A biotinylated phenazine compound as a phenosafranin conjugate (Biot-PSF) was synthesized and reported for the first time. The new conjugate was found to be useful as a chemotherapeutic agent with a cancer targeting unit for imaging. We conjugated a molecule recognition moiety with the photosensitive phenosafranin (PSF) to apply the innovative compound in antineoplastic therapy and diagnostics. A new Biot-PSF sensing (bio)probe was established as a biotin-avidin ligand receptor. Thus, Biot-PSF can be an efficient pre-targeting agent for therapeutic and imaging applications. Moreover, the Biot-PSF conjugate exhibits good activity against colorectal carcinoma (HCT116) and adenocarcinoma (COLO 205, SW620) cancer cell lines.


Clonal evolution is a key feature of cancer progression and relapse. Recent studies across cancers have demonstrated the extensive degree of intratumoral heterogeneity present within individual cancers. We hypothesized that evolutionary dynamics contribute to the variations in disease tempo and response to therapy that are highly characteristic of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We have recently investigated this phenomenon by developing a pipeline that estimates the fraction of cancer cells harboring each somatic mutation within a tumor through integration of whole-exome sequence (WES) and local copy number data (Landau et al., Cell 2013). By applying this analysis approach to 149 CLL cases, we discovered earlier and later cancer drivers, uncovered patterns of clonal evolution in CLL and linked the presence of subclones harboring driver mutations with adverse clinical outcome. Thus, our study, generated from a heterogeneous sample cohort, strongly supports the concept that CLL clonal evolution arises from mass extinction and therapeutic bottlenecks which lead to the emergence of highly fit (and treatment resistant) subclones. We further hypothesized that epigenetic heterogeneity also shapes CLL clonal evolution through interrelation with genetic heterogeneity. Indeed, in recent work, we have uncovered stochastic methylation disorder as the primary cause of methylation changes in CLL and cancer in general, and that this phenomena impacts gene transcription, genetic evolution and clinical outcome. Thus, integrated studies of genetic and epigenetic heterogeneity in CLL have revealed the complex and diverse evolutionary trajectories of these cancer cells. Immunotherapy is exquisitely suited for specifically and simultaneously targeting multiple lesions. We have developed an approach that leverages whole-exome sequencing to systematically identify personal tumor mutations with immunogenic potential, which can be incorporated as antigen targets in multi-epitope personalized therapeutic vaccines. We are pioneering this approach in an ongoing trial in melanoma and will now expand this concept to address diverse malignancies. Our expectation is that the choice of tumor neoantigens for a vaccine bypasses thymic tolerance and thus generates highly specific and potent high-affinity T cell responses to eliminate tumors in any cancer, including both trunk and branch lesions. Citation Format: Catherine J. Wu. The evolutionary landscape of CLL: Therapeutic implications. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Integrating Clinical Genomics and Cancer Therapy; Jun 13-16, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2016;22(1_Suppl):Abstract nr IA03.


Objectives/Background: With decreased patient downtime and reduction in health expenditures, endovascular treatments have become popular for the treatment of venous insufficiency. In this study, we assessed the outcomes of using radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and sclerotherapy for refluxing veins and incompetent perforators in a developing country. Materials and Methods: Subjects were selected from an ongoing registry from October 15, 2015 to April 5, 2018. Patients were followed up until 6 months. Pre- and post-procedural Clinical, Etiologic, Anatomic, and Pathophysiologic (CEAP) scores were compared, and complications were documented and treated accordingly. Results: In total, 102 limbs (n=97) with 76 great saphenous veins (GSVs) and 26 small saphenous veins (SSVs) underwent RFA, with 79% undergoing concomitant sclerotherapy. Mean follow-up time was 188 days (±33.16). Moreover, 59% were males and 41% females. At the end of follow-up, 99% of the legs had complete occlusion. Pre- and post-procedural CEAP scores were 4.21±1.5 and 3.36±1.7, respectively (p-value <0.001). Endovenous heat-induced thrombosis (EHIT) types 1, 2, 3, and 4 were found in 8.8%, 3.9%, 1.9%, and 0% of the legs, respectively. Most common complications were pain and tenderness (51%), bruising (18%), and paresthesia (7%). Conclusion: RFA and sclerotherapy have proved to be safe and efficacious. Computed tomography (CT) venous mapping aids in delineating complex venous anatomy and in ruling out deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in cases with discrepancy on Doppler ultrasound. Strict compliance of procedural and post-procedural protocol can assure promising results and futuristic value.


Cost-effective synthesis of fine chemicals/biorenewable fuels via fermentation invariably hinges upon efficient separations from the dilute broth. Biphasic/in situ extraction can positively impact both upstream fermentation and the downstream product separations. For developing environmentally sustainable processes, ionic liquids are touted as greener alternative to organic solvents not only because of their relatively low volatility but also due to the ability to tune their properties and design new ionic liquids for task specific needs. Solvent selection for in situ fermentation is depended on high solute partitioning and their biocompatibility with the microorganisms. Such information for these new set of solvents, ionic liquids that comprise of ions is very limited compared to organic solvents. Here, a new methodology to enable successful use of ionic liquids in in situ extraction is developed by focusing on two model systems: 1. Fine chemical (1R,2S)-1,2-napthalene dihydrodiol (NDHD), produced from the biotransformation of naphthalene by Escherichia coli strain JM109(DE3) pDTG141 and 2. Biorenewable fuel Biobutanol (along with Acetone and Ethanol), produced from the Fermentation of sugars by Clostridia. The partitioning of each of the solutes, NDHD, Acetone, 1-butanol and ethanol between water and ionic liquid has been measured in the range of concentrations typical of actual fermentations. Different cationic classes of ionic liquids including 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium ([RMIm]), trialkylmethylammonium ([TRMAm]) and trihexyltetradecylphosphonium ([P6,6,6,14]) were investigated along with anions such as halides and hydrophobic bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [Tf2N] and (trifluorotris(perfluoroethyl)phospate [FAP]. The model ionic liquid, [HMIm][Tf2N] (an IUPAC/IACT standard), demonstrated the highest affinity for NDHD (KC = 2.8) while phosphonium and ammonium ionic liquids with bulkier alkyl side chains had the lowest extractability (KC < 0.5). Incorporating polar functional groups by replacing one of three octyl side chains in the trioctylammonium cation with side chains containing functional groups such as carbonyl and cyano increased the partition coefficients (KC > 2) illustrating the role of molecular design for improvement. Ternary diagrams for the extraction of ABE solutes from water using model ionic liquid, [HMIm][Tf2N] were developed. Acetone and 1-butanol solutes were favorably extracted from water with high selectivities while its affinity for ethanol was low. NRTL activity coefficient iii model was used to model the ternary data and a regression program was written to obtain the binary interaction parameters for the ternary system. Simulation of 1-butanol extraction using [HMIm][Tf2N] was conducted using process simulator, Aspen Plus. Energy analysis was performed on an optimized flowsheet and these results along with equipment costs were compared with traditional organic solvent extraction and distillation. The toxicity of twenty different ionic liquids to the mutant strain of E. coli was tested with results varying from biocompatible to antimicrobial evidenced from EC50 values of growth rates. Here, the molecular toxicity was measured and EC50 refers to concentration of the ionic liquid that reduces cell growth rate by 50% at molecular level; the EC50 was compared with water solubilities, to determine if the ionic liquid was toxic at molecular level. As widely known, the increase of alkyl-chain length increased the toxicity. However, even highly alkylated cations may become biocompatible by the choice of anion, for e,g, trioctylmethylammonium bromide was antimicrobial while with [Tf2N] anion, it was biocompatible. The mechanism of growth inhibition in presence of ionic liquids was studied through imaging and initial explanations of possible inhibition mechanisms includes the effect of dissociation of these ionic liquids on how the cations/anions interact with the cell membrane. Fermentation broths can be viscous and exhibit non-Newtonian behavior and efficient liquidliquid contacting is required for higher mass transfer rates and hence faster extractions. Intensification of contacting of non-Newtonian rheology fluids was studied by the application of electric fields. Continuous phase was Mineral oil containing a rheological modifier while aqueous carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) solutions were used as dispersed phase with the apparent viscosities varying between 1 cP to > 1000 cP. Significant reduction in drop size was observed when the applied voltages were varied between 0 to 15 kV; viscosity of the continuous phase resulted in lower terminal velocities while dispersed phase viscosity affected the droplet formation times. Empirical correlations for droplet diameter as a function of physical properties, nozzle dimensions and electric field strength were developed and discussed here.


The American Medical Association (AMA) has unveiled its first mobile application (app) for physicians — a tool to help doctors quickly find Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) billing codes. At the same time, the AMA announced its 2011 AMA App Challenge in an effort to find the next innovative idea for a medical app.


The main goal is to illustrate that the so-called indirect function of a cooperative game in characteristic function form is applicable to determine the nucleolus for a subclass of coalitional games called compromise stable transferable utility (TU) games. In accordance with the Fenchel–Moreau theory on conjugate functions, the indirect function is known as the dual representation of the characteristic function of the coalitional game. The key feature of a compromise stable TU game is the coincidence of its core with a box prescribed by certain upper and lower core bounds. For the purpose of the determination of the nucleolus, we benefit from the interrelationship between the indirect function and the prekernel of coalitional TU games. The class of compromise stable TU games contains the subclasses of clan games, big boss games and $1$- and $2$-convex $n$-person TU games. As an adjunct, this paper reports the indirect function of clan games for the purpose of determining their nucleolus.


This paper explores the historiography of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis over the past 45 years. It examines the insights offered by traditionalists, revisionists and post revisionists and the difficulties they encounter in undertaking their analyses. A case study focusing on the settlement of the crisis provides an in-depth view of the traditionalist, revisionist and post-revisionist approaches. Initial commentators on the crisis had an American-dominated view, seeing the installation of the missiles in Cuba by Russia as an aggressive attempt to alter the balance of power. These early commentators view the outcome of the crisis either as an unqualified triumph for Kennedy or a lucky escape from the potentially disastrous consequences of American bravado. Newly declassified documents and testimony from participants in the crisis have opened up Soviet and Cuban perspectives, suggesting that both Kennedy and Khrushchev were prepared to go to considerable lengths to avoid nuclear war; however, un-thought-of eventualities such as intelligence failures and gaps in military control could still have spelled disaster. The historiography of the missile crisis raises important concerns about the limits of the discipline: we must never assume the absolute veracity of any view and must be aware at all times of what we do not?and cannot?know.


Two methods to distinguish between polynomial and exponential tails are introduced. The methods are based on the properties of the residual coefficient of variation for the exponential and non‐exponential distributions. A graphical method, called a CV‐plot, shows departures from exponentiality in the tails. The plot is applied to the daily log‐returns of exchange rates of US dollar and Japanese yen. New statistics are introduced for testing the exponentiality of tails using multiple thresholds. They give better control of the significance level than previous tests. The powers of the new tests are compared with those of some others for various sample sizes.


A new antibiotic, 333-25, active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, was isolated from the culture broth of BBacillus circulans 333-25. The antibiotic is a basic acylpeptide containing 2, 4-diaminobutyric acid (5), leucine (2), phenylalanine (1) and a fatty acid. It is closely related to antibiotic EM 49, but can be differentiated by chromatographic behaviour.


Interparticle electronic coupling is essential for self-assembled colloidal nanocrystal (NC) solid semiconductors to fulfill their wide-tunable electrical and optoelectrical properties, but it has been limited by disorders. Here, a disorder-tolerant coupling approach is presented by synthesizing self-organized NC solids based on amorphous/nanocrystalline phase-composites. The ZnO amorphous matrix, which infills the space between the less regularly ordered ZnO NCs, enables robust electronic coupling between neighboring NCs via the resonant wave function overlap, leading to a disorder-tolerant resonant conducting state. Field-effect transistors based on phase-composite semiconductors show delocalized band-like transport with superior field-effect mobility values (∼75 cm2 V-1 s-1), compared to amorphous or polycrystalline ZnO semiconductors. Furthermore, the broad amorphous matrix can mitigate interfacial defects between crystalline regions through atomic relaxation, in contrast to narrow grain boundaries in polycrystalline films, resulting in a significantly low interface trap density for phase-composite NC solids. Density function theory calculations and quantum transport simulations using the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism elucidate the origins of superior and highly disorder-tolerant electron transport in phase-composite NC solids. Our report introduces a new class of NC solids complementary to the colloidal counterpart and will be applicable to CMOS-compatible emerging device technologies.


1. The jellyfish Aglantha digitale is equipped with clusters of hair cells on the velum and on the tentacle bases. The cells have a central non-motile cilium surrounded by a collar of microvilli. The microvilli are graded in length, from long on one side to short on the other, giving the collar a marked polarity. The hair cells are set in specific orientations in all regions where they occur, as shown by this polarity. 2. Small mechanical displacements of the velum or tentacles in the vicinity of the hair cells evoke bursts of potentials which can be recorded extracellularly from the outer nerve ring. Intracellular recordings from the ring giant axon, which is implicated in escape locomotion, show patterns of facilitating EPSPs correlated with these potentials. Hair cell input may be important in feeding as well as in locomotory behaviour. 3. Three classes of hair cells were studied: those of the tentacle bases (T cells) and those of the velum (C cells and F cells). Direct stimulation of the tentacle bases shows that the T cells respond to slight mechanical displacements. To distinguish the functions of the C cells and F cells, which lie close together, a laser was used to ablate selectively one or other kind. It was found that the C cells respond to small mechanical displacements of the velum but no response could be assigned to the F cells.


Thin AgCl layers photocatalytically oxidize water to O 2 under appropriate conditions. The photoactivity of AgCl extends from the UV into the visible light region in a process known as self-sensitization, which is due to the formation of silver during the photoreaction. This silver can be almost quantitatively reoxidized electrochemically, making it feasible that a thin AgCl layer deposited on a conducting substrate can be used as a photoanode for water splitting if coupled with an appropriate photocathode. The silver chloride/silver cluster phase boundary plays a decisive role in the photocatalytic silver chloride electrode system. We have therefore studied this interphase by means of quantum chemical calculations from which we report first results, specifically for the (Ag) 115 (AgCl) 192 composite. Clusters of semiconducting materials are interesting considering their application as a photocathode in such a device. In this context, we also report the synthesis and properties of luminescent quantum-sized silver sulfide clusters in the cavities of zeolite A. The color of the silver sulfide zeolite A composites ranges from colorless (low loading) to yellow-green (medium loading) to brown (high loading). A low silver sulfide content is characterized by a blue-green luminescence and distinct absorption bands, while samples with medium or high silver sulfide content show an orange or red colored emission and a continuous absorption.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the prevalence of co-prescription of GPAs (proton pump inhibitors - PPIs and H2-receptor antagonists) and non-selective NSAIDs or COXIBs in patients registered under the local health authority (LHA) of Bergamo, a city in the north of Italy.

METHODS
A drug utilization analysis was done using the Bergamo prescription Health Services Electronic Database. All patients aged 35 years or older who had received at least one prescription during 2004 for non-selective NSAIDs and/or COXIBs were divided into three groups: occasional, chronic and new users.

RESULTS
Among chronic users, 44.8% were treated with non-selective NSAIDs, 11.6% with COXIBs, and 43.6% with both (mixed NSAIDs). For new users, non-selective NSAIDs were prescribed to 82.7%, COXIBs and mixed NSAIDs to 10.8% and 6.5%. PPIs were co-prescribed to 7.1% of COXIB users and 5.8% of non-selective NSAID occasional users. Among chronic users, the figures were 15.6% and 14%. For new users, prescriptions for COXIBs were associated with less use of GPA for patients who received the first and last prescription for NSAIDs and GPAs on the same day, while for patients who became chronic users COXIBs did not reduce the probability of co-prescription of a GPA: the number of co-prescribed medications and antithrombotics or corticosteroids were independent predictors of GPA use.

CONCLUSIONS
COXIBs seem to be used in patients at high risk of GI toxicity. However, the fear of GI adverse reactions and the uncertain safety profile of COXIBs leads many physicians to boost the gastroprotection by prescribing a PPI.


Environmental pollution by petroleum hydrocarbons has become a serious problem all around the world. In recent years, many microbial ecologists have identified various microbial species that are effective degraders of hydrocarbons in natural environments. This study was primarily carried to isolate and characterize hydrocarbon degrading bacteria from soil contaminated with used engine oil in Ogbomoso, Nigeria. Five types of indigenous bacteria were isolated and identified from the test soil: they were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi ,Bacillus cereus, Streptococcus faecium and Proteus vulgaris. It was recommended that ability of the isolated and identified bacteria to bioremediate or utilize hydrocarbons; especially used engine oil should be investigated


The notion of exploiting social networking sites for language learning and teaching has invoked Messianic responses from the language education community. However, empirical evidence is often limited to descriptions of conventional online projects, e.g. telecollaborations. Yet to be explored are differences between instructed activities online which are instructor-directed and non-instructed participation for language learning, on social networking sites. The chapter addresses the need to better understand the functioning of 'adjunct networking for language learning' practices. To frame the inquiry, two schemes are used: 1) criteria for identifying social networking practices (Musser et al; 2006; Lankshear and Knobel, 2008a); and 2) tools for analyzing social learning in informal settings (Schugurensky; 2000, 2007; Fenwick and Tennant, 2004). This theoretical input underpins the qualitative and quantitative analyses of learner data from one single cohort of adult beginners in Chinese, communicating on 4 informal spaces (two Open University forums and two Facebook groups).


The output characteristics and spatial distribution of pulses were studied in static and real time B-mode imaging, and M-mode procedures to assess the ultrasound exposure occurring over the total examination area and at a single point tissue target during a diagnostic examination.


My past articles considered the issues involved in making a transition from technical professional to an engineering or technology manager, and giving employee performance feedback. These topics are important to me as a manager, because I strongly believe that technical professionals need to understand the job expectations before taking on the responsibilities. The feedback from the readers of my previous articles was encouraging and hopefully this commentary will also receive a positive response.


BACKGROUND
Benign Essential Blepharospasm Symdrome is a neuropathologic disorder. The cause of blepharospasm is multifactorial. It is unlikely that a single defect in this elusive control centre is the primary cause of this disease.

OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the role of botulinum toxin A in treating cases of Essential Blepharospasm Symdrome, Hemifacial Spasm and Meige's Syndrome, and to assess orbicularis oculi muscle post treatment, in the patients who attended neuro-ophthalmology clinic and the general outpatient department of BP Koirala Lions Centre for Ophthalmic studies.

METHODS
A prospective, interventional study was carried out on all the patients of Essential Blepharospasm Symdrome, Hemifacial Spasm and Meige's syndrome who underwent treatment with botulinum toxin A in BP Koirala Lions Centre for Ophthalmic studies during a study period of one and half years. Pre- treatment grading of the spasm was done with Jankovic spasm grading and post treatment response was seen with assessment of orbicularis oculi muscle and improvement in functional impairment scale. Relevant findings were noted.

RESULTS
A total of 40 cases were enrolled in the study. The mean Jankovic spasm grading in cases of essential blepharospasm, hemifacial spasm and Meige's syndrome was 3.61 (+/- Standard deviation 0.50, range 3-4), 3.21 (+/- Standard deviation 0.63, range 2-4) and 3.67 (+/- Standard deviation 0.57, range 3-4) respectively. The mean value for reappearance of significant spasms (in months) in cases of essential blepharospasm, hemifacial spasm and Meige's syndrome was 4.3 (+/- Standard deviation 1.6, range 2.0-6.5), 5.8 (+/- Standard deviation 1.4, range 3-8) and 4.5 (+/- Std.deviation 2.8, range 2.5-6.5) respectively. Blepharoptosis was the commonest complication accounting for 66.6% of the complications.

CONCLUSIONS
The movement disorders like Essential Blepharospasm, Hemifacial Hpasm and Meige's syndrome are treated by different modalities. An acceptable and effective treatment modality has been a long felt need in these cases. Our study has shown that injection of botulinum toxin A has been a safe and effective method of treating these cases in Nepal.


The common basis sets constructed for use in electronic structure calculations have been found inadequate for the representation of electrons participating in nonadiabatic time-dependent dynamics calculations. In this paper we outline an approach to construct electronic bases better suited for dynamical processes such as energy deposition and charge transfer in binary collisions of ions, atoms, and molecules. Since electrons of many-atom systems commonly are represented by orbitals formed as linear combinations of atomic orbitals, the focus is on atomic basis sets. The main idea is to construct basis sets that adequately reproduce the first few excitation energies of neutral atoms. In this paper we outline a method for such basis set construction of various levels of accuracy for first-row atoms and give a few illustrative examples.


Rotigotine is a non-ergot, enantio-selective, D3/D2/D1 dopamine (DA) agonist drug that is effective in classical models of Parkinson's disease (PD), including the reserpinised mouse, the 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat, and the MPTP-treated primate. It is active after oral administration but shows high clearance and a relatively short duration of effect. However, rotigotine is also effective after transdermal application in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats and MPTP-treated monkeys, in both of which the duration of effect is markedly enhanced. The pharmacologic properties of rotigotine suggest that it has the characteristics necessary to form the basis of a transdermal treatment for the control of motor symptoms of PD.


This guide includes library collection materials that have been requested by faculty and students. These materials can include research databases, software applications, journals, mixed materials, and book series and collections.


Antiferromagnetism on the face-centred cubic lattice is frustrated. The different competing spin arrangements are degenerate in the classical limit of the Heisenberg model. The author considers quantum-mechanical spin fluctuations, using the Holstein-Primakoff transformation, as a perturbation to lift this degeneracy and find that the collinear spin arrangement is stabilised. When he considers the inclusion of paramagnetic impurities, however, he finds that non-collinear arrangements are locally preferred. He suggests this scenario as a possible explanation for the fact that manganese, when quenched in a face-centred cubic lattice, can be driven from a collinear to non-collinear spin arrangement by doping with either nickel, iron or iridium.


BACKGROUND
Indoor allergens are common causes of sensitization and asthma. Climatic and home conditions can modify their levels.

OBJECTIVE
We studied the influence of climatic conditions and home characteristics on the exposure to indoor allergens of mite allergic asthmatic subjects in two Spanish cities with different climates (Las Palmas and Pamplona).

METHODS
We included 65 subjects diagnosed with asthma caused by Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. A questionnaire about their dwellings was completed. Home dust samples were collected. Mite (Der p1, Der f1, Der 2) and cat (Fel d1) allergens were measured by a monoclonal-antibodies based ELISA.

RESULTS
Characteristics of dwellings were similar in both areas. Der p1 was the main allergen (0-44 micrograms/g). Der p1, Der f1 and Der 2 levels were higher in the homes in Las Palmas (p < 0.001, p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). Damp homes in Pamplona had higher Der p1 levels, similar to those detected in homes in Las Palmas. Fel d1 levels (0-78.90 micrograms/g) were only related to the presence of cats in the dwelling (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
D. pteronyssinus allergen exposure was influenced by climatic conditions and dampness in homes in temperate regions. Humidity in homes can generate an ideal environment for mite growth despite unfavorable outdoor climatic conditions. Fel d1 levels were only related to the presence of a cat in the house.


A novel generalised Hopfield neural network (GHNN) based self-adaptive proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller for load frequency control (LFC) is designed for a two-area interconnected power system with nonlinearities of generator rate constraint and governor dead band. The control problem is conceptualized as an optimisation problem with an objective function as an area control error in terms of the PID controller parameters. The differential equations governing the behaviour of the GHNN were solved to obtain the controller parameters K
 p
, K
 i
 and K
 d
. To test the feasibility and robustness of the proposed controller, the system is tested in the presence of randomness in load demands, imprecisely modelled system dynamics, nonlinearities in the system model and uncertainties in the system parameter variations. The proposed method is simulated using Matlab R2014b/Simulink and the results obtained have shown that the propounded controller performance is superior to the integral, PID and fuzzy-based proportional-integral controllers. In addition, the Lyapunov stability analysis of the overall closed-loop system was carried out and the controller is implemented in real-time digital simulator run in hardware-in-the-loop to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Furthermore, the proposed controller is applied to the three-area power system to test its adaptability.


The animal shelter finally found a solution for disbursal of the furs they had received from the public for the fundraising rummage sale. The local wildlife center took them to use as beds for baby animals. The furs seemed to soothe them. The shelter had avoided a public relations problem with this solution, but it had also lost out on a possible $20,000.


OBJECTIVE
To retrospectively analyze the experiences and results of the treatment on 62 patients with primary varicose of lower extremities with endovenous laser.

METHODS
All patients were treated with endovenous laser. The laser treatment could begin when the fiber withdraw with 1 cm/2 s. The laser power was 10 - 12 w with the laser pulse duration and the interval 1 second respectively.

RESULTS
The duration of follow-up varied from 2 months to 8 months. After endovenous treatment, the varicose veins and edema disappeared in all cases. The itching and uncomfortable feeling was dissipated. No morphine-like analgesic has been used and no serious complications occurred.

CONCLUSION
Endovenous laser treatment of primary varicose of lower extremities is a safe and effective technique.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Increasing evidence suggests that histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) function in combination to regulate the diverse activities associated with chromatin. However, the mechanisms through which multiple histone PTMs influence the association of effector proteins with chromatin is poorly understood. To address this problem, we recently developed a histone peptide array platform containing singly- and multiply-modified histone peptides to examine the binding of chromatin-associated proteins. Using these arrays, we surveyed protein domains that bound methylated H3K9, and uncovered a number of PTM "patterns" that influenced the association with this mark. Interestingly, while most H3K9 methyl binders were ejected by neighboring H3S10 phosphorylation (a PTM enriched in G2/M-phase chromatin), the tandem Tudor domain (TTD) of UHRF1 was insensitive to this known "phospho/methyl switch". In agreement, structural and biophysical studies confirmed the insensitivity of the UHRF1 TTD to H3S10 phosphorylation. Furthermore, we found that UHRF1 remains bound to chromatin throughout the cell cycle in contrast to HP1, which is ejected from chromatin during mitosis. These results suggest an important role for this ubiquitin ligase during mitosis. Significantly, we further find that the TTD of UHRF1 regulates global DNA methylation, thus definitively linking H3K9me3 binding by UHRF1 to the maintenance of DNA methylation. Taken together, our data suggest that the regulation of DNA methylation by UHRF1 extends beyond S-phase and requires H3K9me3 recognition during mitosis.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 993. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-993


Governments around the world are seeing the locality as a key arena for effecting changes in governance, restructuring state/civil society relations and achieving sustainable growth. This book critically analyses this shift towards localism in planning through exploring neighbourhood planning; one of the fastest growing, most popular and most contentious contemporary planning initiatives. Bringing together original empirical research with critical perspectives on governance and planning, the book engages with broader debates on the purposes of planning, the construction of active citizenship, the uneven geographies of localism and the extent to which power is actually being devolved. Setting this within an international context with cases from the US, Australia and France, the book reflects on the possibilities for the emergence of a more progressive form of localism.


This study describes the psychosocial and physiological health care needs of persons with HIV/AIDS in hospital, outpatient, home care, and long-term care settings. A cross-sectional descriptive design with 386 patients selectedfrom thefour settings was used to test between-setting differences on Healthcare Needs Scales. Univariate analyses of variance of scale and subscale scores and Kruskal-Wallis analyses of variance by ranks on item scores were computed. There was neither a relationship between psychosocial and physiological health care needs nor a distinctive pattern of needs across settings by HIV classification. The patients' needs varied between settings on health behaviors/social support, health management, and eliminationiphysicall sensory functions but were quite similar in psychosocial/financial support and neurological/ digestive functions. These results question assumptions about the relationships among stage of HIV infection, level and type of health care need, and type of setting and suggest that health system resources and nursing care focus on both the psychosocial and physiological needs of persons with HI V/AIDS using individualized protocols.


We describe an analysis-driven storage allocation scheme for concurrent systems that use message passing with copying semantics. The basic principle is that in such a system, data which is not part of any message does not need to be allocated in a shared data area. This allows for the deallocation of thread-specific data without requiring global synchronization and often without even triggering garbage collection. On the other hand, data that is part of a message should preferably be allocated on a shared area since this allows for fast (O(1)) interprocess communication that does not require actual copying. In the context of a dynamically typed, higher-order concurrent functional language, we present a static message analysis which guides the allocation. As shown by our performance evaluation, conducted using a production-quality language implementation, the analysis is effective enough to discover most data which is to be used as a message, and to allow the allocation scheme to combine the best performance characteristics of both a process-centric and a communal memory architecture.


We ask whether knots with smaller or larger loops on the same rope tighten in a particular sequence, and what factors might influence the sequence of tightening.


The preliminary results of a comprehensive survey of Sīnīya Island in the Khawr al-Bayḍāʾ of Umm al-Quwain are presented here. The onset of human occupation remains to be confirmed, with scarce evidence for limited activity in the late pre-Islamic period (LPI, c. 300 BC – AD 300). The first major phase of occupation dates to the seventh and eighth centuries (early Islamic period) when a monastery and settlement were established in the north-east of the island. Probably the peak occupation falls between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when the stone-town of Old Umm al-Quwain 1 was built, followed by the eighteenth to early nineteenth century when the settlement moved to neighbouring Old Umm al-Quwain 2. The town was destroyed by the British in 1820 and moved to the facing tidal island, where Old Umm al-Quwain 3 (the modern city of the same name) developed. This resulted in an emptying of the landscape, and Sīnīya Island was little visited in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, except for the estate of the ruling Āl Muʿallā represented by the Mallāh Towers.


We report in this paper the spectra properties of Cr-doped and Cr, La-co-doped PbWO4 (PWO) crystals grown by the Czochralski method. It is found that low-field Cr3+ ions and Cr4+ ions in tetrahedral sites co-exist in the crystals studied. In the case of Cr-doped PWO samples, Cr3+ is supposed to reside primarily at the Pb-site, and this results in the relaxation of lattice, which is confirmed by FT-IR analysis. The crystal-field parameters of Cr3+ in a distorted octahedral environment are estimated, and they are Dq = 1351 cm−1 and Dq/B = 2.11, respectively. The NIR absorption of the crystals confirms the formation of Cr4+ and it is suggested that this is situated in the W6+ position. In particular, the co-addition of La3+ can induce a remarkable increase of absorption coefficient in the NIR region, on the grounds that La3+ ions preferably occupy the Pb2+ sublattice and force Cr to enter the W6+ position in the form of Cr4+. Cr-doped PWO crystals may be of interest as a new passively Q-switched laser material considering their high absorption coefficient in the NIR spectrum.


Genetic diversity is the base of plant breeding. Hence, 33 M7 soybean mutant lines, which were evolved by γ ray from cultivar L17 irradiated with doses of 150, 200 and 250 Gray (absorbed dose), with L17 cultivar and two commercial cultivars (Clark and Williams) were evaluated in view of some morphological traits (number of leaves/plant, pods/plant, seeds/pod, seeds/plant, 100-seed weight, dry weight of aerial parts, dry weight of roots, plant yield, harvest index, nodules/root and dry weight of nodules) under completely randomized design with three replications in greenhouse of Agricultural, Medical and Industrial Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Karaj, Iran. All traits in the studied mutant lines, except number of seeds per pod, showed a significant difference at α=1% and α=5% in comparison with L17 and commercial cultivars. Mutant line number 13 (M13) was recognized as the top line in view of the studied traits. Seed yield per plant showed the highest correlation (0.886) with harvest index (P<0.01). Cluster analysis of the studied traits along with Ward method resulted in separation of the lines into four independent groups. It can be inferred from the results that irradiation did induce significant genetic variability with regard to majority of the studied traits, such as number of nodules per plant and harvest index.


In the past years, laser ablation synthesis in solution (LASiS) emerged as a reliable alternative to traditional chemical reduction methods for obtaining noble metal nanoparticles (NMNp). LASiS is a "green" technique for the synthesis of stable NMNp in water or in organic solvents, which does not need stabilizing molecules or other chemicals. The so obtained NMNp are highly available for further functionalization or can be used wherever unprotected metal nanoparticles are desired. Surface functionalization of NMNp can be monitored in real time by UV-visible spectroscopy of the plasmon resonance. However LASiS has some limitations in the size control of NMNp, which can be overcome by "chemical free" laser treatments of NMNp. In this paper we provide an overview of LASiS, size manipulation by laser irradiation and functionalization of NMNp, with special care in pointing out some of the main issues about this research area.


Nucleate boiling heat transfer is of significant interest for the design of a compact evaporator. This work investigates experimentally the nucleate boiling heat transfer in silicon based triangular and trapezoid microchannels with hydraulic diameter of 36.1 μm and 41.3 μm, respectively. Bubble nucleation and interactions are clearly observed in the entrance region, while the two-phase flow pattern in the microchannels is dominated by slug flow with long Taylor bubbles or annular flow. The evaporation of the very thin liquid film is speculated to be the major mode of heat transfer. The two-phase pressure drop is very significant and the corresponding variation in the saturation temperature should be considered in the analysis.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


WDM optical networks represent the direction to the future high capacity wide-area network applications. By creating the optical paths between several nodes in the core networks, a logical topology can be created over the physical topology. We consider the method of designing the logical topology in wavelength routed all-optical networks. The exact formulation of the logical topology problem is usually given as a mixed integer linear programming problem, but it grows intractable with increasing size of the network. Heuristic approaches have been proposed, here we also proposed a different heuristic approach to determine the logical topology, and compare it with other methods.


The English Subject Guide will help you find information in support of the English classes running out of Mt. Sierra College.


In the present work, we report on a comparative study of model catalysts during ethylene epoxidation reaction under industrially relevant conditions. The catalysts consist of Ag nanoparticles <6 nm and a reference sample ∼100 nm. Combining catalytic data with transmission electron microscopy, thermal desorption spectroscopy, and density functional theory allows us to show that catalytic performance is linked to the oxygen concentration in/on the Ag particles. Isotope experiments using 18O2 and C18O2 are conducted to gain insight into the nature and location of oxygen in/on the Ag nanoparticles. The oxygen species responsible for the CO2 formation and inhibition of the overall catalytic activity are identified, and the abundance of those species is shown to depend strongly on the pre‐treatment and reaction conditions, showing both are critical for effective oxygen management. By comparison with a conventional Ag/α‐Al2O3 catalyst, we demonstrate a low concentration of oxygen in/on Ag leads to the highest selectivity regardless of particle size. However, particle size dependent oxophilicity leads to significantly lower TOFs for the Ag nanoparticles. This study provides fundamental understanding of the performance of supported Ag particles in ethylene epoxidation and offers new strategies to improve performance under industrially relevant conditions.


Simple Summary Cancers of the female reproductive system are common and are responsible for a large number of deaths in women. The exact reasons why some of these cancers occur are unknown. It is, however, known that for most of these cancers, several factors interact for them to happen. These interactions involve factors external and internal to the woman. An understanding of some of the internal factors involved in how these cancers arise will not only help drive preventive strategies, but will speed the development of new treatment approaches. The endocannabinoid system is a family including chemicals (known as endocannabinoids) produced in the body that are similar to those derived from the cannabis plant. This system, which is widely distributed in the body, has been shown to be involved in various functions. Its disruption has been shown to lead to various diseases, one of which is cancer. In this review, we summarise current knowledge of this system, its various constituents, and how they are involved in reproductive events and their pathologies, especially cancers. Furthermore, we discuss the role of the endocannabinoid system in these cancers and how targeting it could lead to new approaches to diagnosis and treatment of cancers of the female reproductive system. Abstract Gynaecological cancers can be primary neoplasms, originating either from the reproductive tract or the products of conception, or secondary neoplasms, representative of metastatic disease. For some of these cancers, the exact causes are unknown; however, it is recognised that the precise aetiopathogeneses for most are multifactorial and include exogenous (such as diet) and endogenous factors (such as genetic predisposition), which mutually interact in a complex manner. One factor that has been recognised to be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of gynaecological cancers is the endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS consists of endocannabinoids (bioactive lipids), their receptors, and metabolic enzymes responsible for their synthesis and degradation. In this review, the impact of plant-derived (Cannabis species) cannabinoids and endocannabinoids on gynaecological cancers will be discussed within the context of the complexity of the proteins that bind, transport, and metabolise these compounds in reproductive and other tissues. In particular, the potential of endocannabinoids, their receptors, and metabolic enzymes as biomarkers of specific cancers, such as those of the endometrium, will be addressed. Additionally, the therapeutic potential of targeting selected elements of the ECS as new action points for the development of innovative drugs will be presented.


Since the early part of the 20th Century the impact of a range of anthropogenic activities in our coastal seas has steadily increased. The effect of such activities is a major cause for concern but in the benthic environment few studies exist that date back more than a few decades. Hence understanding long term changes is a challenge. Within this study we utilized a historic benthic dataset and resurveyed an area west of Eddystone reef in the English Channel previously investigated 112 years ago. The aim of the present work was to describe the current benthic community structure and investigate potential differences between 1895 and 2007. For each of the four major phyla investigated (Polychaeta, Crustacea, Mollusca and Echinodermata), multivariate community analysis showed significant differences between the historic and contemporary surveys. Echinoderm diversity showed a clear reduction between 1895 and 2007. The sea urchins Echinus esculentus, Spatangus purpureus, and Psammechinus miliaris and large star-fish Marthasterias glacialis showed reductions in abundance, in some cases being entirely absent from the survey area in 2007. Polychaetes showed a shift from tubiculous species to small errant and predatory species such as Glycera, Nephtys, and Lumbrineris spp. Within the group Mollusca large species such as Pecten maximus and Laevicardium crassum decreased in abundance while small species increased. Crustaceans in 1895 were dominated by crab species which were present in similar abundances in 2007, but, the order Amphipoda appeared to show a significant increase. While some of the differences observed could stem from differences in methodologies between the surveys, in particular increases of small cryptic species, the loss of large conspicuous species was judged to be genuine. The study area is an important beam trawling and scallop dredging ground; the differences observed are concomitant with changes generally associated with disturbance from demersal fishing activities such as these.


For measuring behaviour of National Health Service (NHS) staff, 360-degree assessment is a valuable tool. The important role of a clinical director as a medical leader is increasingly recognized, and attributes of a good clinical director can be defined. Set against these attributes, a 360-degree assessment tool has been designed. The job description for clinical directors has been used to develop a questionnaire sent to senior hospital staff. The views of staff within the hospital are similar irrespective of gender, post held or length of time in post. Analysis has shown that three independent factors can be distilled, namely operational management, interpersonal skills and creative/strategic thinking. A simple validated questionnaire has been developed and successfully introduced for the 360-degree assessment of clinical directors.


The accuracy and robustness of SLAM critically depend on the properties of feature points. This paper presents a robust corner detection method suitable for indoor mobile robot navigation. We combine the advantages of edge-based corner detection and intensity-based corner detection. Orientation field estimation followed by image-based curvature estimation can detect corners stably and accurately. Experimental results validate the robustness of the proposed corner detector in indoor environments.


Mannans were isolated from six Candida strains and characterized. 13C-NMR spectroscopy revealed interspecific and interstrain difference of the yeasts in the structure of their mannans.


The prebreakdown density change streamers and the current pulses in liquid nitrogen were investigated. A needle-plane electrode system, consisting of a stainless steel plane and a tungsten needle whose tip radius is 1.0 µm, was used throughout the experiments. The streamers under impulse voltage conditions were observed using high-speed photography for both positive and negative polarities. Two structures of streamers, filamentary and bush-like, were found in both polarities. The mechanisms of these streamer structures are determined by analyzing the results.


: Degenerative and dystrophic diseases of the cervical-brachial region represent an important medical and social problem due to the high proportion of the occurrence, as well as the significant material damage caused to society as a result of losses associated with disability. The aim of the study was to review the literature on the subject of the clinical picture, the features of diagnosis and treatment of pain in dentists. It is known that the change in the position of the head and body, especially in the brachiocephalic region, is a professional risk factor for the emergence of dysfunction of the chewing complex, headaches and cervical pains in dentists, dental hygienists and dental technicians. To date, domestic authors seem to reasonably justified the possibility of using combination preparations containing chondroprotectors + hormonal drugs in the treatment of degenerative joint diseases, including spine joints.


Gertrud Stein's witty expression "A rose is a rose is a rose" suits well to cast a light on how images of the Nordic area was created and functioned in Women's and Gender Studies in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands) during the first dynamic years, from the late 1970s until 1990. The Nordic area was to a large extent regarded as a suitable framework to work within, largely for historical and feminist reasons. Besides its strategical advantages, the meaning of "the Nordic area" was by and large unproblematized in terms of its cognitive and political content. The article focuses on the feminist and scholarly space which Women's Studies carved out in Academia, mobilizing hundreds of scholars, students and others into supporting its aims: to develop and establish a new critical field of research in order to improve women's conditions and put an end to women's oppression. The article makes a tentative analysis of the space which Women's Studies constituted, focusing on explicit discussions of "the Nordic area" and actions taking place under its label, as well as the notable lack of problematization of the very meaning of this area as a shared cultural and historical community. Particular attention is paid to what happened when gender as a category for analysis was introduced in the 1980s and the implications of the absence of lesbian studies. Attention is also paid to efforts made to raise internal discussions regarding theoretical canonization, as well as the lack of studies of same-sex relations, heterosexuality as a social norm, and ethnicity. Today, debates about such issues are more common and also heated, often within debates about the usefulness of perspectives from intersectional points of view, queer theory and post-colonial studies. Present debates show that the field has undergone large changes and become diversified, both regarding theory and whose voices are to be heard within feminist spaces.


This Precis entitled, KUPEDES : Structural adjustment and Zimbabwe's poor, complements the Bank's Operations and Evaluation Department (OED), Performance audit report, Structural adjustment and Zimbabwe's poor, Report No. 14751, dated June 30, 1995. The audit highlights the two basic lessons : a) macroeconomic stabilization -particularly fiscal adjustment- is a prerequisite for sustainable growth in employment, output, and incomes, and b) sound macroeconomic policies need to be accompanied y actions specifically designed to assist and protect people who do not directly benefits from formal sector growth. It also explains, how the ESAP Program did not reduce poverty and unemployment as its architects has hoped.


The increasing rate of hydrogen evolving from magnesium (Mg) surfaces under anodic polarization was characterized through simultaneous hydrogen volume collection, mass loss, potentiostatic and potentiodynamic polarization, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). This is distinct from the literature in that all four techniques are not often performed in the same test. Results indicate Mg dissolves as Mg2+ with anodically induced increases in hydrogen evolution rates due to increases in the water reduction reaction rate. In order to contribute to a mechanistic understanding of the cause for anodically induced increases in hydrogen evolution, quantitative surface spectroscopy for accurate chemical analyses of the Mg surface subject to dissolution was carried out via post exposure Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry. Surface enrichment of transition elements other than Mg were confirmed, which provides a foundation for understanding the origin of enhanced hydrogen evolution. The selection of this technique was necessitated by limitations of near surface analysis by more conventional methods.


SUMMARY This integrated study of deep earthquake locations and focal mechanisms investigates the relationship between the shape of subducting slabs and seismic behaviour in Wadati-Benioff zones. High quality earthquake locations are used to map the shapes of subducting slabs which have reached the upper-lower mantle boundary. The resulting slab models reveal the presence of large slab folds in the mantle transition zone. The distributions and focal mechanisms of deep earthquakes are analysed to determine whether these folds have a role in governing Wadati-Benioff zone seismicity. Bands or lineations of dense seismicity are associated with the hinge zones of identified folds. The focal mechanisms of earthquakes within these bands reveal that the mapped fold hinges are commonly perpendicular to the directions of maximum coseismic extension and compression. The hinges plunge at a variety of angles, resulting in systematic deviations from the downdip stress field expected within planar slabs. Slab synforms are typified by earthquake focal mechanisms indicating in-plane compression (e.g. Izu-Bonin, Tonga), while antiforms have earthquake focal mechanisms indicating in-plane extension (e.g. Solomons) or a mixture of in-plane compression and extension (e.g. Tonga). Slab buckling explains both the clustering of earthquakes and the observed focal mechanism orientations within fold hinges. The localization of strain within buckle zones results in several of the peaks observed in regional earthquake depth distributions. During buckling, the directions of maximum shortening and extension are expected to be perpendicular to the fold hinges, in agreement with deep earthquake moment tensors. Displacement of the minimum-strain surface away from the centre of each seismogenic zone can explain the predominance of in-plane compression within synforms and in-plane extension within antiforms. More complex local variation in focal mechanism orientations in the Tonga slab can be explained by a superposition of in-plane compression and bending strain. Buckling appears to be a common mechanism facilitating convergence between subducting slabs and the lower mantle. The consequent rotation and translation of fold limbs may explain the discrepancy between estimates of convergence based on subduction velocities and long-term coseismic strain.


Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed and prevalent tumour reported to cancer registries in Australia and globally (Smith et al., 2009; Evans et al., 2013). While long term survival following a diagnosis of PCa is relatively good (~92% at 5 years), there is considerable morbidity associated with the treatment and management of PCa. Survival differs according to disease stage at diagnosis. There is evidence that patients with locally advanced disease (as denoted by a prostate specific-antigen [PSA] level of greater than 10ng/mL, local histologic findings, and stage) will benefit from surgical treatment compared with men who have no active treatment (Wilt et al., 2012). Health-related quality of life (QoL) outcomes after treatment are of critical concern to patients, their partners, and physicians (Glaser et al., 2013; Lev et al., 2004; Skevington & McCrate, 2012; Smith et al., 2009; Storas et al., 2014; Wei et al., 2002).It is important to detect prostate cancer as early as possible to enable optimum outcomes and potential cure. General Practitioners (GPs) are often the first health professionals to hold discussions with men about whether to undertake screening of PCa and, following diagnosis, which treatment to choose. A key role of GPs is to ensure that screening and treatment options have been explained to and understood by the patient and to act as the patient's advocate in choosing the most appropriate treatment.GPs are usually also involved in post-treatment care, including managing comorbidities, monitoring disease recurrence and side-effects of treatment, and provision of psychosocial support. According to Emery (2014), good "survivorship" care requires clear channels of communication among the specialist, GP, and patient. The provision by GPs of good communication, clear guidance, and access to specialist care may reduce the reliance on specialists by many cancer survivors. Longitudinal data from the UK on nearly 5000 survivors with PCa (alive at least 5 years post diagnosis) showed that survivors consulted their GP up to three more times annually compared to healthy controls matched on the basis of age, sex, and primary care practice (Khan, Watson, & Rose, 2011). A similar study in the Netherlands showed that men with PCa see their GP more than controls at 2-5 years after diagnosis for both cancer-related health problems and disease management (Heins, Korevaar, Rijken, & Schellevis, 2013).Previous studies have revealed high variability in PCa screening habits and techniques amongst GPs (Crowe, Wooten, & Howard, 2015; Drummond , Carsin, Sharp, & Comber 2009; Bowen, Hannon, Harris, & Martin, 2011; Tasian et al., 2012). Broadly, PCa screening approaches can be classified into two categories: (1) GPs who routinely scan patients they believe to be at risk of PCa, and (2) GPs who scan patients in response to a request or to a patient's troubling symptoms (Drummond et al. 2009; Bowen et al. 2011; Crowe, Wootten, & Howard, 2015). Many factors might contribute to this variability. Bowen et al. (2011) noted that common concerns among GPs not detecting PCa at an early stage included the resulting legal ramifications and/or mortalities. Another concern possibly contributing to variability in PCa screening habits was GPs' lack of clarity about when screening for PCa is appropriate (Crowe, Wootten, & Howard, 2015; Drummond et al., 2009).Variability in clinical guidelines in Australia and overseas is also believed to contribute to GPs' inconsistent screening techniques (Bowen et al. 2011; Crowe, Wootten, & Howard, 2015; Drummond et al., 2009; Jessen, Sondergaard, Larsen, & Thomsen 2013). Identified causes of deviations from established PCa screening guidelines potentially include insufficiently clear guidelines, patient requests for screening, past experience with men diagnosed with PCa, various co-morbidities, and the fear of litigation by and mortality of men with PCa. …


An N x N ATM switching element with output queueing is considered. Each inlet of the switch is fed by a bursty on/off source with geometrically distributed on/off-periods. Cells are routed from the inputs to the outputs of the switch in a uniform but correlated manner. Specifically, for the first cell of each on-period all the destination addresses are equiprobable. Each subsequent cell of the same on-period has a probability R of being routed to the same destination as the previous cell, and is sent to one of the N - 1 other destinations with probability (1 - R)/(N - 1). Cells belonging to different on-periods are routed entirely independently. By means of an approximate analytical method, the influence of the degree of burstiness of the sources and the amount of correlation in the routing mechanism on the queueing performance of the switch is investigated.


Abstract The detection of elementary carriers in transport phenomena is one of the most important keys to understand nontrivial properties of strongly correlated quantum matter. Here, we propose a method to identify the tunneling current carrier in strongly interacting fermions from nonequilibrium noise in the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer to Bose–Einstein condensate crossover. The noise-to-current ratio, the Fano factor, can be a crucial probe for the current carrier. Bringing strongly correlated fermions into contact with a dilute reservoir produces a tunneling current in between. The associated Fano factor increases from one to two as the interaction becomes stronger, reflecting the fact that the dominant conduction channel changes from the quasiparticle tunneling to the pair tunneling.


Fabry disease is one of the most common lysosomal storage disorders caused by mutations in the gene encoding lysosomal α-galactosidase A (α-Gal A) and resultant accumulation of glycosphingolipids. The sugar mimetic 1-deoxygalactonojirimycin (DGJ), an orally available pharmacological chaperone, was clinically approved as an alternative to intravenous enzyme replacement therapy. The decision as to whether a patient should be treated with DGJ depends on the genetic variant within the α-galactosidase A encoding gene (GLA). A good laboratory practice (GLP)-validated cell culture-based assay to investigate the biochemical responsiveness of the variants is currently the only source available to obtain pivotal information about susceptibility to treatment. Herein, variants were defined amenable when an absolute increase in enzyme activity of ≥3% of wild type enzyme activity and a relative increase in enzyme activity of ≥1.2-fold was achieved following DGJ treatment. Efficacy testing was carried out for over 1000 identified GLA variants in cell culture. Recent data suggest that about one-third of the variants comply with the amenability criteria. A recent study highlighted the impact of inter-assay variability on DGJ amenability, thereby reducing the power of the assay to predict eligible patients. This prompted us to compare our own α-galactosidase A enzyme activity data in a very similar in-house developed assay with those from the GLP assay. In an essentially retrospective approach, we reviewed 148 GLA gene variants from our former studies for which enzyme data from the GLP study were available and added novel data for 30 variants. We also present data for 18 GLA gene variants for which no data from the GLP assay are currently available. We found that both differences in experimental biochemical data and the criteria for the classification of amenability cause inter-assay discrepancy. We conclude that low baseline activity, borderline biochemical responsiveness, and inter-assay discrepancy are alarm signals for misclassifying a variant that must not be ignored. Furthermore, there is no solid basis for setting a minimum response threshold on which a clinical indication with DGJ can be justified.


One of the suggested approaches in the management and prophylaxis of acne involves binding of free fatty acids in the form of soap with alcoholamines. Due to a possible irritating effect of alcoholamines associated with a relatively high pH of their aqueous solutions, complexation of alcoholamines with acid polymers is advocated. Triethanolamine is one of the best recognized alcoholamines. It was conventionally neutralized with Carbopols, Eudragits, alginic acid and pectin. During neutralization of polymer dispersions with triethanolamine, variations in the course of the neutralization curve have been observed among individual macromolecular compounds. The pH of 0.1 mol/l triethanolamine solution reaches 10.51, while following a complete neutralization with anionic polymers, such as Carbopols, Eudragits, alginic acid and pectin, pH ranges from 3.88 for systems neutralized with alginic acid to 8.50 for the system neutralized with Eudragit S-100. Complexation of triethanolamine with anionic polymers decreases its pH, and it is possible to find such pH range in which pH of the preparation containing the polymer and triethanolamine will correspond to the physiological pH of the skin.


In order to investigate the effect of temperature on activated sludge systems,sludge settleability,nitrogen and phosphorus removal processes were investigated by changing temperature variation patterns using 4 sequencing batch reactors (SBR).The results showed that no matter temperature changes in the range of 15-22 ℃ (decrease or increase) gradually or sharply,it has little effect on nitrogen and phosphorus removal processes.But when temperature decreases to 12 ℃,biochemical reactions will be inhibitted obviously.At least 1 sludge retention time (SRT) is needed for nitrification adapt to new temperature envirionment,and more time is necessary for phosphorus removal process.When temperature increases from 12 ℃ to 22 ℃ sharply,nitrification process deteriorates seriously,but phosphorus removal process shows no change.In addition,sludge settleability deteriorates when temperature changes sharply (decrease or increase),but the reasons are different.Under temperature decrease condition,it is mainly caused by the increase of accumulated extracellular polymeric substances (EPS).Under temperature increase condition,the loosing sludge flocs' configuration is the main reason.It should be pointed out that the filamentous bacteria content during the entire experiment keeps almost constant,and the sludge settleability variations are the reflection of the change of sludge physicochemical characteristics.


This research represents the first known application of protocol analysis to a liberal arts knowledge domain. The purpose of this study was to capture differences in cognitive structure between experts and novices in the area of art history. A sorting task consisting of twenty-five reproductions of paintings and prints covering the 14th through the 20th centuries was used to elicit verbal protocol data from a sample of four experts and four novices. The protocols were then transcribed and scored using concept mapping and content analysis procedures. Three knowledge breadth measures, concept map propositions, concept map examples, and implicit propositions, were strongly correlated with membership in the expert or novice group. In addition, the knowledge depth measure, concept map hierarchy levels, was also strongly correlated with the group membership variable suggesting that, as predicted, experts produced a significantly greater number of concept map propositions, examples, hierarchy levels, and implicit propositions than novices. Subsequently, three discriminant analyses related to the three hypotheses of the study correctly classified 100 percent, 87.5 percent, and 100 percent of the grouped cases, respectively. Univariate F tests were statistically significant in all three analyses suggesting that the knowledge structures of experts evidence greater breadth and depth than those of novices and are related to particular elements of experience.


Two boys with severe factor VIII deficiency that initially presented with acute onset of joint pain and swelling consistent with an uncomplicated hemarthrosis are reported. When appropriate management failed to provide resolution of symptoms, alternate diagnoses were considered. Both boys ultimately had complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) diagnosed. The delay in diagnosis contributed to prolonged patient discomfort and lack of appropriate therapy. Complex regional pain syndrome encompasses a group of disorders that are characterized by pain severity or duration disproportionate to that expected. It is uncommon in the pediatric population. Because early diagnosis and appropriate treatment may improve outcome, it is important for practitioners to consider CRPS in the differential diagnosis of persistent pain in children with hemophilia.


PCN25 THE BUDGETARY IMPACT OF PEMETREXED MAINTENANCE THERAPY FOR ADVANCED NONSQUAMOUS NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER Klein R, Lawson AH, Muehlenbein CE, Liepa AM, Wielage RC, Babineaux S, Koustenis AG Medical Decision Modeling, Indianapolis, IN, USA, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA, Eli Lilly and Company and/or any of its subsidiaries, Indianapolis, IN, USA, Eli Lilly and Company and/or any of its subsidiaries, Dublin, OH, USA OBJECTIVES: Pemetrexed (Pem) was recently approved in the US for maintenance treatment of patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has not progressed after 4 cycles of platinum-based first-line chemotherapy. The objective of this study was to estimate the budgetary impact of adopting Pem in this new indication from a US health plan's perspective. METHODS: A deterministic model was developed from the perspective of a one-million member health plan. A survey of 300 oncologists was used to estimate the market shares of maintenance therapies before and after introducing Pem. Drug costs were obtained from Medicare reimbursement rates; non-drug costs from a claims database analysis. The number of maintenance-eligible patients was calculated from SEER incidence rates and the estimated proportions of NSCLC patients beginning and completing platinumbased first-line chemotherapy with stable disease or better. Model outputs included annual health plan cost, and costs per member per month (PMPM) and per treated member per month (PTMPM). One-way sensitivity analyses assessed the effect of changing input values. RESULTS: Assuming a 50% increase in the number of patients receiving maintenance therapy from 26 to 39 in a one-million member health plan, the model estimates a total annual cost increase of $365,323. Savings from patients who would have continued first-line therapy at an annual cost of $48,253 result in an estimated net budget impact of $317,070 translating into a PTMPM of $679.22 and PMPM of $0.026. The PMPM is sensitive only to the expected increase in maintenance use. CONCLUSIONS: The adoption of Pem as maintenance therapy is anticipated to increase the number of patients receiving maintenance treatment while reducing the number of patients continuing first-line therapy. This increase in maintenance therapy utilization is expected to increase the budget impact for a health plan by less than $0.03 per member per month.


During a period a 9 months, 125 individuals with pneumonia due to infection with Mycoplasma pneumoniae were identified among 1,242 individuals in two Israeli kibbutzim. The monthly incidence of M. pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) was 13.3/1,000 population. Of those infected, 93 (74.4%) were under the age of 18 years. The clinical course of MPP was mostly benign. The prominent signs and symptoms of disease were cough (100%), fine respiratory crepitations (77%), fever (37%), and diminished breathing sounds (25%) above affected lung areas. Leukocytosis was rare (9.6%); however, eosinophilia was observed in 23% of 53 tests performed. Exacerbations of bronchial asthma was observed among 36% of 11 patients with a previous history of asthma. The average duration of disease was 13.5 days, under treatment. A recurrence rate of 11.2% was noted among all MPP patients, with a very high (42.3%) rate among patients treated with cotrimoxazole. All patients with recurrent pneumonia were children under the age of 10 years.


Torque ripple can be an important issue in Synchronous Reluctance Machine (SynRM) design, similar to the Induction Machine (IM). A novel, simple and systematic method for ripple reduction in SynRM (that can also be implemented for IPM and PMaSynRM) design is presented in this paper. The decoupling between stator and rotor structure during the torque ripple minimization is another goal. This can be achieved using a general method that minimizes the ripple independent of the stator structure, specially the slots number of the stator, and the number of barriers in the rotor or rotor slots number. Furthermore, it is shown that torque maximization and torque ripple minimization can be achieved independently in the SynRM design using limitedly, FEM simulations.


The preweaning behavioral development was compared in 3 hamster species: the golden (Mesocricetus auratus), Chinese (Cricetulus griseus), and Djungarian (Phodopus sungorus). Differences in the age of appearance of action patterns could not be summarized by simply ranking species on either precocity or developmental speed, nor were they eliminated by measuring age from conception. Problems in the interpretation of species differences in the age of appearance of action patterns are discussed.


Three-dimensional (3D) urban models, come with huge data size, mainly consisting of the details of geometry and texture of the objects, and simplification of both is often needed for efficient streaming, rendering and visualization. A large number of objects in 3D urban models are buildings and the image files representing their texture contain information of the walls, streets, doors, and windows etc., which have linear edges. We present a technique to identify the images representing the texture of these objects, and propose a compact format to encode them in much smaller size compared to the existing standard image formats.


A fifth power-law circuit is presented and experimentally demonstrated. The core of the circuit is composed of several matched junction field-effect transistors. If the transistor pinch-off voltage is small, the power law can be efficiently realised with a simpler circuit which does not require a DC power supply.


The lack of electricity is one of the main problems in the development on the rural com-munities. The access to electricity can be achieved through the implementation of electricmicrogrids. A microgrid is one of the most indispensable elements of smart power systemsto improve the reliability and resilience of energy supply.Off-grid microgrids are among the most viable solutions for electrification of remote areas,islands, and regions to which extension of the main utility grid is costly. Expansion planningof off-grid microgrids requires a concrete business model to ensure that affordable energy issupplied to customers [1]. It is necessary that these microgrids will be efficient, economicand reliable.In order to achieve the expected microgrids characteristics, the purpose of the present Mas-ter's Thesis is the development of an integral model for the sizing and costing of Low VoltageDirect Current (LVDC) Electrical Microgrids, based on Renewable Energy (RENE) Tech-nology. The microgrid sizing implies the development of a technical model and the Microgridcosting implies the development of an economic model. The main objective in the develop-ment of both models is to find an optimal configuration for the PVSHS, achieving a balancebetween the technical and the economical characteristics of the microgrid.The mentioned Model it is based on a real case of study which implements PhotovoltaicSolar Home Systems (PVSHS) in a LVDC Microgrid. The Microgrid is located in a RemoteRural community, where the access to the electrical main Grid is not always possible. In thepresent case of study the real location is in the city of Dhaka, capital city of Bangladesh.The corresponding methodology is based in the development of a MATLAB Code, whichincludes a general Sizing Method for Microgrids and the general Economic Method, whichachieves the calculation of the correspondent LCOE of the technology. Several scenarioswill be analyzed, taking into account different parameters of the Microgrid namely differentcable configurations, number of PV Panels, voltage drop and cable sections.The main results obtained in the Sizing Methodology, were in terms of the number of PVPanels and the section and the length of Cable utilized. Due to the little amount of energynecessary to cover the demand, it is possible to use a minor number of PV Panels than theconsider in previous studies. Besides that, the importance of the cable in final the designand in the cost of the microgrid is crucial. For this reason, two different cable configurationswere analyzed. In terms of the Economical Analysis the main result is related with theobtained LCOE value and the inputs utilized in order to calculated it. A new LCOE modelis developed for this kind of microgrids due to the correspondent expenditures can not beobtained from general reports.


In June 1998, the Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act (the "Act") of 1998 was signed into law. The centerpiece of the Act will protect gratuitous transfers to churches and charities that would otherwise be avoidable as fraudulent transfers. The Act has been roundly criticized by the bankruptcy community. This article explains the state of the law with respect to these transactions prior to the enactment of the Act, the reasons justifying the Act, and explains the relevant provisions of the Act. This article justifies the Act on several grounds. First, it is shown that courts were in error in failing to protect these transfers under established fraudulent transfer principles even prior to the Act. Fraudulent conveyance law has traditionally protected consumption and investment transactions so as to permit reliance with third-parties with whom the debtor deals. This principle applies with equal force to arms'-length transfers made to bona fide religious and charitable organizations that actually rely on the transfer. Second, principles of equity justify protecting these transactions. Fraudulent conveyance law does not avoid transactions made for gambling, fine dining, and vacations; it similarly should not avoid transfers made from religious and charitable motives. Third, current law allows debtors to transfer property to themselves through use of the exemption power, a transaction analogous to a classical fraudulent conveyance "kickback" transaction. An arms'-length transfer to a bona fide religious or charitable organization does not create such a kickback arrangement. Fourth, just as the policies of the tax code yield to the traditional public support for religious and charitable organizations through their tax-exempt status, it is appropriate for bankruptcy and fraudulent conveyance policies also to yield.


A collimator has been designed to give a field of view 34 cm in diameter at 10 cm from its front face. With the patient's chest touching the collimator face, this has enabled both lungs to be imaged on all patients scanned in approximately one year of use. The collimator can also be used for liver scanning where the whole of the liver and spleen can be visualized in a single anterior or posterior view. The collimator was designed for use with 99Tcm, and in lung and liver scanning ample quanta are available so that sensitivity is not crucially important. However the high sensitivity of this collimator allows it to be used for 133Xe ventilation scans. This means that it is possible to perform both a perfusion scan using 99Tcm MAA and a 133Xe ventilation scan on a patient, without changing the collimator.


Governments across MENA region currently shares a common challenge in improving road safety performance on both national and local levels. The frequency of traffic crashes in these countries is increasing hastily and dramatically. Public health reports alongside with 'WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety' illustrated by 'Time for Action', all confirm that road crashes are the leading cause of deaths among youths, which demands urgent initiatives and solutions at both national and local levels. The increase in prosperity and the economic development didn't actually lead to a real improvement in reducing the level of fatal crashes in these countries. Lost GDP, recessed socio-economic situation and the ongoing increase in fatalities, are all indicators that combine together to bring more attention to the road safety crisis facing the MENA region and Lebanon. When the majority of central governments in these countries are lacking effective means and ways to strengthen and improve road safety management, and when lead agencies involved in handling road safety initiatives at the national level are practically vague, this paper will discuss the 'bottom-up' approach of local empowerment for road safety. 'LERS' (Local Empowerment for Road Safety) prototype is a vigorous solution which may help local authorities in MENA region to overcome challenges of road safety at all levels. Empowering communities to better approach road safety will lead to positive effects nationwide and lead to advancement towards Sustainable Development Goals SDGs. Local governments can play the role of 'lead agencies' in managing and monitoring road safety programs RSP(s), and communities will be interacting effectively towards participating in the decision an implementation of road safety interventions at the educational, engineering, and emergency levels.


Rett syndrome is a relatively rare neurodevelopmental disorder (incidence: approximately one out of 10,000 female births) that reached worldwide prominence in the early 1980s. Owing to its overwhelming predominance in females, Rett syndrome was regarded as a genetic disorder. However, its occurrence is sporadic, with a recurrence risk well below 0.5%. In 1999, confirmation was provided by the demonstration of mutations in the MECP2 gene. At present, more than 95% of females who fulfill consensus criteria for Rett syndrome have a mutation in this gene. Over the past 25 years, understanding of the clinical features and natural history of this unique neurodevelopmental disorder has evolved dramatically. However, large segments of healthcare professionals and the general public still remain relatively uninformed. This review details the clinical picture of Rett syndrome and the diagnostic strategies required, explores the critical medical issues and recent advances in molecular neurobiology, provides an overview of intervention strategies that have been developed to date and sets the stage for future treatment trials as novel, and potentially effective, pharmacologic or molecular interventions become available.


The endothelium appears to play an important role in the regulation of intravascular coagulation. Thrombomodulin is one of the anticoagulant substances that is expressed by endothelial cells. The influence of age and illness on the thrombomodulin-protein C system was studied prospectively in 80 cardiac surgery patients. Patients > 70 yr old (n = 20) were compared with patients < 50 yr (n = 20) (group I), and patients undergoing a simple cardiac procedure (n = 20) were compared with patients scheduled for complex surgery (n = 20) (group II). Thrombomodulin (normal < 40 ng ml-1), protein C and (free) protein S plasma concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) after induction of anaesthesia (baseline values), during and after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), at the end of surgery, 5 h after CPB and on the first day after operation. Blood loss and use of homologous blood and blood products were significantly greater in patients > 70 yr and in those undergoing complex surgery. At baseline, thrombomodulin concentration was increased in patients undergoing complex surgery (mean 52 (sd 9) ng ml-1). After bypass and after operation, thrombomodulin increased most in patients > 70 yr (from 40 (8) to 78 (10) ng ml-1) and in those patients who underwent complex cardiac operations (from 52 (8) to 79 (10 ng ml-1) (P < 0.05). Changes in protein C and protein S concentrations were similar in all groups. On the first day after operation only, protein C concentrations were reduced in patients > 70 yr and in patients who underwent complex cardiac surgery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Using two representative Russian surveys – "Person, Family, Society" (used for building research models) and "Russian monitoring of the economic condition and health of the population" (for auxiliary, descriptive analysis) – we analysed the differences in the life courses of Russian men who served and did not serve in the army. For these two groups of men, we compared the ages and sequences of the most important first events (separation from the parental home, first job, obtaining an education, first cohabitation, first marriage, and first child). We constructed socio-demographic "portraits" of these men at the age of 15 and at the moment of the survey (2013).
Our results revealed that those men who served in the military have more socio-economic and demographic events than those who avoided military service: men with military experience start adult life earlier and more intensively. The mechanism of selecting men for military service has changed since the 1990s. Men who serve are mainly children of parents without higher education and not occupying senior positions in the period of their children's socialisation. After completing] military service, men often work and live separately, while those who did not serve in the army study and live with their parents.


We study discretization effects in cellular automata models for pedestrian dynamics by reducing the cell size. Then a particle occupies more than one cell which leads to subtle effects in the dynamics, e.g. non-local conflict situations. Results from computer simulations of the floor field model are compared with empirical findings. Furthermore, the influence of increasing the maximal walking speed vmax is investigated by increasing the interaction range beyond nearest neighbour interactions. The extension of the model to vmax>1 turns out to be a severe challenge which can be solved in different ways. Four major variants are discussed that take into account different dynamical aspects. The variation of vmax has a strong influence on the shape of the flow–density relation. We show that walking speeds vmax>1 lead to results which are in very good agreement with empirical data.


In this paper, we present a prototype system that is capable of associating real objects with virtual models and turning the table top into imaginary virtual scenes. A user can interact with these objects when she or he is immersed in the virtual environment. To accomplish this goal, a vision-based system is developed to online recognize and track the real objects in the scene. The corresponding virtual models are retrieved based on their tactile shapes. They are displayed and moved on a head-mounted display (HMD) according to tracked object poses. The experiment demonstrates that our prototype system can find reasonable association between real and virtual objects, and users are interested in the novel interaction.


Researchers have noted how local attitudes that connect research to the external world could affect findings differently in different contexts. How this played out for an indigenous researcher is the new perspective presented in this paper. Although an indigene of the study area, I became an outsider of sorts as soon as I began to show interest in malaria in a way that suggested to locals that the results of my investigation could eventually get to the government or the Western world – locals saw those two entities as embodying power and material abundance. Although I worked as an insider, I noticed that my position as a researcher also gave me an identity of the authority and power of the state and the global North. As soon as I began fieldwork, targets began to respond to me more or less as they would do to representatives of government or the North; for whatever I eventually get "out there," irrespective of my identity, could be crucial information for local wellbeing. Again, locals (especially in predominantly nonliterate settings) often associate paper and writing to government and organizations based outside local communities. This played out as I requested some participants to sign consent forms. They were uneasy to sign the forms, and those who did sign became less open afterwards. This brought home the point that ethics of social research need not be rigidly followed across diverse contexts. In all, factors such as level of literacy and general perception of the ultimate purpose of research among the target population will affect data validity to different degrees irrespective of the researcher's identity.


Pre-Mississippian strata in the Permian Basin area consist chiefly of carbonate deposits of Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian age which were produced in a marine environment probably characterized by clear, shallow seas covering a broad southward-sloping shelf. Oil accumulated in reservoirs in the carbonates, and in sandstone units of Cambrian and middle Ordovician age, the possible external sources being marine shale associated with the sandstone, a shale formation overlying the highest carbonate, and Pennsylvanian and Permian strata which lie unconformably on the older beds, as well as lower Paleozoic strata in a clastic basin south of the carbonate shelf. Mississippian strata are chiefly shale and limestone, containing probable source beds but generally poor reservoir strata. Near the end of Mississippian time the tectonic environment changed from one of broad structures of gentle relief on a flat cratonic platform to an almost closed basin surrounded by mountain areas of high relief, the greatest of which was the Ouachita-Marathon complex. Pennsylvanian strata, consisting of interbedded and intergrading marine shale, sandstone, and limestone, reflect the changed environment. Oil, which the author believes to be indigenous to the system, accumulated in structural, stratigraphic, and porosity traps in Pennsylvanian reservoirs. The Permian Period was characterized by deep but areally restricted marine basins of clastic deposition, stagnant at depth and surrounded by shoal platforms on which thick masses of carbonates accumulated and shallow lagoons extended to the shorelines. Burial of earlier strata by evaporites and red beds brought the period to a close. The principal sites of oil generation probably were in the basins; reservoirs included basinal sandstone and platform carbonate and sandstone rocks. The Guadalupe Series, which is stratigraphically the youngest and highest important producing unit and was therefore among the first to be exploited, contained more than half of all the oil which to date has been found in the Permian Basin. End_Page 395------------------------


In this work, we introduce the Maze Dash puzzle as an exploration problem where the agent must find a Hamiltonian Path visiting all the cells with a minimum number of turnings for most cases. We also discuss the real-world application of the problem, such as 8 ball billiards and Snooker games. We investigate different methods by a focus on Monte-Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) and SAT to get an overview of which class of solutions solves the puzzle quickly and accurately. Also, we perform optimization to the proposed MCTS algorithm to prune the tree search. Also, since the prefabricated test cases of this puzzle are not large enough to assay the proposed method, we employ a technique to generate solvable test cases to evaluate the approaches. Eventually, our comparison indicates that the MCTS-based approach is an up-and-coming method that could cope with the test cases with small and medium sizes with faster run-time than SAT. However, for specific discussed reasons, including the features of the problem, tree search organization, and also the approach of MCTS in the Simulation step, MCTS takes more time to execute in large size scenarios. Our results can be employed to choose a proper approach to create an AI to solve the Maze Dash, 8 ball billiards, and Snooker games.


This research investigates whether product types moderate the relationship between e-tailer characteristics and shopping attitudes in the context of online category killer stores. To identify the antecedents of consumer attitudes for category killer stores, the product types are characterized by the two dimensions of hedonic and utilitarian. A total of 268 responses were collected from consumers who experienced online category killer stores. The results show that the quality of information contained in a website, customer review, relational benefits, and the expertise of the e-tailer are important determinants for shopping attitudes of consumers. Regarding the moderating effects of product types, hedonic value significantly moderates the relationships between shopping attitudes and relational benefits/e-tailer expertise. However, utilitarian value does not significantly moderate the relationships between shopping attitudes and any of the e-tailer characteristics. Theoretical contributions of this study are the findings of moderating effects of hedonic value on the relationships between e-tailer characteristics and shopping attitudes. In addition, this study practically implies how companies can utilize these characteristics strategically for marketing and the selection of products.


Sarata or excellence is described with respect to Satwa (mind). Sarata is quality assessment of Sapta Dhatu and Satwa. Examination of Sarata is done at physical and psychological level. The present study aims at assessing Satwa Sarata and emotional maturity. The participants of the study were included 60 subjects between age group of 20 to 40 years. A proforma, specially designed on the basis of classical descriptions of Satwa Sara was utilized to assess the Sarata. Findings of the study revealed that the association in Satwa Sarata and emotional maturity was statistically highly significant (p<0.001).


Introduction: Due to the rising appeal of social media platforms
among young individuals, fast-food advertisers see them as an efficient
channel to promote businesses among youth. The fast-food industry
has experienced a surge in popularity in Sri Lanka, particularly among
the youth and individuals with hectic schedules. In comparison to
other sectors, the franchise fast food industry in Sri Lanka extensively
utilizes social media marketing for its promotional efforts.
Objectives: To evaluate the impact of Facebook on generation Z
consumers' fast food purchase intention.
Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted
among 242 generation Z consumers (people born between 1996 and
2010). Online questionnaire was used to gather details regarding
consumers' preference for fast food purchases following advertisements
on Facebook. Correlation and multiple linear regression analysis were
employed to analyze the data using SPSS version 25.
Results: Most of the participants were males (62.5%, n=125), who
belonged to the age category of 18-25 years. Findings revealed that
activities such as Likes (p<0.05), Friend's Likes (p<0.05), Comment
posting (p<0.05), and Sharing (p<0.05) on Facebook had a significant
impact on the intention to purchase fast food. Additionally, the
study indicated generation Z consumers are receptive to fast-food
advertising on Facebook.
Conclusion: Generation Z consumers are receptive to fast food
advertising on Facebook. Therefore, Facebook will be an effective
method to promote fast food among generation Z consumers. Further,
advertisements on Facebook would enhance the promotion of fastfood vendors.


none in the MPHL group. Patients with FPHL had a statistical trend towards lower mean testosterone levels (17 7 nmol L vs. 19 9 nmol L; P = 0 06). One patient with severe testosterone deficiency (3 3 nmol L) in the FPHL group, who also had hyperprolactinaemia, was subsequently found to have a pituitary adenoma. There was no correlation between the level of total testosterone and severity of hair loss. There were no statistically significant differences in levels of prolactin, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, thyroid hormones, zinc or ferritin between the two groups. Our study is limited by its small sample size and referral bias to a specialist hair clinic. We have demonstrated in this study that men with FPHL tend to have lower levels of total testosterone compared with their MPHL counterparts, suggesting a possible role of testosterone in the pathogenesis of FPHL in men. FPHL may be an early manifestation of low testosterone in men, which may warrant endocrinology referral. Larger studies are required to confirm these results.