Background Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare immune-mediated condition resulting in recurrent, progressive inflammation of cartilaginous and proteoglycan-rich structures. Haematological disorders were observed in several patients with RP. Objectives To determine the clinical presentation and the frequency of haematological disorder in our RP cohort and to determine if there are any predictive factors for this complication. Methods The medical records of all patients diagnosed with RP by the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Singapore General Hospital between 2003-2013 were reviewed. The diagnosis of RP was made using the modified McAdam criteria. Results Overall, there were ten patients diagnosed with RP, of whom, five fulfilled the modified McAdam criteria and five were probable cases. All patients were ethnic Chinese with a male:female ratio of 3:7. The median age at presentation was 46.5 year-old (range: 22-72 years), and the average duration of follow up was 3.5 years (range: 6 months-7 years). The commonest clinical presentations were: auricular chondritis (n=9), episcleritis or scleritis (n=5), large airway involvement (n=3). All but one patient received prednisolone and second-line agents. Five patients developed haematologic disorders, including myelodysplastic syndrome (n=2, diagnosed 10 and 60 months after RP, respectively), monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (n=1, diagnosed 12 years after RP), and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (n=1, diagnosed 30 months after RP). All three male patients, as opposed to one in seven female patients, developed haematological disorder after diagnosis of RP. One patient had a history of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma diagnosed 11 years prior to RP. Conclusions The high frequency of patients with haematologic malignancies in this series is unexpected. Myelodysplastic syndrome has been reported in up to 27% of patients with RP [1]. Other haematological malignancies associated with RP are rare. A MEDLINE review of literature revealed only six other cases of RP associated with non-myelodysplastic haematological malignancies: Hodgkin's lymphoma (n=2), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (n=2), chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (n=1). The correlation between haematologic malignancies and RP is currently unclear. Threshold for haematological/lymphoproliferative screening should be lower in patients with RP. Even though our numbers are too small to make any clinically meaningful statistical analysis, the apparent higher ESR and CRP levels in RP patients with haematological malignancies in this series provides an early indication of its potential use to identify at risk patients. Larger studies are required to confirm this observation. References Hebbar M, Brouillard M, Wattel E, et al. Association of myelodysplastic syndrome and relapsing polychondritis: further evidence. Leukemia 1995;9:731-3. Disclosure of Interest : None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.2873


Hydroquinone is a toxic compound and a major benzene metabolite. We report that it strongly inhibits the activation of macrophages and associated cells. Thus, it suppressed the production of proinflammatory cytokines [tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-3, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p40, IL-23], secretion of toxic molecules [nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS)] and the activation and expression of CD29 as judged by cell-cell adhesion and surface staining experiments. The inhibition was due to the induction of heme oxygenase (HO)-1 in LPS-activated macrophages, since blocking HO-1 activity with ZnPP, an HO-1 specific inhibitor, abolished hydroquinone's NO inhibitory activity. In addition, hydroquinone and inhibitors (wortmannin and LY294002) of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway had very similar inhibitory effects on LPS-induced and CD29-mediated macrophage responses, including the phosphorylation of Akt. Therefore, our data suggest that hydroquinone inhibits macrophage-mediated immune responses by modulating intracellular signaling and protective mechanisms.


In this paper, we present our preliminary study on an ontology-based method to extract and classify compositional nominal compounds in specific domains of knowledge. This method is based on the assumption that, applying a conceptual model to represent knowledge domain, it is possible to improve the extraction and classification of lexicon occurrences for that domain in a semi-automatic way. We explore the possibility of extracting and classifying a specific construction type (nominal compounds) spanning a specific domain (Cultural Heritage) and a specific language (Italian).


Stability of rock slopes in many civil engineering projects involves installation of rock bolts for stabilization. Uncertainty in input parameters that determine the stability of rock slopes may lead to uncertainty in evaluating the factor of safety. Design of installed rock bolts must be optimized for safety requirements, cost efficiency and robustness. A design is considered robust if it is least sensitive to variation in input parameters. A well accepted quantity, Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) is selected to be a robustness measure. Factor of safety of slope is evaluated using commercial software Phase2D. General purpose response surface as a surrogate model to Phase 2D simulation is created to model the system response for various designs. Reliability index for all the designs was calculated from the response surface via Monte Carlo simulations. Further analysis was performed on those designs which satisfy a threshold value of reliability index. A simplified Robust Geotechnical Design (RGD) methodology is adopted in which a number of single objective optimizations were performed to locate the position of acceptable design w.r.t. utopia point in a plot of cost vs. robustness. Finally the global knee point is taken to be the optimum design whose distance is minimum from the utopia point.


The paper deals with the investigations for economics followed by the design assumptions based on the economical findings; the limitations required by electrical clearances; the testing of the structures; the design assumptions of the cable attachments; the unusual requirements of loading for attaching cable to structures; the extensions required by nature of country traversed; and the erection problems.


The aim of this paper is to gain insights into the current directions to date taken by academia and practitioners to incorporate SCV (Supply Chain Visibility), and IS (Information Sharing) in organisations through SCI (Supply Chain Integration) if it can reduce supply chain (SC) myopia. This paper presents three key areas of interest to SC practitioners. First, it highlights there is evidence that increasing the level of SCI will reduce SC Myopia. Second, the limited research on the management aspects of SCI, IS and SCV raised three research questions. Third, the investigation of the three research questions will provide academics and practitioners both the static and dynamic position of SCI, IS and SCV. The findings of the study are recommended as antidotes to practitioners to reduce SC myopia.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a certificate-based information literacy (IL) programme at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The evaluation determined whether there was improvement in the academic performance of students. It also evaluated the collaboration between the library and lecturers, and how librarians and lecturers evaluated the programme. The study used a case study approach. A questionnaire survey asked lecturers to evaluate the implementation of the programme and its impact on students' performance. In a focus group discussion, librarians reported on the students' performance and on how they engaged and collaborated with lecturers. The study was limited to two faculties and to first-year and Extended Curricular Programme (ECP) or foundation level students within Communication and English classes. The results indicated effective programme implementation by using a student-centered teaching approach. The IL content was aligned to academic tasks. Formative assessments showed that student learning took place constantly. The summative assessment indicated improved student performance. Findings were validated by lecturers' feedback. The IL programme was a participatory model, resulting in a shared understanding of IL and built strong collaboration between lecturers and librarians. The implications of the study showed that the programme, the first short course offered by the library officially endorsed by the university, had been successful in its implementation, collaboration and student performance and that it offered value. It is hoped that information literacy will be fully embedded into curricula as stated by the institutional information literacy policy and for it to be part of a fully accredited course.


Dynamic early exiting has been proven to improve the inference speed of the pre-trained language model like BERT. However, all samples must go through all consecutive layers before early exiting and more complex samples usually go through more layers, which still exists redundant computation. In this paper, we propose a novel dynamic early exiting combined with layer skipping for BERT inference named SmartBERT, which adds a skipping gate and an exiting operator into each layer of BERT. SmartBERT can adaptively skip some layers and adaptively choose whether to exit. Besides, we propose cross-layer contrastive learning and combine it into our training phases to boost the intermediate layers and classifiers which would be beneficial for early exiting. To keep the inconsistent usage of skipping gates between training and inference phases, we propose a hard weight mechanism during training phase. We conduct experiments on eight classification datasets of the GLUE benchmark. Experimental results show that SmartBERT achieves 2-3× computation reduction with minimal accuracy drops compared with BERT and our method outperforms previous methods in both efficiency and accuracy. Moreover, in some complex datasets, we prove that the early exiting based on entropy hardly works, and the skipping mechanism is essential for reducing computation.


A novel toughening modifier, styrene–isoprene–butadiene rubber (SIBR), was used to improve the impact resistance and toughness of acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) resin via bulk polymerization. For comparison, two kinds of ABS samples were prepared: ABS-1 was toughened by a conventional modifier (a low-cis polybutadiene rubber/styrene–butadiene block copolymer), and ABS-2 was toughened by SIBR. The mechanical properties, microstructures of the as-prepared materials, and fracture surface morphology of the specimens after impact were studied by instrumented notched Izod impact tests and tensile tests, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The mechanical test results show that ABS-2 had a much higher impact strength and elongation at break than ABS-1. The microscopic results suggested that fracture resistance of ABS-1 only depended on voids, shear yielding, and few crazing, which resulted in less ductile fracture behavior. Compared with ABS-1, ABS toughened by linear random SIBR (ABS-2) displayed the synergistic toughening effect of crazing and shear yielding, which could absorb and dissipate massive energy, and presented high ductile fracture behavior. These results were also confirmed by instrumented impact tests. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011


In order to help physicists to expand their knowledge of the climate in the Lesser Antilles, we aim to identify the spatio-temporal configurations using clustering analysis on wind speed and cumulative rainfall datasets. But we show that using the L2 norm in conventional clustering methods as K-Means (KMS) and Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering (HAC) can induce undesirable effects. So, we propose to replace Euclidean distance (L2) by a dissimilarity measure named Expert Deviation (ED). Based on the symmetrized Kullback-Leibler divergence, the ED integrates the properties of the observed physical parameters and climate knowledge. This measure helps comparing histograms of four patches, corresponding to geographical zones, that are influenced by atmospheric structures. The combined evaluation of the internal homogeneity and the separation of the clusters obtained using ED and L2 was performed. The results, which are compared using the silhouette index, show five clusters with high indexes. For the two available datasets one can see that, unlike KMS-L2, KMS-ED discriminates the daily situations favorably, giving more physical meaning to the clusters discovered by the algorithm. The effect of patches is observed in the spatial analysis of representative elements for KMS-ED. The ED is able to produce different configurations which makes the usual atmospheric structures clearly identifiable. Atmospheric physicists can interpret the locations of the impact of each cluster on a specific zone according to atmospheric structures. KMS-L2 does not lead to such an interpretability, because the situations represented are spatially quite smooth. This climatological study illustrates the advantage of using ED as a new approach.


The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) found direct evidence for double black hole binaries emitting gravitational waves. Galactic nuclei are expected to harbor the densest population of stellar-mass black holes. A significant fraction ( ) of these black holes can reside in binaries. We examine the fate of the black hole binaries in active galactic nuclei, which get trapped in the inner region of the accretion disk around the central supermassive black hole. We show that binary black holes can migrate into and then rapidly merge within the disk well within a Salpeter time. The binaries may also accrete a significant amount of gas from the disk, well above the Eddington rate. This could lead to detectable X-ray or gamma-ray emission, but would require hyper-Eddington accretion with a few percent radiative efficiency, comparable to thin disks. We discuss implications for gravitational-wave observations and black hole population studies. We estimate that Advanced LIGO may detect ∼20 such gas-induced binary mergers per year.


In the last decade, many energy dissipating systems have been proposed to raise the seismic design of structures beyond the conventional ductility design approach. Among these new systems, friction damping has shown some great potential. In a friction damped system, friction damping devices are inserted in a structure and slip at a predetermined optimum load during severe seismic excitations, before any yielding of the structural members has occurred. Slipping of the devices allows the structure to dissipate the input seismic energy mechanically by friction rather than by inelastic deformation of the structural elements. This paper presents an overview of the recent research and development in Canada on a particular type of friction damped bracing. Analytical and shake table test results are first summarized to illustrate the earthquake performance of friction damped structures compared to the performance of conventional building systems. The development of a design slip load spectrum for the rapid estimation of the optimum slip load distribution is then presented. Finally, two practical examples of the implementation of this system are described: (1) the design of a reinforced concrete library building; and (2) the retrofit of a precast concrete school building.


Acute limb ischemia caused by peripheral venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) cannulation is associated with increased mortality. Early detection of limb hypoperfusion may lead to timely intervention and prevent irreversible muscle damage. Methods to determine the adequacy of tissue oxygenation in cannulated extremities include bedside physical examination, trending serum biochemical markers, and somatic near-infrared spectroscopy. To prevent ECMO-related limb ischemia events, interventions include the addition of distal antegrade perfusion catheters to the arterial ECMO canula, minimizing arterial cannula diameter, placing arterial and venous cannulae on opposite extremities, and adding a side-arm graft to the cannulated artery. If the limb develops early signs of ischemia, preventative measures such as distal perfusion catheter insertion or changing the location of the arterial cannula should be performed. Acute compartment syndrome requires emergency fasciotomy or amputation if the limb is unsalvageable. Opportunities for future research include improving monitoring technology and standardizing the use of the distal perfusion catheter.


The motion response of a (NREL) 5 MW wind turbine with tip-fusion winglets in the marine environment were studied in this paper. The aerodynamic performance of the wind turbine in three motion modes of yaw, surge, and pitch is simulated by the fluent software. The variation trend of power and axial thrust of the wind turbine with winglets under the motion conditions is explored, and its flow field is analyzed. The results indicate that the wind turbine with fusion winglets has the better aerodynamic performance. Besides, the effect of the winglet on the aerodynamic performance is mainly concentrated at the tip of the blade, especially at the relative height of 0.9 or above. The research results provide theoretical and technical reference for improving aerodynamic performance of the floating offshore wind turbine by adding tip-fusion winglets under the complex sea states.


The crosstalk between growth factor and adhesion receptors is key for cell growth and migration. In pathological settings, these receptors are drivers of cancer. Yet, how growth and adhesion signals are spatially organized and integrated is poorly understood. Here we use quantitative fluorescence and electron microscopy to reveal a mechanism where flat clathrin lattices partition and activate growth factor signals via a coordinated response that involves crosstalk between epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the adhesion receptor β5-integrin. We show that ligand-activated EGFR, Grb2, Src, and β5-integrin are captured by clathrin coated-structures at the plasma membrane. Clathrin structures dramatically grow in response to ligand activation into large flat plaques and provide a signaling platform that link EGFR and β5-integrin through Src-mediated phosphorylation. Disrupting this EGFR/Src/β5-integrin axis prevents both clathrin plaque growth and receptor signaling. Our study reveals a reciprocal regulation of clathrin lattices and two different receptor systems to enhance cell growth factor signaling. These findings have broad implications for the control of growth factor receptors, mechanotransduction, and endocytosis.


We present a model for the evolution of the magnetic properties of habitable terrestrial planets and their effects on the protection of planetary atmosphere against the erosive action of stellar wind. Using up-to-date thermal evolution models and dynamo scaling laws we predict the evolution of the planetary dipole moment as a function of planetary mass and rotation rate. Combining these results with models for the evolution of the stellar wind, stellar XUV fluxes and planetary exosphere characteristics, we determine the properties of the magnetosphere and the exobase radius in order to estimate the level of atmospheric mass losses. We use this model to evaluate the magnetic protection of the potentially habitable super-Earths GJ 667Cc, Gl 581d and HD 85512b. We confirm that Earth-like planets, even under the highest attainable magnetic field strengths, will lose a significant fraction of their atmospheric volatiles if they are tidally locked in the habitable zone of dM stars, or even if having N/O-rich atmospheres they are in habitable zones closer than $\sim$ 0.8 AU. Similar mass-dependent inner limits have been found for super-Earths $M_p\gtrsim 3 M_\oplus$ that in any case seem to have better chances of preserving their atmospheres even if they are tidally locked. We predict that the atmosphere of GJ 667Cc has probably already been obliterated and it is presently uninhabitable. On the other hand, our model predicts that the atmospheres of Gl 581d and HD 85512b would be well protected by intrinsic magnetic fields, even under the worst expected conditions of stellar aggression. (abrigded abstract).


We propose a modification to Nielsen's circuit complexity for Hamiltonian simulation using the Suzuki-Trotter (ST) method, which provides a network like structure for the quantum circuit. This leads to an optimized gate counting linear in the geodesic distance and spatial volume, unlike in the original proposal. The optimized ST iteration order is correlated with the error tolerance and plays the role of an anti-de Sitter radial coordinate. The density of gates is shown to be monotonic with the tolerance and a holographic interpretation using path-integral optimization is given.


BACKGROUND
Pectin is an intriguing polymer that is usually considered as a byproduct from agricultural and biological processes. In previous studies, ultrasound treatment has been explored to improve the functionality of pectin, but most of the work focused on the aspects of molecular structure and chemical properties of pectin. In this study, we utilized ultrasound treatment to modify the physiochemical properties of pectin. Upon the ultrasound treatment, we evaluated the emulsifying capability of pectin, as a function of ultrasonic time and power density, using a response surface approach. Also, a very potent yet unstable coffee flavor compound, 2-furfurylthiol was used to compare the encapsulation feasibility of original pectin and ultrasound treated pectin.

RESULTS
Our results showed that the particle size of pectin was highly correlated with power density and ultrasound time. Approximately 370 nm of pectin particle size could be reached at the power density of 1.06 W/ml for 40 min. Ultrasound treatment increased emulsion droplet size but significantly improved emulsifying capacities, such as centrifugal stability and surface loading, although it was highly dependent upon the ultrasound treatment condition. When used as the encapsulation wall material, the ultrasound modified pectin had significantly enhanced performance comparing to the original, in terms of the flavor retention over time at 45 °C and 65 °C.

CONCLUSION
Ultrasound treatment was able to modify the physiochemical properties of pectin, which hence improved the emulsification stability and encapsulation feasibility by forming a thicker layer at the oil/water interface to protect the core materials. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Abstract The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, identification of species and the dynamics of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites during humid and dry seasons in local cattle of different ages. The study was carried out in the Province of Bejaia, Algeria from December 2013 to June 2014. A total of 143 fecal samples were collected from different cattle herds. Fecal samples were visually examined then observed using flotation and sedimentation microscopic techniques. Eggs and worms were identified according to standard procedures. 63% of the cattle examined were found positive with one or more parasite species. Our results revealed that the eggs of Eimeria spp. are predominant (43.87%) followed by Strongylus spp. (30.32%) and Fasciola hepatica (12.25%). Eggs of Strongyloides papillosus, Moniezia benedeni, Paramphistomum daubneyi. and Toxocara vitulorum represent 1.29%, 1.93%, 1.93% and 6.45%, respectively. There is a significant difference between the sex of the animal and the prevalence rate of Strongyle spp. and Eimeria spp. (P< 0.01 ). As for the body condition score, there is a statically significant (P< 0.01 ) difference between the prevalence rate of GI parasite and the nutritional status of cattle. In conclusion, our preliminary investigation demonstrated highly prevalent and that abundance of the polyparasitism nature of the disease in Bass Kabylie area. Also, there was a relationship between the distribution of GI parasitism in cattle and the factors analyzed (body condition score, age and sex). Further studies are need for planning future research and to design rational and sustainable locally GI parasites control programmes.


Abstract Many engineering structures such as dam embankments, road way embankments have suffered serious erosion problems and have failed due to the presence of the dispersive soils. Different additives are used to control the dispersivity properties of these soils. In this study, the effects of lime and natural zeolite on the consolidation and swell characteristics of dispersive clay soils were investigated. For this purpose, identification and compaction tests were carried out on the soil samples. Dispersivity, swell and consolidation tests were performed on the specimens prepared by standard Proctor energy and constant lime content levels (2%, as a percentage of dry weight of the soil), the percentage (0%, 1%, 3%, 6%, 10%, 15% and 20%) of a mixture of natural zeolite additives. As a result of this study, it is shown that the dispersive soils can sufficiently be treated using lime and natural zeolite. From the test results, 2% lime and 3% natural zeolite was the most effective stabilizer in decreasing swell and compressibility potential of dispersive soils.


2'(3')-O-[N- [2- [3- [5-fluoresceinyl] thioureido] ethyl] carbamoyl] adenosine 5'-triphosphate (FEDA-ATP), a spectroscopic tool used for studying skeletal muscle myosin ATPase subfragment 1, was applied to Na+/K+-ATPase (EC 220.127.116.11). In contrast to the myosin subfragment, we found that FEDA-ATP is not a substrate for Na+/K+-ATPase. On the other hand, FEDA-ATP showed an affinity for both the low (E2, Kd=200 microM) and the high (E1, Kd=22 microM) affinity ATP-binding sites. When the microscopic affinities of FEDA-ATP were used for calculating the macroscopic affinity in the overall reaction according to Ki=(KdE1*KdE2)1/2, the experimentally measured inhibition constant of 66 microM was obtained. To evoke irreversible binding inhibitors, FEDA-ATP was transferred in its chromium(III) and cobalt(III) complex analogs, which are suitable tools for labelling the ATP binding sites of Na+/K+-ATPase in a specific way.


Introduction Use of chest ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool and intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy is an alternative to surgical intervention in children with severe pneumonia and parapneumonic loculated effusions. Objectives To study complicated parapneumonic effusions using bedside chest ultrasonography (U/S) and intrapleural urokinase in our PICU. Methods Children with pleural effusion were recruited during 2006–2009(A) and 2010–2012(B). Chest tube was inserted and intrapleural urokinase (40,000 IU/kg/dose every 12 hours) was administered. Surgical intervention was reserved for patients with necrotic pneumonia and pulmonary abscess. Results 16 patients (age 3.8±0.7 year; males:females 9:7) were diagnosed with significant effusion. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus were more frequently isolated. More patients in period B experienced severe necrotic pneumonia compared to A (5 vs. 0), needed urokinase (4 vs. 1), or required surgery (2 vs. 0) (p<0.04), and had prolonged length of stay (13±4 vs. 5±1 days, p<0.05). Five patients received urokinase (31%) and 2 (12.5%) required an operative intervention. Patients requiring surgical intervention had longer length of stay (21 vs. 5 or 12, p=0.005). There were no significant differences between groups regarding pleural effusion characteristics, amount of drained pleural fluid (130±1 vs. 406±76 vs.457±132 ml), and fever duration after chest tube insertion (8±8 vs. 2±1vs.10±7 days, respectively).None of the patients experienced any side effects due to urokinase; all patients discharged in good condition. Conclusions Aggressive intrapleural fibrinolytic treatment based on bedside chest ultrasonograhy confers significant benefit in effectively treating multi-loculated pleural effusions, reserving surgical intervention for necrotic pneumonia and pulmonary abscesses.


Neural networks have established as a generic and powerful means to approach challenging problems such as image classification, object detection or decision making. Their successful employment foots on an enormous demand of compute. The quantization of network parameters and the processed data has proven a valuable measure to reduce the challenges of network inference so effectively that the feasible scope of applications is expanded even into the embedded domain. This paper describes the making of a real-time object detection in a live video stream processed on an embedded all-programmable device. The presented case illustrates how the required processing is tamed and parallelized across both the CPU cores and the programmable logic and how the most suitable resources and powerful extensions, such as NEON vectorization, are leveraged for the individual processing steps. The crafted result is an extended Darknet framework implementing a fully integrated, end-to-end solution from video capture over object annotation to video output applying neural network inference at different quantization levels running at 16 frames per second on an embedded Zynq UltraScale+ (XCZU3EG) platform.


Despite efforts to establish protected areas around the world, the authority of government remains weak in forested areas. We examine the largest protected area in Central America, 'Bosawas' National Natural Resource Reserve in Nicaragua, to demonstrate how over-lapping systems of governance have encouraged rapid ecological destruction and social differentiation, as well as corruption and violence. We conclude that Migdal's observation about forest governance as being guided by 'strong societies and weak states' (1988) is unlikely to change and must be the starting point for future efforts in decentralized natural resource management


Clustering text document is an unsupervised learning method to find common groups. The clustering of text documents are the special issue in text mining for unlabeled train documents. Fortunately, there are many proposed features and methods to resolve this problem. The framework of text document classification consists of: input text document, preprocessing, feature extraction and clustering. The common classification methods are: self-organization map, k-means and mixture of Gaussians. The correlation of resulted clusters is based on selecting a distance measure method. The main focus of this paper is to present different exiting distance measure methods along with k-means clustering for text document clustering. The experiment performed k-means clustering on the Newsgroups dataset and measure clustering entropy to evaluate the different distance measure methods.


Investigations were carried out on the ecology of Aedes (Aedimorphus) dentatus (Theo.) in the Ngong Forest near Nairobi between 22 June and 10 September 1971. Five 24-h collections on human bait showed that Ae. dentatus is predominantly a daytime biter with a peak of activity around sunset. At the time of its greatest activity none came to bite on the 7- or 10-m platforms. Of 94 blood-meal specimens, 50 were of Bovid origin (cattle), 18 from unidentified Bovids, 13 from unidentified mammals, one from a bird, three from any primate and nine did not react with the antisera used. Resting adults were frequently found underneath leaves of Hypoestes verticillaris , a herb which grows in partly shaded areas in the forest near the forest edge. A few adults came to bite in a house outside the forest not far from the forest edge. Breeding places were not found. The evidence for Ae. dentatus being a vector of yellow fever is inconclusive. The 33 other species of mosquitoes collected are listed.


Aim: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a complex and multifactorial condition in children with Down syndrome (DS) with prevalence rates between 30 and 60%. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of OSA in a large cohort of DS children and to investigate which patient related factors correlated with disease severity.

Methods: All children enrolled in our multidisciplinary Down team were referred for polysomnography (PSG) when there was a positive history for OSA (snoring, witnessed apneas) (group A) or as part of "good clinical practice" to screen for OSA in this high risk population (group B) (Shott et al. 2006). A diagnosis of OSA is established at an obstructive apnea/hypopnea index (oAHI) ≥ 2/hr. Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation.

Results: Polysomnographic data are available for 93 children: 48 boys and 45 girls, age 7.1 ± 5.1years, BMI 19. 2 ± 4.6 kg/m2. The prevalence of OSA was 66.7% with an oAHI 10.2 ±16.8/h, mean oxygen saturation 96,34 ± 1,38 % and minimum saturation 85,85 ± 9,98%. Moderately severe OSA (oAHI >5 and <10/h) was found in 22.5% and severe OSA (≥10/h) in 45.2%. OSA was significantly more common for group A (74,1%) compared to group B (54,1%) (p=0.048). Multiple linear regression analysis showed a significant relationship (p=0,001) between oAHI and BMI but not with age or sex.

Conclusions:

We found an overall 66.7% prevalence of OSA in children with Down syndrome and a significant correlation between OSA severity and BMI. Even with a negative history for OSA, the prevalence was 54,1%. This figure is much higher than in the normally developing paediatric population. Our data support the notion that PSG should be part of the routine care for children with Down syndrome.


Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a life-threatening complication associated with significant morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. The 2019 African swine fever outbreak in China resulted in a critical national shortage of porcine-derived heparin products in the United States. As a result, our institution implemented a multitude of mitigation strategies to reduce heparin utilization by >80% and optimize safe and effective alternative therapies. The aim of this study was to determine whether this change in clinical practice impacted the incidence of HIT and associated outcomes.
 A single-center, retrospective cohort study was performed on patients admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital who were ≥ 18 years of age and had a positive platelet factor 4 (PF4) drawn between February 2019 and January 2020. Patient demographics, comorbidities, baseline labs, serotonin release assay results, timing and magnitude of platelet count fall, and characteristics of heparinoid and non-heparinoid anticoagulant use were collected from the medical record. Thrombotic and hemorrhagic outcomes were characterized.
 Seventy-five patients were included in the final analysis, of which 56 (75%) were critically-ill. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups including median age 66.8 years, 49% male, 80% Caucasian. Forty-four (59%) patients underwent surgery, 23 (31%) required continuous renal replacement therapy, and 13 (17%) underwent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Incidence of HIT with any exposure to heparinoid product was 0.3% and 0.15% (p=0.002) in the pre-shortage and shortage periods, respectively. In those who received therapeutic dose unfractionated heparin, incidence of HIT was 1.26% and 1.05% (p=0.63) in the pre-shortage and shortage groups, respectively. Thrombotic complications were observed in 19 (41%) patients in the pre-shortage group and 11 (38%) in the post-shortage group (p=0.77). Bleeding events were observed in 8 (17%) and 5 (17%) (p=0.99).
 We observed a lower incidence of HIT resulting from our institution's efforts to conserve unfractionated heparin supply and utilize alternative anticoagulants during a critical national drug shortage. There were no significant differences in associated thrombotic and bleeding events.

 Rosovsky: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dova, Janssen, Portola: Consultancy; Bristol-Myers Squibb, Janssen: Research Funding.


Zika virus (ZIKV) is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and exhibits genetic variation with African and Asian lineages. ZIKV Natal RGN strain, an Asian-lineage virus, has been identified in brain tissues from fetal autopsy cases with microcephaly and is suggested to be a neurotropic variant. However, ZIKV Natal RGN strain has not been isolated; its biological features are not yet illustrated. This study rescued and characterized recombinant, single-round infectious particles (SRIPs) of the ZIKV Natal RGN strain using reverse genetic and synthetic biology techniques. The DNA-launched replicon of ZIKV Natal RGN was constructed and contains the EGFP reporter, lacks prM-E genes, and replicates under CMV promoter control. The peak in the ZIKV Natal RGN SRIP titer reached 6.25 × 106 TCID50/mL in the supernatant of prM-E-expressing packaging cells 72 h post-transfection with a ZIKV Natal RGN replicon. The infectivity of ZIKV Natal RGN SRIPs has been demonstrated to correlate with the green florescence intensity of the EGFP reporter, the SRIP-induced cytopathic effect, and ZIKV's non-structural protein expression. Moreover, ZIKV Natal RGN SRIPs effectively self-replicated in rhabdomyosarcoma/muscle, glioblastoma/astrocytoma, and retinal pigmented epithelial cells, displaying unique cell susceptibility with differential attachment activity. Therefore, the recombinant ZIKV Natal RGN strain was rescued as SRIPs that could be used to elucidate the biological features of a neurotropic strain regarding cell tropism and pathogenic components, apply for antiviral agent screening, and develop vaccine candidates.


Satellite imagery and remote sensing provide explanatory variables at relatively high resolutions for modeling geospatial phenomena, yet regional summaries are often desirable for analysis and actionable insight. In this paper, we propose a novel method of inducing spatial aggregations as a component of the statistical learning process, yielding regional model features whose construction is driven by model prediction performance rather than prior assumptions. Our results demonstrate that Genetic Programming is particularly well suited to this type of feature construction because it can automatically synthesize appropriate aggregations, as well as better incorporate them into predictive models compared to other regression methods we tested. In our experiments we consider a specific problem instance and real-world dataset relevant to predicting snow properties in high-mountain Asia.


Introduction Globally, it is vital to create office ergonomic awareness amongst corporate employees with emphasis on ergonomic arrangement of workstations, maintaining ideal work postures, optimising chair functions and performing desk stretches.Objective is to promote safer working by exploring cost-effective communication methods to achieve behaviour change. Methods Invitation was sent to all employees to take up on-line Nordic questionnaire, a screening tool for musculoskeletal symptoms, shared in local languages on 2 occasions – baseline and after 3 months in Unilever offices at Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. After completing, employee is guided to animation graphics and trained on correct postures and office ergonomics with animation graphics, n=203.Study is currently being undertaken in Pakistan and India (results to be shared subsequently). Results Approximately 10% employees had some musculoskeletal symptoms. 85% of the symptomatic had chronic musculoskeletal symptoms of 1 year duration. However, only 40% of these employees had ongoing symptoms at the time of evaluation (past 7 days). A subsequent 3 months evaluation after web-based intervention showed a significant 35% decline in ongoing symptoms. Behavioural interventions responsible for this decline were attributable to: 70% employees could arrange their workstation ergonomically, as against 49% pre intervention. 83% employees performing desk stretches as against 59% pre intervention. 70% of the employees taking rest breaks as against 65% pre intervention. 97% employees reported animation graphics were educative and motivating. Discussion The web – based evaluation appears to be an excellent, cost-effective method bringing about desired behaviour change in ideal work-posture maintenance. Hence, newer technology using web based animation graphics is a highly efficient tool to create office ergonomics awareness and has the potential to become a best practice in countries where language is a communication barrier and an on-site visit is not feasible.


Background: Lower extremity ulcers are one of the most common skin manifestation in patients (pts) with APS, observed in 20-30% of pts. These skin ulcers typically respond poorly to conventional treatment. Although incompletely understood, the pathogenesis of the skin ulcers (and most of the clinical manifestations of APS) appears to be the result of vascular endothelial damage at the microcirculation level, leading to intracapillary thrombosis and focal inflammation. Systemic treatments with immunomodulatory agents such as glucocorticoids, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and immunosuppressants have been reported to improve outcomes, but typically carry substantial side-effects, and may not be available outside specialized referralcenters. The use of anticoagulation, with or without immunosuppression, in pts with APS and skin ulcers has been reported with variable results. Our group and others have documented an excellent safety profile with the combination of ASA 81 mg orally and enoxaparin 40 mg subcutaneously given to pregnant patients with APS and recurrent pregnancy loss. Patient with APS appear to share similar microcirculatory changes in the organs involved.
 Methods: Case report.
 Results: A 72 year-old gentleman was diagnosed with APS in 2000, when he was evaluated for recurrent deep venous thrombosis in the lower extremities, and was found to have a positive lupus anticouagulant serum test. He received anticoagulation with warfarin, with a target International Normalized Ratio (INR) of 2.5-3.5. In 2011, the patient was evaluated for full-thickness ulceration of the bilateral medial distal legs. He had been treated years earlier with venous ablation, and screening for lower extremity arterial insufficiency showed adequate peripheral circulation. The ulcers were treated with moist antimicrobial wound dressings, serial wound debridement, ongoing compression therapy, and a course of skin substitute therapy. After over one year of treatment the ulcers healed. Over the next several years the patient experienced several episodes of re-ulceration of the lower extremity ulcers despite continued use of compression stockings. He was treated in the same fashion, and each episode of re-ulceration required months of therapy to achieve healing. In mid-2017 he developed another episode of re-ulceration. Similar treatment was again initiated, with little improvement over the first several months of therapy. Physical findings and the recalcitrant nature of the ulcers suggested a direct casual relation with his underlying APS. Since our pt was not a candidate for any form of immunosuppression, he was started on daily subcutaneous enoxaparin 1 mg/kg and daily oral ASA 81 mg. A complete healing of the skin ulcers was noted three months after initiation of the above therapy. He continues on this treatment without any side-effects.
 Conclusion: A multidisciplinary approach allows for a more detailed evaluation of these challenging cases and helps to improve clinical outcomes.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


How does the law determine gender and transgender for the purposes of admission to gender-segregated spaces? This article examines this question to understand how transgender identity is legally constructed in gender-segregated spaces. Using trans feminist legal theory, this article explores how the state conceptualizes and re/incorporates transness in a binary gender order. Through case studies of access to gender transition in gender-segregated educational and carceral spaces, the authors find that judges engage in gender naturalization work to legally construct transgender identity in ways that reinforce sexist conceptualizations of immutable and binary gender. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this narrow construction of transgender identity for a trans feminist jurisprudence and politics.


Risk follow-up aims at analysis of operational events from their risk point of view usingprobabilistic safety assessment (PSA) as the basis. Risk follow-up provides additional insight tooperational experience feedback compared to deterministic event analysis. Even though thisapplication of PSA is internationally widely spread and tried out for more than a decade at manynuclear power plants, there are several problematic issues in the performance of a retrospective riskanalysis as well as in the interpretation of the results.An R&D project sponsored by the Nordic PSA group (NPSAG) has focused on selected issues in thistopic. The main development needs were seen in the handling of CCF and the reference levels forresult presentation. CCF events can be difficult to assess due to possibilities to interpret the eventdifferently. Therefore a sensitivity study with varying assumptions is recommended as a generalapproach. Reference levels for indicators are proposed based on the survey of criteria usedinternationally. The paper summarizes the results.


When applying the conventional Fourier pseudospectral method (FSM) on a Cartesian grid that has a sufficient size to propagate a pulse, spurious diffractions from the staircase representation of the curved interfaces appear in the wavefield. It is demonstrated that these non-physical diffractions can be eliminated by using curved grids that conform to all the interfaces of the subsurface. Methods for solving the 2D acoustic wave equation using such curved grids have been published previously by the authors. Here the extensions to the full 2D elastic wave equations are presented.

The curved grids are generated by using the so-called multiblock strategy which is a well-known concept in computational fluid dynamics. In principle the sub-surface is divided into a number of contiguous subdomains. A separate grid is generated for each subdomain patching the grid lines across domain boundaries to obtain a globally continuous grid. Using this approach, even configurations with pinch outs can be handled.

The curved grid is taken to constitute a generalized curvilinear coordinate system. Thus, the elastic equations have to be written in a curvilinear frame before applying the numerical scheme. The method implies that twice the number of spatial derivatives have to be evaluated compared to the conventional FSM on a Cartesian grid. However, it is demonstrated that the extra terms are more than compensated for by the fewer grid points needed in the curved approach.


Ligation of integrins to an extracellular matrix activates signal transduction systems which produce multiple responses in different cell types. Adhesion often provides a survival signal to cells; disruption of adhesion frequently results in apoptosis. Our laboratory has utilized apoptosis-sensitive and -resistant cell lines to investigate the role of integrin expression and function in regulation of apoptosis in macrophages. Chronic exposure of murine macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells to apoptosis-inducing agents (bacterial lipopolysaccharide and interferon-gamma) resulted in the generation of a derivative cell line (RES) resistant to apoptosis. Observation of RAW and RES cultures indicated a difference in adhesion between the two cell types. The two cell lines also exhibit significant differences in expression of integrins previously characterized to be important in apoptosis.


The Quaternary telescoped growth pattern of the Southern Po Plain developed during the last 250,000 yr through the superimposition of six fining-upward continental sequences, which can be correlated with terraced deposits. The boundary surfaces of every cycle (base and top of gravels and/or sands), the overall thickness, the thickness of basal coarse sediments, and the related trends and deviations have been computer-gridded and contoured. Comparison between the maps of the whole Quaternary sequence and the structural map of Pliocene isobaths suggests that the sequence evolution has been controlled by the combined action of glacio-eustatic fluctuations and strong tectonics. Lowstands controlled the regional pattern of the basal surfaces, and highstands coincide with the time of accretions of the sequences. Tectonics influenced the local subsidence, and consequently, the paleogeographic setting, following a rather regular cyclic trend. Four tectonic events alternated with four pauses; each period was 20,000-50,000 years long. Thrust kinematics proceeded cyclically from the inner to outer thrust faults, giving rise to isolated grouped and joined and grouped but free tectonic elements.


This paper describes two hybrid methods coupling finite formulation of electromagnetic fields (FFEF) in a bounded domain to integral boundary conditions taking into account far field conditions. The two hybrid techniques use different boundary conditions: the first formulation is based on Green's function applied to magnetization source inside bounded domain while the other one is based on a boundary-element method on its external surface. Details about the coupling terms are given and handling of different magnetization sources is described, including the fictitious magnetization sources coming from nonlinear solutions. The proposed methods are validated versus different benchmark cases. Comparisons between the two techniques have been performed using different criteria (accuracy and convergence, memory requirements, etc.).


The present study examined the efficacy of a media literacy education, substance abuse prevention training workshop for late elementary school teachers. Analyses revealed that the randomly assigned intervention (n = 18) and control (n = 23) teachers were similar in demographic characteristics and pre-training beliefs and knowledge. Teachers who participated in the workshop reported stronger beliefs in the importance of and familiarity with media literacy education and scored higher on a direct assessment of media deconstruction skills than teachers in the control group. Teachers reported positive program assessment ratings. This randomized controlled trial provides evidence that a one-day teacher training workshop on media literacy education is effective at improving teachers' beliefs and knowledge about media literacy that are relevant for successful student outcomes.


Subject area

The case is designed for students with prior knowledge of principles of management, particularly leadership theories. The case would also benefit bachelor students who already took an introductory course to leadership such as organizational behavior or graduate students who are familiar with the leadership and/or entrepreneurship literature. This case study may be used in the following academic courses: theories of leadership, leadership and leaders, organizational leaders' roles, management skills, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial management.

Study level/applicability

This case study may be used in the following academic programs: Bachelor's in Business Administration Master of Science in Business Administration MBA Programs.

Case overview

Kamal Reggad is a Moroccan entrepreneur who created the company Menaclick, an online business that aims to sell and promote various products and services nationally and internationally at discounted prices. Goods and services are posted on Menaclick's website www.hmizate.ma, which means "good deals" in Moroccan Arabic. The Hmizate platform operates a daily-deals and group-buying website offering discounted deals to Moroccan customers. The deals are mainly on goods and services such as traveling, food, esthetics, shopping, high-tech gadgets and recreational events (Eco, 2013). Menaclick is based in Casablanca, Morocco, and its website www.hmizate.ma is one of the most popular websites in the country with over 40,000 visitors per day. In the past few years, Kamal has been significantly contributing to building the groundwork of the e-commerce industry in Morocco, a course that has been changing the way Moroccan customers shop for goods and services. In fact, it is because of the merits of group-buying sites such as Hmizate that over 16 million Moroccan internet users navigate the net daily to buy products and services online with ease and facility (Maroc Numeric Cluster, 2014). Kamal Reggad is a fitting example of an innate leader who introduced a new leadership style to Morocco. Kamal took a colossal risk by targeting a new and unexplored market in Morocco which is the e-commerce business; his risks have paid off. As the case explains, Kamal's success is because of his passion, perseverance and positive attitude.

Expected learning outcomes

In general, the objective of the case study is to further enhance the understanding of leadership in general and entrepreneurial spirit in particular. The case study will assist students in developing their leadership-related skills through the discussion of a real-life situation and experience and propose an example of the importance of participative leadership during the launching phase of a business venture. The case is designed to provoke and stimulate students' personal reflections about a particular management style, especially in entrepreneurship.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email email@example.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.


Asymmetric Ni(II)-Fe(II) hybrid hemoglobin, XL[alpha(Fe)beta(Fe)][alpha(Ni)beta(Ni)], in which the alpha 1 beta 1 dimer containing ferrous protoporphyrin IX and the complementary alpha 2 beta 2 dimer containing Ni(II) protoporphyrin IX were cross-linked between Lys-82 beta 1 and Lys-82 beta 2 by reaction with bis(3,5-dibromosalicyl) fumarate, was synthesized and characterized. We have previously shown that (i) Ni(II) protoporphyrin IX, which binds neither oxygen nor carbon monoxide, mimics a fixed deoxyheme with respect to its effect on the oxygen equilibrium properties of the counterpart iron subunits in both symmetric Ni(II)-Fe(II) hybrid Hbs [Shibayama, N., Morimoto, H., & Miyazaki, G. (1986) J. Mol. Biol. 192, 323-329] and (ii) the cross-linking used in this study little affects the oxygen equilibrium properties of hemoglobin [Shibayama, N., Imai, K., Hirata, H., Hiraiwa, H., Morimoto, H., & Saigo, S. (1991) Biochemistry 30, 8158-8165]. These remarkable features of our model allowed us to measure the oxygen equilibrium curves for the first two steps of oxygen binding to the alpha 1 beta 1 dimer within the hemoglobin tetramer. At all pH values examined, the affinities of this asymmetric hybrid for the first oxygen molecule are as low as those of native hemoglobin. The hybrid did not show cooperative oxygen binding at pH 6.4, while significant cooperativity was observed with rising pH; i.e., the Hill coefficient was increased from 1.41 to 1.53 upon a pH change from 7.4 to 8.4. The electronic absorption spectrum of Ni(II) protoporphyrin IX in the alpha 2 subunit was changed upon carbon monoxide (or oxygen) binding to the alpha 1 beta 1 dimer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The purpose of this study is to assess how studying abroad impacts the development of intercultural competence and the moderating role of student's personality. This research uses a pre-post design with a sample of 264 undergraduate students from four Colombian universities; it includes a group of students who participated in a one semester study-abroad program and a control group who did not travel. The average level of increase in intercultural competence for the students who went abroad was 0.511 standard deviations above the average of those who had not studied abroad. The results from hierarchical linear regression did not yield any evidence that supports the moderating effects of the personality factors on the relation between study abroad and intercultural competence.


Structural, petrological, microstructural and geochronological studies were combined with pseudosection modeling in the Roc de Frausa Massif (Eastern Pyrenees). The massif is constituted by Upper Proterozoic–Early Cambrian rocks and represents a mid crustal section intruded by igneous rocks. The aim is to compare the thermal evolution of different crustal levels in a single orogenic event. The rocks constituting the massif were part of the northern margin of Gondwana and were involved in the Variscan orogeny when Gondwana collided with Laurentia-Baltica. Two main Variscan deformation events are distinguished. D1 is marked by tight to isoclinal small-scale folds and a sub-horizontal foliation. D2 structures are tight upright folds facing to the NW with steep NE–SW axial planes. In the high-grade metamorphic domains it transposes S1 foliation by a sub-vertical S2 foliation. D3 structures are characterized by NW–SE folds compatible with steep dextral shear zones that retrograde the pre-Variscan rocks and the Variscan intrusives to greenschist facies. N and S of the studied area F3 folds involve Mesozoic rocks, and therefore it can be attributed to the Alpine orogeny. In the micaschists of the Upper crustal levels, andalusite porphyroblasts with S1 inclusion trails and sillimanite in S1 pressure shadows indicate heating from 580 °C to 640 °C. Cordierite includes the former minerals and does not exhibit pressure shadows pointing to isothermal decompression from 3.4 to 2.6 kbar. A calc-alkaline granitoid intruded on top of this level interkinematically between D1 and D2 (314–311 Ma). Intermediate crustal levels are dominated by schists with sillimanite?biotite?muscovite in the S1 fabric overgrown by cordierite and K-feldspar with no pressure shadows. These assemblages point to decompression from 5 to 3 kbar at 640?660 °C. A gabbro-diorite stock intruded in this level coeval with the D2 in two magmatic pulses (312 and 307 Ma). In the inner aureole four types of migmatites have been characterized, with different textures, mineral assemblages, mineral chemistry and whole-rock compositions. The biotite?sillimanite?K-feldspar?garnet assemblage together with garnet zoning is compatible with heating within the S1 fabric at peak-pressure of 7 kbar and 730 °C. F2 folds with subvertical melt-filled S2 foliation were overgrown by cordierite indicating mainly syn-D2 decompression to 4.5 kbar. The different whole-rock and mineral compositions and the preservation of the mineral assemblages of migmatitic rocks can be explained by different episodes of melt-loss and fluid infiltration in the metasediments at 790 °C and 5.5 kbar and incorporation of the fluids into the melt. The fluids would be released by the crystallizing gabbro-diorite. Lower crustal levels are dominated by fold-structured migmatites occurred in the interval 320–315 Ma. They present a biotite?cordierite composite S1-S2 biotite-bearing fabric with relic garnet embedded in plagioclase, thus precluding deciphering the early metamorphic evolution. Cordierite overgrowing both S1 and S2 fabric points to late equilibration at 3 kbar and 700 °C. The early metamorphic history associated with the S1 fabric is interpreted as a result of lower crustal horizontal flow and could be related to moderate crustal thickening. D2 event is characterized by decompression associated to highly heterogeneous exhumation of the metamorphic complex during the last stages of the Variscan evolution.


OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to analyze indications for amniocentesis in cases of patients with normal fetal ultrasound results between 11+0 and 13+6 weeks of gestation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The results of first-trimester screening tests performed between 2014 and 2018 on 6,863 patients of the Prenatal Testing Outpatient Clinic at the Clinical Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland, were analyzed. The inclusion criteria were a singleton pregnancy and normal results of fetal ultrasound between 11+0- and 13+6-weeks' gestation. Depending on the calculated risk of fetal trisomy 21, the patients were divided into three groups (group A = RS > 1:300, group B = RS 1:300 - 1:999, group C = RS ≤ 1:1000). Subsequently, values such as PAPP-A and fβ-hCG protein levels and maternal age were analyzed for each of the groups.

RESULTS
The patients, 6,310 (91.94%) met the inclusion criteria. A high risk of fetal trisomy 21 was identified for 514 women (8.15%). Group B had 733 (11.62%) and group C 5,063 (80.23%) patients. In group A, an fβ-hCG level of ≥ 2.000 MoM was shown for 50.97% of the women. A PAPP-A level ranging from 0.001 to 0.499 MoM was observed for 38.72% of group A patients. The mean maternal age in groups A, B and C was 36.45, 36.08 and 31.64 years, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
In the first-trimester, patients with normal ultrasound results obtained during prenatal screening tests, the main cause of an increased risk of trisomy 21 was elevated PAPP-A and fβ-hCG concentrations. According to this paper's authors, in these cases extension of diagnosis to include other gestational complications, e.g. preeclampsia, should be considered.


It is known that health status and emotional reactions and their regulation are closely associated. Emotional intelligence (EI) is defined as the abilities to perceive and understand emotional information and use it to adapt. By considering that women use more emotion regulation strategies in adaptation than men, present investigation aimed to explore the role of gender and aging in the relationships between self-reported different aspects of EI including self-rating of reaction on emotional stimuli and quality of life (QL).
The groups of healthy older women (63.7 years, n=78) (OW) and young (18.1 years) women (n=76) (YW) and men (n=57) (YM) were involved in the study. The Russian versions of EI (IPIP) and SF-36 were used. The computer-based emotion measuring was designed to analyze individual self-rating stimulus set of the IAPS.
The varied patterns of correlations between the components of EI and QL were obtained in the groups differenced by gender and age. YW had higher scores of EI than YM, and "negative expressivity" negatively correlated with integral mental health in women but positively in men. Emotional reactivity according IAPS was positively related to EI in YM but differently associated with components of EI in women. Integral level of physical health was lower in OW whereas psychic health did not differ significantly in OW and YW. Indices of "mental health" and "viability" were higher in OW than YW. A ratio of "positive expressivity" to "negative expressivity" was universal predictor of high QL.
This work was supported by the RFHR grant 15-06-10052.


Synesthesia is a condition that involves atypical binding between two seemingly independent sensory modalities. The neural origin of this condition is controversial: Although some claim that synesthesia originates from stable anatomical irregularities, others suggest that its occurrence relies on functional properties of brain dynamics. In the current study, we aimed to better understand synesthesia by comparing it with another state in which perception is dramatically altered, namely, sleeping and dreaming. Specifically, on the phenomenological level, both synesthesia and sleeping mentation are characterized by hyper-associated mental images. Therefore, in the current study we tested whether nonsynesthetic subjects would report synesthetic-like experiences upon awakening (i.e., during sleep inertia). In 2 studies, healthy subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire in which they rated the extent of their agreement with statements representing synesthetes' cross-sensory experience (e.g., "musical tones trigger the experience of colors"), along with other (masking) statements. Subjects in the experimental group completed the questionnaire during sleep inertia, whereas subjects in the control group completed the questionnaire during wakefulness. We found that subjects who completed the questionnaire upon awakening from sleep reported greater agreement with the cross-modal statements compared with wakeful controls, whereas no difference was found for the masking statements. Our findings support the functional, rather than the anatomical, view of synesthesia; specifically, synesthetic experience might be the result of reduced cortical inhibition. Moreover, the current study suggests an exciting new research direction, that is, exploring possible similarities between sleeping and synesthetic brains.


There is a growing perception that information management identifies, coordinates and exploits information entities in an organization for the purpose of utilizing the characteristics of information to achieve greater value in the research environment or to gain competitive advantage over competitors in an industrial environment. For the professional librarian, managing information in response to and in anticipation of the needs of users so that information received becomes more relevant is one of the basic attributes of professional efficiency and skills. This paper examines the management practices of a cross-section of libraries using the non-participative observation method followed by discussions on some of the key observations with information professionals with a view to drawing attention to some of the practices that are not in conformity with international management standards. It examines such issues as professional attitude to work, user behavior, change management, and marketing of library services. The paper further discusses some basic problematic in the practices of information professional and concludes with suggestions intended to be realistic options that could be adopted to enhance information services provision. Keywords : Library Management, Managing Change, user need analysis, professsional attitude, information marketing International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences Vol. 3 (2) 2006: pp. 15-25


Fibre reinforced composites constitute a relevant class of materials used chiefly in lightweight constructions for example in fuselages or car bodies. The spatial arrangement of the fibres and in particular their direction distribution have huge impact on macroscopic properties and, thus, its determination is an important topic of material characterisation. The fibre direction distribution is defined on the unit sphere, and it is therefore preferable to work with fully three-dimensional images of the microstructure as obtained, e.g., by computed micro-tomography. A number of recent image analysis algorithms exploit local grey value variations to estimate a preferred direction in each fibre point. Averaging these local results leads estimates of the volume-weighted fibre direction distribution. We show how the thus derived fibre direction distribution is related to quantities commonly used in engineering applications. Furthermore, we discuss four algorithms for local orientation analysis, namely those based on the response of anisotropic Gaussian filters, moments and axes of inertia derived from directed distance transforms, the structure tensor, or the Hessian matrix. Finally, the feasibility of these algorithms is demonstrated for application examples and some advantages and disadvantages of the underlying methods are pointed out.


The magnetic critical scattering of the near-ideal three-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet (AF) RbMnF3 has been remeasured using neutron scattering. The critical dynamics has been studied in detail in the temperature range 0.77T(N) < T < 1.11T(N), where T-N is the Neel temperature. In agreement with previous measurements, at T-N and for wave vectors away from the AF zone center, the scattering has a quasielastic component in addition to the inelastic response predicted by renormalization-group and mode-coupling theories. Both components scale with the dynamic exponent z = 1.43 +/- 0.04, in agreement with dynamic scaling. On cooling below T-N the inelastic peaks transform into the transverse spin waves and a crossover has been observed in the dispersion from a power-law relation omega(q) = Aq(z) at T-N to a linear behavior omega(q) = cq in the hydrodynamic region below T-N. The quasielastic component evolves below T-N into the longitudinal susceptibility identified in an earlier polarized neutron experiment. The intensity and energy width of the longitudinal scattering decrease on cooling below T-N. Down to the lowest temperatures where the longitudinal susceptibility could be measured the leading term in the scaling behavior of the energy width was gamma(q) approximate to q(1.58+/-0.03) (hydrodynamic theory predicts a q(2) law). Possible explanations for the observed behavior of the longitudinal susceptibility are discussed.


Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is a disorder seen primarily in children. It is characterized by a number of clinical symptoms; the most prominent are recurrent, self-limited episodes of intractable nausea and vomiting that are not caused by any specific disease. CVS can be severely debilitating and may interfere with an individual's quality of life. This article describes a patient with CVS who sought treatment for complications after dental extractions, reviews important aspects of this disease, and discusses its potential significance as it relates to the present case.


This article analyses one element of corpus delicti of misappropriation of authorship, criminalised in Lithuanian Criminal Code Article 191 – the object (or the protected good) of a crime. The quality of Lithuanian national regulation and the scope of object of misappropriation of authorship, which affects the qualification of the crime, is evaluated by comparing it with other European Union countries' criminal legal regulation of intellectual property.


This study was done to examine the influence of microfinance loans towards accelerating growth of micro & small enterprises in Misungwi District based on the experience of SMES who are beneficiaries of FINCA Tanzania (Mwanza Branch). The study population consisted of FINCA loan beneficiaries and FINCA workers. Data were collected by using a questionnaires.A total of 119 respondents were sampled for interview. 100 micro-entrepreneurs were randomly sampled from among loan beneficiariesand 19 FINCA workers were conveniently sampled based on their availability on the day of visit. Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) program version 16 was used in data analysis using descriptive statistics. The results indicated that almost all SMES were highly challenged by high interest rates in running their businesses. The results further indicated that about 68% of the loan beneficiaries did not realize any changes in their business and over half of the SMES did not realize any contribution of FINCA in poverty reduction. On the other hand 57.9% were negative about the contribution of SMEs in business growth and improvement of their incomes. The results also indicated that 83.4% of the respondents were to a large and to a very large extent associating the interest rates with the failure of their SMES. It can thus be conclude that MFIs aim at maximizing their profit with little impact to the wellbeing of their customers, that is, SMEs. The problems bewildering the customers to getting loans being lack of reliable collateral, such as, house, unfavorable conditions, high interest rate as well as lack of a grace period for the takeoff of the business. Furthermore Lack of training to enhance the entrepreneurial skills of the loan beneficiaries prior getting loans is another contributing factor.


Laser induced fluorescence technique for sea water monitoring allows no-time consuming, non-invasive and non-destructive controls. In this study, the performance of the new shipboard laser spectrofluorometric CAS-PER (Compact and Advanced Laser Spectrometer—ENEA Patent) for monitoring phytoplankton community composition was examined. The prototype CASPER is based on double laser excitation of water samples in the UV (266 nm) and visible (405 nm) spectral region and a double water filtration in order to detect both quantitative data, such as chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), proteins-like components (tyrosine, tryptophan), algal pigments (chlorophylls a and b, phycoerythrin, phycocyanin, different pigments of the carotenoid groups) and qualitative data on the presence of hydrocarbons and oil pollutants. Sea water samples from different depths have been collected and analyzed from August 2010 through November 2011 in the Gulf of Asinara (N-W Sardinia). Several sampling stations were selected as sites with different degree of pollution. The accuracy and the reliability of data obtained by CASPER have been evaluated comparing the results with other standard measurements such as: Chlorophyll a (Chl a) data obtained by spectrophotometric method and total phytoplankton abundance in terms of density and class composition. Spectral deconvolution technique was developed and integrated with CASPER system to assess and characterize a marker pigments and organic compounds in situ and in vivo. Field studies confirmed CASPER system capability to effectively discriminate characteristic spectra of fluorescent water constituents, contributing to decrease the time-consuming manual analysis of the water samples in the laboratory.


In fertilized eggs of Xenopus laevis a marked flattening of the pigmented animal hemisphere has been observed. The flattening begins 15-20 minutes before the appearance of the cleavage furrow. As the furrow develops, the pigmented surface relaxes and rounds up. The initial appearance of the furrow is thus shown to be a combination of furrow deepening and rounding up of adjacent pigmented surfaces. It is demonstrated that the flattening is not caused by gravity or osmotic mechanisms and that internal pressure is increased during the flattening. The flattening is interpreted to be an isodiametric contraction of the pigmented surface. The contraction is not inhibited by injected cytochalasin B in sufficient concentrations to completely inhibit cleavage furrow formation. These results are discussed with respect to the presence of two surface contractile systems, distinguishable on the basis of their differing sensitivity to cytochalasin B.


This paper presents an intelligent controller based on a neural network for a wind-diesel power system equipped with a stall regulated wind turbine run an induction generator. The goal for the wind-diesel power system is to design an intelligent controller to maintain a good power quality under varying wind and load conditions. On the other hand, the controller has to show acceptable closed-loop performance including stability, robustness, optimal energy, steady state, and transient performance at a permissible level of control effort. Moreover, such a controller has to be highly adaptive to various operating conditions and independent of model parameters that can be uncertain. This paper presents an inverse dynamic neural controller, which consists of an inverse dynamic neural model and generalized minimum variance control. This proposed controller is applied to design an integrated nonlinear controller to provide control input from excitation system and governor system at the same time.


UNLABELLED
Aim of the study was to evaluate the left ventricular (LV) diastolic flow propagation. Ten healthy subjects (28 +/- 6 years) were examined. Two-dimensional echocardiography and color-Doppler at mitral valve were performed. A cine-loop was transferred on-line to a color image processor. Selected digitized images were stored on microdisk. LV end-diastolic, end-systolic and early filling (EF) volumes were measured. Doppler measurements across the mitral valve were obtained: peak E, peak A, E/A, the integral (VTI) of E and A, acceleration and filling time. Extension of color and time base to apex, time of EF and atrial filling (AF) were obtained by M-color, along the base-apex axis. On frames of EF and AF of 2D-color, diastolic maps were processed: surface area and pixel velocity, mean (mv) and peak (pv), were obtained of the entire color area and of 4 selected areas, 2 mm wide: 1 along the annulus-apex axis (LAx), and 3 transverse, planes, at the annulus, at papillary (1/3) and at the apex (2/3 of LAx). Three-dimensional plot and velocity distribution were obtained. Values of pixel of the entire color area were stored on microdisk and processed using a Macintosh PC. For each transverse section, 1 pixel wide, mv and pv were obtained, and data were referred to normalized axis and the mean was calculated.

RESULTS
end-diastolic volume index (EDVI): 66 +/- 7, end-systolic volume index (ESVI): 26 +/- 5 ml.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


OBJECTIVE
Primary health care (PHC) centers are proposed to play a major role in the provision of care for hypertensive patients. However little is known regarding the magnitude of service offered by PHC to hypertensives. The aim of this study is to see how far PHC centers are involved in terms of figures, in the management of hypertension.

METHODS
This was a retrospective (cohort) study in PHC centers in Qatif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Half of the adult hypertensives that were followed up in 13 PHC centers were selected, randomly. This study was carried out during the month of September 2000.

RESULTS
Records of 320 patients were reviewed; male: female 1.1:2.1; mean age SD 55.8 12.4 years; diagnosed at a mean age of 49.6 11.9 years. Diabetes mellitus (DM) was diagnosed in 22.2% of the sample; 66% never smoked; 47.7% had positive family history of hypertension. The median number of visits to PHC was 6 visits in the last 6 months. Number of consultations of hypertensives to PHC physicians constituted 1.1-8.4% of the total consultations. Primary health care registers document 16-35.9% of the expected total number of adult hypertensives in the community. Hypertensives following up in PHC constitute 13.8% and 17% of the expected number of diagnosed male and female adult hypertensives in the community.

CONCLUSION
The magnitude of service offered by PHC to diagnosed hypertensives is less than one fifth of the expected number of patients, and its load on general practitioners working in these centers is highly variable.


.Rabies is a disease of nervous system and causes progressive encephalitis with fatal outcome. The conformation-dependent epitopes on the glycoprotein (G) of rabies virus (RV) is responsible for the induction of virus neutralizing antibodies which is ultimately required to get complete protection from viral challenge. Therefore, a suitable chromatography technique is necessary to purify the tag free recombinant rabies virus glycoprotein (rRVG) without altering its immunogenic epitopes. The present study was undertaken to purify the rRVG using a conformational specific anti-rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG) mAb, M5B4, which binds to the natively folded G. The mAb had shown a significant kinetic interaction with RVG. The mAb immobilized onto the NHS-activated Sepharose 4 fast flow™ was used for the purification of rRVG by immuno-affinity chromatography (IAC). The bound rRVG was eluted in IAC using 0.1M glycine with pH 2.5 and the identity of the purified protein was confirmed by MALDI-TOF. The IAC purified rRVG induced neutralizing antibody response and 83% of the immunized mice were protected against intra-cerebral rabies virus challenge. The results indicate that the mAb based IAC method can be an effective purification technique for tag free rRVG with significant level of purity, without compromising the protein's immunogenic potential.


Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon, whereby dual chromatin states lead to expression of one, and silencing of the other parental allele. Recently, we identified a nucleoporin-mediated mechanism of Kcnq1ot1 imprinted domain regulation in extraembryonic endoderm stem cells by nucleoporins NUP107, NUP62 and NUP153. Here, we investigate their role in Kcnq1ot1 imprinted domain regulation in embryonic and trophoblast stem cells. Nucleoporin depletion in both lineages reduced Kcnq1ot1 noncoding RNA expression and volume, reduced Kcnq1ot1 paternal domain positioning at the nuclear periphery, and altered histone modifications along with histone modifier enrichment at the imprinting control region. However, while CTCF and cohesin were enriched at nucleoporin binding sites in the imprinting control region in embryonic stem cells, with reduction upon nucleoporin depletion, neither CTCF or cohesin occupied these sites in trophoblast stem cells. Finally, different subsets of silent paternal alleles were reactivated via altered histone modification upon nucleoporin depletion in embryonic and trophoblast stem cells. These results demonstrate a conserved mechanism with divergent regulation of the Kcnq1ot1 imprinted domain by NUP107, NUP62 and NUP153 in embryonic and extraembryonic lineages. Summary Statement Investigation of nucleoporins, NUP107, NUP62, and NUP153, revealed a conserved nucleoporin-dependent mechanism that mediates Kcnq1ot1 imprinted domain regulation in ES and TS cells, although notable lineage-specific divergence was also observed.


Some concerns are raised on the prevailing generalized covariance intersection (GCI) based Gaussian mixture probability hypothesis density (GM-PHD) fusion for distributed multiple target tracking under cluttered environments, which is both communicative and computation expensive, and generates a large amount of Gaussian components (GCs) of little physical significance. The problems become more serious when targets are closely distributed and/or when clutter is heavy. To avoid these problems and to save communication and computation, we advocate to only share the sufficiently strong-weighted GCs between neighboring sensors. The shared significant GCs are simply merged based on their spatial proximity, which resembles a type of multisensor signal superposition and will enhance the signal-noise-ratio (SNR) since strong GCs are more likely to be a "target signal" than a weak one, thereby facilitating less likely false alarms and a more accurate estimation. In parallel to the conservative GC sharing and merging, a standard averaging consensus is also sought on the cardinality distribution (a.k.a. the probability distribution of the target number) among sensors. Simulations have been provided to demonstrate the superiority and reliability of our approach with comparison to the benchmark GCI approach.


The public health discipline is receiving increased attention in the United States under initiatives for health care reforms. It is realized that community-wide interventions to prevent disease and promote health are more cost-effective than medical interventions to cure injury and illness. Internationally, these same realizations were embedded in the Alma Ata movement for increased primary care. To improve respect for public health professionalism, a national effort is now underway in the United States to establish minimum competencies for public health practice, and to assure that these competencies are addressed as part of professional graduate studies. Using nationally recommended competencies detailed across nine public health and a separate cross-cutting list of universal competencies, the University of Hawaii School of Public Health assessed all their courses to determine the degree each competency is addressed by each course. A four-point scale was used. Lead faculty for each course assessed the depth of coverage. For the Hawaii School of Public Health, this study identified important gaps in instruction, and possible areas of over-instruction. This information will assist the School to revise course of ferings and academic/clinical posts. This approach to curriculum reform and the establishment of minimum competencies for academic public health should also prove useful to other schools in the US and elsewhere. By standardizing professional competencies, the public health profession with increase in stature and impact.


Foremost among the obstacles which formerly stood in the way of success with radical cure of hernia was sepsis. This was no more true of hernia than of other abdominal work, but in the days now past when all wounds suppurated in the course of healing and when it was rightly thought that opening into the peritoneum was almost a sin, hernia work could not and did not prosper. Directly dependant upon this obstacle of sepsis (including septic peritonitis) was that of timidity or conservatism, which acted as a blight upon the best surgeons up to about the time of Macewen's method. This tended in two ways to prevent progress: 1, by limiting the extent of the work, thus promoting half measures; 2, by leading many authorities to condemn radical-cure work altogether. A third obstacle to success by operators of the past has been the extreme multiplicity of operations proposed


New mothers undergo dynamic neural changes that support positive adaptation to parenting and the development of mother-infant relationships. In this article, I review important psychological adaptations that mothers experience during pregnancy and the early postpartum period. I then review evidence of structural and functional plasticity in human mothers' brains, and explore how such plasticity supports mothers' psychological adaptation to parenting and sensitive maternal behaviors. Last, I discuss pregnancy and the early postpartum period as a window of vulnerabilities and opportunities when the human maternal brain is influenced by stress and psychopathology, but also receptive to interventions.


This study examinespatterns of modularity or compartmentalization in the shells of Vivipara angularisfrom four populations collected from Lake Dapao at Pualas, Lanao del Sur, Philippines. A total of 120 points were used to outline the margins around the contour of the shell. Modularity and Integration Tool for morphometric data (MINT) software was used to determine compartmentalization or modularity and integration of the shell of V. angularis. Several models were hypothesized and results revealed that the shell of the V. angularis is divided into three distinct modules, namely: the spire, the body whorl and the aperture.It is hypothesized that these distinct modules built from each shell are said to be internally coherent but flexible in their relationships among one another.Since the same pattern of compartmentalization or modularity was observed among the four populations of V. angularis, this was argued to beindicating genetic conservatism in the shell morphology.


The authors present a method for calculating the electrostatic potential directly in a straightforward manner. While traditional methods for calculating the electrostatic potential usually involve solving the Poisson equation iteratively, the authors obtain the electrostatic interaction potential by performing direct numerical integration of the Coulomb-law expression using finite-element functions defined on a grid. The singularity of the Coulomb operator is circumvented by an integral transformation and the resulting auxiliary integral is obtained using Gaussian quadrature. The three-dimensional finite-element basis is constructed as a tensor (outer) product of one-dimensional functions, yielding a partial factorization of the expressions. The resulting algorithm has, without using any prescreening or other computational tricks, a formal computational scaling of Omicron(N4/3), where N is the size of the grid. The authors show here how to implement the method for efficiently running on parallel computers. The matrix multiplications of the innermost loops are completely independent, yielding a parallel algorithm with the computational costs scaling practically linearly with the number of processors.


"Atoms are the new bits". That is the latest buzz arising from the Californian trade press. What do we get when this dictum is sampled with the old rallying cry: "Information wants to be free"? We suggest that the predominant, bounded critique of intellectual property is thereby destabilised. Constitutive of that critique was the exceptionality attributed to information goods (bits) vis-a-vis tangible goods (atoms). It was thus intellectual property could be presented as something altogether different from private property. We recognise that this way of framing the issue has had tactical advantages, but contend that it has stood in the way of a deeper understanding of what intellectual property is. When the critique of proprietary software is expanded by an emerging movement for open hardware development, however, the boundary between intellectual property and property as such crumbles. This enables us to renew our critique of the political economy of information.


This paper proposes a new method for the reconstruction of conductivity profiles in the low frequency limit. The method is based on second order expansion of the operator that maps the unknown conductivity profile into the scattered electric field. The solution of the inverse problem corresponds to the global minimum of an error functional whose geometric properties are highlighted leading to an effective minimisation algorithm. Some simple numerical examples are reported showing the main features of the proposed approach.


Kamala Dawar discusses how issues of global governance effects the decision making processes in the international standard setting regime and the implications this has for consumers and consumer organisations world wide.

This edition of Consumer Policy Review examines decision making processes in the international standard setting regime and the implications of this for both consumers and consumer advocacy. Where once economic policies and regulations were established primarily at the national level, food safety standards are now set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission1 based in Rome. While in Geneva, the boards of the International Organisations for Standardisation (ISO)2 and the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC)3 decide on international product standards and specifications.


The onset of most lifetime mental disorders occurs during adolescence, and the years in college, as the final stage of adolescence in a broad sense, deserve attention in this respect. The psychological well-being of undergraduate students can influence not only their academic and professional success, but also the development of society as a whole. Although previous studies suggested psychiatric disorders are common in the adult population, there was little consistent information available about undergraduate students' mental health problems. This research aimed to describe the changes in depression, anxiety, and stress of Chinese full-time undergraduate students as they experienced university life using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). The main conclusions of our study were as follows: (1) on average, students' severity scores of depression during the four academic years varied between 7.22 and 7.79, while stress scores ranged from 9.53 to 11.68. However, the anxiety scores of college students in the first three years turned out to be 7.40, 7.24 and 7.10, respectively, slightly overtaking the normal threshold of 7. These results indicated that Chinese college students, in general, were mentally healthy with regard to depression and stress, but their average anxiety levels were beyond normal in the first three years. (2) As for the proportions of students with different degrees of severity, approximately 38% to 43% of college students were above the normal level of anxiety, about 35% above the normal level of depression, and around 20% to 30% above the normal level of stress. (3) There were significant differences in the psychological health states of students of different years, especially among the sophomores, juniors, and seniors; the highest score of depression, anxiety, and stress all appeared in the first or second year on average, but some improvements were achieved in the third and last years. The findings suggested that colleges and universities need to pay special attention to psychologically unhealthy students, and with concerted efforts by the government, formulate mental health policies in the prevention, detection, and treatment of students' psychiatric disorders, rather than just focusing on their average levels of mental health.


High precision magnetometry is important for a range of applications from the monitoring of biologically generated magnetic fields (e.g. magnetoencephalography and magnetocardiography), to navigation in GPS denied environments, to the detection of gravitational waves. Diamond containing the negatively-charged nitrogen vacancy colour centre (NV-) has emerged as a powerful room-temperature sensing solution. Here we explore NV- centres as a laser medium for a new form of magnetometry: laser threshold magnetometry (LTM). LTM works by placing NV- inside an optical cavity and uses the coherent laser output as a potentially more sensitive readout channel than is possible using conventional (incoherent) optically detected magnetic resonance. Here we show progress towards LTM with diamond. We show twolaser excitation and stimulated emission in free space, and report progress towards diamond-cavity experiments. Our studies highlight the need for different NV- optimisation for laser applications, rather than those conventionally used for quantum information applications


An HTS bulk field-cooled by a permanent magnet can levitate stably without any other control systems. The stable levitation can be realized by a specific characteristic of the HTS bulk that the HTS bulk returns to its original position by restoring force against horizontal displacement. We devised a magnetic levitation type seismic isolation device taking advantage of the specific characteristic of the HTS bulk. This device is quite different from conventional one composed of bearing and damper, because this device can completely remove horizontal vibration. We made a model device composed of YBCO bulks and permanent magnets to verify the seismic isolation effect of our device. Levitation force and vibration stability strongly depend on magnetic stiffness between HTS bulk and permanent magnet. Therefore, we prepared an YBCO bulk and a permanent magnet unit arranged on a row and investigated the characteristics of levitation force and horizontal vibration as functions of vibration amplitude, vibration frequency, and initial air gap between the bulk and the permanent magnet unit. Large initial air gap is desirable for levitation force, while small air gap under operation is effective for securing vibration stability.


Just recently Flank Milling has opened up new possibilities in detailing large-scale architectural building envelopes. Whereas examples such as the Hungerburgbahn by Zaha Hadid show the application of Flank Milling at the end of the architectural manufacturing process, our research, in contrast, focuses on the implementation of constraints immanent to manufacturing techniques as early architectural design parameters. This process is explored by the help of generative modeling tools, to allow an intuitive design of freeform parametric curves and surfaces while at the same time obeying crucial geometric conditions. In this paper, we will focus on the "digital design to digital production" process on a 7-axis industrial CNC -robot.


Tests of the compatibility of geomembrane (GM) samples with waste were conducted using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 9090 and the Comprehensive Testing System (CTS). The CTS is a multi-axial performance test capable of simultaneous cyclic mechanical loads and chemical exposure. The test chemicals consisted of solvents, transportation-related compounds, and synthesized landfill leachate. Method 9090 testing was unable to distinguish between the effects of individual chemicals to which the GM was subjected, while the CTS was able to provide statistically-significant differences that were also traceable to chemical properties of the solvent and the GM liner. Further, the time required for changes in mechanical properties of the GM was significantly shorter than would be expected based upon diffusion of the solvent into the GM alone. The combination of chemical attack with mechanical load was found to enhance both reduction in mechanical properties and the ability of the solvent to diffuse into the GM. The CTS is a more realistic test than the existing standard test methods because of its ability to provide multi-axial loads and chemical exposure simultaneously.


BACKGROUND: Because the development of donor-specific anti-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies (DSA) after lung transplantation has been associated with acute and chronic rejection, we implemented a clinical protocol to screen all transplant recipients for DSA and preemptively treat those who developed DSA with rituximab and intravenous immune globulin (IVIG), or IVIG alone. METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational study of this protocol and used the LABScreen Single Antigen assay to detect DSA after transplantation. We compared the incidence of acute rejection, lymphocytic bronchiolitis, and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) between those who developed DSA and those who did not using Cox proportional hazards models. We used the Kaplan-Meier method to compare freedom from BOS and survival between those who had persistent DSA and those who had successful depletion of DSA. RESULTS: Among 116 recipients screened, DSA developed in 65 during the study period. Those who developed DSA and received antibody-directed therapy had a similar incidence of acute rejection, lymphocytic bronchiolitis, and BOS as those who did not develop DSA. Furthermore, recipients who had successful depletion of DSA had greater freedom from BOS and better survival than those who had persistent DSA. Finally, those treated for DSA had a similar incidence of infectious complications as those who did not develop DSA. CONCLUSIONS: The development of DSA is surprisingly common after lung transplantation. Antibody-directed therapy may reduce the risk of rejection associated with DSA, but a randomized controlled trial is necessary to critically evaluate the efficacy of this treatment protocol. J Heart Lung Transplant 2010;29:973–80 © 2010 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. All rights reserved.