Background KIR2DS4 gene variants encode full-length and truncated protein products, with only the former serving as membrane-bound receptors to activate natural killer (NK) cells. We have previously shown that full-length KIR2DS4 was associated with relatively high viral load and accelerated heterosexual HIV-1 transmission. Our objective here was to provide confirmatory data and to offer new insights about the potential mechanisms. Methodology/Principal Findings Mixed models for repeated (longitudinal) outcome measurements on 207 HIV-1 seropositive American youth revealed an association of full-length KIR2DS4 with relatively high viral load and low CD4+ T-cell count (p<0.01 for both). Depending on KIR2DS4 expression (presence or absence) on cell surface, NK cells from 43 individuals with untreated, chronic HIV-1 infection often differed in functional properties, including degranulation and secretion of IFN-γ and MIP-1β. In particular, polyfunctional NK cells were enriched in the KIR2DS4-positive subset. Conclusions/Significance Full-length KIR2DS4 promotes HIV-1 pathogenesis during chronic infection, probably through the maintenance of an excessively pro-inflammatory state.


Responding to the call for health interventions that address multiple health behaviors, we developed a transfer-oriented health curriculum for secondary schools. This curriculum explicitly addressed smoking, but it included principles from transfer-oriented learning theory, meaning that it aimed to transfer the skills and knowledge learned in the domain of smoking to other – unaddressed – health behavioral domains. An experimental study among 1107 thirteen and fourteen year old students indicated that the curriculum favorably impacted behavior in the unaddressed domain of alcohol consumption, but the mechanism through which those effects were achieved were unknown. Using regression analyses, the present article shows that the transfer-oriented curriculum strengthened the relationship between smoking determinants and alcohol consumption, allowing alcohol consumption to co-vary with positive changes in the addressed smoking determinants. By strengthening relationships between health behaviors, transfer-oriented health interventions can impact multiple health behaviors, and by doing so they have the potential to fulfill the need for more efficiency in health promotion practices.


Microorganisms (bacteria, yeast, and microalgae) are a promising resource for products of high value such as nutrients, pigments, and enzymes. The majority of these compounds of interest remain inside the cell, thus making it necessary to extract and purify them before use. This review presents the challenges and opportunities in the production of these compounds, the microbial structure and the location of target compounds in the cells, the different procedures proposed for improving extraction of these compounds, and pulsed electric field (PEF)-assisted extraction as alternative to these procedures. PEF is a nonthermal technology that produces a precise action on the cytoplasmic membrane improving the selective release of intracellular compounds while avoiding undesirable consequences of heating on the characteristics and purity of the extracts. PEF pretreatment with low energetic requirements allows for high extraction yields. However, PEF parameters should be tailored to each microbial cell, according to their structure, size, and other factors affecting efficiency. Furthermore, the recent discovery of the triggering effect of enzymatic activity during cell incubation after electroporation opens up the possibility of new implementations of PEF for the recovery of compounds that are bounded or assembled in structures. Similarly, PEF parameters and suspension storage conditions need to be optimized to reach the desired effect. PEF can be applied in continuous flow and is adaptable to industrial equipment, making it feasible for scale-up to large processing capacities.


Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a common neurological disease affecting the central nervous system characterized by pathologic changes including demyelination and axonal injury. MR imaging has become the most important tool to evaluate the disease progression of MS which is characterized by the occurrence of white matter lesions. Currently, radiologists evaluate and assess the multiple sclerosis lesions manually by estimating the lesion volume and amount of lesions. This process is extremely time-consuming and sensitive to intra- and inter-observer variability. Therefore, there is a need for automatic segmentation of the MS lesions followed by lesion quantification. We have developed a fully automatic segmentation algorithm to identify the MS lesions. The segmentation algorithm is accelerated by parallel computing using Graphics Processing Units (GPU) for practical implementation into a clinical environment. Subsequently, characterized quantification of the lesions is performed. The quantification results, which include lesion volume and amount of lesions, are stored in a structured report together with the lesion location in the brain to establish a standardized representation of the disease progression of the patient. The development of this structured report in collaboration with radiologists aims to facilitate outcome analysis and treatment assessment of the disease and will be standardized based on DICOM-SR. The results can be distributed to other DICOM-compliant clinical systems that support DICOM-SR such as PACS. In addition, the implementation of a fully automatic segmentation and quantification system together with a method for storing, distributing, and visualizing key imaging and informatics data in DICOM-SR for MS lesions improves the clinical workflow of radiologists and visualizations of the lesion segmentations and will provide 3-D insight into the distribution of lesions in the brain.


Young adult workers aged 18–24 years have the highest risk of accidents at work. Following the
work of Bourdieu and Tannock, we demonstrate that young adult workers are a highly differentiated
group. Accordingly, safety prevention among young adult workers needs to be nuanced
in ways that take into consideration the different positions and conditions under which young
adult workers are employed. Based on single and group interviews with 26 young adult workers
from six various sized supermarkets, we categorize young adult retail workers into the following
five distinct groups: 'Skilled workers,' 'Apprentices,' 'Sabbatical year workers,' 'Student workers,' and
'School dropouts.' We argue that exposure to accidental risk is not equally distributed among them
and offer an insight into the narratives of young adult workers on the subject of risk situations at
work. The categorizations are explored and expanded according to the situated ways of 'doing'
risk and safety in the working practices of the adult workers. We suggest that the understanding
of 'young' as an age-related biological category might explain why approaches to prevent accidents
among young employees first and foremost include individual factors like advice, information,
and supervision and to a lesser degree the structural and cultural environment wherein they
are embedded. We conclude that age cannot stand alone as the only factor in safety prevention
directed at workers aged 18–24 years; if we do so, there is a risk of overemphasizing age-related
individual characteristics such as awareness and cognitive limitations before structural, relational,
and hierarchical dimensions at the workplace.


This paper evaluates the net social benefits of advanced encryption standards (AES), which is one of many areas where the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has promoted innovation and industrial competitiveness to ensure that public and private computer systems can protect the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of digital information in the face of ever more powerful computers and developments in the field of cryptography.


Down's syndrome (DS) has been considered a model of accelerated aging and of Alzheimer's disease. We investigated immunologic functions using peripheral blood leukocytes in order to correlate the production of cytokines and development of neuropathological changes of Alzheimer type in aged persons with DS. Cytokine production (IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-alpha), phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated proliferation of nonadherent monocytes, and superoxide anion production from polymorphonuclear leukocytes were measured. PHA-stimulated proliferation in aged individuals (>30 years old) with DS was significantly lower than that of age- and sex-matched controls (DS vs control, 55,707+/-5810 vs 88,310+/-6994 cpm, P < 0.001). PHA-stimulated IL-2 production was also significantly decreased in aged individuals with DS (DS vs control, 7.1+/-2.1 vs 10.7+/-1.3 ng/ml). Interestingly, the decrease of proliferation and IL-2 production in aged males with DS is significantly greater than in aged women with DS. PHA-stimulated proliferation and IL-2 production of nonadherent monocytes in females was not significantly reduced. IL-1beta production by LPS-activated adherent monocytes was significantly decreased in older adults with DS compared with non-DS controls. Other immune parameters measured in DS were not significantly different from that of age-matched controls. We conclude that there is partial impairment of T lymphocytes in aged persons with DS that is significantly greater in males than in females.


The development of miniaturised diaphragm structures is highly significant to the successful realisation of many microengineered devices. Most industrial designs of physical sensors are now based upon detailed finite element modelling of the mechanical microstructures using software currently available for conventional mechanics. This paper investigates the effects of miniaturisation on corrugated diaphragm structures through the use of advanced computer modelling and simulation techniques. By developing detailed models of the diaphragm structures using commercial finite element analysis software it is possible to investigate the effects on diaphragm performance when diaphragms are scaled from a macro level (eg. 10 mm diameter) down to a micro level (<1 mm diameter). Case studies are presented and comparisons are made with research work published by other workers. With subsequent sensitivity analysis it is possible to explore the critical design parameters of the microengineered diaphragms, and parameterise the diaphragm such that its performance will be compensated to some degree from limitations imposed by processing parameters.


The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the effects of chitosan inserts for sustained release of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) activator, diminazene aceturate (DIZE), in experimental glaucoma. Monolayer DIZE loaded inserts (D+I) were prepared and characterized through swelling, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and in vitro drug release. Functionally, the effects of D+I were tested in glaucomatous rats. Glaucoma was induced by weekly injections of hyaluronic acid (HA) into the anterior chamber and intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements were performed. Retinal ganglion cells (RGC) and optic nerve head cupping were evaluated in histological sections. Biodistribution of the drug was accessed by scintigraphic images and ex vivo radiation counting. We found that DIZE increased the swelling index of the inserts. Also, it was molecularly dispersed and interspersed in the polymeric matrix as a freebase. DIZE did not lose its chemical integrity and activity when loaded in the inserts. The functional evaluation demonstrated that D+I decreased the IOP and maintained the IOP lowered for up to one month (last week: 11.0±0.7 mmHg). This effect of D+I prevented the loss of RGC and degeneration of the optic nerve. No toxic effects in the eyes related to application of the inserts were observed. Moreover, biodistribution studies showed that D+I prolonged the retention of DIZE in the corneal site. We concluded that D+I provided sustained DIZE delivery in vivo, thereby evidencing the potential application of polymeric-based DIZE inserts for glaucoma management.


At a search skills workshop, it's often difficult to obtain information about participants' skill levels in advance. So to pitch your session at the right level, it is necessary to find out if your participants have done any searching before, and whether they understand concepts such as question formulation, Boolean logic, and MeSH. Have you tried contacting participants for information before a session? Invariably—if you actually obtain any responses—the participants will vary between stating that they know "nothing about searching" or that they are "pretty good searchers," …


Abstract : Metastatic spread of cancer continues to be the greatest barrier to cancer cure. In ER-positive breast cancer cells, the effects of 1,25 (OH) 2D3 are similar to those induced by anti-estrogens, where l,25(OH)2D3 transcriptionally down-regulates ER expression. If so, then sensitivity to l,25(OH)2D3 mediated apoptosis could be reduced in estrogen independent breast cancer cells. We focused on the role of vitamin D3 compounds to activate the apoptotic pathway in ER-negative SUM-l59PT cells and tumors and whether vitamin D compounds were capable of inhibiting the invasion of SUM-l59PT cells. Our major findings are that 1,25 (OH) 2D3 induces apoptosis in the ER-negative SUM-l59PT cells by disruption of mitochondrial function which is associated with Bax trans location to mitochondria and cytochrome c release. Downstream events of the mitochondria included PARP(poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase) cleavage. Our in vivo data is the first to show apoptotic tumor regression of an ER- independent breast cancer model system by the vitamin D analogue EBl089. Our in vitro invasion as says demonstrate a dramatic reduction in invasive potential of SUM-l59PT cells upon exposure to 1,25 (OH) 2D3 and EBl089 and we are currently testing the effects of EBl089 on metastatic spread in vivo. Utilizing our SUM-l59PTGFPP model system in vivo we can more efficiently examine the mechanisms of invasion and metastasis and the efficacy of vitamin D compounds to modulate these processes.


Introduction: Assessment of fetal lung maturity by a simple and rapid test has a pivotal role in obstetric managements. Considering lack of modern laboratory techniques in Iran This study was designed to investigate lamellar body count as an efficient method in evaluation of fetal lung maturity. Methods: Lamellar body count was assessed in 104 unspun amniotic fluid samples taken from pregnant women who referred to Akbarabadi hospital in year 2004 whose fetuses were at risk for respiratory distress syndrome. Sysmex K.800 was used to count lamellar bodies. Cut-off points for Lamellar body count were determined to evaluate the risk of respiratory distress syndrome. Standard clinical and radiographic criteria were used to diagnose respiratory distress syndrome. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated using SPSS11. Results: Lamellar body count of less than 10,000 was 99.1 specific for lung immaturity (positive predictive value = 99.1, negative predictive value = 83.5). Lamellar body count of greater than 45,000 eliminated respiratory distress syndrome (negative predictive value = 98.9). Conclusion: Lamellar body count is an easy, rapid and cost-effective test to assess fetal lung maturity in high-risk fetuses. Using the cut-off points of 10,000 and 45,000, lamellar body count can serve as the first screening test of fetal lung maturity.


During the period 1974-93, 32 patients (18 males, 14 females) with previously undiagnosed tuberculosis were admitted to the department of surgery and the surgical outpatient department of Buskerud Central Hospital. Of these, 26 were native Norwegians and 6 immigrants of Asian origin with an average age of 65 and 26 years, respectively. Of the native Norwegians, 14 patients had a past history of tuberculosis and 7 cases were associated with concomitant cancer. With 1 exception, all immigrants had extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Cultural identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis occurred in 28 cases and Mycobacterium bovis in 1 (immigrant). A total of 30 patients were cured, whereas 2 of 3 patients with miliary dissemination died.


Despite several, mostly isolated successes, few controlled, prospective trials have yet validated clinical tissue engineering applications. Although this may, at least in part, be explained by the very young age of this field, tissue engineering involves the need for an elaborate and expensive infrastructure, not to mention qualified personnel. This translates into an inherent difficulty in establishing multicenter trials. Moreover, companies mostly devoted to tissue engineering have yet to prove themselves economically viable. On the other hand, although very few engineered tissues have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), more than 70 companies have recently been developing new products. Many challenges are yet to be overcome before "off-the-shelf" tissues can be offered commercially. Nevertheless, given the scientific promise, potential social impact, and young age of the field, many believe that it should be only a matter of time until tissue engineering reaches the mainstream of surgical practice.


The ground state energy of a boundary quantum field theory is derived in planar geometry in D+1-dimensional spacetime. It provides a universal expression for the Casimir energy which exhibits its dependence on the boundary conditions via the reflection amplitudes of the low energy particle excitations. We demonstrate the easy and straightforward applicability of the general expression by analyzing the free scalar field with Robin boundary condition and by rederiving the most important results available in the literature for this geometry.


Due to lack of low-cost and convenient measurement procedures, uncontrolled changes in spontaneous physical activity (SPA) level often are insufficiently considered as a confounding factor in rodent studies. Nonetheless, alterations in SPA can significantly impact on a wide range of physiological measurements. Therefore, we developed an accurate, low-cost video tracking procedure to allow routine assessment of SPA in the home cage of experimental animals (i.e., mice) and in the absence of any distress that might cause alterations in SPA. SPA parameters acquired (movement distance, movement time, and movement speed) with the novel tracking system were identical to those simultaneously obtained with a high-end and well-validated movement-tracking device (mean error = 0.15 ± 0.07%, r = 0.99, P < 0.001). To further validate the setup, we also demonstrated caffeine-induced stimulation of SPA (195% more activity compared with vehicle, P < 0.01), we adequately reproduced typical SPA fluctuations inherent to day/night cycles (146 and 702% more active during nocturnal compared with diurnal cycle for Balb/c and C57BL/6J mice, respectively, P < 0.001), and we confirmed previously documented SPA differences between animal strains (24% less activity in C57BL/6J mice compared with Balb/c mice, P < 0.05). Taken together, we provide data to prove that this novel low-cost methodology can be conveniently used in any mouse experiment where uncontrolled changes in SPA due to experimental interventions might confound data interpretation. By analogy, the system can be used to document a beneficial impact of therapeutic interventions on SPA in any disease mouse model. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We developed a low-cost procedure to routinely measure SPA in mice. The procedure maintains normal SPA because the animals continue to stay in their home cage in the absence of any external manipulation by the investigators and under habitual dark/light ambient conditions. This novel methodology can be conveniently used in any mouse experiment to quantify experimentally induced alterations in SPA or to assess natural variations in SPA that might confound data interpretation.


The long-term responses of 5 adolescent phenylketonuric patients to chemically-defined, synthetic diets with normal and low phenylalanine content were determined. The synthetic preparations were found capable of sustaining good health and rapid growth in this group of profoundly retarded, behaviourally disturbed patients over a 3½-year period without clinical or biochemical evidence of nutritional inadequacy. 4 of these patients who were treated for 6 months on a comparable diet, in which 80% of the phenylalanine was replaced by tyrosine, continued to show weight maintenance and height increases. There was no evidence of poor acceptability of the imbalanced diet, whether the blood phenylalanine concentrations were at phenylketonuric or treatment levels. The phenylalanine intake required to maintain blood phenylalanine concentrations of 3-5 mg/100 ml in these 4 patients was well below normal requirements, and ranged between 6·8 and 20·1 mg/kg per day. Predictably, the phenylalanine requirement varied with individual growth rates. All 4 treated patients had objective signs of improved central nervous system function during the six-month period on the phenylalanine-restricted diet. These electrophysiological and behavioural improvements were manifest after blood phenylalanine concentrations fell below 12 mg/100 ml in 3 cases and below 5 mg/100 ml in the fourth.


The forestry development and the environment improvement are bound by a common cause. When the demand of improving the environment increases, the people pay more attention to the forestry development. In this text, I analyzed the reasons, content and performance of the reform of collective forest property rights institution with game theory, and concluded that devolving the using rights of forest land and property rights of timber trees to farmers though implementing reform of collective forest property rights institution would increases the production enthusiasm of farmers, and it is helpful to promote the coordinated development of forestry and improve the environment.


Aim: To investigates the different methods of balloon deflation, types of urinary catheters and exposure to urine media in catheter balloon cuffing. Materials and methods: Bardex®, Bard-Lubri-Sil®, Argyle®, Releen® and Biocath® were tested in sterile and E.Coli inoculated urine at 0, 14 and 28 days. Catheter deflation was performed with active deflation; passive deflation; passive auto-deflation; and excision of the balloon inflow channel. Balloon cuffing was assessed objectively by running the deflated balloon over a plate of agar and subjectively by 3 independent observers. Results: Bardex®, Argyle® and Biocath® showed greater degree of catheter balloon cuffing (p < 0.01). Active balloon deflation was the worst method (p < 0.01). The presence of infected urine media also contributed to greater balloon cuffing (p > 0.05). Linear regression model analysis confirmed time as the most significant factor. Conclusion: The duration of catheters exposure, different deflation methods and types of catheters tested contributed significantly to catheter balloon cuffing (p < 0.01).


This paper presents an overview of the work being conducted by the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) and the CRC for mining technology and equipment (CMTE) into sensors and systems for real-time environment imaging. Radar is perhaps the only sensor capable of performing imaging tasks in environment where high levels of dust, water vapour, and rain must be contended with. Methods of visualizing the radar data for various applications are presented.


Plastics are user friendly but not eco-friendly as they are non-biodegradable. Generally it is disposed by way of land filling or incineration of materials which are hazardous. The better binding property of plastics in its molten state has helped in finding out a method of safe disposal of waste plastics, by using them in road laying. Modified Bitumen is one of the important construction materials for flexible pavements. Use of plastic waste (LDPE) and Crumb Rubber i.e. the rubber obtained from the waste tyres of vehicles, in the construction of flexible pavement is gaining importance. It is also worth mentioning that, the modifier raw-material has been sourced from disposed waste plastic and crumb rubber. This not only allows us to collect modifier rawmaterial at low cost, but also provides a solution towards ecological menace posed by increased use of plastics (non-biodegradable). In the present study, an attempt has been made to use waste plastic, Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and Crumb Rubber, blended using dry process for LDPE and wet process for CRMB. Marshal method of bituminous mix design was carried out for varying percentages of LDPE and Crumb Rubber to determine the different mix design characteristics.


AIM
Endurance capacity in soccer players is important. A soccer specific test for direct measurement of maximal oxygen uptake does, however, not exist. The aim of this study was to evaluate maximal oxygen uptake in a soccer specific field test, compared to treadmill running.

METHODS
Ten male soccer players (age 21.9+/-3.0 years, body mass 73.3+/-9.5 kg, height 179.9+/-4.7 cm) participated in the study, and 5 endurance trained men (age 24.9+/-1.8 years, body mass 81.5+/-3.7 kg, height 185.6+/-3.1 cm) took part in a comparison of the portable and the stationary metabolic test systems. The soccer players accomplished a treadmill test and a soccer specific field test containing dribbling, repetitive jumping, accelerations, decelerations, turning and backwards running.

RESULTS
Maximal oxygen uptake was similar in field (5.0+/-0.5 L x min(-1)) and laboratory (5.1+/-0.7 L x min(-1)) tests, as were maximal heart rate, maximal breathing frequency, respiratory exchange ratio and oxygen pulse. Maximal ventilation was 5.4% higher at maximal oxygen uptake during treadmill running.

CONCLUSION
These findings show that testing of maximal oxygen uptake during soccer specific testing gives similar results as during treadmill running, and therefore serves as a valid test of maximal oxygen uptake in soccer players.


Abstract Objectives To quantify the risk of death among people with rare autoimmune rheumatic diseases (RAIRD) during the UK 2020 COVID-19 pandemic compared with the general population, and compared with their pre-COVID risk. Methods We conducted a cohort study in Hospital Episode Statistics for England 2003 onwards, and linked data from the NHS Personal Demographics Service. We used ONS published data for general population mortality rates. Results We included 168 691 people with a recorded diagnosis of RAIRD alive on 01/03/2020. Their median age was 61.7 (IQR 41.5–75.4) years, and 118 379 (70.2%) were female. Our case ascertainment methods had a positive predictive value of 85%. 1,815 (1.1%) participants died during March and April 2020. The age-standardised mortality rate (ASMR) among people with RAIRD (3669.3, 95% CI 3500.4–3838.1 per 100 000 person-years) was 1.44 (95% CI 1.42–1.45) times higher than the average ASMR during the same months of the previous 5 years, whereas in the general population of England it was 1.38 times higher. Age-specific mortality rates in people with RAIRD compared with the pre-COVID rates were higher from the age of 35 upwards, whereas in the general population the increased risk began from age 55 upwards. Women had a greater increase in mortality rates during COVID-19 compared with men. Conclusion The risk of all-cause death is more prominently raised during COVID-19 among people with RAIRD than among the general population. We urgently need to quantify how much risk is due to COVID-19 infection and how much is due to disruption to healthcare services.


Purity of reinfusion fluid and dialysate is mandatory in high flux, high efficiency substitutive treatments for chronic uremia, particularly when using bicarbonate concentrates. Bags of sterile and pyrogen free substitution fluid are in part responsible for the high costs of these treatments. In order to overcome these problems, the authors tested a new monitoring system (MPS-10, Gambro) for high efficiency hemodiafiltration (HDF) in which the reinfusion fluid was prepared from bicarbonate dialysate by filtration. During 5 months time, 96 on-line HDF treatments were performed in five chronic uremic patients. We found the infusion fluid and dialysate containing bicarbonate free from bacteria and endotoxins, with a correct weight balance obtained by the monitoring system. The authors believe that MPS-10 is a safe and adequate system for the production of sterile, pyrogen free dialysate and reinfusion fluid for on-line HDF, hemodialysis (HD), and hemofiltration (HF).


Gloria Ferreira and Paulo Herkenhoff, eds. Mario Pedrosa: Primary Documents. $40. 464pp, 72 illustrations, ISBN: 978-0-87070-911-1. January 2016. A publication of the Museum of Modern Art: MOMA Primary Documents. Duke University Press.Having won half-a-dozen research grants, I am always excited by the word, "primary documents." The concept made me think of doodles in an artist's notebook or never-before-seen letters to childhood sweethearts. I am always searching for textbooks that might help me practically to use postmodern and abstract art in my designs, drawings and other creative projects. When I read academic books about this subject, I anticipate that they will explain multiple perspectives or negative space in an applicable way. I visited MoMA many years ago, and I was inspired by the range of the exhibited ideas. This book is large enough to have enriched and depressed my hopes.Mario Pedrosa is separated into sections of essays, plates and primary documents of the established, Brazilian art and culture critic. The documents are separated into sub-sections: theoretical and aes- thetic speculations, cultural politics and the art system, history of criticism, criticism of criticism, art criticism, architectural criticism, a singular socialist, and correspondences.Let's start with the last section because it includes the names Leon Trotsky and Pablo Picasso, and I frequently find that starting with a detail that interests me helps me to dive into a book. Mario Pedrosa calls himself Lebrun in the letter he sent to Leon Trotsky on March 23, 1940 from New York. Pedrosa explains that he had been a member of the communist party or the Leftist Opposition in France since 1928, and that he had "been militantly (and uninterruptedly) engaged in L.B. [Leninist Bolshevik] ranks under" his "direction" (406). The use of the term "militant" is striking in the context of a collection of writings of an art critic. "Forced to abandon the country, for I was then on trial because of my active participation in the movement in France and in the I.S. [International Secretariat], during the whole of 1938," he continues. He states that the party sent him to North America and that he is still stuck there, though he succeeded in leaving the distasteful New York City. The rest of the letter criticizes Trotsky for his negative comments about the party. It also points out several problems in the leadership of the international socialist movement. In response to all this, Trotsky calls Pedrosa a, "curious type!" and says that Pedrosa is falsely supporting democracy over Bolshevik centralism (410). This is a curious exchange at a central political moment, though its significance to art history is less clear. In contrast, the letter to Pablo Picasso from Santiago, July 19, 1972 is a formulaic letter that he probably sent out in semi-duplicate to most of the great artists that he hoped to acquire paintings from for his Museo de la Solidaridad in Chile.The first section in the book is the most difficult to read because the essays are written in a style that all graduate students recognize as the post-modern puzzle. These essays are about Pedrosa as opposed to by him, and each of them attempts to glorify the art of his critical writing with exercises in stylistic confusion, the natural outcome of criticizing criticism about postmodern art. In other words, a critic comes to an art exhibit and sees cow feces smeared across the white walls, and writes an article that he enjoyed this project for a series of reasons. If the critic achieves notoriety in their own right, a highbrow critic now comes in and closely reads the article about the feces, and then has to describe the significance of the criticism without using the word "feces" and certainly not the word "shit" with a vocabulary that should stop the shitty artists from buying the resulting critical collection. The best example of this from the titles is, "Naturally Modern: Mario Pedrosa and Architectural Criticism" by Lauro Cavalcanti. …


Present-day datacenter networks (DCNs) are designed to provide full-bisection bandwidth in order to support high network throughput and server agility. However, many studies have shown average utilization of the DCN is very low even at high server loads. As a result, there is a significant waste of energy resources in modern datacenters. In this paper we describe the construction and evaluation of a hardware device that consolidates traffic going between servers and the top- of-rack (ToR) switch. The consolidator operates entirely in the optical domain and has very low power consumption. We evaluate the performance of the consolidator in a small network. Subsequently, using simulations, we show that for larger systems, the consolidator allows energy savings of almost 70% at light loads and scales with increasing loads.


BACKGROUND
Specific interleukin (IL)-1 gene polymorphisms are associated with an increased susceptibility to severe periodontitis, increased inflammation, and increased likelihood of tooth loss during the maintenance phase after conventional periodontal therapy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of genotype on the maintenance of gained clinical attachment obtained after guided tissue regeneration (GTR) surgical therapy in deep intrabony defects.

METHODS
Forty deep (> or =4 mm) interproximal angular bony defects with presurgical clinical attachment loss of >8 mm were treated by GTR using a non-absorbable expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membrane. Membranes were surgically removed 4 to 6 weeks after surgery. Afterwards patients were placed on monthly recall for the first year and every 3 months for the following 3 years. At the 4-year re-evaluation, a IL-1 genetic susceptibility test was performed on all patients.

RESULTS
Fourteen (35% of the 40 patients) were genotype-positive (+). At baseline no statistically significant differences were found between patients with different genotypes in full mouth plaque score (FMPS), full mouth bleeding score (FMBS), clinical attachment level (CAL), probing depth (PD), or gingival recession. At year 1 follow up visit, no statistically significant differences were noted between genotype + and genotype - patients in FMPS, FMBS, amount of CAL gain, decrease in PD, or increase in gingival recession. Sixteen patients had membrane exposure after the GTR procedures. In these patients, the amount of CAL gain (P <0.001) and PD reduction (P <0.01) 1 year after surgery was significantly lower than those observed in patients without membrane exposure. At the year 4 follow-up visit, no significant differences were found between genotype negative and positive patients in FMPS or FMBS and both groups showed a significant loss in CAL (P<0.001) and increase in PD (P<0.001) when compared to year 1 visit. No change in gingival recession was noted. Genotype + patients showed significantly more CAL loss (P<0.002) and increase in PD (P<0.001) between the years 1 and 4 when compared to genotype - patients. A significant association between genotype and stability of the regenerated attachment was also demonstrated.

CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study demonstrate that genotype expression did not effect GTR treatment response at 1 year, but had a great impact on long-term stability (year 4). In a 3-year period, patients with positive IL-1 genotype lost about 50% of the first year gained CAL and were about 10 times more likely of experiencing > or = 2 mm CAL loss when compared to oral hygiene matched genotype-negative patients.


A numerical prediction system for sea ice and spilled oil has been developed specifically for the Okhotsk Sea. Our method enables the prediction of the behavior of oil spilled in an ocean with sea ice present using PCs to obtain high resolution results; a one-week forecast of spilled oil behavior can be obtained in a few hours of computation. First, sea ice behavior is computed for the entire Okhotsk Sea (grid size: 16 km x 16 km). Second, appropriate results such as ice concentration and velocities are set as boundary conditions for high-resolution (grid size: 4 km x 4 km or 2 km x 2 km) computations of areas of interest. Third, predictions of sea-ice and spilled oil behavior are computed. We used a Distributed Mass/Discrete Floe (DMDF) model for sea ice computations that can predict the behavior of spilled oil on both open water and ice-covered seas. The DMDF model combines the advantages of both a continuum model and a discrete element model: the shorter computation times found in continuum models as well as being able to express the discrete nature of sea ice. In addition, this combined model can treat a larger number of floes in much shorter computation times than previously developed discrete element models. Introduction In cold ocean environments with sea ice present, oil-spill cleanup is technologically difficult since spilled oil remains under/between sea-ice cover. Up-to-date information of spilled oil drift is indispensable for the development and implementation of an effective response. In particular, shorter computation times would be advantageous for timely implementation of oil-spill cleanup procedures, e.g., deployment of oilspill equipment, protection of fisheries, and rescue of wildlife. Sea ice is generated every winter in the Okhotsk Sea and drifts to the coastal area of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island. Within this environment, the Sakhalin Oil & Gas Project, undergoing continuing development offshore of Sakhalin Island, has greatly increased oil transportation in the Okhotsk Sea. Any oil spilled in this area may drift to the coastal areas of Hokkaido and cause damage to the marine environment and economy of this area. The risk of oil spill incidents requires a system for anticipating, simulating, and monitoring oil spills. Figure 1 shows the affected region, including Hokkaido, Japan, and Sakhalin Island. The Engineering Advancement Association of Japan (ENAA) started a six-year program, "A Study to Predict Spilled Oil Behavior in the Okhotsk Sea Under Sea Ice Conditions," in 2003 that was sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) of Japan. The University of Tokyo (Prof. Hajime Yamaguchi) and Hokkaido University (Prof. Kay I. Ohshima) joined the project to work on the numerical modeling of the ice-spilled-oil rheology and the ocean circulation, respectively, of the Okhotsk Sea.


SUMMARY

A comprehensive study of the Frechet kernels and group velocities of the Earth's normal modes is conducted based upon the asymptotic eigenfrequency and eigenfunction analyses that we developed previously. Two different approaches, which employ the eigenfunctions or eigenfrequency equations, yield asymptotically equivalent results for the Frechet kernels and group velocities. The latter approach is considerably simpler, since the need to specify the normal-mode eigenfunctions as well as their radial derivatives is removed, so that the Frechet kernels and group velocities can be obtained from knowledge of the asymptotic eigenfrequencies only.

The asymptotic analyses are discussed for all possible ray parameter regimes and ray-path combinations within a crustless version of the earth model 1066A with two discontinuities: a core-mantle boundary and an inner core boundary. The exact and asymptotic numerical results for the Frechet kernels and group velocities are compared for such a model. The comparison shows that the asymptotic Frechet kernels and group velocities are very accurate. The accuracy is better for toroidal modes and relatively high-frequency spheroidal modes.


The use of Monte Carlo methods in photon beam treatment planning is becoming feasible due to advances in hardware and algorithms. However, a major challenge is the modeling of the radiation produced by individual linear accelerators. Monte Carlo simulation through the accelerator head or a parameterized source model may be used for this purpose. In this work, the latter approach was chosen due to larger flexibility and smaller amount of required information about the accelerator composition. The source model used includes sub-sources for primary photons emerging from target, extra-focal photons, and electron contamination. The free model parameters were derived by minimizing an objective function measuring deviations between pencil-beam-kernel based dose calculations and measurements. The output of the source model was then used as input for the VMC++ code, which was used to transport the particles through the accessory modules and the patient. To verify the procedure, VMC++ calculations were compared to measurements for open, wedged, and irregular MLC-shaped fields for 6MV and 15MV beams. The observed discrepancies were mostly within 2%, 2 mm. This work demonstrates that the developed procedure could, in the future, be used to commission the VMC++ algorithm for clinical use in a hospital.


A review of the lipidic and non-lipidic cardiovascular risk factors is done. The increase of LDL, VLDL, IDL cholesterol, non-HDL triglycerides and lipoprotein(a) as well as HDL cholesterol decrease were considered as main lipidic cardiovascular risk factors. Dyslipoproteinemias are classified as primary and secondary. Primary dyslipoproteinemias are inborn errors of lipid metabolism, familiar or non-familiar, including common hypercholesterolemia, combined familiar hyperlipidemia, familiar hypercholesterolemia, familiar hypertrigliceridemia, VLDL remanents hyperlipidemia and primary quilomicronemia. The secondary dyslipoproteinemias are produced by various diseases, including hypotiroidism, diabetes mellitus, nephrotic syndrome, chronic biliary obstruction, renal insufficiency and so on; there are some drugs that modify lipid metabolism such as alcohol, beta-blockers, diuretics, progestagens, corticosteroides, and many others. It is emphasized that the fasting lipid profile alone is not sufficient to determine the lipidic metabolic disorder, and it is suggested the convenience of conducting postprandial studies. In the therapeutic handling it is necessary to consider the diet and physical exercises; and when these measures are not sufficient, try to normalize the lipid profile by using drugs such as hydroxi-metil-glutaryl coenzime A inhibitors and fibric acids derivatives. Therapeutic interventions, supported by results of multicentric international mega-studies, have shown a decrease in the prevalence of the cardiovascular events and the related morbidity and mortality.


Alcohol is a determinant of health that contributes to significant health problems. The excessive use of alcohol ranks among the top five risk factors for disease, disability and death throughout the world (WHO 2014; Lim et al. 2012). Alcohol is the leading contributor to premature death and disability worldwide in people aged between 15 and 59 years (WHO 2014).


Although diabetes mellitus (DM) is treatable, it is still not curable. Its chronicity is associated with a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders, especially depression in type 2 DM and learned helplessness in type 1 DM. In turn, this depression and helplessness may affect a patient's adherence to medical appointments, compliance to treatment, and effective doctor-patient relationships, which are vital to promising outcomes. This study reviews the existing literature regarding the interactional relationships between depression, DM and the doctor/patient relationship, and also suggests certain aspects of the doctor/patient relationship which can contribute to more successful treatment outcomes. (Korean Diabetes J 33:178-182, 2009)


Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system with a very debilitating inflammatory component that usually affects young people (years 20-40). This disease is characterized by the progressive destruction of the myelin sheath of the axons by the cells of the immune system, which results in neuronal degeneration. The T and B lymphocytes are the main players in this disease, which can be remittent with relapses or progressive. Among the drugs used to treat MS is the immunosuppressor fingolimod, the targets of which are the sphingosine 1-phosphate receptors. This molecule acts orally by preventing lymphocytes from leaving the thymus and lymph nodes and from reaching inflammatory brain foci. Other immunosuppressive drugs affecting sphingosine 1-phosphate receptors are under development and an intense search for curative drugs and treatments is being conducted.


The objective of this study was to characterize the flow and rheological behaviour of model wax-stabilized water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions consisting of light mineral oil, paraffin wax and glycerol monooleate as the oil phase and water as the dispersed aqueous phase. An[sic] laboratory-scale benchtop flowloop system was used to explore the flow behaviour of the emulsions' oil phase (oil, paraffin wax and surfactant). The key contribution from this work was that the higher initial temperature gradient (40°C compared to 19°C) experienced by the rapidly-cooled oil led to more initial deposition on the flowloop inner wall. The rheological properties of W/O emulsions with different water cuts (10-50wt%) were also studied. Rotational, oscillatory rheology and creep compliance and recovery were characterized on emulsions aged up to 28 days. Overall, the results demonstrated that emulsion composition, and age could significantly influence an emulsion's flow behaviour and rheological properties.


The effect of decentralization on protein kinase-C-beta-like immunoreactivity (PKC-beta-LI) in the rat superior cervical ganglion (SCG) was studied. The cervical sympathetic trunk was transected and at different time points (0 h-14 d) after transection the rats were decapitated and the SCGs examined immunohistochemically. In the control ganglia only faint PKC-beta-LI was seen in the principal neurons, whereas several strongly immunolabelled nerve fibers were observed. In the principal ganglionic neurons PKC-beta-LI was found to be increased 1-8 days after denervation, with the maximum accumulation occurring at 4 days. Fourteen days post-transection PKC-beta-LI in the neuronal perikarya was back to the initial level, but a decrease in the number of PKC-beta-immunoreactive nerve fibers was observed. The results suggest that the amount of PKC-beta in the principal neurons of the rat SCG may be partly regulated transsynaptically by preganglionic innervation.


1. Epidemiology, Physical Activity, Exercise and Health. 2. Basic Training Principles for Exercise. 3. Neuromuscular Responses and Adaptations to Exercise. 4. Basics of Exercise Metabolism. 5. Fuel Utilization During Exercise. 6. Hormonal Regulation of Metabolism During Exercise. 6A. Exercise, Obesity, and Metabolic Syndrome. 6B. Exercise and Diabetes Mellitus. 7. The Cardiovascular System and Exercise. 8. Cardiovascular Adaptations to an Exercise Program. 9. The Respiratory System and Exercise. 10. Measurement of Common Anaerobic Abilities and Cardiorespiratory Responses Related to Exercise. 11. Basics of Nutrition for Exercise. 12. Nutritional Strategies and Ergogenic Aids to Enhance Exercise. 13. Body Composition and Weight Management. 14. Adaptations to Environmental Extremes: Heat, Cold, Altitude, Pollution. Appendix. Training Program Examples.


Segmenting a complex 3D surface model into some visually meaningful sub-parts is one of the fundamental problems in digital geometry processing. In this paper, a novel segmentation approach of point-sampled surfaces is proposed, which is based on the level set evolution scheme. To segment the model so as to align the patch boundaries with high curvature zones, the driven speed function for the zero level set inside narrow band is defined by the extended curvature field, which approaches zero speed as the propagating front approaches high curvature zone. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated by our experimental results. Furthermore, two applications of model segmentation are illustrated, such as piecewise parameterization and local editing for point-sampled geometry.


This paper presents a two-phase automatic snake algorithm for the segmentation of multiple objects from noisy or cluttered backgrounds. Traditional snake algorithms are often limited in their ability to process multiple objects and are required to have manually-drawn initial contours and fixed weighting parameters. Our algorithm features two phases: (1) the active-points phase and (2) the active-contours phase. In the first phase, grid points evenly distributed in the image are attracted and moved to form clusters near object boundaries. These clustered active points are then analyzed to obtain convex polygons as initial snake contours in the second phase, where a no-search movement scheme with space-varying weighting parameters is employed. Both the kinetics of active points and deformation of active contours accept our proposed adaptive gradient vector flow (AGVF) field as the contracting forces. Experiments show the stability of the AGVF field and good performance of our snake algorithm in segmenting multiple objects from noisy or cluttered backgrounds.


Entrepreneurship education (EE) is one of the fastest growing fields of education globally, yet the areas of "what" should be taught in these programmes and "how" to teach them have been mentioned by many researchers as ones that lack both consensus and devoted attention. The present paper aims to provide a detailed map of common and best practices in terms of curriculum content and methods of teaching entrepreneurship on the tertiary level, and to explore how they correlate with practices recommended by the entrepreneurial learning field of research, in order to contrib- ute to extracting best practice. This paper uses a systematic literature review (SLR) to help review the literature in a transparent and unbiased way. The review is undertaken through six stages using NVivo computer software. In each stage, the literature on EE is screened and filtered to reduce the size and try to reach the more relevant and useful papers. This process end up with 129 articles divided between EE and entrepreneur- ship learning. The result of the reviewing process reveals that the curricula content and teaching methods vary depending on the programme's objectives—from theoretical courses aiming to increase entrepreneurial awareness to practical-oriented ones that aim to produce graduates ready to start a business. Practical-oriented courses correlate with entrepreneurial learning suggestions for practices to engage students in acquir- ing entrepreneurial competencies. However, to better extract best practice, it would be useful if future research could explore what, exactly, it is that we mean when we use the term "entrepreneurial course" and link it to the entrepreneurship process. Also, it would be useful to explore what are the results of EE programmes in terms of the actual graduates who start or grow a business, and link the findings to the teaching process.


We present an encoding and decoding algorithm of universal Reed-Solomon codes for erasure decoding. It is shown that the algorithms can be implemented with simple, regular and modular circuits, naturally suitable for VLSI design. A typical example shows that the signal processing speed is in the order of Gbits/second and the processing delay is less than one millisecond, by the use of the decoders on a single chip. Here "universal" means that the same code and the same circuit design can be used for different code parameters, such as code length and code rate. Therefore, it can be utilized for different applications to recover lost message.


Background Physicians working in Saudi Arabia belong to different countries and may have differences in knowledge and attitude towards psychiatry. We evaluated non-psychiatric physician's knowledge and attitude towards psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. The current knowledge and attitude towards anxiety and depression of physicians were determined by using a questionnaire. We distributed 180 study questionnaires at various hospitals to be answered by physicians in the Riyadh Province of Saudi Arabia. One hundred and forty-two completed questionnaires were included in the study. The participants were divided into three groups: (1) 63(44.4%) general practitioners (GPs), (2) 55 (38.7%) specialists and (3) 24 (16.9%) family practitioners. Data were analysed using the chi-square, ANOVA and independent sample t-test. Results GPs and specialists showed a negative attitude towards psychiatric patients, but family practitioners showed a positive attitude. There were statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in the knowledge regarding anxiety and depression among the groups. The relationship between specialty and knowledge was statistically significant (p<0.05) and the effect of first language is insignificant (p>0.05). Conclusion Expansive enlightenment programmes, continued medical education and inclusion of psychiatric posting in rotating residential internship programme during undergraduate courses are required for physicians not only to fill the gap in knowledge and attitude but also to improve their cognitive, communication and interpersonal skills.


A novel base metal-palladium catalytic coating was applied on commercial silicon carbide wall flow diesel filters and tested in an engine test bench. This catalytic coating limits the NO2 formation and even removes NO2 within a wide temperature range. Soot combustion, HC conversion and CO conversion properties are comparable to current platinum-based coatings, but at a lower cost. This paper compares the results from engine bench tests of present commercial solutions as regards NO2-, HC-, CO-removal and soot combustion with the novel coating. Furthermore, emission test results from base metal-palladium coated diesel particulate filters installed on operating taxis and related test cycle data are presented. A significant reduction in NO2 emission compared to present technology is measured.


In this study we examine a number of characteristics of angry Hebrew speech. Whereas such studies are frequently carried out on acted speech, in this study we used recordings of participants in broadcasted, politically oriented talk shows. The recordings were audited and rated for anger content by 11 listeners. 12 utterances judged to contain angry speech were then analyzed along with 12 utterances from the same speakers that were judged to contain neutral speech. Various statistics of the F0 curve and spectral tilt were calculated and correlated with the degree of anger, giving a number of interesting results: for example, though pitch range was significantly correlated to anger in general, pitch range was significantly negative-correlated to the degree of anger. A separate test was conducted, judging only the textual content of the utterances, to examine the degree to which it influenced the listening tests. After neutralizing for the textual content, some of the acoustic measures became weaker predictors of anger, whereas mean F0 remained the strongest indicator of anger. Spectral tilt also showed a significant decrease in angry speech.


Mount Kilauea in the Hawaiian Islands experienced an active eruption from March until the end of December 2008 and showed a large-scale impact on aerosol, cloud microphysical properties and atmospheric radiation over the North Pacific. We analyzed the atmospheric impact of this eruption based on the satellite retrievals and 3-D global chemistry-radiation coupled transport model. We showed that approximately 1.8 Tg (±1.2 Tg) release of SO2 was estimated from this eruption, which oxidized into sulfate aerosol during transport to the northwest Pacific Ocean. The volcanic sulfate aerosol layer covering a large area (∼6.5 × 106 km2) of the lower troposphere over the North Pacific for several months was confirmed from both satellite and model results. Sulfate aerosols affected the formation of cumulus water clouds by reducing the typical cloud effective radius by ∼23% and increasing the cloud fractional coverage over the ocean from 9.1% to 13.4% (over the region 170°E-160°W, 10°N-20°N). The affected cumulus clouds appeared whiter than normal and thus reflected more solar radiation. Consequently, satellite observations revealed an approximately 1% increase in albedo at the top of the atmosphere in the area along main volcano plume trajectory, which induced an approximately -5 W m-2 change in the shortwave radiation budget.


An investigation was carried out to determine the pH, EC, TDS, As, Mn, Fe, and Pb in the ground water at Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University Campus. The water samples were collected from the tube well and reserved tank at 6 different locations in February, 2012 and August, 2012 covering hall and academic establishment. The concentration of pH, EC, TDS, As, Mn, Fe, and Pb varied 6.4-6.8, 377.5-590μscm -1 , 192.5-282ppm, 0.00018-0.0159ppm, 0.07-3.825ppm, 0.00-5. 618 ppm and 0.00- 0.00006 ppm respectively. According to the standard of drinking water pH, EC, TDS, As, and Pb toxicity were not detected and in some cases the concentrations of Mn and Fe were considered as toxicants due to their higher concentrations. Correlation and seasonal fluctuation were also considered in this study. The dry season sample contained higher amount of trace metals than that of wet season. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jesnr.v6i2.22114 J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 6(2): 177-180 2013


Abstract Three kinds of recently developed plant growing media and organic fertilizers were studied separately or in combinations in Tagetes patula L. 'Csemő' production at the Szent István University, Budapest in 2014. Plant height and width; fresh weight and fresh/dry weight rate, chlorophyll content and peroxidase enzyme activity were detected. Highest and widest plants were obtained in BRT® GreenMoss, GreenMoss in combination with 10% BRT® Evergreen and in common growing mixture combined with 30% BRT® Evergreen in combination with Fainsoil Bioactivator treatment. All treatments increased fresh weight and chlorophyll content.


The study of transmission lines forms an integral part of any curriculum in electrical engineering. This paper presents some little-known but interesting facts about transmission lines, which are generally not found in textbooks, along with some new facts, which arose as extensions of these little-known ones. The facts highlighted in this paper are that: 1) the real part of the characteristic impedance is always greater than the magnitude of its imaginary part; 2) the real and imaginary parts of the characteristic impedance and the propagation constant are interrelated by four inequalities; 3) the magnitude of the load reflection coefficient may exceed unity, even for a passive load; 4) the concepts of incident power and reflected power, as usually employed in dealing with lossless lines, are not, in general, valid in a lossy line; 5) the law of power conservation is not violated because of Fact 3; and that 6) the maximum value of depends on whether the load or the characteristic impedance is variable and whether the load is active or passive.


20 years ago, a new diarrheal disease was introduced in Peru and the Enteropathogens Reference Laboratory of the Instituto Nacional de Salud had an outstanding role in the isolation and rapid and timely identification of Vibrio cholerae. Cholera had not been seen before, but during the last week of January 1991 an outbreak of acute diarrhea was detected, presenting intense dehydration and some deaths. The epidemic affected, in the beginning, many locations of the peruvian coast. Some working teams of the General Office of Epidemiology and of the Instituto Nacional de Salud obtained fecal samples from patients with acute diarrhea coming from the cities of Chancay, Chimbote, Piura and some hospitals in Lima. The collected samples were transported on Cary and Blair media and processed in the National Reference Laboratory of Enteropathogens (LANARE) of the Instituto Nacional de Salud. Vibrio cholerae serogroup 01 biovar El Tor serovar Inaba was isolated from all the samples, it was sensible to tetracyclines and other antibiotics. This research confirmed the first outbreak of cholera in Peru.


BACKGROUND
Despite evidence from animal studies for a protective effect of higher calcium and possibly vitamin D intake against colorectal cancer, epidemiologic studies have been inconclusive.

PURPOSE
We investigated the associations between the intake of calcium and vitamin D and the occurrence of colorectal cancer.

METHODS
In a prospective study, 89 448 female registered nurses who were free of cancer responded to a mailed, semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire in 1980; dietary information was updated in 1984 and 1986. Through 1992, 501 incident cases of colorectal cancer (396 colon and 105 rectal cancers) were documented. As measures of exposure, we used nutrient intake in 1980 and also two measures of long-term intake on the basis of the three questionnaires: the average of intakes from the three questionnaires and consistent intakes, which were defined as high if women were in the upper tertile on all questionnaires and low if they were in the lower tertile on all questionnaires. To further characterize long-term intake, we conducted analyses excluding women who reported a change in their consumption of milk (primary source of calcium and vitamin D) in the 10 years prior to 1980. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the lowest quintile of intake as a reference. The Mantel extension test was used to evaluate linear trends across the categories of nutrient intake. In multivariate analyses, the trends were tested with use of the medians of the intake as a continuous variable in the logistic model. The P values for the trends were two-sided.

RESULTS
On the basis of the data from the 1980 questionnaire alone, the multivariate RR for colorectal cancer for women in the upper versus the lower quintile were 0.80 (95% CI = 0.60-1.07) for dietary calcium, 0.84 (95% CI = 0.63-1.13) for dietary vitamin D (from foods only), and 0.88 (95% CI = 0.66-1.16) for total vitamin D (from foods and supplements). After the exclusion of women who reported a change in their milk intake, the RRs for colorectal cancer for the highest versus the lowest categories of average intake were 0.74 (95% CI = 0.36-1.50) for dietary calcium, 0.72 (95% CI = 0.34-1.54) for dietary vitamin D, and 0.42 (95% CI = 0.19-0.91) for total vitamin D. The corresponding RRs for the consistency analyses were 0.70 (95% CI = 0.35-1.39) for dietary calcium, 0.59 (95% CI = 0.30- 1.16) for dietary vitamin D, and 0.33 (95% CI = 0.16-0.70) for total vitamin D.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings do not support a substantial inverse association between calcium intake and risk of colorectal cancer, but an inverse association between intake of total vitamin D and risk of colorectal cancer was suggested.

IMPLICATIONS
Available evidence does not warrant an increase in calcium intake to prevent colon cancer, but longer-term studies of both calcium and especially vitamin D in relation to colorectal cancer risk are needed.


Splenosis can be considered as a benign condition due to the presence of heterotopic splenic tissue in abdomen, thorax and pelvis because of a massive splenic trauma or surgery. Here we report the case of a patient with an unknown hepatic mass, chronic hepatitis C, liver cirrhosis and a previous splenectomy after abdominal trauma. In our case lesion could not be clearly defined by ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance. Classical features of malignancy were not demonstrated at computed tomography, while at magnetic resonance imaging the differential diagnosis of the lesion appeared quite difficult and debate. Then an ultrasound-guided biopsy demonstrated the liver mass in left hepatic lobe consisted of splenic tissue and some millimetric accessory spleens in the left upper quadrant. So the possibility of an intra-hepatic splenosis should be taken into account in patients with an unknown liver mass and a history of previous abdominal trauma, followed by splenectomy. The conclusive diagnosis of intra-hepatic splenosis was given by ultrasound-guided biopsy.


Abstract Compensatory hyperhidrosis is an adverse effect of thoracic sympathectomy that can be debilitating, which is why an efficient treatment is demanded. Botulinum toxin is an emerging treatment, not well known yet. We report two cases of compensatory hyperhidrosis following thoracic sympathectomy which were both treated with low doses of botulinum toxin A. The patients, a male and a female, noted a high level of satisfaction with the abolishment of sweating that was maintained up to 10 months. We consider that low doses of botulinum toxin A is a well tolerated, safe and effective treatment for compensatory hyperhidrosis and should be offered as an alternative treatment.


Different types of rectal content in domiciliary populations of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) were associated with differences in the degree of infection with Trypanosoma (Schizotrypanum) cruzi. Field studies were carried out in a region of Argentina (Cordoba) where Chagas' disease is endemic. The rectal contents of domiciliary T. infestans were classified by color (clear, yellow, or brown) and the number of infective metacyclic stages of T. cruzi. The seasonal percentage of triatomines with metacyclics did not vary significantly, except in adults, in which it was greatest in spring (November-December). The mean density of T. cruzi per microliter of rectal material varied during the year, according to instar and color of the rectal contents. Clear recta had most metacyclics. December (late spring) may be more important for vectorial transmission of T. cruzi, because there are more infective adults (788) with higher counts of rectal metacyclics.


We herein report a new series of indole‐tethered pyrazoline derivatives as potent anticancer agents. A total of 12 compounds were designed and synthesized by conventional as well as microwave‐irradiated synthesis methods. The latter method results in a significant reduction in the duration of reaction along with improved yields. All synthesized derivatives (7a−7l) were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against A431, HeLa, and MDAMB‐231 cell lines. Compounds 7a and 7b were found most potent in the series and demonstrated an IC50 value of 3.17 and 5.16 µM against the A431 cell line, respectively, compared to the standard drug doxorubicin. Compounds 7a and 7b significantly suppress colony formation, migration, and S phase cell cycle arrest of A431 cells. Furthermore, compound 7a regulated the expression of apoptotic proteins causing the downregulation of procaspase 3/9, antiapoptotic protein Bcl‐xL, and upregulation of proapoptotic protein Bax in a dose‐dependent manner. Topoisomerase enzyme inhibition assay confirmed that compounds 7a and 7b can significantly inhibit topoisomerase IIα. In vivo oral acute toxicity of compounds 7a and 7b revealed that both compounds are safe compared to doxorubicin; cardiomyopathy studies showed normal architecture of cardiomyocytes and myofibrils. In addition, molecular docking studies revealed the possible interaction of compounds 7a and 7b within the active binding site of the topoisomerase enzyme. The 100 ns molecular dynamic simulation of compounds 7a and 7b proved that both compounds validate all screening parameters.


This study predicts and finds that chief executive officer (CEO) risk-taking incentives induced by stock option compensation increase a bank's contribution to systemic distress risk and systemic crash risk. We also predict and find that this CEO incentive–systemic risk relation operates through three channels: (i) a bank's engagement in non-interest income-generating activities, (ii) investments in innovative financial products such as collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps, and (iii) maturity mismatch associated with on short-term debt financing. Finally, the CEO incentive–systemic risk relation is moderated by information transparency, bank size, market liquidity, and financial crisis. We also discuss relevant policy implications.


Automated recognition of a person is one of the most critical issues in the modern society. Common biometric systems rely on the surface topography of an object and, thus, are potentially vulnerable for spoofing. Optical coherence tomography is a technology that has the capability to probe the internal structure of multilayered tissues. The paper describes an algorithm for automation fingerprint recognition that the algorithm is applied on the OCT fingerprint images. This algorithm is based on scanning of the enhanced and segmented OCT images.


IntroductionCurrent economic situation makes a cross-country collaboration a viable opportunity for economies of the world to pursue new sources of revenue and economic growth. Such collaborative opportunities are especially attractive for Transition Economies (TE), representing a set of countries transitioning from a centrally planned to a market-driven economy (Ollman, 1997; Myers, 2004), for these countries have lower level of available economic resources than their developed counterparts. It is not clear, however, what kind of guidelines TEs should follow in order to enter into a beneficial collaborative venture. We suggest, that two questions play important role in the decision making process regarding the cross-country collaboration. First, a decision maker must identify a potential pool of the viable collaborators. Second, a decision maker must identify, based on the choice of the potential collaborator, appropriate types of collaborative efforts. The context of TEs differs from a relatively homogenous environment of developed economies (Arcelus & Arocena, 2000; Barro & Sala-i-Martin, 1995; Sala-i-Martin, 1996), and depending on the level of industrialization (World Bank, 2004), some TEs are close to the developed, and some TEs are closer to the developing, or even least developed, countries. This heterogeneity of the context of TEs makes it difficult to intuitively suggest a potential group of peers that present a good fit in terms of the area of possible collaboration, as well as to suggest what such possible collaborative effort might be. Hoskisson et al. (2000) warn that even within the same geographical region economies of the same type could significantly differ in terms of their regime, starting points of and paths to transition, and the degree of the achieved progress. The purpose of the current investigation is to develop a conceptual framework of the cross country collaboration, and to demonstrate the developed framework in the context of the illustrative example.The focus of this investigation is on the subset of investments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), namely, investments in Telecoms, and the context of the illustrative example is a set of Transition Economies of Central Europe and Former Soviet Union. The broad research problem of this study can be formulated as follows:What is a structure of a decision making process and what is a set of decisive factors associated with the entry of TEs into a cross country collaborative venture associated with investments in Telecoms?For the purposes of this inquiry we assume that the purpose of the collaboration is economic growth, including improvement in production of revenue. Consequently, our research problem can be restated in the form of the following three questions:1. How to assess a state of TE for the purposes of cross country collaboration associated with investments in Telecoms?2. What are some of the types of the collaborative efforts associated with investments in Telecoms?3. How to map a state of collaborating parties to an appropriate type of the collaborative effort?Before we proceed with presenting the answers to the stated above questions in the form of the cross country collaborative framework, we would like to provide a justification of the research problem of this study. Because we are interested in the case of cross country collaboration with the purpose of economic growth, this problem, essentially, represents a capacity relief project aiming to provide a target relief period in the form of a number of years of a resulting economic growth. The subsequent issues associated with the undertaking of such effort, such as how to optimally size the projects in terms of the capital investments given the budgetary constraints (Lorie & Savage, 1955; Weingarten, 1963; Weingartner, 1966a,b; Kaplan, 1966), what discount rate to apply (Baumol & Quandt, 1965; Elton, 1970), and what is the appropriate form of the models to use (Bernhard, 1969; Carleton, 1969; Meyers, 1972; Tobin, 1999) have been discussed. …


The development of efficient phototherapeutic agents (PTA) through rational and specific principles exhibits great potential to the biomedical field. In this study, a facile and rational strategy was used to design PTA through perturbation theory. According to the theory, both the intersystem crossing rate for singlet oxygen generation and nonradiative transition for photothermal conversion efficiency can be simultaneously enhanced by the rational optimization of donor–acceptor groups, heavy atom number, and their functional positions, which can effectively decrease the energy gap between the singlet and triplet states and increase the spin‐orbit coupling constant. Finally, efficient PTA were obtained that showed excellent performance in multimode‐imaging‐guided synergetic photodynamic/photothermal therapy. This study therefore expands the intrinsic mechanism of organic PTA and should help guide the rational design of future organic PTA via perturbation theory.


Dispersions of liquid crystals in polymeric matrices are used as light control devices because of the possibility of varying their light scattering through alignment changes arising from the application of electric fields. The scattering from such systems is very similar to that found with crystalline polymers which have been extensively studied in our laboratory for over 25 years. Studies of the scattering from spherulitic polymers have been modelled as that arising from anisotropic spheres. Theories and measurements have been made with parallel (Vv) and crossed (Hv) polarization as a function of the radii, anisotropy, and volume fraction of spheres, and the refractive index of the matrix.


We describe a study of syntactic intervention administered to a 12;2-year-old individual with syntactic SLI, who had difficulties in the comprehension and production of structures containing syntactic movement such as relative clauses, object questions, topicalization sentences, and sentences with verb movement. The intervention, comprised of 16 sessions, was based on syntactic theory and included explicit teaching of syntactic movement, relying on a type of syntactic knowledge that was intact — the argument structure of the verb. The participant's performance was assessed before and after treatment, and for some of the tests also during the treatment and 10 months later. The performance was assessed using various tasks that targeted comprehension, repetition and elicitation of semantically reversible sentences. Following treatment, the participant's performance on all structures with syntactic movement showed substantial improvement compared with baseline, in many of the tasks reaching the performance of the age-matched control group. Treatment of phrasal movement resulted not only in improvement in treated structures, but also in generalization to untrained structures: although phrasal movement was only treated directly for relative clauses and topicalization structures, the comprehension of object Wh-questions, which also include phrasal movement, improved as well. The high performance level was maintained 10 months after the treatment.


Current management models for many endangered species focus primarily on demographic recovery, often ignoring their intrinsic ecological requirements. Across the protected area network of southern Africa, most southern white rhinoceros are managed in populations of less than 50 individuals, experiencing restricted dispersal opportunities, and limited breeding male numbers due to their exclusive home range requirements. In the absence of information on the breeding structure of these populations, poor management decisions may require females to either forego a breeding opportunity or select to inbreed with close relatives. Here, we use a combination of social pedigree data together with genetic analyses to reconstruct the parentage of all 28 offspring produced in a five-year period in a managed free-ranging southern white rhinoceros population. During this period, all breeding females (founders and first-generation daughters) had access to both a founder male (father to most of the daughters) and two recently introduced inexperienced males. We report that while founder females were more likely to breed with the founder male, their daughters, in contrast, were more likely to breed with the introduced males, thus avoiding inbreeding. However, we also found evidence of father-daughter inbreeding in this population, and contend that in the absence of choice, rather than forego a breeding opportunity, female white rhinoceros will inbreed with their fathers. We argue that to effectively conserve the southern white rhinoceros, managers need to understand the breeding structure of these small populations, particularly in terms of parentage and kinship.


Background: Diabetic Cardiomyopathy (DbCM) is a form of Stage B heart failure (HF). Concentrations of N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) may predict risk for HF progression in persons with DbCM. The ARISE-HF study (NCT04083339) is evaluating efficacy of AT-001, a highly selective aldose reductase inhibitor (AT-001) to improve exercise tolerance in affected patients. The aim of this analysis was to assess association between baseline NT-proBNP and cardiac status in type 2 diabetes participants with DbCM.
 Methods: Impaired exercise tolerance and baseline characteristics were evaluated in 679 patients with DbCM as a function of NT-proBNP at enrollment.
 Results: Median NT-proBNP in the overall study population was 71 ng/L (IQR 35-133). Baseline characteristics were similar across NT-proBNP concentrations, however, participants with higher NT-proBNP had higher left atrial volume (p<0.001) and higher right ventricular systolic pressure (p=0.04) on baseline echocardiogram. Higher NT-proBNP concentrations were associated with reduced physical activity reflected in lower PASE Score and a worse functional capacity reflected in lower peak VO2 (p<0.001) (Table 1).
 Conclusion: Among patients with DbCM, elevated NT-proBNP is associated with echocardiographic abnormalities and worse cardiac functional capacity and inversely associated with activity.

 J.Butler: Consultant; Abbott,, Amgen, Applied Therapeutics, Array, Astra Zeneca, Bayer,, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, CVRx, G3 Pharma,, Impulse Dynamics, Innolife, Janssen, LivaNova, Luitpold, Medtronic, Merck, Novartis, NovoNordisk, Relypsa, Roche, Sequana Medical, Vifor, Speaker's Bureau; Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim-Lilly, Astra Zeneca, Janssen. F.Zannad: Advisory Panel; BMS, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer Inc., Servier Laboratories, Other Relationship; Applied Therapeutics Inc., Bayer Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly Alliance, Merck & Co., Inc., Novartis. J.L.Januzzi: Consultant; Boehringer Ingelheim Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., AstraZeneca, Research Support; Applied Therapeutics Inc., Abbott, Roche Diagnostics, Novartis, Innolife Co., Ltd. S.Del prato: Advisory Panel; Abbott Diagnostics, Altimmune, Amarin Corporation, Applied Therapeutics Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Merck & Co., Inc., Novo Nordisk A/S, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, Novartis, Consultant; A. Menarini Diagnostics, Research Support; AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Speaker's Bureau; AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company, Merck & Co., Inc., Novo Nordisk A/S, Sanofi. J.Ezekowitz: Advisory Panel; Applied Therapeutics Inc. N.E.Ibrahim: None. C.S.Lam: Other Relationship; Actelion, Alleviant Medical, Allysta Pharma, Amgen, AnaCardio, Applied Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Boston Scientific, Cytokinetics, Darma Inc, EchoNous Inc, Eli Lilly, Impulse Dynamics, Intellia Therapeutics, Ionis Pharmaceutical, Janssen Research & Development LLC, Medscape/WebMD Global LLC, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Prosciento Inc, Radcliffe Group Ltd, Recardio Inc, ReCor Medical, Roche Diagnostics, Sanofi, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Us2.ai. R.Perfetti: None. J.Rosenstock: Advisory Panel; Applied Therapeutics Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk, Oramed Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, Zealand Pharma A/S, Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc., Hanmi Pharm. Co., Ltd., Research Support; Applied Therapeutics Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Merck & Co., Inc., Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer Inc., Sanofi, Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. W.Tang: Consultant; Sequana Medical NV, Cardiol Therapeutics, Genomics plc, Zehna Therapeutics LLC, Renovacor, Boston Scientific Corporation, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Inc, WhiteSwell Inc, CardiaTec Biosciences Inc, Other Relationship; American Board of Internal Medicine, Springer Nature, Research Support; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. A.Urbinati: None.


In 16 cases of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), praxis and visual spatial capacities were more impaired early in the disease than were language functions. Together with the electroencephalographic findings, this suggests that the early lesions in SSPE are more pronounced in the parietooccipital area than in the classic language areas. Other reports also support such a localization. Detection of the disease in its early phase when dressing apraxia and visual impairment predominate is important in conducting clinical trials of different therapeutic agents.


Abstract This paper presents the four-year forensic outpatient treatment of a male patient in his mid-30s who was diagnosed with a schizoaffective disorder and had previously been held on unlimited detention due to several assaults. At the beginning, several coercive measures had to be taken. Over time, both the therapeutic alliance and the patient's psychic structure improved remarkably. The patient explained at the end of therapy that, despite being forced into treatment, he also felt recognized and held while he had been in deep distress. Several explanations of how coercion and the therapeutic process may correlate are discussed: essentially, the complex and dialectical relationships between inner and outer reality, therapeutic space, and social structures are reflected. Cautiously but consistently introducing outer reality as well as validating the patient's realistic perceptions contributed to strengthening his ego functions.


As machine learning is applied more widely, data scientists often struggle to find or create end-to-end machine learning systems for specific tasks. The proliferation of libraries and frameworks and the complexity of the tasks have led to the emergence of "pipeline jungles" - brittle, ad hoc ML systems. To address these problems, we introduce the Machine Learning Bazaar, a new framework for developing machine learning and automated machine learning software systems. First, we introduce ML primitives, a unified API and specification for data processing and ML components from different software libraries. Next, we compose primitives into usable ML pipelines, abstracting away glue code, data flow, and data storage. We further pair these pipelines with a hierarchy of AutoML strategies - Bayesian optimization and bandit learning. We use these components to create a general-purpose, multi-task, end-to-end AutoML system that provides solutions to a variety of data modalities (image, text, graph, tabular, relational, etc.) and problem types (classification, regression, anomaly detection, graph matching, etc.). We demonstrate 5 real-world use cases and 2 case studies of our approach. Finally, we present an evaluation suite of 456 real-world ML tasks and describe the characteristics of 2.5 million pipelines searched over this task suite.


Equations for particle motions and bulk stresses are derived based on a balance of frictional contact forces on a test particle. Very high particle concentrations are considered, so that contact forces dominate and hydrodynamic interaction is negligible. The analysis is restricted to homogeneous flows of statistically homogeneous suspensions in which the particles are planarly oriented and straight. An explicit solution is given for the case where the friction force between contacting particles is proportional to their relative velocity. Particle motion is then essentially affine, and stresses are quadratic in both particle concentration and particle aspect ratio.


Background: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health is a classification of human functioning and disability and is based on a biopsychosocial model of health. As such, International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health seems suitable as a basis for constructing models defining the clinical P&O process. The aim was to use International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health to facilitate development of such a model. Proposed model: A model, the Prosthetic and Orthotic Process (POP) model, is proposed. The Prosthetic and Orthotic Process model is based on the concepts of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and comprises four steps in a cycle: (1) Assessment, including the medical history and physical examination of the patient. (2) Goals, specified on four levels including those related to participation, activity, body functions and structures and technical requirements of the device. (3) Intervention, in which the appropriate course of action is determined based on the specified goal and evidence-based practice. (4) Evaluation of outcomes, where the outcomes are assessed and compared to the corresponding goals. After the evaluation of goal fulfilment, the first cycle in the process is complete, and a broad evaluation is now made including overriding questions about the patient's satisfaction with the outcomes and the process. This evaluation will determine if the process should be ended or if another cycle in the process should be initiated. Conclusion: The Prosthetic and Orthotic Process model can provide a common understanding of the P&O process. Concepts of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health have been incorporated into the model to facilitate communication with other rehabilitation professionals and encourage a holistic and patient-centred approach in clinical practice. Clinical relevance The Prosthetic and Orthotic Process model can support the implementation of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health in P&O practice, thereby providing a common understanding of the P&O process and a common language to facilitate communication with other rehabilitation professionals.


A patient affected by metastatic prostatic carcinoma and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) was treated with flutamide 750 mg/day plus an LH-RH analog. After confirmation of basal castration during treatment, he continued with antiandrogens alone. Following the normalization of gonadic function and subjective mild bone flare-up, the patient resumed the initial treatment and obtained a partial response. When flutamide was interrupted because of liver toxicity, the patient showed progressive disease in the bone, which was unresponsive to both flutamide resumption and salvage hormone therapy (bicalutamide). The patient is currently receiving chemotherapy with VP16 and estramustine phosphate and is showing both serologic (PSA) and symptomatic response. The interest of this case lies in the incidental detection of HH during therapy and in the responsiveness to treatment.


The paper summarizes the work of the Beam Delivery working group (WG4) at Snowmass 2005 workshop, focusing on status of optics, layout, collimation and detector background. The strawman layout with two interaction regions was recommended at the first ILC workshop at KEK in November 2004. Two crossing-angle designs were included in this layout. The design of the ILC BDS has evolved since the first ILC workshop. The progress on the BDS design including the collimation system, and extraction line design have been reviewed and the design issues were discussed during the WG4 sessions at the Snowmass, and are described in this paper.


Abstract Thionitrites or thionitrates have been considered to be unstable However, bulky groups' thio-NOn such as t-butylthio-nitrites and -nitrates have been readily synthesized and found to be stable enough for the use of the useful organic syntheses as an excellent nitrosation and diazotization reagents under mild conditions. Direct conversion of amines to the corresponding halides in the presence of copper halides (II), fluorination of heterocyclic amines in the presence of sodium tetrafluoroborate, α- oximation of methylene groups in ketones, facile cleavage of C=N bond to ketones, and desulfurization of thioacetals and thioketals, and other useful organic syntheses are described.


. The Rietkerk vegetation model is a system of partial differential equations, which has been used to understand the formation and dynamics of spatial patterns in vegetation ecosystems, including desertification and biodiversity loss. Here, we provide an in-depth bifurcation analysis of the vegetation patterns produced by Rietkerk's model, based on a linear stability analysis of the homogeneous equilibrium of the system. Specifically, using a continuation method based on the Newton-Raphson algorithm, we obtain all the main heterogeneous solutions for a given size of the domain. We confirm that inhomoge-5 neous vegetated states can exist and be stable, even for a value of rainfall for which no vegetation exists in the non-spatialized system. In addition, we evidence the existence of a new type of solution, which we called "mixed state", in which the equilibria are always unstable and take the form of a mix of two solutions from the main branches. Although these equilibria are unstable, they influence the dynamics of the transitions between distinct stable states, by slowing down the evolution of the system when it passes close to it. Our approach proves to be a helpful way to assess the existence of tipping points in spatially extended 10 systems and disentangle the fate of the system in the Busse balloon. Overall, our findings represent a significant step forward in understanding the behavior of the Rietkerk model and the broader dynamics of vegetation patterns.


BACKGROUND
Cutaneous melanoma accounts for up to 80% of deaths caused by skin cancer. Diagnostic suspicion and access to medical care and early intervention in suspected cases is vital to the patient's prognosis.

OBJECTIVES
To compare demographic and histopathological characteristics of primary cutaneous melanoma diagnosed in the public healthcare system (Sistema Único de Saúde SUS) and the private system in Joinville, Santa Catarina State, Brazil.

METHODS
This cross-sectional retrospective study analyzed primary cutaneous melanoma cases recorded from 2003 to 2014 in the resident population of Joinville. Ethical approval was obtained from the local Research Ethics Committee.

RESULTS
893 cases of primary cutaneous melanoma were identified. Patients in the private system were mostly younger, while there were more elderly patients in the public healthcare system (p <0.001). There was no statistically significant association between type of care (public/private) and gender or presence of multiple primary cutaneous melanomas. Histological diagnosis of superficial spreading melanoma was more common in patients treated in private healthcare, while nodular melanoma was more frequent in patients in the public healthcare system (p <0.001). Mean Breslow depth in patients treated in private healthcare was 1.35mm, compared to 2.72mm in the public system (p <0.001).

STUDY LIMITATIONS
This was a retrospective study using secondary databases.

CONCLUSIONS
thin cutaneous melanoma (in situ cutaneous melanoma and Breslow T1) showed the strongest association with the private healthcare system, while thick cutaneous melanoma was more frequent in the public system (Breslow category T3 and T4) (p <0.001).


Conventional cages for laying hens have many disadvantages for welfare and there have been widespread calls for them to be banned. However, they also have advantages: in particular, they house the birds in small groups. Modified designs intended to reduce the disadvantages while retaining the advantages have included the get-away cage (providing perches and other facilities for up to 60 birds), but these designs have not yet had much success. The Edinburgh project on modified cages has adopted a stage-by-stage, systematic approach to cage design. Recommendations include increased area and height compared to conventional cages, and inclusion of a perch, a nest box and a dust bath. Current trials combine all these features in designs with commercial potential One remaining welfare problem is restriction of locomotion, with associated effects on bone strength However, alternative, non-cage husbandry systems for laying hens also have welfare problems, including those associated with large group sizes, and these problems may be worse than those in modified cages. Probably most important is the risk of cannibalism - or the practice of beak trimming to prevent it. Rather than banning cages, it might be more appropriate for legislation to specify the facilities which should be provided for laying hens.In the current state of development of alternative systems, modifying cages for laying hens could on balance be more beneficial to welfare than banning them.


The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building caused a progressive collapse that consumed nearly one half of the building, killing 168 people. The use of a transfer girder along the front face of the building is often cited as the prime reason for the severity of the incident, although this paper provides evidence that suggests the transfer girder may not have been responsible. A method of predicting column failures due to blast is introduced and used to accurately predict the column failure pattern observed during the forensic investigation. The frame was adjusted with the transfer girder replaced with a conventional beam column arrangement. The failure pattern of the reconfigured building indicates that the extent of the collapse would be largely unchanged. This finding has important implications for the design of buildings that may be subjected to accidental or malicious damage. It is argued that the other buildings have demonstrated an ability to survive similar incidents and that the Murrah Building was vulnerable because it combined a glazed facade with open plan architecture, in addition to lacking alternative load paths capable of redistributing loads after multiple column failures


[4-14C]-Dehydroepiandrosterone and [7 alpha-3H]-Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate were injected simultaneously to normal and obese female subjects. The percentage recovery of 14C and 3H radioactivies in dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, androsterone sulphate, etiocholanolone sulphate, androsterone glucuronoside and etiocholanolone glucuronoside was determined in the day-to-day urine collections for 72 hr. Results showed a normal total 3H recovery and a poor 14C recovery in urinary conjugates of obese patients. The rate of appearance of 3H activity was not identical in the individual metabolites of normal subjects, and it was not normal in obesity. Overweight subjects exhibited an acceleration in [7 alpha-3H]-Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate metabolism to androsterone glucuronoside. The observation regarding the rate of appearance of urinary conjugates bearing 14C isotope correlate with our previous finding in which a glandular overproduction of free dehydroepiandrosterone was found and an uptake of this steroid by the adipose tissue was suggested. Our results showed that the poor recovery of 14C radioactivity in urine of obese female subjects was not an aspecific consequence of illness.


This paper provides a critical survey of theoretical pragmatics in contemporary linguistics. Among the topics that are addressed in the essay include the Anglo-American, and European Continental schools of thought; neo-Gricean pragmatic, and Relevance theories, the pragmatics-semantics interface; and the pragmatics-syntax interface.


A numerical method is presented for studying the three dimensional pressure and stress distribution conformal contact problem found in misaligned self-lubricated journal bearings. The modified boussinesq force-displacement influence function and modified profile function are employed in conjunction with the integral equation discretization method and the mesh generation technique to analyze the contact pressure distribution and the axial contact length (separation point) within the misaligned pressure zone. The method has been implemented in a computer program and has been applied to the problems of misaligned and perfectly-aligned conformal contact. The results have been verified by comparison with the experimental data presented in the literature for the self-lubricated filament wound bearing under various conditions of load and misalignment. The agreement between the theory and experimental work is good within the framework of linear theory of elasticity.