), both sliding surfaces and sliding-mode controllers can be easily obtained via a convex optimization technique. Finally, two simulation examples and a real experiment are utilized to illustrate the applicability and effectiveness of the design procedures proposed in this paper.


Multi-Object Tracking (MOT) is a popular topic in computer vision. However, identity issue, i.e., an object is wrongly associated with another object of a different identity, still remains to be a challenging problem. To address it, switchers, i.e., confusing targets thatmay cause identity issues, should be focused. Based on this motivation,this paper proposes a novel switcher-aware framework for multi-object tracking, which consists of Spatial Conflict Graph model (SCG) and Switcher-Aware Association (SAA). The SCG eliminates spatial switch-ers within one frame by building a conflict graph and working out the optimal subgraph. The SAA utilizes additional information from potential temporal switcher across frames, enabling more accurate data association. Besides, we propose a new MOT evaluation measure, Still Another IDF score (SAIDF), aiming to focus more on identity issues.This new measure may overcome some problems of the previous measures and provide a better insight for identity issues in MOT. Finally,the proposed framework is tested under both the traditional measures and the new measure we proposed. Extensive experiments show that ourmethod achieves competitive results on all measure.


Healthcare decision-makers face difficult decisions regarding COVID-19 booster selection given limited budgets and the need to maximize healthcare gain. A constrained optimization (CO) model was developed to identify booster allocation strategies that minimize bed-days by varying the proportion of the eligible population receiving different boosters, stratified by age, and given limited healthcare expenditure. Three booster options were included: B1, costing US $1 per dose, B2, costing US $2, and no booster (NB), costing US $0. B1 and B2 were assumed to be 55%/75% effective against mild/moderate COVID-19, respectively, and 90% effective against severe/critical COVID-19. Healthcare expenditure was limited to US$2.10 per person; the minimum expected expense using B1, B2, or NB for all. Brazil was the base-case country. The model demonstrated that B1 for those aged <70 years and B2 for those ≥70 years were optimal for minimizing bed-days. Compared with NB, bed-days were reduced by 75%, hospital admissions by 68%, and intensive care unit admissions by 90%. Total costs were reduced by 60% with medical resource use reduced by 81%. This illustrates that the CO model can be used by healthcare decision-makers to implement vaccine booster allocation strategies that provide the best healthcare outcomes in a broad range of contexts.


A detached leaf screening technique was developed to evaluate soybean for resistance to powdery mildew (Microsphaera diffusa) at ISU and rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi) at GXAAS. In powdery mildew, first fully opened trifoliate leaves were collected excising at the base of petiole from three varieties, placed two leaves per 14-cm dia × 2-cm ht sterile Petridish containing a layer of wet wahtman#1 filter paper and sponge (10-cm L × 5-cm W × 1-cm H). Leaves placed in Petri dishes for detached leaf assay (DLA) and the seedlings grown in plastic cups for whole plant assay (WPA) were spray inoculated separately with 1 × 10(^3) and 1 × 10(^4), and 1 × 10(^5) conidia ml(^–1) and distilled water spray maintained as control. Inoculated leaves and seedlings were incubated at 24°C in fluorescent light (radiation of 5.48 J/second × m(^2) area) with 16h photoperiod for two weeks and were evaluated for disease reaction. Of the three varieties tested, Pioneer 93M42 showed higher severities compared with Latham 2485 and Pioneer 92M40RR and of the three concentrations, 1 × 10(^5) showed higher severities compared with other two. The DLA and WPA were tested for soybean rust pathogen using 10 cultivars and six isolates collected from three locations in China. Of the ten genotypes tested Ye-Qing × Bu-Lei-Mei showed S-S reaction across all the isolates and reactions of other genotypes against the isolates tested are presented in this paper. Also, we discuss results of the techniques tested against P. pachyrhizi, and M. diffusa. Main advantage of the DLA method is to facilitate assaying soybean response to multiple fungal pathogens in a short period. Disciplines Plant Pathology Comments This poster was presented at the 2007 North Central Division Meeting, June 19–21, 2007, Lafayette, IN. This article is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/plantpath_conf/2


The interaction of sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was studied in 6-wk-old male Mongolian gerbils. Each of four groups of gerbils were fed one of the following diets during a 12-wk experimental period: control (commercial Chow), 5.0 ppm Na2SeO3, 12.8 ppm AFB1, or 5.09 ppm Na2SeO3 + 12.8 ppm AFB1. Animals receiving Na2SeO3 in the diet, alone and with AFB1, had a significantly lower mean total weight gain during the experiment than did control animals. Animals receiving both compounds together displayed a very high level of physical activity compared to the three other groups. Blood analysis showed no change in total leukocytes, but the relative percentage of lymphocytes increased and the percentage of neutrophils decreased concurrently in the order: control less than AFB1 less than Na2SeO3 + AFB1 les than Na2SeO3. A significant reduction in organ weight relative to body weight was observed in the liver, kidney, and lung of the animals fed AFB1 alone but only in the liver of those fed both Na2SeO3 and AFB1. No similar alterations were observed in the Na2SeO3 group. Histopathological examination revealed considerably less hepatic damage in animals fed Na2SeO3 with AFB1 than in those receiving either compound alone. Renal and intestinal damage, however, was most severe in this double-treatment group. Hepatic protein analysis revealed two protein peaks in the Na2SeO3 + AFB1 group that were absent in all other groups. It was concluded that these proteins may be selenoproteins directly or indirectly involved in the lower incidence of histopathological damage in this group.


Digital transformation is a process of applying all digital technologies on current workflows to be able to deliver high quality information at the right time. Improving well delivery time is one of the goals for applying digital transformation inside the company. The drilling performance should be reported on daily basis and all the drifting from predefined targets should be spotted and reported directly. Hence, the drilling crews require more detailed information of their performance, to proactively develop best practices and improve efficiency. Drilling process digitalization is one of the tools that has significant impact to achieve this goal.
 This was initially started inside the operating company to implement advanced digitalization technologies to monitoring and improvement drilling operations and to follow up drilling contractors through their digital footprints on the operational performance. The advances in digital technologies and tools provide enable measuring rig activities through real-time rig sensor data and merge it with other information sources. Therefore, a setup of a real-time digitalization tool based on automated rig activities detection technology is established and a measurement and monitoring process was started.
 The results of the digitalization process, after an initial evaluation period of approximately 1 month, exposed the savings potential by identifying Invisible Lost Time (ILT). As an example, the result of applying this agile and collaborative process, an improvement of "Weight to Weight" times between 45% and respectively 25% was achieved for two rigs, which reflects an actual saving up to 7% of the total well delivery time. The drilling team achieved measurable savings equal to one average total well duration in the one year of operation.


Author(s): Grutter, Alexander John | Advisor(s): Suzuki, Yuri | Abstract: In recent decades, one of the most active and promising areas of condensed matter research has been that of complex oxides. With the advent of new growth techniques such as pulsed laser deposition and molecular beam epitaxy, a wealth of new magnetic and electronic ground states have emerged in complex oxide heterostructures. The wide variety of ground states in complex oxides is well known and generally attributed to the unprecedented variety of valence, structure, and bonding available in these systems. The tunability of this already diverse playground of states and interactions is greatly multiplied in thin films and heterostructures by the addition of parameters such as substrate induced strain and interfacial electronic reconstruction. Thus, recent studies have shown emergent properties such as the stabilization of ferromagnetism in a paramagnetic system, conductivity at the interface of two insulators, and even exchange bias at the interface between a paramagnet and a ferromagnet. Despite these steps forward, there remains remarkable disagreement on the mechanisms by which these emergent phenomena are stabilized. The contributions of strain, stoichiometry, defects, intermixing, and electronic reconstruction are often very difficult to isolate in thin films and superlattices.This thesis will present model systems for isolating the effects of strain and interfacial electronic interactions on the magnetic state of complex oxides from alternative contributions. We will focus first on SrRuO3, an ideal system in which to isolate substrate induced strain effects. We explore the effects of structural distortions in the simplest case of growth on (100) oriented substrates. We find that parameters including saturated magnetic moment and Curie temperature are all highly tunable through substrate induced lattice distortions. We also report the stabilization of a nonmagnetic spin-zero configuration of Ru4+ in tetragonally distorted films under tensile strain. Through growth on (110) and (111) oriented substrates we explore the effects of different distortion symmetries on SrRuO3 and demonstrate the first reported strain induced transition to a high-spin state of Ru4+. Finally, we examine the effects of strain on SrRuO3 thin films and demonstrate a completely reversible universal out-of-plane magnetic easy axis on films grown on different substrate orientations. Having demonstrated the ability to tune nearly every magnetic parameter of SrRuO3 through strain, we turn to magnetic properties at interfaces.We study the emergent interfacial ferromagnetism in superlattices of the paramagnetic metal CaRuO3 and the antiferromagnetic insulator CaMnO3 and demonstrate that the interfacial ferromagnetic layer in this system is confined to a single unit cell of CaMnO3 at the interface. We discuss the remarkable oscillatory dependence of the saturated magnetic moment on the thickness of the CaMnO3 layers and explore mechanisms by which this oscillation may be stabilized. We find long range coherence of the antiferromagnetism of the CaMnO3 layers across intervening layers of paramagnetic CaRuO3. Finally, we utilize the system of LaNiO3/CaMnO3 to separate the effects of intermixing and interfacial electronic reconstruction and conclusively demonstrate intrinsic interfacial ferromagnetism at the interface between a paramagnetic metal and an antiferromagnetic insulator. We find that the emergent ferromagnetism is stabilized through interfacial double exchange and that the leakage of conduction electrons from the paramagnetic metal to the antiferromagnetic insulator is critical to establishing the ferromagnetic ground state.


I have noted that this meeting is described as a seminar, and therefore have felt at liberty to present work in progress. This work is not proving as simple as we originally hoped, and I would very much welcome your comments and criticism. For some years now, our Children's Hospital has been studying protein clearances in the nephrotic syndrome (5,6). Clearances of orosomucoid, albumin, transferrin, IgG and, when present, 2 m have been determined as a percentage of the transferrin clearance. The angle () of the regression of log relative clearance on log molecular weight has been determined. Like others they have found that a steep slope and high value for is closely associated with a good response to steroids. However in a number of patients, as noted previously by Hrdwicke et l. (2), the individual points do not even approximate to a straight line, the IgG (or m) clearances being either higher or lower than would be predicted from the value of the other. They therefore calculated the value of in three ways: (1) using all five points (); (2) excluding IgG (m), and (3) excluding m (). In patients with proliferative lesions they found that the IgG clearance appeared lower than predicted. This might be related to the inhomogeneity of damage in this group, demonstrated by Hulme nd Hrdwicke (4), or could be due to a proportion of the plasma IgG circulating as non-filterable macromolecular complex (7). In any patient showing this discrepancy it appeared fairly constant with time (fig. 1). In another group, mainly with focal glomerulosclerosis, the reverse was found, there being a very high clearance of IgG. This clearance appeared, in some patients, to increase progressively with time. One explanation of this finding would be the presence of more readily filtered IgG of low molecular weight in


A nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed to detect porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus. A common primer set for European and North American type isolates of PRRS virus was designed for reverse transcription PCR, and a specific primer set for each of the 2 type isolates was designed for nested PCR. The PCR that used a specific primer set detected the corresponding type of the virus at a level equivalent to 1 TCID50/100 microliters, but not the other type of isolates. Therefore, the method clearly differentiated the 2 types of virus from each other. The detection of PRRS virus by the nested PCR was as sensitive as virus isolation in cultures of porcine alveolar macrophages from infected pigs at the acute stages, and was more sensitive from pigs at the convalescent stages. The infecting virus type was determined by use of 2 specific primer sets even when virus isolation was negative in naturally infected pigs. It was concluded that the nested PCR is useful for diagnosis and typing of PRRS virus and studies of persistent infection by the virus.


is a great deal of rubbish written by persons who are not medically qualified and have, besides this negative handicap, the positive one of being obsessed with some tinbalanced prejudice in favour of a particular regime. Dr. Clegg's little book is a breath of fresh air. It has the great advantage that it is written by a doctor with wide knowledge of recent discovery and current knowledge, and with a grasp of the application of this vast mass of learning to the simple facts of bodily health. Moreover, the author's experience in presenting information saves him from the error of being schoolmasterish. He says what he has to say in a conversational manner that makes the easiest reading, and he enlivens his discourse with quiet humour. The incongruous little illustrations also add much to the book, as a good sauce improves food. In the first chapter he tells the reader how to take stock -how to find out how much health he already has by means of a searching little questionary. The reader apportions marks as he thinks fit, and then adds up the score. After that Dr. Clegg deals in detail with the principal constituents of diet, with alcohol and tobacco, obesity, sight, constipation, and teeth. A sudden page of laxative advertisements is typical of his happy employment of humorous surprise to hold the attention. The chapter on " Bringing up your Children " is full of condensed wisdom, and that on " Bringing up Yourself " of applied psychology. Exercise, the skin, milk, preventive inoculation, and the fear of disease are only a few of the other subjects treated by a rapid fire of fact, sound inference, and helpful suggestion. This little work contains an incredible amount of meat and a few tough bits which those who take a different view will reject. Moreover, some of his advice would seem to postulate an independence and a prosperity which only a smallish percentage of the populace possess, and in fact he goes so far as to counsel: "To diminish the risk of getting cancer of certain exposed sites take care to get into or remain in the upper and middle class (that in which the incidence of such cancer is least), and not to fall into the class of ' unskilled workers.'" But on the whole the book is a valuable contribution to the task of securing that intelligent co-operation of the lay public without which the doctor can do little good.


The influence of metal ions, such as Fe2+, Fe3+, Cu2+ and Mn2+, on 4-CP degradation was investigated in an aqueous pulsed discharge plasma system with or without the addition of a TiO2 photo-catalyst. From an analysis of the pseudo first-order rate constant (kCP) and energy efficiency (G50%) for 4-CP degradation, the experimental results show that the degradation of 4-CP is much enhanced in the presence of ferrous ions at the optimal concentration of 0.2~0.8 mmol/L or 0.2 mmol/L in an aqueous pulsed discharge plasma without or with the TiO2 system, respectively, and the enhancement is ascribed to plasma induced Fenton and photo-Fenton reactions. Meanwhile, the rank of such metal ions for catalytic effect on 4-CP degradation was Fe2+> Fe3+ > Cu2+ > Mn2+ and Fe2+ > Fe3+ > Mn2+ > Cu2+ for the former and the latter systems, respectively, and the reasons behind this were discussed through the analysis of active species, especially hydrogen peroxide.


The value of adjuvant chemotherapy in T2N0 gastric cancer (GC) remains controversial. The aim of this retrospective study is to define a high-risk subgroup of pathological T2N0 GC patients and examine the impact of adjuvant chemotherapy on overall survival (OS). A total of 225 patients underwent R0 resection for T2N0 gastric adenocarcinoma between 2002 and 2012 and 51/225 (22.7%) of these received adjuvant chemotherapy. Multivariate Cox regression identified tumor location in the Upper1/3 of the stomach (peast one of the independent risk factor listed above, and we found that adjuvant chemotherapy significantly improved OS for this subgroup.


The range of electric vehicles (EVs) is inherently limited by the energy content of the batteries. This important and obvious limitation has caused EV battery development to become focused on batteries having the highest possible specific energies (i.e., Wh/kg). When the actual driving and buying habits of the motoring public are considered, however, it can be seen that most EV batteries are more deficient in power than in energy. Although many EV batteries can satisfy the necessary energy requirements for a viable EV, few are likely to satisfy the power needs, especially when cost is considered. This study presents an analysis of the battery power requirements based upon the characteristics of current automobiles actually purchased by the U.S. motoring public, and the energy requirements based upon actual commuter driving distances in Southern California. The conclusions of the study are that (1) separate considerations of battery specific energy, specific power, and cost are inadequate to define a commercially viable EV battery, and (2) the battery power/energy (P/E) ratios currently being considered by EV automakers are too low. Low P/E ratios result either in an expensive battery or in low vehicle performance, either of which will be unattractive to potential buyers of electric automobiles. A recommended battery specification is presented which should be satisfactory for a commuter EV satisfying 90% of the Southern California market.


Recently Connes has proposed a new geometric version of the standard model including a non-commutative charge conjugation. We present a systematic analysis of the relations among masses and coupling constants in this approach. In particular, for a given top mass, the Higgs mass is constrained to lie in an interval. Therefore this constraint is locally stable under renormalization flow.


The increasing interest in phosphate glasses is due to the fact that they are considered to be bioactive functional materials in applications such as hard and soft tissue engineering and also that they possess interesting optical properties. These include low dispersion, high refractive index and high transparency for ultraviolet light. They have also been found to be responsible for the good anti‐wear properties of phosphorus‐based engine‐oil additives. More recently, the low processing temperature of zinc and iron phosphates, as well as their chemical durability, has opened the possibility for new applications, such as the immobilization of nuclear wastes. Understanding the surface chemistry of such glasses turns out to be a key step for inferring their underlying mechanisms of action. In this work, zinc phosphate and iron phosphate glasses of different chain lengths were synthesized and characterized by means of time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF‐SIMS). ToF‐SIMS was able to successfully differentiate between the samples of different composition. A characteristic pattern of phosphate fragments was observed in the negative‐mode ToF‐SIMS spectra. The most intense peaks could be assigned to the phosphate fragments PO−, PO2−, PO3− and PO4−. Toward higher masses, fragments containing up to four phosphorus atoms with a periodicity of PO2 were observed: FePO3−, ZnPO3−, FePO4−, ZnPO4−, FeP2O6−, ZnP2O6−, FeP2O7−, ZnP2O7−; FeP3O8−, ZnP3O8−, FeP3O9− and ZnP3O9−. This pattern characterizes the spectra of all the glasses under investigation. For the first time, a method is proposed that allows the discrimination between polyphosphates of different chain lengths, by comparing the intensities of the relevant ToF‐SIMS peaks. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


SOST variants that mimic therapeutic inhibition of sclerostin for osteoporosis are associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Safety and sclerostin Antibodies that inhibit sclerostin are used to treat osteoporosis because they increase bone mineral density and reduce fracture risk; however, phase 3 trials have identified potential cardiovascular safety concerns. Using meta-analysis, Bovijn and colleagues found probable higher risk of adverse cardiovascular events associated with sclerostin antibody use. Analysis of variants in SOST, the gene that encodes sclerostin, showed that variants associated with increased bone mineral density (mimicking the effects of therapeutic inhibition of sclerostin) were linked to cardiometabolic risk factors and disease. Results highlight the importance of evaluating the cardiovascular safety of sclerostin inhibition. Inhibition of sclerostin is a therapeutic approach to lowering fracture risk in patients with osteoporosis. However, data from phase 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of romosozumab, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody that inhibits sclerostin, suggest an imbalance of serious cardiovascular events, and regulatory agencies have issued marketing authorizations with warnings of cardiovascular disease. Here, we meta-analyze published and unpublished cardiovascular outcome trial data of romosozumab and investigate whether genetic variants that mimic therapeutic inhibition of sclerostin are associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Meta-analysis of up to three RCTs indicated a probable higher risk of cardiovascular events with romosozumab. Scaled to the equivalent dose of romosozumab (210 milligrams per month; 0.09 grams per square centimeter of higher bone mineral density), the SOST genetic variants were associated with lower risk of fracture and osteoporosis (commensurate with the therapeutic effect of romosozumab) and with a higher risk of myocardial infarction and/or coronary revascularization and major adverse cardiovascular events. The same variants were also associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and higher systolic blood pressure and central adiposity. Together, our findings indicate that inhibition of sclerostin may elevate cardiovascular risk, warranting a rigorous evaluation of the cardiovascular safety of romosozumab and other sclerostin inhibitors.


September 6, 2016, marked the eighth anniversary of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) in conservatorship. Although the economic and regulatory landscape has changed significantly, the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has not been resolved. We convened a panel at the ABS East conference held in Miami Beach from September 18, 2016, to September 20, 2016, to take an open-minded look at the state of housing finance reform, focusing on when GSE reform is likely to happen, what will be the catalyst for the change, what form the new system will take, and what are the costs and consequences of a very long conservatorship.


Spatial understanding is a fundamental problem with wide-reaching real-world applications. The representation of spatial knowledge is often modeled with spatial templates, i.e., regions of acceptability of two objects under an explicit spatial relationship (e.g., "on," "below," etc.). In contrast with prior work that restricts spatial templates to explicit spatial prepositions (e.g., "glass on table"), here we extend this concept to implicit spatial language, i.e., those relationships (generally actions) for which the spatial arrangement of the objects is only implicitly implied (e.g., "man riding horse"). In contrast with explicit relationships, predicting spatial arrangements from implicit spatial language requires significant common sense spatial understanding. Here, we introduce the task of predicting spatial templates for two objects under a relationship, which can be seen as a spatial question-answering task with a (2D) continuous output ("where is the man w.r.t. a horse when the man is walking the horse?"). We present two simple neural-based models that leverage annotated images and structured text to learn this task. The good performance of these models reveals that spatial locations are to a large extent predictable from implicit spatial language. Crucially, the models attain similar performance in a challenging generalized setting, where the object-relation-object combinations (e.g., "man walking dog") have never been seen before. Next, we go one step further by presenting the models with unseen objects (e.g., "dog"). In this scenario, we show that leveraging word embeddings enables the models to output accurate spatial predictions, proving that the models acquire solid common sense spatial knowledge allowing for such generalization.


: In this research, we set out to search for methods that can be used in biotechnological processing of sulphide carbonaceous refractory gold-containing ores with a view of subsequent gold extraction. The mesophilic strain of the Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans bacterium, which exhibits sustained activity over pro-longed periods (12 months), has been isolated and adapted. The activity of this strain is shown to vary from 1,4 to 2,8 g/l of oxidised iron per hour. In the process of heap bacterial oxidation, a significant decrease in the refractoriness of sulphide ores is observed. Under the conditions of ore crushing to a particle size of 2 mm, the oxidation degree of arsenopyrite and pyrite is determined to reach the values of 89–93% and 50–56%, respectively. Thus, ores containing 0,9–1,5 g/t of gold appear to be appropriate for processing, since the gold recovery reaches 65–75% after heap bioleaching (HB). The obtained results are confirmed by semi-industrial tests. The proposed technology of heap bacterial oxidation permits the preparation of sulphide re-В.А. ФИЗИКО-ХИМИЧЕСКАЯ БИОЛОГИЯ fractory gold-containing ores for subsequent gold extraction based on the bacterial leaching technology (BL), which leads to a significant increase in the extraction of gold. Under this process, sulphide minerals are trans-formed into natural oxidised forms with a minimal anthropogenic impact on the environment.


Background: The antifungal activity of coriander oil has already been demonstrated in vitro. Objective: Evaluation of the efficacy and tolerability of 6% coriander oil in unguentum leniens in the treatment of interdigital tinea pedis. Methods: Half-side comparative pilot study on subjects with symmetric, bilateral interdigital tinea pedis. Active drug and placebo control were applied twice daily on the affected areas, and follow-up visits were performed on days 14 and 28. Results: 40 participants (mean age 52.5 years, 60% male) were included in the study. For 6% coriander oil in unguentum leniens, a highly significant improvement of the clinical signs (p < 0.0001) was observed during the entire observation period; the number of positive fungal cultures also tended to decrease (p = 0.0654). The tolerability of the tested substances was good. Conclusion: Coriander oil is effective and well tolerated in the treatment of interdigital tinea pedis.


We study a particular class of open manifolds. In the category of Riemannian manifolds these are complete manifolds with cylindrical ends. We give a natural setting for the conformal geometry on such manifolds including an appropriate notion of the cylindrical Yamabe constant/invariant. This leads to a corresponding version of the Yamabe problem on cylindrical manifolds. We affirmatively solve this Yamabe problem: we prove the existence of minimizing metrics and analyze their singularities near infinity. These singularities turn out to be of very particular type: either almost conical or almost cusp singularities. We describe the supremum case, i.e. when the cylindrical Yamabe constant is equal to the Yamabe invariant of the sphere. We prove that in this case such a cylindrical manifold coincides conformally with the standard sphere punctured at a finite number of points. In the course of studying the supremum case, we establish a Positive Mass Theorem for specific asymptotically flat manifolds with two almost conical singularities. As a by-product, we revisit known results on surgery and the Yamabe invariant.


The luminosity upgrade programme (HL-LHC) requires modifications of the present LHC's vacuum system, in particular in the triplets, crab cavities, matching section and experimental areas. Such modifications must follow guidelines similar to those followed for the present machine. The increased stored current implies a higher thermal power in the beam screen from the image current moving along with the stored particles and stronger synchrotron radiation (SR) and electron cloud (EC) effects, which in turn translate into higher degassing rates.
One of the main tasks of the HL-LHC vacuum work package is to produce new beam screens in the new superconducting (SC) Inner Triplet (IT) and D1-D2 magnets together with the vacuum layout along the Insertion Region (IR). It is also necessary to assemble and insert with the beam screens high-density shielding material into IT magnets. This is mandatory for protecting the magnets from collision debris coming from the experiments' interaction points (IPs). A balance between cold bore size and vacuum pumping system is defined based on experience gained with the present machine and recent advances with new materials. Indeed, a number of new ideas have emerged recently for the mitigation of the e-cloud effect in cryogenic beam pipes: amorphous carbon (a-C) coating for which validation is ongoing and laser structured surface currently under study.
The change of the aperture of the IT at IR1 and IR5 implies that the experimental vacuum chambers of CMS and ATLAS require a review of aperture, impedance, and vacuum (dynamic and static). The forward regions of CMS and ATLAS will need to be adapted to cope with the new beam geometry in IR1 and IR5. New vacuum systems at the tunnel/cavern interfaces are needed to mitigate the additional activation from the increased luminosity. New access procedures and tooling will be also needed to allow the minimization of the integrated dose to personnel. With the HL-LHC, less flexibility will be available for the optics of LHCb and ALICE; therefore, the vacuum chambers at IR2 and IR8 must be validated for operating conditions to ensure that these chambers do not impose a limitation. In-situ a-C coating of the beam screens of the IT magnets, located in LSS2 and 8, is under validation to reduce the electron cloud heat load onto the cryogenic system. Finally, positions of mechanical supports, pumps, and gauges must be analyzed to ensure that layouts are optimized for the new machine configuration. Bake-out equipment will be redefined depending on activation and specific needs. To deliver good vacuum conditions, all chambers held at room temperature must be treated with Non-Evaporative Getter (NEG), to provide low dynamic outgassing with large pumping speed and to minimize secondary electron yield (SEY), to reduce electron cloud effects.


When a vertical array of hydrophones is used to determine the location of a submerged acoustic source in the ocean, performance is limited by the quality of the data, especially when there is interference from ambient noise and other sources or when there are uncertainties in the parameters of the environment. High-quality data may be obtained by anchoring a vertical array on the seafloor, but this time-consuming approach does not allow frequent deployments and mobility. By using motion compensation to eliminate the vertical motion of an array that is deployed from a surface platform, it may be possible to obtain high-quality data with a rapidly deployable system. Other applications that could benefit from this capability include the geoacoustic inverse problem of estimating the parameters of the sediment and studying the effects of horizontal diffraction and horizontal multi-paths for global-scale problems.


We apply a perturbative Doi–Peliti field-theoretical analysis to the stochastic spatially extended symmetric Rock-paper-Scissors (RPS) and May–Leonard (ML) models, in which three species compete cyclically. Compared to the two-species Lotka–Volterra predator-prey (LV) model, according to numerical simulations, these cyclical models appear to be less affected by intrinsic stochastic fluctuations. Indeed, we demonstrate that the qualitative features of the ML model are insensitive to intrinsic reaction noise. In contrast, and although not yet observed in numerical simulations, we find that the RPS model acquires significant fluctuation-induced renormalizations in the perturbative regime, similar to the LV model. We also study the formation of spatio-temporal structures in the framework of stability analysis and provide a clearcut explanation for the absence of spatial patterns in the RPS system, whereas the spontaneous emergence of spatio-temporal structures features prominently in the LV and the ML models.


Abstract Trainings on self-regulated learning (SRL) have been shown to be effective in improving both competence of self-regulated learning and objective measures of performance. However, human trainers can reach only a limited number of people at a time. Web-based trainings (WBT) could improve efficiency, as they can be distributed to potentially unlimited numbers of participants. We developed a WBT based on the process model of SRL by Schmitz and Wiese (2006) and tested it with 211 university students in a randomized control evaluation study including additional process analyses of learning diaries. Results showed that the training had significant effects on SRL knowledge, SRL behavior measured by questionnaires and diaries, as well as on self-efficacy. Time-series analyses revealed a positive linear trend in SRL for the training group but not for the control group as well as intervention effects for each of the three WBT lessons.


We present the results of numerical simulations of entrainment by microwaves of a soliton in Josephson junctions of both the overlap and in‐line geometries. The computation was based on the full partial differential equations with boundary conditions, making no use of perturbation theory or Fourier expansion. We confirm the perturbation prediction for the range of phase lock for overlap junctions, but we observe a major departure for the in‐line geometry, due to soliton creation and annihilation. Outside the range of entrainment, the perturbation predictions are not reliable in either case: we observe quasiperiodicity, intermittency, or chaotic creation and annihilation, depending on junction geometry and parameter values.


Actin-related protein (Arp) 2/3 complex stimulates formation of actin filaments at the leading edge of motile cells. Nucleation of filaments depends on hydrolysis of ATP bound to Arp2. Here we report crystal structures of Arp2/3 complex with bound ATP or ADP. The nucleotides are immobilized on the face of subdomains 3 and 4 of Arp2, whereas subdomains 1 and 2 are flexible and absent from the electron density maps. This flexibility may explain why Arp2 does not hydrolyze ATP until the complex is activated. ATP stabilizes a relatively closed conformation of Arp3 with the gamma-phosphate bridging loops from opposite sides of the cleft. ADP binds Arp3 in a unique conformation that favors an open cleft, revealing a conformational change that may occur in actin and Arps when ATP is hydrolyzed and phosphate dissociates. These structures provide the an opportunity to compare all nucleotide-binding states in an actin-related protein and give insights into the function of both the Arp2/3 complex and actin.


With the ever-increasing trend of oil production from lower pressure wells, application of artificial lift techniques is becoming inevitable. Beam pumps and electrical submersible pumps are two of the most common artificial lift methods for low and high oil production rates. But these techniques are susceptible to high gas-oil ratios, particularly at lower wellbore pressures causing gas break-out and possible gas lock. Various types of downhole separators have been recently designed upstream of the pump to resolve this issue and improve the pump efficiency. The objective of this study is to construct a state-of-art experimental facility and simulate the flow in an oil well with varying gas-oil ratios. The facility is then used to evaluate the performance of a centrifugal downhole separator.
 The experimental multiphase flow setup is designed, fabricated, and constructed in an efficient and automated way to simulate a typical horizontal wellbore. The well trajectory includes a 31-ft horizontal section, inclinable to ±10o, followed by a 27-ft vertical section. The casing ID is 6-in., and a 2-in. ID tubing is placed with end-of-tubing at the bottom of vertical section. The casing and tubing streams are each led to a return column, where gas and liquid flows are metered. Automated and modulated control valves are used to monitor the pressure and production from casing and tubing streams. Five Coriolis flow meters quantify density and flow rate of different fluid streams. All of the equipment is connected to a control computer via DAQ cards.
 The experiments are performed with air, supplied by a screw-type compressor, and water, supplied by a moyno pump. The experiments are conducted with different gas (Qg = 30-230 Mscfd) and liquid (QL = 17-700 bpd) flowrates to simulate the cases with both rod pump and ESP operations. The air-water ratio is increased for fixed water rates to identify the ranges of separator effectiveness. The tested downhole separator is an innovative design, applying gravity and centrifugal effects to perform the separation. The results indicate that average gas separation efficiency of the separator is 93% and average liquid separation efficiency is 96% over a wide range of operating conditions, as measured by return line flow meters for casing and tubing streams. The characteristics of multiphase flow in horizontal and vertical sections of the setup are observed and evaluated using surveillance cameras. The separator can be used widely in oil fields to improve gas-liquid separation and artificial lift performance.
 The application of pumping artificial lift methods in high GOR wells can help significantly improve the production from a wide range of volatile oil and condensate wells. This illustrates the value of utilizing innovative downhole separation strategies. This paper presents one such centrifugal downhole separator and studies its performance in enhancing the production.


CLINICAL SUPERVISION is variously regarded as a lifeline, an intrusion or an irrelevance. When done well, it can enhance and improve your practice and develop your career. But it is also a much misunderstood and confused concept.


The characteristics of combustion, emissions, and thermal efficiency of a diesel engine with direct injection neat n-butanol were investigated. Tests were conducted on a single cylinder water-cooled four stroke direct injection diesel engine. The engine ran at a load of 6.5 ∼ 8.0 bar IMEP at 1500 rpm engine speed and the injection pressure was controlled to 900 bar. The intake boost pressure, injection timing and EGR rate were adjusted to investigate the engine performance. The test results showed that significantly longer ignition delays were possible when using butanol compared to diesel fuel. Butanol usage generally led to a rapid heat release in a short period, resulting in excessively high pressure rise rate. The pressure rise rate was reduced by retarding the injection timing. The butanol injection timing was limited by misfire and pressure rise rate. Thus, the ignition timing controllable window by injection timing was much narrower than that of diesel. The neat butanol combustion produced near zero soot and very low NOx emissions even at low EGR rate. The tests demonstrated that neat butanol had the potential to achieve ultra-low emissions. However, challenges related to reducing the pressure rise rate and improving the ignition controllability were identified.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Kernicterus is a frequent occurrence in Chinese term infants. In a previous study, the mean level of serum bilirubin of 152 kernicteric infants was 35.4 mg/dl (605.3 μmol/l) and the range was 22.3‐50 mg/dl. More recently, three further term infants developed kernicterus and one exhibited bilirubin level of only 23.3 mg/dl. Features of haemolysis were lacking in 56.8% of these infants. Evidence of brain damage occurred in 26.5% in a former series and in 5.5% of the more recent study of those infants who developed bilirubinaemia exceeding 20 mg/dl. Such a high risk favours the present practice of exchange transfusion for rising bilirubin beyond 20 mg/dl (342 μmol/l) in Chinese term infants.


An integrated approach to island conservation was applied on Pitcairn Island, to assist with the development of informed conservation programmes. Initial field studies collected data on the flora and vegetation communities found on the island. Non-native species were found throughout, but native species dominated in the remoter valleys on the south of the island. Species on the Pitcairn group are most closely related to the Austral group of Islands, and sit within the South-east Polynesian biogeographic region. A conservation assessment showed that 63% of the native flora was threatened on Pitcairn, while 22% was globally threatened. Threats to the flora were found to be through invasive species competition, habitat loss and loss of genetic diversity within species. Detailed population genetic assessments were carried out where genetic diversity data was needed for developing species conservation plans. The collated data were then combined to identify areas which could be successfully selected as reserve areas to conserve the largest number of rare species and native vegetation communities, without impinging on the activities and needs of the islanders.


Ever since franchising emerged in the industry of distribution, it has been growing explosively in the U.S.A. and all other countries as well. It is a method of expanding a business by licensing independent businessman to sell the franchisor's products and/or services or to follow a format and trade style created by the franchisor using the franchisor's trade marks and trade names. Franchising is a form of business that touches upon many different areas of law including, but not limited to, general contract law, general principles of commercial law, law of intellectual property, competition law, fair trade practices law and other industry specific laws e.g., the Fair Practices in Franchising Act in Korea. Arbitration is a long established, legally recognized procedure for submitting disputes to an outside person(s), mutually selected by the parties, for a final and binding decision. Despite its merits as an alternative dispute resolution, it has been criticized, on the other hand, particularly by franchisees' attorneys on the ground that even though it is required to protect the franchisees against the enforcement of pre-dispute arbitration agreements because of the franchisees' paucity of bargaining power vis-a-vis the franchisor, arbitration cannot afford it. Until recently, however, little has been written about the legal issues pertaining to franchise agreement and arbitration clause contained therein in Korea. This treatise reviews the cases and arguments in relation to the subject especially of the U.S.A., which have been accumulated for decades. The issues addressed herein are the pre-emption by the FAA, the disputes to be arbitrated, the selection and qualification of arbitrators, the place of arbitration hearings and the evidentiary rules applicable, the expenses of arbitration, theory of fiduciary duty and the like, all of which are relevant to franchise agreement.


The hypothesis that there is a characteristic rate of exponential radiation for the Insecta is tested for forty-nine of the most diverse family-level taxa in the Coleoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera. Data used are estimates of Recent species diversity and age of first appearance in the fossil record, as in the original statement of the hypothesis by Stanley (1979). There is no evidence of a characteristic radiation rate for the insects. A more exact method is proposed for identifying clades that are radiating exponentially. When applied to Stanley's data for the mammalian family Bovidae, it indicates that the Bovidae are not radiating exponentially at a characteristic rate. Future research might emphasize the reliable identification of clades that are radiating exponentially, prior to drawing conclusions about rates that might characterize higher taxa.


A high magnification phase-stepping interferometer has been constructed which has a spatial resolution of the order of one micrometers and a sub-mm field of view. Laser illumination is delivered to the microscope head by polarization-preserving single-mode optical fibers. The head itself is a compact unit consisting of collimating optics, objective lens, CCD camera, and a separate white light source. Phase gratings are cast on the polished specimen surface by replication from a master grating, in either silicone rubber or epoxy resin. Subsequent evaporation of a thin layer of gold onto the grating increases the reflectivity and reduces the speckle noise in the images. By switching between the laser illumination and the white light unit, it is possible to view the underlying microstructure in exact registration with the measured displacement fields. The instrument is illustrated with several applications including the visualization of delamination cracks in graphite-epoxy composites and measurement of the strain-to-failure of polymer-bonded-explosives.


A number of binomial interest rate models have found broad application in valuing interest rate-contingent claims. While researchers are seeking to extend the one-factor model to multifactor models, so far all multifactor models are non-recombining interest rate models, which are not as accurate in valuing securities calibrated to market prices. The multifactor closed-form binomial interest rate model proposed here is simple to implement and can capture a broad range of interest rate movements that are arbitrage-free. Empirical evidence supports the robustness of the model, which can be calibrated to 70 at-the-money swaptions with under 1.3% average error.


Tadarida aegyptiaca (mean body mass 13.5 g) is a fast flying insectivorous bat that hunts in open areas for extended periods, covering extensive distances during its foraging bouts. Whole blood samples taken from the wing arteries were analysed for 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid, oxygen affinity and pH. The mean oxygen affinity of T. aegyptiaca blood with a P50-value 38.3 mm Hg (5.1 kPa) is lower than that of similar-sized bats but not as low as the P50-values of 48.5 mm Hg (6.4 kPa) in two mice species. This indicates that oxygen affinity of the blood in T. aegyptiaca and other bats is designed to facilitate both effective binding of oxygen with haemoglobin at the alveolar/blood capillary interface and oxygen offloading in the tissues. Haematocrits (54–60 %) and levels of 2,3 DPG (2.36–3.30 mM l–1) were higher, and blood pH (7.106–7.229) lower, than those reported for terrestrial species of a similar size, but within the range of values reported for other bats. We conclude that adequate delivery of oxygen to tissues with high metabolic demands during flight is facilitated primarily by an elevated haematocrit and a reduced blood pH in response to elevated levels of metabolic by-products such as 2,3-DPG (from the citrate acid cycle) and CO2 (leading to increased concentrations of H+ ions).


Abstract Previously, we reported the myelin regulatory factor (MYRF) as a candidate gene for nanophthalmos. We have also produced Myrf knockdown (Myrf+/−) mouse strain to investigate the cellular and molecular phenotypes of reduced MYRF expression in the retina. Myrf+/− mouse strain was generated using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Optomotor response system, electroretinogram (ERG), spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), histology, and immunohistochemistry were performed to evaluate retinal spatial vision, electrophysiological function, retinal thickness, and pathological changes in cone or rod photoreceptors, respectively. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism linking Myrf deficiency with photoreceptor defects. The genotype and phenotype of CRISPR/Cas9-induced Myrf+/− mice and their offspring were comprehensively investigated. Photoreceptor defects were detected in the retinas of Myrf+/− mice. Visual acuity and ERG responses were decreased in Myrf+/− mice compared with the control mice (Myrf+/+). The loss of cone and rod neurons was proportional to the decreased outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness. Moreover, RNA-seq revealed that phototransduction and estrogen signaling pathways played important roles in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. Myrf+/− mouse strain provides a good model to investigate the function of the MYRF gene. Photoreceptor defects with impaired functions of spatial vision and retinal electrophysiology indicate an important role played by MYRF in retinal development. Alterations in phototransduction and estrogen signaling pathways play important roles in linking Myrf deficiency with retinal photoreceptor defects.


We present a fast GPU-based method for rendering boundary surfaces from dynamic 3D particle clouds. Instead of extracting and tracking polygonal meshes of boundary surfaces in 3D world space, we devise a new meshless 2D screen-space approach. First, we generate a smooth view-dependent depth map from the 3D particle cloud. Then, surface normals are derived directly from the depth map, and lighting calculations are carried out in screen space. The advantage of our method over existing rendering approaches for particle-based objects is the fact that we do not have to extract 3D or 2D meshes at any time. We focus on free surfaces of 3D particle-based, interactive liquid simulations. Thus, we extend the basic algorithm with efficient reflection and refraction approximations.


Prostaglandins are important regulators of female reproductive functions to which aldose reductases exhibiting hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity also contribute. Our work on the regulation of reproductive function by prostaglandins (PGs), lead us to the discovery that AKR1B5 and later AKR1B1were highly efficient and physiologically relevant PGF synthases. PGE2 and PGF2α are the main prostanoids produced in the human endometrium and proper balance in their relative production is important for normal menstruation and optimal fertility. Recent evidence suggests that PGE2/EP2 and PGF2α/FP may constitute a functional dyad with physiological relevance comparable to the prostacyclin-thromboxane dyad in the vascular system. We have recently reported that AKR1B1 was expressed and modulated in association with PGF2α production in response to IL-1β in the human endometrium. In the present study, we show that the human AKR1B1 (gene ID: 231) also known as ALDR1 or ALR2 is a functional PGF2α synthase in different models of living cells and tissues. Using human endometrial cells, prostate, and vascular smooth muscle cells, cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells we demonstrate that IL-1β is able to up regulate COX-2 and AKR1B1 proteins as well as PGF2α production under normal glucose concentrations. We show that the promoter activity of AKR1B1 gene is increased by IL-1β particularly around the multiple stress response region containing two putative antioxidant response elements adjacent to TonE and AP1. We also show that AKR1B1 is able to regulate PGE2 production through PGF2α acting on its FP receptor and that aldose reductase inhibitors like alrestatin, Statil (ponalrestat), and EBPC exhibit distinct and characteristic inhibition of PGF2α production in different cell models. The PGF synthase activity of AKR1B1 represents a new and important target to regulate ischemic and inflammatory responses associated with several human pathologies.


Tumor immunotherapy is one of the most significant scientific progresses. The idea of applying the traditional Chinese theory of "the balance of Yin and Yang" to treat cancer is in accordance with that of modern tumor immune strategy. Researches indicated that polysaccharide of Chinese medicine through regulation in immune responses could offer better paradigm for tumor immune treatment under the traditional Chinese theory. However, current studies related to tumor immunotherapy largely focus on the immunity enhancement while lack of the exploration of suppressive factors. Meanwhile, the complex analysis and detection on composition as well as structure definitely increase the difficulty in mechanism of oral absorption and function in vivo. To better exploit novel Chinese medicine of polysaccharide for tumor immune treatment, this article will provide some constructive thoughts on regulation of tumor immune responses based on up to date researches of structure-function relationship, absorbent process and molecular mechanisms responsible for tumor immune as well.


Films of potato starch, amylose, and amylopectin and blends thereof were prepared by solution casting and examined using X-ray diffraction, light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. Amylose films had a relative crystallinity of about 30% whereas amylopectin films were entirely amorphous. Blending of amylose and amylopectin resulted in films with a considerably higher degree of crystallinity than could be predicted. This is explained by cocrystallization between amylose and amylopectin and possibly by crystallization of amylopectin. The crystallized material gave rise to an endotherm detected with differential scanning calorimetry. The enthalpy and peak temperature of the transition also increased as the water content decreased. When the amylose proportion in the blends was low, separate phases of amylose and amylopectin were observed by light microscopy. At higher amylose proportions, however, the phase separation was apparently prevented by amylose gelation and the formation of a continuous amylose network. The amylose network in the films, observed with transmission electron microscopy, consisted of stiff strands and open pores and became less visible as the amylose proportion decreased. The water content of the films was dependent on the microstructure and the crystallinity.


This paper develops a simple model to analyze the effects of mergers in complementary system markets when the merged firm is able to engage in bundling. In the short-run analysis, I analyze the impact of (mixed) bundling on pricing decisions for existing generations of products. The basic model is then extended to analyze industry dynamics where the implications of mergers for innovation incentives and technical tying/compatibility decisions are explored. Welfare implications of mergers in the shortand long-run will be also analyzed.


The evolutionary dynamics of transposable element (TE) insertions have been of continued interest since TE activity has important implications for genome evolution and adaptation. Here, we infer the transposition dynamics of TEs by comparing their abundance in natural D. melanogaster and D. simulans populations. Sequencing pools of more than 550 South African flies to at least 320-fold coverage, we determined the genome wide TE insertion frequencies in both species. We show that 46 (49%) TE families in D. melanogaster and 44 (47%) in D. simulans experienced a recent burst of activity. The bursts of activity affected different TE families in the two species. While in D. melanogaster retrotransposons predominated, DNA transposons showed higher activity levels in D. simulans. We propose that the observed TE dynamics are the outcome of the demographic history of the two species, with habitat expansion triggering a period of rapid evolution.


The influence of match, immunological therapy, age of the recipient and sex has been analysed by graft survival in 91 patients receiving a second kidney graft. Effects of these risk factors in first kidney grafts are not demonstrable in second grafts with the exception of cyclosporin which also produces better second graft survival. The main active risk factor for second transplants is endurance of function of the first graft. Function of the first graft over a period exceeding 1 year gives a significantly better second graft survival rate than function lasting less than one year.


The anti-diabetic effect of aqueous extract of the leaves of Calycopteris floribunda (Combretaceae) was investigated in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in rats by a single  intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (40 mg / kg body weight). The test group received single dose of the extract (500 mg / kg body weight) daily for 10 days orally. The effect of the extract on the blood glucose and urine glucose was investigated. The present study shows that the Calycopteris floribunda leaves have a significant effect on hyperglycemia and glycosuria in diabetic rats. Further studies are required to elucidate the sites, constituents involved, as well as the cellular and molecular mechanism of actions of Calycopteris floribunda leaf extract. KEY WORDS :Calycopteris floribunda, Streptozotocin, Diabetes mellitus, Hyperglycemia, Glycosuria


The lateral habenula (LHb) is an epithalamic region with a crucial role in the regulation of midbrain monoaminergic systems. Over the past few years a renewed interest in the LHb has emerged due to studies highlighting its central role in encoding rewarding and aversive aspects of stimuli. Moreover, an increasing number of functional as well as behavioral indications provide substantial evidence supporting a role of LHb in neuropsychiatric diseases, including mood disorders and drug addiction. Cellular and synaptic adaptations in the LHb may therefore represent a critical phenomenon in the etiology of these diseases. In the current review we describe the anatomical and functional connections allowing the LHb to control the dopamine and serotonin systems, as well as possible roles of these connections in motivated behaviors and neuropsychiatric disorders. Finally, we discuss how drug exposure and stressful conditions alter the cellular physiology of the LHb, highlighting a role for the LHb in the context of drug addiction and depression.


On-board hydrogen storage remains a challenge to validate hydrogen fuel cells for transport applications. Ammonium bicarbonate is widely used as low-cost fertilizer in farms. Solid NH4HCO3 and (NH4)2CO3 contains high weight percentage of hydrogen and are potential on-board hydrogen storage materials. The use of ammonia or ammonium salts as fuels for a fuel cell is an alternative approach for indirect hydrogen storage. Here, for the first time, we report ammonia and ammonium carbonate fuel cells based on mixed NH4+/H+ conducting electrolytes. This novel fuel cell shows considerable potential for transport and portable applications.


It is essential for elderly people to walk by themselves to keep their independence in their daily lives. support their walking, we have developed an electrically assisted walking support device capable of meeting individual use's assistance requirement. Because the walking ability differs person by person, it is necessary to tune the control parameters of the device suitable to individual walking capability. To achieve this, auto-tuning technology that automatically adjusts control parameters such as virtual inertia or viscous resistance was developed and tested by a patient who can hardly walk without help. Test results showed that the electrically assisted walking support device provides high adaptability to elderly people for their mobility.


Background: The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) plays a pivotal role in the regulation of appetite and eating behavior. Variants in the MC4R gene have been related to appetite and obesity.Objective: We aimed to examine whether weight-loss diets modified the effect of the "obesity-predisposing" MC4R genotype on appetite-related measures in a randomized controlled trial.Methods: A total of 811 overweight and obese subjects [25 ≤ body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) ≤ 40] aged 30-70 y were included in the 2-y POUNDS Lost (Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies) trial. We genotyped MC4R rs7227255 in 735 overweight adults and assessed appetite-related characteristics, including craving, fullness, hunger, and prospective consumption, as well as a composite appetite score. We examined the effects of the genotype-by-weight-loss diet intervention interaction on appetite variables by using general linear models in both the whole population and in white participants only.Results: We found that dietary protein intake (low compared with high: 15% of energy compared with 25% of energy, respectively) significantly modified MC4R genetic effects on changes in appetite score and craving (P-interaction = 0.03 and 0.02, respectively) at 2 y, after adjustment for age, sex, ethnicity, baseline BMI, weight change, and baseline perspective phenotype. The obesity-predisposing A allele was associated with a greater increase in overall appetite score (β = 0.10, P = 0.05) and craving (β = 0.13, P = 0.008) compared with the non-A allele among participants who consumed a high-protein diet. MC4R genotype did not modify the effects of fat or carbohydrate intakes on appetite measures. Similar interaction patterns were observed in whites.Conclusion: Our data suggest that individuals with the MC4R rs7227255 A allele rather than the non-A allele might experience greater increases in appetite and food craving when consuming a high-protein weight-loss diet. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00072995.


In this paper, the influence of non-commutativity on quantum systems interacting with the environment in the Penning trap potential is studied. The considered system is a Brownian particle expressed in non-commuting spatial coordinates coupled to a set of harmonic oscillators (environment). The equilibrium state of the total system has been evaluated using the fluctuation dissipation theorem. The effective parameters of the system are evaluated and compared with those of the system in commutative space. We found that non-commutativity effects give rise to an increase in decoherence in the system, and negative heat capacity confirms the presence of self-gravitation effects induced by non-commutativity.


The nucleotide sequence of a Streptococcus mutans serA gene that encodes D-3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase has been determined. The gene consisted of 1308-bp nucleotides coding for a 436-amino-acid polypeptide (48,546 Da). The deduced amino acid sequence showed a 66% identity with SerA from Bacillus subtilis and possessed specific residues (G-R-P-N-V-G) in the coenzyme-binding domain, alpha B helix. Recombinant streptococcal SerA was expressed using pMAL-c2 expression vector and purified by amylose resin affinity chromatography and DEAE-Sephacel column chromatography. This SerA enzyme catalyzed detectable reduction of alpha-ketoglutarate to 2-hydroxyglutaric acid. These findings indicate that the novel streptococcal phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase, SerA, is a member of a D-isomer-specific family of 2-hydroxyacid dehydrogenases.


Rotterdam is one of the most multicultural cities of the Netherlands. People from 175
nationalities live in this city (City of Rotterdam, 2016). Immigrants form a substantial part of the
population in Rotterdam (CBS, 2017). Within the media field, immigrants are a large consumer
group (Bink, 2002; CBS, 2017; Butter and Once, 2010). However, the media needs of
immigrants can vary significantly: Because of their diverse cultural backgrounds what
immigrants expect from media can differ from the expectations of local people (Anjum &
Michele, 2014; Bakoy, 2006; Bink, 2002; Butter and Once, 2010; Sun & Sinclair, 2014).
Therefore, to provide appropriate media content, it is important to understand the media
consumption of immigrants more deeply. Additionally, studies on media habits can help form an
understanding of the dynamics of acculturation and assist with the integration process into
society (Walker, 1999; Reichenberg, 2016).
This thesis aims to investigate the media consumption of immigrants living in Rotterdam,
to be precise, their TV viewing habits. The research question set for this study is as follows:
What are the media consumption habits of immigrants in Rotterdam while watching television
via cable, IP-TV, satellite and the Internet?
Moreover, there are two main directions for this research. The first one seeks to
understand what the devices are mainly used by immigrants living in Rotterdam to access TV
content. The second direction aims to investigate what the main goals pursued by immigrants
living in Rotterdam when watching Dutch TV content and TV content produced in their country
of origin. In order to gather the information needed, a survey was conducted (n=570). The
analysis of the data was performed by means of frequency tables. The study considered a subset
of six ethnic groups living in the Rotterdam: African, Asian, Eastern European, EU, Islamic and
Latin American immigrants (n=494). Each of these ethnic group includes first-, second- and
third- generation immigrants.
The results of this study show that the dominant means used to access TV content are
laptop/ notebook/ netbook (for Asian, Eastern European and EU immigrants), cell phone/
iPhone (for Islamic and Latin American immigrants) and cable subscription (for African
immigrants). Furthermore, the dominant goal of immigrants when watching TV content
produced in their country of origin is obtaining news (for African, Asian, Eastern European and
3
EU immigrants) and finding a basis for conversation and social interaction (for Islamic and
Latin American immigrants). Last but not least, the dominant goal for all ethnic groups
considered when watching Dutch TV is obtaining news.


Specification of reinforcement method was suggested according to the ground condition and tunnelling environment such as adjacent building and surface settlement. Tunnel database consists of 8 different groups of data according to the tunnel construction situations and major problems of ground. A tunnel countermeasure expert system based on client/server system was developed with on-line. The expert system provides proper solution to the each construction sites backing up the information of the tunnelling and ground information through Internet. The effective factors of tunnel construction were shown by the analyzing relationship and partial relationship between face stability and RMR factors. This study will be very helpful to make the most of in-situ data and suggest proper applicability of tunnel reinforcement system escaping from the dependence of some experienced experts for the absent of guide.


The extent of ventilator‐induced lung injury may be related to the intensity of mechanical ventilation––expressed as mechanical power. In the present study, we investigated whether there is a safe threshold, below which lung damage is absent. Three groups of six healthy pigs (29.5 ± 2.5 kg) were ventilated prone for 48 h at mechanical power of 3, 7, or 12 J/min. Strain never exceeded 1.0. PEEP was set at 4 cmH2O. Lung volumes were measured every 12 h; respiratory, hemodynamics, and gas exchange variables every 6. End‐experiment histological findings were compared with a control group of eight pigs which did not undergo mechanical ventilation. Functional residual capacity decreased by 10.4% ± 10.6% and 8.1% ± 12.1% in the 7 J and 12 J groups (p = 0.017, p < 0.001) but not in the 3 J group (+1.7% ± 17.7%, p = 0.941). In 3 J group, lung elastance, PaO2 and PaCO2 were worse compared to 7 J and 12 J groups (all p < 0.001), due to lower ventilation‐perfusion ratio (0.54 ± 0.13, 1.00 ± 0.25, 1.78 ± 0.36 respectively, p < 0.001). The lung weight was lower (p < 0.001) in the controls (6.56 ± 0.90 g/kg) compared to 3, 7, and 12 J groups (12.9 ± 3.0, 16.5 ± 2.9, and 15.0 ± 4.1 g/kg, respectively). The wet‐to‐dry ratio was 5.38 ± 0.26 in controls, 5.73 ± 0.52 in 3 J, 5.99 ± 0.38 in 7 J, and 6.13 ± 0.59 in 12 J group (p = 0.03). Vascular congestion was more extensive in the 7 J and 12 J compared to 3 J and control groups. Mechanical ventilation (with anesthesia/paralysis) increase lung weight, and worsen lung histology, regardless of the mechanical power. Ventilating at 3 J/min led to better anatomical variables than at 7 and 12 J/min but worsened the physiological values.


This study examined the relative importance of aid and domestic savings in boosting economic growth of Ethiopia by using quantitative estimation technique. The econometric analysis is based on annual data from 1970 to 2011. The long-run relationship between economic growth and explanatory variables is tested using Auto Regressive Distributed Lag co-integration model. The study found a statistically significant and positive effect of aid on per-capita output growth in Ethiopia in the long-run but a negative effect in the short-run. The domestic saving rate has much larger and statistically significant positive impact on per-capita output growth in the long-run while its short-run effect is positive, though statistically insignificant . Effect of aid turns negative though statistically insignificant when investment rate is controlled in growth estimation. This highlights the presence of some absorptive capacity constraints associated large aid money. Better management of aid funds and diversification of investment financings, mainly from domestic sources and foreign private investors are needed to grip more benefits. Such initiatives require stronger financial institutions, developments of capital market and incentive mechanisms in domestic saving mobilizations.


With noble goals and missions, it is the mission of "providing people with a good education", education and training play an important role in the development of society, because it not only trains people who have knowledge, have good professional qualifications, but also train people who have good spirit, consciousness, moral and physical qualities, serving the socio-economic development. Today, all countries in the world, including Vietnam, consider investment in education and training to be investment in development not only for today's generation, but also for the next generation, and identify development of education and training as a top national policy. In the context of international integration, Vietnam's education faces many difficulties and challenges when our education is still too heavy on transmitting knowledge but not directed to the quality and capacity development of learners; the quality of the contingent of teachers and administrators is not equal; The infrastructure system still has many limitations. The problem is that Vietnam needs appropriate solutions to develop education to meet the requirements posed by citizens in the process of international integration as strongly renovate teaching and learning content, programs and methods at all educational levels, encourage lifelong learning, renovate the state management mechanism of education and training to suit the process of industrialization and modernization in Vietnam, build and develop a contingent of quality teachers and complete the national education system in an open, modern and connected direction


The structure of diamond-like carbon thin films prepared by radio frequency chemical vapor deposition onto the surface of different corrosion resistant alloys (304, 316L and Iconel 617) used for coronary stent fabrication was investigated by Raman spectroscopy excited by visible (488 nm) and near-infrared (785 nm) light. The effect of electrochemical polishing of the alloy surface and that of Ar+ ion pre-treatment on the structure of the forming film was also studied in case of substrate made of 316L material. It was found that in spite of simultaneous preparation the character of the formed amorphous carbon films depends on the type of the alloy. The layer developed on the surface of Fe-rich stainless steels (316L and 304) showed the most diamond-like character, while the Ni-rich Inconel alloy promoted the formation of layer with high graphitic sp2 cluster content. The Ar+ pre-treatment enhanced the adhesion and the diamond-like properties of the film while the electrochemical polishing was found to be unfavorable concerning the diamond-like character of the layer.


Monosomy 1p36 is the most frequent terminal deletion known in Humans. Typical craniofacial features, developmental delay/mental retardation, seizures and sensorineural defects characterize 1p36 deletion syndrome. Aicardi syndrome (AIS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by chorioretinal lacunae, corpus callosum agenesis and infantile spasms responsible for mental retardation. By screening DNA from diagnosed AIS patients with oligonucleotide array‐based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH), we report a 1p36 monosomy in this study. There were no other deletions or duplications. Regarding clinical criteria, the patient did not have the typical facial appearance commonly described for 1p36 monosomy patients. We showed that this 1p36 monosomy corresponded to combined interstitial and terminal de novo deletions of the chromosome 1 leading to an 11.73 Mb deletion confirmed with qPCR. By microsatellite markers and FISH analyses, we have concluded that this deletion occurred on maternal chromosome 1 during oogenesis. We did find some clinical features shared by the 1p36 monosomy and AIS: infantile spasms, corpus callosum dysgenesis, ophthalmological abnormalities, and skeletal malformations. To date, no relationship between these two phenotypes has been established. We conclude that the monosomy 1p36 should be considered in the differential diagnosis of AIS. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Background
Post-diuretic pulmonary edema(PDPE)is a special type of acute pulmonary edema, results from rapid blood volume loss caused by diuretics. Inappropriate administration of diuretics and inotropic agent, which is mainstay of treatment of pulmonary edema Classically, might have been a critical mistake in PDPE.Maintaining appropriate volume status and beta receptor blockers is the key to reversing the progress of PDPE. However,this condition remains unfamiliar to the medical community, making it an underdiagnosed and underreported condition.
Case representation
A 71-year-old patient who initially was diagnosed to have acute respiratory distress syndrome (ADRS) in intensive care unit (ICU) but got further dyspnea after rapid volume depletion. Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) examination showed worsened pulmonary edema with inferior vena cava collapsed during inspiratory period and a small but hyperdynamic left ventricular(LV). The patient subsequently improved with fluid, beta blocker, increased sedation, and paralysis.
Conclusion
We first put forward the concept of post-diuretic pulmonary edema,in order to remind medical staff to pay attention to this type of pulmonary edema and understand its pathophysiological mechanism.