Abstract:  We describe herein a new species of Vitreorana from the Cerrado biome at Serra da Canastra National Park, Vargem Bonita, Minas Gerais, Southeastern Brazil. Morphological and molecular data from one nuclear gene (proopiomelanocortin) show that the new species belongs to the genus Vitreorana, with a strong support of posterior probability of Bayesian inference. Vitreorana franciscana sp. nov. is characterized by its slender body; snout subovoid in dorsal view; outer tarsal and ulnar ridges with low and small, thickened tubercles; cloacal ornamentation composed of an aggregation of small, thickened tubercles, with two elevations on each side of anal opening forming a slight flap, all highlighted by white pigment; and reticulated arrangement of melanophores on dorsum. Furthermore, we describe the calling repertoire and provide data on natural history of the new species.


Clathrates based on Si and Ge have very low lattice thermal conductivity (~1 W/m-K). This value can potentially be further reduced by alloying and nano-structuring. In this work, the thermal conductivity of Si and Ge clathrates alloy have been investigated using model based on the relaxation time approximation. By including alloy scattering, we find that the lattice thermal conductivity of Ba_8Cu_6Si_40 ¡s reduced by 50% from 1.64 to 0.80 W/m-K in Ba_8Cu_6Si_40(1-x)Ge_40x alloy. Further ~90% reduction of the thermal conductivity is possible for nanowire clathrate alloys. The ultra-low thermal conductivity in the nanowire will be very suitable for the thermoelectric application.


Background: Mutational analysis has become standard of care in lung cancer. However, many patients do not have tissue available due to lack of tissue, or more commonly due to tissue exhaustion by previous tissue analysis. Next generation sequencing of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) provides a non-invasive alternative. EGFR point mutations and indels are well reported in this manner, however gene copy number amplification is more challenging. Here we present a cases where MET amplification has been detected and guided highly efficient therapy in advanced lung cancer patient. Methods: Guardant360TM is a targeted cfDNA NGS panel using hybrid capture and complete exon sequencing exons for single nucleotide variant detection in 68 genes, copy number amplifications (CNA) in 16 genes, and selected indels and fusions. CNA has been validated against cell lines with known amplifications. Results: A 70 y old former light smoker (15 PY) with pulmonary fibrosis and moderate pulmonary hypertension was diagnosed with a 30 mm RMB lung adenocarcinoma that was treated by stereotactic beam radiotherapy due to poor pulmonary reserve. After 5 months, mediastinal, liver and multiple bone metastases were diagnosed. Genomic analysis of the primary tissue biopsy yielded a rare EGFR mutation (I744F) and afatinib therapy was started to cover uncommon EGFR mutations. However, 2 months later, a significant progression has occurred and the patient had severe local progression with respiratory near-failure. The patient was not a candidate for chemotherapy and there was no further tissue available for molecular testing. Therefore cfDNA testing was performed finding no residual EGFR mutation in the blood but a MET amplification reported above the 90th percentile for the Guardant Health laboratory with copy number of 53.6 in the blood. Upon this result, crizotinib 250 mg BID was started with immediate clinical improvement, followed with a dramatic imaging response on CT/PET scans. Currently, the patient is in PS-0 and free of any symptoms, 3 months since treatment has been started. Conclusion: cfDNA detection of MET amplification as a key resistance mechanism after EGFR TKI therapy is feasible in patients where tissue is not accessible or was undergenotyped and may be accompanied by a fast and dramatic clinical improvement. Citation Format: Nir Peled, Anna Belilovski, Lior Soussan-Gutman, Richard B. Lanman, AmirAli Talasaz. Salvage MET amplification detection and therapy through cell-free DNA NGS in a progressing lung cancer patient. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 491.


The paired helical filament, the principal constituent of the neurofibrillary tangles characteristic of Alzheimer disease, is shown to consist of two structurally distinct parts. An external fuzzy region can be removed by Pronase treatment to leave a Pronase-resistant morphologically recognizable core. Scanning transmission electron microscopy gives an estimate for the mass per unit length as 79 kDa.nm-1 before Pronase treatment and 65 kDa.nm-1 after treatment. The fuzzy region carries all the epitopes recognized by two different antisera against microtubule-associated protein tau. By contrast, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) we have raised to paired helical filament cores (mAb 423) decorates Pronase-treated filaments much more strongly than it does untreated ones. We have shown in previous papers that the epitope recognized by mAb 423 is carried by a central 9.5-kDa fragment of tau protein, which therefore forms part of the Pronase-resistant core structure. The remainder of the tau protein incorporated into the filaments must contribute part, if not all, of the fuzzy region. The mass per unit length measurements imply that the three-domain structural subunit of the core that we visualized previously by image reconstruction has a molecular mass of approximately equal to 100 kDa.


Providing reliable and efficient route for communication under fading channel is one of the major challenges in WSN, especially in the industrial wireless sensor networks(IWSNs).In this work we present the Reliable Reactive Routing to increase the resilience to link dynamics for WSN/WSN. Reactive Routing protocols provide reliable and energy efficient packet delivery against the unreliable wireless by utilizing the local path diversity. In this work we are introducing based back off scheme during the route-discovery phase to find a robust guide path, which can provide more forwarding nodes. In this biased back off scheme we are using guide path, using this guide path data packets are moving towards the destination through node's cooperation without utilizing the local information.


Sarkar's article looks at the Hindu ritual of widow immolation, which colonial law abolished in 1830. It explores the administration of the ritual before abolition and how, in the process of governance, the widow's consent emerged as a prominent keyword in colonial bureaucratic discourses. It shows the ramifications of the concept of consent, the problem of establishing it, and the consequences of applying it.


AbstractOrganisational politics traditionally gets a 'bad press'. It has generally been under-researched mainly because of concerns about image. Managers dislike discussing subjects such as organisational politicking, believing that it reflects badly on themselves as managers and on their organisation and they cling to a purely rationalist model of decision-making. Sometimes, even the presence of politics is denied. But, as this paper argues, while some managers may claim to have no taste for politics they readily engage in it and justify it. The processes of managing organisational change more often than not result in conflict and resistance, requiring political engagement in response. This paper analyses political activities in the context of change, using an ethical decision-tree to examine practical cases. It presents them in the managers' own terms and assesses them against three criteria: utility, rights and justice. The findings raise questions about how managers themselves construe ethical behaviour and about the adequacy of the criteria they use. There is room for further research in this area and analysis of the ethical frameworks used to evaluate what managers do.


The nature and normative properties of competition in health care markets have long been the subject of much debate. In this paper we consider what the optimal benchmark is in the presence of moral hazard effects on consumption due to health insurance. Intuitively, it seems that imperfect competition in the health care market may constrain this moral hazard by increasing prices. We show that this intuition cannot be correct if insurance markets are competitive. A competitive insurance market will always produce a contract that leaves consumers at least as well off under lower prices as under higher prices.


In both thermodynamics and quantum mechanics, the arrow of time is characterized by the statistical likelihood of physical processes. We characterize this arrow of time for the continuous quantum measurement dynamics of a superconducting qubit. By experimentally tracking individual weak measurement trajectories, we compare the path probabilities of forward and backward-in-time evolution to develop an arrow of time statistic associated with measurement dynamics. We compare the statistics of individual trajectories to ensemble properties showing that the measurement dynamics obeys both detailed and integral fluctuation theorems, thus establishing the consistency between microscopic and macroscopic measurement dynamics.


Type I allergy is characterized by the development of an initial Th2-dependent allergen-specific IgE response, which is boosted upon a subsequent allergen encounter. Although the immediate symptoms of allergy are mainly IgE-mediated, allergen-specific T cell responses contribute to the late phase as well as to the chronic manifestations of allergy. This study investigates the potential of costimulation blockade with CTLA4Ig and an anti-CD154 mAb for modifying the allergic immune response to the major timothy grass pollen allergen Phl p 5 in a mouse model. BALB/c mice were treated with the costimulation blockers at the time of primary sensitization to the Phl p 5 allergen or at the time of a secondary allergen challenge. Costimulation blockade (CTLA4Ig plus anti-CD154 or anti-CD154 alone) at the time of sensitization prevented the development of allergen-specific IgE, IgM, IgG, and IgA responses compared with untreated but sensitized mice. However, costimulation blockade had no influence on established IgE responses in sensitized mice. Immediate-type reactions as analyzed by a rat basophil leukemia cell mediator release assay were only suppressed by early treatment but not by a costimulation blockade after sensitization. CTLA4Ig given alone failed to suppress both the primary and the secondary allergen-specific Ab responses. Allergen-specific T cell activation was suppressed in mice by early as well as by a late costimulation blockade, suggesting that IgE responses in sensitized mice are independent of T cell help. Our results indicate that T cell suppression alone without active immune regulation or a shifting of the Th2/Th1 balance is not sufficient for the treatment of established IgE responses in an allergy.


The number of cases of violence in the workplace is increasing, so it is important to learn about it. Today many authors write about mobbing and there is a common opinion among them that workplace violence is unacceptable and should not happen. In the present work I research violence in the workplace through a variety of domestic and foreign authors and their views. Therefore, the theoretical part focuses on the manifestations of mobbing and the causes for the appearance, symptoms, consequences, the role of victim and perpetrator and action and prevention. Particularly important in theoretical part in the chapter on the social pedagogue as a reliever. The empirical part of my thesis includes a research in which I check
mobbing phenomenon in connection with the professions of aid, then I research the connection between mobbing and type of employment, age groups and place of employment and at the end, I also consider who are the most common perpetrators of mobbing. Very important conclusion that I reached is, that mobbing (according to my model which included 218 respondents) is not a widespread phenomenon among this population. However, one should not overlook certain tendencies which suggest to the occurrence of such violence.


W6+-doped TiO2 was prepared by sodium tungsten (VI) and titanium sulfate with sodium dodecyl sulfate as surfactant under microwave irradiation. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron micrograph (SEM). The results showed that the as-prepared nanocomposite of inventory molar ratio of 2% calcined at 500°C for 2 h was anatase. The SEM showed that the majority of the catalyst was a relatively flake structure, and some fine particles attached to it. We also studied the photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared samples by using degradation of methyl orange. The factors including inventory molar ratio and concentration of W6+-doped, calcined temperature, amount of hydrogen peroxide and acidity of solution were investigated. When the catalyst was 1.0 g/L, pH was 2, C(H2O2) was 3 mL/L, the degradation rate of TiO2 for methyl orange of 20 mg/L reached 79.63% in 40 min.


The authors describe the case-history of a boy with secondary myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) which developed into acute leukaemia. The latter was quite resistant to treatment. The disease was preceded by treatment of NH lymphoma with a high grade of malignity by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The authors give the total doses of all cytostatics which were administered to the patient. One year prior to diagnosis of MDS cytogenetic examination of peripheral blood revealed a highly pathological karyotype, from the numerical and structural aspect. Among others monosomy of chromosome no. 5 was found which is typical for MDS and these changes indicate as a rule a poor prognosis and relatively early transformation to acute leukaemia.


This note focuses on a class of stochastic time-delay nonlinear systems. The problem we address is to design a controller such that the closed-loop system is exponentially stable. It is shown that the stabilization via output feedback can be solved by a Lyapunov-based recursive design method.


Abstract Introduction: Low back pain is a common musculoskeletal problem and can become chronic, with varying degrees of disability. Objective: Analyze the factors associated with disability in individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP), treated in primary care. Methods: Cross-sectional study with 82 basic health unit (BHU) users in the municipality of Florianópolis (Brazil) with CLBP. Sociodemographic and clinical variables, health status, lifestyle and treatment were investigated. Self-rated disability was investigated using the Roland Morris questionnaire (≥ 14 points). The χ2 or Fisher's exact tests were used in inferential analysis for univariate association and the presence of disability. Multivariate association was analyzed by logistical regression, estimating the crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) and their respective confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: Adults aged 40-59 years had a greater chance of developing disability (OR: 8.17; 95%: 1.21 - 55.0), while professionally active individuals (OR: 0.08; 95%CI: 0.02 - 0.33) who reported engaging in physical activity ≥ 3 times a week (OR: 0.19; IC95%: 0.04 - 0.83) had less chance of the same outcome when compared to the other participants. Conclusion: Factors related to disability were age, employment status and frequency of physical activity. Incentive strategies to return to work and engage in regular physical activity and exercise should be encouraged.


Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) via an infusion pump enables patient to administer their own analgesia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an educational programme in managing post-operative pain and satisfaction on PCA following orthopedic surgery. A pre-test and post-test interventional study design with implementation of patient education programme on PCA was provided to 54 respondents. The control group received conventional PCA briefing from the Acute Pain Service protocol. Pain intensity was measured at 2 hrs, 6 hrs and 24 hrs following surgery and pre-test and post-test of the Revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire (APS-POQ-R) was administered. There was difference in respondents' level of pain score among the study respondents' medians for control group at 2 hrs, 6 hrs and 24 hrs following surgery and they were 7.00 (IQR=3.00), 5.00 (IQR=2.00) and 3.00 (IQR=2.00); intervention group at 2 hrs, 6 hrs and 24 hrs following surgery were 6.00 (IQR=2.00), 3.00 (IQR=1.00) and 1.00 (IQR=1.00) respectively. There were significant differences in median of pain score between intervention and control group at 2 (U=142.0, p<0.05), 6 (U=150.50, p<0.05) and 24 (U=120.00, p<0.05) hrs following surgery. There were statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in the median of patient's pain severity at all pain levels i.e. least pain, worst pain, and severe pain between intervention and control group (least pain, U=219.50, p<0.05; worst pain, U=117.0, p<0.05; severe pain, U=49.0, p<0.05). In conclusion, patients who received pre-operative structured education programme showed improvement in managing post-operative pain and satisfaction on PCA after orthopedic surgery.


I argue that the idea of expanding space as a way of explaining the behaviour of the universe is unhelpful, in that it not only creates misconceptions for those new to cosmology, but also has traps for those with much more experience of the subject.


Shannon's rate-distortion function provides a potentially useful lower bound against which to compare the rate-versus-distortion performance of practical encoding-transmission systems. However, this bound is not applicable unless one can arrive at a numerically-valued measure of distortion which is in reasonable correspondence with the subjective evaluation of the observer or interpreter. We have attempted to investigate this choice of distortion measure for monochrome still images. This investigation has considered a class of distortion measures for which it is possible to simulate the optimum (in a rate-distortion sense) encoding. Such simulation was performed at a fixed rate for various measures in the class and the results compared subjectively by observers. For several choices of transmission rate and original images, one distortion measure was fairly consistently rated as yielding the most satisfactory appearing encoded images.


Stone tools characteristic of the Clovis culture have been found in direct association with bones of the American mastodon at Kimmswick, Missouri. The vertebrate fauna from Clovis components suggests a deciduous woodland and meadow habitat. Such an environmental reconstruction provides a new perspective for Clovis adaptations and the ecological tolerances of Mammut americanum.


This paper describes an approach for hardware development that involves both imperative and declarative descriptions. The imperative descriptions are mainly used for algorithm and application development; they are based on Cobble, a sequential imperative language extended with facilities for parallel computation and arbitrary-sized variables, similar to the Handel-C language. Operators in Cobble can be produced using the declarative language Pebble, which supports efficient bit-level design. We introduce the use of meta-information, such as information about latency and throughput, for Pebble descriptions, to enable Cobble programs to adapt to different implementations of operators in Pebble. The optimisation of designs by transforming the Cobble and Pebble descriptions is presented.


Osteoarthritis of knee joints is a disease of old age female sex. It is very common in post menopausal females. It is characterized by narrowing of space in joints due to inflammation. The exact mechanism of inflammation is not clear. The present study is being carried out in 150 female subject of age group 40-60 years suffering from osteoarthritis of knee joints and 50 normal healthy control female subjects of same age group. A correlation is made between TNF-α, IL-6 and estrogen hormone and found significant inverse correlation (< 0.001) between estrogen hormone and TNF-α, IL-6 in osteoarthritic female patients as compared to normal healthy control female age group. Estrogen hormone plays a bone protective effect of knee osteoarthritic disease.


Estimating crop response to fertilizer application and identification of effective fertilizer materials is important for plant nutrient management and in sustaining soil fertility. Unlike other agro-ecological zones, no fertilizer recommendations have been established for the semi-arid zones in Tanzania. This could be due to the fact that semi-arid areas are regarded as marginal land for agricultural production. To address this gap, field experiments were carried out to establish phosphorus (P) fertilizer rates and identify the effective P source for semi-arid areas of Kongwa and Kiteto districts in a sole maize and maize-pigeonpea cropping system. Assessment of soil fertility status on experimental sites was carried out. Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) fertilizer was used to test various application rates: 0, 7.5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 kg P ha -1 . For P-source triall, Minjingu Mazao, Minjingu hyper phosphate and TSP were tested at 0 and 30 kg P ha -1 for each fertilizer material. Sole maize or intercropped with pigeonpea was used as the test crop in two fertilizer trials. The treatments were arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Soils in the study sites were deficient of P, N and Ca; and had very low organic matter contents. Compared to the control, the fertilizer treatments had higher yield across sites and cropping system. The 15 kg P ha −1 fertilizer rate increased the grain yield by 38 to 49% in sole maize and 55 to 60% in maizepigeonpea intercropping system at Njoro and 51 to 54% in sole maize and 44 to 46% in maize pigeonpea intercropping system in Moleti. Maize yield obtained with 15 kg P ha −1 was equivalent to the maximum yield obtained under 30 kg P ha −1 fertilizer rate. Maize yield obtained after 30 kg P ha -1 fertilizer rate declined slightly possibly reflecting sufficiency level of P. These results suggest that 15 kg P ha -1 P is the agronomic P fertilizer rate for maize production under sole maize and maize-pigeon pea intercropping system in semi-arid areas of Kongwa and Kiteto districts, Therefore, application of this


Objective:To explore the roles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and PBMC-derived macrophages in sepsis-related increased procalcitonin and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) I production. Design:Prospective, in vitro primary human cell culture study and human tissue samples gene expression analysis. Setting:University hospital research laboratories. Patients:Cells from healthy donors and septic patients. Interventions:PBMCs were obtained from healthy donors. Isolation of pure monocyte cultures was performed by magnetic depletion of nonmonocyte cells from PBMCs. Adipose tissue biopsies and circulating leukocytes were collected from septic patients. Expressions of calcitonin messenger RNA and CGRP I messenger RNA were analyzed using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Supernatant procalcitonin and CGRP protein content were determined by ultrasensitive chemiluminometric and radioimmunoassays, respectively. Measurements and Main Results:PBMCs expressed and secreted procalcitonin and CGRP within 3–5 hrs after adherence to endothelial cells or plastic surfaces. This induction was transient, as it was not detectable after 18 hrs. No calcitonin or CGRP I messenger RNA was observed in leukocytes obtained from septic patients with markedly increased serum procalcitonin concentrations. Stimulation with cytokines, endotoxin, or Escherichia coli did not induce expression of calcitonin and CGRP I messenger RNA in PBMC-derived macrophages. However, inflammatory factors released from activated macrophages induced a marked expression of procalcitonin and CGRP in co-cultured human adipocytes. Conclusions:The adhesion-induced, transient expression and secretion of procalcitonin and CGRP in vitro may play an important role during monocyte adhesion and migration in vivo. PBMC-derived macrophages may contribute to the marked increase in circulating procalcitonin by recruiting parenchymal cells within the infected tissue, as exemplified with adipocytes.


Background The expiration-to-inspiration sound power ratio in a midfrequency range (E/I MF), a parameter of lung sound analysis (LSA), has been reported to be useful as an index of airway inflammation in patients with bronchial asthma. However, the E/I MF reflects airway narrowing caused by airway inflammation, and there is thus concern that it may not be an index of airway eosinophilic inflammation itself. Methods A total of 131 patients with bronchial asthma were classified into four groups according to the presence or absence of airway narrowing and airway inflammation to examine whether the E/I MF could serve as an index of airway inflammation. Results The E/I MF was significantly higher in patients with a normal forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and high fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), those with a low FEV1 and normal FeNO, and those with a low FEV1 and high FeNO than in those with a normal FEV1 and normal FeNO (p < 0.05–0.01). In particular, the E/I MF was high even in the patients who had no airway narrowing but had airway inflammation (p < 0.01). The results of multivariate analysis of factors involved in FeNO in patients with a normal FEV1 revealed that the E/I MF was an independent factor (p = 0.0281). Conclusion The E/I MF is a useful index of airway inflammation in the treatment of asthma, regardless of the presence or absence of airway narrowing.


Chimeric antigen receptor modified T cells targeting CD19 and CD20 have shown activity in Phase I, II trials of patients with hematological malignancies. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of all published clinical trials studying the role of efficacy as well as safety of CD-19 and CD-20 chimeric antigen receptor-T therapy for B-cell hematologic malignancies. A total of 16 studies with 195 patients were identified. The pooled analysis showed an overall response rate of 61% (118/195) with complete response of 42% (81/195) and partial response of 19% (37/195). Major adverse events were cytokine release syndrome 33%, neurotoxicity 33% and B-cell aplasia 54%. Collectively, the results indicate encouraging response in relapsed/refractory B lymphoma and leukemia, especially in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients.


The close coupling of artificial intelligence (AI) and electroencephalography (EEG) has substantially advanced human-computer interaction (HCI) technologies in the AI era. Different from traditional EEG systems, the interpretability and robustness of AI-based EEG systems are becoming particularly crucial. The interpretability clarifies the inner working mechanisms of AI models and thus can gain the trust of users. The robustness reflects the AI's reliability against attacks and perturbations, which is essential for sensitive and fragile EEG signals. Thus the interpretability and robustness of AI in EEG systems have attracted increasing attention, and their research has achieved great progress recently. However, there is still no survey covering recent advances in this field. In this paper, we present the first comprehensive survey and summarize the interpretable and robust AI techniques for EEG systems. Specifically, we first propose a taxonomy of interpretability by characterizing it into three types: backpropagation, perturbation, and inherently interpretable methods. Then we classify the robustness mechanisms into four classes: noise and artifacts, human variability, data acquisition instability, and adversarial attacks. Finally, we identify several critical and unresolved challenges for interpretable and robust AI in EEG systems and further discuss their future directions.


Salinity is a major environmental constraint to crop productivity throughout the arid and semi arid regions of the world. The development of strategies to ameliorate deleterious effects of salt stress on plants has received considerable attention. Salicylic acid (SA) has been shown as an important signal molecule for modulating plant responses to environmental stress. In addition to facilitating the growth of plant, SA has been shown to play a role in mitigating the deleterious effects of some environmental stresses. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of exogenous salicylic acid (0.01 mM) on some physiological parameters in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum, cv Marmande) grown under salinity stress (NaCl 100 mM). Dry yield of the plants decreased significantly with exposure to NaCl. Exogenous application of SA (0.01 mM), increased dry weight both in saline and non-saline conditions. In saline conditions, with the applied SA, dry yield increased almost up to the yield obtained from non-saline conditions. Salt stress increased membrane permeability of leaves. Exogenously applied SA decreased the membrane deterioration. NaCl reduced photosynthetic pigments contents. Whereas, the addition of SA induced an increase of these contents. Under salinity stress, the amounts of Na, Cl and Na/K ratio severely increased and the amount of K, Ca and Mg decreased. Addition of SA in the culture medium inhibited Na+ and Cl- accumulation, but stimulated K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ contents of stressed plants. These results suggest that SA could be used as a potential growth regulator to improve plant resistance to salinity stress.


Equinus of the ankle is a common deformity in spastic cerebral palsy. Many methods have been developed to lengthen the Achilles tendon to correct the deformity. A new mesh Achilles tendon lengthening (ATL) procedure that might decrease immobilization and promote recovery was performed in 36 tendons with equinus deformity (22 patients, average age=6.2). The results were compared with those of two other methods: the Vulpius group and the Z-lengthening group. The corrected dorsiflexion angle of the ankle at a subsequent 2-year follow-up of the mesh ATL and Vulpius groups matched (25.5±3.0 and 27.1±3.5°, respectively), whereas that of the Z-lengthening group was higher (33.9±3.8°). Nevertheless, statistics of the timing of each patient's readiness to begin rehabilitation and walking as well as gaining better stability for running and one-legged hopping indicated that the mesh ATL group recovered significantly quicker than the Vulpius and Z-lengthening groups. The mesh ATL procedure achieves a successful correction of the equinus deformity in spastic cerebral palsy comparable with that of the Vulpius procedure, with the advantage of preserving the gastrocnemius without a complete section. This confers greater antigravity stability and quicker recovery in patients.


Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common life-threatening condition with a challenging diagnosis, as patients often present with nonspecific symptoms. Prompt and accurate detection of PE and specifically an assessment of its severity are critical for managing patient treatment. We introduce diverse multimodal fusion models that are capable of utilizing weakly-labeled multi-modal data, combining both volumetric pixel data and clinical patient data for automatic risk stratification of PE. The best performing multimodality model is an intermediate fusion model that achieves an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.96 for assessing PE severity, with a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 94%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that attempted to automatically assess PE severity.


Energy represents the cornerstone of modern life. However, current patterns of energy production are unsustainable. This is true for both the developed and developing worlds. In this context, this paper considers how, from a conceptual perspective, the law can contribute to more sustainable patterns of energy production can be addressed. The approach that this paper adopts is to consider two of the most important concepts that are relevant to the governance of modern environmental and societal challenges: human dignity and sustainable development. It is within this context that this paper contends that the convergence of these concepts provides the platform for a novel approach to encourage the sustainable production of energy by way of a 'right to sustainable energy'. With this in mind, this paper considers the forum in which a right to sustainable energy may be developed and outlines the content of the proposed right.


To investigate the effect of cholinergic blockade on language, 22 healthy young women performed tests of reading, spelling and oral language after a subcutaneous injection of 0.4 or 0.6 mg scopolamine. The results were compared with the performance after 0.6 mg methylscopolamine, which produce no central cholinergic effects. The reading and spelling tests were constructed to evaluate the lexical and phonological strategies for reading and spelling of single words. After scopolamine there were dose-dependent impairments in reading, spelling, verbal fluency and object naming. In 25-60% of the subjects receiving 0.6 mg scopolamine there were clinically significant impairments on tests assessing the lexical and phonological strategies. This pattern is similar to the deficits in reading and spelling observed in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type. Cholinergic loss may be associated with the language impairments found in dementia of the Alzheimer type.


We describe the algorithmic and software design principles of a general grammar library designed for use in spoken-dialogue systems, speech synthesis, and other speech processing applications. The library is a set of general-purpose software tools for constructing and modifying weighted finite-state acceptors and transducers representing grammars. The tools can be used in particular to compile weighted contextdependent rewrite rules into weighted finite-state transducers, read and compile, when possible, weighted context-free grammars into weighted automata, and dynamically modify the compiled grammar automata. The dynamic modifications allowed include: grammar switching, dynamic modification of rules, dynamic activation or non-activation of rules, and the use of dynamic lists. Access to these features is essential in spoken-dialogue applications.


Abstract Objective There is insufficient evidence for the effectiveness of various tones of communication in modifying health behaviours. We examine the moderating role of assertiveness in the effect of positive/negative language on emotional responses (optimism, self-efficacy, and guilt), and resulting preventive health behaviours. Design Three experiments were employed. An online experiment tests the relationship between positive/negative language and assertiveness when people communicate about healthful eating. Next, a field study examines the moderating effect of assertiveness in positive and negative language encouraging using sunscreen among street passers-by. Third, an online study explores whether the effect of assertiveness in positive and negative messages on hand-washing intentions is mediated by increased optimism and self-efficacy, and decreased guilt, respectively. Results Positive language increases compliance when expressed assertively because the assertive tone emphasises optimism and self-efficacy. Conversely, negative communication is more effective when expressed non-assertively, because of the replenishing effect of the gentler tone on the guilt evoked by the negative communication. Conclusion Assertiveness serves as an intensifier of what is being communicated. When considering whether to employ positive or negative language in health messaging, assertiveness should be considered as part of the design of effective health communication strategies leading to health promoting behaviour change.


The central challenge in temporal data analysis is to obtain knowledge about its underlying dynamics. In this paper, we address the observation of noisy, stochastic processes and attempt to detect temporal segments that are related to inconsistencies and irregularities in its dynamics. Many conventional anomaly detection approaches detect anomalies based on the distance between patterns, and often provide only limited intuition about the generative process of the anomalies. Meanwhile, model-based approaches have difficulty in identifying a small, clustered set of anomalies.
 We propose Information-theoretic Meta-clustering (ITMC), a formalization of model-based clustering principled by the theory of lossy data compression. ITMC identifies a 'unique' cluster whose distribution diverges significantly from the entire dataset. Furthermore, ITMC employs a regularization term derived from the preference for high compression rate, which is critical to the precision of detection.
 For empirical evaluation, we apply ITMC to two temporal anomaly detection tasks. Datasets are taken from generative processes involving heterogeneous and inconsistent dynamics. A comparison to baseline methods shows that the proposed algorithm detects segments from irregular states with significantly high precision and recall.


The necessity of acquaintance with bases of nanotechnology and its potential opportunities of all students of technical high schools irrespective of their future specialty is proved. In conditions of complete absence of financing the free of charge attempt is undertaken to realize semicentennial experience of active work in area of nanotechnology in creation of introduction lecture on nanotechnology. In the lecture the reasons of outstanding properties of substance in nanosizes range are explained. The ways of creation of nanocomposites with high world level properties are offered. The examples of practical use of nanocomposites in modern engineering are given.


Bisphosphonates are widely utilized in the management of systemic metabolic bone diseases such as osteoporosis. The medical action has the abilities both in inhibition of bone resorption and promotion of mineralization on the metabolism of hard tissues. There exists a possible use for bisphosphonates in the periodontal treatment. Therefore, various types of studies have been done for periodontal treatment, and it was shown that bisphosphonates inhibit alveolar bone resorption caused by periodontitis, control flap-induced bone loss and enhance the alveolar bone regeneration after GTR treatment. However, it further detailed studies are required for the clinical application of bisphosphonates to periodontal treatment.


Results of a survey of concentrations of substances immunologically cross-reactive with insulin (SICRI), glucose and growth hormone in preprandially drawn blood of 84 patients suffering from bronchial epidermoid, microcellular and adenocarcinomas and 22 patients from sarcoidosis, tuberculosis and obstructive bronchitis are presented. In all these diseases, tissue proliferation takes place. Supranormal SICRI concentrations were frequently associated with these diseases, whereas concentrations of glucose and growth hormone remained unaffected; this shows that physiological effects of SICRI in these diseases differ from the effects in patients suffering from some lympho-proliferative and solid tumors. These results indicate that elevated levels of circulating substances detectable by insulin-specific radioimmunoassay can accompany both malignant and nonmalignant proliferation in lungs.


In this study, the flow characteristics and structural safety of a 500W class vertical-axis wind turbines(VAWT) for a fishing boat are investigated by numerical simulations. Guide vanes to increase the performance of the VAWT are investigated. And the best guide vane in the numerical simulations is applied to the VAWT. Also, modal analyses are performed to find out the natural frequencies of the VAWT, and the resonance safety of the VAWT is evaluated. The structural analysis of the VAWT is carried out by one-way FSI(Fluid Structure Interaction). And the results are used for the evaluation of structural safety according to IEC 61400-1 code. Finally, the possibility of the installation of the VAWT on the wheelhouse of a 9.77ton class fishing boat is checked. The results of the present research could be used as one of the fundamental data to design a VAWT for a fishing boat.


This paper examines whether earning a college or graduate degree in a recession or an economic boom has lasting effects on job satisfaction. Across three studies, well-educated graduates who entered the workforce during economic downturns were more satisfied with their current jobs than those who entered during more prosperous economic times. Study 1 showed that economic conditions at college graduation predicted later job satisfaction even after accounting for different industry and occupational choices. Study 2 replicated these results and found that recession-era graduates were more satisfied with their jobs both early and later in their careers and even when they earned less money. A third cross-sectional study showed that people who entered the workforce in bad economies were less likely to entertain upward counterfactuals, or thoughts about how they might have done better, and more likely to feel grateful for their jobs, both of which mediated the relationship between economic conditions at workforce entry and job satisfaction. While past research on job satisfaction has focused largely on situational and dispositional antecedents, these results suggest that early workforce conditions also can have lasting implications for how people affectively evaluate their jobs.


As enterprises increasingly turn to encryption to meet data-security demands, they need open standards for encryption key management. Three standards bodies--the IEEE, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS)--have recently chartered working groups on key management. A high degree of consensus within and among the standards bodies might lead to the pre-standard release of products that will be viable for the long term by the end of this year.


1. Introduction. Mathematical Representation of Signals. Mathematical Representation of Systems. Thinking about Systems. 2. Sinusoids. Tuning Fork Experiment. Review of Sine and Cosine Functions. Sinusoidal Signals. Sampling and Plotting Sinusoids. Complex Exponentials and Phasors. Phasor Addition. Physics of the Tuning Fork. Time Signals: More Than Formulas. 3. Spectrum Representation. The Spectrum of a Sum of Sinusoids. Beat Notes. Periodic Waveforms. More Periodic Signals. Fourier Series Analysis and Synthesis. Time-Frequency Spectrum. Frequency Modulation: Chirp Signals. 4. Sampling and Aliasing. Sampling. Spectrum View of Sampling and Reconstruction. Strobe Demonstration. Discrete-to-Continuous Conversion. The Sampling Theorem. 5. FIR Filters. Discrete-Time Systems. The Running Average Filter. The General FIR Filter. Implementation of FIR Filters. Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) Systems. Convolution and LTI Systems. Cascaded LTI Systems. Example of FIR Filtering. 6. Frequency Response of FIR Filters. Sinusoidal Response of FIR Systems. Superposition and the Frequency Response. Steady State and Transient Response. Properties of the Frequency Response. Graphical Representation of the Frequency Response. Cascaded LTI Systems. Running-Average Filtering. Filtering Sampled Continuous-Time Signals. 7. z-Transforms. Definition of the z-Transform. The z-Transform and Linear Systems. Properties of the z-Transform. The z-Transform as an Operator. Convolution and the z-Transform. Relationship between the z -Domain and the w-Domain. Useful Filters. Practical Bandpass Filter Design. Properties of Linear Phase Filters. 8. IIR Filters. The General IIR Difference Equation. Time-Domain Response. System Function of an IIR Filter. Poles and Zeros. Frequency Response of an IIR Filter. Three Domains. The Inverse z-Transform and Some Applications. Steady-State Response and Stability. Second-Order Filters. Frequency Response of Second-Order IIR Filter. Example of an IIR Lowpass Filter. 9. Continuous-Time Signals and LTI Systems. Continuous-Time Signals. The Unit Impulse. Continuous-Time Systems. Linear Time-Invariant Systems. Impulse Responses of Basic LTI Systems. Convolution of Impulses. Evaluating Convolution Integrals. Properties of LTI Systems. Using Convolution to Remove Multipath Distortion. 10. The Frequency Response. The Frequency Response Function for LTI Systems. Response to Real Sinusoidal Signals. Ideal Filters. Application of Ideal Filters. Time-Domain or Frequency-Domain? 11. Continuous-Time Fourier Transform. Definition of the Fourier Transform. The Fourier Transform and the Spectrum. Existence and Convergence of the Fourier Transform. Examples of Fourier Transform Pairs. Properties of Fourier Transform Pairs. The Convolution Property. Basic LTI Systems. The Multiplication Property. Table of Fourier Transform Properties and Pairs. Using the Fourier Transform for Multipath Analysis. 12. Filtering, Modulation, and Sampling. Linear Time-Invariant Systems. Sinewave Amplitude Modulation. Sampling and Reconstruction. 13. Computing the Spectrum. Finite Fourier Sum. Too Many Fourier Transforms? Time-windowing. Analysis of a Sum of Sinusoids. Discrete Fourier Transform. Spectrum Analysis of Finite-Length Signals. Spectrum Analysis of Periodic Signals. The Spectrogram. The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Appendix A: Complex Numbers. Notation for Complex Numbers. Euler's Formula. Algebraic Rules for Complex Numbers. Geometric Views of complex Operations. Powers and Roots. Appendix B: Programming in MATLAB. MATLAB Help. Matrix Operations and Variables. Plots and Graphics. Programming Constructs. MATLAB Scripts. Writing a MATLAB Function. Programming Tips. Appendix C: Laboratory Projects. Introduction to MATLAB. Encoding and Decoding Touch-Tone Signals. Two Convolution GUIs. Appendix D: CD-ROM Demos. Index.


Lrk (Lr10 receptor-like kinase) and Tak (Triticum aestivum kinase) belong to the receptorlike kinase (RLK) super-gene family in higher plants. Three Lrk/Tak gene regions spanning greater than 600 kb were identified via a genome-wide survey of barley gene-rich BAC clones. Two Lrk/Tak gene clusters are positioned on barley chromosome 3 (3H) and another is localized on chromosome 5 (1H), with each Lrk and Tak open reading frame physically positioned in a back-to-back orientation. Thirteen new Lrk/Tak-like fragments were cloned from the two clusters on 3H and the single cluster on 1H, respectively, and compared phylogenetically with other grass Lrk/Tak-like genes, including a 280 kb Lrk/Tak cluster on rice chromosome 1S. Physically clustered Lrk/Tak-like genes always form monophyletic groups; this suggests that the primary mechanism of expansion of the Lrk/Tak RLK super family was by tandem duplication, of which most members were duplicated after speciation of the Poaceae. Cultivar-dependent transcript accumulation of Lrk/Tak family members on 3H, as revealed via Barley1 GeneChip microarray analysis, is consistent with the hypothesis of subfunctionalization of Lrk/Tak members following tandem duplication. ________________________ Interdepartmental Genetics Program, Department of Plant Pathology and Center for Plant Responses to Environmental Stresses, Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research, USDA-ARS, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1020


The capabilities and limitations of nanosecond laser ablation ICP-mass spectrometry for bulk and spatially resolved (elemental mapping) analysis of iron meteorites were assessed. The quantitative data obtained were compared to those obtained i. via multi-element solution ICP-MS (after digestion) relying on external calibration and, ii. high-accuracy determination of selected platinum group elements using solution ICP-MS after target element isolation using anion exchange chromatography and deploying isotope dilution. Results generated by the different methods described show good agreement. Significant matrix effects were observed to affect the results of the ns-LA-ICP-MS analysis of iron meteorites, making quantification via a matrix-matched standard a prerequisite. Careless use of intensity distribution maps without proper correction for laser-solid coupling efficiency can lead to incorrect interpretation of the element maps. ns-LA-ICP-MS was shown to be suitable for fast and quasi-nondestructive analysis of iron meteorites, not only homogeneous ataxites and hexahedrites, but also more heterogeneous ones, when considering ablated areas of a sufficient size. In the context of elemental mapping using LA-ICP-MS, Pearson's product–moment correlation analysis was demonstrated to be a powerful tool that can provide valuable information on the fractionation of the elements in the parent bodies of meteorites.


This study compared the predictive utility of Marshall, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Helsinki, and NeuroImaging Radiological Interpretation System (NIRIS) scorings based on early non-contrast brain computed tomography (CT) scans in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The area under a receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was used to determine the predictive utility of scoring systems. Subgroup analyses were performed among patients with head AIS scores > 1. A total of 996 patients were included, of whom 786 (78.9%) were males. In-hospital mortality, ICU admission, neurosurgical intervention, and prolonged total hospital length of stay (THLOS) were recorded for 27 (2.7%), 207 (20.8%), 82 (8.2%), and 205 (20.6%) patients, respectively. For predicting in-hospital mortality, all scoring systems had AUROC point estimates above 0.9 and 0.75 among all included patients and patients with head AIS > 1, respectively, without any significant differences. The Marshall and NIRIS scoring systems had higher AUROCs for predicting ICU admission and neurosurgery than the other scoring systems. For predicting THLOS ≥ seven days, although the NIRIS and Marshall scoring systems seemed to have higher AUROC point estimates when all patients were analyzed, five scoring systems performed roughly the same in the head AIS > 1 subgroup.


We studied white tandem organic light-emitting diodes using red and blue fluorescent materials. White 2 units tandem OLEDs were fabricated using Alq 3 :Rubrene (3 vol.% 5 nm) and SH-1 : BD-2 (3 vol.% 25 nm) as emitting layer (EML). The device with Alq 3 : Rubrene (3 vol.% 5 nm) / SH-1 : BD-2 (3 vol.% 25 nm) showed yellowish white emission with a Commission Internationale de l"Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.442, 0.473) at 1,000 cd/m 2 , and variation of CIE coordinates was low with (0.44 ± 0.002, 0.472 ± 0.001) from 500 to 3,000 cd/m 2 . White 3 units tandem OLEDs were fabricated by additory stacking the blue or white layer as EML. CIE coordinates of 3 units tandem OLEDs with stacked blue and white layer was low variation of (0.293 ± 0.008, 0.36 ± 0.005) and (0.412 ± 0.002, 0.423 ± 0.001) from 500 to 3,000 cd/m 2 , respectively. Our findings suggest that stacked OLED was possible to controlling CIE coordinates and producing excellent color stability.


Iron Oxide nanoparticles, by the help of legitimate surface science, have been broadly
utilized tentatively in many living organism applications, for example, magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), drug delivery, repair of tissue, immunobiology, hyperthermia, detoxification of natural
liquids, to differentiate improvement between low and high contrast tissues, in cell partition and so
on. Moreover, these applications need exceptional non-toxic and biocompatible surface covering
of the attractive particles to permit a targetable conveyance with molecular restriction in a particular
territory. The general size of the colloid can be estimated ordinarily of the surface covering and
the resulting spatial course of action adjacent to the nanoparticles, and it additionally assumes a
critical job in bio-kinetics and bio-distribution of nanoparticles in the body. The kinds of surface
coatings, for this sort of nanoparticles, rely upon the kind of application and ought to be picked by
remembering a specific application, regardless of whether it is gone for aggravation reaction or
anti-cancer agents. In this paper, the manufactured science, liquid adjustment, and surface change
of Iron Oxide nanoparticles, just as their utilization for biomedical applications, are examined.


Siderophores are compounds with low molecular weight with a high affinity and specificity for ferric iron, which is produced by bacteria and fungi. Fungal siderophores have been characterized and their feasibility for clinical applications has been investigated. Fungi may be limited in slow growth and low siderophore production; however, they have advantages of high diversity and affinity. Hence, the purpose of this study was to generate a genetically modified strain in Talaromyces marneffei that enhanced siderophore production and to identify the characteristics of siderophore to guide its medical application. SreA is a transcription factor that negatively controls iron acquisition mechanisms. Therefore, we deleted the sreA gene to enhance the siderophore production and found that the null mutant of sreA (ΔsreA) produced a high amount of extracellular siderophores. The produced siderophore was characterized using HPLC-MS, HPLC-DAD, FTIR, and 1H- and 13C-NMR techniques and identified as a coprogen B. The compound showed a powerful iron-binding activity and could reduce labile iron pool levels in iron-loaded hepatocellular carcinoma (Huh7) cells. In addition, the coprogen B showed no toxicity to the Huh7 cells, demonstrating its potential to serve as an ideal iron chelator. Moreover, it inhibits the growth of Candida albicans and Escherichia coli in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, we have generated the siderophore-enhancing strain of T. marneffei, and the coprogen B isolated from this strain could be useful in the development of a new iron-chelating agent or other medical applications.


In relation to high capacity magneto-optical recording, a new electrostatic actuator, which is called a micro lens actuator (MLA), for an optical flying head (OFH) has been designed and fabricated. The MLA is characterized by its moving electrode made of a Pd-based thin film metallic glass ( Pd/sub 76/Cu/sub 7/Si/sub 17/). Annealing in the supercooled liquid region (SCLR) is adopted for relaxation of internal stress in the moving electrode to fabricate a huge, flat and thin moving electrode plate. The experimental MLA shows 0.85 /spl mu/m/50 V maximum stroke, 0.02 degree tilt error and 3.55 kHz resonance frequency.


In this paper, the wave propagation in a functionally graded piezoelectric coating on a cylinder is studied. Considering the piezoelectricity of the coating with an orthotropic symmetry, the wave equations and system matrices for state vector are obtained for SH and P-SV waves propagating along both the axial and circumferential directions. It is found that the wave propagation of the SH wave along the axial direction and the P-SV wave along the circumferential direction is not coupled to the electric field, i.e., their corresponding dispersion patterns are same as that for a functionally graded coating without piezoelectricity. However, the wave propagation of the P-SV wave along the axial direction and the SH wave along the circumferential direction is coupled to the electric field, i.e., their corresponding dispersion patterns depend on the applied electric field, their dispersion curves are different under the open or close electric boundary conditions.


Disability studies and assistive technology are two related fields that have long shared common goals - understanding the experience of disability and identifying and addressing relevant issues. Despite these common goals, there are some important differences in what professionals in these fields consider problems, perhaps related to the lack of connection between the fields. To help bridge this gap, we review some of the key literature in disability studies. We present case studies of two research projects in assistive technology and discuss how the field of disability studies influenced that work, led us to identify new or different problems relevant to the field of assistive technology, and helped us to think in new ways about the research process and its impact on the experiences of individuals who live with disability. We also discuss how the field of disability studies has influenced our teaching and highlight some of the key publications and publication venues from which our community may want to draw more deeply in the future.


The most concerning adverse reaction with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) is myotoxicity. Statins inhibit the production of mevalonate, a precursor of both cholesterol and coenzyme Q10, a compound believed to be crucial for mitochondrial function and the provision of energy for cellular processes. There is speculation that a reduction in coenzyme Q10 concentrations may promote the myopathies that have been associated with statin treatment as a result of mitochondrial damage. Although studies have repeatedly demonstrated a reduction in circulating coenzyme Q10 concentrations with statin therapy, it is unclear as to whether tissue levels of coenzyme Q10 are significantly affected. Coenzyme Q10 supplementation has been shown to reverse statin-induced decreases in circulating coenzyme Q10 concentrations, although the effect of supplementation on tissue coenzyme Q10 concentrations and any resulting clinical benefit has not been adequately assessed. Although there is not much of a safety concern with coenzyme Q10 supplementation, there is also not enough evidence to support its routine use for preventing the adverse effects of statin therapy, and it is therefore not recommended for this purpose at this time.


The high incidence of EB virus infections (and possibly of other viruses) in patients with African lymphoma and, to a lesser extent, in patients with lymphosarcoma in the temperate zones, is thought to be due to its being a passenger virus which persists in the human body and, since it is lymphotropic, presents an opportunistic infection of proliferating lymphoid cells. The thesis is put forward that by entering the cell nucleus, the virus renders malignant lymphoid cells more vulnerable to cytotoxic drugs. Hence a deliberate policy of EB virus inoculation before starting chemotherapy might achieve a more rapid response and longer remissions in indigenous lymphomas of the temperate zones, and might possibly render drug-resistant cases once more drug-sensitive.


DNA methylation mediates silencing of transposable elements and genes in part via recruitment of the Arabidopsis MBD5/6 complex, which contains the methyl-CpG-binding domain (MBD) proteins MBD5 and MBD6, and the J-domain containing protein SILENZIO (SLN). Here we characterize two additional complex members: α-crystalline domain containing proteins ACD15 and ACD21. We show that they are necessary for gene silencing, bridge SLN to the complex, and promote higher order multimerization of MBD5/6 complexes within heterochromatin. These complexes are also highly dynamic, with the mobility of complex components regulated by the activity of SLN. Using a dCas9 system, we demonstrate that tethering the ACDs to an ectopic site outside of heterochromatin can drive massive accumulation of MBD5/6 complexes into large nuclear bodies. These results demonstrate that ACD15 and ACD21 are critical components of gene silencing complexes that act to drive the formation of higher order, dynamic assemblies. One-Sentence Summary Arabidopsis ACD21 and ACD15 drive accumulation of MBD5/6 complex silencing assemblies at methyl-CG sites and recruit SLN to maintain protein mobility in these assemblages.


When current of proper polarity and sufficient intensity is passed across isolated frog skin or toad bladder, an action potential of about 200 mv and 10 msec. duration with a sharp threshold and refractory period of several seconds' duration is elicited. Interruption of current during the action potential abolishes the response, and, as shown by appropriate bridge measurements, this occurs because the action potential results from resistance variations during the current flow. The ionic composition of the medium bathing the frog skin was varied, and it was found that the response is relatively insensitive to changes in the solution bathing the inner surface, but rapidly and reversibly affected by changes in the outer solution, particularly by replacement of sodium with potassium and by variations of calcium concentration. It was also observed that the resistance of the skin and action potential across it are reversibly altered by metabolic inhibitors and that these alterations occur independently of any changes in the intrinsic EMF of the system. From the finding that the action potential across frog skin and toad bladder results from a time-variant resistance, it is argued that this same phenomenon can be the basis of electrical excitability in general. This would attribute physical significance to the equivalent circuit commonly employed to represent the plasma membrane; i.e., the plasma membrane would be a mosaic structure of spatially separate permselective regions.


Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A (CMT1A) disease and hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) are autosomal dominant neuropathies, associated, respectively, with duplications and deletions of the same 1.5-Mb region on 17p11.2-p12. These two rearrangements are the reciprocal products of an unequal meiotic crossover between the two chromosome 17 homologues, caused by the misalignment of the CMT1A repeat sequences (CMT1A-REPs), the homologous sequences flanking the 1.5-Mb CMT1A/HNPP monomer unit. In order to map recombination breakpoints within the CMT1A-REPs, a 12.9-kb restriction map was constructed from cloned EcoRI fragments of the proximal and distal CMT1A-REPs. Only 3 of the 17 tested restriction sites were present in the proximal CMT1A-REP but absent in the distal CMT1A-REP, indicating a high degree of homology between these sequences. The rearrangements were mapped in four regions of the CMT1A-REPs by analysis of 76 CMT1A index cases and 38 HNPP patients, who where unrelated. A hot spot of crossover breakpoints, located in a 3.2-kb region, accounted for three-quarters of the rearrangements, detected after EcoRI/SacI digestion, by the presence of 3.2-kb and 7.8-kb junction fragments in CMT1A and HNPP patients, respectively. These junction fragments, which can be detected on classical Southern blots, permit molecular diagnosis. Other rearrangements can also be detected by gene dosage on the same Southern blots.


Proponents of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) claim it could have an impact greater than the internet; a breakthrough defying organisational boundaries by securely storing data across trustless entities. This would allow decisions to be made on verifiable data in an automated manner without the costs imposed by middlemen, with a corresponding economy-wide impact. Despite this potential, real-world application is embryonic with public and private sectors rapidly seeking exploitation opportunities. This research seeks to understand how DLT might apply to the Defence Support Network (DSN), the mechanism used to sustain UK Armed Forces with materiel and equipment. Drawing on academic and commercial models, a framework was produced for evaluating DLT use cases which measures utility, ease of implementation and impact. Using a functionalist research paradigm, interviews were conducted with DLT and DSN experts on potential use cases, the data from which was then analysed against a lightweight version of the evaluation framework. Results show that use cases involving codification, certification and supply chain provenance merit further investigation. The research concluded with recommendations that the DSN should pilot DLT use cases, but these should be carefully selected utilising an evaluation framework due to DLT's emergent nature.


We analyzed 10 clones from cell line Os-513, which has originated from a BK virus-induced hamster osteosarcoma and contains only free defective viral DNA, for viral DNA by electrophoresis followed by blot hybridization. Like the parental line, all the clones contained both monomeric and polymeric viral DNA. The quantities of viral DNA per cell differed among the clones and the subclones. The results suggest that, although the number of copies of viral genomes per cell is variable, the basic forms of free viral DNA in the transformed cells are stably inherited by the progeny cells during cell growth.


4,4'-(Phenylmethylene)bis(6-allyl-3-chloro-2-methylaniline), C(27)H(28)Cl(2)N(2), (I), and 4,4'-(2-thienylmethylene)bis(6-allyl-3-chloro-2-methylaniline), C(25)H(26)Cl(2)N(2)S, (II), adopt similar molecular conformations, although the thienyl group in (II) exhibits orientational disorder over two sets of sites with occupancies of 0.614 (3) and 0.386 (3). The amino groups in both compounds are pyramidal. A single N-H...N hydrogen bond links the molecules of (I) into cyclic centrosymmetric dimers. Molecules of (II) are linked by an ordered C-H...pi(arene) hydrogen bond to form cyclic centrosymmetric dimers, and these dimers are linked into statistically interrupted chains by a second C-H...pi(arene) hydrogen bond involving a donor in the minor component of the disordered thienyl unit.


A new enhancement-mode GaAs pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor (pHEMT) with a low-temperature-grown (LTG) GaAs gate insulator has been developed. The source and drain are doped by self-aligned implant and no gate recess is needed. The LTG-GaAs gate insulator drastically reduces the gate leakage current, allowing a maximum drain current of 390 mA/mm obtained at 3 V of forward gate bias. The maximum transconductance is 330 mS/mm and the cutoff frequency is 31 GHz for pHEMTs with a 0.5 /spl mu/m gate length.


We present the results of the Geotail waveform observation on the electrostatic plasma waves with their frequency close to the local electron plasma frequency in the tail lobe. Those waves, which we call "electron plasma waves" in the present paper, are strongly modulated in their amplitudes and are very similar to the modulated Langmuir waves observed by previous spacecraft in the various regions. From the detailed analyses, we conclude that they include the Langmuir waves and 5 types of the Electron Cyclotron Harmonic (ECH) waves. Finally, we introduce an interesting event that the observed waves change from the ECH waves to the Langmuir waves in a short period within one second.


Previous investigations into the effect of zonal asymmetries in ozone on climate have compared simulations with prescribed 3‐D ozone, in which the ozone is not necessarily consistent with the model dynamics, to simulations with prescribed zonal mean ozone. We assess the impact of zonal asymmetries in ozone by comparing a control simulation of a coupled chemistry version of the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM) in which the ozone and model dynamics are consistent, with a simulation in which only the zonal mean of the ozone is passed to the radiative transfer scheme. These simulations reveal a robust stratospheric zonal‐mean temperature and geopotential height response to zonal asymmetries in ozone that is consistent with that identified in previous studies and of a magnitude comparable to observed trends. These results suggest that the inclusion of zonal asymmetries in ozone may be essential for the accurate simulation of future stratospheric temperature trends.


The Purpose of this paper is a study on the characteristics of Campidoglio hill plan by Michelangelo. 1. The plan of the Campidoglio hill is composed of the harmonized and united space, in spite of the existing conditions of a steep flight of land, a irregular site shape, a building of each other different dimension and form. And it is newly changed by site left through the modification of existing building elevation, utilization of existing building for new planning, connection with existing building and newly planned building from plaza composition of trapezoid form. 2. The concept of planning of the Campidoglio hill is planned by compromising for requirements of Baroque after Renaissance which urban planning characteristics of Baroque is as the relation with urban street through a inclined stairs and process such as street - approach stairs - plaza - symbol of inside plaza - building. 3. The section plan of the Campidoglio hill is planned by which can be easily approached to the plaza through the inclined stairs of gentle angle from street at the center east-west direction of main axis such as main axis, utilizing the existing site shape, and it is composed of the convex shape ascending gently at the center central part of the plaza. 4. The plan of the Campidoglio hill is composed of the elation with the axis of existing Senatorio palace, building planning of perfect balance, plaza composition of reversed trapezoid form by building planning, central concentrated planning of buildings surrounding plaza. 5. The three palace of the plan of the Campidoglio hill is composed of the concept as theater which the stage background forms the front elevation of Senatorio palace higher two palace and the wings of either side of stage form the front elevation of Conservatori palace and Nuovo palace, surrounding three palace elevation around plaza of trapezoid form.


Stropharia rugosoannulata has been used in environmental engineering to degrade straw in China. The nitrogen and carbon metabolisms are the most important factors affecting mushroom growth, and the aim of this study was to understand the effects of different nitrogen levels on carbon metabolism in S. rugosoannulata using transcriptome analysis. The mycelia were highly branched and elongated rapidly in A3 (1.37% nitrogen). GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were mainly involved in starch and sucrose metabolism; nitrogen metabolism; glycine, serine and threonine metabolism; the MAPK signaling pathway; hydrolase activity on glycosyl bonds; and hemicellulose metabolic processes. The activities of nitrogen metabolic enzymes were highest in A1 (0.39% nitrogen) during the three nitrogen levels (A1, A2 and A3). However, the activities of cellulose enzymes were highest in A3, while the hemicellulase xylanase activity was highest in A1. The DEGs associated with CAZymes, starch and sucrose metabolism and the MAPK signaling pathway were also most highly expressed in A3. These results suggested that increased nitrogen levels can upregulate carbon metabolism in S. rugosoannulata. This study could increase knowledge of the lignocellulose bioconversion pathways and improve biodegradation efficiency in Basidiomycetes.


The lead stories in Nature and Science went in opposite directions this week. Science chose outer space, launching into NASA's hotly disputed decision to shelve a planned mission to Pluto. Nature plunged into inner space with a story about a report to the European Commission advising against granting "premature" approval to create human embryos for stem-cell research.


Parkinson disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders and is characterized by the selective loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Although a decrease in proteasome activity has been found in patients with sporadic Parkinson disease, the relationship between the ubiquitin-proteasome system and dopaminergic neuronal death remains to be elucidated. Here, we review a mechanism in which proteasome inhibition provides dopaminergic neuroprotection from oxidative stress. Treatment with lactacystin, a proteasome inhibitor, significantly suppressed 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced toxicity and oxidative stress in PC12 cells. In addition, lactacystin enhanced glutathione synthesis via elevation of γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCS) mRNA levels. Expression of antioxidant enzymes, such as γ-GCS and hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1), is regulated by the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-antioxidant response element (ARE) pathway. Lactacystin induced Nrf2 accumulation and increased ARE activity. In mesencephalic cultures, lactacystin-induced upregulation of HO-1 in astrocytes contributed to dopaminergic neuroprotection against 6-OHDA-induced toxicity. These data suggest that proteasome inhibition provides cytoprotection against oxidative stress by activating the Nrf2-ARE pathway. Subsequently, we attempted to identify a novel Nrf2-ARE activator in dietary fruits and vegetables. Using bioactivity-guided fractionation, we identified 2',3'-dihydroxy-4',6'-dimethoxychalcone (DDC) from green perilla leaves as the activator responsible for the increased activation of the ARE pathway. DDC upregulated γ-GCS and HO-1 and protected PC12 cells against 6-OHDA-induced toxicity. In conclusion, the activation of the Nrf2-ARE pathway may be an effective means to prevent dopaminergic neuronal death in patients with Parkinson disease.


In this paper, we are concerned with the stabilizing control for a vertical mono wheeled servo system based on the disturbance observer compensation. After separating the mono-cycle dynamic structure into a body-frame dynamic system and a mono-wheeled system, the mono-wheeled system is regarded as a main control system and we consider that unstable behavior of the vertical mono-wheeled system because of one supported point body is caused by the virtual disturbance torque. For this purpose, this paper proposes a design method of 2-degrees of freedom control system including disturbance observer for such virtual disturbance torque in feedback loop and evaluates its effec-tiveness by experiment. The main aim of such 2-degrees of freedom control is to accomplish the regulator problem and the servo problem, especially the regulator problem is realized by 2-stage control whose structure has firstly pseudo-stabilization by disturbance observer compensation and secondly output feedback with H∞ controller for whole the system.


ABSTRACT Background: The postpartum period, also known as the fourth trimester, is defined as the first 12 weeks postpartum. Primary health care (PHC) plays an important role in providing a comprehensive postpartum care to mothers. This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice of postpartum care among PHC physicians and obstetrics and gynecology physicians. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of PHC physicians and obstetrics and gynecology physicians in postpartum care services at Western Region, Saudi Arabia. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS; version 27.0) was used for data analysis. Proportions and tables were used to summarize categorical data. Results: A total of 159 responses were analyzed with 65.4% response rate. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) for knowledge score was 15 (13–17). The median (IQR) for attitude was 20 (18–22), while the median (IQR) for practice total scores was 3 (2–4). Knowledge and practice scores showed significant differences between all the groups. On the other hand, attitude only showed significant differences between males and females, favoring a better attitude among females (P = 0.014). Conclusions: There were good levels of KAP associated especially with female physicians and higher physician levels. Minor differences were noticed between different groups in our sample according to age, gender, specialty, and years of experience.


An independent stability assurance layer for the multivariable controller in the hierarchical control architecture is introduced in this paper. This stability layer provides an integrated safety and protection measure to process control systems from closed-loop instabilities, which may cause process upsets and shutdowns. It prevents disruptive shutdowns by providing corrective actions to the controller outputs. The Supervisory Stability Layer is established based on the renowned dissipative systems theory. The implementation of this approach is illustrated by an example of stability guarantee of model predictive controllers.


Speech perception, articulation, and word learning are three major tiers of language development in young children, integrating perceptual and productive language abilities. Infant speech perception precedes speech production and is the basis for native language learning. In speech production, children refine their articulation skills beginning with their first vocalic utterances until they reach adult performance level. The third tier describes children's vocabulary development from their first words to their established receptive and productive lexicon after the vocabulary spurt. Speech perception, articulation, and word learning interact at the level of lexical representations. By investigating the relationship between the attention to phonological detail in speech and word learning, the degree of phonological detail in the lexical representations can be inferred. This relationship can be described by two models: the vocabulary-driven and phonology-driven model. The vocabulary-driven model proposes that the structure of the lexicon influences attention to phonological detail in speech perception, and this model is consistent with the Lexical Restructuring Model. On the other hand the phonology-driven model proposes that vocabulary increases as a result of increased attention to phonological detail in speech. To infer the phonological specifications of lexical representations of words in 2½- to 3-year-olds, the variables vocabulary, phonological sensitivity, language-specific speech perception and articulation accuracy were tested in a longitudinal study with 60 participants. For these variables, new measures were developed, adapted, and tested. It was found that phonological sensitivity at 30 months predicted vocabulary at 33 months, but not the opposite. This supports the prediction of the phonology-driven model. However, in an augmented version of the vocabulary-driven model that included all variables, articulation at 30 months was found to predict phonological sensitivity at 33 months. These results are discussed in the light of the Lexical Restructuring Model, and the interaction of speech perception, articulation skills, and lexical representations, and suggestions for future research are offered.


Since October 2015 Colombia has suffered a shortage in the capacity to generate electricity due to the significant reduction in the levels of rainfall, a consequence of the climatic phenomenon of El Niño. The drought has caused a possible threat of rationing and the intervention by the regulator which is encouraging the voluntary reduction of energy consumption. This article proposes to use strategies for obtaining data known as ALL DATA to design demand management programs (DMP) in industrial users. It establishes that the data used must come from technical, economic, social and environmental aspects, so you can have a holistic aspect involved in the consumption of energy. In addition, it is proposed that the data obtained be supplied by the main agents that make up the marketing chain of electrical energy and finally, to identify the activities that would be developed by the DMP agent using the ALL DATA strategies to ensure the effective strategies in saving energy will continue over time.


The nickel and cobalt resistance of Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34 is mediated by the CnrCBA efflux pump encoded by the cnrYHXCBAT metal resistance determinant. The products of the three genes cnrYXH transcriptionally regulate expression of cnr. CnrY and CnrX are membranebound proteins, probably functioning as anti-sigma factors, whereas CnrH is a cnr-specific extracytoplasmic functions (ECF) sigma factor. The periplasmic domain of CnrX (residues 29- 148) was cloned as a N-terminal His-tagged protein, expressed in Escherichia coli, and purified using affinity chromatography and gel filtration. The molecular mass was estimated to be about 13.6 kDa by size exclusion chromatography, corresponding to a monomer. The tetragonal bipyramid crystals were obtained by mixing an equal volume of protein in 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 1% glycerol, 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM DTT, and the reservoir solution of 15% w/v PEG 2000, 100 mM lithium chloride at 277 K in 2-4 days using hanging drop vapor diffusion. The protein concentration was 24 mg/ml. The crystal that diffracted to 2.42 A resolution belongs to space group P41 or P4(3) with unit cell parameters of a=b=32.14 A, c=195.31 A, alpha=beta=gamma=90 degrees, with one molecule of CnrX in the asymmetric unit.


Substituted benzyl ketones reacted with aromatics in the presence of K2S2O8 in CF3COOH at room temperature, yielding α-diaryl benzyl ketones through a carbon-carbon bond cleavage. In the reaction, two new carbon-carbon bonds were formed and one carbon-carbon bond was cleaved. It is very interesting that two different nucleophiles such as benzyl ketones and aromatics were coupled together without metal, which is unusual in organic synthesis.


Computerised recognition of faces and facial expressions would be useful for human-computer interface, and provision for facial animation is to be included in the ISO standard MPEG-4 by 1999. This could also be used for face image compression. The technology could be used for personal identification, and would be proof against fraud. Degrees of difference between people are discussed, with particular regard to identical twins. A particularly good feature for personal identification is the texture of the iris. A problem is that there is more difference between images of the same face with, e.g., different expression or illumination, than there sometimes is between images of different faces. Face recognition by the brain is discussed.


This paper describes a system that helps electric carts avoid collisions. In Japan, electric carts are widely used by elderly and disabled people. However, accidents often occur due to driving errors. Because electric carts have specific features that result in an inner/outer track difference, the drivers are forced to move their upper bodies significantly to visually confirm the safety of their carts. Therefore, we developed an electric cart with an assistance system for collision avoidance. When the system detects obstacles near the cart, it reduces the speed to assist the driver in avoiding a collision with the obstacles.


By using the Syrian hamster ear model it is shown that cimetidine inhibits cell proliferation in the sebaceous gland. Furthermore, the S phase of sebaceous gland cells is lengthened and the number of labelled cells still in contact with the basal lamina of the sebaceous gland 6 days after isotope application related to the total number of labelled sebaceous gland cells is reduced. The effect of cimetidine is absolutely identical with that of cyproterone acetate, but is quite different from that of the nonhormonal sebosuppressive agent benzoyl peroxide.


Delaying umbilical cord clamping (DCC) for 1 min or longer following a neonate's birth has now been recommended for preterm and term newborns by multiple professional organizations. DCC has been shown to decrease rates of iron deficiency anemia, intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and blood transfusion. Despite these benefits, clinicians typically cut the umbilical cord without delay in neonates requiring resuscitation and move them to a radiant warmer for further care; this effectively prevents these patients from receiving any benefits from DCC. This study evaluated the feasibility of a delayed cord clamping cart (DCCC) in low-risk neonates born via Cesarean section (CS). The DCCC is a small, sterile cart designed to facilitate neonatal resuscitation while the umbilical cord remains intact. The cart is cantilevered over the operating room (OR) table during a CS, allowing the patient to be placed onto it immediately after birth. For this study, a sample of 20 low-risk CS cases were chosen from the non-emergency Labor and Delivery surgical case list. The DCCC was utilized for 1 min of DCC in all neonates. The data collected included direct observation by research team members, recorded debriefings and surveys of clinicians as well as surveys of patients. Forty-four care team members participated in written surveys; of these, 16 (36%) were very satisfied, 12 (27%) satisfied, 13 (30%) neutral, and 3 (7%) were somewhat dissatisfied with use of the DCCC in the OR. Feedback was collected from all 20 patients, with 18 (90%) reporting that they felt safe with the device in use. This study provides support that utilizing a DCCC can facilitate DCC with an intact umbilical cord.


The purpose of this study is to discover and explain the motives, meanings, self-concept and interpersonal relationships of men undergoing sexual metro lifestyles. The approach of this research is qualitative approach, with a phenomenological method and constructivism paradigms. Data collection techniques through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and literature review. Informants who studied a number of eight people by purposive sampling. The results showed that the motive for men undergoing a metrosexual lifestyle of career demands, interest in modern lifestyles, and association. While in order to motive is the times, look more interesting. In this case metro sexual men interpreted that metrosexuals are very concerned about appearance to look more confident and make the body more healthy and clean. A man's self-concept is seen from the psychological perspective of self, the physical perception of the self, and the social perception of the self that produces positive and negative views. On the other hand in running their interpersonal relationship is not a self-limiting figure, but indirectly they tend to perform the process of selection that is considered equivalent as having the same lifestyle so that the communication is effective. Then emerging models of interpersonal relationships between them, where they play their role in accordance with their environment. Keywords—lifestyles, metrosexual, interpersonal relationships,


Introduction: Lumbar Microdiscectomy (LMD) is most commonly performed under General Anaesthesia (GA). Regional techniques are being used more widely now, with Epidural Anaesthesia (EA) being safer than Spinal Anaesthesia (SA). Regional anaesthetic methods are being used increasingly, with EA being less harmful than spinal with respect to cardiac and neurological complications. Aim: To compare the intraoperative and postoperative outcomes of GA and EA in single level lumbar microdiscectomies. Materials and Methods: This prospective comparative study was conducted at a single tertiary care centre between April 2014 to April 2018 and Study was conducted among 40 patients who were posted for single level lumbar microdiscectomies. The patients underwent surgery under group GA and group EA. Intraoperatively, parameters like Heart Rate (HR), Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), Surgical Onset Time (SOT), Surgical Time (ST), Total Operating room Time (TOT) and postoperatively Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain, the Total Analgesic Dose (TAD) of fentanyl, Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) and the level of satisfaction with regard to pain relief (4-point Likert scale) for the first 24 hours were compared. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18 software. Mean, percentage, student's t-test, χ2 test, Mann-whitney test and appropriate statistical tests were used. Results: A total of 40 patients were enrolled in the present study with rather similar demographic characteristics in both groups. The SOT was significantly more in the EA group (24.30±2.958 min) when compared to the GA group (14.05±2.259) minutes. However, the ST and TOT did not show much of a difference. Intraoperatively, group GA showed significantly high HR and MAP values when compared to group EA (p<0.001). Postoperatively, VAS for pain and the TAD of fentanyl were found to be significantly lesser in the EA group, when compared to GA group. The incidence of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) was less in EA group. The level of satisfaction with regard to pain relief at the end of first 24 hours was more among patients in EA group. Conclusion: The present study concludes that, EA may be used as an alternative to GA in single level lumbar microdiscectomies.


[1] Nearly 2 years of wave and current observations are used to drive a calibrated bottom boundary layer model to examine sediment transport at the Long-term Ecosystem Observatory (LEO-15) located off of the southern coast of New Jersey. The multiyear record is of sufficient resolution to categorize sediment mobilization characteristics such as storm duration, frequency of occurrence, seasonal trends, and modes of transport at this shallow water sandy site. A total of 51 sediment transport events are identified within the 2 year timeframe. Thirty-two are categorized as winter events, and wintertime sediment transport constitutes 63% of the total for the 2 year period. In nearly all cases, bed load transport dominates the suspended load. The majority of the bed load transport is onshore due to wave asymmetries that lead to higher orbital velocities during the forward half of the wave cycle. For the remainder of events a bimodal wave spectrum is suspected to reverse the orbital velocity skewness leading to offshore transport. Suspended sediment transport is primarily directed alongshore toward the southwest, consistent with current patterns during northeasters. By including bed load transport, the net sediment transport for the 2 year period is directed primarily onshore and slightly alongshore toward the southwest.


Fast pyrolysis has gained worldwide interest as a platform for production of drop-in biofuels, bio-based chemicals, and other bio-based products. In the last few years, research has moved from essentially empirical investigations to more fundamental studies of chemical and physical mechanisms of pyrolysis. This book is organized into 12 chapters to cover recent advances in fast pyrolysis science and technology. This chapter provides an overview of the principals, reactors and history of fast pyrolysis. It also outlines the topics covered in the following chapters, which include chemistry of thermal deconstruction, computational modeling, product characterization and utilization, catalytic pyrolysis, and economic analysis of fast pyrolysis systems.


Until today, interfacial bond formation and degradation between polymer coatings and metal substrates is still far from fully understood, whilst it is a limiting factor for the durability of metal-polymer hybrid systems. To improve the corrosion resistance and adhesion properties of metal substrates, a chemical surface treatment is applied prior to painting. However, due to ecological and health related issues, traditional well established surface treatments containing hexavalent chromate or high phosphate loads are being replaced by a new generation of ecologically-justified surface treatments. This comes with the need of gaining fundamental insights on the impact of substrate and pretreatment variations on the (chemical) adhesion of polymers to guarantee the lifetime of newly developed metal-polymer hybrid systems. A challenge in this regard is the hardly accessible buried interface, which until today requires the use of model systems when using non-destructive surface sensitive techniques. Yet, industrial metal-polymer hybrid systems are typically highly heterogeneous, creating a distinct gap between model and industrial systems. This dissertation aims to close this gap starting from simplified model systems to which complexity is gradually added. This has been done using the thin organic film approach on one hand, and the thin (thermally vaporized) metal substrate approach on the other hand, allowing non-destructive access of the metal-polymer interface from the polymer side and metal side, respectively. Complementary use of both approaches allows systematically comparison of model systems to industrially relevant paint and metal substrates.


At the suggestion of Dr. Councilman, we have undertaken in the last few years the study of the aortic and mitral valves from hearts of different ages, representing both normal and pathologic conditions. The study was undertaken in the first place to obtain more definite ideas of the normal structure of the valves, particularly the amount and relation of different tissues entering into their composition; further, to determine the period at which degenerative lesions first appear in the valves and the relation of these degenerations to the different tissues; and finally, to study the relation between such degenerative changes and acute infections. The work will be considered under these heads: 1. Normal structure of valves and normal variations of structure with age. 2. Degenerative lesions. 3. Acute infections in relation to degenerative lesions. TECHNIC. The specimens were obtained from autopsies on 42 hospital patients, varying in age


This study provides an insight into a province of Santa Fe region of a developing country, namely San Cristobal and Huanqueros, Argentina and a possible link between arsenic, copper and iron concentration in toenail, fingernail and hair in the population. A multivariate statistical tool, known as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to explain the behaviour of the elements in toenails, fingernails, drinking waters and hair using multi- base 2013 excel add- ins. Correlation test, error bars, and a 2-factor ANOVA test were employed. Results from one hundred and twenty- nine (n=129) samples of tap well water (n=23), rainwater (n=20), bottled water (n=6) and treated well water (n=80) and each of toenail, fingernail and hair (n=129) samples from the subjects were determined and the results compared with the previous works. Mean, standard deviation, covariance and maximum and minimum for each variable were reported. The hypothesis is to understand if there is a correlation between fingernail and toenail metals levels and make a comparison with previous researches. Results show that a positive correlation exists between fingernail and toenail metals concentrations. Also, the study reveals higher concentrations of arsenic, copper and iron in the samples tissues compared with the values available in the previous works. The elevated levels of these metals may be attributed to the drinking water sources. Since this study highlighted elevated levels of these metals, consumptions of contaminated drinking water should be constantly monitored. Finally, the application of multivariate statistical techniques can provide powerful information on heavy metals bioaccumulation analysis in human and environment.


The author has developed a mode of punctional transcutaneous cholecystostomy--under ultrasound scanning control and the device for its accomplishment. The mode and the device provide increase of safety of the operation and the possibility of usage of ultrasound scanning without special punctional transducer. The results of clinical application of the developed method and the device in patients with acute cholecystitis are effective.


Single-crystalline Zn and Zn/ZnO core-shell polyhedrons of various types were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition on Si(111) and Si(100) followed by different oxidation treatments. The core-shell polyhedrons started with the growth of single-crystalline Zn polyhedrons, nucleated on a Si substrate, and the ZnO layers were formed on the surface of the Zn polyhedrons upon the oxidation treatments. The thickness of the oxide layers could be controlled precisely by adjusting the temperature during the oxidizing process. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and focus ion beam show various polyhedrons were grown with different crystallographic orientations vertical to the Si substrate and exhibit special mechanical properties in tolerating strain induced by the lattice mismatch between Zn and Si. The strain energy as well as the surface and interfacial energy determine the number ratio of different polyhedrons on Si(1 11) and Si(001), and a thermodynamic model was proposed to explain the mechanism. Room-temperature cathodoluminescence measurements show that the Zn/ZnO core-shell polyhedrons exhibit tunable ultraviolet emissions and controllable green emission with different oxidation conditions, which were ascribed to the surface and strain effect. The growth of various Zn polyhedrons on Si provides evidence for understanding strain induced substrate effects and distinguishing strain tolerance between metal and oxide nanostructures.


Disease-associated blood biomarkers exist in exceedingly low concentrations within complex mixtures of high-abundance proteins such as albumin. We have introduced an affinity bait molecule into N-isopropylacrylamide to produce a particle that will perform three independent functions within minutes, in one step, in solution: (a) molecular size sieving, (b) affinity capture of all solution-phase target molecules, and (c) complete protection of harvested proteins from enzymatic degradation. The captured analytes can be readily electroeluted for analysis.