Characteristics of rhythmogenic pacemakers of the ureter's perirenal middle and peribladder region morphologically and electrophysiologically are analysed in guinea pigs both in presence of spreading activity and breach of conductivity. It was shown that the action potential's amplitude of the middle region is the highest and duration of the spike activities from perirenal zone is maximal and all three regions are characterised by different functional conditions.


ABS TRACT Objective: This study was performed to compare the obstetric outcomes between preeclampsia and superimposed preeclampsia cases. Material and Methods: This retrospective study included 500 women with preeclampsia and 101 women with superimposed preeclampsia who delivered in a tertiary care center. Clinical findings, maternal and perinatal outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: In cases of preeclampsia, antenatal, perinatal, neonatal mortality rates were 13.4%, 17.9%, 5.1% respectively. The rate of cases which mother's life at risk was 30.2%. The antenatal, perinatal and neonatal mortality rates were 12.9%, 19.8%, and 8.9%, respectively, in cases of superimposed preeclampsia and the rate of cases where mother's life was at risk was 25.7%. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of time of onset of the symptoms (p = 0.669), mean birth week (p = 0.410) and birth weight (p= 0.340). Rates of intrauterine growth retardation (p = 0.434), early and late neonatal loss (p = 0.111, p = 0.848) and stillbirth (p = 0.887) did not differ between the groups. Although maternal deaths and maternal near miss cases were not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.370), the rate of complication with eclampsia in preeclampsia cases was higher than that of superimposed preeclampsia cases (p=0.001). Conclusion: Preeclampsia and superimposed preeclampsia have similar obstetric outcomes. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying eclampsia in preeclampsia cases.


Abstract Our objective was to explore features of the neuropsychiatric symptoms in Chinese patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and the associations between these neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognition. A total of 91 ALS patients were evaluated using three recommended scales including the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R), and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) tests. The mean age of onset was 52.5 ± 10.8 years. The median NPI score of all patients was 2.0. The most common neuropsychiatric symptom was dysphoria/depression (59.3%), followed by anxiety (41.8%) and irritability/lability (26.4%). There were no significant differences in the frequency of neuropsychiatric symptoms in terms of gender, age of onset, onset form and disease duration. There were no significant differences in NPI total score, ACE-R total score and FAB total score in terms of gender, age of onset, onset form and disease duration, except for a higher ACE-R score observed in patients with a shorter disease duration. The NPI score had a strong correlation with the ACE-R score but not with the FAB score. In conclusion, neuropsychiatric symptoms appear to be quite common in Chinese ALS patients, who were likely to present with the emotional states of depression or anxiety. The neuropsychiatric symptoms in ALS are closely related to global cognition dysfunction.


Although multiple hypotheses have been proposed to explain group formation, few fully explain the diversity of social interactions found in foliage‐roosting bats. Among these bats, tent‐roosting species are capable of constructing their own shelters. Although many bats utilize tents previously constructed by other species, it has been suggested that a particular subset of tent‐roosting bats specialize on making tents from particular plant species. Tents provide protection from weather and often a place to roost close to foraging sites. Moreover, tent lifespan is plant species specific and may last from a few weeks to more than a year. To better understand effects that roosts have on social bonds of tent‐roosting bats, we conducted a literature review to collect information on social systems and tent lifespan. We tested correlated evolution of group stability and group longevity with tent lifespan using Pagel's method for discrete characters. We found that group stability and group longevity are correlated with tent lifespan. That there is correlated evolution between these characters contributes to our understanding of how different mechanisms interact to produce a variety of social systems in mammals.


In general, the therapy of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC), includes initial treatment and follow-up of patients. Nowadays, there is no universal accepted consensus regarding initial treatment of DTC patients. Several countries have their own guidelines and recommendations for treatment of DTC . Beside all controversies, mostly accepted recommendation regarding initial treatment of DTC includes total or "near" total thyreoidectomy followed by the therapy with radioactive iodine (I). Radioiodine ablation of postoperative thyroid remnants is usually recommended in all DTC patients regardless their stage (low or high risk of cancer-specific mortality and risk of relapse), due to easier monitoring of thyroglobulin (Tg) . Thyroglobulin is a glycoprotein that is produced by normal or neoplastic follicular thyroid cells. In the absence of thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb), undetectable Tg after the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) stimulation is a valid parameter of remission and the absence of metastases. On the other hand, detectable or increasing Tg during followup indicates the appearance of metastatic disease. After radioiodine ablation, a life-long suppressive therapy with Lthyroxine should be prescribed to all DTC patients. Rarely, a palliative therapy including external beam radiation therapy and chemotherapy is recommended . After the initial treatment, all DTC patients should be monitored life long, with the aim to detect persistent disease or recurrence. Each check-up should include laboratory analyses (thyroid hormones, TSH, Tg and TgAb) and ultrasonography of the neck. The result of diagnostic whole-body scintigraphy (WBS) with I (I-WBS) is influenced by thyroid carcinoma affinity to accumulate I in the presence of high concentration of TSH achieved by one-month L-thyroxine withdrawal or with intramuscular application of human recombinant TSH . Whole-body scintigraphy is routinely performed as a routine check-up (a year after the radioiodine ablation), and thereafter in cases suspected for recurrence only . Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) are useful for detection of neck and mediastinal metastases . Magnetic resonance is useful especially in non-iodineavid and mediastinal metastases . Fluorodeoxyglucose (FFDG) positron emission tomography fused with computed tomography (F-FDG-PET/CT) is a modern diagnostic procedure that is important in detection of non-iodine-avid metastases . Computed tomography is useful in visualization of small lung metastases, but is rarely performed due to iodine contrast interference with iodine therapy .


Workers exposed to dust have to undergo medical check-ups every 2 years including lung function testing. Here we report on the routine lung function data (FVC, FEV1, MEF50) of 994 workers from Austria. Lung function data were compared to the Austrian standard values that are based on routine testing of healthy volunteers. For all parameters the workers' values were significantly poorer than the Austrian standards (FVC: -0.4 l; FEV1: -0.5 l; MEF50: -0.9 l/s). The difference from the standard increased with increasing duration of the dust exposure. This increase was significant for the total group for MEF50 even after controlling for smoking. About half of the workers were exposed to quartz dust and had poorer lung function values (p = 0.02 for MEF50) than the other workers. Smoking significantly reduced all 3 lung function parameters with a significant interaction between strong smoking (compared to non-smokers) and quartz exposure (compared to all other exposures). Current Austrian limit values are not protective against chronic damage of the respiratory system. The combined impact of cigarette smoke and high concentration of mineral dust (quartz) is especially dangerous.


Deep learning (DL)-based solutions have recently been developed for communication protocol design. Such learning-based solutions can avoid manual efforts to tune individual protocol parameters. While these solutions look promising, they are hard to interpret due to the black-box nature of the ML techniques. To this end, we propose a novel DRL-based framework to systematically design and evaluate networking protocols. While other proposed ML-based methods mainly focus on tuning individual protocol parameters (e.g., adjusting contention window), our main contribution is to decouple a protocol into a set of parametric modules, each representing a main protocol functionality and is used as DRL input to better understand the generated protocols design optimization and analyze them in a systematic fashion. As a case study, we introduce and evaluate DeepMAC a framework in which a MAC protocol is decoupled into a set of blocks across popular flavors of 802.11 WLANs (e.g., 802.11a/b/g/n/ac). We are interested to see what blocks are selected by DeepMAC across different networking scenarios and whether DeepMAC is able to adapt to network dynamics.


An improved functional-based approach for the stability analysis of linear uncertain impulsive systems relying on Lyapunov looped-functionals is provided. Looped functionals are peculiar functionals that allow to encode discrete-time stability criteria into continuous-time conditions and to consider non-monotonic Lyapunov functions along the trajectories of the impulsive system. Unlike usual discrete-time stability conditions, the obtained ones are convex in the system matrices, an important feature for extending the results to uncertain systems. It is emphasized in the examples that the proposed approach can be applied to a class of systems for which existing approaches are inconclusive, notably systems having unstable continuous and discrete dynamics.


X-linked juvenile retinoschisis is a hereditary macular dystrophy that is transmitted in the X-linked recessive mode. Clinical signs include a macular star with or without peripheral retinoschisis responsible for decreased visual acuity. This study dealt with a 12-year-old boy who came in for a consultation for progressive decline in visual acuity. His distance visual acuity without correction was scored at 5/100; the right eye (RE) improved to 10/100 after the correction of a myopic astigmatism; and the unimproved left eye was scored at 20/100. The eye fundus showed perimacular radial lines without increased separation for the right eye with some microcysts and a macular hole on the left. An examination of the retinal periphery of both the eyes found inferotemporal retinal splitting. The electrophysiological assessment showed a major dysfunction on the electroretinogram.


The present study was an attempt to investigate the relationship among self-efficacy belief, self-directed learning, and critical thinking among advanced EFL Learners in a private language institute in Bandar Abbas, Iran. Sixty Iranian EFL students who were chosen based on their performance in a TOEFL PBT from among 80 EFL learners to shape the participants of the study. The participants received a validated copy of Honey s'(2004) critical thinking questionnaire, a standard copy of Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) developed by Guglielmino (1977), and The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), which has been validated by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995). The findings of the present study revealed that firstly, there was a significant relationship between self-directed learning and self-efficacy belief of Iranian EFL learners. Secondly, the results revealed that there was a significant relationship between critical thinking and self-efficacy belief of Iranian EFL learners, and thirdly, it was revealed that there was a significant relationship between critical thinking and self-directed learning of Iranian EFL learners. Findings of the present study could be used by material developers, English teachers, and EFL learners in the EFL and ESL context.


The phylogeny of the Eucestoda was evaluated based on a suite of 49 binary and multistate characters derived from comparative morphological and ontogenetic studies; attributes of adult and larval tapeworms were considered. A single most parsimonious tree (MPT) (consistency index = 0.872; retention index = 0.838; and homoplasy index = 0.527) was fully resolved and is specified by the following: (Gyrocotylidea, (Amphilinidea, ((Spathebothriidea, (Pseudophyllidea, ((Diphyllidea, (Trypanorhyncha, (Tetraphyllidea, (Lecanicephalidea, ((Nippotaeniidea, (Tetrabothriidea, Cyclophyllidea)), Proteocephalidea))))), Haplobothriidea))), Caryophyllidea))). Monophyly for the Eucestoda was firmly corroborated. Trees derived from the primary and bootstrap analyses were congruent, but low values, particularly for relationships among the tetrafossate tapeworms, indicated additional examination is warranted. The MPT was found to be the most efficient hypothesis for describing character evolution and in specifying relationships among the orders when compared to those concepts that had been developed for the tapeworms over the past century. Areas of congruence were shared among the current hypothesis and one or more of the prior hypotheses. Major conclusions include: (1) Caryophyllidea are basal and monozooy is ancestral; (2) difossate forms are primitive, and the Pseudophyllidea are the sister group of the strongly polyzoic tapeworms; (3) Nippotaeniidea are highly derived; (4) the higher tapeworms (Tetraphyllidea, Lecanicephalidea, Proteocephalidea, Nippotaeniidea, Tetrabothriidea, and Cyclophyllidea) are closely related or potentially coordinate groups: (5) Tetrabothriidea and the Cyclophyllidea are sister groups; and (6) Tetraphyllidea is paraphyletic, with the Onchobothriidae basal to the Phyllobothriidae. Character support for placement of the Tetrabothriidea continues to be contradictory, and this order may represent a key to understanding the phylogeny of the higher cestodes. The current study constitutes a complete historical review and poses a new and robust hypothesis for the phylogeny of the Eucestoda.


Investment is an important focus for the construction of Central Plains Economic Zone. The paper makes use of the time series data from 1989 to 2009 in Henan Province and conducts an empirical analysis of the relationship between investment and economic development through the ADF unit root test, Granger causality test, etc. The results show that there is two-way causal relationship between investment growth and economic development.


Abstract Tubular fossils, up to 2 mm in diameter and 60 mm in length, occur rarely in the upper Martinsburg Formation (Upper Ordovician), northeastern Tennessee Appalachians, U.S.A. The fossils are unbranched, straight or slightly bent, occasionally twisted and wrinkled, and not significantly tapered. Orientation of the fossils within shallow-marine tempestites suggests that they represent remains of organisms that were broken, transported, and deposited by storm waves and currents. The fossils are morphologically similar to many of the previously identified species belonging to the genus Sphenothallus, a relatively rare tube-dwelling Paleozoic marine invertebrate. Owing to the limited evidence for distal widening of the tubes, lack of holdfasts, and carbonaceous rather than phosphatic composition, the affinity of these fossils remains uncertain, and we refer to them as Sphenothallus-like.


Respiratory insufficiency is a problem that develops in nearly all people diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A 46-year-old man with ALS, who had been in a bedridden state with tracheal ventilation support, complained of faintness and dyspnea. The airway pressure of the ventilator had increased, and bleeding from the trachea had occurred several times. A fiberoptic bronchoscopy showed granulation located on the anterior wall of the trachea and severe airway obstruction of the tracheostomy tube. Although a long tracheostomy tube had been intubated for the initial management of the tracheal granulation, a tumor on the posterior tracheal wall had relapsed and occluded the tracheal lumen. A self-expandable metallic airway stent was placed into the tracheal stenosis. After stenting, his symptoms of dyspnea and syncope imploved, and the increased airway pressure of the ventilator was normalized. We speculated that the tracheal granuloma had occurred due to a tracheal mucosal injury related to endotracheal suctioning. We should pay attention to complaints of dyspnea in ALS patients with tracheostomy and make a careful consideration to airway care including suction management.


The trade secret for traditional food products from a particular area that possesses certain characteristics in the terms of quality or secretive production process generates from traditional cultures massively produced by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) consider as the big hope for Indonesia in increasing the local economy. However, a high number of MSMEs do not have sufficient and comprehensive knowledge of trade secret protection for traditional food products. This research aims to identify and analyze the possibility of enacting trade secrets as the legal protection of traditional food produced by MSMEs to escalate the economic growth of society.
The result shows that Law Number 30 year 2000 on Trade Secret can be the legal justification to protect traditional food products produced by MSMEs considering in the production process of traditional food there are some secret recipes and methods that are not known by the public. In order to implement the comprehensive legal protection of trade secret, there are some requirements for the government and the producers in both internal and external aspects. It's important to formulate a conducive business ecosystem, upgrading of human resources, management system, the strengthening of capital power, creation of creative industries, legal permit system for business, the advancement of information and technology also global business and marketing network. There are some efforts conducted by the government in raising legal awareness concerning the importance of intellectual property protection and the high economic potential of intellectual property protection


Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to study in situ intercalation of the layered compound TiS2 with Na and Cs. The intercalation was verified by core-level spectroscopy. The valence bands of pure TiS2 and the intercalated compounds NaxTiS2 and CsxTiS2 were characterized and compared to self-consistent LAPW band-structure calculations. Remarkable agreement between experimental and calculated bands was found for the dispersion along the layers. The calculations predicted perpendicular dispersion also for the intercalation compounds, although significantly reduced. No significant perpendicular dispersion was seen in normal-emission spectra, which might be an effect of intercalation-induced stacking disorder. Charge transfer to the TiS2 host layers was evident from the much increased conduction band emission, and from the asymmetric S 2p core-level lineshape after intercalation. The intercalation produced electronic structure changes which are not well described by the rigid-band model, but as these changes occur at an early stage, the model can still be used, with modified bands, to describe the continued intercalation.


On the basis of a detailed analysis, existing terminological interpretations of the concept of "software quality" have been generalized, conclusions are drawn about the correspondence of the terms used to assess the quality of general software in the process of assessing the quality of software of intelligent decision-making systems (IDMS). It has been proved that the quality of the IDMS software is a complex multi-criteria indicator that takes into account not only the performance of the individual software module as a subsystem, but also the causal relationships of the elements of the software system itself. The main differences in software quality assessment between the functional and formal approaches are shown. The structure of the criterion of guarantor capacity of decision-making systems software has been investigated and conclusions have been drawn on the influence of its main components on the evaluation of IDMS software and on the provision of reliable computing process. On the basis of the analysis of the list of attributes and the quality metric of the IDMS software, it is established that the guarantee is determined by the reliability of the software structure itself and is characterised by the restoration of the functional state after failures or failures. The interrelationship and influence of IDMS software design quality indicators on the characteristics and sub-characteristics of the IDMS software is established, an example of the interrelationship between characteristics (factors) and quality indicators, the method of measuring quality indicators and design processes is given. On the basis of the conducted research, IDMS software denial regimes have been defined and their impact on the decision-making process has been shown. Detailed classes of failures and their influence on compliance of IDMS software with the task of development are shown. It has been shown that the reliability of IDMS is a dynamic concept, manifested in time, and is strongly dependent on the presence / absence of defects in the interaction. A detailed analysis of methods of software quality assurance and control has been carried out, and conclusions have been drawn on the possibility of their application IDMS software. The maturity model of the IDMS software has been improved and validated, and the maturity structure of the software as an indicator of the quality of the IDMS has been introduced.


Purpose: Mammographic breast density is an established and strong risk factor for breast cancer. Recently, a number of common genetic susceptibility loci have been identified as risk factors for breast cancer. We present the first report on the relative contribution of 76 validated breast cancer susceptibility loci, in the context of a polygenic risk score (PRS), to the breast density and breast cancer association. We also examine whether the PRS improves prediction of the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) 5-year risk model above and beyond breast density and clinical factors included in the model. Methods: The study population included 1643 cases and 2397 controls from three independent epidemiologic studies: the Mayo Mammography Health Study (MMHS), the Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Study (MCBCS), and the Bavarian Breast Cancer Cases and Control Study (BBCC). Data collected on patients in each of the studies included clinical risk factor, BI-RADS breast density [a) almost entirely fat; b) scattered fibroglandular densities; c) heterogeneously dense; and d) extremely dense] and genotypes for the 76 breast cancer susceptibility loci known at the time of the study. We formed a PRS from the reported per-SNP odds ratios (OR) for 76 known breast cancer susceptibility loci, and evaluated whether BI-RADS density and the PRS were independent risk factors for breast cancer, when adjusted for age, 1/BMI and study. We also incorporated the PRS (OR) into the BCSC 5-year risk model and estimated 5-year risk for the MMHS nested case-control study of 339 invasive cases, 765 controls. Results: BI-RADS density (p Conclusion: BI-RADS density and the PRS are both important risk factors for breast cancer that can be included in breast cancer risk models to improve prediction of this disease. Using these models to identify high and low-risk risk groups will facilitate improved tailored screening and primary prevention interventions. Citation Format: Celine M. Vachon, V. Shane Pankratz, Christopher G. Scott, Lothar Haeberle, Elad Ziv, Matthew R. Jensen, Kathleen R. Brandt, Dana H. Whaley, Janet E. Olson, Katharina Heusinger, Carolin C. Hack, Sebastian M. Jud, Matthias W. Beckmann, Jeffrey A. Tice, Kristen S. Purrington, Thomas A. Sellers, Karla Kerlikowske, Peter A. Fasching, Fergus J. Couch. The contribution of common breast cancer susceptibility loci to the breast density and breast cancer association and the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) risk model. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 940. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-940


The change in ciliate populations was investigated in bottom sediment at a place 2 km upstream from the Marukobashi Bridge of the Tamagawa River about once a month from April 1976 to May 1978. The numbers of viable heterotrophic bacteria, diatoms and flagellates as foods of ciliates were also counted. A similar pattern of the seasonal change in ciliate populations was observed for two years. In winter Paramecium caudatum, P. trichium, Colpidium colpoda and Chilodonella cucullulus dominated. The number of each species was 103-104 cells per ml of sediment. Perispira ovum increased up to 103 cells per ml at the end of winter. From spring to early summer Spirostomum spp. dominated, and their number increased up to 103 per ml. From summer to autumn Loxodes spp. and P. caudatum were predominant. The number of each species was 102-103 per ml. Frontonia leucas also appeared in summer. Stentor, Metopus es, Litonotus and Acineria did not change seasonally. Interspecific relations, such as predation (of Perispira and Loxodes on Euglena and diatoms, respectively) and competition (between bacteria-feeding ciliates and metazoa such as oligochaetes and diptera larvae), may be some of the important factors controlling the seasonal change in ciliate populations.


This study was designed to evaluate the age-specific varicella-zoster virus (VZV) seroprevalence in children less than 5 years old who presented at a healthy child outpatient clinic and to compare the results with the data from other countries. The study was a cross-sectional study determining the prevalence of serum IgG against VZV in children who presented to the Healthy Child Outpatient Clinic of the Gazi University Medical Faculty and who were aged between 9 months and 5 years, in the 3rd--97th percentile as regards height and weight, not suffering from any disease, and without a history of vaccination against varicella. The information on the children was obtained from a questionnaire, by physical examination, and from patient files. Serum samples were obtained from babies and children at 9, 15, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months. The 295 serum samples were kept at --20 degrees C following centrifugation until used for serologic analysis (ELISA). The 292 children of the study group consisted of 168 males (57.5 per cent) and 124 females (42.5 per cent). VZV antibodies were found to be positive in 65 children aged between 9 months and 5 years (22.3 per cent); 22.0 per cent in males and 22.6 per cent in females with no statistically significant difference between the sexes (p>0.05). The VZV seroprevalence was highest at the 48th and 60th months and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.000).


The purpose of technology is to ease people's daily routines. Technology is applied everywhere, even in the field of education. The numbers of students who join at least one online course are increasing every year. This study is established to find out the factors and barriers of online learning. Barrier is defined as something (such as fence or natural obstacle) that prevents processes from being complete or running smoothly. Even before the using of online learning, it is imperative to address the barriers that can cause failure in online education. Hence, this research aims to investigate the relationships between attitude, technology skills, personal skills and interruption with the barriers contributing to effective online learning among undergraduates. Simple random sampling technique was employed to collect the data. Four hundred one undergraduates of UiTM Johor became the respondents of this study. Partial Least Squares (PLS) method was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that attitude and technology skills were significant determinants to the barriers of effective online learning among students. Findings from the study could benefit higher learning institutions to enhance and improve this platform in the future.


Pakistan's economy is presently growing at just under 6 percent annually. The country's GDP could grow by 30 percent if women and men participated equally in the workforce. Women's education levels in Pakistan have increased over time. Yet, only a quarter of women are workingcompared to over 80 percent of men. The gap is staggering and closing it represents a huge economic opportunity for Pakistan. In addition to Pakistan's economy, closing gender gaps is also good for Pakistan's businesses. The competitiveness and growth of Pakistan's firms could be significantly enhanced if firms could bring into their company diverse skills and talents, which are urgently needed to be more productive and innovative. Despite competition over attracting and retaining skilled employees, few companies have widened their search for talent and skills by tapping into Pakistan's vastly underutilized female talent pool. A 2017 study by The Pakistan Business Council's (PBC) Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (CERB) found that womenrepresent less than 20 percent of the workforce of 90 percent of the surveyed PBC member firms. Although this is higher than the national average of less than 10 percent women in the formal, private sector workforce, in most cases, women continue to be underrepresented in formal employment and earn less than men for equivalent work. Pakistan's private sector has a critical role to play in ensuring that women have access to more and better jobs. These case studies are part of a series of initiatives that IFC and PBC have jointly led over the past year to mobilize more companies in Pakistan to increase gender diversity in their workforce. The aim of the case studies is to provide guidance to Pakistani firms on successful approaches for recruiting, retaining, and promoting more women and achieving better business outcomes. The case studies feature five PBC member companies that are promoting greater inclusion of women in their workforce in five thematic areas: Artistic Milliners Limited for the Women in Business Leadership theme, HBL for the Anti-Sexual Harassment theme, Interloop Limited for the Women in Non-Traditional Roles theme, National Foods Limited for the Family-Friendly Policies theme, and Packages Limited for the Equal Opportunity Recruitment Practices theme. HBL and Packages are IFC investment clients and Artistic Milliners and Interloop are IFC advisory clients.


Meter-in, meter-out and bleed-off circuits are widely utilized in order to adjust the speed of a hydraulic actuator by using a flow control valve and in order to regulate the pressure of a hydraulic volume by using a simple on-off valve. In these circuits, a relief valve serves either to maintain constant system pressure or to protect the system from over-pressure loading. The relief valve of a bleed-off circuit is the second case frequently undergoing on-off action during operation. It makes the analysis of the pressure control characteristics of the circuit highly difficult. In this paper, steady-state flow rate, pressure, heat loss and efficiency of the three circuits are reexamined and basic experiments far obtaining the characteristics of a pump and relief valve are conducted. Finally, simple empirical first-order dynamic models of decreasing and increasing pressure were separately proposed and verified by comparison with experiment. As the result, the basis for the theoretical analysis of the pressure control characteristics of a bleed-off circuit using a simple on-off valve is established.


Chinese hamster ovary fibroblasts were synchronized by mitotic selection and showed cytogenetic lethally acting radiation damages, which depended on age at irradiation time. The development of cell cultures was followed by counting of the killed cells in the 3rd daughter generation of the irradiated ones and by evaluation of the colony size spectra 73.5 h after innoculation. At a dose of 300 rads two narrow but high peaks of radiation sensitivity were induced, which appeared at the beginning and at the end of the S-phase of the cell cycle and therefore are reduced to conformation changes of the DNA. Consequently the DNA-super-structures linking pieces of the nucleoprotein-fibre during fastening to, and detaching from, the nuclear membrane are assumed to be the loci of the increased radiation sensitivity.


In academia, most courses in DSP have historically been restricted to the graduate level and, at that level, the emphasis is often on the mathematics and theoretical issues. Following tradition, most curricula start with circuit theory and progress through continuous-time Fourier analysis to finally reach DSP. Motivation is the key issue. Most engineering students would probably testify that their initial courses are usually only endured, not enjoyed. In a marketplace with many students, educators could use the first course as a "gate." However, many of the curriculum changes at the entry level have turned this attitude around by involving students in projects and activities that convey some interesting aspect of the engineering process. The goal is almost always to motivate further study and questioning, and this is where DSP has some natural advantages.


How do you get beyond "Marketing 101" to make an impression that will distinguish your practice from all others? Author Andrea Eliscu believes that it is time for group practices to move beyond marketing basics and expand the definition to include community integration.


This paper describes the 'Out There and In Here' project, in which we explore the combined use of mobile technologies and staticindoor technologies to support novel forms of collaborative field trip learning. We are currently developing a system to support balanced collaboration between geology students 'Out There' in the field, and their peers located in a specially designed 'In Here' laboratory. Here we explain the background to the project, and describe data collected on perceptions of field learning in geology that is directing design. In particular, we discuss bringing the 'Out There' experience 'In Here', whilst also enhancing the field experience. This requires the concurrent development of technologies and activities, and balancing the control required for effective learning with scope for user creativity.


Introduction: Results from our behavioral pharmacology laboratory indicate that male rats that self-administer cocaine as adolescents exhibit decreased vulnerability to subsequent cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine-seeking, as compared with adults. An important neuroplasticity-related gene that influences such drug-seeking behavior and differs across age groups is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (bdnf). BDNF mRNA is expressed in regions of the brain known to be critical for reward and reinforcement-related behavior. Based on reports that BDNF in the prefrontal cortex attenuates cue-induced reinstatement in adult rats, whereas BDNF in the nucleus accumbens increases reinstatement, we hypothesized that cocaine-seeking would correlate with higher expression of BDNF mRNA in the prefrontal cortex but lower expression in the nucleus accumbens of younger animals compared with adults.


A marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) with atypical external genitalia was phenotypically and genetically characterized. Testosterone concentration correlated with that of female marmosets. Externally, there was only one opening for the urethra. Internal genitalia were characteristic of those of female marmosets, and consisted of ovaries, with follicles in various developmental stages, and uterus. Microscopically, a normal vaginal structure was found. An XX/XY chimerism and high steroid hormone values are normally found in common marmosets. Genetic analysis was used for in vivo determination of sex. The Y-linked zinc finger protein gene (ZFY) last intron, and sex-determining region Y gene (SRY) exon were found by use of polymerase chain reaction and posterior sequencing analyses, indicating that this marmoset had Y-linked chromosome sequences. Normal SRY exons can, therefore, be associated with female internal sexual organs in marmosets; this may be the first XY female described in non-human primates.


The purpose of this study was to identify services and programs that will be needed for helping senior residents to be aging healthfully and comfortably in the university-based retirement community (UBRC). This study conducted a questionnaire survey targeting about 900 faculty and staff members in one of national universities. A total of 214 valid responses were analyzed for identifying necessary services and programs. The study also analyzed the differences in resident's opinions depending on their intention to live in the UBRC. Over 65% of the respondents were willing to live in the UBRC. The most desirable services were healthcare services including emergency care and nursing care and cleaning and laundry services. Regarding the educational and recreational programs, future residents chose physical exercises such as swimming and tennis and music activities such as playing instruments and singing as the most interesting programs they want to experience in UBRC. Most of the respondents were interested in mentoring college students or international students who come to the university for their degrees. The findings from the study should provide a guideline when offering services, programs, and activities in the future UBRC in Korea.


Aceclofenac is an effective analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug prescribed widely in various types of pain and inflammation. Aceclofenac is partially insoluble in water and aqueous fluid and as such it exhibits poor variable oral bioavailability. Aceclofenac needs enhancement of solubility and dissolution rate to improve its oral bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. Among the various approaches to enhance the solubility and dissolution rate of poorly soluble drugs complexation with cyclodextrin is an effective and industrially accepted technique. In the present investigation, Complexation of aceclofenac with β-CD was carried out by using various techniques like kneading method, co-precipitate method & solvent evaporation method and compared with physical mixture method. From the various characterization studies like drug content, production yield & in vitro dissolution study, batch abc-3 by kneading method was selected as optimised batch. Optimised batch was also studied for FTIR and DSC


In the second half of the twentieth century, the intellectual centers of the world moved away from physics and chemistry into the field of biology. The main centers were reportedly the Cold Spring Harbor and the Basel Institute for Immunology (BII). However, great science came from many other fine institutions as well. So what was the difference? It is seldom heard that research provides fun. One of my colleagues said that science should be fun, if not, then we shouldn't do it! We, therefore, decided to make a whole supplement of the Scandinavian Journal of Immunology (SJI) in order to document it! This issue is made to honour a founding member of the BII – Ivan Lefkovits, who has been my colleague and friend since the 1980s. At the time, I too was a member of the BII. However, the purpose of this 'Festschrift' is to credit the idea and work that went into making such an Institution by illustrating the contribution of one of its finest members. As a guest editor, another former member of the BII – Jack Kettman did a wonderful job in assembling the past life from the 'center of science' in whose corridors and lab-linking stairways one could see Ivan setting 'biologically relevant standards for personal interactions in having fun'. Since having fun is a sign of creativity, the whole atmosphere had an unexpected, yet desired effect on its perpetrators. It gave them inspiration and high motivation. This consequently stimulated many brilliant ideas, some of which can be found in this issue of the SJI. Therefore, the scientific reports in this supplement are more or less linked to the fun we all had in the great atmosphere of the BII. In support, I include below selected commentaries from the members or former employees of the BII. The photographs illustrate the training and professional activities of Ivan Lefkovits and his collaborators working in Laboratory 12 over the years, from the opening of BII in 1971 until the end. The authors of the first commentary and Ivan Lefkovits contributed photographs.


The food industry is one of the largest water consumers in industry. Using large amounts of water, however, is undesirable from an environmental point of view because freshwater is a scarce good in many regions of the world and undesirable from an economic point of view because high water loadings require high amounts of energy for dehydration and signify high amounts of wastewater. This thesis uses wheat, one of the major crops in human nutrition, to study the influence of low water concentrations on two relevant processes in wheat processing: The separation of starch and gluten . Separation is often performed using 10–15 L water per kg dry matter. Instead, starch and gluten can be separated by inducing shear using 0.5 L water per kg dry matter. In this thesis we make use of xylanases to hydrolyze arabinoxylan present in wheat, thereby releasing the water associated with arabinoxylan. In doing so, shear-induced starch–gluten separation is performed at even more concentrated conditions. The influence of arabinoxylan hydrolysis in wheat dough at low water contents is studied in chapters 2 and 3. The hydrolysis of gluten . Hydrolysis is currently performed using approximately 4 L water per kg dry mater. In this thesis we perform gluten hydrolysis at solid concentrations of up to 70%, thereby investigating the changes in the hydrolysis reaction and the functionality of the resulting hydrolysates. Wheat gluten hydrolysis at low water contents is studied in chapters 4, 5 and 6. This thesis consists of seven chapters. Chapter 1 gives a general introduction of the thesis. In chapter 2 , wheat dough rheology at low water contents below 40% and the influence of xylanases is studied. A reduction in water content from 43.5–44.8% (representing optimal Farinograph water absorption) to 34% (the lowest water content where a dough forms) results in a non-linear increase in the dough consistency, elastic modulus G', and a decrease in the maximum creep compliance Jc,max of 1–2 orders of magnitude. Addition of xylanases has the same effect on the dough consistency, G' and Jc,max as an increase in water content of 2–5% (on a water basis). Tan δ is hardly and Jel not influenced by xylanase addition showing that the influence of xylanases on the mechanism of hydration is negligible. In chapter 3 , shear-induced starch–gluten separation with the help of xylanases is studied at water contents from 43.5% to 34%. Addition of xylanases at the standard water content of 43.5% results in a slurry without any separation. As a result, lower water contents are used. At water contents below 40%, the local formation of gluten clusters is observed with and without xylanases addition. However, opposed to shear-induced separation at 43.5% water without xylanase, the gluten patches do not migrate to the center of the cone because of the densely packed dough and an inhomogeneity in the shear field. Nevertheless, gluten clusters can be concentrated up to 60% (N×5.7) protein. Similar to chapter 2, xylanase addition allows water savings of 3–5% (on a water basis). Chapter 4 introduces enzymatic wheat gluten hydrolysis at high solid concentrations and describes the influence of high-solid hydrolysis on the resulting functional properties of the gluten hydrolysates. Wheat gluten can be hydrolyzed at solid concentrations of up to 60% (w/w). The water solubility of the dried hydrolysates is independent of the solid concentration during hydrolysis, just like the foam stabilizing properties at degrees of hydrolysis (DH%) below 8% At DH% above 8%, high solid concentrations even increase the foam stabilizing properties of the resulting hydrolysates, which is related to the presence of more peptides with a molecular mass >25 kDa. Furthermore, an increase in solid concentration results in an increase of the volumetric productivity. Despite the advantages of high-solid gluten hydrolysis, we also observe lower hydrolysis rates in high-solid gluten hydrolysis compared to low-solid gluten hydrolysis at constant enzyme-to-substrate ratios. The factors causing this hydrolysis rate limitation are investigated in chapter 5 . It is shown that enzyme inhibition, the water activity, and mass transfer limitations do not impede the hydrolysis up to 50% solids. However, the hydrolysis rate limitation can be explained by a second-order enzyme auto-inactivation rate along with the higher enzyme concentrations used. At solid concentrations above 50%, the hydrolysis rate further decreases due to mass transfer limitations. Furthermore, the addition of enzyme after 24 h at high solid concentrations hardly increases the DH%, suggesting that the maximum attainable DH% decreases at high solid concentrations. This DH% limitation is explained by a reduced enzyme activity due to a decline in water activity. Based on the findings in chapters 4 and 5, a direct hydrolysis of gluten present in wheat flour at high solid concentrations is investigated in chapter 6 , thereby omitting the starch–gluten separation. At a constant protein concentration, the protease activity is higher for wheat flour hydrolysis (at 40% total solids) than for vital wheat gluten hydrolysis (at 7.2% total solids) in the initial 6 h of hydrolysis, despite the high starch content in wheat flour and consequently lower water content. This is related to the starch granules in wheat flour, preventing the aggregation of (native) gluten. At wheat flour concentrations above 50% and for longer reaction times the positive effect of starch disappears. This is explained by mass transfer limitations and reduced water activities in the wheat flour slurry or dough, respectively. Chapter 7 summarizes and generalizes the main findings of this thesis and compares the current status in starch–gluten separation and gluten hydrolysis with the concentrated separation and hydrolysis processes developed in this study. Water and energy savings of at least 50% are possible when separating and hydrolyzing at concentrated conditions. In the end, future prospects in high-solid wheat gluten hydrolysis are briefly discussed.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Hepatitis B virus infection is an epidemiological problem throughout the world, including in Turkey. Lamivudine is one of the hepatitis B virus reverse-transcriptase inhibitors used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Lamivudine resistance can develop not only following treatment; it can also be seen in untreated patients. This resistance is related with structural changes in the tyrosine-methionine- aspartate-aspartate motif of the polymerase enzyme gene. Our objective was to evaluate the prevalence of lamivudine resistance in Turkish chronic hepatitis B virus-infected patients with D genotype before antiviral treatment.

METHODS
Seventyseven patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection were evaluated for viral loads, HBeAg, anti-HBe antibody, ALT levels, histological activity index, and tyrosine-methionine-aspartateaspartate mutations.

RESULTS
Tyrosine-methionine-aspartateaspartate motif mutations were determined in 3 of 24 HBeAg positive and 3 of 53 anti-HBe positive patients with a rate of 7.8%. Two of the mutations were YIDD and 4 were YVDD. Median ALT value in patients with mutations was 88 IU/L (range 55-276) and histological activity index was 9 (range 6-10); these values in patients without mutations were 58 (range 19- 176) and 10 (range 2-18), respectively. Knodell fibrosis scores of patients were as follows: 0: 13.2%, 1: 28.9%, 2: 21.1%, 3: 34.2%, and 4: 2.6%. There were no significant differences between the patients regarding Knodell fibrosis scores. One patient was diagnosed as cirrhosis.

CONCLUSIONS
Evaluation of chronic hepatitis B virus patients for lamivudine resistance and planning the treatment accordingly may prevent complications and can increase the effectiveness of the treatment.


In this study, a numerical model of the tangential tensioning stress distribution of a circular saw blade tensioned by multi-spot pressure was established using theoretical analysis, and the tangential tensioning stress distribution of the circular saw blade calculated by the model was shown to be true and reliable. The effect of yield strength of the circular saw blade on the distribution of tangential tensioning stress was studied using the numerical model. The research achievements showed that a circular saw blade made with high-strength or ultra-high-strength steel yielded a better tensioning effect during the multi-spot pressure tensioning process, which could promote the application of a circular saw blade made by high-strength or ultra-high-strength steel.


A 57-year-old woman with a history of interstitial pneumonia since 5 years ago was diagnosed with a 10mm diameter tumor during the medical examination and consultation at the hospital. The tumor was palpable in the AC area of her right breast. An ultrasonography showed an irregular-shaped mass. A vacuum-assisted biopsy was performed, and the pathologicaldiagnosis was suspicious for malignancy. Then, we performed an excisionalbiopsy and confirmed the definitive diagnosis of invasive ductalcarcinoma. However, surgicalmargins were positive on the skin and lateralside; therefore, we conducted a two-stage surgery. Interstitialpneumonia was in the active phase, and she was administered sufficient amount of immunosuppressive drugs. Therefore, we performed additionalresection under localanesthesia, not generalanesthesia. Interstitial pneumonia did not worsen perioperatively, and the postoperative course was uneventful. Surgeries performed while the patient is administered with immunosuppressive drugs may cause infections and delayed wound healing. Thus, perioperative complications should be carefully considered.


INTRODUCTION HYPERURICEMIA, with and without renal involvement, has become recognized as a complication of leukemia and other allied disorders. 1 This may be seen in the untreated patient, but it is more commonly observed following therapy by those agents causing rapid cell destruction.* We wish to report such a case that was followed closely for eight months. REPORT OF CASE A 45-year-old white man, American seaman, was admitted to the U. S. Public Health Service Hospital, San Francisco, on Jan. 6, 1954, because of swelling in the neck. He had been perfectly well until 10 days prior to admission, when he noticed nodular enlargements in his neck. These were neither painful nor tender, but they continued to increase in size gradually. He was otherwise asymptomatic, and past history was noncontributory. Physical examination revealed a short slightly obese white man with moderate pallor. Temperature was 100 F; pulse rate, 92; respiration rate,


Background/Aims: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Spyglass-guided electrohydraulic lithotripsy (EHL) for difficult common bile duct stones (CBD) not amenable to conventional endoscopic therapy. Design: A retrospective study evaluating the efficacy of Spyglass-guided EHL in treating difficult CBD stones, in a single tertiary care center. Patients and Methods: All patients who underwent Spyglass-guided EHL from 2012 to 2013 were compared with a historical cohort who had ECSWL. Results: A total number of 13 patients underwent Spyglass-guided EHL, 8 (61.5%) of them were males. The mean age was 46.5 ± 5.6 years. Bile duct clearance was achieved in 13 (100%) of them. Seventy-six percent required only one Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to clear the CBD, 7.7% required two ERCPs, and 15.4% required three ERCPs. Adverse effects (cholangitis) occurred in one patient (10%), whereas only 30 patients (64.4%) of the ESWL group had complete CBD stone clearance. Thirty-seven percent required one ERCP to clear the CBD, 35.6% required two ERCPs, and 20% required three ERCPs. Adverse effects happened in seven (15.5%) patients, where five (11%) had cholangitis and two (4.4%) had pancreatitis. Conclusion: Although a retrospective design with a small sample size, we concluded that Spyglass-guided EHL is an effective procedure in treating difficult CBD stones.


- The paper is an attempt to analyze Vehicle Control System implementation using CAN Protocol. In this paper we have given an effective way to increase the vehicle safety. The ARM based data acquisition system that uses ADC to bring all control data from analog to digital format. The communication module is embedded networking by CAN which has efficient data transfer rate up to 1Mbps. The CAN Protocol it was necessary for the different control systems (and their sensors) to exchange information between ECU. This was usually done by discrete interconnection of the different systems (i.e. point to point wiring). The requirement for information exchange has then grown to such an extent that a cable network with a length of up to several miles and many connectors was required.


This paper proposes a simple programming language that is a kind of functional concise script for creating a simulation environment with mobile robots as a 3D software toolkit for education. Most robotics simulation toolkits require professional knowledge regarding development language and their APIs, and these prerequisites present a significant obstacle in implementing robotics simulations. In order to resolve these problems, we adopted a functional concise script composed of simplified service commands and minimum options to build a simulation environment. In experiments, we educated high school students and teachers on how to use the proposed robot simulation creation toolkit, and then verified that they could build a robotics simulation environment and control simulated robots easily in a two-day training course.


A modification of the high temperature – dilute acid (HTDA) method for deuterium labelling of aromatic compounds has been applied to the H–D exchange of a number of cyclic and acyclic alkenes. Cyclopentene, cyclohexene, cyclododecene, and tetramethylethylene have been completely exchanged in excellent yield. 1-Methylcyclopentene and 1-methylcyclohexene have also been perdeuterated and cycloheptene and cyclooctene partially labelled but require spinning band distillation or preparative glpc for separation from rearrangement products. A variety of C5–C8 acyclic alkenes have also been treated under HTDA conditions.


Abstract : The long-term goal of this effort is to develop scalable, physically based parameterizations for lateral mixing in the stratified ocean on scales of 0.1-10 km that can be implemented in larger-scale ocean models. These parameterizations will incorporate the effects of local ambient conditions including latitude, mean stratification and mesoscale flows. Another ultimate goal is to develop a more comprehensive picture of horizontal and vertical mixing processes in the ocean stratified interior.


Many scholars have dedicated their studies to understanding the kind of assistance given to small business. Likewise, numerous studies have concentrated on how government in particular, through a small business policy, can be instrumental in providing business support. This article evaluates South Africa's small business policy by concentrating on its objectives, outputs and outcomes. Studies evaluating small business policy according to its objectives, outputs and outcomes, have been limited. Such policy evaluation goes beyond merely reporting to understanding why certain phenomena take place. As an emerging economy, South Africa is in dire need of well-developed policies. This article proposes that understanding the link between small business policy and the age and location of a business may help government to refine policy formulation and design. Using a survey method and cross-sectional research design, the sample size of 340 respondents consisted of start-up and established business owners. This study found that not the age of the business, but only its location (the metropolitan municipality where the business is located) has a statistically significant effect on the objectives, outputs and outcomes of the small business policy. These findings should assist both national and international policymakers to identify specific context-bound interventions relevant to the location of businesses with a view to improving them.


The paper is of particular interest in that it highlights the remarkable similarity between the fundamental work of W. W. Boone and of Novikov in the area of word and conjugacy problems. *n XXIX 205(2), Britton uses his Lemma 4 to replace Boone's complicated combinatorial arguments concerning cancellation by shorter group-theoretical arguments. Also in XXXIII 470, the present author uses Britton's Theorem A (a generalisation of his Lemma 4) to prove that the groups studied by Boone and Britton are groups with standard basis. Indeed the notion of a group with standard basis arises directly from the Boone-Britton groups. (In contrast to APiPa , however, the procedure for transforming elements into normal form is not recursive since the word problem for these groups is unsolvable.) It is thus the case that the group-theoretical methods stemming from Britton's Lemma 4 may be used in place of the lengthy combinatorial arguments of Novikov (and Fridman) just as they may be used in place of Boone's combinatorial arguments. DONALD COLLINS


ABSTRACT Olianatrivia riberai n. gen., n. sp. (Mollusca, Caenogastropoda), a singular Ovulidae from the Bartonian (middle Eocene) of Catalonia (Spain). Shells of an Ovulidae species with unusual morphological features have been collected in the axial part of the Oliana anticline, Catalonia: Olianatrivia riberai n. gen., n. sp. (Mollusca, Caenogastropoda) whose shape and ornamentation remind some Triviinae. According to the chronostratigraphy of the South-Pyrenean basin, it belongs to a subrecifal facies, reworked by storm dynamics, of a Late Bartonian age (Middle Eocene). It is proposed to place O. riberai n. gen., n. sp. within the Pediculariinae, a subfamily of Ovulidae (Cypraeoidea), close to Cypropterina ceciliae (De Gregorio, 1880) from the Veronese Early Lutetian.


Solar radiation or also referred to as solar power is the general expression for electromagnetic radiation emitted by the Sun. Direct solar radiation is an important factor in global solar radiation and is very influential in the efficiency evaluation of various applications for solar energy. For countries like Sri Lanka, installing a solar radiation instrument in rural areas is a challenge. Thus, both scientific and economically, measuring solar radiation without installing measuring instruments is an advantage. The aim of this study is to development of a mathematical model to predict solar radiation where solar radiation measurement instruments are not installed. The Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was used to verify the predictions of the mathematical model. Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) analysis was used for the development of a mathematical model to predict solar radiation. The model with the highest R2 value (0.5973) was chosen from the 127 equations as the best model that describes the solar radiation that reaches the surface of the earth. The dataset used for this study was meteorological data from the four month HI-SEAS weather station and are composed of ten attributes including date, time, radiation (H), temperature (Tair), pressure (P), humidity (φ), sunrise time, sunset time, wind direction (D), and speed (S). The angle of declination (δ) and sunshine hours (N) were calculated using the dataset. For the training of the neural network, 80 % of the data from the HI-SEAS dataset was used. The remaining data were used for testing both mathematical and ANN models. Results obtained from the multiple linear regression method and the ANN method was compared with the measured values. The experimental results suggested that the mathematical model was predicted the solar radiation with ±100 Wm-2 tolerance for both measured and ANN values.


The Global Yield Gap Atlas project (GYGA - http://yieldgap.org ) has undertaken a yield gap assessment following the protocol recommended by van Ittersum et. al. (van Ittersum et. al., 2013). One part of the activities consists of collecting and processing weather data as an input for crop simulation models in sub-Saharan African countries including Kenya. This publication covers weather data for 10 locations in Kenya. The project looked for good quality weather data in areas where crops are pre-dominantly grown. As locations with good public weather data are sparse in Africa, the project developed a method to generate weather data from a combination of observed and other external weather data. One locations holds actually measured weather data, the other 9 locations show propagated weather data. The propagated weather data consist on TRMM rain data (or NASA POWER if TRMM is not available) and NASA POWER Tmax, Tmin, and Tdew data corrected based on calibrations with short-term (<10 years) observed weather data. sources (Van Wart et.al. 2015).


The patient was a 68-year-old woman, diagnosed with acute myelomonocytic leukemia with normal karyotype and FLT3-ITD-negative status in May 2019. She had achieved complete remission (CR) after "7+3" intensive induction chemotherapy and maintained CR by consolidation chemotherapy. However, she relapsed with swelling of the lips and gums in January 2020. She did not achieve CR by salvage chemotherapy with cytarabine-aclarubicin-G-CSF regimen. Comprehensive genomic analysis of leukemic cells revealed the presence of FLT3-N676K mutation, which was undetectable by companion diagnostics at the time. Complete remission with incomplete count recovery was obtained on day 28 after initiation of gilteritinib monotherapy, and the lip and gum swelling improved rapidly. However, she relapsed on day 106 after gilteritinib administration, and gilteritinib was discontinued. Genomic analysis at recurrence revealed NRAS mutation for the first time. Finally, the patient died of the uncontrolled primary disease. This is a case in which comprehensive gene mutation analysis was useful in determining a treatment strategy.


Therapy of radiation is chosen therapy for oral cancer especially Carcininoma Nasopharynx, however, often caused changes in normal tissue in the oral cavity. Based on the anamneses of the patient, they have dry mouth since the disturbance of the function of parotid salivary gland has causing the saliva amount become lower. This condition can encourage the caries process. From all of the five cases occurred after the radiation between one month until six years the time, extended damage is seen, demineralization with a small cavity, and discoloring teeth color into brown.


The objective of this research was to test hot spring water as a source of salt to improve tomato quality under the hydroponic system. This research was conducted at Yamagata University, in Japan from February to July 2017. Salt stress was induced using salts of hot spring wastewater collected from Yupoka Onsen (Tsuruoka, Japan). The treatments were EC 2, 4, 8 12, and 16 mS/cm which were arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with five replications. Tomato plants were grown at EC 2 until flowering and then subjected to different EC concentrations until harvesting. The data were collected on plant growth parameters and fruit quality. Fruits were harvested at the red stage until the 5th truss. The results showed that fruits' Soluble Solids Content, organic acid, Nitrate contents and Sugar: Acid ratio increased significantly at EC 16 mS/cm and in the upper trusses compared to EC 2 and in the lower trusses. In contrast, fruit weight significantly decreased at EC 16 mS/cm and in upper trusses. Leaf thickness, size and SPAD, and specific leaf weight significantly declined at EC 16 mS/cm and upper leaves compared to EC 2 and in lower leaves. Plant height started to decline significantly after three weeks of treatment at EC 16 compared to EC 2.


This marks my final issue as Senior Editor of JUTLP and I would like to congratulate the new senior editorial team: Romy Lawson, Alisa Percy and Dominique Parrish. I know I leave the journal in very good hands and the leadership team will ensure that JUTLP will continue to champion teaching and learning in higher education. I would like to also thank all the people who have contributed to the success of this journal: the authors, the reviewers, the members of the editorial board, and those who have contributed to the editing and desktop publishing processes. I would also like to thank you , the reader – without you there is no purpose for our writing. I feel very privileged to introduce the editorial for this special issue of JUTLP as improving opportunities for sessional staff has been a passion throughout my academic career. I would particularly like to thank all who have contributed to the reviewing for this edition and wish to congratulate Marina and Karina for their hard work in producing this edition and in exciting outcomes from the Benchmarking leadership and advancement of standards for sessional teaching project. Geraldine Lefoe, Senior Editor


This study examined the community involvement in environmental governance in Nigeria. The main objectives were to identify prevailing environmental problems in Nigeria and examine the community's participation in its management.  To achieve this, a process approach was followed in which secondary data, sourced from text books, articles in journals and the internet were utilized. The study revealed that communities in Africa had little or no role to play in the governance of their environment. The study showed that government alone played this role which has been seen to be ineffective considering the extent of air pollution, oil spillage and deforestation in the urban and rural environments in the continent.  On the basis of this, the study therefore recommended among others things that, participatory approach to environmental governance including the government, the private sector; multinationals and the community were    required to effectively harness the environment. The study also recommends that policies should be strengthened while environmental education should be a basic requirement for communities. Keywords: Environment, Governance, Community, Nigeria.


Fraudulent acts have caused many casualties bank customers. therefore necessary lawsto protect customer responsive acting in good faith. With the issuance of Law No.8/2010, the bank actually had a legal basis to delay the transaction. Transaction delayis an act of financial services providers to not carry out transactions on their owninitiative, or upon order of the investigator, the prosecutor and the judge's order. ByLaw No. 8/2010, the bank can delay the transaction and refund the remaining funds tocustomers who become victims of fraud to protect consumers acting in good faith.


The existence of enormous strain fields in self-assembled quantum dots has led to the expectation of dramatic effects of piezoelectricity. However, only linear piezoelectric tensors were used in all previous calculations. We calculate the piezoelectric properties of self-assembled quantum dots using the linear and quadratic piezoelectric tensors derived from first-principles density functional theory. We find that the previously ignored quadratic term has similar magnitude as the linear term and the two terms tend to cancel each other. We show the effect of piezoelectricity on electron and hole energy levels and wave functions as well as on correlated absorption spectra.


Radiation sensitive indicator based on dyed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) containing acid – sensitive dye (bromo-chloro-phenol blue, BCPB) and chloral hydrate has been developed. These plastic film dosimeters undergo color change from blue (the alkaline form of bromo-chloro-phenol blue, BCPB) to yellow (the acidic form of bromo-chloro-phenol blue, BCPB), indicating acid formation. The concentration of formed acids in the films containing different concentrations of chloral hydrate was calculated at different doses. These films can be used as dosimeters for food dosimetry applications where the maximum of the useful dose ranges are between 1-10 kGy depending on chloral hydrate concentration in the film. The films have the advantage of negligible humidity effects on response in the range of relative humidity from 0 to 100% as good post irradiation stability when stored in the dark at room temperature. The energy band gap of the prepared films was calculated and the effect of gamma radiation on its value was determined. Direct and indirect transitions were illustrated from the absorption spectra.


In water distribution networks in South Africa, water is often fed under gravity from a higher reservoir to another reservoir at a lower level. The high pressure head at the receiving reservoir is then dissipated through the control valves (altitude valves), or in some cases, orifice plates. The benefit of this hydropower generating application is that minimal civil works need to be done as the control valves are normally inside a control room/valve chamber. No negative environmental or social effects require mitigation and the anticipated lead times should be short.


Since the discovery of oil in Bunyoro sub-region, land-related conflicts have grown rapidly. Traditional conf lict resolution capacities, which were already in a state of disrepair, have been side-lined and the court system has been overwhelmed. Given this context, the objective of this research was to enhance the capacity of local peacebuilders to help resolve land conf licts in their communities. The research was based on an action research approach which involved three phases – exploring the issue, planning and implementing an intervention and evaluating the short-term outcomes. In the exploration phase, data was collected using focus group discussions with community members and in-depth interviews with key informants. In the intervention phase, an action team was formed to help resolve landrelated conf licts in their communities, using traditional conf lict resolution approaches. The short-term outcomes show that local peacebuilding capacities were enhanced and that many land-related conf licts were resolved using traditional conf lict resolution approaches.
Keywords: peacebuilding, land conflicts, traditional conflict resolution, Uganda


According to weight lightning trend of automobile body, necessity of resistance spot welding (RSW) of Mg alloy on automobile industry is increasing rapidly because of the highest specific strength among commercial metals. Mg alloy has low electric resistance and high thermal conductivity like as Al alloy, so that needs applying high current in short time when welding. Thick oxide film of Mg alloy pollutes the electrodes and makes partial current carrying paths when on welding. Partial current carrying paths signify excessive concentration of current. There can initiate expulsion easily and reduces electrode life rapidly. Generating partial current carrying paths and expulsions are influenced by shapes of electrode. Therefore, electrode life also influenced by shape. In this study, we perform life test of RSW electrode of radius type. Measure tensile shear load and nugget size every spot alternately. As a result, radius type electrode can extend life over twice as dome type electrode.


This comment criticizes the recently published approach of Alhaidari for solving relativistic problems. It is shown that his gauge considerations are inaccurate and that the class of exactly solvable relativistic problems is not as large as the author claims.


The fatigue of air traffic controllers (ATCOs) on duty seriously threatens air traffic safety and needs to be managed. ATCOs perform several different types of work, with each type of work having different characteristics. Nonetheless, the influence of work type on an ATCO's fatigue has yet to be demonstrated. Here, we present a field study in which the fatigue of ATCOs working in two types of work was compared based on an optimized data-driven method that was employed to detect the percentage of eyelid closure over the pupil over time (PERCLOS). Sixty-seven ATCOs working within two typical jobs (i.e., from the terminal control unit (TCU) and area control unit (ACU)) were recruited, and their fatigue was detected immediately before and after shift work using PERCLOS. Using a Spearman correlation test analysis, the results showed that the influence of work type on an ATCO's fatigue had interesting trends. Specifically, the ATCOs at the TCU who handle departures and arrivals, which include converging with and maneuvering around conflicts, retain normal circadian rhythms. Their fatigue was significantly influenced by the various demands from tasks focusing on sequencing and conflict resolution and by the time phase of a normal circadian rhythm. At the ACU, ATCOs manage flights that are mainly on route, causing monotonous monitoring and routine reporting tasks, and the ATCOs generally have frequent night shifts to handle overflights. Their fatigue was significantly influenced by the demand characteristics from tasks, but changes in fatigue rule were not consistent with a normal circadian rhythm, revealing that the ATCOs' circadian rhythms may have already been slightly disturbed. Furthermore, the interactions between task demand and circadian rhythm with an ATCO's fatigue were significantly observed in ATCOs working in the TCU but not in those in the ACU. This study provides first evidence that an ATCO's work type influences his or her fatigue. This discovery may incite stakeholders to consider work type in the management of employee fatigue, not only in the civil aviation industry but also in other transport industries.


The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship among environment, economic growth and openness in Iran for the period 1970-2011, based on the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach. The study finds a cointegrating relationship among these variables with co2 emission as dependent variables. The results imply GDP contribute most to long- as well as short-run CO2 emission growth. Estimating error correction model revealed that the speed of adjustment to restore equilibrium is -0.54 which confirms that there is a stable long-run relationship. Regarding weak impact of openness on long run CO2 growth, it seems that foreign trade in Iran stimulated by oil booms play trivial role in domestic energy consumption after controlling the income variable.


India is the largest democratic nation in the world. Democracy is considered as one of the best forms of government that allow the citizens to cast a vote and elect a government of their choice. A vote can change the future of the country as well as the fate of the citizens. It gives the ultimate power to shape the destiny of the country. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the number of electors registered is 834 million and the highest ever turnout of the voters is about 66.40%. The main reason behind this low turnout was due to constraints in the current (traditional) voting system. This paper suggests a new online voting method for Indian government elections to increase the number of voter's participation in the election process. The proposed method employs two approaches 1) Novel candidate verifiability mechanism and 2) OTP (one-time-password) mechanism. The candidate verifiability allows the candidate to check the integrity of the vote and OTP acts as an additional authentication factor to identify the voter.


Increasing numbers of children experience parental separation and formation of stepfamilies. Research into the impact of these family transitions on children's adjustment by family sociologists and psychologists has greatly increased; changes in research perspectives over the last two decades are discussed, including a focus on individual differences in children's responses and the risk and protective factors implicated, on parent-child relationships as mediators of adjustment, on the significance of within-family differences and of biological relatedness (not solely family type), and on intergenerational patterns of associations. The importance of taking account of children's perspectives on family change, and of including investigation of children's relationships and experiences beyond the immediate household, to clarify the significance of children's relations with their nonresident parents and grandparents is increasingly recognized. Controversial issues are noted, and the lessons learned for research design, if we are to understand better the implications of these family changes, which are of major social and developmental significance, are summarized.


We develop a method to create taxonomies in large social networks solely based on users group membership information. We illustrate our technique using an example of the Flickr photo sharing network. This photo sharing community is a social network that enables users to collectively store digital pictures, interact and form groups of interest. Based on our earlier research of success indicators for individual actors on the Flickr Community, we extend the focus to groups of interest. Introducing the metric "GroupConnectivity" we perform a community segmentation. We then develop a method to automatically create taxonomies without the need for folksonomies or pre-existing ontologies.


The Assembly Line Balancing (ALB) problem is a well-known manufacturing optimization problem, which determines the assignment of various tasks to an ordered sequence of stations, while optimizing one or more objectives without violating restrictions imposed on the line. As Genetic Algorithms (GAs) have established themselves as a useful optimization technique in the manufacturing field, the application of GAs to ALB problem has expanded a lot. This paper describes a generalized Pareto-based scale-independent fitness function (gp-siffGA) for solving ALB problem with worker allocation (ALB-wa) to minimize the cycle time, the variation of workload and the total cost under the constraint of precedence relationships at the same time. For this approach, first a random key-based representation method adapting the GA was proposed. Following, advanced genetic operators adapted to the specific chromosome structure and the characteristics of the ALB-wa problem were used. Moreover, Pareto dominance relationship was used to solve the ALB-wa problem without using relative preferences of multiple objectives. Finally, the performance of proposed method was validated through numerical experiments. The results indicated that the proposed approach improved the quality of solutions more than the other existing GA approaches.


The annual total yields of green forage, dry matter and protein per acre were determined for 16 Panicums under irrigation at the Gurabo Substation, Gurabo, Puerto Rico, for a period of 2 years. The grasses were harvested at 60-day intervals. Selection 15, USDA P.I. 259553 (USDA Plant Introduction Number) was the highest yielder. It produced 95.60 tons of green forage and 23.84 tons of dry matter, per acre yearly. This selection outyielded the remaining 15 Panicums at the 5-percent level. The second highest dry-matter yielder was selection 11, USDA P.I. 259565 which produced 21.12 tons of dry matter per acre yearly. Prior to each 60-day cutting all forage plots were evaluated as to the following plant characters: tillering ability, rooting at the nodes, forage volume, resistance to ergot, resistance to a leafspot caused by Cercospora fusimaculans, flowering percentage and greenness; these character values were correlated with yields of total green forage, total dry matter and total protein. The ratings were from 1 to 9, 9 representing the best condition. The best correlations obtained were those of tillering ability and forage volume with total yield. Other significant correlations, with yield, although low, were greenness (positive) and rooting at the nodes (negative). It is concluded that the plant characters of forage volume and tillering ability can be of potential value in a selection program in the genus Panicum. On the other hand, the characters of rooting at the nodes, resistance to ergot, resistance to leafspot attacks, flowering and greenness apparently are of little value as compared to forage volume and tillering ability. The excellent yielding ability, resistance to disease attack and many other desirable morphological plant characteristics of selection 15 are indications that a Guineagrass superior to the present type is available in Puerto Rico. It warrants further testing under managed grazing conditions for a final-type evaluation.


A review is given of surface magnetism. In particular the interplay of magnetization and anisotropy at a surface is discussed, after a survey of experimental and theoretical results for magnetic moment and anisotropy at surfaces or interfaces of semi-infinite magnets and thin films. Finally, the importance for surface (or interface) analysis of the random single-ion anisotropy model is stressed.


ABSTRACT Influenza is a ubiquitous infection with a spectrum ranging from mild to severe. The mystery regarding such variability in the clinical spectrum has not been fully unravelled, although a role for the complex interplay among virus characteristics, host immune response and environmental factors has been suggested. Antivirals and current vaccines have a limited role in prophylaxis and treatment because they primarily target surface glycoproteins which undergo antigenic/genetic changes under host immune pressure. Targeting conserved internal proteins could lead the way to a universal vaccine which can be used against various types/subtypes. However, this is on the distant horizon, so in the meantime, developing improved vaccines should be given high priority. In this review, we discuss where the current influenza research stands in terms of vaccines, adjuvants, and how we can better predict the vaccine strains for upcoming influenza seasons by understanding complex phenomena which drive the continuous antigenic evolution.


Drug Design, often mentioned as rational drug design or just rational design. It is defined as the study of the shape of molecules in order to determine how they will bind receptors on cells or combine with other molecules. It is based on molecular shape or architecture is an alternative to blindly testing hundreds of molecules to see if one or more of them will bind cellular or molecular targets. The drug is an organic molecule, when it is bind to target site it can either inhibit or activate the function of a bio-molecule which results in therapeutic benefit.


Key innovative technologies for I4.0 are Internet of Things (IoT), Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs), self-organizing machines (M2M), cloud computing, big data and Mixed Reality (MR). Microsoft HoloLens2 (HL2) is the new MR revolution for Industry 4.0. The proposed study addresses the potential of Node-RED IoT platform and HoloLens2 for interconnecting virtual and real things from the current scene in the MR window. The augmented holograms on scenes interface the physical object and link behaviours to them seamlessly and regardless of their heterogeneous technologies. A lightweight framework for interconnecting virtual and real things in HoloLens 2 via Node-RED is proposed. The framework uses open-source tools and standard protocols like IoT protocols, Microsoft WebSocket, MRTK for Unity, HL2 APIs and Node-RED nodes used to interact with Python or ROS processes. More detailed experimental analysis will be performed in the future in order to prove that this framework is enough practicable and stable.


Blood plasma thyroxine, triiodothyronine, thyroxine-binding globulin, and thyrotropic hormone have been radioimmunoassayed in 148 patients with rubromycosis. Reduced function of the thyroid has been detected in 39% of patients. Specific antifungal therapy does not essentially influence the function of the hypophyseal-thyroid system.


This research investigates the professional trajectory of merchants in Early Republic South Carolina. The goal is to show that southern commerce in this era is more complex than what has been claimed in the current scholarship, which is dominated by discussions of northern merchants. This has been done by examining Charleston Directories from 1790 to 1819 and tracking individual merchants, their professions prior to and after being merchants, and their addresses through the entire period. Quantitatively examining the data compiled shows a complexity and level of risk in middling commerce that is absent in scholarship on Early Republic commerce in the South. Showing this level of dynamism illustrates the importance of understanding southern middling commerce in Early Republic America. It also shows that more research on middling merchants is vital for a full understanding of American export trade in the Early Republic.


An ex-husband, divorced for about a year, travels to Chicago where his ex-wife lives. He first obtains a loaded gun from the home of his deceased father, and then drives to his ex-wife's house. From the bushes next to the house, he sees her in the kitchen and the man he suspects is the ex-wife's lover giving the husband's female toddler a bath. The exhusband turns away from the window, but is arrested the next day after the gun is discovered on him by a police officer. Assume that a neighbor of the ex-wife saw the ex-husband in the bushes and reported it to the exwife, who now adamantly wants charges pressed against the ex-husband.


Vaginal cancer is a rare gynecological malignancy, mainly treated by radiotherapy and surgery. However, the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on patients with vaginal cancer has not been extensively evaluated. The aim of the present study was to assess the feasibility and efficacy of irinotecan and cisplatin in the management of patients with vaginal squamous cell cancer (SCC). Two patients with International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FIGO) stage I and one patient with FIGO stage II vaginal SCC were treated with irinotecan (240 mg) and cisplatin (100 mg) every 3-4 weeks. The effect of chemotherapy after 2-4 courses was assessed and the next step of treatment was determined according to the outcome. In the present study, all 3 patients had complete remission after 2-4 courses of chemotherapy. In case 1, the patient received a total of 6 courses of chemotherapy and had no recurrence after 45 months of follow-up. In case 2, the patient received 4 courses of chemotherapy and partial vaginal resection, and had no recurrence after 48 months of follow-up. In case 3, the patient underwent laparoscopic radical surgery and peritoneal vaginoplasty after 2 courses of chemotherapy, and no residual tumors were identified in the resected tissues on postoperative pathological examination. Effective neoadjuvant chemotherapy may decrease the size of the tumor, induce tumor regression, or even achieve pathologically-confirmed complete tumor eradication. Thus, neoadjuvant chemotherapy with irinotecan combined with cisplatin is a feasible treatment for patients with early-stage vaginal SCC. In the present study, all the patients achieved good therapeutic results following chemotherapy.


This article addresses gaps in linking the conceptualization and practice of vertical social cohesion. Through a review of literature, examination of field-based case studies and focused discussions with academics, the article crystalizes the understanding of vertical social cohesion—often restricted to state-society relations—and offers four mutually reinforcing strands of the vertical dimension that are cognizant of the hybridity of state, non-state, formal and informal institutions that exist in most societies. Through a deeper reflection on practice, the article discusses two considerations for strengthening the practice of vertical social cohesion that should start with intentional consideration of the vertical dimension of social cohesion during the intervention design: leveraging governance programming based on its complementarities with social cohesion; and careful blending of interventions that promote horizontal and vertical social cohesion. It argues that, while the focus of community-level social cohesion interventions is often biased towards strengthening horizontal social relations, both the vertical and horizontal dimensions are important in shaping the nature and strength of a society's cohesiveness. The article contends that social cohesiveness is determined by how vertical and horizontal social cohesion interact and proposes a tool—Social Cohesion's Four-Quadrants Model—to harmonize and weigh programming choices in order to influence broader, sustainable societal change.


The results of treatment of 67 patients, admitted to the hospital clinic for the spread peritonitis and ileus were studied. In 37 of them (main group) the intestinal decompression and hypothermic lavage was performed, in 30 (control group)--intestinal decompression only. The operation character and intensive therapy volume in patients of both groups were similar. In conduction of hypothermic intestinal lavage the accelerated restoration of intestinal peristalsis was noted, as well as the peritonitis and intoxication symptoms elimination. Duration of treatment of patients in stationary in the main and control groups had constituted, accordingly (11.6 +/- 0.73) and (16.8 +/- 1.03) days, lethality--8.1 and 13.8, frequency of complications--10.8 and 30%.


One of the central challenges in the field of vaccine delivery is to develop a delivery method that maintains antigen stability while also enabling control over the system's release kinetics. Addressing these challenges would not only allow for expanded access to vaccines worldwide but would also help significantly reduce mortality rates in developing countries. In this article, we report the development of single-injection vaccine depots for achieving novel delayed burst release. Synthesized poly(ε-caprolactone) and poly(ε-caprolactone) triacrylate were used to form stationary bubbles within an aqueous solution of 10% carboxymethylcellulose. These polymeric bubbles (referred to as "polybubbles") can then be injected with an aqueous solution of cargo, resulting in the formation of a polymeric shell. The puncture resulting from cargo injection self-heals prior to ultraviolet (UV) curing. UV curing and lyophilization were shown to enhance the stability of the polybubbles. BSA- CF 488 and HIV1 gp120/41 were used as the antigen in the study as a proof-of-concept. Further endeavors to automate the production of polybubbles are underway.


We have studied the plasma generation through collecting the charged particles produced in laser-induced break-down in atmospheric air. This breakdown is produced by ultrashort laser pulses with various durations ranging from 200 fs to 2 ps at a fixed pulse energy of 8 mJ. We found that the plasma yield increases first with the increment of pulse duration and then reaches a plateau at a duration longer than 500 fs. The generated plasma temperature is estimated to be higher than 5×105 K.


On the platform of the 3D H2+ system, we perform a numerical simulation of its photoionization rate under excitation of weak to intense laser intensities with varying pulse durations and wavelengths. A novel method is proposed for calculating the photoionization rate: a double exponential decay of ionization probability is best suited for fitting this rate. Confirmation of the well-documented charge-resonance-enhanced ionization (CREI) effect at medium laser intensity and finding of ionization saturation at high light intensity corroborate the robustness of the suggested double-exponential decay process. Surveying the spatial and temporal variations of electron wavefunctions uncovers a mechanism for the double-exponentially decayed photoionization probability as onset of electron ionization along extra degree of freedom. Henceforth, the new method makes clear the origins of peak features in photoionization rate versus internuclear separation. It is believed that this multi-exponentially decayed ionization mechanism is applicable to systems with more degrees of motion.


This article is devoted to the study of a general class of Hamiltonian systems which extends the Calogero systems with external quadratic potential associated to any root system. The interest for such a class comes from a previous article of Aomoto and Forrester. We consider first the one-degree of freedom case and compute the Birkhoff series defined near each of its stationary points. In general, the analysis of the system motivates finding some expression for the inverses of a rational map introduced by Aomoto and Forrester. We derive here some diagrammatic expansion series for these inverses.


SUMMARY: The sulphur-containing amino acids L-cysteine, L-cystine, L-methionine, L-homocysteine thiolactone, L-homocystine and glutathione at 10-4 to 10-5
M inhibited sclerotial formation without inhibition of mycelial growth and induced basidia formation in the fungus Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. Higher concentrations inhibited linear growth and production of sclerotia. The effect of L-cysteine was competitively antagonized by iodoacetic acid at a molar ratio of 30:1. Iodoacetic acid induced sclerotial formation at 3 x 10-5 to 10-4
M, sclerotia being produced in circles around inoculation point. The possible role of -SH groups in the morphogenesis of S. rolfsii is discussed.


The transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) plays an important role in regulating lipid and glucose metabolism and improves insulin sensitivity in diabetic patients when activated by thiazolidinedione drugs. Several loss-of-function mutations in PPARgamma have been identified that cause lipodystrophy and diabetes in humans. Because affected individuals are heterozygotes and have one normal PPARgamma allele, it is of interest to know whether these mutations act in a dominant-negative fashion to inhibit the activity of the wild-type (WT) receptor. Here we compare the molecular phenotypes of two previously identified PPARgamma mutations: P467L, reported to be dominant negative; and F388L, reported to be devoid of dominant-negative activity. We developed a competitive chromatin immunoprecipitation assay to measure the relative ability of mutant PPARgamma to compete with WT receptor for binding to a PPAR regulatory element (PPRE)-containing promoter. By determining the ratio of mutant and WT receptors bound to a PPRE over time, we estimated the relative promoter turnover rate of each receptor. This assay demonstrated that PPARgamma bearing the P467L had a reduced promoter turnover rate compared with the F388L receptor, and over time out-competed the WT receptor for promoter binding sites. We propose that the P467L receptor is dominant negative because in a cell containing both WT and mutant receptors, the majority of the PPAR-regulated promoters will be occupied by the transcriptionally defective mutant receptor. In contrast, the F388L mutation lacks dominant-negative activity because its more rapid promoter turnover rate prevented it from out-competing the WT receptor for promoter binding sites.


During the last century, conventional plant breeding, mostly based in the evaluation at the phenotypic level, has been very successful in increasing the crop yields and in consequence the global production of food. Maize, rice and wheat, the three most important staple crops for mankind, are typical examples of the dramatic increases in yield achieved thanks to the application of the combination of new cultivars with improved cultivation techniques. Conventional plant breeding has been based in developing efficient methodologies for exploiting the available phenotypic variation present in the crops and wild relatives. However, the recent advances in genomics, which allow the direct study of the genotype and its relationship with the phenotype, are bringing a new paradigm shift in plant breeding. Developments in next generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics, are providing breeders with new tools, like large collections of markers which facilitate, among others, developing ultra dense genetic maps, or obtaining new populations of interest in plant breeding, like near isogenic lines (NILs), introgression lines (ILs), or chromosome substitution lines (CSSLs). Also, new approaches like TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes) and EcoTILLING (Ecotype TILLING) are allowing discovering genetic variants for genes of interest. All these genomic tools are of great utility for plant breeding as they make possible genome-wide diversity studies of genetic resources, the discovery of genes and QTLs for traits and interest, and marker assisted selection (MAS) including backcross selection, pyramiding of genes, "breeding by design", or genomic selection (GS). The availability and application of genomic tools is leading to a new Green Revolution that, hopefully, will be able to cope with the challenges faced by agriculture in this century.