BACKGROUND
The gap between demand and supply for solid organ transplants requires strategies to expand the donor pool. Successful use of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive grafts has been reported in liver transplantation.

METHODS
In this United Network for Organ Sharing database (January 1999 to June 2021) retrospective cohort study, outcomes of kidney transplant (KT) or heart transplant (HT) recipients with HBV donor grafts (hepatitis B surface antigen and/or for HBV nucleic acid test-positive) were examined. Propensity score matching was performed for HBV-positive to negative graft recipients (1:5 for renal transplantation and 1:10 for HT).

RESULTS
Of 448 HBV-positive donors with 896 kidneys, 352 kidneys (39.3%) and 56 hearts (12.5%) were transplanted. Of these, 312 kidneys (88.6%) and 45 hearts (80.3%) were transplanted in hepatitis B surface antigen-negative recipients. Ten-year graft survival was 47.1% and 49% (log-rank P = 0.353), and patient survival was 58% and 59% (P = 0.999) for KT recipients. Similar figures among HT recipients were 41.9% and 38.9% for graft survival (P = 0.471), and 54.3% and 61.2% for patient survival (P = 0.277). Subgroup analyses in recipients with HBV nucleic acid test-positive grafts irrespective of antibodies to HBV core antigen-positive status, and recipients negative for anti-HBs (548 renal transplantation and 209 HT) were similar.

CONCLUSIONS
Although we are limited by lack of available data on posttransplant anti-HBV treatment, the study observations suggest that using HBV-positive grafts is a reasonable strategy to expand the donor pool among candidates waiting for KT or HT.


Neutral endopeptidase (NEP; CALLA, CD10, EC 22.214.171.124) is a cell surface endopeptidase that hydrolyses bioactive peptides, including the bombesin-like peptides, as well as other neuropeptides. Bombesin-like peptides and other neuropeptides are autocrine growth factors for both small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Low expression of NEP has been reported in SCLC and NSCLC cell lines. NEP inhibition has been shown to increase proliferation in one cell line. To date, NEP expression has not been quantitatively evaluated in normal adult lung, SCLC or NSCLC tumors, paired uninvolved lung from the same patient, or in other pulmonary neoplasms such as mesotheliomas and carcinoids. We examined the expression of NEP in these tissues and human cell lines using immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, enzyme activity, ELISA, Western blot, and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. Uninvolved lung tissue from different individuals displayed considerable variation in NEP activity and protein. By immunohistochemistry, NEP expression was detectable in alveolar and airway epithelium, fibroblasts of normal lung, and in mesotheliomas, whereas it was undetectable in most SCLC, adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and carcinoid tumors of the lung. NEP activity and protein levels were lower in all SCLC and adenocarcinoma tumors when compared to adjacent uninvolved lung, often at levels consistent with expression derived from contaminating stroma. NEP expression and activity were reduced or undetectable in most SCLC and lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. NEP mRNA by RT-PCR was not expressed or was in low abundance in the majority of lung cancer cell lines. The majority of lung tumors did not express NEP by RT-PCR as compared with normal adjacent lung. In addition, recombinant NEP abolished, whereas an NEP inhibitor potentiated, the calcium flux generated by neuropeptides in some lung cancer cell lines, demonstrating potential physiological significance for low NEP expression. NEP, therefore, is a signal transduction and possibly a growth modulator for both SCLC and NSCLC, emphasizing the role of neuropeptides in the pathogenesis of the major histological forms of lung cancer.


A 74-year-old woman was admitted in October 1988 with anemia and leukocytopenia. Hematologic investigations established a diagnosis of hypoplastic acute leukemia. She received a low dose of cytosine arabinoside (LDAC: 10 mg/m2 every 12 hours) subcutaneously for 21 days and achieved complete remission (CR) one month later. After one course of LDAC of 14 days, she received LDAC of 21 days every 5 to 6 months as maintenance therapy till April 1993. She has been in remission for 6 years. Intensification therapy with LDAC every 5 to 6 months might be useful in maintaining remission for hypoplastic acute leukemia.


Rapid start-up of partial nitrification is of great significance for subsequent denitrification and the anammox process; however, slow nitritation hinders the application of these processes. The current study presents a novel strategy for achieving nitritation using aerobic starvation and controlling sludge retention time (SRT). Activated sludge with a high level of complete nitrification was introduced into an aerated reactor without feeding to start the aerobic starvation. The results showed that nitritation was rapidly achieved, while the shorter SRT (15 days) guaranteed the stability of nitritation with an average nitrite accumulation ratio (NAR) of more than 95%. The activity recovery rates of ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AOB; from 0.20 ± 0.00 d-1 to 0.29 ± 0.08 d-1) were higher than those of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB; -0.11 ± 0.02 d-1 to 0.16 ± 0.05 d-1) during the reactivation periods. Furthermore, the transcriptional responses of amoA and hao mRNA after aerobic starvation were faster than that of the nxrB gene, which explained the fast occurrence of nitritation after the aerobic starvation period. The quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis showed that the cell number of nitrifying bacteria remained stable during the starvation process, whereas the AOB population gradually became dominant over that of NOB in the reactivation period. These observations strongly supported the feasibility of accelerating the establishment of nitritation using aerobic starvation.


Background
Esophageal surgery is an invasive surgical method with high surgical risk, and seriously affects postoperative quality of life. This study compared the prognosis of patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (Neo-CRT) plus surgery and Neo-CRT alone, in order to explore the necessity of continuing operation after Neo-CRT.

Methods
We retrospectively analyzed 223 patients who received Neo-CRT in Taizhou Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University from June 2007 to December 2014. According to the treatment, the patients were divided into Neo-CRT plus surgery group (operation group, n=185) and single Neo-CRT group (non-operation group, n=38). Patients in both groups were followed up for a long time until death or deadline. The overall survival (OS), adverse reactions, recurrence and death results of the two groups were evaluated. The risk factors of poor prognosis were analyzed.

Results
The two groups were comparable. The median follow-up time was 23.5 months in non-operation group and 112.9 months in operation group. The 1-year survival rate, 2-year survival rate and 5-year survival rate in non-operation group were 69.9%, 47.7% and 31.8%, respectively. The rates in operation group were 94.0%, 79.3% and 65.0%, respectively. The incidence of low hemoglobin was 73.7% (non-operation group) and 53.0% (operation group). The infection rates were 15.8% and 2.7%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the incidence of leukopenia, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia between the two groups. Multivariate analysis showed that recurrence and treatment were independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients.

Conclusions
To sum up, no matter in terms of recurrence rate or OS rate, the prognosis of patients in the operation group was better than that in the non-operation group. Therefore, Neo-CRT combined with esophagectomy is recommended for locally advanced ESCC with acceptable surgical risk.


The present study investigated disciplinary similarities and differences in the rhetorical structure of 120 preface sections drawn from three soft disciplines, namely applied linguistics, business administration, and law, as well as from hard disciplines, namely computer sciences, chemistry, and biology. While the overall results showed a fivemove structure, some disciplines emphasized the use of particular moves. The Announcing objectives and Outlining organization moves were obligatory in all disciplines, while the Establishing the needs of the readership move was more predominant in business administration, law, and biology prefaces. The Identifying audience move was more common in computer science prefaces, and finally the Acknowledging contributions move was more frequent in computer sciences and law prefaces. The study also investigated other features used in the prefaces and the frequency with which they occurred in different fields. The study concluded with a recommendation to conduct similar genre-based studies to help clarify the disciplinary variations in the preface sections.


Our work involved the application of mRNA profiling to three bloodstains previously processed by the laboratory, in which routinely methods (immunochromatography) used for specific blood identification showed negative results. Analyses were accomplished on a sweater worn by the suspect. No bloodstains were found during the routine inspection. In order to identify possible latent bloodstains, luminol was applied. After the reagent vaporization, three distinct areas of luminescence appeared. In order to confirm the presence of the human hemoglobin, luminescent surfaces were collected using 4N6FLOQSwabs ® and tested using HemDirect Hemoglobin test (SERATEC ® ). All samples analysed showed negative results. Due to the merging blood-specific markers mRNA profiling, the areas previously identified were sampled newly and tested using the three blood specific markers HBB, ALAS2 and CD93, together with two housekeeping genes represented by ACTB and 18S-rRNA. All samples showed positive results for all three blood specific mRNA markers.


Mena, an actin regulatory protein, functions at the convergence of motility pathways that drive breast cancer cell invasion and migration in vivo. The tumor microenvironment spontaneously induces both increased expression of the MenaINV and decreased expression of Mena11a isoforms in invasive and migratory tumor cells. Tumor cells with this Mena expression pattern participate with macrophages in migration and intravasation in mouse mammary tumors in vivo. Consistent with these findings, anatomical sites containing tumor cells with high levels of Mena expression associated with perivascular macrophages were identified in human invasive ductal breast carcinomas and called TMEM. The number of TMEM sites positively correlated with the development of distant metastasis in humans. Here we demonstrate that mouse mammary tumors generated from EGFP-MenaINV expressing tumor cells are significantly less cohesive and have discontinuous cell-cell contacts compared to Mena11a xenografts. Using the mouse PyMT model we show that metastatic mammary tumors express 8.7 fold more total Mena and 7.5 fold more MenaINV mRNA than early non-metastatic ones. Furthermore, MenaINV expression in fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) samples of human invasive ductal carcinomas correlate with TMEM score while Mena11a does not. These results suggest that MenaINV is the isoform associated with breast cancer cell discohesion, invasion and intravasation in mice and in humans. They also imply that MenaINV expression and TMEM score measure related aspects of a common tumor cell dissemination mechanism and provide new insight into metastatic risk. Correspondence: Evanthia T. Roussos firstname.lastname@example.com, (718) 678-1131, John Condeelis firstname.lastname@example.com, Maja H. Oktay, (718) 920-6091,email@example.com. Evanthia T. Roussos (firstname.lastname@example.com), Sumanta Goswami (email@example.com), Michele Balsamo (firstname.lastname@example.com), Yarong Wang (email@example.com), Robert Stobezki (email@example.com), Esther Adler (email@example.com), Brian D. Robinson (firstname.lastname@example.com), Joan G. Jones (firstname.lastname@example.com), Frank B. Gertler (firstname.lastname@example.com), John S. Condeelis (firstname.lastname@example.com), Maja H. Oktay (email@example.com) NIH Public Access Author Manuscript Clin Exp Metastasis. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 September 27. Published in final edited form as: Clin Exp Metastasis. 2011 August ; 28(6): 515–527. doi:10.1007/s10585-011-9388-6. N IH PA Athor M anscript N IH PA Athor M anscript N IH PA Athor M anscript


............................................................................................................................................................... 42 1.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 43 2.0 Methods & Materials .................................................................................................................................. 46 2.1 Design ........................................................................................................................................................ 46 2.2 Participants ................................................................................................................................................ 46 2.3 Procedure .................................................................................................................................................. 47 2.3.1 Saliva Sampling and Analysis ........................................................................................................ 47 5 2.3.2 Intervention ....................................................................................................................................... 48 2.4 Data Management and Analysis ............................................................................................................ 49 3.0 Results ........................................................................................................................................................... 49 4.0 Discussion .................................................................................................................................................... 53 5.0 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 56 6.0 Conflict of Interest ...................................................................................................................................... 56 7.0 References .................................................................................................................................................... 57 SECTION 3 APPENDICES ..................................................................................... 60 Appendix A Ethics Documentation ............................................................................................................ 61 Appendix B Advertisement .......................................................................................................................... 66 Appendix C Questionnaires ......................................................................................................................... 68 Appendix D Sample Collection Sheets ..................................................................................................... 73 Appendix E Plate Layout & Data Matrix .................................................................................................... 75 Appendix F Raw Data & Standard Curve .................................................................................................. 77 Appendix G Figures ........................................................................................................................................ 81 Appendix H Journal Publication Information .......................................................................................... 83


This study is aimed to examine the effect of foreign shareholding, public shareholding, leverage, profitability, and firm size on the disclosure of corporate social responsibility. The population used companies listed in Indonesian Stock Exchange during the years 2012-2014. This research is using purposive sampling technique. Analysis technique is use multiple regression analysis. The result of this study shows that: (1) firm size has an influence on the corporate social responsibility disclosure (2) foreign shareholding has no effect on the the corporate social responsibility disclosure, (3) public shareholding has no effect on the the corporate social responsibility disclosure, (4) leverage has no effect on the the corporate social responsibility disclosure, and (5) profitability has no effect on the the corporate social responsibility disclosure.


This paper presents some results on the performance of hydrogen-based engines. In particular, the following aspects are addressed: benefits associated with specific fuel and energy consumption, net thrust, turbine entry temperature, and hardware changes needed in the upgrading process from kerosene to hydrogen. Hydrogen is a high-energy clean-burning fuel whose main combustion product is water vapour plus traces of nitrogen oxides. This fact suggests that, provided that the technology is available, the use of hydrogen could offer some opportunities for the environmentally friendly development and sustained growth of commercial aviation. The study has been performed in the frame of the Liquid Hydrogen Fuelled Aircraft – System Analysis (CRYOPLANE) project. This is a Fifth Framework Programme, supported by the European Commission, whose objective was to assess the feasibility of using hydrogen as a clean energy source for air transportation systems.


Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by destruction of juxtaarticular cartilage and bone due to excessive activation of inflammatory cells of which the underlying mechanisms are not fully elucidated. Macrophages may play a major role in the process of inflammation and tissue destruction since they are the predominant source of interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α that are central to the pathogenesis of RA. Leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptors (LILRs) are emerging as critical regulators of the threshold and amplitude of leukocyte activation, and perturbed expression of LILRs may contribute to uncontrolled inflammation (1). In particular, the inhibitory LILR-2, also called the immunoglobulinlike transcript 4 (ILT4), which is predominantly expressed on macrophages, provides inhibitory signals (2). Thus, it is tempting to speculate that decreased ILT4 expression on macrophages in RA may lead to a chronic activation of these cells and thereby result in exaggerated inflammation. Objectives To investigate the expression of ILT4 and the relationship between ILT4 and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in monocytes from RA patients before and after anti-TNF-a therapy. Methods Surface expression of ILT4 and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced TNF-a and IL-1b production were analysed by FACS on circulating monocytes from 13 patients with RA and 10 age and sex matched healthy controls, before and after 12-weeks therapy with anti-TNF-a mAb. Results ILT4 expression was significantly decreased on both CD14+/CD16- and CD14-/CD16+ monocytes from RA patients as compared to controls. In addition, a significant reduction in the ability to upregulate ILT4 surface expression under condition of activation by granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was documented in moncytes from RA patients with respect to cells from controls. Monocytes from both, patients and controls, did not spontaneously produce proinflammatory cytokines. However, after LPS stimulation TNF-a and IL-1b production was significantly increased in patients compared to controls. This increased cytokine response was not due to a enhanced susceptibility of monocytes from RA patients to LPS but rather to an expansion of the ILT4- monocyte subset, since TNF-a and IL-1b expression was almost exclusively observed in this cell subset. Twelve-weeks treatment with anti-TNF-a mAb resulted in a significant increase of monocyte ILT4 expression, ILT4 response to GM-CSF activation and in a significantly reduced proinflammatory cytokine expression, compared with pre-therapy levels. Conclusions The finding that RA patients display a low expression of monocytic ILT4, which may lead to more severe tissue damage and impairment of the control of autoreactive cells by upregulating the proinflammatory and antigen-presenting functions of monocytes, suggests that drugs targeting this molecule may have significant therapeutic value for the management of patients. References Colonna M, et al. J Exp Med. 1997;186:1809-18 Chang CC, et al. Nat Immunol 2002;3:237-43 Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Introduction Many endoscopists withdraw the colonoscope with the patient in a single position (left lateral or supine), while others advocate position change. A previous study in a small group of patients suggested position change is beneficial in the transverse and left colon. We have compared colonoscope withdrawal in the supine position with position change. Methods A randomised cross-over study compared colonoscope withdrawal in the supine position with position change (caecum to hepatic flexure in the left lateral position, transverse colon in the supine position and the hepatic flexure and descending colon in the right lateral position). Colonic segments were precisely defined using biopsy sites as markers, aided by a Scopeguide imager. Segments were cleansed and examined for at least 2 minutes during which air was insufflated to distend the colon. After each segment was examined the colonoscope was reinserted and the same segment was re-examined in the alternative position. Luminal distension was rated on a validated 5 point scale, ranging from 1 = completely collapsed to 5 = maximal distension. Ordinal and categorical data were compared with the Mann Whitney U test and Fisher's exact test respectively. Results This is an interim analysis of 65 patients (mean age 62, 38 male). 30 patients were initially examined in the supine position and 35 patients with position change. Distension scores were higher in the right colon when examined in the left lateral position (mean = 3.9 vs. 3.5 p = < 0.001), and in the left colon when examined in the right lateral position (4.4 vs. 3.6, p = < 0.001) (see table 1). The proportion of patients with scores of 4–5 (adequate) were higher in the right colon when examined in the left lateral position (42/65 vs. 27/65, p = 0.014) and in the left colon when examined in the right lateral position (59/65 vs. 34/65, p = < 0.001). There was no significant carry-over effect in any of the examined segments. Abstract PTU-019 Table 1 Distribution of distension scores with each colonoscope withdrawal strategy Distension score Withdrawal position 1 2 3 4 5 Right colon Supine 0 5 33 19 8 Left Lateral 0 0 22 26 16 Descending colon Supine 0 2 29 29 5 Right lateral 0 0 6 26 33 Conclusion Position change improves suboptimal distension of the right and left colon. Further analysis of this study will clarify whether position change also improves polyp detection. Disclosure of Interest None Declared References East JE et al. Position changes improve visibility during colonoscope withdrawal: a randomised, blinded, crossover trial. Gastrointest Endosc. Feb 2007; 65(2):263–269. East JE et al. Dynamic patient position changes during colonoscope withdrawal increase adenoma detection: a randomised, crossover trial. Gastrointest Endosc. Mar 2011; 73(3):456–463.


Incentive mechanisms are important attributes to financial decision-making. A framed field experiment was conducted to test loan decision behaviors. It showed that lenders' risk-aversion and behavioral responses resulted in credit rationing under certain incentive schemes. In the experiment, loan officers from Rural Credit Cooperatives (RCCs) in Shandong, China were recruited to evaluate randomly selected loan applications and make lending decisions. All the loan files were previously approved with known performance and repayment status. Each loan officer was randomly assigned to one of two incentive groups. One was analogous to pure Personal Responsibility System (PRS), which provided bonuses to loan officers for approved loans that were in performance and imposed penalties on non-performing loans (NPLs). And the other was PRS with additional penalties for Type II error (i.e. rejecting loans that would have been good). The two groups were further randomized over prior knowledge about probability distribution of the application pool. Results showed that PRS made a risk-averse loan officer inclined to reject loans to avoid risk of penalty. This side effect generated credit rationing, increased Type II error in loan classification and lowered the interest returns of RCCs. Providing prior information about the application pool helped to increase decision accuracy. In theory, this study extended the incentive mechanism design under uncertainty to a behavioral scope. In practice, it can lead to increased profitability in financial institutes, alleviated credit rationing and stabilized credit supply in the market.


Exacerbation of asthma has a negative impact on quality of life and increases the risk of fatal asthma. One of the known risk factors of patients with a history of near-fatal asthma is experiencing mild asthmatic symptoms as opposed to airway obstruction. We set out to find patients carrying such a risk before they experience severe exacerbation of asthma. To determine the character of such patients, we compared the background and asthma diaries (mean period, 274 days) of 53 asthma patients with their symptoms and peak expiratory flow value (PEF). According to the criteria of the Japanese Society of Allergology, symptoms were classified into 8 categories ranging in severity from absent to severe attack. Average PEF was 75.2% (50.5–100) in absent, 64.5% (36.6–92.6) in wheeze, 57.3% (25.0–94.7) in mild attack and 43.6% (20.4–83.1) in moderate attack, and the personal best was 100%. Thus, differences in decreased PEF in cases with the same symptoms varied widely between patients. PEF in wheeze, mild and moderate attack did not correlate significantly with the duration of asthma, FEV1 or the proportion of personal best to standard PEF. These PEFs did not show a significant difference in the groups that were divided by regular treatment of asthma, but did show a significant negative correlation with the coefficient of variation of PEF when asthma was absent. To reveal patients who are insensitive to dyspnea, the most important factor to consider is the coefficient of variation of PEF when asthma is absent. When we find such patients who exhibit fluctuant PEF, we have to intervene in their treatment, even when they claim to be stable.


There is a small but potentially avoidable incidence of death associated with childhood supraventricular tachycardia.1 2 The time of greatest risk is when the child presents for the first time and requires therapeutic intervention. Infants and children tolerate arrhythmias less well than adults as they are more dependent on heart rate for cardiac output and have less reserve.3 4 They are also at risk from drugs given as treatment.5 We discuss our current acute management of supraventricular tachycardia.


Background: Cerebral palsy is considered a neurological disorder and taking care of children with cerebral palsy is costly for their families. We evaluated the costs and complications of hospitalization, hoteling, treatment, paraclinic for children with cerebral palsy referring to Children's Medical Center in 2012. This study was an attempt to estimate the expenditures required for children with CP and to take a new attitude toward their lifetime quality.
Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 97 patients diagnosed with cerebral palsy and admitted in children's Medical Center in 2012. Data were gathered from the archives of the hospital. These data includes patients demographic characteristics like age, gender, causes of hospitalization, duration of hospitalization, total costs, treatment costs, paraclinical costs like echocardiography, tests, EEG, ECG, radiology and hoteling costs. The gathered information was analysed with SPSS, version 20. P value<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: The mean cost attributed to hoteling, paraclinic, treatment and total costs were 5,276,865 Rials, 2,020,075 Rials, 2,496,668 Rials and 11,751,818 Rials, respectively. The average number of hospitalizations was 1.59 ± 1.45 with a maximum of 10 admissions in one year. The average duration of hospitalization in one year was 14.81 ± 12.23 with minimum and maximum of one and 91 d. The average of total costs per year was 48,396,556 ± 25,267,167.
Conclusions: Evaluation the costs associated with this disorder would be helpful in determining required budget and facilitating the lifetime quality of patients and their families.


Membrane separation processes have been widely applied in the treatment of wastewater. Polysulphone (PSF) membranes are the most common membranes used in ultrafiltration of wastewater due to its mechanical robustness and structural and chemical stability. Unfortunately these membranes are mostly hydrophobic by nature and therefore highly susceptible to fouling. Many studies have been conducted to increase the hydrophilic properties of the polysul-phone/ polyethersulfone membrane surface, more recently metal nanoparticles have been added to the polymer matrix in order to reduce fouling potential and increase membrane performance. TiO2 nanoparticles have proven successful in mitigating fouling of organic matter onto PES. Embedded Ag nanoparticles have improved virus removal from wastewater due to the bactericidal properties of silver. Al2O3 and most recently ZrO2 nanoparticles reduced the fouling rate of polyethersulfone membranes in wastewater, while the latter also showed lower flux decline of the composite membrane. These metal nanoparticles all impart specific properties onto the membrane surface. Scanning electron microscopy, steady state fouling rate and contact angle measurements are membrane characterisation techniques discussed in this review that reveal specific changes to membrane properties brought about by metal nanoparticles. This paper reviews the most recent developments and shortcomings of metal nanocomposite polysulfone and polyethersulfone (PES) membranes and strives to identify specific focus areas to consider in future research.


Soybean oil is used in many foods, industrial and fuel products, and soybeanmeal is incorporated into animal feed. The variation in the quality and quantity of these products is basically dependent on the genetic diversity of soybean germplasm, which was evolved from the dispersion of the cultivated soybean domesticated by the Chinese farmers. The dispersion of soybean germplasmwas affected by many factors including regional adaptation and selection. A wide range of markers have been used for evaluating the genetic diversity of the cultivated and wild relative of soybean extends from morphological characters to molecular ones. In this review we focused on morphological, cytological and biochemical markers. Soybean accessions from different collections exhibited a wide range of phenotypic variation for morphological and yield traits. This variation was successful in determining: (1) the gene pool of different collections of accessions, and (2) genotypes that tolerate drought stress and other stress which is the major factor that limiting soybean yield. The variation in genome size was pronounced in Chinese germplasmcollected fromdiverse geographic locations. It has been ranged from40 to 0%. This wide range is highly reproducible. SDS-PAGE was efficiently used for identification of various genotypes of wild soybean at the inter- and intraspecific levels. Allozyme markers have been used in soybean to evaluate genetic diversity in accessions from diverse geographic regions and the alleles specific to regional population.


The impact of transparent leadership and a deliberate focus on the work through a community-determined lens is discussed in the Boston Collaborative for Food & Fitness (BCFF) case study. Restructuring of BCFF focused on housing the work in the community and providing leadership opportunities to community members. The birth, growth, collapse, and rebirth of BCFF, is outlined, and the reimagining of BCFF's vision and action are described as a "healing and connection-centered approach to community resilience and systems change that centers community leadership and voice and challenges prevailing models of how change happens, particularly in communities of color."


The article studies the specific characteristics of the external environment
because they create actual possibilities for the introduction of self-management in the
functioning of work teams in the Bulgarian organizational practice. An emphasis is put
on the organizational context within which self-managed work teams (SMWT) function.
The study also identifies the key instruments integrated in the model of analyzing the
external environment in the process of transforming traditional work structures into selfmanaged
ones. The article outlines the effects of the direct and indirect environment
factors on the various dimensions of SMWT, namely structural characteristics, work and
interpersonal processes, etc. The author supports the idea that the sustainable
development of the SMWT-concept and the creation of added value for organizations
require adequate monitoring of the competitive environment factors (specific microenvironment)
and the common environment. This is one of the paradigms of modern
management. Changes in the external environment affect the internal integration of the
system and vice versa – the damaged internal processes limit the organization's
potential for adapting to the environment.


The reactions between tetraalkyltins, R4Sn (R=Me, Et, n-Pr, n-Bu, iso-Bu and iso-Pr) and mercuric chloride in various methanol-water mixtures have been studied at 25°C and 40°C. From product analyses the general reaction has been shown to be: R[4]Sn + HgCl[2] [k]2 ? R[3]SnCl + RHgCl. The reactions have been shown to follow second order kinetics, first order in each reactant, and are considered to proceed by a single rate-determining bimolecular reaction. Good second-order plots of k[2]t vs. t were obtained in all cases, except for the reaction of tetramethyltin in solvent 85% methanol where a secondary equilibrium reaction was observed. A steric order of reactivities was observed, the sequence being: R = Me > Et > n-Pr > n-Bu > iso-Bu >> iso-Pr. This sequence was shown to be indicative of an SE[2] mechanism, further confirmation being obtained from positive kinetic salt effects and increasing rate constant with increasing polarity of the medium. The activation parameters for all the reactions were shown to be consistent with a bimolecular reaction proceeding from relatively non-polar reactants to a polar transition state. The activation parameters for the reaction of mercuric chloride with tetraethyltin in various methand-water mixtures were further analysed by their dissection into ground state and transition state contributions. This full thermodynamic analysis of solvent effects is the first instance of such a procedure being used for a bimolecular reaction. The free energies of transfer of mercuric chloride, tetraethyltin and the mercuric chloride - tetraethyltin transition state were further dissected into their "neutral" and "electrical" contributions. A comparison of the ''electrical" contri-butions to the free energy of transfer confirmed, on a more quantitative bases than has previously been possible, that the reaction between tetraalkyltins and mercuric chloride in various methanol-water mixtures proceeds by an "open", S[E]2 mechanism of electrophilic substitution at a saturated carbon atom.


The global trend on harvesting the green energies from solar cells gains more attention in recent years as compared to fossil fuel. The Photovoltaic (PV) system represents a clean, sustainable, and free renewable energy source, yet the efficiency of the PV cells is affected by the daily environmental effects on its non-linear current-voltage (I-V) and power-voltage (P-V) characteristics. Given these shortcomings, a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm is a viable part of tracking the optimum power point despite the fluctuation of temperature and irradiance. The MPPT algorithms imply the optimal duty ratio to drive the matching converter for optimal maximum power tracking. MPPT algorithms can be categorized into classical methods and artificial intelligence-based methods. Among the conventional techniques, perturb and observe (P&O) is the most common method due to its simplicity of operation and
 easiness of implementation. However, it increments and decrements the duty ratio in fixed step sizes which impose inherited drawbacks such as slow response time and
 continuous oscillation around the maximum power point (MPP). As a result, low efficiency ratio is obtained. The artificial intelligent MPPT techniques have the
 advantage of the adaptive nature to control the non-linear systems. Fuzzy logic controller (FLC), as adaptive MPPT method, adaptively modifies the duty ratio
 variations which lead to faster convergence time, low oscillation, and higher output power ratio. However, an FLC of an inaccurate design of input parameters like the
 error (E) and the error derivative (CE) contribute to high oscillation, slow response time towards the MPP, and less efficiency. This thesis proposes a FLC controller that calculates the E and the previous duty ratio variations (ΔDn-1) as input parameters to adaptively modify the output duty ratio (Δd). The controller aims to eliminate the drawbacks of both conventional (FLC, P&O)
 algorithms in term of response time, settling time, oscillation level, and maximum power ratio. MATLAB/SIMULINK environment is used to design and develop the PV module, DC-DC boost converter, and MPPT algorithms. The steady state test and dynamic tests were used to test the performance of the algorithms. The simulation results at steady state conditions show the proposed FLC has better performance than the conventional algorithms in term of response time, settling time, oscillation around the MPP, and maximum efficiency. A further test on dynamic conditions shows the
 proposed FLC has a better transient response at low irradiance conditions. The experimental results validated the performance of the MPPT algorithms at steady state
 conditions in term of response time, oscillation, and MPP ratio. In conclusion, the proposed FLC has fulfilled the objectives of the study by eliminating the drawbacks
 of the conventional algorithms and achieved more efficient PV system.


This study aims to describe the results of the analysis of the factors that encourage customer satisfaction in murabahah financing at BMT Tanjung Paiton Probolinggo. To facilitate the research process, this research process uses a qualitative-descriptive approach. The research stages consist of the orientation stage or pre-field stage, the field activity stage and the data analysis stage. Data collection techniques using interviews, observation and documentation. Sources of data used are primary and secondary data sources. The data analysis uses data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing/verification. The data validity technique uses the credibility test, transferability test, dependability test, and comfirmability test. The results showed that BMT Tanjung Paiton Probolinggo was very concerned about customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction in financing at BMT Tanjung Paiton Probolinggo has several factors. Among these factors, namely: 1) the procedures and services do not complicate the customers of BMT Tanjung Paiton Probolinggo; 2) if there is a problem between BMT Tanjung Paiton and its customers, then both use the family system; 3) the language of instruction uses the Madurese language, so it is comfortable to communicate; 4) ujroh BMT Tanjung Paiton Probolinggo is only 1.5% affordable; 5) BMT Tanjung Paiton Probolinggo does not impose a fine if the installment payment is late; and 5) the contract used in the financing process at BMT Tanjung Paiton Probolinggo uses a rohn contract.


In many cases where two closely related species coexist, ecological interaction or reproductive interference drive species to diversify in their body size and/or other signal traits, often concurrently with microhabitat segregation. However, it is usually unclear how character diversification is associated with microhabitat segregation. We performed laboratory experiments using males of two damselfly species (Mnais costalis and Mnais pruinosa) collected from a syntopic site in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. We analyzed the effects of body temperature and body size on three indices of flight performance: wing-beat frequency and flight speed as measures of thrust production, and minimum body temperature for flight (MBTF). The results showed that the MBTF was correlated with body size: the smaller species (M. pruinosa) flew better than the larger species (M. costalis) in a cool environment. The initial flight speed was positively correlated with body temperature, but negatively correlated with body size. The wing-beat frequency was also positively correlated with body temperature, but negatively correlated with body size. The combined effects of body size and body temperature on wing-beat frequency meant that overall, there was no significant difference in initial flight speed. We suggest that the effect that body size and temperature have on flight performance explains the previously documented microhabitat segregation occurring between these two species, with the larger M. costalis preferring sunny environments and M. pruinosa preferring shady environments.


We describe the coordination chemistry of the primary phosphine PH2C(O)NH2 (phosphinecarboxamide) towards group 6 transition-metals. Experimental and theoretical studies reveal that this novel species has comparable electronic properties to PH3.


CONTEXT
Increased plasma nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) appearance during enhanced intravascular triacylglycerol (TG) lipolysis is a marker of metabolic adipose tissue dysfunction and may lead to the development of insulin resistance. The relationship between total and high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin levels, NEFA appearance, and total TG lipolytic capacity has not been previously studied in humans.

OBJECTIVES
Our objective was to determine whether total and HMW adiponectin plasma levels are associated with plasma NEFA level and appearance, and with total TG lipolytic rate during enhanced intravascular TG lipolysis in men.

DESIGN
This was a cross-sectional metabolic study.

SETTING
The study was performed at an academic clinical research center.

PARTICIPANTS
There were 15 healthy men (mean +/- sd body mass index 25.5 +/- 4.7 kg/m(2)) aged 21-50 yr (mean +/- sd 31.1 +/- 10.2) without first-degree relatives with type 2 diabetes included in the study.

INTERVENTIONS
Pancreatic clamps and iv infusion of stable isotopic tracers ([1,1,2,3,3-(2)H(5)]glycerol and [U-(13)C]palmitate) were performed, whereas intravascular TG lipolysis was clamped by iv infusion of heparin plus Intralipid at low (fasting) and high insulin levels. Total and HMW adiponectin levels were measured using an ELISA.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Levels of total and HMW adiponectin, palmitate appearance (plasma palmitate appearance rate), and glycerol appearance (plasma glycerol appearance rate) were calculated.

RESULTS
During heparin plus Intralipid infusion, total and HMW adiponectin was inversely correlated with plasma palmitate appearance rate (r = -0.65; P = 0.01), but this association was lost when expressed per nonlean weight. Adiponectin levels were positively associated with plasma glycerol appearance rate per nonlean weight (r = 0.71 and r = 0.66, respectively; P < or = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS
Increased adipose tissue mass likely explains the association between low adiponectin and reduced NEFA tolerance. Adiponectin level is a marker of total TG lipolytic rate per adipose tissue mass in men.


Many functional programs with accumulating parameters are contained in the class of macro tree transducers. We present a program transformation technique that can be used to solve the efficiency problems due to creation and consumption of intermediate data structures in compositions of such functions, where classical deforestation techniques fail. To do so, given two macro tree transducers under appropriate restrictions, we construct a single macro tree transducer that implements the composition of the two original ones. The imposed restrictions are more liberal than those in the literature on macro tree transducer composition, thus generalising previous results.


An investigation of the antenna pattern of a quasi-optical hot-electron bolometric mixer at terahertz (THz) frequencies is presented. The antenna consists of a logarithmic-spiral planar feed antenna which was mounted on the back side of a hemispherical lens with an extension length optimized for 2.5 THz. The power patterns were measured at several frequencies between 0.7 THz and 4.3 THz for two orthogonal polarizations. The level of the first sidelobe is smallest at 2.5 THz. The sidelobes are different for both polarizations and the main lobes are wider than predicted by diffraction at the diameter of the lens. This indicates that the pattern is not only determined by the lens but also by the feed antenna. The antenna pattern measured by heterodyne detection has almost the same width as the power pattern but significantly higher sidelobes. At 1.6 THz the phase pattern of the hybrid antenna was measured with a quasi-optical interferometric technique.


Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are fulfilling the promise of targeted therapy with meaningful clinical success. An intense research effort is directed towards improving pharmacokinetic profiles, toxicity and chemical stability of ADCs. The majority of ADCs use amide and thioether chemistry to link potent cytotoxic agents to antibodies via endogenous lysine and cysteine residues. While maleimide-cysteine conjugation is used for many clinical stage ADC programs, maleimides have been shown to exhibit some degree of post-conjugation instability. Previous research with site-directed mutagenic incorporation of cysteine residues for conjugation revealed that the stability of the drug-antibody linkage depends on the site of conjugation. Here we report on a collection of engineered cysteine antibodies (S239C, E269C, K326C and A327C) that can be site-specifically conjugated to potent cytotoxic agents to produce homogenous 2-loaded ADCs. These ADCs confirm that site of conjugation impacts maleimide stability and present a novel mechanism of thioether stabilization, effectively unlinking stability from either local chemical environment or calculated solvent accessibility and expanding the current paradigm for ADC drug-linker stability. These ADCs show potent in vitro and in vivo activity while delivering half of the molar equivalent dose of drug per antibody when compared to an average 4-loaded ADC. In addition, our lead engineered site shields highly hydrophobic drugs, enabling conjugation, formulation and clinical use of otherwise intractable chemotypes.


This study examines the concept of working knowledge management with respect to the North Vancouver School District as exemplified by their practices related to generating, capturing, and disseminating 'Know How' and promoting informed professionalism. The North Vancouver School District was found to be comparatively "advanced", or knowledge-rich, in terms of its data use and knowledge translation capacity. The thesis explores an important area of school district organization and leadership. It examines the school district's response to issues of accountability and improving student improvement. The case study examines the district's understanding of, and capacity for, working knowledge management. In this setting, one finds educators struggling to acknowledge that their instructional ideas and practice can be made visible and are improvable; struggling to foster a culture of collaboration and interaction within and across schools or among teachers; and struggling to systematically manage their working knowledge. The British Columbia Ministry of Education planning and information processes are dominated with concerns about input and outcome data. The education system appears to ignore schools' instructional practices from enquiry, discourse, and change. I believe that knowledge management literature provides a useful tool to examine school district practices. Working knowledge management practices in this study are used as generic factors to examine education system practices that can facilitate change. The models presented in this thesis together offer vehicles for school district leaders to inform their consideration of how they manage their working knowledge activities.


In this note we show that the strong duality theorem of an unconstrained (generalized) geometric programming problem as defined by Peterson (cf.[1]) is actually a special case of a Lagrangian duality result. Contrary to [1] we also consider the case that the set C is compact and convex and in this case we do not need to assume the standard regularity condition.


We present a study on the use of corona discharge surface treatment to achieve a fast thermal diffusion bonding process for the creation of microfluidic chips. Wafer level bonding at 100 mm diameter was attempted. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) wafers were hot embossed to create microchannels before bonding to another blank PMMA wafer. Corona discharge treatment of the PMMA resulted in a more hydrophilic surface. The average water contact angle on PMMA surface decreased from 74.50° before treatment to 37.68° after the treatment. The optimized bonding condition was found to be: 108°C for 4 minutes at a contact pressure of 3.1 MPa. The bonded chips could withstand an internal gauge pressure in the microchannels of at least 7 bars. The rectangular shape of the cross section of the microchannels was conserved with some contraction in the dimensions of 3.7% on the mean widths and 2.1% on the mean depths. Bonding strength was found to increase with the bonding temperature and time while the effect of bonding pressure is evident at lower pressures. At higher pressures, the effect of bonding pressure seemed to have reduced. These effects could be explained by the diffusion mechanisms of the process.


The OnBase Certified Department Administrators is a sub-committee of, and is accountable to, the Enterprise Content Services Advisory Committee [2] and is mainly responsible for managing Enterprise Content Services [3] programs and services at the departmental level. It also promotes communication to the Enterprise Content Services Advisory Committee and recommends actions that ensure the success of Enterprise Content Services operation and services.


We study the global U(1) string coupled to gravity in the presence of a negative cosmological constant. We obtain the static straight-string solution with no curvature singularity. The (2 + 1)D spacetime orthogonal to the string direction is characterized by the regular hyperboloid, the extremal black hole with one horizon or the charged black hole with two horizons according to the scale of the cosmological constant. The relationship between the topological charge of a neutral global string and the black-hole charge is clarified by a duality transformation. The cosmological relevance of these solutions is briefly discussed.


A wireless temperature sensing system for isolated areas such as those in an organism is proposed. The sensor does not need a power supply within it and is only composed of a temperature-sensitive ferrite core, a wound coil and a chip capacitor. Therefore, the sensor is designed as an LC series circuit. The sensor is driven and signals from the sensor are received by using the loop coil with electromagnetic induction. The system can measure the temperature by receiving a field at the resonant frequency corresponding to the temperature of the sensor. As the inductance of the sensor coil changes with the temperature, the resonant frequency is varied. In addition, we proposed magnetic motion-sensing system using same LC resonant sensor. The magnetic signal of the sensor is detected by pick-up coil array. It can be assumed that the flux density from the sensor is a magnetic dipole field. Therefore, the position and orientation of the sensor can be calculated by solving an inverse problem.


Design of electronic cooling systems for high volume manufacturing within the time frame of months for increasingly aggressive performance and cost requirements is difficult without the use of sophisticated computational and experimental tools. Described here are the tools and methods for evaluating designs of electronic cooling heat sinks. Examples using thermal finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are presented. Quantitative data from wind tunnel testing compare well with model results. Qualitative data from infrared (IR) spectroscopy provides insight on the interfacial effect. Issues associated with the interface resistance are discussed.


In the current study, 3-formyl phenyl benzenesulfonate is created by reacting 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde with benzene sulfonyl chloride, which is aided by triethylamine. Nine unique (Z)-3-[(3-substituted-5-oxo-1,5-dihydro-4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)-iminomethyl] compounds were formed through the reaction of a manufactured 3-formyl phenyl benzenesulfonate chemical with nine 3-alkyl(aryl)-4-amino-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5-one, as detailed in the existing literature. Phenyl benzene sulfonate (S) compounds were purchased. Through the reaction of the Schiff bases that were made a secondary amine, such as morpholine with formaldehyde, heterocyclic Mannich bases of a unique kind were created. Five recently found (Z)-3-[(3-substituted-5-oxo-1,5-dihydro-4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)-iminomethyl] compounds are presented in this work. By reacting phenyl benzene sulfonate (S) with morpholine in the presence of formaldehyde, five new (Z)-3-[(3-substituted-1-(morpholinomethyl)-5-oxo-1,5-dihydro-4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)-iminomethyl] compounds were created. Chemical compounds fall under the category of phenylbenzene sulfonates (M). Utilizing IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectroscopy, fourteen recently novel compoundsand#39; chemical structures were examined. The ability of the freshly synthesized Schiff and morpholine-derived Mannich bases to obstruct the acetylcholinesterase enzymeand#39;s (AChE) activity was also assessed. The 1,2,4-triazole functional group was modified by adding various groups at the 1 and 3 positions, resulting in a collection of compounds (S1–9 and M1, 2, 4, 5, 7). It was determined whether these synthetic compounds could prevent the human recombinant AR enzyme from working in vitro, and the findings were validated using molecular docking, molecular mechanics, and ADME analyses. To better understand this mechanism, synthetic Schiff and Mannich base derivatives as well as the positive control substance quercetin were tested using molecular docking against the human recombinant AR enzyme in vitro. To assess the drug-like properties of Schiff and Mannich base analogs, a series of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties were analyzed theoretically.


In this comparative study, the effect of carbon black (CB) on the thermal ageing characteristics of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) was investigated. EVA, containing 13% vinyl acetate (VA), and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate)/carbon black mixture (EVA/CB) containing 13% VA and 1% CB were aged at 85°C in air up to 30 weeks. Sol-gel analysis experiments were made to determine the percentage gelation of both virgin and aged samples. FT-IR measurements were performed to follow the chemical changes which took place in the samples during ageing. Dynamic and isothermal thermogravimetric studies were performed for determination of the thermal stabilities of virgin and aged samples.

Sol-gel analysis results showed that EVA itself has a tendency to form a gel under thermal treatment, whereas EVA/CB never becomes a gel when being thermally aged under the same conditions. As a result of FT-IR measurements, some oxidation products such as ketone, lactone and vinyl species were observed through thermal ageing of EVA. It is also clear that these kind of oxidation products did not appear to a considerable extent in EVA/CB. Thermal analysis experiments exhibit that thermal stability of EVA decreased through thermal ageing; whereas that of EVA/CB remained almost unchanged. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Recently devised new symplectic and
differential-algebraic approaches to studying hidden symmetry properties of
nonlinear dynamical systems on functional manifolds and their relationships to
Lax integrability are reviewed. A new symplectic approach to constructing
nonlinear Lax integrable dynamical systems by means of Lie-algebraic tools and
based upon the Marsden-Weinstein reduction method on canonically symplectic
manifolds with group symmetry, is described. Its natural relationship with the
well-known Adler-Kostant-Souriau-Berezin-Kirillov method and the associated R-matrix method [1,2] is analyzed in detail. A new
modified differential-algebraic approach to analyzing the Lax integrability of
generalized Riemann and Ostrovsky-Vakhnenko type hydrodynamic equations is
suggested and the corresponding Lax representations are constructed in exact
form. The related bi-Hamiltonian integrability and compatible Poissonian
structures of these generalized Riemann type hierarchies are discussed by means
of the symplectic, gradientholonomic and geometric methods.


INTRODUCTION
Natalizumab (NTZ) is a very effective treatment approved for highly active multiple sclerosis. The main risk of treatment with NTZ is the possibility of developing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, which is related to JC virus positivity and the number of NTZ infusions. This risk decreases with the extended dosage interval (EDI), which involves 9 or fewer infusions/year. However, it is a matter of controversy as to whether EDI remains effective in reducing recurrences and the presence of new lesions in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A prospective observational study was conducted from 1 April 2019 to 30 June 2021, following up patients on NTZ treatment who switched to EDI. Patients should have at least one MRI six months after the start of EDI. The presence of attacks or MRI activity (new lesions in T2) during the EDI was recorded.

RESULTS
Twenty-three patients with a mean age of 43.5 ± 9.4 years were included. The median number of NTZ infusions was 68 (minimum, 25; maximum, 127). The median interval between the start of the EDI and the last MRI was 14 months (minimum, 6; maximum, 25), and 23 months from the last medical follow-up visit (minimum, 7; maximum, 28). Two patients (8.7%) presented with attacks and two others (8.7%) showed MRI activity.

CONCLUSIONS
EDI with NTZ maintains high clinical and activity effectiveness in MRI.


The GRACE mission launched with a pair of satellites, orbiting in a near-polar orbit, at a distance of about 220 km from eachother, to map the time-variable earth's gravity field, since 2002. The study of time-variable gravity field has been proved to be very helpful in climate science studies. The gravity variations in the GRACE observations are mass variations inside the earth, exchanges between glaciers and oceans, changes due to surface and deep currents in the ocean. Monthly maps are used to study these gravity variations. The raw gravity field data obtained, is too much noisy and the main source of this noise is north-south stripes which is due to polar orbit of satellites. Due to these noisy stripes, filtering of GRACE time-variable gravity field is required. In this thesis, Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis is used to filter and analyse the GRACE gravity data. The method is used to extract the dominant variations by reducing the dimensionality of a dataset, among a group of time-series data. This dimensionality reduction and extraction of dominant variance is achieved by linear coordinate transformation to a new set of basis vectors via singular value decomposition. The decomposition gives spatial and temporal components along with variance values. Temporal components are analysed by the dominant variance rule, Kolmogorov-Smirnov rule and autocorrelation function respectively, in order to recover signal from noise. Dataset recovered by dominant variance rule, reduces the striping but it may remove the signals as well, especially the signals from ocean. The level of signal reduction is less in Kolmogorov-Smirnov rule, whereas autocorrelation performs well in comparison to both. Geophysical signal reduction is very less in using the autocorrelation function for filtered data analysis and the results are even much better if both Kolmogorov-Smirnov rule and autocorrelation results are combined together. Thus, autocorrelation can be a better approach to select the signal components from the noisy ones. EOF anlaysis is explained with its theoretical background and then its application on the GRACE data. The focus is on the use of autocorrelation function and its performance in the filtered data analysis. Here, the entire procedure is applied in spatial domain on the processed equivalent water height values. In future, autocorrelation function can be used for data analysis in spectral domain for more better results. Its performance can be evaluated on regional analysis basis.


Inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase commonly known as statins are widely used for treating hypercholesterolemia. However, there is much evidence to suggest that statins may have other properties in addition to their cholesterol-lowering effect. In particular, statins may neutralize post-translational prenylation of vitally important regulatory small GTPases, which are involved in several processes such as tissue fibrosis, cell maturation, apoptosis, immune cell maturation, and immune response. The beneficial effect of statins has been reported in animal and in vitro models as well as in some clinical studies. As they have an acceptable safety profile, statins may be considered, in selected cases, as a valuable concomitant therapy in the treatment of rheumatic and autoimmune disorders.


The energy management strategy is the key to increasing the energy efficiency index (EEI) and controlling buildings' carbon emissions. This article discusses the energy policy strategy at Siliwangi University based on four main components of green campus: the profile of the electricity load, energy consumption, the rate of the number of vehicles, and vehicle activity in the campus environment. We propose four scenarios to meet the EEI and carbon emissions standards in 2025. The analysis of carbon emission production uses the UI Green Metric approach by referring to the carbon emission strategy from the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) and the profile of the world bank. Simultaneously, the EEI analysis uses the ASEANUSAID standard, which is also used in the Indonesian National Standard (SNI). The conclusion is that even with the highest scenario to meet the target EEI level in 2025, Siliwangi University can only reach the EEI level in the "Extremely Efficient" category for the area with AC facilities and Extremely-Inefficient class for the area with AC facilities. The analysis results show that the most considerable contribution of carbon emissions is from motorbikes, 66%, cars and buses 33% and electricity use only 1.4%. Although the use of electricity does not have a significant emission impact, the EEI analysis results show a tendency towards electricity waste. Siliwangi University must immediately implement electric vehicles on campus to reduce carbon emissions from the mobility of motorbikes, cars, and buses.


With the Nazis' coming to power in Germany in 1933, dental surgery turned to the Nazi ideology which little by little influenced doctors to get ready for a possible military conflict. As soon as war was declared, dental surgeons got involved int he Luftwaffe, in the Kriegsmarine as well as in the Wehrmacht, and contributed significantly to the quick recovery of the injured, and thus to the continuation of war as the latter could soon go back to the front. With the German rout, medical efforts were dedicated to the army only and the civilian population was neglected.


As the brush less DC motor is more and more widely used, relating control algorithm need more and more precise and intelligence. In this paper, after studying the fuzzy control and the neural network theory, a single neuron fuzzy self-adaptive PID control algorithm is presented for speed control of the brush less DC motor. The Matlab software simulation results show that the single neuron fuzzy self-adaptive PID control algorithm has more robustness, faster response speed and more excellent adaptive capacity than increment PID, and PID based on quadratic performance index learning algorithm of single neuron adaptive. Thus the algorithm can be widely applied to the actual control system.


www.ccmjournal.org Critical Care Medicine • Volume 46 • Number 1 (Supplement) Learning Objectives: Aim of this study is to determine whether drastic invasive interventions have an impact on outcome (end point = 30 day mortality/type of facility patient was discharged to), in order to better allocate limited resources and reduce the use of costly interventions in futile situations. Methods: The hospital trauma database (busy Level 1 Trauma Center) was used as source for this project. A list of all patients was retrieved presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) between 2001 and 2010 with 1.) Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of three (3) that 2.) received at least one of these interventions/procedures: pericardiocentesis, ex-laps, thoracotomies, angiography, massive transfusions, craniotomies, orthopedic procedures/surgeries (requiring OR), chest tubes, or central lines. Once these patients were identified, each patient's trauma record was looked at to determine if they had 3.) bilaterally fixed and dilated pupils (BFDP, defined as pupils greater or equal to 4mm and unreactive to light bilaterally). For patients who met all 3 criteria above, the following information was collected: age, sex, mechanism of trauma/injury, injury type(s), GCS in the field, GCS upon arrival to ED, type(s) of invasive intervention/procedure/surgery received, discharge location, 30 day mortality, cause of death, place of death, injury severity score (ISS), whether CPR was performed, administration of sedatives/paralytics. Results: 1100 patients met inclusion criteria 1 and 2. Upon applying criterion 3 – BFPD – 132 patients were left. Data were collected on these patients. Patients were further excluded in situations in which paralytic use was thought to affect pupillary measurement. 43 patients were identified as valid study subjects. Of those 43 patients, only 2 (4.6%) survived at the 30 day mark. Both survivors were discharged to inpatient rehabilitation. Conclusions: Survival rate of 4.6% puts into question the use of heroic measures on trauma patients who are brought to the ED with a GCS of 3 and BFDP, but larger studies are needed to validate findings, establish a detailed protocol, and address variations.


Twenty years ago, achieving the gas treating goals regularly reached today was virtually unimaginable. The norm was complete removal of CO2 and H2S using tried and true amines like MEA, DEA, DGA, and DIPA. Then MDEA began to be used and it was found possible to leave a certain amount of CO2 in the treated gas (and get paid for it). MDEA found quite extensive use in operations such as tail gas treating where efficient H2S removal and high CO2 rejection were the goals. In the mid-80s mixtures of amines began to be used, formed mostly by adding varying amounts of reactive amines to MDEA. Thus it became possible to control selectivity and to produce a gas having a specified composition with respect to both H2S and CO2. A rather interesting additive was a mineral acid or other substance which was capable of neutralizing some of the MDEA. In addition, a class of sterically-hindered amines was developed to target selective removal applications—we will not deal with these sterically-hindered amines here. The focus of the paper is the development of a fundamental understanding of how modern amine solvent technologies work and validation of this understanding through computer simulation and, where possible, comparison with actual plant performance data. This paper first discusses how MDEA (and certain other amines) achieve good CO2 slip, while other amines do not. The development embraces chemical reactivity and equilibrium considerations, as well as the influence of detailed equipment design parameters. The engineering basis for our understanding is validated against actual plant performance data, including detailed tower temperature profiles. The use of reactive amines as activators or promoters for MDEA is considered next. We discuss in detail the basic mechanism by which these promoters function and the various ways in which they can influence selectivity. The basic understanding developed in the paper is illustrated with detailed tower simulation. Finally, we examine how partial neutralization (inactivation) of the amine can be used to achieve the seemingly astonishing result of much lower H2S residual levels in the treated gas. Again, the approach taken is fundamental, this time at the level of shifting reaction equilibria and its influence on vapor-liquid equilibrium. Although no plant performance data using a partially neutralized solvent are currently available to us, we examine fundamental modeling predictions in terms of projected treating plant performance.


The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) aims to protect personal data outside EU borders by its rules on territorial scope and its restrictions on international data transfers. Despite its importance in EU fundamental rights law, the purpose and interaction of the GDPR's protections of cross-border data processing have long been shrouded in confusion. Initiatives of EU bodies to interpret the GDPR's safeguards illustrate the need for EU law to demonstrate clarity and consistency in defending fundamental rights outside EU borders. Only by maintaining the high level of protection required by the GDPR and the Court of Justice, can the EU's ambitions of cross-border data protection be realized and the GDPR's influence in third countries be maintained.
data protection, GDPR, territorial scope, international data transfers, Court of Justice, European Commission, European Data Protection Board


Thymidine concentrations in serum used for cell culture media were determined with an assay based on isotope dilution. In this assay, incorporation of (3H)-thymidine into DNA of cultured cells was measured in the presence of 5 and 20% serum as a function of the concentration of unlabeled thymidine added to the medium. In three batches of horse serum, thymidine concentrations were 0--0.17 micron, while in fetal calf serum values of 0.75--2.1 micron were obtained. Dialysis of serum resulted in a reduction of thymidine levels by factors of at least 10.


Patient satisfaction is the balance between expectation and perception of what is received. It is an important component and quality indicator in anesthesia care services. It can be affected by Anesthetist patient interaction, peri-operative anesthesia management, and post-procedure followup. There is no previous study conducted in our institute. This study aimed to assess the level of patient satisfaction with anesthesia care services and to determine the factors that affect patient satisfaction. Two hundred and sixty-three patients were selected among scheduled patients for a surgical procedure under different types of anesthesia were surveyed. The standardized questionnaire was used for post-operative patient interviews. Data was entered and analyzed through the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22. Overall, the proportion of patient satisfaction with anesthesia care services was 76%. Of these, educated were less satisfied (43.5%) compared with non-educated (56.5%). Factors that affect patient satisfaction negatively are sore throat, shivering, peri-operative pain, nausea, and vomiting. Patient's satisfaction with anesthesia care services was low in our institute with previously many published studies. Factors that affect patient satisfaction negatively may be preventable and every health care provider should work on these factors to decrease dissatisfaction level. Awareness creation about the current problem and training need to be given for anesthetists.


In this study, the digital static calibration technique used for 400MSPS, 16-bit high-resolution current steering DAC is described. The calibration technique uses address generator, comparator, SAR register, and calibration DAC to comprise successive approximation calibration loop. With the calibration loop, the respective calibration of array units of current source can be implemented automatically one by one, thus improving greatly matchability of current source. The differential nonlinearity error of 16-bit current steering DAC with the calibration technology reaches a true 16-bit relative static resolution with DNL<±0.5LSB.


This paper presents modeling, simulation, and analysis of load following behavior of a microturbine (MT) as a distributed energy resource (DER). The MT-generator (MTG) system consists of the MT coupled to a synchronous generator. Simulation is done in MATLAB for different loading conditions under islanded and grid-connected modes. The MTG model also incorporates a speed controller for maintaining constant speed at variable loads. Performance is studied both with and without the speed controller. The paper also compares the simulation results with already reported results and with real life load following data for a typical islanded MT of similar rating.


Objectives Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided high intensity focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) is a newly emerging non-invasive technique for the treatment of uterine fibroids. The purpose of this study is to review the clinical impact of MRgFUS. Methods This study examined 157 patients. The high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) utilized in this study was Philips Achieva 1.5 Tesla MR (Philips Healthcare, Best, the Netherlands) and Sonalleve HIFU system. The patients were followed in post-operative Month 1, Month 3, and Month 6 to investigate any change. Then, these were further classified according to the use of uterine stimulant (oxytocin) in parallel, Funaki Type of uterine fibroid, HIFU intensity, and non-perfused volume (NPV) ratio. Results When the uterine stimulant was utilized, the HIFU intensity was measured at significantly lower levels, compared with the group not using uterine stimulant, and treatment duration was significantly. The NPV ratio was found significantly higher in the group using uterine stimulant. Concerning the correlation between Funaki Type of uterine fibroid and average sonication power, it was found that the closer to Type I, the lower the sonication power, the shorter the treatment duration, and the higher the NPV ratio significantly. Conclusions In this study, it was found that the lower the Funaki Types of uterine fibroids, and the higher the NPV ratio immediately after the operation, the larger the uterine fibroid volume decrease and SSS change were. Also, if uterine stimulant was used in parallel in treatment, treatment duration and HIFU intensity could become shorter and lower.


Ristocetin induces aggregation of platelets in the presence of Willebrand Factor. Certain preparations of ristocetin when preincubated with washed normal platelets render the platelets less responsive to the addition of Willebrand Factor. It has been demonstrated that such preparations are contaminated with a proteolytic enzyme(s). Platelets treated in this way with different ristocetin preparations were analysed using disc gel electrophoresis. Membrane glycoproteins I and II were depleted only when using contaminated ristocetin preparations. Platelets labelled with 3H-adenine when treated with this ristocetin did not demonstrate leakage of 3H-labelled material, thus showing that the platelet membrane remained intact. Platelets were treated with proteolytic enzymes of known specificities and following further washing were tested in an aggregating system consisting of ristocetin and Willebrand Factor. The aggregation response was markedly reduced compared to control platelets. These results point to the glycoproteins of the platelet membrane being part of the receptor for the ristocetin-Willebrand Factor complex.


Objectives: Debate continues regarding the optimal treatment of intercollegiate contact athletes with in-season anterior shoulder instability. Comparative evaluation of successful return to play (RTP) without recurrence in subsequent seasons after the index instability event has not been prospectively evaluated in this patient population. The purpose of this study was to examine return to sport and recurrent instability in the season that follows the index anterior in-season instability event. Methods: Over two academic years, 45 contact intercollegiate athletes treated nonoperatively or with arthroscopic stabilization were prospectively followed in a multicenter observational study to evaluate RTP and recurrent instability in the intercollegiate season following an initial in-season anterior glenohumeral instability event. The primary outcome of interest was successful RTP, defined as the ability to return to sport in the subsequent season without recurrent instability. Baseline data collection included sport played, previous instability events, direction of instability, type of instability (subluxation or dislocation), and treatment method (nonoperative or arthroscopic stabilization). The decision to pursue operative or nonoperative treatment was made at the discretion of the patient and surgeon. All nonoperatively treated athletes underwent a standardized accelerated rehabilitation program without shoulder immobilization. Surgical stabilization was performed arthroscopically in all cases and successful RTP was evaluated during the next competitive season after complete rehabilitation. All subjects were actively monitored during the course of their competitive season to determine return to play success and recurrent instability events. Results: A total of 45 intercollegiate contact athletes were treated for in-season anterior shoulder instability. Thirty-nine athletes had remaining NCAA eligibility and were followed through the subsequent competitive season. Of these, 10 elected to be treated nonoperatively while 29 elected for surgical repair. Of the group selecting nonoperative treatment, only 4 (40%) successfully RTP without recurrence during the subsequent season. Of the 29 athletes treated surgically, 26 (90%) were able to successfully RTP without recurrence the following season. Two athletes were cut from the team and one athlete sustained a recurrent instability event requiring revision stabilization. Athletes who underwent surgical reconstruction prior to the following season were 5.8 (95%CI: 1.77, 18.97, p=0.004) times more likely to complete the subsequent season without recurrent instability. Of the 29 athletes electing surgical stabilization, there was no difference (RR=0.95, 95%CI: 0.10, 9.24, p=1.00) in RTP between the 9 stabilized following a single instability event (90% RTP) and the 20 stabilized following multiple in-season recurrent instability events (89% RTP). Conclusion: Collegiate collision athletes with in-season shoulder instability are significantly more likely to successfully return to sport without subsequent instability events the following season if they undergo surgical repair in the off season.


: This research aims at describing the application of legal language using a forensic linguistics approach through discourse analysis, text, speech act, meaning, and language style. This research applies qualitative method. This research was conducted in the state courts of Gorontalo. Data were collected from verdicts of the state court of Gorontalo. The researcher selected these data using literature review technique. These data were then analyzed based on the substance of the problem. Data analyses were conducted by several steps. Verdicts were analyzed using 1) discourse form, 2) language style, and 3) speech acts. This research is of use for facilitating law enforcement officials to solve legal problems from the language use point of view. This is due to the unresolved issues of legal language, thus, this research strives for helping society find truths and justice through comprehensive legal evidence.


Abstract The fauna of fig wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Agaonidae: Agaoninae) preserved in Early Miocene (Burdigalian) amber from the Dominican Republic is reported. Three species are described, representing both of the exclusively neotropical genera Tetrapus Mayr and Pegoscapus Cameron: Tetrapus delclosi Peñalver and Engel, new species, T. apopnus Peñalver and Engel, new species, and Pegoscapus peritus Peñalver and Engel, new species. All are described and figured based on females that are exquisitely preserved. The species are distinguished from each other as well as from modern relatives.


Resistance to endocrine therapies in estrogen receptor positive (ER+) metastatic breast cancer is widespread, and understanding the mechanisms whereby these tumors acquire resistance is a critical need. Through whole-exome sequencing of metastatic tumor biopsies from patients with endocrine resistant ER+ metastatic breast cancer, we identified 13 different HER2 mutations, including five in the kinase domain, four in the signaling domain, three in the extracellular domain, and one in the transmembrane region of the protein. Two of the kinase domain mutations (L755S and V777L) have been previously described and shown to be activating and resistant to reversible anti-HER2 targeted therapies; the remaining mutations have not been reported. In several of these patients, whole exome sequencing of a pre-treatment primary tumor did not identify the HER2 mutations seen in the corresponding metastatic tumor, suggesting that they were acquired during therapy. To examine the role of HER2 mutations in endocrine resistance, we generated ER+ breast cancer cell lines (MCF7 and T47D) stably expressing the HER2 mutants observed in our clinical data. Several mutants promoted enhanced growth in charcoal dextran-stripped media, which lacks estradiol and mimics treatment with aromatase inhibitor. In addition, several mutants conferred varying degrees of resistance to fulvestrant and tamoxifen. Taken together, these results suggest that HER2 mutations are associated with acquired resistance to endocrine therapies in patients with ER+ breast cancer. The ability of irreversible anti-HER2 agents as well as other agents that target the HER2 pathway to overcome this resistance is being tested for individual HER2 mutations in vitro . The results from these studies may provide a clinical rationale for therapeutic combination strategies in patients with refractory tumors that have acquired endocrine resistance through HER2 mutations. Citation Format: Nayar U, Cohen O, Oh C, Wagle N. The role of HER2 mutations in resistance to endocrine therapy in ER+ breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-04-08.


Green photosynthetic bacteria were used for anaerobic digestion of sewage in the presence of light. The Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) was tested after short intervals. The BOD results obtained every week which showed that these bacteria do help in lowering the BOD of sewage after about three weeks Chlorobium thiosulfatophilum gave the best results wherein the BOD of raw sewage ranging from 81-120 mg/1 with about 10 cells/ml was brought down to 15-22 mg/l within 21 days. Another species of green photocynthetic bacteria, Chlorobium limicola did not seem to have much effect on the BOD results


Partial shading (PS) condition has a negative effect on the shaded photovoltaic (PV) modules/arrays itself. In addition, it reduces the output power generated considerably. The PV system configuration represents one of the effective solutions to alleviate the PS effects and extract the global maximum power (GMP) available from the partially shaded PV (PSPV) system. This study introduces a detailed performance analysis and comparisons of four proposed PV system configurations [module integrated converter (MIC), multi-strings interfaced interleaved boost converter (MSIBC), multi-arrays interfaced IBC and single array single converter (SASC)] in terms of output power generated and mismatch loss (MML) index. The selection of the best PV system configuration, which not only mitigates the PS effects but also extracts the GMP available from the PSPV system, depends on a trade-off between the generated power, cost and complexity before judging which one is preferable

. Although the MIC PV system has the highest output power generated (33 kW) and MML (100%), it increases the PV system complexity. Whereas, MSIBC has the second highest output power generated (28 kW) and MML compared to MIC. SASC has the lowest generated power and MML among the four configurations. The finding proves that MSIBC has superior performance compared to the other PV system configurations considering both the technical and economic assessment.


Habitat fragmentation due to human activity has led to pollinator declines worldwide, yet little is known about how this diversity loss affects pollination services in natural ecosystems. In this study, we investigate the mechanistic links between habitat fragmentation, a proxy for pollinator diversity loss, and the quantity (conspecific pollen deposition) and quality (heterospecific pollen proportion) of pollination services in coastal sage scrub habitats in the San Diego region. We documented pollinator visitation and pollen deposition across ten focal plant species in six natural reserve and six scrub fragment plots. At the level of the community as a whole, habitat fragmentation per se was not a significant driver of conspecific pollen deposition nor was it a significant driver of heterospecific pollen proportion. However, habitat type (reserves vs. fragments) formed statistically significant interactions with other variables in both conspecific and heterospecific proportion models, suggesting that fragmentation can indirectly affect pollination services. The western honeybee, Apis mellifera, was the most numerically dominant floral visitor across all study plots. Due to its high abundance, A. mellifera could influence both conspecific pollen deposition and heterospecific pollen proportion among reserve and fragment plots, potentially altering pollination services within coastal sage scrub habitats. Overall, habitat fragmentation can impart complex effects within plant-pollinator networks, as habitat type was shown to affect plant species differently with regards to changing pollinator variables. These differences in responses from plant species and pollinators could potentially result in a restructuring of plant-pollinator networks.


Abstract Snarr, RL and Esco, MR. Electromyographical comparison of plank variations performed with and without instability devices. J Strength Cond Res 28(11): 3298–3305, 2014—Although there are multiple studies involving abdominal musculature activation and instability devices (e.g., Swiss balls), there is minimal research comparing them with a suspension device (e.g., TRX). The purpose of this investigation was to measure the electromyographical (EMG) activity of the rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO), and erector spinae while performing planks with and without multiple instability devices. Twelve apparently healthy men (n = 6; age = 23.92 ± 3.64 years) and women (n = 6; age = 22.57 ± 1.87 years) volunteered to participate in this study. All participants performed 2 isometric contractions of 5 different plank variations, with or without an instability device, where the order of the exercises was randomized. Mean peak and normalized EMG of the RA, EO, and erector spinae musculature were compared across the 5 exercises. Results indicated that planks performed with the instability devices increased EMG activity in the superficial musculature when compared with traditional stable planks. Therefore, a traditional plank performed on a labile device may be considered an advanced variation and appropriate for use when a greater challenge is warranted. However, caution should be taken for those individuals with a history or weakness in the lumbar region due to the increases in erector spinae activation during instability planks.


Orientation serves to help freshmen to make the switch from a school to a university learning environment. However, conventional face-to-face orientation is limited in what can be disseminated and how effectively students are inducted. A case is discussed in which freshmen experienced a blended approach to orientation. Reflecting on the process, teachers observed that this cohort of students was better prepared for subsequent university life. Furthermore, these students, who had already had considerable exposure to the Web environment, experienced little technical challenge.


Influenza vaccination is the most important component of prevention of occurring and spreading of this disease. 80% vaccination coverage of healthcare personnel provides a substantial reduction of transmission; each and every next vaccinated person results in a decrease of morbidity, especially amongst elder or immunocompromised patients. In the analyzed studies most common reasons of insufficient vaccination coverage among healthcare workers were fear of side effects, lack of knowledge, conviction of vaccine inefficiency, lack of feeling of social responsibility, and inadequate accessibility of vaccine. Healthcare workers who were vaccinated regularly did it mostly in order to provide safety to themselves, their relatives and patients; they did it also due to the knowledge of vaccination efficiency. The most effective actions to improve vaccination coverage were: vaccination requirement by the employer, active encouragement, effective promotion, better vaccine accessibility and promotion of vaccination as prosocial behavior. Offering surgical masks as an alternative did not improve vaccination rate in most analyzed studies. In conclusion, most important reasons of declining influenza vaccination by healthcare workers are lack of knowledge and low accessibility of vaccination, so evidently education, promotion and facilitating the vaccination in workplace are the most effective ways causing the growth of vaccination rate.


ABSTRACT The chloroplast bioreactor is an alternative to fermentation-based systems for production of vaccine antigens and biopharmaceuticals. We report here expression of the plague F1-V fusion antigen in chloroplasts. Site-specific transgene integration and homoplasmy were confirmed by PCR and Southern blotting. Mature leaves showed the highest level of transgene expression on the third day of continuous illumination, with a maximum level of 14.8% of the total soluble protein. Swiss Webster mice were primed with adjuvant-containing subcutaneous (s.c.) doses of F1-V and then boosted with either adjuvanted s.c. doses (s.c. F1-V mice) or unadjuvanted oral doses (oral F1-V mice). Oral F1-V mice had higher prechallenge serum immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) titers than s.c. F1-V mice. The corresponding serum levels of antigen-specific IgG2a and IgA were 2 and 3 orders of magnitude lower, respectively. After vaccination, mice were exposed to an inhaled dose of 1.02 × 106 CFU of aerosolized Yersinia pestis CO92 (50% lethal dose, 6.8 × 104 CFU). All control animals died within 3 days. F1-V given s.c. (with adjuvant) protected 33% of the immunized mice, while 88% of the oral F1-V mice survived aerosolized Y. pestis challenge. A comparison of splenic Y. pestis CFU counts showed that there was a 7- to 10-log reduction in the mean bacterial burden in survivors. Taken together, these data indicate that oral booster doses effectively elicit protective immune responses in vivo. In addition, this is the first report of a plant-derived oral vaccine that protected animals from live Y. pestis challenge, bringing the likelihood of lower-cost vaccines closer to reality.


AIMS
To investigate the relationships between three pain parameters (duration, intensity, and frequency), the number of pain sites and comorbidities, and the risk of having coexisting pain and/or comorbidities in patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain.

METHODS
The sample consisted of 198 outpatients attending the Dental Hospital of Chulalongkorn University. TMD pain was determined using the Diagnostic Criteria for TMD. Pain lasting 3 months or longer was defined as chronic pain. Pain intensity was reflected using a 0- to 10-point numeric rating scale, and pain frequency was assessed with the percentage of pain days over a 2-week period. The number of pain sites was evaluated using the Widespread Pain Index. The presence of comorbidities was assessed with a validated diagnostic questionnaire. The associations were analyzed using Spearman rho test, multiple linear regression, and logistic regression, with a significance level of P ≤ .05. Age and gender were analyzed as confounders.

RESULTS
The number of pain sites was related to pain duration, pain intensity, and age. The number of comorbidities was associated with pain duration. Neither pain frequency nor gender were related to the number of pain sites or comorbidities. When the pain duration reached 1 month, patients had a 1.045-times higher probability of pain beyond the orofacial area (odds ratio [OR] = 1.045; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.024 to 1.066; P = .001) and a 1.028-times higher probability of comorbidities (OR = 1.028; 95% CI = 1.005 to 1.05; P = .008). For an increase of 1 score on the numeric rating scale, patients had a 1.206-times higher probability of pain presence beyond the orofacial area (OR = 1.206; 95% CI = 1.068 to 1.344; P = .026).

CONCLUSION
High pain intensity and long pain duration increase the probability of having coexisting pain and comorbidities in TMD pain patients.


BACKGROUND
Parenting in early childhood exerts substantial influence over children's emotional health and development. Using data from a randomized controlled trial of a novel treatment for early childhood depression, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Emotion Development (PCIT-ED), we explored two broad dimensions of parenting (behavior and affect) to determine whether any changes could be detected following treatment when compared to those in a waitlist control condition.

METHOD
229 caregiver-child dyads, 114 randomly assigned to PCIT-ED for preschool-onset depression, and 115 assigned to a waitlist completed two structured interaction tasks at baseline and post-treatment. Interactions were later coded by observer's blind to diagnostic and treatment status.

RESULTS
Greater reductions were found in self-reported negative parenting behaviors and observed negative affect and greater increases in self-reported positive parenting behaviors and observed positive affect among the caregivers in the treatment group. Increases in the overall positivity of the observed interactional style of caregivers, but no observed parenting behavior change was found following treatment. Discrepancies between self-reported and observed parenting were greater among caregivers on the waitlist.

CONCLUSIONS
Following PCIT-ED treatment, caregivers self-reported improvements in parenting practices and declines in punitive practices along with observed increases in positive affect and decreases in negative affect when interacting with their child. Moreover, coherence between self-reported and observed parenting was higher in the treatment group. These findings highlight the efficacy of PCIT-ED in improving parenting behaviors and the need to use multiple methods to assess parenting in treatment studies.


Nearshore sandbars, an important natural defense mechanism of the beaches, can be monitored using shore-based video systems. Before studying bar dynamics with video images, we must establish the relationship between the real bar positions and the videoed bar positions (detected by the preferential wave breaking on the shallows). This analysis becomes essential in the two studied tideless beaches of Barcelona due to the critical differences with respect to the sites studied previously. Bogatell beach is terraced (without a trough) in more than 50% of the profiles. There, the videoed barlines are a good proxy of the terrace edge position. In La Barceloneta beach, with dominance of barred profiles, the videoed barlines better represent the bar crest position. On average, the obtained distances between real and videoed bar positions ¿r are 10-15 m, with the videoed barlines located shoreward. Changes in the bathymetric profile shape and the root-mean-squared wave height H rms induce a variability of ¿r of 16 m in La Barceloneta and 13 m in Bogatell. This apparent variability masks the real changes in bar position and should preferably be reduced before further analysis. As a highly significant correlation between ¿r and H rms is detected in the two beaches, the proposed reduction method consists of sampling at a specific range of H rms. This diminishes the variability by 10% to 14 m in La Barceloneta and 11 m in Bogatell. This paper confirms the suitability of using video systems for monitoring bars and terraces in the Barcelona beaches.