The effects of partial-body, single-dose, x-irradiation on the cell kinetics of the mouse small intestine have been intensively studied. Irradiation of the intestinal region with the anterior part of the mouse shielded produced changes in the epithelial cells of the small intestine that were similar in character to that observed with whole-body irradiation but were less severe and recovery took place more rapidly. The recovery was related to an increase in the proliferative population and an acceleration of the cell cycle. The increased proliferativc population persisted longer in the partially shielded animals.


The Quality Matters Article is reprinted from the Australian Association for Quality in Health Care (AAGQHC) Newsletter (Vol 4, No 2). Researched and written by Sharyn White (Senior Planner, Southern Health Advancement Planning Unit, with the South Australian Health Commission) it is an excerpt from a qualifying dissertation for for a Masters in Policy and Administration at Flinders University. Written when the author was the Quality Co-ordinator, Noarlunga Health Services, SA, the article examines the literature related to some of the differences between the public and private health sectors, and explores the use of Total Quality Management systems in public health care facilities in light of the literature. Many of the issues around the use of Total Quality Management in health care remain unresolved. Will it achieve better results than other quality approaches? Can an industrial model achieve improvements in patient care? Is it more appropriate in teh public or private sectors? Is TQM appropriate in health care? Is it just a jargonistic name change? What's the difference, when all is said and done, between TQM and other ways of addressing quality? Does the cost of implementing TQM justify the results? Sharyn White's research addresses some of these issues from a refreshing perspective. My thanks to the author, and to the editors of the AAQHC Newsletter for their permission to reprint the article in Health Information Management Journal.


The heat dissipation capacity of air-cooled computing and telecommunications cabinets is limited by acoustic noise and fan reliability considerations. The present work quantifies the potential for thermal management of a sealed cabinet using an evaporating mist introduced upstream of the high-power electronic components. The proposed concept consists of droplets of mist being dispersed in the air flowing through a heat sink. The evaporated mist is condensed at the outlet of the circuit packs and recycled back to the inlet. The flow and heat-transfer characteristics of mist flows in a representative heat sink inside the cabinet are explored through numerical analysis of the coupled mass, momentum and energy transport equations for an evaporating two-phase mixture. The effect of droplet size and the mist loading fraction on the heat sink temperature reduction is computed and parametrically analyzed. The results reveal significant insights into the complex transport processes associated with mist flows. Mist cooling is shown to offer significant promise as a feasible thermal management solution for telecommunications cabinets and data centers.Copyright © 2009 by ASME


Aged oxide-defined narrow-stripe lasers sometimes exhibit beam narrowing in both the near-field and far-field light distributions, accompanied by the development of sustained pulsations. The beam narrowing is found to correlate with the presence of a darkened area under the stripe viewed by cathodoluminescence imaging. We propose an explanation based on a thermal waveguiding effect resulting from increasing heat dissipation in the darkened area.


Polypyrrole films doped with Cl-, SO42- and 4-toluene sulfonic ions (PPy/Cl-, PPy/SO42-, PPy/Ts-) with different polymerization charges were prepared by electrochemical polymerization. PPy/Ts- films exhibited good electrochemical properties when their polymerization charges were 0.5 C cm-2 and 1 C cm-2. However, PPy/Cl- and PPy/SO42- films exhibited markedly larger specific capacitance than those of PPy/Ts- films when their polymerization charges increased to 2 C cm-2 or 4 C cm-2. A simple model was suggested for explaining the relation between the electrochemical properties and thickness of the PPy films. According to the model, the incremental polymerization bulk of PPy/Ts- films from 1 C cm-2 to 2 C cm-2 is "inactive", which resulted in the reduction of the specific capacitance by half. X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that PPy/Ts- films possessed a more ordered structure, which limited ion diffusion in the PPy matrix. Therefore, the high crystallinity of the PPy film does not always mean good capacitance properties. In the cycle stability test, the PPy/Ts- film exhibited better stability, which should be closely related to its more ordered structure. It is noteworthy that we present a newly developed method to estimate the appropriate thickness of electrode materials, which is significant in the preparation of energy-storage devices.


Processes concerning the diagnosis and treatment of patients cannot be straightjacketed into traditional production-like workflows. They can be best characterized as weakly-connected interacting light-weight workflows where tasks reside at different levels of granularity, and for each individual patient a doctor proceeds in a step-by-step way deciding what next steps be taken. Classical workflow notations fall short in supporting these patient processes as they have been designed to support monolithic processes. Classical notations (WF-nets (work flow nets), BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation), EPCs (Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances), etc.) assume that a workflow process can be modeled by specifying the life-cycle of a single case in isolation. To address these problems, the authors present an extension of the Proclets framework which allows for dividing complex entangled processes into simple autonomous fragments. Additionally, increased emphasis is placed on interaction related aspects such that fragment instances for individual patients can cooperate in any desired way. The authors describe an implementation of the Proclets framework. Proclets have been added to the open-source Workflow Management System YAWL to better support inter-workflow support functionalities.


The study examined the influence of supportive spectators' on the performance of clubs at Nigeria professional football league. The research questions and hypotheses were formulated in line with the research objectives. Descriptive survey research design was used and the population of the study comprised of ninety thousand, two hundred and thirty-seven (90,237) spectators at professional football league matches in Nigeria. Sample sizes of 675 respondents were selected using multistage sampling technique. A self-developed questionnaire on the influence of supportive spectators on the performance of Nigeria professional football league clubs was used. The instrument was pilot tested using Pearson's Product Moment correlation (PPMC) statistical analysis that yielded 0.824 which showed that the instrument was reliable. Frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the demographic characteristics of the respondents, mean and Standard Deviation was used to answer the research questions, while one sample t-test was used to test the research hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings of the study revealed that Supportive spectators significantly and positively had influence on performance of Nigeria Professional Football League clubs. The study recommended among others that Football players should always be given orientation on the need to adopt all necessary strategies during competitions at the Nigeria Professional Football League and finally Club managers are recommended to engage the services of trained stewards to organize and maintain orderliness of supportive spectators during football matches.


Pigs may express a startle response and then freeze after they have heard an auditory stimulus. The objective of this study was to induce startle-freeze behaviour,
 describe it and to seek potential variables that might influence it. A startle-freeze response lasting 1 to 12 seconds was produced in 36 pigs 5-6 weeks old penned in 12 groups (3 pigs per group), using a cymbal (26 cm radius) to produce a sound of 1 10 dB intensity. This was repeated at 4 minute intervals for 8 stimuli over 28 minutes. The duration of the startle-freeze response decreased over presentations and all pigs had ceased to respond by the seventh stimulus. The frequencies of social interaction, ingestion and lying or sitting behaviours before freezing decreased after the freeze period, and standing or walking increased. The behaviours shown before and after immobilisation were not independent (x\ = 101.9, p < 0.001). The social status of each group was determined from videotape records. The dominance rank of the pig was significantly related to the onset of immobilization; the most dominant pigs responded to the noise first, often 1 to 2 seconds ahead of lower ranked pigs (x\ = 15.74, p < 0.05). In conclusion, pigs show a clear startle-freeze response to a novel auditory stimulus, they habituate rapidly and the onset of startle-freeze behaviour depends upon their social status.


INTRODUCTION
Adjunctive use of professional subgingival irrigation with scaling and root planing (SRP) has been found to be beneficial in eradicating the residual microorganisms in the pocket.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of ozonized water subgingival irrigation on microbiologic parameters and clinical parameters namely Gingival index, probing pocket depth, and clinical attachment level.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty chronic periodontitis patients with probing pocket depth ≥6mm on at least one tooth on contra lateral sides of opposite arches were included in the study. The test sites were subjected to ozonized water subgingival irrigation with subgingival irrigation device fitted with a modified subgingival tip. Control sites were subjected to scaling and root planing only. The following clinical parameters were recorded initially and after 4 weeks at the test sites and control sites. Plaque Index, Gingival Index, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level. Microbiologic sampling was done for the test at the baseline, after scaling, immediately after ozonized water subgingival irrigation and after 4 weeks. In control sites microbiologic sampling was done at the baseline, after scaling and after 4 weeks. The following observations were made after 4 weeks. The results were statistically analysed using independent t-test and paired t-test.

RESULT
Test sites showed a greater reduction in pocket depth and gain in clinical attachment compared to control sites. The total anaerobic counts were significantly reduced by ozonized water subgingival irrigation along with SRP compared to SRP alone.

CONCLUSION
Ozonized water subgingival irrigation can improve the clinical and microbiological parameters in patients with chronic periodontitis when used as an adjunct to scaling and root planing.


This paper presents a new metric for automated registration of multi‐modal sensor data. The metric is based on the alignment of the orientation of gradients formed from the two candidate sensors. Data registration is performed by estimating the sensors' extrinsic parameters that minimises the misalignment of the gradients. The metric can operate in a large range of applications working on both 2D and 3D sensor outputs and is suitable for both (i) single scan data registration and (ii) multi‐sensor platform calibration using multiple scans. Unlike traditional calibration methods, it does not require markers or other registration aids to be placed in the scene. The effectiveness of the new method is demonstrated with experimental results on a variety of camera‐lidar and camera‐camera calibration problems. The novel metric is validated through comparisons with state of the art methods. Our approach is shown to give high quality registrations under all tested conditions.


It is the purpose of this paper to make a general study of David Belasco's use of naturalism in the American theatre. More specifically, it is to determine Belasco's methods of achieving naturalism in his stage settings and lighting. From the study of his techniques and methods, and effort is made to establish his contributions to the naturalistic movement.


The low hydrothermal alteration of serpentinites from the ophiolite complexes in Turkey has formed listwaenites with either mineralized or non-mineralized and scattered through the three-ophiolite belts in Anatolia, Turkey. The listwaenite occurrences and associated mineralization in Turkey are reviewed, taking into account the location and description used in literature. The geology and geochemistry of the listwaenites in east central Anatolia serve as a reference to illustrate the characteristics of listwaenite formation and precious metal concentrations in ophiolite belts of Turkey.
The late Cretaceous (Pre-Maastrichtian) alteration of serpentinite bodies in the Divrigi and Kuluncak ophiolitic melanges, in east central Anatolia has formed two distinct types of listwaenite. The earliest is silica-carbonate listwaenite (type I), which is dominated by silica+calcite+dolomite+ankerite±magnesite. Later, carbonate listwaenite (type II) comprise calcite+dolomite+ankerite±magnesite, and lack any significant introduction of silica.
In the Divrigi and Kuluncak ophiolitic melanges the most of the silica-carbonate (type I) and carbonate (type II) listwaenite are formed along thrust fault zones. In clearly fault-related listwaenites, thrust fault(s) acted as pathway for hydrothermal fluids. In non fault-related listwaenites, hydrothermal fluids moved along highly serpentinized microfractured, stockworked and porous ultramafic rocks. The hydrothermal fluids involved in the formation of carbonate (type II) listwaenite differed from those that formed silica-carbonate (type I) listwaenite, which was enriched in SiO2, as well as CO2, Ca and H2O, whereas those that formed carbonate listwaenite were SiO2 deficient, and enriched only in CO2, Ca and H2O.


We detail an Indigenous research methodology capturing community-based truth-telling in an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory, Australia. We present Dadirri—a deep contemplative process of listening to one another—as a research methodology and a co-developed research model from the Nauiyu community. Dadirri is applied on the Country, with the cultural custodians to which it belongs, the Ngan'gikurunggkurr people from the Daly River region, Northern Territory. Dadirri links critical theory with reflective practice and is increasingly applied in Indigenous research. Insights into the synergies between Dadirri and traditional Eurocentric methodologies along with the successes and challenges of bringing Indigenous ways of knowing and Western ways of conducting research is presented as an interwoven praxis and governance/s. We conclude that the research outcomes demonstrate the interconnectedness and relational epistemologies as a framework between Dadirri and Western methodologies in a way that transforms and reconfigures futures, participants, and researchers alike.


A five-level Children's Activity Rating Scale (CARS) was designed to categorize the intensity of physical activities and discriminate between levels of energy expenditure in young children. The CARS was used by trained observers over a 12-month period to assess physical activities of 3-4 year-old children during field observations. Agreement among observers using the CARS was 84.1% for 389 paired observation periods. The energy expenditure for each level was assessed by measuring VO2s and heart rates of 5-6 year-old children (12 boys, 13 girls) while they performed eight activities representing the CARS levels. Mean VO2s for the eight activities in Levels 1-5 ranged from 7.1 to 37.5 ml.kg BW-1.min-1 (1 to 5.42 METS; 14.5% to 80.6% of VO2max). Mean heart rates ranged from 89 to 183 b.min-1 for activities in Levels 1-5. VO2s and heart rates at each level were significantly different from all other levels. These data demonstrate that the CARS encompasses a wide range of energy expenditures, discriminates between levels of energy expenditure, and can be used by trained observers to reliably evaluate physical activity and estimate energy expenditure of young children.


Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) fruit is an important medicinal plant in Iran. The harvesting time is a crucial for jujube fruit quality. Several characteristics of jujube fruit when harvested at four development stages; white mature (light green), crisp mature (white-red), fully mature (red) and fully ripe (dehydrated brown) were evaluated. Fruit weight, diameter, volume, pulp to stone ratio, firmness, titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), ascorbic acid, total phenolics content, protein, ash and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were determined. The results showed that fruit dry weight, TSS, TSS/TA were increased significantly, while firmness, protein content and ash weight were decreased as jujube fruit harvested at progressed development stages. Ascorbic acid in fruit was decreased from white to crisp mature stage and thereafter increased significantly to fully mature stage. However, the content of total phenol increased significantly from white to crisp mature stage and thereafter decreased at more maturity and ripening stages. Moreover, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were influenced by harvesting time. The F0 and Fm showed a positive significant correlation with total phenolic, ascorbic acid and protein content and a negative significant correlation with DW. Therefore, chlorophyll fluorescence maybe a helpful, nondestructive technique to evaluate the nutritional quality changes in jujube fruit. Overall, jujube fruit harvested at crisp (white-red) and fully mature (red) stages, seem best in respect of postharvest handling and nutritional criteria.


This review compares the methods of assessment and treatment objectives used for asthma and COPD. There is now a significant amount of convergence between the two diseases in these areas. It is now well recognised that both are inflammatory diseases. Anti-inflammatory therapy with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) forms the basis of asthma therapy (and are underused in many countries, including Pakistan), but there also is now very good evidence that ICS reduce bronchial inflammation in COPD, especially when used in combination with long-acting beta -agonists. 2 Guidelines recommend that asthma assessment in routine practice, is based upon an evaluation of the level of asthma control; COPD assessment is moving towards something very similar, but it is termed health status measurement. Simple standardised methods designed for use in routine practice are now available for both purposes. Treatment in both conditions also now has two objectives: 1. To reduce symptoms to achieve control (in asthma) and improved health status (in COPD); 2. Preventative therapy to reduce the risk of exacerbations. In asthma, exacerbations are associated with a risk of hospital admissions and death and in COPD the same risks apply, but now with good evidence that exacerbations also speed disease progression. The treatments that are available for asthma can, if used properly, achieve high levels of control. Whilst new drugs are welcome, good application of existing drugs would very greatly reduce the burden of this disease on patients and healthcare systems. New treatments are steadily becoming available for COPD and there is now much that can be done to reduce the burden of this disease. Both diseases are eminently treatable.


We model the long-term evolution of the Hilda collisional family located in the 3/2 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter. Its eccentricity distribution evolves mostly due to the Yarkovsky/YORP effect and assuming that (i) impact disruption was isotropic and (ii) albedo distribution of small asteroids is the same as for large ones, we can estimate the age of the Hilda family to be 4 +0 −1 Gyr. We also calculate collisional activity in the J3/2 region. Our results indicate that current collisional rates are very low for a 200-km parent body such that the number of expected events over gigayears is much smaller than 1. The large age and the low probability of the collisional disruption lead us to the conclusion that the Hilda family might have been created during the late heavy bombardment (LHB) when the collisions were much more frequent. The Hilda family may thus serve as a test of orbital behaviour of planets during the LHB. We have tested the influence of the giant-planet migration on the distribution of the family members. The scenarios that are consistent with the observed Hilda family are those with fast migration time-scales � 0.3–3 Myr, because longer time-scales produce a family that is depleted and too much spread in eccentricity. Moreover, there is an indication that Jupiter and Saturn were no longer in a compact configuration (with period ratio PS/PJ > 2.09) at the time when the Hilda family was created.


We present RADAR—a rigorously annotated database of A-to-I RNA editing (available at http://RNAedit.com). The identification of A-to-I RNA editing sites has been dramatically accelerated in the past few years by high-throughput RNA sequencing studies. RADAR includes a comprehensive collection of A-to-I RNA editing sites identified in humans (Homo sapiens), mice (Mus musculus) and flies (Drosophila melanogaster), together with extensive manually curated annotations for each editing site. RADAR also includes an expandable listing of tissue-specific editing levels for each editing site, which will facilitate the assignment of biological functions to specific editing sites.


This article contextualizes the writing, reception, and impact of Gary Becker's first book, The Economics of Discrimination, in order to deepen our understanding of the relationships between economics and the other social sciences. First, we study the social scientific work on race relations prior to Becker's book, work that was heavily influenced by the work of the economist Gunnar Myrdal and criticized for lacking an underlying theoretical framework. Second, we analyze the novelty of Becker's contribution. Becker's book introduced nonpecuniary motives into the neoclassical framework so as to respond to the criticisms leveled by institutional economists against the marginal analysis of labor markets. In doing so, Becker attempted to redefine the relationship between economists and other social scientists. Third, we study the reaction to Becker's redefinition of disciplinary territories, which illustrated the current debates within sociology and labor economics. Finally, we study the impact of Becker's book on social scientific research in the 1960s.


PURPOSE
This study aimed to clarify the effects of dementia care mapping (DCM) for one year in a healthcare center for older adults. DCM was conducted between September 2016 and August 2017. The care staff include nurses and caregivers in a narrow sense, medical staff, such as a physician, physical therapists, and occupational therapists worked on DCM as care staff in this study.

RESULTS
There were 24 participants, with an average work experience of 7.21 (±4.74) years. In comparison to the baseline evaluation, the final assessment of self-efficacy through person-centred care showed significant improvement in 'Forecasting and Problem Solving on the Job' within 'Perceived Job Competence of Care Workers'. Six main categories of content were extracted from focus group interviews: 'Awareness,' 'Change of Elderly People under the Care of Staff throughout the Development of Mapping', 'Affirmative Feelings of Care Staff for Mapping', 'Negative Feelings for Mapping', 'Need for the Efficacy and Efficiency of the Mapping', and 'Mapping Based on the Age of the Participant and Future Prospects for Mapping'. The results of person-centred care showed that both the older patients and the staff noticed changes through the development of mapping.

CONCLUSION
The developmental evaluation, based on collaboration by medical and welfare staff can improve self-efficacy through the practice of person-centred care and improves the ability to solve problems during the provision of care.


Arsenic trioxide (ATO) has been verified as a breakthrough with respect to the management of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) in recent decades but associated with some serious adverse phenomena, particularly cardiac functional abnormalities. Salvianolic acid A (Sal A) is a major effective component in treating ATO-induced cardiotoxicity. Therefore, the objective of our study was to assess whether Sal A had protective effects by the regulation of calcium homeostasis and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. For the in vivo study, BALB/c mice were treated with ATO and/or Sal A via daily tail vein injections for two weeks. For the in vitro study, we detected the effects of ATO and/or Sal A in real time using adult rat ventricular myocytes (ARVMs) and an IonOptix MyoCam system. Our results showed that Sal A pretreatment alleviated cardiac dysfunction and Ca2+ overload induced by ATO in vivo and vitro. Moreover, Sal A increased sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) activity and expression, alleviated [Ca2+]ER depletion, and decreased ER stress-related protein expression. Sal A protects the heart from ATO-induced injury and its administration correlates with the modulation of SERCA, the recovery of Ca2+ homeostasis, and the down-regulation of ER stress-mediated apoptosis.


For nonlinear discrete event dynamic systems described by a min-max function, we show that the cycle time can be assigned disjointedly by a state feedback, if and only if the system is reachable. Further, a simple necessary and sufficient condition for that the cycle time can be assigned independently by a state feedback is given. Hence the difficult problem which corresponds to the pole assignment problem in traditional linear control systems are solved in this paper.


Characterization of genetic resources maintained at genebanks has important implications for future utilization and collection activities. A total of 49 simple sequence repeat (SSR) or microsatellite markers were used to study genetic diversity and relationships among 376 barley landraces collected from different barley producing parts of Ethiopia and eight cultivars. Overall, 478 alleles with an average of 9.755 alleles per locus were obtained of which 97.07% of the loci were observed to be polymorphic. Nei's genetic diversity index (h) was 0.654, and the Shannon diversity index (I) was 0.647, indicating that the genetic diversity in barley genotypes studies was moderately high. At the population level, the percentage of polymorphic loci (PPL) averaged 98.37%, h = averaged 0.388, and I = averaged 0.568. The highest level of genetic diversity was observed in the AR population (PPL =100%, h = 0.439, I = 0.624); the lowest was observed in the JM population (PPL = 75.51%, h = 0.291, I =0.430). AMOVA revealed significant genetic differentiation within and between populations (P < 0.001), with 84.21% of the variation occurring within populations and 15.79% occurring among populations. Genetic variation analysis showed a coefficient of gene differentiation of 0.053 and a gene flow value of 4.467 among populations. The 384 barley genotypes were divided into seven genetic clusters according to STRUCTURE, Neighbour joining tree and principal coordinate analysis, correlating significantly with geographic distribution. These results will assist with the formulation of conservation strategies, such as genetic rescue and on-farm in situ and ex situ conservation.


In spite of the meager reports of operative injuries to the bile tracts, no doubt such surgical accidents are not as rare as the paucity of the literature on the subject would indicate. The majority of such injuries occurred in the hands of able surgeons; some happened to masters in this particular field. Thus it is safe to assume that in the experience of men of lesser eminence such calamities are not so extremely rare. Jacobson 1 has collected reports of thirty-four cases; to these may be added two by Moynihan 2 and the case reported below. The case which I report is the only one of its kind in the literature, and is unique from the type of injury inflicted, namely, complete severance of the common duct with proximal and distal ends securely tied, thus completely shutting off the bile flow from the liver to the duodenum. It is


This article shows how engagement with the internet and aspects of the new economy/society require an appreciation of union difference and politics. It shows how union responses vary due to four factors: communication strategies, union identity, forms of internal democracy and a range of organisational and social contingencies. The article will study the phenomena of the internet in the context of one national case study, Spain. It is a country that allows us to view the political dimensions of the internet, and the way they link to communication strategies, due to the manner in which the labour movement has transformed and modernised itself. It is also of interest because methods of communication have been at the heart of the way in which unions have developed and differentiated themselves. This article will argue that a greater sensitivity is required in terms of union history, politics and identity if the impact and use of new forms of communication are to be fully appreciated. It also points to the need to appreciate tensions between different forms of communication.


The Younger Dryas cooling event is well established in the North Atlantic region through numerous climate proxy records. Although the climatological controls vary from site to site, it is considered to have taken place between about 10 000 and 11 000 BP (radiocarbon years) (∼11 500–13 000 calendar years ago). Outside the North Atlantic region, climate proxy records and chronology commonly become problematic because of weaker signals and less dating control. In addition to this evidence, oceanic records reveal conflicting evidence for Younger Dryas forcing mechanisms and the timing of events. We compare proxy evidence with the results from an ocean general circulation model coupled to the energy – moisture balance atmospheric model. The model results reveal a global pattern and regional magnitude which generally agree with temperature changes interpreted from paleoclimate reconstructions. The model also supports the general duration of global cooling of the Younger Dryas. Although proxy data can be controversial outside of the North Atlantic region, the authors believe that there is enough evidence to support the Younger Dryas event on a global scale. They also recognize, however, that more concrete evidence is needed before the question can be unequivocally answered.


Anorexia and protein malnutrition, occasionally associated with obesity, are frequently observed in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Both are recognized risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. Leptin is produced by adipocytes and regulates body-fat mass through a satiety central effect. Leptin accumulates in the uremic state. We analyzed the relationship between plasma leptin levels, nutritional status, obesity, CV risk factors, and atherosclerosis in PD patients. Leptin was determined using a polyclonal antibody [radioimmunoassay: Linco Research, St. Louis, MO, U.S.A.]. The normal range was 1-7.8 ng/mL. We studied 38 PD patients. Mean leptin levels were 59.1 +/- 57.5 ng/mL (elevated in 32 patients). Women (n = 21) showed higher leptin levels than did men (80.4 +/- 60 ng/mL vs. 32.3 +/- 43.3 ng/mL, p < 0.01), in spite of both groups having a similar body mass index (BMI). A statistically significant direct correlation was found between leptin and BMI (r = 0.7, p < 0.01) and triceps skin-fold measurement (r = 0.77, p < 0.01). Leptin levels and renal creatinine clearance (CCr) showed no significant correlation. Independent of BMI, higher leptin levels were associated with parameters considered to be CV risk factors (Framingham study), such as serum triglycerides < 150 mg/dL (n = 29) as compared with > 150 mg/dL (44.2 +/- 53.2 ng/mL vs. 80 +/- 58.4 ng/mL, p < 0.05), cholesterol < 250 mg/dL (n = 28) as compared with > 250 mg/dL, (50 +/- 55.6 mg/dL vs. 84.7 +/- 57.7 mg/dL, p < 0.05), uric acid < 7 mg/dL (n = 28) as compared with > 7 mg/dL (47 +/- 53.7 mg/dL vs. 93.1 +/- 56.6 mg/dL, p < 0.05), and the presence or lack of presence of left ventricular hypertrophy [68.8 +/- 60 (n = 30) vs. 29.5 +/- 23.7 (n = 5), p < 0.05]. The patients were classified into two groups according to a clinical atherosclerosis score (CAS). Nineteen patients had low CAS scores, and they showed higher plasma leptin values than did the other patients (82.4 +/- 65.7 ng/mL vs 35.8 +/- 36.6 ng/mL, p < 0.05). Twelve patients with anorexia had lower leptin values than did patients with normal appetite (19.2 +/- 15.8 ng/mL vs. 91.3 +/- 58.8 ng/mL, p < 0.001). In non obese patients (BMI < 25 and CCr < 3 mL/min, n = 14), leptin had a statistically significant direct linear correlation with markers of nutrition, including albumin (r = 0.63, p < 0.05), transferrin (r = 0.4, p < 0.05), cholesterol (r = 0.65, p < 0.05), and triglycerides (r = 0.6, p < 0.05). Finally, plasma leptin levels were notably increased in the PD population, indicating increased production (possibly by chronic hyperinsulinism), or uremic retention, or both. By multivariate analysis, we confirmed the association between leptin levels and sex, leptin and BMI, and leptin levels > 40 ng/mL and sex and LVH. All of those features suggest that plasma leptin levels could be considered a marker of CV risk and food intake in non obese PD patients without inflammation.


Technological knowledge, which is the basis for new technologies and innovation, is an important component of economic success — both on corporate and national levels. Such a role stimulates various actors to participate actively in the global race for talents who have this technological knowledge. The paper discusses if Russia is a successful participant of the race. It analyses the two datasets of patent documents (as for 2010–2019): 1) with Russian inventors and foreign assignees — to study the 'outflow' of technological knowledge from the country, and 2) with foreign inventors and Russian assignees — to measure the scope of its inflow. The results of the study demonstrate that Russia is still more a donor for the leading countries, than a recipient of technological knowledge from abroad. Russian inventors are actively involved into collaboration with foreign companies, being in demand in many global corporations, especially in the ICT field. The inflow of technological knowledge is less intense, and its key source is the post-soviet countries, in geographical proximity to Russia. One of the possible reasons for this disproportion is a lack of organizations in the country, capable to compete for talents on the global arena. Due to a specific business climate and a low interest of Russian business in R&D and innovation, an important role in recruitment of high-skilled specialists from abroad is played by the leading universities. Research institutes (including those of Russian Academy of Sciences) seem to be in the least advantaged position.


The intensive increase of global warming every year affects our world negatively and severely. The use of renewable energy sources has gained importance in reducing and eliminating the effect of global warming. To this end, new technologies are being developed to facilitate the use of these resources. One of these technological developments is the floating wind turbine. In order to evaluate the respective environmental footprint of these systems, a life cycle assessment (LCA) is herein applied. In this study, the environmental impact of floating wind turbines is investigated using a life cycle assessment approach and the results are compared with the respective ones of onshore and jacket offshore wind turbines of the same power capacity. The studied floating wind turbine has a square foundation that is open at its centre and is connected to the seabed with a synthetic fibre-nylon anchorage system. The environmental impact of all life cycles of such a structure, i.e., the manufacture, the operation, the disposal, and the recycling stages of the wind turbines, has been evaluated. For these floating wind turbines, it has been found that the greatest environmental impact corresponds to the manufacturing stage, whilst the global warming potential and the energy payback time of a 2 MW floating wind turbine of a barge-type platform is higher than that of the onshore, the jacket offshore (2 MW) and the floating (5 MW) wind turbines on a sway floating platform.


Tourette Syndrome (TS), characterized by motor and vocal tics, is often associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These associated conditions frequently cause more impairment in patients than tics themselves. We report the case of TS with comorbid ADHD and OCD. Treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and methylphenidate, led to significantly improvement of ADHD symptoms, compulsive symptoms and tics.


Acute appendicitis is usually diagnosed solely on clinical grounds. This results in a 15-30% incidence of unnecessary laparotomies and contributes to a perforation rate of 20-35%. The accuracies of eleven diagnostic aids for appendicitis are reviewed. The white blood cell count and straight x-ray of the abdomen are very unreliable. Four other methods, viz leucocyte scintigraphy, peritoneal lavage, barium swallow and scoring systems have not yet been sufficiently investigated. CT scanning may be useful in difficult cases. Four methods have a proven value and are recommended: Ultrasound scanning, computer assessment, laparoscopy and barium enema. Each of the latter are better than clinical assessment alone and can reduce both negative laparotomy rates and the incidence of appendicular perforation. Unaided clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis is no longer acceptable.


The phase transition in quenched disordered systems is studied on the level of the saddle point solution. Two-dimensional saddle point equation of the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson Hamiltonian with random temperature is numerically solved for the excited states. It is shown that the excited-state solutions can be described by the domain walls. The length of domain wall and the free energy increase due to the domain wall are calculated. On the level of the saddle point solution the partition function can be mapped to an Ising model approximately. The coupling between Ising spin is estimated. The phase transition is discussed according to this Ising model. It is found that there are two classes of phase transition: inhomogeneous and homogeneous. Different from the pure system, for the phase transition in disordered systems there are fluctuations on the level of saddle point solution.


Kliktrip is an Online Travel Agent (OTA) that has trip & activities facilities and was established in 2018 in Bandung. Kliktrip sales are still experiencing a decline due to low public awareness of Kliktrip which is seen through the number of downloads on mobile apps and Instagram followers. Kliktrip sales are still experiencing a decline and public awareness of Kliktrip is still low because Kliktrip has not implemented 7 out of 8 marketing communication mix optimally. Therefore, research was conducted to design an effective marketing communication program for Kliktrip by using benchmarking and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods. Based on the results of AHP data processing, it can be seen that the selected benchmark partner is Explorer.id with a total priority vector value of 0.44 and benchmark results with Explorer.id concluded that Kliktrip needs to increases the value of SEO, page views, and unique visitors on the website, creates a Tiktok's account, webisode, and video podcasting, collaborates with cross-promotion, makes contests (giveaways), increase the number of downloads and reviewers on mobile apps, implementing mobile billboards and cause-related marketing, increasing customer service operational time, participating in exhibitions, and collaborating with influencers.


Introduction and Objective: Several studies have focused on the treatment and recurrence of urethral diverticulum (UD). However, few investigations have addressed sexual function in patients with UD. Therefore, we sought to examine sexual function in women affected by UD. Materials and Methods: There were 108 accepted cases involving transvaginal diverticulectomy at our institution. Ultimately, 83 women were included for further analysis, only 61 of these women had sexual partners. We collected data for the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) from the female patients and the Male Sexual Health Questionnaire (MSHQ) from their male partners before and after surgery. Results: Preoperatively, the UD size affected the female patient's arousal and lubrication (p=0.04), and the UD location affected their satisfaction. However, no signifi cant between-group differences were found in the total FSFI score. For all women, sexual activity improved after surgery (p=0.0087). In addition to improvements in arousal for women with a large UD, improvements in lubrication were affected by the UD size, number and shape, increases in satisfaction scores were impacted by the UD location and shape, and pain relief was linked to the UD number and shape. Analysis of the MSHQ results revealed no between-group differences among the male partners. Conclusion: Only the UD size and location affected sexual function in women with a small UD. Surgery could improve female sexual function but did not affect the sexual function of the patient's partners. ARTICLE INFO Hong Shen http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8688-4879


Building Information Modelling (BIM) can be defined as a set of tools, processes and technologies that are enabled by a digital multi-dimensional representation of the physical and functional characteristics of a built asset. The 'fourth' dimension (4D BIM) incorporates time-related project information in the 3D model to simulate and optimise the project construction process. To achieve this, the 3D objects within the aggregated design model must be linked with each activity in the construction schedule. However, the levels of maturity and expertise in using BIM amongst the project participants still varies considerably. This generates collaboration problems within the project and adds further obstacles to the ability to derive full benefits from BIM. Ideally, 4D BIM can be automatically generated, but in reality, because the 3D and 4D models are created separately and at different stages of the project, this is not currently possible, and the process requires considerable manual effort. The research reported in this paper was prompted by the construction of a new training and research building: the Nanterre 2 CESI building in France. It proposes an efficient approach that minimises the effort of creating 4D BIM construction schedules. The CESI four-phase process aims to help project participants to fully exploit the potential of 4D BIM and enables: 1) a clear expression of the 4D BIM objectives; 2) the identification of information requirements and relevant workflows to achieve these objectives; 3) the implementation of a project schedule; and 4) BIM model production to suit the 4D BIM use case. Although the CESI approach was developed in the context of the French contracting system, the observations and conclusions of this study are intended to be generally applicable.


While socio-cultural and historical differences in the EU Member States and China have
resulted in two distinct regimes for human embryonic stem cell research, with the EU
considered somewhat conservative and China significantly liberal in approach, the laws
governing patenting of innovations derived from stem cell research in both legal regimes
appear to be remarkably similar. How is it that two divergent systems have nevertheless
converged on a restrictive approach to patenting in this field of research? This paper will
demonstrate the way in which different institutional pressures and objectives have resulted in
similar practices: - while deliberative decision-making within the context of representative
liberal democracy resulted in the EU placing morality-based limitations on economically-
driven hESC patenting, China's elite-driven processes within the context of 'authoritarian
deliberation' instead adopted morality-based limitations both as an indicator of
demonstrating standards of best practice as a means of encouraging research and
investment, and as the result of institutional learning. Therefore, despite different
institutional designs and policy-making approaches, the EU and China have converged on
remarkably similar hESC patent regimes.


The rapid development of computer technologies has given rise to the increase of open source web-based map services such as OpenStreetMap, a global vector data created by volunteers for free use. There is a concern about the quality and usability of the OpenStreetMap data because the volunteers that contribute the data generally lack the sufficient cartographic training. This paper focuses on the data quality analysis method for OpenStreetMap. A model for usability evaluation has been proposed. A benchmark between OpenStreetMap data and the 1:10 000 topographic data in some areas of China has been done to verify the proposed model, and the method proves to be effective.


Syiah had ever been a major Islamic denomination in Aceh for centuries.  This research is not only about how much classical Sharia rules can be a  reference to resolve political problems of majority and minority division, but  also to examine the power of sharia in protecting and marginalising Syiah.  Based mainly on classical Snouck Hurgronje ethnography, this study  elaborate the the former sharia as a living law in old Aceh and comparing it  with recent legal pluralism of Aceh nowadays. With a spectacular growing of  traditional Dayah (conservative Sunnism) in present politics, and the  transnational Salafi Wahabism intrusion into Aceh, the position of Syiah is at  the most tip of the edge in society. Those who embraced or converted Syiah  are living scatteredly all over Aceh by a unique ideo-syncretic way of  survival. Achenese Syiah are now facing hardest situation in this Syafiidominated land and hardened with the rage of Wahabism


Glanzmann thromboasthenia is an autosomal recessive bleeding disorder caused by a quantitative and/or qualitative defect of the platelet glycoprotein GPalfaIIb/betaIIIa (IIb/IIIa integrin ITGA2B-ITGB3) complex. We have studied a 24 years old patient (exon 2113 T-C substitution missense C705F/C674R) with refractory bleeding platelet count above 25.000, and a very prolonged bleeding time, extensive mucocutaneous petechiae, nosebleeds, and bleeding gums, marked spenomegaly, and conjunctival hemorrage with a prevalence of HLA-DRw2 and DRB1-0410 and a severely decreased platelet production. Immunophenotyping of lymphocytes showed a relative increase of the subset of gamma/delta T-cell receptor (TCR) positive, and CD4 CD8 negative T lymphocytes; expression of c-Mpl and TPO were down-regulated. The bone marrow examination revealed extremely scarce and small megakaryocytes (with a great reduction of CD34+ and CD41+ and a small fraction of CD42+) and with normal marrow cellularity regarding other cellular lines; chromosomal analysis was also normal, while there was an associated severe anaemia with elevated HbF without any history of alcohol use or drugs ingestion. The important observation in this case was the need of many platelet trasfusions, and of fresh frozen plasma (FFP); the functional consequences of this kind of therapy include the induction of abnormalities of the hormones or their receptors (TPO/c-Mpl) that can be decreased in these patients; in addition, platelet mass blocks the biologic effects of SDF-1/CXCR4 receptor and the degree of this inhibition is correlated inversely with platelet count, and supports the evidence that the thrombocytopenia may be related to the inhibition of transcription factors (GATA-1, NF-E2, TAL-1, ETS family), and it directly correlates with the excess of platelet transfusions as an inducible knock-out in MK differentiation. Moreover, this findings indicate that when the receptors (c-Mpl) is saturated, the JAK-2 activation is neutralized and subsequent phosphorylation of STAT-3 and STAT-5 are down-regulated. This patient responded to treatment with danazol 200 mg daily and desmopressin (DDAVP) 0.3 mg/kg, while an additional therapy with traxenamic acid and recombinant FVIIa reduced mucosal bleeding.


Repetitive processes are a distinct class of two-dimensional (2D) systems (i.e. information propagation in two independent directions occurs) of both systems theoretic and applications interest. They cannot be controlled by direct extension of existing techniques from either standard (termed 1D here) or (most often) 2D systems theory. In this paper we define a new model for these processes necessary to represent dynamics which arise in some applications areas and which are not included in the currently used models. Then we proceed to define quadratic stability for this case, obtain conditions for its existence, and also solve the problem of designing a control law to stabilize the process dynamics (including the case when there is uncertainty associated with the defining state space model)


... a sudden spiritual manifestation, whether in the vulgarity of speech or of gesture or in a memorable phase in the mind itself. Thus Stephen Dedalus in James Joyce's Stephen Hero: defines the phenomenon that has ever since been known as the literary epiphany. The essays gathered in this volume comprise a wide survey of this phenomenon. With recurrent reference to its most famous creators, notably William Wordsworth, who was the first to consciously explore and delineate those momentous spots in time in his Prelude, Walter Pater, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, this book intends to provide a broad and unbiased exploration into the various types and categories of the moment of moment that can be distinguished, ranging from William Blake, Ann Radcliffe and Charles Maturin through the nineteenth-century sonnet tradition and the naturalistic novel to modernist and postmodernist exponents such as Ezra Pound and Elizabeth Bowen, Philip larkin and Seamus Heaney, and include contributions by acclaimed experts in the field such as Martin Bidney, Robert Langbaum, Jay Losey, and Ashton Nichols.


Facial composites are pictures of human faces. These are normally constructed by victims and witnesses of crime who describe a suspect's face and then select individual facial features. Unfortunately, research has shown that composites constructed in this way are not often recognised. In contrast, we are quite good at recognizing complete faces, even if the face is unfamiliar and only seen briefly. This more natural way of processing faces is at the heart of a new composite system called EvoFIT. With this computer program, witnesses are presented with sets of complete faces for selection and a composite is 'evolved' over time. The current work augments EvoFIT by developing a set of psychologically useful scales - such as facial weight, masculinity, and age - that allow EvoFIT faces to be manipulated. These holistic dimensions were implemented by increasing the size and variability of the underlying face model and by obtaining perceptual ratings so that the space could be suitably vectorised. The result of three evaluations suggested that the new dimensions were operating appropriately. Index Terms—facial composite, holistic, witness, crime, EvoFIT


Process mining is a relatively new field of computer science which deals with process discovery and analysis based on event logs. In this work we consider the problem of discovering workflow nets with cancellation regions from event logs. Cancellations occur in the majority of real-life event logs. In spite of huge amount of process mining techniques little has been done on cancellation regions discovery. We show that the state-based region algorithm gives labeled Petri nets with overcomplicated control flow structure for logs with cancellations. We propose a novel method to discover cancellation regions from the transition systems built on event logs and show the way to construct equivalent workflow net with reset arcs to simplify the control flow structure.


To systematically assess the prevalence of facial pressure injuries related to adult non‐invasive ventilation equipment, and risk factors of facial pressure injuries. PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database, Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Database and Weipu Database were comprehensively searched for observational studies investigating the prevalence and risk factors of facial pressure injuries related to adult non‐invasive ventilation equipment from inception to May 16th, 2022. Filter articles based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The quality of the included studies was evaluated independently by two investigators. Meta‐analysis was conducted using Stata 16.0 software package. In total, 2835 articles were screened and data from 12 studies were used in meta‐analysis. The prevalence of facial pressure injuries related to adult non‐invasive ventilation equipment was 25% (95% confidence interval, CI:15% to 37%, I2 = 97.34%, P < 0.0001). After controlling for confounding variables, the following risk factors of facial pressure injuries: use equipment form, with diabetes, fever, cumulative time of using equipment, facial skin oedema and Glasgow score. Understanding the risk factors of facial pressure injuries can provide the healthcare personnel with the theoretical basis for the management and treatment of the patients.


We explore the dynamical stability of the minisuperspace Hamiltonian of the Bianchi IX cosmological models, giving a gauge-invariant and unapproximated description of the full continuous dynamics, achieved through a geometrical description of the equations of motion in the framework of the theory of Finsler Spaces. The numerical integrations of the geodesics and geodesic deviation equations show clearly the absence of any "traditional" signature of Chaos, while suggesting a chaotic scattering dynamics scenario.


Gyrotron traveling wave amplifier (gyro-TWA) experiments based on a helically corrugated waveguide have been undertaken at Strathclyde University for the last few years. In this paper we report our latest experimental results using a longer pulse electron beam of energy 185keV and current 7.5A produced by a thermionic cathode. The coupling between the second harmonic cyclotron mode of the electron beam and the radiation field occurred in the region of near infinite phase velocity over a broad bandwidth. A saturated gain of 24dB which had a 3dB instantaneous bandwidth from 8.4 to 10.4GHz (i.e. 21% relative bandwidth) was measured. The gyro-TWA had a saturated maximum output power of 220kW, corresponding an electronic efficiency of 16%. Good agreement was found between the measured power and the value predicted from nonlinear beam-wave interaction simulations carried out using the 3D particle-in-cell computer code MAGIC.


The aim of the study was to evaluate a 1 M gadolinium-chelate (gadobutrol) for first-pass MR myocardial perfusion examinations in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). In phantom studies, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) values of gadobutrol were compared with gadopentetate (Gd-DTPA). 25 consecutive patients with clinically suspected CAD were examined with dynamic rest/stress MR perfusion examinations using 0.05 mmol kg(-1) gadobutrol. Semi-quantitative evaluation of the myocardial perfusion was performed by calculating the myocardial perfusion reserve index (MPRI). Hypoperfused regions were correlated with data from X-ray coronary angiography. In phantom studies, SNR/CNR of gadobutrol-doped blood samples were consistently higher for all applied flip angles at concentrations < or =1.0 mmol L(-1) compared with Gd-DTPA. Assessment of 81 stress perfusion series with gadobutrol in 25 patients yielded a sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 91% for significant CAD. Combining the information from all perfusion series of one patient yielded a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 94% on a per-vessel basis. Gadobutrol exhibited favourable signal properties in phantom studies. Rest/stress myocardial perfusion examinations using 1 M gadobutrol yielded high sensitivity and specificity in detection of malperfused areas (82% and 91%, respectively). This is comparable with recently published perfusion data using 0.5 M Gd-DTPA.


Background Traditional treatment alone might not effectively control the severity of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) technology used on older adults with mild neurocognitive disorders and adults with major depressive disorder. However, there has been no study conducted on young adolescents with ADHD. This will be the first nationwide study evaluating the efficacy and safety of TPS in the treatment of ADHD among young adolescents in Hong Kong. Methods This study proposes a double-blinded, randomized, sham-controlled trial including TPS as an intervention group and a sham TPS group. Both groups will be measured at baseline (T1), immediately after the intervention (T2), and at the 1-month (T3) and 3-month follow-ups (T4). Recruitment A total of 30 subjects aged between 12 and 17 years, diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), will be recruited in this study. All subjects will be computer randomized into either the intervention group or the sham TPS group on a 1:1 ratio. Intervention All subjects in each group will have to undertake functional MRI (fMRI) before and after six 30-min TPS sessions, which will be completed in 2 weeks' time. Outcomes Baseline measurements and post-TPS evaluation of the ADHD symptoms and executive functions will also be conducted on all participants. The 1- and 3-month follow-up periods will be used to assess the long-term sustainability of the TPS intervention. For statistical analysis, ANOVA with repeated measures will be used to analyze data. Missing data were managed by multiple imputations. The level of significance will be set to p < 0.05. Significance of the study Results emerging from this study will generate new knowledge to ascertain whether TPS can be used as a top-on treatment for ADHD. Clinical trial registration clinicaltrails.gov, identifier: NCT05422274.


Objective: This study investigated the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and adiposity in young adults. Methods: Data was collected from 133 students of a medical college of Pakistan. The study was conducted on young adults, aged 17-24 years, recruited from Jinnah Medical & Dental College, Karachi, between Aug-Dec, 2015. Queen's College Step Test was conducted to measure CRF and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) evaluated. Anthropometric measurements (body mass index, body fat, visceral fat, waist circumference) were taken to assess adiposity. Associations of VO2max and adiposity were analyzed. Results: The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 44% overall. The VO2max (ml/kg/min) of males and females was 55.41±9.45 and 39.91±3.14, respectively, the gender difference being highly significant (p<0.001). Quartiles of VO2max showed strong inverse relationship between adiposity and VO2max, obese individuals having low VO2max (1st quartile) and normal weight individuals having high VO2max (4th quartile). VO2max correlated greatest with body fat in males (r = –0.600; p<0.001), and waist circumference in females (r = –0.319; p=0.004). Conclusion: The results indicate low CRF in young females and a strong inverse relationship between fitness levels and adiposity in young adults of both genders. Improving these parameters in our young population may prevent development of chronic non-communicable disease in later life.


Abstract Objective The aim was to study the pathological role of lymphocytes with a peripheral T helper-cell-like phenotype (PD-1+CXCR5−CD4+) in IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD). Methods PD-1+CXCR5−CD4+ T cells in the blood of patients with IgG4-RD (n = 53), patients with SS (n = 16) and healthy volunteers (n = 34) as controls were analysed by flow cytometry. Correlations between results obtained by flow cytometry and clinical parameters relevant to IgG4-RD were also analysed. Results The percentage and absolute number of PD-1+CXCR5− cells within total CD4+ T cells in IgG4-RD patients were significantly increased compared with those in healthy volunteers. Further analysis showed that there were marked positive correlations of the percentage of PD-1+CXCR5−CD4+ T cells with the serum level of IgG4 and the number of organs involved. Interestingly, granzyme A (GZMA)+ cells were enriched in PD-1+CXCR5−CD4+ T cells, and the percentage and absolute number of GZMA+PD-1+CXCR5−CD4+ T cells were significantly elevated in IgG4-RD patients. Although no obvious change was observed in the percentage of total CD4+ T cells, the percentage and absolute number of PD-1+CXCR5−CD4+ T cells decreased in accordance with a reduction of serum IgG4 level after treatment with glucocorticoids. Conclusion In IgG4-RD, circulating CD4+ T-cell populations were composed of PD-1+CXCR5− cells, and the ratios of these cells were correlated with clinical manifestations of IgG4-RD. Further analysis of GZMA+PD-1+CXCR5−CD4+ T cells might lead to a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of ectopic lymphoid follicles and the persistent inflammation in IgG4-RD.


Summary In England, chlamydia positivity in young men occurs at a slightly older age group (20–24 years) than positivity among young women (16–20 years) but total rates of infection among the population aged under 25 years are similar. Where there is variation, explanations often focus on individual sexual risk behaviours. We aimed to explore the extent to which variations in chlamydia positivity could be explained by reasons for attendance and sexual behaviour at a sexual health clinic in a high-prevalence area of England. Data routinely collected during clinic appointments were extracted retrospectively from the medical records of 952 clinic users (634 women) aged 16 to 24. We tested for associations with chlamydia positivity using the Chi square statistic and multiple logistic regression for men and women separately; 19.5% of men tested positive (95% CI: 15.1–23.8) compared to 11.5% of women (95% CI: 9.0–14.0). Reporting a partner with symptoms or a sexually transmitted infection diagnosis was significantly associated with a positive diagnosis (Men OR: 3.14, 95% CI: 1.5–6.25; Women OR: 3.78, 95% CI: 1.83–7.83). All other reasons for attendance and all sexual behaviour variables were not significantly associated with a positive diagnosis. Differences in chlamydia positivity between men and women attending this service cannot be explained by individual sexual behaviours found to be associated with higher risk of infection in national studies. Our findings question the utility of individual behavioural data routinely collected during clinic appointments for predicting risk of sexually transmitted infections in high-prevalence areas.


Objective To estimate the incidence densities and cumulative incidence of diabetes-related complications in patients with type 1 diabetes for a maximum of 15-year follow-up. The estimations were further stratified by gender and age at diagnosis (ie, early onset: 0–12 years, late onset:≥13 years). Design A population-based retrospective longitudinal cohort study. Setting Taiwan's National Health Insurance medical claims. Participants 4007 patients newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes were identified during 1999–2012. Outcome measures Acute complications included diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hypoglycaemia. Chronic complications were cardiovascular diseases (CVD), retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy. Results The incidence density of retinopathy was greatest (97.74 per 1000 person-years), followed by those of nephropathy (31.36), neuropathy (23.93) and CVD (4.39). Among acute complications, the incidence density of DKA was greatest (121.11 per 1000 person-years). The cumulative incidences of acute complications after 12 years following diagnosis were estimated to be 52.1%, 36.1% and 4.1% for DKA, outpatient hypoglycaemia and hospitalised hypoglycaemia, respectively. For chronic complications, the cumulative incidence of retinopathy after 12 years following diagnosis was greatest (65.2%), followed by those of nephropathy (30.2%), neuropathy (23.7%) and CVD (4.1%). Females with late-onset diabetes were greatly affected by advanced retinopathy (ie, sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy) and hospitalised hypoglycaemia, whereas those with early-onset diabetes were more vulnerable to DKA. Chronic complications were more commonly seen in late-onset diabetes, whereas early-onset diabetes were most affected by acute complications. Conclusions Ethnic Chinese patients with type 1 diabetes were greatly affected by DKA and retinopathy. The incidence of diabetes-related complications differed by age at diagnosis and sex.


The present study examined the effects of spinal cord ischemia on the expression of mu-opioid receptors in rat dorsal spinal cord and the effects of intrathecal (i.t.) morphine on the acute mechanical allodynia that developed after spinal ischemia. The mechanical allodynia was not significantly alleviated by up to 10 microg i.t. morphine, a dose which caused strong antinociception in the tail flick test. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated that the level of mu-opioid receptor expression in the dorsal horn of spinal cord segments receiving input from the allodynic skin was markedly reduced 2 days after ischemia, when the rats were allodynic. The results indicate that spinal cord ischemia reduces the expression of mu-opioid receptors in rat dorsal horn, which may be one of the underlying mechanisms of morphine insensitivity for treating acute allodynia after spinal ischemia.


This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the issue of tourist vehicles negative impacts on vegetation biomass, structure, soil infiltration and sensitivity through Off the Road Drive to have closer view of the big five-wildlife of Masai Mara National Reserve, Narok, Kenya. Tourism has been considered as eco-friendly and sustainable business in the contemporary world. Tourists can enjoy the nature and culture and can learn about roles of various ecosystems and biodiversity as well as the cultural heritage of biophysical and socio-cultural environment. In recent decades, the national parks have been considered major attractions to national and international visitors, who love to see the wonder of the wilderness (wildlife, biodiversity, natural and cultural heritage). Through such tourism, the government and local as well as visitor get mutual benefit. However, there is always pros and cons of any activity, if such activities are not managed properly. The main purpose of the research is to show, how tourists willingness (tours operators motive to make tourist happy) to have closer look of big five (African elephant, lion, leopard, Cape buffalo, and rhinoceros) leads off-road driving and how off-road driving can damage the savanna grass ecosystem of Masai Mara ecosystem. Systematization literary sources and approaches for solving the problem is only possible, when such off-road driving is banned. The area where off-road driving is banned since last eight years indicates that damaged area can be improved, however, duration of compacted soil to be normal may take several years. The relevance of the decision of this scientific problem is that off-road driving has negative impact on both fauna and flora. Investigation of the topic Impact of Tourism of Off Road Driving on Vegetation Biomass in the paper is carried out in the following logical sequence: The paper is based on experimental research design and ground truthing. Methodological tools of the research methods were transects approach for the biomass sampling from various sample sites generated randomly and vegetation cover percentages, grass species composition, species sensitivity were measured using appropriate tools. Similarly, surface sealing, soil texture, soil compaction, and water infiltration were measured and compared in the areas where offroad driving was going on (when research was conducted), off-road driving was closed since last one or two years and eight years or more. The object of research is the chosen by researchers own interests. The paper presents the results of an empirical analysis, which showed that different observations and measurements showed that off-road driving has strongly (negative) significant impact, which has decreased vegetation biomass. Compared to ORD impact, other environmental factors do not have a significant impact. The results also showed that management (area closure for ORD) has a significant positive impact on the improvement of the damaged area. However, it was found that the vegetation recovery after the closure for ORD was very slow. The research empirically confirms and theoretically proves that off-road driving has negative impact on soil and vegetation. The results of the research can be useful for the proper management of national parks and wildlife reserves as well gives new insights to the park tourism industry.


High density interconnection structures using an area-arrayed small bump structure have been employed in multi chip packages and modules. Both the diameter and the pitch of the bump will be decreased from a few hundred mum to dozens mum. Copper thin film interconnection and lead-free solder (mainly consists of tin) is used for the micro joint structures. As a result, the intermetallic compounds (IMC) such as Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn easily grow at the interface between the copper interconnections and the lead-free solder bumps. Since physical properties of the IMC are quite different from tin and copper, the increase of thickness of the IMC in the joint structures may affect mechanical and electrical quality of the joint structures with the miniaturization of solder bump. One of the important change is the increase of the stress and strain fields in the bump structures. Since the stress and strain fields affect the fracture mode of structures, the change of the stress and strain fields due to the IMC growth was analyzed in small bump structures. In addition, the effect of the miniaturization of the bump size on the increase of the electrical resistance of the bump at high frequencies was also analyzed considering the existence of the IMC layer.


The fluorescence and up-conversion spectral properties of Er3+-doped TeO2-ZnO and TeO2-ZnO-PbCl2 glasses suitable for developing optical fiber amplifier and laser have been fabricate and characterized. Strong green (around 527-550 nm) and red (around 661 nm) up-conversion emissions under 977 nm laser diode excitation were investigated, corresponding to 2H11/2, 4S3/2, ® 4I15/2 and 4F9/2 ® 4I15/2 transitions of Er3+ ions respectively, have beenobserved and the involved mechanisms have been explained. The dependence of up-converted fluorescence intensity versus laser power confirm that two-photons contribute to up-conversion of the green-red emissions. The novelty of this kind of optical material has been its ability in resisting devitrification, and its promising optical properties strongly encourage for their further development as the rare-earth doped optical fiber amplifiers and upconversion fiber laser systems.


2001 will long be remembered as one of the most difficult years for tourism in Ireland. The outbreak of Food and Mouth disease in the first half of the year was seen as a major blow to the industry, with many businesses suffering from the resultant restrictions on travel. These problems were further increased by the global effects of the economic slow-down in the USA. As the sector began to recover and was shaping up for a healthy Autumn, the terrorist attacks of September 11 devastated the industry globally, with knock–on effects which are only now beginning to be assessed. In light of these three impacts, this article examines the major global trends of tourism and focuses particularly on the world's largest business in Ireland. Introduction There are many reasons why tourism has become an important topic for geographical investigation, not least being its global importance as both an activity and an industry. By the mid 1990s the World Travel and Tourism Council estimated that tourism was the world's largest industry, accounting globally for approximately 10% of the world's workforce and approximately 10% of global gross domestic product (Cooper et al, 1998: 1-2). Reasons for Engaging in Tourism There are a number of reasons why an individual goes on holidays, these include both 'push' and 'pull' factors and vary according to the individual involved. Table 1 identifies the main categories of traveller used by researchers of tourism. Table 1 : Classification of Tourists Purpose of Arrival % Leisure Recreation Holidays 62.1 Business / Professional 17.9 Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) / Health / Religion / Other 20.0


OBJECTIVE
To prepare colon target pellets of Pulsatilla total saponins.

METHOD
Pulsatilla total saponins-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin inclusion was prepared by the water solution-mixing method. Then plain pills of inclusion were prepared by the granulation-spheronization method, and coated by Glatt fluid bed.

RESULT
The dissolution of plain pills of Pulsatilla total saponins at 2 h was 16.0%, while that of plain pills of inclusion at 0.5 h was 91.9%. With Eudragit S100 as the coating material, TEC as the plasticizer and talcum power as the anti-adherent, when the coating weight was 12%, the coating efficiency was high, with almost no bonding and drug release of coated pellets in artificial gastric juice for 2 h. The accumulated drug release in artificial intestinal fluid for 4 h was less than 15%, and that in artificial colon fluid for 4 h was more than 90%.

CONCLUSION
Coated pellets of Pulsatilla total saponins-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin inclusion showed a good colon targeted drug release in vitro, thus could be further developed to be oral colon targeted preparations.


The classic problem of global register allocation is treated in a heuristic and practical manner by adopting the notion of priorities in node-coloring. The assignment of priorities is based on estimates of the benefits that can be derived from allocating individual quantities in registers. Using the priorities, the exponential coloring process can be made to run in linear time. Since the costs involved in register allocation are taken into account, the algorithm does not over-allocate. The algorithm can be parameterized to cater to different fetch characteristics and register configurations among machines. Measurements indicate that the register allocation scheme is effective on a number of target machines. The results confirm that, using priority-based coloring, global register allocation can be performed practically and efficiently.


New forms of racial attitudes among whites, including racial resentment, help to uphold institutionalized inequalities in the United States. As a way to dismantle institutionalized forms of racial inequalities, colleges and universities have implemented various curricula and programs designed to expose students to diversity and reduce social inequalities. This study attempts to uncover the extent to which college experiences affect levels of racial resentment among white students, with emphasis on whether the effects differ for women and men. Findings from a representative sample of students at a large Midwestern university revealed that white men showed higher levels of racial resentment than white women and that their attitudes were significantly affected by many college experiences. By contrast, white women are less affected by aspects of their college experience.


Background: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is one of the most significant toxicities experienced by patients treated with systemic therapy. Taxanes now play an integral role in the systemic therapy for women with early stage breast cancer. The most common taxane-containing regimen utilized in Ontario, Canada is 5-Fluorouracil/Epirubicin/Cyclophosphamide x 3 followed by Docetaxel x 3 (FEC-D). PACS 01 reported a febrile neutropenia (FN) rate of 11.2% in the FEC-D arm. In our clinical practice, clinicians have noted a much higher rate of FN. We report the FN rate with the use of FEC-D in women with early stage breast cancer treated at tertiary care centers in Ontario. Methods: All women with early stage breast cancer who were treated with FEC-D from three tertiary care cancer centers in Ontario, Canada (London, Sudbury, Ottawa) between June 2006 and December 2008 were included in this retrospective analysis. Data included: demographics, staging, hormone receptor status, primary prophylaxis use with growth factors, FN rate, admission to hospital and duration of hospital admission. Results: Median age of 630 women is 52 years (r: 24-77). Staging was: I (88), IIA (243), IIB (159), IIIA (94), IIIB (23), IIIC (14) and 9 unknown. A total of 474 (75.2%) were ER positive. Primary prophylaxis with growth factor support was given to 222 patients (35%) and 408 patients (65%) did not have upfront prophylaxis. Of the 222 patients who were given primary prophylaxis, 14 patients (6.3%) were diagnosed with FN. Of the 408 patients who did not receive primary prophylaxis, 120 patients (29.4%) were diagnosed with FN. All patients (n=120) diagnosed with FN received secondary prophylaxis with growth factor support. A total of 126 patients (20%) were admitted to hospital for FN. The median duration of hospital admission was 3.9 days (r: 1-65 days). The impact of risk factors, the use of filgastrim versus pegylated filgastrim on FN rates and the clinical ramifications of febrile neutropenia (ICU admissions/deaths) will be reported. Conclusions: The results of this retrospective analysis demonstrate a much higher risk of FN (29.4%) with FEC-D than has been previously reported. More complete reporting of primary prophylaxis is required. This rate of FN would warrant use of primary prophylaxis for patients prescribed FEC-D, particularly in high risk subgroups. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 2087.


Anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA-5) antibody-positive dermatomyositis is a disease with a poor prognosis associated with rapid progressive interstitial pneumonia. Autoimmune diseases have occasionally been reported to occur after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We experienced a case of anti-MDA-5 antibody-positive dermatomyositis after HSCT. In this case, a sufficient dose of cyclophosphamide could not be administered due to an impaired bone marrow function. We discuss the complications of autoimmune diseases after HSCT.


In order to account properly for the dynamics of the electron angular correlations near the double ionization threshold the extended Wannier model is formulated in which the electrons recede from the reaction zone being at equal distances from the nucleus but in arbitrary directions. 1Se and 1Po states of the two-electron continuum are considered. The boundary conditions on the border of the reaction zone are imposed corresponding to the double photoionization process. The wavepacket propagation to the free electron regime is calculated numerically. The asymmetry parameter beta is in good agreement with recent experiments.


Traditional finance theories are not sufficient to explain investor's sentiment and psychology. This situation leads to emergence of Behavioral Finance. The aim of this paper is to analyze the macroeconomic factors affecting Real Sector Confidence Index (RSCI) of Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT). Within this scope, monthly data for the period between 2007:01 and 2017:03 is analyzed by using Johansen Cointegration Test and Granger Causality Test. According to the results of the analysis, CBRT Composite Leading Indicators Index, Capacity Utilization Rate of Manufacturing Industry (CURMI), Turkish Lira Reference Interest Rate (TRLIBOR) and BIST100 Return Index affect RSCI.


This paper represents a first attempt to examine empirically the comparative extensiveness of low pay in the third sector against the theoretical backdrop of both the generic labour market literature and the newly emerging specialist third sector literature. It shows that the third sector occupies an intermediate position between relatively high concentrations of low pay in the private sector and low concentrations in the public sector. These differences do not emerge simply because the categories of vulnerable workers identified in the generic labour market literature are less likely to be found in the third sector. Nor do they reflect differences in sectoral industry and occupation composition. Theoretical explanations for these differences are to be found in the third sector literature.


The intrinsically disordered region of MBD2 is a promising target for treating cancer metastasis. Although intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDPRs) are commonly engaged in promiscuous protein-protein interactions (PPIs), using them as drug targets is challenging due to their extreme structural flexibility. We report a rational discovery of inhibitors targeting an IDPR of MBD2 that undergoes disorder-to-order transition upon PPI and is critical for the regulation of the Mi-2/NuRD chromatin remodeling complex (CRC). Computational biology was essential for identifying target site, searching for promising leads, and assessing their binding feasibility and off-target probability. Molecular action of selected leads inhibiting the targeted PPI of MBD2 was validated in vitro and in cell, followed by confirming their inhibitory effects on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of various cancer cells. Identified lead compounds appeared to potently inhibit cancer metastasis in a murine xenograft tumor model. These results constitute a pioneering example of rationally discovered IDPR-targeting agents and suggest Mi-2/NuRD CRC and/or MBD2 as a promising target for treating cancer metastasis.


The Hedgehog-GLI signaling pathway is activated in human and canine osteosarcoma (OSA) and represents a potential therapeutic target for cancers, including OSA. Arsenic trioxide represses GLI expression. Melarsomine, an arsenic compound-containing drug, has been approved for the treatment of canine heartworm disease. Hence, we hypothesized that melarsomine inhibits GLI signaling in canine OSA cell lines. The present study aimed to assess this hypothesis. Cell viability and colony formation were decreased in the canine OSA cell lines Abrams and D17 after treatment with melarsomine. Melarsomine-induced apoptotic cell death was assessed via cell cycle analysis using propidium iodide staining. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses revealed a downregulation of genes downstream of the Hedgehog signaling pathway, including GLI1, GLI2, and PTCH, after melarsomine treatment. The present results suggest that melarsomine exerts antitumor effects and serves as a GLI inhibitor in canine OSA cells. Additional studies are required to evaluate and confirm the anticancer effect and relevant therapeutic dose of melarsomine in vivo.


Wireless Sensor network(WSN), which was made by the convergence of sensor, micro-electro-mechanism system and networks technologies, was a novel technology about acquiring and processing information. Wireless sensor network (WSN) had a great application value and wide application prospect in the fields of military, agriculture, environmental monitoring, medical health, industry, intelligent transportation, building monitoring, space exploration and so on. This paper presented a implementation scheme of communication for forest fire detection oriented wireless sensor network and monitoring computer, which developed monitoring computer client interface using VB6.0 and SQL SERVER 2000. Monitoring interface included the real-time display of variable parameters such as selected node object, current temperature tested by selected node, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, smoke concentration and so on. And it also included the query of above-mentioned parameters' historical trend curve, set of temperature alarm value, alarm when temperature exceeded the critical value, display of data transmission rates as well as the functions of software suspend and restart of the node to distribute data.


Lipophilic extracts from 16 species of seaweeds collected along the Qingdao coastline were screened and evaluated for their antioxidant activities (AA) using the beta-carotene-linoleate assay system. The diethyl ether soluble extracts of all selected seaweeds exhibited various degrees of antioxidative efficacy in each screen. The highest antioxidant capacities among the tested samples were observed for Rhodomela confervoides and Symphyocladia latiuscula and were comparable with that of the well-known antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene and greater than that of propyl gallate. The lipophilic content of all 16 samples and the chemical composition of 4 selected seaweeds, R. confervoidesand S. latiuscula, which had higher AA, Laminaria japonica, which had intermediate AA, and Plocamium telfairiae, which had lower AA, were analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. Fatty acids and alkanes were found. The present data indicated an increase in antioxidative property with increasing content of unsaturated fatty acid. The result of this study suggests that seaweeds can be considered as a potential source for the extraction of lipophilic antioxidants, which might be used as dietary supplements or in production in the food industry. This is the first report on the antioxidant activities of lipophilic extracts from seaweeds.


Objective: To find out the frequency of hiatal hernia among patients with dyspepsia undergoing esophagogastroscopy. Study Design: Descriptive, Cross-sectional study. Setting: Departments of Medicine and Gastroenterology, Services Hospital Lahore. Period: December 2018 to June 2019. Material & Methods: A total of 195 patients with dyspepsia aged 20 to 60 years of both sexes were enrolled. Patients with history of gastric or duodenal ulcer, pregnant women, Chronic Renal Failure and Chronic Liver Disease were excluded. After taking informed consent, esophagogastroscopy was done in each patient and presence or absence of hiatal hernia was noted. Results: Out of 195 patients enrolled 104 (53.3%) were male. Mean age was 41.3±8.8 years and mean duration of disease 6.3±2.0 months. Mean BMI was 27.5±3.0 kg/m2 and 101 (51.7%) had BMI <27 kg/m2. Thirty-seven (19.8%) were smokers while sedentary lifestyle was reported in 93 (47.6%). Hiatal hernia among patients with dyspepsia undergoing esophagogastroscopy was found in 16 (8.21%) patients. Conclusion: We conclude that hiatal hernia was not uncommon in patients with dyspepsia undergoing esophagogastroscopy. Age and smoking status had a significant association with hiatal hernia while no association with sex, duration of disease, BMI, occupation or lifestyle.


Continuous cropping has become a key factor limiting the sustainable development of greenhouse vegetables. It is a matter of great importance to maintain and improve the effective fertility of greenhouse soil. Catch crops planted as green manure is an effective method to improve soil quality. In order to determine the effects of catch crops on soil characteristics and the growth of afterculture vegetables, onion, corn, wheat, soybean and cabbage were planted as catch crops for two years during the summer fallow season, with no catch crop as CK. The results showed that the total porosity and organic matter content of the soil, with corn and wheat as catch crops, was significantly increased by 2.93%, 5.25% and 21.32%, 51.61%, respectively, while pH was decreased, compared with CK. The urease, sucrase, invertase, catalase and FDA enzyme activity of the soil with corn and wheat as catch crops was significantly increased by 30.14% and 30.21%, 14.81% and 25.31%, 15.43% and 15.21%, 29.37% and 28.69%, 46.32% and 44.23%. Meanwhile, the enzyme activity of the soil was increased with each catch crop planted. The amount of culturable bacteria and actinomycetes in the soil with corn and wheat as catch crops was increased by 33.42% and 38.12% at the period of 150dayII, while fungi was decreased by 59.95%. The yield of vegetables with corn and wheat as catch crops significantly increased by 5.59~13.33% and 4.35~11.18% compared with CK. Overall, catch crops could improve the soil quality as well as the growth of afterculture vegetables.


IP prefix hijacking remains a major threat to the security of the Internet routing system due to a lack of authoritative prefix ownership information. Despite many efforts in designing IP prefix hijack detection schemes, no existing design can satisfy all the critical requirements of a truly effective system: real-time, accurate, lightweight, easily and incrementally deployable, as well as robust in victim notification. In this paper, we present a novel approach that fulfills all these goals by monitoring network reachability from key external transit networks to one's own network through lightweight prefix-owner-based active probing. Using the prefix-owner's view of reachability, our detection system, iSPY, can differentiate between IP prefix hijacking and network failures based on the observation that hijacking is likely to result in topologically more diverse polluted networks and unreachability. Through detailed simulations of Internet routing, 25-day deployment in 88 autonomous systems (ASs) (108 prefixes), and experiments with hijacking events of our own prefix from multiple locations, we demonstrate that iSPY is accurate with false negative ratio below 0.45% and false positive ratio below 0.17%. Furthermore, iSPY is truly real-time; it can detect hijacking events within a few minutes.


Helicobacter pylori were considered one of the most bacterial infections in the world. Recently, the resistance of antibiotic against H. pylori is increasing and hence, it is necessary to find new and natural effective agents. Marine organisms and microorganism produce complex secondary metabolites and some of these compounds are antimicrobials agents. This study aimed to provide preliminary data to determine if marine Hyrtios erectus sponge, actinomycetes, and fungi extracts can inhibit the growth of H. pylori. In this study, the methanol extracts of the three samples of Hyrtios erectus sponge and the ethyl acetate extracts of seven actinomycetes strains and four fungi strains were used to determine the antibacterial effect against a standard strain of H. pylori. The samples of actinomycetes and fungi were identified by using 16S rRNA amplification for actinomycetes and Internal Transcribed Spacer-PCR for fungi using Genetic Analyzer 3500, and then the DNA sequences were compared through BLAST and alignment with other actinomycetes and fungi which already present in the GenBank from various study areas. Results indicated that the anti-H. pylori screening showed that only 13 from 14 extracts exhibited anti-H. pylori effect. Among them, the methanol extract of Hyrtios erectus (1), the ethyl acetate extract of actinomycete strain S7 and the ethyl acetate extracts of fungi strains M1, M2, M3, M4 exhibited strong effect against H. pylori more than other extract with minimal inhibitory concentrations 3.9, 15.63, 3.9, 15.63, 3.9 and 7.81 µg/ml, respectively. The 16S rRNA and ITS rRNA gene sequences and phylogenetic analysis provided strong evidence for the isolates of actinomycetes and fungi, respectively. The actinomycetes were identified as seven species that belong to Streptomyces genus. The fungi isolates were identified as three species that belong to Aspergillus genus and one species that belong to Penicillium genus.


New mass-spectrometric 234 U- 230 Th ages for the Key Largo Formation confirm earlier, less precise alpha-counting measurements that place the unit within marine oxygen isotope stage 5. Ages derived from the petrographically freshest samples (>99% aragonite) of this study range from 125 to 138 ka. Despite careful sample selection and preparation, the initial 234 U/ 238 U activity ratios [denoted ( 234 U/ 238 U) T ] range from 1.163 to 1.176 and so are all significantly higher than modern-day or inferred last-interglacial seawater. This result indicates open-system behavior of U-series nuclides, as has been observed in many other Pleistocene coral samples, and casts doubt on the accuracy of our age determinations. We have used our samples to investigate the processes and magnitudes of age perturbations. Repeats of the same sample dissolution (analytical reproducibility) are within measured uncertainties, which are generally less than ±1 k.y. In contrast, different parts of the same coral, similarly screened for alteration, can show age differences of as much as ∼3 k.y. Evidence from this study and others suggests that alteration generally increases 234 U- 230 Th ages. We were able to determine, by using field relationships, that the differences in 234 U- 230 Th ages of samples lying on either side of an erosion feature are at least 5 k.y. in error; the stratigraphically younger corals above the erosion surface have 234 U- 230 Th ages that are at least 5 k.y. too old. Notably, these apparently more perturbed samples have lower ( 234 U/ 238 U) T ratios than the underlying corals. This observation emphasizes that, although ( 234 U/ 238 U) T is a sensitive indicator of open-system behavior, the ( 234 U/ 238 U) T ratio does not provide a simple index of the magnitude of age disturbance. Diagenetic additions of both 234 U and 230 Th to corals seem necessary to explain both elevated ages and ( 234 U/ 238 U) T ratios. We argue that these additions result from redistribution of nuclides during meteoric alteration of the reef in the first ∼40 k.y. after formation. Variations in the amount of 230 Th added relative to 234 U can be used to model the spread of ages at similar ( 234 U/ 238 U) ratios, although variable amounts of recent U loss may also have been important. The youngest age of this study (125 ka), just below an erosion surface, is compatible with the ages of similar features in the southern Bahamas. We suggest that 125 ka is the maximum age of a short-lived sea-level lowstand within the last-interglacial (5e) highstand.


Guajazulen, a dark blue lipid-soluble dye was used to stain retroperitoneal lymph nodes before lymphadenectomy. Initially, a 30% solution of Guajazulen (Merck, Darmstadt, FRG) in iodinated oil (Lipiodol, Byk-Gulden, Konstant, FRG) was injected endolymphatically in the hindlimbs of pigs (n = 10) and dogs (n = 8) to better visualize retroperitoneal lymph nodes. Because of encouraging results, 11 patients with testicular cancer undergoing staging or therapeutic laparotomy underwent endolymphatic injection of this dye solution preoperatively. The excellent staining of retroperitoneal lymph nodes facilitated nodal selectivity during lymphadenectomy.


Osteolysis is a central feature of aseptic loosening of orthopaedic joint prostheses. This destructive process is believed to result from phagocytosis of implant wear debris by periprosthetic and synovial macrophages and the subsequent release of proinflammatory mediators, including collagenase. Isolated murine macrophages were cultured in vitro with particulate titanium in order to explore the mechanism of macrophage activation by particulate wear debris. The results, in which the amount of secreted, soluble collagenase in culture supernatants was inversely proportional to titanium concentration, suggested that titanium strongly adsorbed secreted collagenase. This inference was confirmed by direct binding assays in which particulate titanium coated with adsorbed collagenase bound an alkaline phosphatase conjugated anti-collagenase antibody, but not a conjugated anti-IgG antibody. Adsorption of collagenase was not influenced by preincubation of titanium particles with albumin. The adsorbed collagenase remained enzymatically active as indicated by its ability to hydrolyze a synthetic peptide substrate. These results demonstrate that particulate titanium stimulates collagenase production by macrophages and then strongly adsorbs the secreted proinflammatory enzyme. The process of macrophage stimulation, collagenase secretion, and adsorption may represent an important mechanism for localization and concentration of collagenase in periprosthetic and synovial tissue, a mechanism that ultimately triggers bone resorption through osteoclast activation.