Introduction: MPN are a heterogeneous group of chronic hematological malignancies often resulting from a combination of a driver gene mutation (JAK2, MPL or CALR) and a variety of somatic mutations harboring diverse prognosis values. A subset of MPN patients carry somatic mutations in the hematopoietic transcription factor NFE2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2) resulting in a functionally enhanced truncated form of NFE2 (Jutzi JS et al., JEM, 2013). Moreover, epigenetically induced overexpression of NFE2 has recently been reported in the majority of MPN patients (Peeken JC et al., Blood, 2018). In transgenic murine models, NFE2 overexpression results in an MPN phenotype (thrombocytosis, leukocytosis, EPO-independent colony formation, characteristic bone marrow histology and expansion of stem and progenitor compartments) and has recently been shown to predispose to the acquisition of additional genetic abnormalities and subsequent leukemic transformation (Kaufmann KB et al., JEM, 2012) (Jutzi JS et al., Blood, 2019). However, clinical impact of NFE2 mutations in MPN patients remains unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the phenotypic characteristics and prognostic impact of NFE2 somatic mutations in a large mono-centric cohort of MPN patients.
 Methods: A total of 1243 consecutive patients were diagnosed with MPN according to WHO criteria and followed in our hospital between January 2011 and May 2020. This study included 707 of them in whom a next-generation sequencing (NGS) molecular analysis targeting 36 myeloid genes was performed at diagnosis and/or during follow-up. Clinical and biological characteristics at time of diagnosis and follow-up were collected from medical charts and electronic medical records. Statistical analyses were performed using the STATA software (STATA 15.0 Corporation, College Station, TX).
 Results: In our cohort, 411 patients presented with polycythemia vera (PV), 577 with essential thrombocythemia (ET), 184 with primary or pre-fibrotic myelofibrosis (PMF), 59 with unclassified MPN and 12 with MDS/MPN. Median age at diagnosis was 51 years [40-63]. 73.1% patients had a JAK2V617F mutation, 14.1% a CALR mutation and 3.3% a MPL mutation. Overall, 64 (9.05%) patients harbored a NFE2 mutation with a variant allelic frequency (VAF) ≥ 0.5% and 36 had a VAF ≥ 5%, the latest were considered as NFE2 mutated for the rest of the study as VAF <5% may refer to a minor clone without clinical relevance. NFE2 mutations were present in 7.3%, 5.3% and 3.6% of PV, PMF and ET patients respectively. No significant association between the presence of NFE2 mutation and clinical/molecular MPN characteristics (driver mutation, constitutional symptoms, splenomegaly, blood counts, cytogenetic and other molecular features) was observed using a logistic regression association model. Median follow-up was 103.8 months, IQR [47.2; 175.6]. In terms of response to therapy, 52.8% of patients achieved complete response, complete hematological response or clinical improvement in NFE2 mutated vs 61.7% in non-mutated patients (p= 0.026). Interestingly, presence of a NFE2 mutation (HR 9.92, 95%CI[3.21; 30.64], p< 0.001), age at diagnosis (HR 1.09, 95%CI[1.05; 1.12], p< 0.001), PMF subtype (HR 6.92, 95%CI[2.81; 17.06], p < 0.001) and high-risk mutations (ASXL1, EZH2, SRSF2, IDH1/2 and U2AF1) (HR 2.45, 95%CI[1.14; 5.28], p=0.021) were independently associated with AML/MDS transformation free survival (TFS) in a COX regression multivariate analysis (Figure A). Presence of a NFE2 mutation was also independently associated with overall survival (OS) (HR 9.37, 95%CI [4.18; 21.03], p<0.001) (Figure B). Median TFS were 216.1 months and not reached, while median OS were 144.2 months and not reached for NFE2 mutated and non-mutated patients, respectively. No difference was observed in terms of thrombo-hemorrhagic events (HR 0.73; 95%CI [0.10; 5.21], p=0.752) and secondary myelofibrosis free survivals (HR 0.67; 95%CI [0.09; 4.87], p=0.693).
 Conclusion: In this retrospective study we show that presence of NFE2 mutations with a VAF ≥5% is independently associated with an increased risk of leukemic transformation and shorter overall survival. These findings are in line with recently reported animal models and suggest that NFE2 mutations screening should be routinely performed in MPN patients.

 Rea: Incyte: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Kiladjian:AOP Orphan: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol Myers Squibb: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Benajiba:Gilead Foundation: Research Funding.


The pseudo-binary alloy of indium(x)gallium(1−x)nitride has a compositionally dependent bandgap ranging from 0.65 to 3.42 eV, making it desirable for light emitting diodes and solar cell devices. Through modeling and film growth, the authors investigate the use of InxGa1−xN as an active layer in an induced junction. In an induced junction, electrostatics are used to create strong band bending at the surface of a doped material and invert the bands. The authors report modeling results, as well as preliminary film quality experiments for an induced junction in InGaN by space charge effects of neighboring materials, piezoelectric effects, and spontaneous polarization.


The experimental results on kinetic properties of myosin A ATPase were reviewed and analyzed according to the following reaction scheme: (1) (2) E+S ~7 E,S -E+P (3) 1~ EzS where E, Sand P are the active site of the enzyme, the substrate and the product, respectively. Various complicated properties of myosin A ATPase were easily explainable by this mechanism. The effects of structure of the substrate on the reaction steps (2) and (3) were analyzed using several synthetic ATP analogs as the substrate. Furthermore, the relation of secondary structure and the enzymic activity was inferred from the changes in enzymic properties by specifically and locally increasing or decreasing the secondary structure around the active site 0;J, adding the modifiers of the enzymic action or changing the medium. EC'lGELHARDT and LJUBIMOVr\!) have demonstrated that the structural protein of muscle, myosin, catalyzes the hydrolysis of A TP into ADP and Pi Since then, many investigations ,3) have been made on this enzymic action and there can be little doubt that myosin plays the most fundamental part in muscular contraction_ In order to clarify the mechanism of muscular contraction at the molecular level, it is urgently needed to inquire properties of myosin A ATPase, especially its kinetic behaviors and the primary and secondary structure of the peptide chain around the active centerWe already suggested') that myosin A is a double headed enzyme and the hydrolysis of A TP by myosin A passes through two routes; the one is hydrolysis through the phosphoryl " ) In this paper the following abbreviations are used: ATP, adenosine triphosphate; ATPase, adenosinetriphosphatase; ADP, adenosine diphosphate; ITP, inosine triphosphate; GTP, guanosine triphosphate; CTP, cytidine triphosphate; UTP, uridine triphosphate; NTP, nucleoside triphosphate; RTP, ribose triphosphate; dimethyl ATP, 6-dimethylamino-9-J3D-ribofuranosyl purine 5-triphosphate; BTP, 9-W-hydroxybutyl)-6-amino purine 4/triphosphate; TP, inorganic triphosphate; EDT A, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid; PC:vrB, p-chloromercuribenzoate; TBS, 2,4, 6-trinitrobenzene sulfonate; TNP, trinitrophenol. "") N. A.: Asahikawa Branch, Hokkaido Liberal Arts College. Y. T.: The Research Institute for Catalysis, Hokkaido University.


In this essay, I investigate musical silence. I first discuss how to integrate the concept of silence into a general theory or definition of music. I then consider the possibility of an entirely silent musical piece. I begin with John Cage's 4′33′′, since it is the most notorious candidate for a silent piece of music, even though it is not, in fact, silent. I conclude that it is not music either, but I argue that it is a piece of non-musical sound art, rather than simply a piece of theatre, as Stephen Davies has argued. I end with consideration of several other candidates for entirely silent pieces, concluding that two of these are in fact pieces of music consisting entirely of silence.


This study aims to determine the ability of extracts of edible mushroom to increase hemoglobin rabbit. The method used is by using a photometer Cyanmethemoglobin C-206 Biochemyistri. Observations made with three times the measurement of hemoglobin, the measurement of the initial Hb, after induced, and after treatment. Extract of mushroom with a concentration of 2%, 4%, and 6% w/v to increase hemoglobin in test animals rabbits respectively 11.8%, 35.54%, and 79.32%. Extract with a concentration of 6% w/v had no significantly different effect with the provision of suspension ferosi sulfate 0.117% w/v, namely 86.9%. Analysis results obtained by the method ANAVA F hitung > F tabel at α = 0.05 and α = 0.01 with the value of each 275.52 > 275.52 3.48 and > 5.99, which means the results obtained that there are significant significant differences in the effects of each treatment.


Ephestia cautella (Walker) is an important storage pest of maize. The control of this insect relies heavily on the use of synthetic insecticides. This leads to environmental hazards, toxicity to non-target organisms and development of resistant strains of insect pests. Therefore, in this study laboratory bioassays were conducted by treating 100 g of maize grains with different concentrations of neem and desert date oils (10, 15, 20 and 25 ml/l) and Dichlorvos (DDVP) (10 ml/l) as standard reference product. Data were collected on contact toxicity by grain treatment, effects on progeny production, grain damage, weight loss, germination and palatability test. The persistence of the oils and DDVP were also tested. Each treatment was replicated three times in a completely randomized design (CRD). The data obtained were analyzed using ANOVA. The results indicated that Dichlorvos, neem and desert date oils significantly (P<0.05) caused mortality of adults and reduced progenies emergence. There was no emergence on grains treated with the oils at 30 ml/l and some of the adults emerged were deformed and hence can affect their survival and reproductive ability. Consequently, the oils also significantly (P<0.05) reduced the grain damage and weight loss. The oils remained effective for 9 weeks with percent mean damage of 8.67% and 5.13 % on grains treated with neem and desert date oils, respectively, at 20 ml/l as against the control with 68.10 % damage. The oils were also found to have no effects on seed germination with 90 to 93.33 % and 86.67 to 91.67 % percent germination were recorded on neem and desert date treated grains, respectively. Palatability of the treated grains was not affected by the oils after three (3) months storage. It was therefore shown that The effectiveness of neem oil is nothing new or that to be proven neem and desert date oils significantly (P<0.05) reduced infestation of maize grains and provided good protection to maize grains and could therefore be considered as a substitute for DDVP and other synthetic insecticides.


In 1870 there appeared in France from the pen of a Protestant theologian who was a disciple of Schleiermacher and Ritschl, a volume entitled L'Apôtre Paul. Esquisse d'une histoire de sa pensée. Louis Auguste Sabatier's aim was, in his own words, 'to write not a general biography of Paul, but a biography of his mind and the history of his thought' which would refute the denial, both by the orthodox and by the Tubingen rationalists, of progression in Pauline theology. As the first thoroughgoing proponent of the 'progressive character of Paulinism', as he termed it, Sabatier ignited a flame which has been burning steadily ever since, despite repeated attempts to extinguish it or reduce its size. Numerous a priori objections, for example, have been levelled against the hypothesis that development is traceable in Pauline theology: precisely what constitutes development or progression of thought is disputed, it is alleged; the extent of the corpus Paulinum is contested; the chronological sequence of Paul's Epistles is uncertain; any criteria used for grouping Paul's letters for the purposes of comparison must necessarily be arbitrary; the Pauline correspondence is largely occasional; the argument from silence, which is not infrequently appealed to in support of developmental theories, is notoriously insecure; Paul's extant letters all fall within a limited period of his life— roughly speaking, the second half of his career as a Christian missionary, when he might fairly be supposed to have reached Christian maturity; the essentially paradoxical character of


We present efforts and methods to model the thermal behavior of wafer level packaged (WLP) bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters. Many key parameters of modern RF filters are temperature dependent. Excessive self-heating, especially in TX-path filters, can lead to severe performance degradation. Even more fatal, unrecoverable failure conditions can occur. Having supportive data early-on in the design phase of a filter is crucial. It saves expensive and time-consuming design iterations and thus gives margin for more efficient and reliable filter development. The presented simulation method offers the advantage of incorporating the effects of the module geometry into the thermal simulation. Not only the die layout is considered, but, for example, also the impact of different laminate variants can be studied. Additionally, it allows simulations to run with traditional circuit simulator speed for different stimuli i.e. CW-tones at different frequency positions.


The conditions under which CdS thin-film transducers for 94 GHz longitudinal waves can be precipitated using electron-beam evaporation have been established. Calculations of the conversion loss, as a function of film thickness for a CdS transducer on corundum, and re-entrant cavity excitation show two minima. This allows the use of a thickness of 3330 A instead of 2350 A, which represents the half wavelength thickness for a fundamental mode transducer. X ray diffraction measurements show that the films are predominantly hexagonal in structure and highly oriented with the c axis perpendicular to the substrate. Echo patterns of pure longitudinal waves are detected. The conversion loss measurements are in good agreement with the calculated values. The conversion loss measurements and the x ray diffraction studies show that reproducible film properties can be obtained by the described electron-bombardment evaporation system.


This study surveys the conventional methods and their limitations in assessing motives for private transfers. Based on the concept of "effective altruism" – a genuine altruist o ffers help instead of demanding, this study proposes a n ormative and discriminative strategy to help distinguish the transfer motives, focusing on whether income transfer persists over time. Its application to Chinese interfamily transfers reveals that altruistic motives do exist but play an insignificant role at the aggregate level.


Graph bisection is an elementary problem in graph theory. We consider the best known experimental algorithms and introduce a new algorithm called Longest-Path-Algorithm. Applying this algorithm to the cluster tree generation of hierarchical matrices, arising for example in discretizations of partial equations, we show that this algorithm outperforms previous algorithms.


To enhance wakefulness, daily consumption of caffeine in the morning and afternoon is highly common. However, it is unknown whether such a regular intake pattern affects timing and quality of wakefulness, as regulated by an interplay of circadian and sleep-homeostatic mechanisms. Thus, we investigated the effects of daily caffeine intake and its withdrawal on circadian rhythms and wake-promotion in 20 male young habitual caffeine consumers. We applied a double-blind, within-subject design with a caffeine (150 mg, 3 x daily), a placebo, and a withdrawal condition each lasting ten days. Starting on day nine of treatment, salivary melatonin and cortisol, evening nap sleep, as well as sleepiness and vigilance performance throughout day and night were quantified during 43 h under controlled laboratory conditions. Neither the time course of melatonin (i.e., onset, amplitude, or area under the curve) nor the time course of cortisol were significantly affected by caffeine intake or its withdrawal. During withdrawal, however, volunteers reported increased sleepiness, showed more attentional lapses, as well as polysomnography-derived markers of elevated sleep propensity in the late evening compared to both, placebo and caffeine conditions. Thus, the typical timing of habitual caffeine intake in humans may not necessarily shift circadian phase nor lead to clear-cut benefits in alertness. The time-of-day independent effects of caffeine withdrawal suggest an adaptation to the substance, presumably in the homeostatic aspect of sleep-wake regulation.


Growing awareness of the impact of business activity on the environment increases the pressure for governing bodies to address this issue. One possibility is to encourage or force the market into green behaviours. However, it is often hard to predict how different actions affect the market. Thus, to help with that, in this paper, we have proposed the green behaviour spreading model in the bank-company multilayer network. This model allows assessing how various elements like the duration of external influence, targeted market segment, or intensity of action affect the outcome regarding market greening level. The model evaluation results indicate that governing bodies, depending on the market "openness" to green activities, can adjust the duration and intensity of the proposed action. The strength of the impact can be changed by the public or private authority with the use of obligatory or voluntary rules and the proportion of influenced banks. This research may be helpful in the process of creating the optimal setups and increasing the performance of greening policies implementation.


Although non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may impair the defensive ability of the gastric mucosal barrier through topical actions, recent evidence suggests that microcirculation disturbance plays a pivotal role in the genesis of gastric mucosal damage. In particular, attention has been drawn to the role exerted by those cytokine (TNF alpha and IL-1 beta) and adhesion molecules (LFA-1, Mac-1, ICAM-1) that regulate interactions between leukocyte and endothelial cells leading to gastric microvessels occlusion and ischaemic/hypoxic endothelial-epithelial cell damage. In recent years the role of prostaglandin synthesis inhibition in the pathogenesis of NSAID-gastropathy has been reconsidered, highlighting the immunomodulatory and pro-inflammatory consequences of prostanoids suppression. The awareness that mucosal damage is due to the non-discriminatory effect of NSAIDs on cyclo-oxygenase (COX) isoenzymes, has lead to the development of more selective, safer, COX-2 inhibitors. On the other hand, the observation that NO exerts a predominant physiological role in the maintenance of mucosal integrity has raised the opportunity to develop a new generation of NO-releasing NSAID derivatives with a reduced gastrointestinal toxicity.


This study presents the results from three-dimensional numerical analysis of two deep excavations with different installations of cross walls to demonstrate the effectiveness of cross walls in reducing lateral wall deflection and surface settlement. For simplifying analysis, an equivalent beam model suitable for two dimensional plane strain analysis is developed. Moreover, a simplified formula from the regression analysis of the three dimensional parametric study results is advanced.The above-mentioned two excavations were employed to demonstrate the proposed beam model and the simplified formula.


The role of oxygen derived free radicals in gastric lesions induced by haemorrhagic shock and the protective effect of oxygen radical scavengers, allopurinol and ranitidine, were investigated. Forty five rabbits underwent haemorrhagic shock for 30 minutes and reinfusion of shed blood. They were killed 30 minutes later. The animals were divided in five groups: A (n = 10): Control, B (n = 10): intravenous ranitidine pretreatment, C (n = 10): oral allopurinol, 24 and 2 h before surgery; D (n = 10): intravenous pretreatment with superoxide Dismutase plus catalase, E (n = 5): 60 minute haemorrhagic shock without reinfusion and treatment. Erosions and/or petechiae in all animals in Group A were observed. Three animals in group B and C and 2 in group D (p less than 0.005, p less than 0.001) had gastric lesions. The lesions in the pretreatment groups were significantly smaller than in controls. Oxygen radicals plus HCl play an important role in shock induced gastric lesions. Oxygen radical antagonists show a significant protective role.


Instabilities, within fusion plasmas by magnetic confinement, develop turbulent structures with milli-centimetric scales. The resulting transport impacts the energy confinement time and, ultimately, the energy performance.In unimproved confinement regimes, ion-scale turbulence generally dominates this transport. This turbulence is carried by the ions, but also by a certain class of electrons, those trapped in the local mirrors of the magnetic field. Take into account their dynamics is important, especially since they are also responsible for particle transport.The aim of this thesis is to study the impact of electrons on the damping of "Geodesic Acoustic Modes" (GAM) on the one hand and the linear growth of the turbulence modes "Ion Temperature Gradients" (ITG) and "Trapped Electron Modes" (TEM) on the other hand.GAMs are oscillations at the acoustic frequency of the average electric potential on magnetic surfaces. They interact critically with micro-turbulence, particularly through their coupling to the motion of energetic particles in the plasma. ITG and TEM represent the 2 classes of dominant electrostatic instabilities in tokamak core plasmas. As such, they are supposed to control turbulent transport in the core.This study is therefore a preliminary step for the prediction of turbulent transport while taking into account the influence of electrons.The appropriate framework for describing this turbulence is the so-called "gyrokinetic" theory, which proceeds from a 6 dimensions (6D) to 4D + 1 phase space reduction invariant by an average of the fast cyclotron motion. The self-consistent problem couples the gyrokinetic equation for each species (ions and electrons) to the Maxwell equations.The development of this kinetic model, built as an autonomous extension of the extsc{Gysela} code whose basic version gives an adiabatic response to electrons, consists in adding the treatment of the electron distribution function. Taking kinetic electrons into account is costly numerically. Three strategies are envisaged to reduce this cost: (i) consider "heavy electrons", (ii) filter electrons so as to keep only the trapped ones, and (iii) adapt the coordinates to decouple the parallel dynamics (fast) and the transverse one (slow) to the magnetic field.After a presentation of both the gyrokinetic model and some characteristics of the extsc{Gysela} code, we expose the adiabatic electrons model as it is implemented in extsc{Gysela} and introduce two new models: the "Full Kinetic Electrons" model in which electrons are treated kinetically in the same way as the ions and the "Trapped Kinetic Electrons" model in which only the trapped electrons are kinetic, the passing electrons receiving an adiabatic treatment. It is found that electrons generate an over-damping of the GAM explained by a resonant interaction between the bounce frequency of some trapped electrons and that of the GAMs.This damping depends on the electron-ion mass ratio and evolves as $(m_i/m_e)^{-1/2}$. For linear simulations on interchange instability, we find that the ITG modes are dominant over the TEM modes for large ion temperature gradients and vice versa, at finite electron temperature gradient. A satisfying agreement is obtained with the gyrokinetic code GT5D whose results have just been published. Finally, we give some suggestions for future simulations to build non linear cases that could enable to study the influence of kinetic electrons on turbulent transport.


TARIGAN, S. 2006. Vaccination of goats with fresh extract from Sarcoptes scabiei confers partial protective immunity. JITV 11(2): 144-150. Protective immunity has been known to develop in animals infested with Sarcoptes scabiei. However, our previous attempt to induce protective immunity in goats by vaccination with fractions of soluble or insoluble mite proteins had been unsuccessful. Degradation or denaturation of protective antigens occurred during vaccine preparation was suggested as one possible cause of the failure. In this study, mite proteins that used to immunise animals were prepared rapidly in order to prevent protein degradation or denaturation. About 150 mg of freshly isolated mites were rapidly homogenised, centrifuged then separated into supernatant and pellet fractions. Twenty-eight goats were allocated equally into 4 groups. Group-1 goats were vaccinated with the whole mite homogenate supernatant, group 2 with the supernatant, group 3 with the pellet, and group 4 with PBS (unvaccinated control). Vaccination was conducted three times, with three-week intervals between vaccinations, using Quil A as adjuvant, and each vaccination using fresh mite homogenates. One week after the last vaccination, all animals were challenged with approximately 2000 live mites. The severity of lesions, scored from 0 (no lesions) to 5 (>75% infested auricle affected), were determined one day, two days, then every week after challenge. Mite challenge caused the development of skin lesions in all animals. No significant differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated animals were observed in regards to the severity of lesions. However, the mite densities in vaccinated animals were significantly lower (P=0.015) than those in unvaccinated control. This study indicates that the protective antigens of S. scabiei are liable to degradation or denaturation and exist in a very low concentration or have vary low antigenicity. This implies isolation of the protective antigens by the conventional approach, fracionation of the whole mite proteins and testing each fractions in vaccination trials, is seemingly inappropriate for S. scabiei.


Photopolymerizable, photoisomerizable, photodimerizable and photoluminescent dichroic chromophores are deliberately designed and used for comprehending the sequential realization of the polyimide-free in situ photoalignment of liquid crystals (LCs). Upon a linearly polarized UV-light (LPUV) treatment, the multifunctional photoaligning additive, homogeneously dissolved in a LC mixture, is interfacially polymerized at the inner surfaces as a thin photo-responsive polymer layer. Subsequently, the molecular orientational anisotropy is induced by the dichroic photochromic responses, resulting in a uniaxial planar LC alignment. The reversible trans/cis-isomerization plays a crucial role for the LC alignment, rather than irreversible [2+2] dimerization. Therefore, the LC aligning effect is strongly influenced by the wavelengths of LPUV. Under the longer wavelength UV-irradiation (λ > 350 nm), the reversible isomerization is more preferable to the irreversible dimerization, resulting in a rewritable LC alignment with much better alignment quality. Such sequential processes are evidenced by monitoring spatial and orientational distributions of the self-labeled dichroic fluorescent monomers during the process. The conclusions are further corroborated by the wavelength dependencies of the photochromic responses, LC aligning effect, and rewritable LC alignment.


Variation in the degree of insect wing melanin affects thermoregulation, and is expected to be adapted to local environmental conditions, for example over an elevational gradient. The effects of melanization on flight activity and egg maturation rate were assessed in the closely related butterflies Colias philodice eriphyle and C. eurytheme using experimental manipulation of wing darkness and transplant experiments between high and low elevation sites. Experimental manipulation of wing darkness in C. p. eriphyle demonstrated that light males had reduced flight activity at high elevations, and darkened males had reduced flight activity at low elevations. In contrast, the transplant experiments revealed asymmetrical adaptation for male C. p. eriphyle. At high elevations darker, high-elevation males had higher flight activity than lighter, low-elevation males, but there was no difference between the two groups at low elevation. For females, melanization had no effect on flight activity. However, an increase in female C. eurytheme wing darkness led to a significantly higher egg maturation rate at cold ambient temperatures, which may increase female reproductive output under natural conditions. Therefore, dispersers moving down in elevation may be more successful than those moving up. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 82, 79–87.


Weight and morphological characteristics of red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) fruit, including drupelets (height, diameter, number), receptacle cavities (depth, diameter), and pits (individual weight), were measured on 78 seedlings from the cross 'Chief' × 'Chilliwack'. Fruit strength, as measured by compression, correlated with fruit weight, drupelet number, receptacle cavity depth, and individual pit weight. Fruit weight was positively correlated with all morphological characteristics. Individual pit weight, drupelet height, and drupelet number provided the largest component contri- butions to fruit strength as measured by path analysis. In raspberry, fruit strength is important in


Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis is currently the most powerful and efficient technique for the generation of large numbers of anonymous DNA markers in plant and animal genomes. We have developed a protocol for high-throughput AFLP analysis that allows up to 70,000 polymorphic marker genotype determinations per week on a single automated DNA sequencer. This throughput is based on multiplexed PCR amplification of AFLP fragments using two different infrared dyelabeled primer combinations. The multiplexed AFLPs are resolved on a two-dye, model 4200 LI-COR automated DNA sequencer, and the digital images are scored using semi-automated scoring software specifically designed for complex AFLP banding patterns (AFLP-Quantar). Throughput is enhanced by using high-quality genomic DNA templates obtained by a 96-well DNA isolation procedure.


In December 2019, an outbreak of pneumonia associated with a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)emerged in Wuhan and spread rapidly throughout China and beyond As the first-line imaging modality, thin-section chest CT is easy to perform, fast, available Combined with epidemiological history and clinical manifestations, positive CT findings can highly suggest the early diagnosis of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) with high sensitivity, so that timely isolation and intervention can be implemented for suspected and confirmed patients CT can also help assess the disease severity, and surveil disease course, so as to guide clinical decision and provide prognostic information This paper outlines the CT imaging features of COVID-19 and highlights the value of chest CT in its diagnosis and treatment with the reference to the official documents and latest researches


Lymphokine-activated killer cell (LAK) cytotoxicity against tumor cells is induced by the use of high-dose infusional interleukin-2 (IL-2). LAK cytotoxicity against neoplastic cells may be augmented by famotidine. Twelve (12) patients have been treated with continuous infusion IL-2 (18 MIU/m2/24 hours) for 72 hours and famotidine 20 mg IVPB twice per day. Cycles were repeated every 3 weeks. These patients were of median age--67 years (range, 25-79), had a median performance status of 1 (range, 0-1), and had metastatic sites, including lung, lymph node, subcutaneous/soft tissue, and liver. The most common toxicities of this regimen were fever, rigors, nausea/emesis, hypophosphatemia, and hypomagnesemia. Three (3) partial responses have been seen (25% response rate). One (1) of these responders has undergone complete surgical resection and is disease-free at 15+ months. Four (4) patients are alive at a median of > 25 months. The median survival for all patients is 13 months. This combination of infusional IL-2 with famotidine is active in metastatic melanoma.


The Mondex Electronic Purse system [18] is an outstanding example of formal refinement techniques applied to a genuine industrial scale application, and is notable for being the first verification to achieve ITSEC level E6 certification. A formal abstract model including security properties, and a formal concrete model of the system design were developed, and a complex formal refinement was then hand-proved between them in Z. Despite this success, certain requirements issues were set beyond the scope of the formal development, or handled in an unnatural manner, in order to establish the refinement relation. Retrenchment is reviewed in a form suitable for integration with Z refinement, and is used to address one such issue in detail: the finiteness of the transaction sequence number in the purse funds transfer protocol. A retrenchment is constructed from the lowest level model of the Purse system to a model in which sequence numbers are finite, using a suitable elaboration of the Z promotion [21] technique. We overview the lifting of that retrenchment to the abstraction level of the higher models of the Purse system. The retrenchment-enhanced formal development is proposed as a methodological pattern for the verification of an application of this kind. The concessions of the various retrenchments formally capture the dissonance between the unbounded sequence number idealisation and the bounded reality. Reasoning about when the concession can become valid influences the actual choice of sequence number bound.


In this paper, we analyze the performance of space-time codes by deriving a new approximation of the frame error probabilities for space-time trellis-coded modulations over quasi-static Rayleigh-fading channels. We take advantage of two techniques, the modified bounding technique and the limiting-before-averaging technique, to tighten the upper bound. In addition, we establish a theorem that enables us to reduce the computation and memory needed to calculate the frame error rate (FER) approximation. The newly derived approximation is very tight, requires only the distance spectrum of the space-time code, and can be computed through single numerical integration. Numerical results exhibit that the new approximation is much closer to the simulation results than other existing bounds are, especially in the case of one receive antenna.


Efficient singlet energy transfer from the charge-transfer (CT) excited state of (R~(bpy)~)~+ (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) to several laser dyes has been demonstrated. The limiting efficiencies of dye singlet state formation are 1.00 which shows the efficiency of formation of the sensitizing state of (Ru(bpy)J2+ is unity. For most of the dyes in methanol, energy transfer is shown to be predominantly by diffusion-assisted Forster transfer. For Rhodamine 101, however, energy transfer is predominantly by a contact exchange transfer. This result shows that the CT state of the sensitizer has a great deal of singlet character and should be referred to as a spin-orbit state.


The present study was aimed to explore the moderating role of organizational size in the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational innovation. The study also examined the impact of transformational leadership on organizational innovation. A purposive sample of 296 managers from the telecommunication sector of Pakistan participated in the study. The age range of managers was from 25 to 60 years with mean age of 42.5, (SD = 11.27) years. Hierarchical regression models demonstrated organizational size significantly moderating the relationship between transformational leadership. The results further revealed that organizational size significantly moderated the relationship between all facets of transformational leadership (Attributed Charisma, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation and Individualized Consideration) and organizational innovation except idealized influence. The results also exhibit positive and significant impact of transformational leadership on organizational innovation.

 Key words: Organizational innovation, transformational leadership, organizational size, attributed charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and Individualized consideration, idealized influence.


Distance relays have many characteristics such as Impedance, lenticular, Offset Mho, Mho and Quadrilateral characteristics. Quadrilateral characteristics provide highly suitable protection for Transmission line as compared to other characteristics. Quadrilateral relay provides flexible protection during high fault resistance of ground and phase faults. This is advantageous for protection of phase-to-earth faults on short lines, lines without earth wires, non-effectively earthed systems and feeders with extremely high tower footing resistance. This also provides fault impedance coverage for both phase to phase and phase to ground faults without effecting load encroachment. I explained factors impacting performance of Quadrilateral relay focusing on accuracy and speed of operation. In this paper Quadrilateral relay system and Bergeron model type transmission line are designed and simulated using PSCAD/EMTDC analysis software to study the different type of fault at various fault resistances. A Fast Fourier technique is used to generate apparent impedance. The simulation result shows Quadrilateral relay are highly suitable for protection of extra high voltage transmission line during resistance faults. This scheme improves the sensitivity, and reliability. Index Terms — Distance Protection, EHV Transmission line, High Resistance faults, PSCAD/EMTDC


The proliferation of realtime multimedia services requires huge amounts of data transactions demanding strict quality-of-service (QoS) guarantees. Multicast transmission is a promising technique because of its efficient network resource utilization. However, high head-of-line (HOL) blocking probability and lack of service-specific QoS control should be addressed for practical implementations of multicast networks. In this paper, a topology aware fanout set division (TAFD) scheme is proposed to resolve these problems. The proposed scheme is composed of two techniques that reduce HOL blocking probability and expedite packet delivery for large-delay branches regarding multicast tree topology. Since management of global topology information is not necessary, scalability of the proposed scheme is guaranteed. Mathematical analysis investigates effects of the proposed scheme and derives optimal operational parameters. The evaluation results show that the TAFD scheme achieves significant delay reduction and satisfies required delay bounds on various multicast networks.


Background: In forensic identification, the mouth allows for a myriad of possibilities. The use of lip prints is not so popular but exists as a methodology in forensic science. Hence Dental surgeon has to actively play his role in personal identification and criminal investigation, as his evidence would be very much useful in law and justice. Objective: The objective of present study was to evaluate in depth the lip print patterns in relation to gender, its consistency for a period of time, to ascertain whether there is any hereditary pattern in lip prints among families with siblings and twins, and thereby, to investigate whether the lip prints are unique to any blood group in the population under investigation. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 100 students and 10 family with children and twins respectively. The lip-print of each subject was obtained on a microscopic glass slide without applying anything and developed with carbon powder dusting with ostrich brush. Blood group information was noted. Results: Our study showed, in boys, the Type I (complete vertical), in girls, Type II (branched) and among both, type II (branched) lip print pattern to be most prominent pattern. The present study showed a good consistency of the lip print pattern when observed for a period of six months consecutively. The study has not found any statistical correlation of lip print with family members or even any correlation between blood group and lip prints. Conclusion: Although lip print identification has been utilized in the court of law in isolated cases, more research needs to be conducted in this field, with regard to confirmation of its uniqueness. Hence chelioscopy has to be carried out in depth on larger sample size using newer scientific technologies.


Since Azerbaijan is one of the oil exporting countries, its macroeconomic indicators, especially the exchange rate, the state budget are highly dependent on the oil factor. This study assessed the role of oil in the economy and the impact of the oil factor on the revenues and expenditures of the state budget of Azerbaijan in manat and dollar terms. The study covers the period 2005m03 − 2022m05. Unit root (Augmented Dickey−Fuller (ADF), Phillips−Perron (PP) and Kwiatkowski−Phillips−Schmidt−Shin (KPSS)) tests were applied to check the stationarity of variables (time series). ARDL was applied as a research method. In terms of the reliability of the obtained results, the error correction model (ECM) was used, standard tests were carried out, and the joint integration methods of FMOLS, DOLS and CCR were also applied in the evaluation. Engel−Granger and Phillips−Ouliaris tests have been used to test for cointegration interactions between variables. Short−term, long−term, and strong associations between variables were also calculated. The results of the study showed that the state budget depends on the oil and gas sector, and fluctuations in world oil prices functionally and along the chain affect oil revenues and the state budget. A different impact of oil prices (oil revenues) on the state budget in terms of manat and dollar was the devaluation of the manat, which was carried out to reduce the impact of the global financial and economic crisis on Azerbaijan. The general conclusion of the study was a recommendation to further accelerate work on the diversification of the economy and the development of the non−oil sector. The results of the conducted research can serve as a scientific basis for the economic policy of the state aimed at reducing the impact of external oil price shocks on the economy of Azerbaijan and other similar oil−exporting countries, including on the state budget, and diversifying the economy. The functional dependencies of the income and expenses of the state budget in terms of manat and dollar on world oil prices are given below.


The issue about the right to work full time has been debated for long time. The demand for the right to work full time is driven by the trade union movement as well as by politicians. It can be hard to earn a living when you work part-time, and from that aspect the part-time worker has an entitled interest to ask for such a high employment rate as possible. On the other hand the employer has an interest to fit his organization to match the production, or in the retail trade sector, to the customers behaviour. In many ways, these two interests directly contravene to each other, and if the interests of one part is satisfied the other part's interest is violated. It is this relation between the employer's managerial prerogative and the employment protection I have chosen to examine. I have chosen to look at two typical cases. One is when the employer through a reorganisation wants to convert full-time jobs into part-time jobs, or wants to decrease the employment rate of existent part-time jobs. The other typical case is when an employee due to section 25 a of the 1982:80 Employment Protection Act wants to increase his employment rate and it contradicts to the organization the employer wants to have.

In two important cases the Labour Court dealt with both of these typical cases in the summer of 2012, and these cases - Labour Court judgement AD 2012:47 and Labour Court judgement AD 2012:41 are central in my thesis, even though my conclusions are based on several cases from the Labour Court and on doctrine.

Shortage of work considered to be objective ground for notice of termination. The term shortage of work is negatively defined. Termination grounds that are not related to the employee personally is defined as shortage of work. It means that if an employer wants to make a reorganisation where part-time jobs replace full-time jobs and its necessary to terminate employees, these notices of termination is based on shortage of work. These notices of termination is objectively grounded if the employer has conducted a careful and serious assessment of the future needs. My conclusion is that the requirement for the employer to show that he has conducted a careful and serious assessment are relatively low.

I have also concluded that an employer who wants to decrease the employment rate of an employee's when such a reorganisation is done probably can do it without having to apply the rules on priority, and consequently can evade the purposes of the 1982:80 Employment Protection Act.

When it comes to an employee who wants to increase his employment rate it basically requires a vacancy that correspond to the desired employment rate of the employee, otherwise the employer don't have to satisfy the desire. The interest of the employer in obtaining control over his organization outweighs the interest of the employee in increasing his employment rate.


Current treatment options for acute coronary syndromes as well as chronic stable angina often include the use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with routine stenting. The clear benefits of stents have lead to their routine use for prevention of restenosis. However, the benefits of stenting demonstrated on some aspects of restenosis are compromised by the induction of restenosis by neointimal hyperplasia that is stimulated by standard bare metal stents. FDA has approved 2 drug-eluting stents (DES). DES create a local delivery system at the vascular site to reduce restenosis by neointimal hyperplasia. Multiple clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the use of DES. This article reviews the use of PCl in coronary artery disease, the evolution and pathophysiology of restenosis, and multiple aspects of DES technology. While DES may not be a direct pharmacy and therapeutics committee responsibility, committee members are being called upon to provide insights into pathway processes for medical technology review committees evaluating DES since these products contain a key pharmacologic component. There are also important adjunctive antiplatelet therapy protocols that need to be developed and adhered to in conjunction with DES in order to ensure optimal outcomes.


2044 CDDO (2-cyano,3,12-dioxoolean-1,9 (11)-dien-28-oic acid; NSC-711193) is a synthetic oleanane triterpenoid that has been shown to have potent differentiating, anti-proliferative, and anti-inflammatory activities both in vitro and in vivo. In preparation for clinical trials, the pharmacokinetics and toxicity of CDDO were investigated in groups of male Fischer rats (4 rats/dose group) and male and female beagle dogs (1 dog/sex/dose group) given single bolus iv doses or 120-hour continuous iv (civ) infusion doses. For rats given single bolus iv doses of 19.8 or 39.6 mg/m2, mean plasma concentrations of CDDO at 5 minutes after dosing increased proportional to the size of the dose and were 17.9 and 32.7 μM, respectively. CDDO was subsequently eliminated from plasma in two apparent phases with mean half-lives of 0.06 hours (α-phase) and 1.95 hours (β-phase). The total body clearance of CDDO was 9.1 L/m2/hr for rats given 19.8 mg/m2 and 9.5 L/m2/hr for rats given 39.6 mg/m2. The steady state volume of distribution (Vdss) was 13.3 or 15.8 L/m2 for rats given 19.8 or 39.6 mg/m2, respectively. For two dogs administered a single iv bolus dose of 60 mg/m2, CDDO was eliminated from plasma with mean half-lives of 0.02 and 0.65 hours. The mean clearance and steady state volume of distribution of CDDO in these dogs were 44.6 L/m2/hr and 26.8 L/m2, respectively. For rats given 120-hour civ doses of 0, 6, 18, 54, or 108 mg/m2/hr, mortality was observed within 24 hours after the start of the infusion of doses ≥18 mg/m2/hr. Drug-related toxicity included adverse clinical signs (diarrhea, hunched posture, piloerection), body weight loss, clinical pathology changes (including increases in BUN, AST, and ALT, and decreases in ALP), and histopathological changes (including lesions in the liver). No toxicity, as indicated by the absence of adverse clinical signs, changes in body weight, or changes in clinical chemistry parameters, was observed for dogs given 120-hr civ doses of CDDO of 20 or 50 mg/m2/hr. Mean steady state plasma concentrations of CDDO observed during the 120-hr infusion period were 0.886 μuM for dogs given 20 mg/m2/hr and 2.46 μM for dogs given 50 mg/m2/hr. The results of these studies indicated that, at the doses given, CDDO exhibited linear pharmacokinetics in rats and dogs. When given as 120-hr civ infusion doses, the maximum tolerated dose of CDDO was


Free-living amoebae (FLA) are protozoa ubiquitously found in nature. In addition to their natural distribution, some species have been documented as pathogenic to humans. The main aim of the current study was the molecular identification, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of morphologically detected FLA in water sources in El-Qalyubia, Egypt. A total of 96 water samples were collected from different water sources. Each water sample was filtrated and cultured on non-nutrient agar (NNA). Morphologically positive FLA were subjected to PCR, PCR products were sequenced and the obtained sequences were phylogenetically analysed. FLA were found in 41 water samples examined (42.7%). Nile water and groundwater were the sources with the highest prevalence rates (83.3 and 62.5%, respectively). Naegleria italica was first identified in Egypt from the waters of the Nile. In addition, Vahlkampfia spp. and Hartmannella spp. were also detected. However, other FLA species, including Acanthamoeba spp. and the pathogenic Naegleria fowleri, previously reported in Egypt, were not included in this study. The recent identification of these FLA in the Egyptian waters related to human populations indicates the need for more phylogenetic studies using larger sample sizes to investigate their potential threat to human health.


Amphiphilic nylon-3 polymers have been reported to mimic the biological activities of natural antimicrobial peptides, with high potency against bacteria and minimal toxicity toward eukaryotic cells. Amphiphilic balance, determined by the proportions of hydrophilic and lipophilic subunits, is considered one of the most important features for achieving this activity profile for nylon-3 polymers and many other antimicrobial polymers. Insufficient hydrophobicity often correlates with weak activities against bacteria, whereas excessive hydrophobicity correlates with high toxicity toward eukaryotic cells. To ask whether factors beyond amphiphilic balance influence polymer activities, we synthesized and evaluated new nylon-3 polymers with two stereoisomeric subunits, each bearing an ethyl side chain and an aminomethyl side chain. Subunits that differ only in stereochemistry are predicted to contribute equally to amphiphilic balance, but we observed that the stereochemical difference correlates with significant changes in biological activity profile. Antibacterial activities were not strongly affected by subunit stereochemistry, but the ability to disrupt eukaryotic cell membranes varied considerably. Experiments with planar lipid bilayers and synthetic liposomes suggested that eukaryotic membrane disruption results from polymer-mediated formation of large pores. Collectively, our results suggest that factors other than amphiphilic balance influence the membrane activity profile of synthetic polymers. Subunits that differ in stereochemistry are likely to have distinct conformational propensities, which could potentially lead to differences in the average shapes of polymer chains, even when the subunits are heterochiral. These findings highlight a dimension of polymer design that should be considered more broadly in efforts to improve specificity and efficacy of antimicrobial polymers.


Through digital platforms, collaborative consumption allows access to various products and services, taking on an essential role in the construction of identities. By expanding the participation of individuals in the choices of their travels and allowing direct contact between users, this form of consumption has managed to attract people searching for alternatives within the tourism market, and has given space for the anti-tourist discourse, aimed at consumers looking to distance themselves from traditional tourism, usually in mass. Understanding that consumers act in the propagation of discourses and images about a service or destination, as well as in the construction of their consumer identity, this study sought to understand how Airbnb users interpret the messages presented by the platform and relate them to their tourist (traditional) or traveler (anti-tourist) identity. The results of this study, of qualitative nature, obtained from the analysis of the data generated by semi-structured interviews, indicate that the interviewees identify themselves more with the proposal of the services offered by the platform than with the idea of being a tourist or a traveler. With similar interests, users reveal that they have consumption characteristics common to both consumer profiles, varying according to the type of trip that each one takes.


Symbolic analysis potentialities for gaining circuit insight and for efficient repetitive evaluations have been limited by the exponential increase of formula complexity with the circuit size. This drawback has begun to be solved by the introduction of simplification before and during generation techniques. An appropriate error control in both involves the generation of a numerical reference, which implies the calculation of network functions in the complex frequency variable. The polynomial interpolation method, traditionally used for this task, is analyzed in detail, its limitations for large circuit analysis are pointed out, and an adaptive scaling mechanism is proposed to meet the efficiency and accuracy requirements imposed by the new simplification methodologies.


Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is increasingly being used to assess patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) at low-intermediate risk because it has high sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive value for the detection of CAD. Technological advancements in the quantification and functional assessment of epicardial coronary stenosis by means of fractional flow reserve derived from computed tomography (FFRCT) have raised the possibility of expanding CCTA use to guide decision-making regarding revascularization strategies in CAD patients. Recent data have shown that initial diagnostic evaluation of coronary anatomy by CCTA vs standard of care in patients with suspected CAD is associated with lower rates of cardiac death or nonfatal myocardial infarction without long-term use of coronary angiography or coronary revascularization, suggesting a prognostic value of anatomic assessment in patients with suspected CAD. Good quality images are needed for reliable interpretations and results. Radiation exposure is still a concern.


Fifteen samples from the Delmar Formation and Ardath Shale (lower middle Eocene) and six from the Mission Valley Formation (middle or upper part of the middle Eocene) of San Diego contain about 180 sporomorph (pollen and spore) taxa. The high diversities of Pinaceae-Podocarpaceae, Ephedra-Ephedripites, Palmae, Onagraceae, Bombacaceae-Sterculiaceae-Tiliaceae, and perhaps Euphorbiaceae are similar to those of the modern flora of the region. The flora apparently represents a warmer climate than does the coeval flora of the Gulf Coast. The Eocene flora of San Diego only moderately resembles the present flora of southern California and northwestern Mexico--for example, Fagaceae (oaks, etc) are very rare or absent; this suggests a different climate from that of the present (pro ably more moist and perhaps summerwet rather than summer-dry). In contrast, the middle and upper Eocene assemblages of the Gulf Coast are rich in Fagaceae pollen; these assemblages suggest that the Eocene climate was somewhat warmer but otherwise rather like the present climate of this region. Relatively few sporomorph taxa are common to the middle Eocene of southern California and the Gulf Coast. Sporomorph correlations between the two regions are also difficult at present because the ranges of the San Diego taxa are unknown above or below the middle Eocene in southern California. Nevertheless, Milfordia hungarica and Yeguapollis may prove to be useful for correlating the middle Eocene from southern California with the palynologically better known Gulf Coast units. End_of_Article - Last_Page 927------------


The objectives of this research were to quantify tilapia yields resulting from established Pond Dynamics/ Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support Program pond nutrient input strategies under the climatic, edaphic and water quality conditions found in Egypt, and to compare these results to those obtained using traditional Egyptian management practices. Five treatments, each replicated four times, were tested in 0.1-ha earthen ponds. Treatments were: Traditional Egyptian, Enhanced Egyptian, Feed Only, Fertilization then Feed, and Chemical Fertilization. Ponds were stocked with 20,000 Oreochromis niloticus /ha; mixed-sex fish were stocked in Egyptian treatments and sex-reversed fish in all others. The duration of the experiment was 145 days. Nile tilapia gross yield differed significantly among treatments and ranged from 1,278 kg/ha (chemical fertilizer treatment) to 2,877 kg/ha (fertilization then feed treatment). Wild tilapia ( O. aureus, Sarotherodon galilae, Tilapia zilli) invaded all ponds and contributed 81 to 686 kg/ha to total tilapia yield treatment means. Thus, total tilapia yield ranged from 1,407 to 3,537 kg/ha and represented from 78% to 96% of gross fish yield. Gross fish yields ranged from 1,526 to 4,074 kg/ha. Tilapia yields in the Traditional Egyptian and Fertilizer then Feed treatments were significantly greater than in the Chemical Fertilizer treatment. Tilapia are marketed in Egypt by size class as follows: 1st class – 1 to 5 fish/kg; 2nd class – 6 to The CRSP also participated in clinical field trials to investigate the safety of using MT for sex reversal of newly hatched tilapia. These experiments supported efforts of Auburn University, the American Tilapia Association, and a commercial feed producer to collect data to obtain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use this drug. This research was carried out under a "compassionate" Investigational New Animal Drug exemption granted by the FDA. The field trial required the production of large amounts of fry for sex-reversal. An additional study, not part of the original research plan, was conducted to determine the relationship between fry production and water temperature. Biotechnology Research Impacts — A receptor assay developed for tilapia may be used as a tool for screening newly developed sex-inverting


We conducted this case-control study to explore the association of serum uric acid (SUA) to HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (UHR) with the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in general Chinese adults. A total of 636 patients with NAFLD and 754 controls from affiliated hospital of Qingdao University in China between January to December 2016 were involved. NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography after excluding other etiologies. The multivariable adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) of NAFLD for the highest versus lowest quartile of UHR was 3.888 (2.324-6.504). In stratified analyses by sex and age, the positive associations between UHR and the risk of NAFLD were statistically significant in each subgroup. In stratified by BMI, the significant positive association was only found in the individuals with BMI≥23.9 kg/m2. Dose-response analysis indicated a linear positive correlation between UHR and NAFLD risk.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Melanoma is highly heterogeneous in vivo compared to two-dimensional (2D) monolayer adherent cells in culture. Using human A375 and WM793 mouse xenografts, we consistently observed a significant increase of HIF-1α expression in many live tumor cells by Immunohistochemistry. This distinct feature confirms that some melanoma cells exist under hypoxia in vivo. We hypothesize that melanoma cells survive under hypoxic conditions due to unique growth and survival pathways, which are likely to alter their sensitivity to current therapeutics. We employed a three-dimensional (3D) culture system with an inorganic nanoscale scaffolding (SCIVAX NanoCulture Plate, NCP), to mimic part of the in vivo system. Human B-RAF(V600E) mutated melanoma cell lines, 451Lu, A375, and MEL1617, were confirmed to form spheroids with NCP in standard RPMI medium with 5% FBS under normoxic incubator conditions. The majority of melanoma cells in spheroids were identified as hypoxia as indicated by the hypoxic probe LOX-1. The fluorescence of LOX-1 is quenched by oxygen and increased in response to low levels of oxygen, which was consistently negative in parallel monolayer cultures of these same three melanoma cell lines. Furthermore, cells within the melanoma spheroids differentially expressed HIF-1α and VEGF, at both mRNA and protein levels; also both were undetectable in monolayer cultures in all three tested cell lines. Using this system, melanoma spheroids and 2D-monolayer cultures were treated with the B-RAF(V600E) inhibitor, Vemurafenib. Then the cell viability and expression of signaling markers were compared between 2D and 3D cultures. Data from our MTT assays indicated that the 3D melanoma spheroids were more resistant to Vemurafenib than 2D-cultured cells by 20-30% in all three tested cell lines. We then employed a human phospho-kinase array (R&D System) to study multiple kinase pathways related to hypoxia, and found that the phosphorylated c-Met was significantly increased in 3D melanoma spheroids than 2D-cultured cells, and was confirmed by western blot. This data suggested that hypoxia drove c-Met activation in melanoma spheroids. By employing preclinical c-Met inhibitor in 3D culture, we found that it significantly prevent 3D-spheroid formation (40∼60%) and HIF-1α expression. Combined, evidence suggested that hypoxia drove c-Met activation and resistance to Vemurafenib in melanoma cells of 3D spheroids, which may partially reflect the cellular signature of melanoma cells under hypoxia in vivo. Taking advantage of the ability of c-Met inhibitor preventing melanoma spheroid formation, we proposed that combination of c-Met inhibitor and Vemurafenib was a potential therapy strategy to overcome resistant melanoma cells under hypoxia in patients. Further experiments on melanoma spheroids and mouse model to address this concept are in progress.

Citation Format: Yong Qin, Victoria R. Greene, Chandrani Chattopadhyay, Suhendan Ekmekcioglu, Chengwen Liu, Elizabeth A. Grimm. Induction of hypoxia in 3D human melanoma spheroids leads to c-Met activation and resistance to Vemurafenib. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2936. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2936


This study reviews the species of the tribe Smicronychini Seidlitz, 1891 found in southern Africa. In total, 18 species are recognized in this region, 12 of them being described as new (Sharpia madibai sp. nov., Afrosmicronyx cycnii sp. nov., A. louwi sp. nov., A. marshalli sp. nov., A. nebulosipennis sp. nov., Smicronyx pseudocoecus sp. nov., S. australis sp. nov., S. drakensbergensis sp. nov., S. gracilipes sp. nov., S. paucisquamis sp. nov., S. san sp. nov., S. similis sp. nov.). The following genera and species are newly reported from this area: Afrosmicronyx Hustache, 1935; Sharpia Tournier, 1873; Smicronyx pauperculus Wollaston, 1864; S. albosquamosus Wollaston, 1854 and S. namibicus Haran, 2018. New host plant taxa and plant associations for the tribe are reported among the families Gentianaceae Juss., Orobanchaceae Vent. and Convolvulaceae Juss. A key to species and images of the habitus of adults and male genitalia are provided.


Administrative controls exist to ensure that business activities are correctly managed and controlled according to corporate and legal regulations. With many organisations reliant on complex IT solutions these controls relate to functionality of software. In this paper we present an extension for business process models to express administrative controls, such as role-based, mandatory or dynamic separation of duty access control policies on the abstraction level of business process models. A model-driven approach is applied to generate platform-specific policies. As an example we utilise the eXtensible Access Control Markup Language (XACML).


Fast image acquisition in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is important, due to the need to find ways that help relieve patient's stress during MRI scans. Methods for fast MRI have been proposed, most notably among them are pMRI (parallel MRI), SWIFT (SWeep Imaging with Fourier Transformation), and compressed sensing (CS) based MRI. Although it promises to significantly reduce acquisition time, applying CS to MRI leads to difficulties with hardware design because of the randomness nature of the measurement matrix used by the conventional CS methods. In this paper, we propose a novel method that combines the above-mentioned three approaches for fast MRI by designing a compound measurement matrix from a series of single measurement matrices corresponding to pMRI, SWIFT, and CS. In our method, the CS measurement matrix is designed to be deterministic via chaotic systems. This chaotic compressed sensing (CCS) measurement matrix, while retaining most features of the random CS matrix, is simpler to realize in hardware. Several compound measurement matrices have been constructed and examined in this work, including CCS-MRI, CCS-pMRI, CCS-SWIFT, and CCS-pSWIFT. Simulation results showed that the proposed method allows an increase in the speed of the MRI acquisition process while not compromising the quality of the acquired MR images.


An electron-proton/ion collider facility (eRHIC) is under consideration at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). Such a new facility will require the design and construction of a new optimized detector profiting from the world's first ep collider facility HERA at DESY. The detailed design is closely coupled to the design of the interaction region and thus to the machine development work in general. Implications and constraints on the ep(A) interaction-region design will be discussed.


Poor people save. The conventional view is that low-income depositors transact more frequently than holders of larger accounts and are more prone to income disruptions from natural disasters, health issues, crime, and other factors. This perception makes financial institutions stepping into the under-served low-income space worry about whether they can use small deposits to fund their lending operations. But new research finds that under normal circumstances, aggregate balances for low-income accounts move gradually, and they are not prone to abrupt month-by month swings. This should make liquidity management easier because it gives the institutions enough time to adjust to changes in deposit supply over several months.


Obesity is a characteristic of COVID-19 patients and the risk of malnutrition can be underestimated due to excess of fat: a paradoxical danger. Long ICU hospitalization exposes patients to a high risk of wasting and loss of lean body mass. The complex management precludes the detection of anthropometric parameters for the definition and monitoring of the nutritional status. The use of imaging diagnostics for body composition could help to recognize and treat patients at increased risk of wasting with targeted pathways. COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU underwent computed tomography within 24 h and about 20 days later, to evaluate the parameters of the body and liver composition. The main results were the loss of the lean mass index and a greater increase in liver attenuation in obese subjects. These could be co-caused by COVID-19, prolonged bed rest, the complex medical nutritional therapy, and the starting condition of low-grade inflammation of the obese. The assessment of nutritional status, with body composition applied to imaging diagnostics and metabolic profiles in COVID-19, will assist in prescribing appropriate medical nutritional therapy. This will reduce recovery times and complications caused by frailty.


Abstract We report for the first time the direct growth of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) monolayers on nanostructured silicon-on-insulator waveguides. Our results indicate the possibility of utilizing the Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) on nanostructured photonic devices in a scalable process. Direct growth of 2D material on nanostructures rectifies many drawbacks of the transfer-based approaches. We show that the van der Waals material grow conformally across the curves, edges, and the silicon–SiO2 interface of the waveguide structure. Here, the waveguide structure used as a growth substrate is complex not just in terms of its geometry but also due to the two materials (Si and SiO2) involved. A transfer-free method like this yields a novel approach for functionalizing nanostructured, integrated optical architectures with an optically active direct semiconductor.


The authors investigated whether speakers who named several objects processed them sequentially or in parallel. Speakers named object triplets, arranged in a triangle, in the order left, right, and bottom object. The left object was easy or difficult to identify and name. During the saccade from the left to the right object, the right object shown at trial onset (the interloper) was replaced by a new object (the target), which the speakers named. Interloper and target were identical or unrelated objects, or they were conceptually unrelated objects with the same name (e.g., bat [animal] and [baseball] bat). The mean duration of the gazes to the target was shorter when interloper and target were identical or had the same name than when they were unrelated. The facilitatory effects of identical and homophonous interlopers were significantly larger when the left object was easy to process than when it was difficult to process. This interaction demonstrates that the speakers processed the left and right objects in parallel.


Purpose This study was designed to determine whether preclerkship performance examinations could accurately identify medical students at risk for failing a senior clinical performance examination (CPE). Method This study used a retrospective case–control, multiyear design, with contingency table analyses, to examine the performance of 412 students in the classes of 2005 to 2010 at a midwestern medical school. During their second year, these students took four CPEs that each used three standardized patient (SP) cases, for a total of 12 cases. The authors correlated each student's average year 2 case score with the student's average case score on a senior (year 4) CPE. Contingency table analysis was carried out using performance on the year 2 CPEs and passing/failing the senior CPE. Similar analyses using each student's United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 scores were also performed. Sensitivity, specificity, odds ratio, and relative risk were calculated for two year 2 performance standards. Results Students' low performances relative to their class on the year 2 CPEs were a strong predictor that they would fail the senior CPE. Their USMLE Step 1 scores also correlated with their performance on the senior CPE, although the predictive values for these scores were considerably weaker. Conclusions Under the conditions of this study, preclerkship (year 2) CPEs strongly predicted medical students at risk for failing a senior CPE. This finding opens the opportunity for remediation of deficits prior to or during clerkships.


Rats were stressed by intravenous injection, tail-warming or moderate restraint for 30s, i.e. by stresses imposed by normal handling during experiment. Liver glutamate concentrations were greatly affected. The results were substantially the same in two varieties of rat (Wistar and Sprague-Dawley), in two laboratories, in experiments carried out by two sets of workers, and after all three stresses. The following detailed results refer to Wistar rats. 1. In starved rats at 20 degrees C and 30 degrees C and in post-absorptive rats at 20 degrees C stress by injection raised liver glutamate concentrations from 1.54, 1.57 and 1.88mumol/g wet wt. 30s after injection to 3.4, 2.7 and 3.6mumol/g wet wt. respectively a few minutes later. In starved rats at 20 degrees C the concentration then fell slowly to 2.3mumol/g wet wt., in starved rats at 30 degrees C it remained steady, and in post-absorptive rats at 20 degrees C it rose slowly to about 4.3mumol/g wet wt. The final values seemed fairly steady and corresponded to an ;alert' state. 2. In starved rats at 20 degrees C anaesthesia, with or without injection or cannulation during it, raised glutamate concentrations to the ;alert' values, which were maintained for 2-3h. 3. Liver alanine concentration in post-absorptive rats initially fell from 1.5 to 0.8mumol/g, and then stayed fairly constant. 4. Aspartate and glutamine concentrations altered only in starved rats, and proportionately much less than those of glutamate. 5. The necessity for knowing the time-dependence of glutamate concentrations after experimental handling is emphasized. 6. There is no wholly satisfactory explanation of the observations.


Two new models for specific power losses in cold-rolled motor lamination steel are described together with procedures for coefficient identification from standard multifrequency Epstein or single sheet tests. The eddy-current and hysteresis loss coefficients of the improved models are dependent on induction (flux density) and/or frequency, and the errors are substantially lower than those of conventional models over a very wide range of sinusoidal excitation, from 20 Hz to 2 kHz and from 0.05 up to 2 T. The model that considers the coefficients to be variable, with the exception of the hysteresis loss power coefficient that has a constant value of 2, is superior in terms of applicability and phenomenological support. Also included are a comparative study of the material models on three samples of typical steel, mathematical formulations for the extension from the frequency to the time domain, and examples of validation from electrical machine studies.


A set of equations dependent on specified pollutant trap efficiency for computing storage capacity-treatment rate combinations of a stormwater detention system is provided. The equations are expressed in terms of the statistics of the runoff event variables: mean depth, duration, and interevent time. The hydrologic random variables are assumed to be independent and exponentially distributed. A mass balance equation is derived for the detention unit based on a first-order pollutant load model. With the aid of statistical derived distribution techniques, an expression for the expected pollutant washoff load is derived, which is further used to develop analytical storage/treatment isoquants for specified levels of pollutant trap efficiency. The isoquants are defined in terms of the design storage capacity, the treatment rate, the pollutant trap efficiency, and the runoff process statistics. A further extension of the model allows the derivation of equations for the estimation of the settling efficiency of pollutants of stored stormwater. The estimators for storage capacity-treatment rate are obtained from closed form expressions that, in addition, yield lower and upper bound estimates of the design variables. Illustrative examples using data for catchments in Minneapolis and Denver are provided.


Abstract This article deals with the transfer of Arab visual theory to the West. It is little known that visual theory in the West was based on The Book of Optics by Ibn al Haithan, also known as Alhazen, and was translated into Latin as Perspectiva. The article therefore speaks of a double perspective, one of visual theory (Arab optics), and the other of pictorial theory (Renaissance perspective in art). The main argument identifies the importance of Arab optics that led to realism in Renaissance art. However, the concept of geometry in Arab optics must be distinguished from its representational function in Western visual culture.


Objective: Analyze the density of mast cells in Actinic cheilitis according to the histological characteristics of the lesion compared with the normal mucosa. Material and Methods: Descriptive study where the sample consisted of two groups, the first with 33 specimens of cases of actinic cheilitis diagnosed clinically, and the second consists of 9 specimens of normal oral mucosa, registered in the Service of Head and Neck Hospital Dr. Napoleon Laureano, Joao Pessoa, PB. The paraffin blocks of the sample were cut and stained with hematoxylin and eosin to assess the degree of dysplasia and inflammatory infiltrate, and toluidine blue to quantify mast cells. The count of mast cells was performed with the aid of a square grid in the case of field 8. The final reading was expressed with an average value of mast cells by case / μm². Data were analyzed by SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 15.0. Results: In 57.6% of cases there was some degree of dysplasia, and 39.4% mild, 15.2% moderate and 3% severe. 21.2% had squamous cell carcinoma. The presence of inflammatory infiltrate and solar elastosis was observed in 84.9% and 81.8%, respectively. Mast cells were identified in 87.8% of the sample. The density of mast cells in cases of Actinic Cheilitis was 17.4 ± 10.4 cells / μm² and 1.78 ± 1.64 normal tissue cells / μm² (p <0.001). There was a statistically significant correlation between mast cell density with the processes of dysplasia (p = 0.004) and inflammatory cell infiltration (p = 0.000). Conclusion: The increase in mast cell density in actinic cheilitis lesions and its correlation with the processes of inflammation and dysplasia suggest involvement of these cells in disease progression for Squamous Cell Carcinoma lip.


Mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) are a primitive used in quantum information processing to capture the principle of complementarity. While constructions of maximal sets of d+1 such bases are known for system of prime power dimension d, it is unknown whether this bound can be achieved for any non-prime power dimension. In this paper we demonstrate that maximal sets of MUBs come with a rich combinatorial structure by showing that they actually are the same objects as the complex projective 2-designs with angle set {0, 1/d}. We also give a new and simple proof that symmetric informationally complete POVMs are complex projective 2-designs with angle set {1/(d+1)}


We present the design of Plurality, an interactive tagging system. Plurality's modular architecture allows users to automatically generate high-quality tags over Web content, as well as over archival and personal content typically beyond the reach of existing Web 2.0 social tagging systems. Three of the salient features of Plurality are: (i) its self-learning and feedback-sensitive capabilities based on a user's personalized tagging style; (ii) its leveraging of the collective intelligence of existing social tagging services; and (iii) its context-awareness for optimizing tag suggestions, e.g., based on spatial or temporal features.


When New York applied to the National Science Foundation9s Statewide Systemic Initiatives program in 1993, its strategy was to start with the toughest schools--in economically depressed, high-minority, inner city areas--and then build up from there. Less than 2 years into the program at Buffalo9s Southside School, state officials were pointing to a new approach to learning, including hands-on activities such as labs and field trips, that was transforming student attitudes toward science and math. But such changes didn9t translate into what many would consider success--improved student test scores--and the program was ended.


The causal agent was a Salmonella in three cases and a Pseudomonas Aeruginosa in one case. In these four patients there was no evidence of endocardities and the causal germ was verified by the bacteriological cultures of the anevrysmal lesions and/or by the blood cultures. In one patient full recovery was obtained by surgical repair after complete bacteriologic cure.


The primary measurement made of reef fishes is abundance, which is used to compare populations and understand the processes affecting their dynamics. Abundance is typically expressed as counts of individuals or total biomass, conveying distinct but related information about the state of a fish population or community at a given point in time. Total community abundance varies at scales ranging from entire ocean basins to habitat patches on individual reefs, due to a range of processes that vary in relative importance at different scales. At local to regional scales, abundance changes between and within species in accordance with well-established macro-ecological patterns: variation in abundance among species typically follows a log-normal distribution, while temporal variation within species conforms to Taylor's power law. Changes in the relative abundance of species occur at all scales and reflect the aggregate effects of species-specific responses to scale-specific processes. The diverse and multi-scale patterns of variation in fish abundance suggest that the application of hierarchical models, which explicitly specify the scales at which different processes influence abundance, will lead to a more holistic understanding of reef fish ecology.

Abundance is the most commonly measured quantity in studies of reef fishes. It is also a major determinant of the effect that a population of reef fishes has in a coral reef ecosystem. Reef fish abundance may be measured in numbers of individuals or estimates of population biomass, conveying distinct but related information about the state of a reef fish community. Counts (or densities, if normalized to a sample area) are more common, presumably due to their greater ease of collection. However, there is growing evidence that trained observers are able to estimate fish lengths with only minimal bias [736], and that, in conjunction with reliable taxon-specific length–weight relationships, biomass estimates can be reliably obtained [74]. Because the extent to which a species can perform ecological functions (e.g. consume algae, or provide nutrition for humans) often depends upon population biomass more strongly than numerical abundance, biomass has become increasingly important in reef ecosystem research.


This article analyses the relationship between discourse and identity in the case of the People's Republic of China in Africa. It assumes that the interests of the Chinese government in Africa can be understood from a theoretical constructivist approach. So, the activities of International Development Cooperation of China into Africa are a result of material and ideational aspirations. Thus, the ties of China in Africa have been boosted by the identity of the Chinese state in the international arena. To understand how identity and interest are linked, this article analyses the official discourse of China in Forum on China Africa Cooperation. Thus,14 official discourses areanalyzed to determine how these discoursesreinforce theidentity of the Chinese state and how that identity is reflected in these discourses, inan intersubjectiveprocess.This article concludes that words and ideas have become an institutional mechanism that is consistent and well defined, and in which the relationship between China and Africa has been oriented.


Photonic nanostructures, manipulating and confining light on the nanometer scale, provide new opportunities to improve the efficiency of solar energy conversion. Optical microcavities confine light to small volumes by resonant recirculation. Plasmonic metal nanostructures with surface plasmon resonances can act as antennas to localize optical energy and control the location of charge carrier generation. Photonic crystals can enhance the interaction of light with a semiconductor. Integrated photonic crystals and the plasmonic effects of micro-structural materials may have a superposition effect in controlling light. Some applications and practical examples with respect to improving the efficiency of solar energy conversion with photonic nanostructures have been reviewed, demonstrating how such structures can enhance light absorption and improve the generation and separation of photoexcited charge carriers in photocatalytic degradation, solar water splitting, photovoltaic devices and CO2 photoreduction. Distinct from other published reviews, we simultaneously discuss several different types of photonic nanostructures in order to show the similarities and differences of photonic structures for solar energy conversion. Furthermore, the combination of different types of photonic nanostructures for developing more efficient solar energy conversion systems is discussed and explored.


This paper proposes an adaptive modulation algorithm for orthogonal frequency and code division multiplexing (OFCDM) system to increase the spectral efficiency without sacrificing the BER performance under different spreading factors. The proposed algorithm is used with an adaptive subcarrier allocation technique which assigns users to subcarriers to minimize the overall BER of the system. A fixed threshold is used to switch between modulation levels depending on the estimated SINR in each group. A spectral efficiency of 3.2 bits per symbol is obtained for a target BER of 10-2. BCH (511, 385) coding with rate 3/4 used to accommodate a lower target BER of 10-3 yields a spectral efficiency of 2.8 bits per symbol. The proposed algorithm provides an increase in spectral efficiency than using BPSK only, without increasing the total transmit power.


Twenty years have passed since the Bantustans were reintegrated into South Africa. Yet for the 17 million people still living in these former homelands, the struggle for full recognition of their land rights persists. The post-1994 government refers to the former homelands as 'communal areas', where 'communal tenure' is at play. This paper focuses on 'communal tenure' reform developments (or lack thereof) with reference to law, policy and practice in rural areas in South Africa.While laws to promote tenure security for farm dwellers and labour tenants have been enacted, there is no legislation beyond the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act (IPILRA) to secure the land rights of people living in the former Bantustans. Despite the post-1994 constitutional requirement that the state make secure the land tenure of people in all of South Africa, it has so far failed to do so. This legislative 'vacuum' has contributed to the precarious nature of people's land rights in the former homelands.This paper argues that communal land tenure is not in a healthy state and discusses recent laws and policies that are symptoms of this ill health, including the 'willing buyer willing seller' policy, the Communal Land Rights Act, the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act and the government's recent new communal land tenure policy. Taking cognisance of the interface between customary and 'informal land rights', and South Africa's legal systems of property recognition, the paper explores the historical roots of the insecurity of land tenure with which millions of South Africans struggle. Finally, the paper diagnoses some of the root causes of the failures of communal land tenure reform and posits some alternative solutions.


One-pot process for the production of ginsenoside Rd by coupling enzyme-assisted extraction with selective enzymolysis was explored in this paper. Several detection methods including HPLC-MS were used to identify and quantify the products in the enzymolysis solution of pectinase. Results showed that ginsenoside Rd was the main component in enzymolysis solution, pectinase specifically hydrolyzes protopanaxadiol (PPD)-type ginsenoside and was a selective enzyme to convert ginsenoside Rb1 to Rd in a way. In addition the influencing factors on the yield of ginsenoside Rb1 and Rd were optimized using L9(34) orthogonal design data. The enzymolysis conditions for the higher yield of Rd were 52.5 °C, pH 6 and 1 h with a yield of 0.8314 from 50 mg drug material. The controllable transformation hypothesis of the PPD-type ginsenoside was also explored from the perspective of the molecular steric hindrance. Pectinase could be used as an efficient enzyme for one-pot producing ginsenoside Rd.


H-trititanate nanotubes obtained by alkali hydrothermal treatment of TiO2 followed by proton exchange were compared to their bulk H2Ti3O7 counterpart with respect to their thermally induced structural transformation paths. As-synthesized and heat-treated samples were characterized by XRD, TEM/SAED, DSC and spectroscopy techniques, indicating that H2Ti3O7 nanotubes showed the same sequence of structural transformations as their bulk counterpart obtained by conventional solid state reaction. Nanostructured H2Ti3O7 converts into TiO2(B) via multistep transformation without losing its nanotubular morphology. The transformation occurs between 120 and 400 °C through topotactic mechanisms with the intermediate formation of nanostructured H2Ti6O13 and H2Ti12O25, which are more condensed layered titanates eventually rearranging to TiO2(B). Our results suggest that the intermediate tunnel structure H2Ti12O25 is the final layered intermediate phase, on which TiO2(B) nucleates and grows. The conversion of nanostructured TiO2(B) into anatase is completed at a much lower temperature than its bulk counterpart and is accompanied by loss of the nanotubular morphology.


The issue to passively control aeroelastic instability of general nonlinear multi-d.o.f. systems, suffering Hopf bifurcation, is addressed. The passive device consists of an essentially nonlinear oscillator (Nonlinear Energy Sink), having the task to transfer energy from the main to the secondary structure. The mathematical problem is attacked by a new algorithm, based on a suitable combination of the Multiple Scale and the Harmonic Balance Methods. The procedure is able to furnish the codimension-2 invariant manifold on which the motion occurs, thus revealing the passive character of the oscillations of the NES. The algorithm also provides the bifurcation equations, which govern the slow flow on the manifold, expressed in terms of the main structure amplitude and phase of motion. It is shown that NES, under suitable conditions, can shift forward the bifurcation point, and, moreover, it can reduce the amplitude of the limit cycles. Theory is applied to a sample structure already studied in literature, consisting of a two-d.o.f. rigid wing under steady wind. Relevant asymptotic results are compared, for validation purposes, with numerical simulations.


Education is a conscious effort to prepare students through guidance, teaching and or practice for the role in the near future. The thesis based on the writer's care about decreasing education. The decreasing influenced by the lack of learning method variance used by the teacher in teaching
and learning process, the students exhausted so that they could not understand what the teacher gave. After the writer did early observation in SMP Muhammadiyah I Malang Junior High School, there found data that classical completeness of students still below the average, so that
the writer took title: "Progress in Biology Activity and Study Achievement of Students VIII B Grade Through Cooperative Learning Numbered Heads Together (NHT) Type at SMP MUhammadiyah I Malang Junior High School". The first purpose was to find out how the students activity after learning with Numbered Heads Together (NHT) type, the second, to increase the biology study achievement of students by using cooperative learning Numbered
Heads Together Type (NHT).
The research included into class action research with descriptive approach. The research was done in July 24th – August 14th 2009 at SMP Muhammadiyah I Malang Junior High School. Data collection was done through observation, test (daily test) at end of cycle, data collected was qualitative descriptive.
The research showed that study activity of students was increasing, in cycle I, the students had no courage to state their opinion and individual. In cycle II, students had courage to state their opinion, had social sense, progressing interaction and cooperation. In cycle II, teacher or researcher had able to manage the class and applying learning scenario in exact way. The complete study achievement in cycle I were 14 students (46,7%) while in cycle II, the amount of complete students were 26 people (86,7%). From the research, there could be concluded that
cooperative learning type Numbered Heads Together (NHT) could increase activity and study achievement of students VIII B Grade at SMP Muhammadiyah I Malang Junior High School.


During the transsphenoidal approach (TSA), the proper sellar floor reconstruction plays an important role in the surgical results. The authors have evaluated the usefulness of a silicone as a substitute for bone splint in sellar floor reconstruction. Silicone plates were used in 10 patients who had 7 pituitary adenomas, 2 Rathke's cleft cysts, and 1 metastatic tumor. Among the ten cases, seven underwent standard TSAs and three received extended TSAs. The silicone plate was cut to a size slightly larger than that of bone window, inserted with a three-pronged fork, and then adjusted precisely. In nine patients, complications that related to surgical repair did not occur. A postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea occurred in one pituitary macroadenoma, and no infection was observed in any case. From the authors' experience, advantages of the silicone plate are its simplicity to shape for any size of defects, and the easy detectability of the previous bone window at reoperation.


Statement of the problem and the purpose of the article. The article presents the analysis of the category of life planning from the point of view of the competence approach. There is a contradiction between the fact that, on the one hand, the ability to set goals and build life plans acts as one of the key results of modern education, and, on the other hand, the life plan is mainly under stood as a static image created in response to the change of the world, and skills for its creation, implementation and adjustment are not considered. To resolve the ex isting contradiction, the concept of the competence of life-building is introduced – the competence to build and implement life plans. Research methodology. The study is theoretical in nature. Theoretical methods of research are used: analy -sis, synthesis, systematization of scientific ideas; system structural, functional and genetic analysis of the prob lem; modeling. The methodology of the study is the subject-activity approach K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavs -kaya, A.V. Brushlinsky, etc.), the competence-based ap proach (Yu.G. Tatur, I.A. Zimnyaya, A.V. Khutorskoy, etc.). Research results. The competence-based approach to the concept of a life plan was proved. On the basis of the allocated contradictions and the analysis of key con cepts the key concept of the research, i.e. the compe tence of life-building, was formulated and defined. The content and results of the preparatory, organizational stage of the study are presented. The novelty and the importance of the research are defined, the research methodology is presented. Conclusion. The theoretical analysis of the prob lem describes the key concepts associated with the competence of life-building, its components, the logical sequence of mental and physical actions of a person in which this competence is realized. The list of conditions for the formation of competence of life-building in the educational process is identified.